“Elderly who eat better” Have more fruit & vegetables in their Diet stay mentally sharp: A new study shows
Elderly people with higher levels of certain vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood score better on mental acuity tests than those who eat junk food, a new study has shown.
The study published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, also showed that eating better could help reduce the brain shrinkage commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“This approach clearly shows the biological and neurological activity that’s associated with actual nutrient levels, both good and bad,” said Maret Traber, a principal investigator at the Linus Pauling Institute and study co-author.
Researchers at the institute at Oregon State University conducted the study, one of the first of its kind, along with scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
The study, carried out among 104 people at an average age of 87,specifically measured a wide range of blood nutrient levels instead of basing results on food questionnaires, which are less precise and less reliable.
“The vitamins and nutrients you get from eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables and fish can be measured in blood biomarkers,” Traber said.
“I’m a firm believer these nutrients have strong potential to protect your brain and make it work better.”
Researchers noted the positive effects of high levels of vitamins B, C, D and E, as well as the healthy oils most commonly found in fish, on mental quickness and brain size.
Those with a higher intake of trans-fats — commonly found in fried foods, fast foods and other less healthy diet options — did not perform as well on cognitive tests.
Researchers found that while age and education affected performance on the cognitive tests, nutrient status accounted for 17 percent of the variation in scores, and 37 percent of the differences in brain volume.
Of those who took part in the study, seven percent showed a vitamin B12 deficiency, and 25 percent did not have enough vitamin D in their systems.
Scientists tested 30 different nutrient biomarkers. In addition, 42 participants had MRI scans to measure their brain volume.
“These findings are based on average people eating average American diets,” Traber said.
“If anyone right now is considering a New Year’s resolution to improve their diet, this would certainly give them another reason to eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Study co-author Gene Bowman of the Oregon Health and Science University added while results needed to be confirmed, “it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet.”
Junior Cert could be called ‘Stars’
(School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System)
‘Stars’ 
The Junior Cert is out and the STARS could be in.
Students have been preparing a report on potential new names for the reformed Junior Cycle.
The report includes a number of potential names including STARS (School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System) and ICA (Irish Comprehensive Assessment).
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has welcomed the suggestions.
The report also showed that students are in favour of the proposed reforms and particularly like the emphasis on active learning and the changed approach to assessment.
Some of the feedback included the following points:
Students were enthusiastic about learning changing from rote learning.
- They were enthusiastic about learning more practical skills.
- The overall reaction to the new curriculum was “extremely positive”.
- Students were concerned that students who go through the new junior cycle will not have to do the current senior cycle.
- Students were also positive about the fact that 40 per cent of the marks in traditional subjects would be awarded for portfolio work, which they felt would reduce the stress of exams.
- The vast majority wanted the new curriculum to have a new name – suggestions included ICA (Irish Comprehensive/Certificate Assessment) and IPATS (Irish proficiency assessments for third year students).
Multi-Pack size Crisp wrapper
blockage in chimney killed Sligo family
Mult-pack size
A plastic crisp wrapper thrown on to the dying embers of a fire caused the deaths of a father and his two children, Irish investigators now believe.
Trevor Wallwork, his daughter Kimberley (12) and his son Harry (9) were found dead at their home outside the south Sligo village of Gurteen 12 days ago.
It has been learned that a large plastic wrapper from a crisp multi-pack caused a blockage and sent the deadly fumes into the living room where the family was watching television.
Mr Wallwork (50) was found dead on a chair and his children were found lying on the floor. Kimberley was beside a Christmas list she had written, detailing presents she planned to buy.
Gardai and fire officers spent almost three days investigating the deaths. A post mortem found all three had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
One source confirmed: “The investigators have looked at every aspect of this incident and believe the Wallworks were killed by fumes from the fire in the living room – and that those fumes were caused by a blockage in the chimney created by a plastic crisp wrapper.”
Fresh details of the incident emerged last night as 400 people gathered for a memorial service for the family in Sligo. The children’s stepmother Susan made the short journey from Sligo General Hospital – where she is being treated for cancer – to the chapel at Nazareth House for last night’s service.
She sat just a few feet from the coffin of her husband and the two white coffins of her stepchildren during the service conducted by the parish priest of Gurteen, Fr Joe Caufield and Methodist Minister Stephen Taylor.
Holding her hand was her daughter Vicky, who had found the bodies at the family home in the townland of Moygara.
Three of Mr Wallwork’s brothers travelled from Lancashire for the service and one of them, Charlie, thanked locals for their support in recent days.
“Having met the people of Gurteen, I can now understand why Trevor settled in this community,” he said.
Kevin Gallagher, principal of Mullaghroe National School where Harry and Kim were pupils, shook with emotion as he described how they had contributed to life there.
Harry, he said, had become an accomplished bodhran player.
“A couple of weeks ago the teacher remarked that Harry was a natural player. Harry heard this and his face just lit up with pride,” said Mr Gallagher.
His sister was always looking out for him, making sure he had everything he needed.
