December 14, 2010
The executive system is a theorized cognitive system in psychology that controls and manages other cognitive processes. It is also referred to as the executive function, supervisory attentional system, or cognitive control. The concept is used by psychologists and neuroscientists to describe a loosely defined collection of brain processes that are responsible for planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions, and selecting relevant sensory information.
The executive functions are often invoked when it is necessary to override responses that might otherwise be automatically elicited by stimuli in the external environment. For example, on being presented with a potentially rewarding stimulus, such as a tasty piece of chocolate cake, a person might have the automatic response to take a bite. However, where such behavior conflicts with internal plans (such as having decided not to eat chocolate cake while on a diet), the executive functions might be engaged to inhibit that response.
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December 13, 2010
Paris syndrome is a transient psychological disorder encountered by some people visiting or vacationing in Paris. It is characterized by acute delusional states, hallucinations, feelings of persecution (delusions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization, depersonalization, anxiety, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating, etc. Japanese visitors are observed to be especially susceptible, and around twenty Japanese tourists a year are affected. It was first noted in Nervure, the French journal of psychiatry in 2004.
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December 13, 2010
The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination and has affected Jews, Christians and Muslims of many different backgrounds.
The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of the Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area.
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December 13, 2010
Stendhal [sten-dahl] syndrome (also known as hyperkulturemia and Florence syndrome) is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.
The condition is named after the famous 19th century French author Stendhal (Henri-Marie Beyle), who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy. Although there are many descriptions of people becoming dizzy and fainting while taking in Florentine art, especially at the Uffizi, dating from the early 19th century on, the syndrome was only named in 1979, when it was described by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini, who observed and described more than 100 similar cases among tourists and visitors in Florence.
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December 13, 2010
Spirulina [spahy-ruh-lahy-nuh] is a microscopic blue-green algae in the shape of a spiral coil, living both in sea and freshwater. It is the common name for human and animal food produced primarily from two species: Arthrospira platensis, and Arthrospira maxima. Though referred to as ‘algae’ because they are aquatic organisms capable of photosynthesis, cyanobacteria are not related to any of the various eukaryotic algae. Spirulina is rich in complete proteins, essential fatty acids, b vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals like beta-carotene. Spirulina contains an unusually high amount of protein, between 55% and 77% by dry weight. It is a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids, though with reduced amounts of methionine, cysteine, and lysine when compared to the proteins of meat, eggs, and milk.
It is, however, superior to typical plant protein, such as that from legumes. Spirulina also contains the amino acid phenylalanine, which should be avoided by people who have the metabolic disorder phenylketonuria. Arthrospira is cultivated around the world, and is used as a human dietary supplement, as well as a whole food, and is available in tablet, flake, and powder form. It is also used as a feed supplement in the aquaculture, aquarium, and poultry industries. Spirulina was a food source for Mesoamericans; the Aztecs called it ‘stone’s excrement.’ Its cultivation dates back to the 9th century in Chad, where dried cakes of spirulina, called dihéare, are used as bullion cubes.
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December 10, 2010
Cordyceps [kord-uh-seps] is a genus of mushrooms that grows on caterpillars and other insects; it has a number of Eastern and Western medical applications. It is used for a wide range of conditions including fatigue, sexual dysfunction, coughing, and as an adaptogen or immune stimulant.
An interesting feature of the Cordyceps species is the ability to affect the behavior of their insect host. Cordyceps unilateralis causes ants to climb a plant and attach there before they die. This ensures the parasite’s environment is of the optimal temperature and humidity, and maximal distribution of the spores from the fruiting body that sprouts out of the dead insect is achieved.
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December 9, 2010
‘The Birds of America‘ is the title of a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing paintings and scientific description of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838 in Edinburgh and London. The work consists of hand-colored, life-size prints made from engraved plates measuring around 39 by 26 inches. In December of 2010 a copy sold at auction for £7.3 million. The original edition is often regarded as the greatest picture book ever produced. 161 subscribers paid $1,000 each for what ended up to be four volumes.
