Maniolas

In this photo taken Feb. 25, 2014 by surveillance planes and released Thursday, May 15, 2014, by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, a Chinese vessel, top center, is used to expand structures and land on the Johnson Reef, called Mabini by the Philippines and Chigua by China, at the Spratly Islands at South China Sea, Philippines. The Philippines has protested China’s reclamation of land in the disputed reef in the South China Sea that can be used to build an airstrip or an offshore military base in the increasingly volatile region, the country’s top diplomat and other officials said Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The white arrow was added by the source. (MNS photo) MANILA (AFP) – The Philippines said Monday it has won support from Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei for a plan to ease tensions in the South China Sea which it intends to present at a regional meeting this week. China and several of its Southeast Asian neighbors are embroiled in increasingly bitter territorial disputes over the strategic sea which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. Manila’s plan calls for an immediate moratorium on activities which escalate tensions and implementation of a code of conduct in the sea, which is home to vital shipping routes and is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits. The plan, to be presented to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Myanmar this week, was raised during Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s recent visits to Brunei, Vietnam and Read More …

Science is getting closer to diet-less weight loss. A new study from the Yale School of Medicine brings the latest findings.©Gts /shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine say that preventing weight gain could be as simple as calming the activity of a nuclear receptor in a tiny area of the brain. Blocking the effects of the nuclear receptor PPARGamma in a small amount of brain cells in mice not only reduced the animals’ appetites, it increased their metabolism to a point where they could be described as “resistant to a high fat diet.” PPARGamma receptors reside in the POMS neurons in the brain’s hypothalamus lobe. The receptors control the POMS neurons, telling them when to switch on and off, thereby regulating the appetite. “These animals ate fat and sugar, and did not gain weight, while their control littermates did,” says lead author Sabrina Diano, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. “We showed that the PPARGamma receptor in neurons that produce POMC could control responses to a high-fat diet without resulting in obesity.” In the study, Diano and her team genetically engineered their mice to lack PPARGamma receptors. “When we blocked PPARgamma in these hypothalamic cells, we found an increased level of free radical formation in POMC neurons, and they were more active,” said Diano, also a professor of comparative medicine and neurobiology at Yale and director of the Reproductive Neurosciences Group. The findings indicate more than another Read More …

The fiery taste of chili peppers could benefit the gut.©Peter Bernik / shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – The active ingredient in chili peppers is called dietary capsaicin and researchers at the University of California in San Diego say it could provoke chronic activation of the intestinal lining, reducing the risk for colorectal tumors. Sensory neurons on the tongue contain a molecular pain receptor known as TRPV1 that distinguishes heat, acidity and spice. “These are all potentially harmful stimuli to cells,” says Eyal Raz, MD, professor of medicine and senior author of the study. “Thus, TRPV1 was quickly described as a molecular ‘pain receptor.’ This can be considered to be its conventional function, which all takes place in the nervous system.” In their study, which was conducted on mice, Raz and his team found that TRPV1 appears in the intestinal lining. Here, according to Raz, it gets activated by an element that encourages skin cell reproduction called EGFR. This is important because the epithelial lining of the intestine gets replaced every four to six days, even faster than the skin on the outside of the body, which replaces itself approximately once per month. In the study, which was conducted on mice, researchers found that intestinal tumors can appear when the balance of the two is offset. “A basic level of EGFR activity is required to maintain the normal cell turnover in the gut,” says Petrus de Jong, MD, first author of the study. “However, if EGFR signaling is left unrestrained, the risk of Read More …

LONDON, United Kingdom  – ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) explores the rich and varied stories of Pinoy expatriates in Europe in a new, monthly magazine program, Juan EU Konek. Airing every first Sunday of the month on TFC in Europe and Middle East and on TFC.tv worldwide,Juan EU Konek brings to life the passions, adventures and success stories of the Filipinos in Europe, in a 45-minute program hosted by ABS-CBN Europe’s news team of seasoned journalists – Danny Buenafe, Rose Eclarinal and Gene Alcantara. TFC Europe’s first foray into long-form, magazine reporting, Juan EU Konek delves deeper into the lives of Europe-based Filipinos, tackling both their political and social concerns, including immigration matters, as well as their lighter moments. ABS-CBN Europe and Middle East News Bureau Chief Danny Buenafe investigates the big issues that affect the Filipinos in Europe or the European Pinoy, such as the plight of migrant domestic workers in the UK and the impact of Spain’s economic crisis on Filipino families there. Senior Correspondent Rose Eclarinal, who also produces the show, shines a light on the lifestyles and success stories of the Filipinos in Europe, animating their triumphs and struggles to make it on the continent. Whether following the new Filipino leads of the West End revival of the hit musical “Miss Saigon”, or probing the psyche of Pinoy transsexuals in the UK, Eclarinal offers revealing portraits of Filipino life in Europe. Legal consultant and long-time community leader Gene Alcantara, meanwhile, hosts “Immigration 101”, a segment dedicated to immigration concerns for Europe-based Filipinos. The first Read More …

Students pray on the first day of classes at Casili Elementary School in Rodriguez, Rizal province, east of Manila June 2, 2014. Around 23 million students were present for the opening of the new school year in the Philippines, the Department of Education reported on Monday. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Ten percent of Filipino pupils have eye problems, but few of these are detected early, the Department of Health said Monday. Thus, as part of this month’s celebration of Sight Saving Month, the DOH is championing a program for school children to undergo vision screening to detect potential problems in their vision. Of the pupils with eye problems, one fourth which have amblyopia or “lazy eye,” and the rest have main error of refraction (EOR), said DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag. The National Survey of Blindness 2004 and PERI-DOH Vision Screening Preliminary Data 2014 showed the prevalence of amblyopia is from 1-3 percent; and EOR, from 3-15 percent. Amplyopia, Tayag said, is a condition of abnormal visual development in infancy and in early childhood. The affected eye will not develop normally if not treated before the child reaches age 7, and may even go blind. Underscoring the importance of the campaign for early and thorough visual screening for all children, Tayag said: “Vision is one of the, if not the most important of our senses.  Most of the information from the outside world is integrated through the visual pathways.  Vision problems can limit the ability of a child to Read More …