Wednesday 21 September 2022

Dungeness Crabs from Gulf of Mexico – Science 19

We visit seafood markets to have a look what might be interest us or to buy cooked foods, ready to consume seafood, just for sometimes.



Image 1- Dungeness Crabs in the market

We found Dungeness Crabs (Metacarcinus sp) in Asian Grocery, section of seafood recently. It was surprising for us.

Why?

As we knew Dungeness Crabs are living a lot in Alaska, then the question is: how they reach thousands km from Alaska to seafood market in our city, Baton Rouge, LA?

Another surprising that crabs still live in the market. They were crawling swimming in the tank.



Image 2- White flowers, illustration only



Image 3- Several Dungeness Crabs in the sea water tank.

No, the crabs are not transport from thousands of kilometers distance or from Northern state, Alaska to Southern state, our city, Baton Rouge, but they were caught from nearby area.

Our state has area called as Gulf of Mexico. Yes, Dungeness Crabs come from this ocean. Since not far away, the carbs are fresh.

Distribution of Dungeness Crabs is quite widespread. We may find in several states include: California, Oregon, and Mississippi. The crabs are also identified in Mexico.

Have you seen Dungeness Crabs

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Monday 19 September 2022

Why Should not We Take Aspirin Daily? - Part 2 - Healthy Life 24

You may read previous posting (Part 1):

- Why Should not We Take Aspirin Daily? - Part 1- Healthy Life 24



Image 1- Aspirin sold at Walmart OTC

Based on age, number of people who consumes Aspirin daily is almost triple in 40s than 70s:

- 40 years old, 29 million
- 70 years old, 10 million

On opposite, the main reason for people who does not want to take Aspirin daily is that:

- increasing risk of bleeding, especially to people above 70.



Image 2- A Southern Magnolia flower, illustration



Image 3- Crowd of people, just illustration

For people any ages, should not take Aspirin daily if they have certain diseases or disorders. Some of them:

- peptic ulcer disease.
- low blood platelet count
- bleeding disorder
- chronic kidney disease
- diabetes and high blood pressure.

Hence, it will be better to consult to physicians, even if we want to take very lower doses of Aspirin daily.

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Friday 16 September 2022

Asparagus Contains High Dietary Fiber – Food 23

We love to consume green vegetable frequently, one of them is Asparagus with scientific name Asparagus officinalis.



Image 1- A bunch of Asparagus

We always get this plant from nearby grocery with reasonable price.

As you might know that there are at least 3 forms (types or kinds) of fibers in the nature:

- prebiotic fiber
- insoluble fiber
- and soluble fiber

Many people call dietary fiber instead of prebiotic fiber which important for people health and well-being, especially in respect to intestine health.



Image 2- Cutting of Asparagus, ready to cook

Our gut has “bad” and “good” bacteria, then, the good bacteria “need” dietary fiber as their source of “food.”



Image 3- Adding Asparagus to meal

The good bacteria will make our digestive system healthier by producing nutrient to feed colon cells.

Nutrient contains some crucial fatty acids, especially short chain ones. They are (just for example):

- acetate
- propionate
- and butyrate.

Sure, there are many other health benefit to consume Asparagus. We will talk later on (in other posts).

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Wednesday 14 September 2022

Learning a New Language Against Alzheimer's Disease – Part 2 - Alzheimer's 9

You may read previous post (Part 1):

- Learning a New Language Against Alzheimer's Disease – Part 1 - Alzheimer's 9



Image 1- Learning Spanish.

Brian Gold, a neuroscientist found that people who bilingual since childhood are better at the high order thinking than monolingual seniors.

Craik and his colleagues conducted research for 211 patients who diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's in clinics at Baycrest, Toronto, Canada.

They classified the patients in two groups as:

- bilingual (102 patients)
- and as monolingual (109 patients).