“A few weeks ago Sligo Rovers brought the FAI Cup to the school and the first picture taken on the new school camera was of Kimberley and Harry lifting the cup.
“I was going to give the picture to Kimberley as a present when she left the school next year but now it will take pride of place in the school instead.
“Kimberley told me that she lived at ‘Forget me Not’ cottage. This is so apt because I will never forget her and Harry.”
School friends of the children read prayers and mourners heard Fr Caufield say that “an accident so simple” had plunged “their nearest and dearest, family and friends into darkness”.
The memorial service ended with the Gurteen choir singing Silent Night as mourners signed a book of condolences.
The Wallworks will be taken to England in two weeks for burial.
Gardai now believe their deaths were accidental but will not make a statement until toxicology reports on the bodies are returned.
2011 Tourism numbers see the first rise in four years
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation has said overseas visitors to Ireland increased by 7% this year – the first rise in four years.
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation has said overseas visitors to Ireland increased by 7% in 2011 – the first increase in four years.
In its end of year review, the confederation also says that growth in the numbers employed in the sector returned, with 6,000 jobs added after seasonal adjustments over the last two quarters.
2011 has marked a turning point for the Irish tourism industry despite the challenging economic outlook.
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation estimates that arrivals from mainland Europe are up 10% while there has been an 8% increase in visitors from North America.
Demand for escorted coach tours from the USA was particularly buoyant in 2011, with numbers above their peak levels of 2007. In a further boost for the industry, Dublin Port welcomed a record 87 cruise liners this year.
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation says the industry has proved its resilience but it warns that it is still a long way off the level of demand enjoyed in 2007, the record year for Irish tourism.
GARDAÍ Appeal to those most at risk after road deaths (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Gardai are encouraging all pedestrians and cyclists to wear high-visibility clothing at all times
GARDAÍ HAVE launched a new appeal for pedestrians and cyclists to be aware of their vulnerability on the road after the deaths of seven people on Irish roads – including three pedestrians – since last Friday.
The warning came as it emerged yesterday that the Garda Traffic Corps had been reduced from 1,250 personnel to about 900, a change prompting Road Safety Authority chairman Gay Byrne to claim there would be more road fatalities.
Assistant Garda Commissioner John Twomey said despite the cut in numbers, An Garda Síochána would remain “absolutely committed to enforcing the Road Traffic Act”.
Speaking yesterday on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, Mr Twomey said although resources were reduced, the Garda Traffic Corps had developed better ways of enforcing road safety measures.
“We have a detailed analysis of the road fatalities . . . 55 per cent of our fatalities happen on weekends and 40 per cent of those are between 10pm and 6am, and that is when we target our enforcement,” he said.
Mr Twomey labelled Mr Byrne’s assessment of the situation as a “simple and crude deduction to make”.
The death of a man in his 70s yesterday afternoon following a two-car collision at Gaultier Cross, Dunmore East, Co Waterford, brought to seven the number of fatalities on Irish roads since last Friday.
Earlier yesterday, gardaí issued an appeal for witnesses following the death of a pedestrian in Co Kildare.
The dead man, in his 30s, was hit by a car on the R403 road in Baybush, Straffan, shortly before 10pm on Tuesday.
The female driver of the car was uninjured.
The man is the third pedestrian to have been killed on the roads since St Stephen’s Day.
Aaron Moore (23), from Celbridge, Co Kildare, died after he was struck by a car while walking along the N4 at Clongowney, Co Westmeath, on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Michael Doran (69), of Templemore, Co Tipperary, died following an incident the previous evening at St Nessan’s Road in Dooradoyle, Co Limerick.
In their appeal to vulnerable road users, gardaí are encouraging all pedestrians and cyclists to wear high-visibility clothing at all times.
Irish people make up more than half of 76,400 emigrants
THE NUMBER of Irish people moving to Britain, Canada, New Zealand, the US and Australia increased over the last year as the flat economy and jobs market continued to drive emigration.
New figures show a 56 per cent rise in the number of British national insurance numbers issued to Irish people over the last year, and that the number of temporary Irish residents in Australia increased by almost one-third.
They also show the number of Canadian visas issued to Irish citizens in the first half of this year exceeded the total for all of 2010, and that in the second half of this year Irish workers were arriving in New Zealand at an average rate of more than 400 per month.
Figures from five of the most likely destinations for Irish emigrants are in line with recent data from the Central Statistics Office which shows 76,400 people emigrated from Ireland in the year to the end of April, an increase of 16.9 per cent. The data indicates that, for the first time since the recession began, more than half of those who left Ireland during the year were Irish citizens.
A total of 40,200 Irish citizens emigrated in the year to April, up from 27,700 in 2009/10 and 18,400 in 2008/09. There was also a 43 per cent increase in the number of women emigrating to 17,100.
Dr Mary Gilmartin, of the NUI Maynooth department of geography, said the spike in female emigrants could partly be attributed to reduced public sector recruitment – with work difficult to find in professions such as teaching and nursing.
