(C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Background and aims: To investigate the impact of a diet modeled on the traditional Cretan Mediterranean diet on metabolic control and vascular risk in type 2 diabetes.

Methods and results: Twenty-seven subjects (47-77 yrs) with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to consume either the intervention diet ad libitum or their usual diet for 12 weeks

and then cross over to the alternate diet. Most of the meals and staple foods for the intervention diet were provided. Lipids, glycemic variables, blood pressure, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, plasma carotenoids and body composition (anthropometry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) were assessed at baseline, and at the end of both diet periods. Dietary adherence CCI-779 was monitored using plasma carotenoid and fatty acid (FA) analysis, complemented by diet diaries. Compared with usual diet, on the ad PR 171 libitum Mediterranean intervention diet glycosylated haemoglobin fell from 7.1% (95% CI: 6.5-7.7) to 6.8% (95% CI: 6.3-7.3) (p = 0.012) and diet quality improved significantly [plant: animal (g/day) food ratio increased

from 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1-1.5) to 5.4 (95% CI: 4.3 - 6.6) (p < 0.001)], plasma lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin increased (36% and 25%, respectively), plasma saturated and trans FAs decreased, and mono-unsaturated FAs increased.”
“The magneto-caloric effect (MCE) is a possible route to more efficient heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings. The search for improved materials is important to the development of a viable MCE based heat pump technology. We have calculated the magnetic structure of a candidate MCE material: Ni2MnGa. The density of magnetic states was calculated with

the Wang Landau statistical method utilizing energies fit to those of the locally self-consistent multiple scattering method. The relationships between the density of magnetic states and the field induced adiabatic temperature change and the isothermal entropy change are discussed. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3562199]“
“Patients with epilepsy are at risk of traffic accidents when they have seizures while driving. However, driving is an essential part HSP990 in vitro of normal daily life in many communities, and depriving patients of driving privileges can have profound consequences for their economic and social well-being. In the current study, we collected ictal performance data from a driving simulator and two other video games in patients undergoing continuous video/EEG monitoring. We captured 22 seizures in 13 patients and found that driving impairment during seizures differed in terms of both magnitude and character, depending on the seizure type. Our study documents the feasibility of a prospective study of driving and other behaviors during seizures through the use of computer-based tasks.