There are only 11 copies held in private collections out of 119 thought to still exist and it is estimated that out of the top ten most expensive books, five of them would be copies of ‘Birds of America.’ In 2007 the book was the subject of an exhibition by the Teylers Museum (the oldest museum in the Netherlands), which owns a copy it ordered from the original subscription, along with the table sold to house and display it. The book’s subsections fit into special drawers around a fly-leaf table; the table formed the centerpiece for gatherings of the Teyler’s gentleman’s society of science. A low-resolution version of ‘Birds of America’ can be viewed on the Audubon website.
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December 6, 2010
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) or brown fat is one of two types of fat or adipose tissue (the other being white adipose tissue) found in mammals. It is especially abundant in newborns and in hibernating mammals. Its primary function is to generate body heat without requiring the body to shiver. In contrast to white adipocytes (fat cells), which contain a single lipid droplet, brown adipocytes contain numerous smaller droplets and a much higher number of mitochondria, which contain iron and make it brown. Brown fat also contains more capillaries than white fat, since it has a greater need for oxygen than most tissues.
Typically, mammals generate heat by shivering. Low temperatures signal muscle groups around vital organs begin to shake in small movements in an attempt to create warmth by expending energy. It produces heat because the conversion of the chemical energy (food) into kinetic energy (motion) is not 100% efficient, causing some of the energy to show up as heat. Brown fat cells use their mitochondria to convert chemical energy directly into heat by altering the movement of protons that pass through them. It was discovered recently that some adults retain a portion of their juvenile brown fat deposits.
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December 4, 2010
‘Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies’ is a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at UCLA. The book’s title is a reference to the means by which European nations conquered populations of other areas and maintained their dominance, despite often being vastly outnumbered – superior weapons provided immediate military superiority (guns); Eurasian diseases weakened and reduced local populations, making it easier to maintain control over them (germs) and centralized government promoted nationalism and powerful military organizations (steel).
The book attempts to explain why Eurasian civilizations (including North Africa) have survived and conquered others, while attempting to refute the belief that Eurasian hegemony is due to genetic superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies originate in environmental differences, which are amplified by various positive feedback loops. When cultural or genetic differences have favored Eurasians (for example Chinese centralized government, or improved disease resistance among Eurasians), these advantages were only created due to the influence of geography and were not inherent in the Eurasian genomes.
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December 3, 2010
The Red Book, also known as Liber Novus (Latin for New Book), is a 205-page manuscript written and illustrated by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung between approximately 1914 and 1930, which was not published or shown to the public until 2009. It contain some of his most personal material, and during the sixteen years he worked on it, Jung developed his theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and individuation. Until 2001, his heirs denied scholars access to the book.
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December 3, 2010
Carl Gustav Jung [yoong] (1875 – 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker, and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is often considered the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is ‘by nature religious’ and to explore it in depth. Though not the first to analyze dreams, he has become perhaps one of the most well known pioneers in the field of dream analysis. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life’s work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.
He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy. Individuation was the central concept of analytical psychology. Many pioneering psychological concepts were originally proposed by Jung, including the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, the Complex, and synchronicity. A popular psychometric instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), has been principally developed from Jung’s theories.
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December 1, 2010
Pith is a substance that is found in vascular plants. It consists of soft, spongy cells, and is located either in the center of the stem or the center of the roots in flowering plants. It is encircled by a ring of xylem (woody tissue), and outside that, a ring of phloem (bark tissue). In some plants the pith is solid, but for most it is soft. A few plants, such as walnuts, have distinctive chambered pith with numerous short cavities.
The word comes from the Old English word piþa, meaning substance, akin to Middle Dutch pit, meaning the pit of a fruit. The modern word pithy (concise and forcefully expressive) derives from it. The inner rind of citrus fruits and other hesperidium is also called pith. The pith and the peel are where about three quarters of the nutrients of an orange are. The pith itself is bitter and is usually added to marmalade or otherwise prepared to be eaten.
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The Daily Omnivore 