"The Milk of Birds": A Proverbial Phrase, Ancient and Modern, and its Link to Nature

A curious phrase from ancient Greek, ὀρνίθων γάλα, finds parallels in Latin as lac gallinaceum and in Modern Greek, as και του πουλιού το γάλα. While the Greek phrases translate as "(and) the milk of (the) bird(s)", the Latin translates as "henʼs milk". This essay discusses the phrase in a select variety of Greek and Latin sources from the 5th century BCE to the 4th century CE, and its Modern Greek equivalent in the 21st century. In addition, it discusses the variety of meanings and uses found in those sources, and connections to the natural world. Information from ancient sources has been gleaned from a search of the Digital Loeb Classical Library online database. Information for modern use comes from informal interviews, Facebook messages, e-mails, and telephone messages of nine native speakers of Modern Greek from different parts of the Greek world, most of whom live in the United States. The essay discusses two points concerning the natural world: first, the phrase as found in the names of certain plants, and second, as a substance called crop-milk produced by members of the pigeon family. The linguistic connection between ancient and modern worlds and the parallels found in nature encourage scholars to look "outside the box" when investigating proverbs, proverbial expressions and proverbial phrases. The Modern Greek version of the phrase both confirms and expands the meanings of the ancient ones, thus suggesting that other connections between these ancient and modern languages may prove to be fruitful avenues of investigation.

Nutritional factors of vascular depression

Depression, the most common mental disorder, is the leading cause of years lived with disability and responsible for the majority of the more than 800,000 suicides annually. In addition, individuals with depression are more likely to have comorbid chronic diseases. Determination of dietary factors related to the incidence of late-life depression, presence of ischemic brain lesions, and depression outcomes is needed in order to characterize better the complex relationship between depression and vascular disease. Vascular nutritional factors (dietary attributes believed to either promote or prevent cardiovascular disease) were examined in three groups of elderly individuals: vascular depression, non-vascular depression, and comparison subjects. These same dietary factors were examined for their relationship to brain lesion volume in those with vascular depression. Dietary quality was assessed as a predictor of both depression outcome and lesion volume progression. Nutrient intake was assessed in elderly depression and comparison subjects using a Block 1998 food frequency questionnaire. Brain lesion volumes were calculated from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Depression subtype (vascular or non-vascular) was determined by the extent of hyperintensities on brain MRI. All subjects received medical comorbidity assessments, and depression subjects received psychiatric assessment and treatment. iii Vascular nutritional factors were found to differ between depression and comparison subjects but tended to be similar across the two depression groups, while most factors were unassociated with brain lesion volume. Depression subjects (both groups) consumed more cholesterol, trans-unsaturated fat, and high-fat dairy products, had higher body mass index (BMI) values and Keys scores, and consumed less fruit than comparison subjects. High-fat dairy and whole grain consumption were significantly and positively correlated with brain lesion volume, even after adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and total kilocalories. Dietary quality was not associated with longitudinal change in depression score or lesion volume. These findings may indicate the influence of "vascular" nutrients on late-life depression, regardless of the presence of comorbid cerebrovascular disease. The less healthful diets of depression subjects may have important implications for management of comorbid chronic diseases that are commonly associated with depression

The Construction of a Volley Test for Aerial Tennis

The purpose of the study was to construct and validate a wall volley test to be used in determining one's over-all playing ability in aerial tennis. The specific problem was to determine the reliability and validity of the wall volley test

Calcium and vitamin D intakes may be positively associated with brain lesions in depressed and nondepressed elders

Studies indicate that diet and vascular calcification may be related to the occurrence of brain lesions, although the importance of dietary calcium and vitamin D has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that calcium and vitamin D intakes would be positively associated with brain lesion volumes in elderly individuals with and without late-life depression. A cross sectional study was performed as part of a longitudinal clinical study of late-life depression. Calcium and vitamin D intakes were assessed in 232 elderly subjects (95 with current or prior depression, 137 without depression) using a Block 1998 food frequency questionnaire. Calcium, vitamin D, and kilocalorie intake were determined. Brain lesion volumes were calculated from magnetic resonance imaging scan. Subjects were age 60 years or over. Calcium and vitamin D intakes were significantly and positively correlated with brain lesion volume (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). In two separate multivariable models, controlling for age, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, group (depression/comparison), lesion load (high/low), and total kilocalories, these positive associations remained significant (p<0.05 for calcium; p < 0.001 for vitamin D). In conclusion, calcium and vitamin D consumption were associated with brain lesions in elderly subjects, even after controlling for potentially explanatory variables. These associations may be due to vascular calcification or other mechanism. The possibility of adverse effects of high intakes of calcium and vitamin D needs to be further explored in longitudinal studies of elderly subjects