Image 2- White flower

He said “We found that the bilingual patients had been diagnosed 4.3 years later and had reported the onset of symptoms 5.1 years later than the monolingual patients. Bilingualism thus appears to contribute to cognitive reserve, which acts to compensate for the effects of accumulated neuropathology”



Image 3- Learn French from Google Play

The data confirm that lifelong bilingualism give a protection against the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

How about learning a new language in adulthood?

Learning a second language increase the density of grey-matter” Michelli (2004) published his research in Nature. “The degree of structural organization in this region is modulated by proficiency attained and the age of acquisition”

To avoid cognitive decline, keep our brain healthy by applying “use it or lose it” with learning a new language.

Have you interested to learn a new language?

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Tuesday 13 September 2022

A Canadian Goose with a Broken Left Leg – Nature 39

When we were driving around our neighborhood about several days ago, we saw a flock of Canadian geese.



Image 1- A broken left leg.

Unfortunately, we noticed one goose with a broken left leg. We didn’t know the real caused of broken left leg.

Some neighbors told me that highly possibly, an irresponsible driver hit the goose, then run away.

We called our city Animal Control. No more than 30 minutes, the guy from animal control catch the bird.

He promised to take the bird to the Vet School in our city.



Image 2- Vegetable and fruit, illustration only



Image 3- A flock of Canadian geese

After one day, we contacted Vet School, happily, the woman answer the phone said that the goose with broken left leg still under their care.

We will be checking on its progress regularly.

We hope this beautiful bird recovers and is able to rejoin its mate as soon as possible.

We also hope the person who hit it experiences the kind of Karma they so richly deserve.

Finally, just to let you know that our state rules could charge up to US$ 10 thousands to whoever hit or killed the bird (wild birds).

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Monday 12 September 2022

Young Coconut Water as Folk Remedies – Part1

The weather was warm and nice. It was about 89 F (32 C) degree on that noon in the area.



Image 1- A tropical coconut tree

Scrolling down getaway advertisement for summer vacation, a beach with coconut trees looks like a great place to stay in during vacation.

Enjoy the warm weather, sitting down and leaning on a coconut tree with a book and drinking coconut water from the fresh young coconut.

No doubt about it, a book and coconut water. Coconut water is one of the refreshing beverages.

We know that this water is the liquid endosperm of coconut.



Image 2- Just for illustration



Image 3- Coconuts, sold in Walmart

The liquid is clear. It is not coconut milk. The coconut milk is almost similar to milk (cow milk) in term of its physical appearance.

Honestly, we use both milks for cooking purposes, especially when we didn’t have coconut milk.

Coconut water has nutritious and health benefits. Folks who live around the area with plenty coconut trees use water from young coconut as folk medicines.

They create nutritious beverages by using young coconut water.

# To be continued to Part 2

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Saturday 10 September 2022

What is the Reason Specific Plants to Trap Animals? – Science 18

I have posted about event of swap plants in our city garden. You may read the previous post:

- Swap Plants at Our City Botanical Garden



Image 1- One of Carnivorous plants

One of plants is interesting for me, called as “carnivorous plant" with scientific name Sarracenia sp.

One of well-known species in Louisiana is Sarracenia alata. There are at least 8 species in the USA, some of them are:

- yellow plants with scientific name Sarracenia flava.
- sweet trumpets, Sarracenia rubra.
- purple pitcher plants, Sarracenia purpurea.
- pale trumpets, S. alata.



Image 2- Crowd in the city garden

What make me wonder is that What is the “main reason” Specific Plants to Trap Animals?



Image 3- Picture of carnivorous plants

After searching through internet that the reason is to consume them. Generally, we know that animals eat plant, we call it “herbivorous.”

Then, why?

It is because soil “can’t support” their live. In evolutionary process, the plants then consume animals for nutrients they require for surviving.

Some nutrients taken from animals are:

- sulfur
- phosphorus and nitrogen

Finally, have you seen carnivorous plants nature?

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Short fast guide to propagation - Science 39

Plant propagation involves creating new plants from a single parent plant. Various methods can be used for propagating plants. Image 01 - Pl...