There was also a rise in the number of Irish returning to the State in the same period (up 3,800 to 17,000) but net outward migration among Irish people increased by 60 per cent from 14,400 to 23,100 year on year.
Britain and Australia remain the most regular landing points for Irish emigrants with the numbers seeking work in Britain last year rising significantly.
Some 16,130 national insurance numbers were issued to Irish citizens in the 12 months to the end of March, a 56 per cent increase on the previous year.
In Australia, the number of temporary Irish residents increased by 6,193 to 20,493 in the first six months of this year. There was a rise of 3,311 in the number of working holidaymakers, aged between 18 and 30, in the six months to the end of June to 12,945.
The number of Irish people employed on sponsored skilled work (long stay) visas increased by 2,877 in the six months to the end of June to 7,421, highlighting that more Irish emigrants are filling posts where skill deficits exist.
Canada issued 3,869 work permits to Irish citizens in the first six months of this year, more than the 3,729 it issued during all of 2010.
This continues a steady growth in Irish workers relocating to Canada with 3,047 permits issued in 2009 and 2,617 in 2008.
The US issued a total of 17,755 non-immigrant visas – covering students’ work programmes, intra-company transfers and other temporary workers – in the 11 months to December, a 22 per cent increase on the previous year.
A total of 306 immigrant visas were issued to Irish people in the 11 months to December, a slight increase on the previous year. Irish immigrant groups in the US also reported an increase in the number of undocumented Irish who remained in the country after their visas expired.
New Zealand’s department of labour said a total of 4,400 Irish people were granted work permits in the year to the end of June, up 10 per cent. Year-long working holiday visas accounted for about 60 per cent of the total.
More recent figures from New Zealand, for the five months to December 4th, suggest the number of Irish people arriving is on course to increase again, with a total of 2,092 work permits granted in the period.
Philip O’Connell, research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, said current projections indicated a further 75,000 or so people would emigrate next year.
He said migration was driven by the labour market and economic factors and the numbers leaving were unlikely to decline until there is sustained economic growth and a significant drop in the unemployment rate, which currently stands at 14.4 per cent.
Mary did have a little lamb. Well yes for real?
There was an unexpected injection of life into a nativity display in the United States when a real-life lamb was born on Christmas Eve.
In a new take on the Christmas tale, which not even the Monty Python lads managed to think of, a sheep which formed part of the live-action nativity set gave birth to a particularly festive lamb.
The live crib has been on show at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati in recent weeks.
According to the local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, both mother and, er, lamb are doing well.
Continuing the Christmas theme, the chief sheep-namers at the Krohn Conservatory are considering sticking the monicker “Merry” on the little ‘un, which may well be the nearest thing to an actual lamb of God that anyone will ever see.
Cheetah the chimp, possible star of Tarzan films, dies at 80
IF TARZAN’S co-star had been human, it’s safe to assume that news of his demise would have been greeted with glowing tributes, a Hollywood funeral and perhaps a retrospective season of his greatest cinematic moments.
As it was, the death of an 80-year-old chimpanzee called Cheetah was announced quietly by the Florida animal sanctuary where he had spent the past five decades in retirement. There was no grand send-off for the venerable Cheetah. Even his role as Johnny Weissmuller’s regular primate sidekick remains shrouded in mystery.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor claims the primate arrived there in 1960 and was donated by Weissmuller’s own estate. He is believed to have been born in 1930 or 1931 and was one of a number of chimpanzees whose owners vied to have recognised as the genuine movie-star Cheeta (with no “h” at the end of its name). The situation is further complicated by the fact that the original star of films such as 1932’s Tarzan the Ape Man and 1934’s Tarzan and His Mate was probably a composite of several animals.
According to the sanctuary, Cheetah was an outgoing chimp who loved humans. Yet like many Hollywood stars, he could also be temperamental. Sanctuary volunteer Ron Priest conceded the animal had a habit of throwing his faeces when discontent.
“When he didn’t like somebody or something that was going on, he would pick up some poop and throw it at them,” Priest said. “He could get you at 30 feet with bars in between.”
One Hollywood star who did mark the potential star’s passing was actor Mia Farrow, whose mother, Maureen O’Sullivan, played Jane in six Tarzan movies. “My mom, who played Jane, invariably referred to Cheetah as ‘that bastard’,” said Farrow.
If he died at 80, Cheetah’s long lifespan would have made him one of the oldest chimpanzees in history. Even in captivity, the animals rarely live past 50.
The character was created especially for the Weissmuller Tarzan films and did not appear in the original books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Another Cheeta, this time with no “h”, was exposed as a fake in 2008 by Washington Post journalist RD Rosen, who had been asked to write a biography of him. In later years, the fake Cheeta had found himself marketed as a painter of “ape-stract art”, with several canvases exhibited at London’s National Gallery.
However, with a little investigation, Rosen discovered that the cigar-smoking, paint-daubing impostor was in fact born in 1960 or 1961 and had never been in a Tarzan film.
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