Frontal White Matter Anisotropy and Antidepressant Remission in Late-Life Depression

10.1371/journal.pone.0003267PLoS ONE39

Elevated brain lesion volumes in older adults who use calcium supplements: a cross-sectional clinical observational study

Recent studies have implicated calcium supplements with elevated vascular risk, and therefore these supplements may also relate to the occurrence of brain lesions (or hyperintensities) in older adults. These lesions represent damage to brain tissue that is caused by ischaemia. This cross sectional clinical observational study examined the association between use of calcium-containing dietary supplements and lesion volumes in a sample of 227 older adults (60 years and older). Food and supplemental calcium intakes were assessed with a Block 1998 FFQ; participants with supplemental calcium intakes above zero were categorized as supplement users. Lesion volumes were determined from cranial MRI (1.5 Tesla) using a semi-automated technique; volumes were log-transformed because they were non-normal. An ANCOVA model showed that supplement users had greater lesion volumes than non-users, even after controlling for dietary food calcium, age, sex, race, education, energy intake, depression and hypertension (Calcium supplement use: β = 0.34, SE = 0.10, F1,217 = 10.98, p = 0.0011). The influence of supplemental calcium use on lesion volume was of similar magnitude to that of hypertension, a well-established risk factor for lesions. Among supplement users, the amount of supplemental calcium was not related to lesion volume (β = −0.000035, SE = 0.00015, F1,139 = 0.06, p = 0.81). This study indicates that the use of calcium-containing dietary supplements, even low dose supplements, by older adults may be associated with greater lesion volumes. Evaluation of randomised, controlled trials is warranted to determine if this relationship is a causal one

Variability in Frontotemporal Brain Structure: The Importance of Recruitment of African Americans in Neuroscience Research

BACKGROUND: Variation in brain structure is both genetically and environmentally influenced. The question about potential differences in brain anatomy across populations of differing race and ethnicity remains a controversial issue. There are few studies specifically examining racial or ethnic differences and also few studies that test for race-related differences in context of other neuropsychiatric research, possibly due to the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in clinical research. It is within this context that we conducted a secondary data analysis examining volumetric MRI data from healthy participants and compared the volumes of the amygdala, hippocampus, lateral ventricles, caudate nucleus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and total cerebral volume between Caucasian and African-American participants. We discuss the importance of this finding in context of neuroimaging methodology, but also the need for improved recruitment of African Americans in clinical research and its broader implications for a better understanding of the neural basis of neuropsychiatric disorders. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was a case control study in the setting of an academic medical center outpatient service. Participants consisted of 44 Caucasians and 33 ethnic minorities. The following volumetric data were obtained: amygdala, hippocampus, lateral ventricles, caudate nucleus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and total cerebrum. Each participant completed a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our primary finding in analyses of brain subregions was that when compared to Caucasians, African Americans exhibited larger left OFC volumes (F (1,68) = 7.50, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The biological implications of our findings are unclear as we do not know what factors may be contributing to these observed differences. However, this study raises several questions that have important implications for the future of neuropsychiatric research

Household Transmission of Rotavirus in a Community with Rotavirus Vaccination in Quininde, Ecuador

Background: We studied the transmission of rotavirus infection in households in peri-urban Ecuador in the vaccination era. Methods: Stool samples were collected from household contacts of child rotavirus cases, diarrhea controls and healthy controls following presentation of the index child to health facilities. Rotavirus infection status of contacts was determined by RT-qPCR. We examined factors associated with transmissibility (index-case characteristics) and susceptibility (householdcontact characteristics). Results: Amongst cases, diarrhea controls and healthy control household contacts, infection attack rates (iAR) were 55%, 8% and 2%, (n = 137, 130, 137) respectively. iARs were higher from index cases with vomiting, and amongst siblings. Disease ARs were higher when the index child was ,18 months and had vomiting, with household contact ,10 years and those sharing a room with the index case being more susceptible. We found no evidence of asymptomatic infections leading to disease transmission. Conclusion: Transmission rates of rotavirus are high in households with an infected child, while background infections are rare. We have identified factors associated with transmission (vomiting/young age of index case) and susceptibility (young age/sharing a room/being a sibling of the index case). Vaccination may lead to indirect benefits by averting episodes or reducing symptoms in vaccinees

Diffusion Tensor Measures of the Corpus Callosum in Adolescents With Adolescent Onset Alcohol Use Disorders

In adults, myelination injury is associated with alcoholism. Maturation of the corpus callosum is prominent during adolescence. We hypothesized that subjects with adolescent-onset alcohol use disorders (AUD; defined as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV alcohol dependence or abuse) would have myelination mircostructural differences compared to controls