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Showing posts from February, 2010

Scents and sensibility

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It's the too-good-to-be-true weight-loss system that's taking America by storm, and its manufacturers hope to launch it here in the next few months. Sensa lets you eat exactly what you want, when you want it and in the quantities you desire. And it still claims to help you shed around 5lb (2.3kg) every month. It achieves the impossible, its makers say, by making sure the quantities you desire are not very great. Sensa comes as granules that are added to every meal and snack you eat. Put simply, the Sensa "sprinkles" are designed to enhance the sensory experience of eating, stimulating taste and smell to an extent that fools the brain into thinking you've eaten more than you have. Users have reported the novel experience of happily leaving food untouched on their plates. Depending on which expert you talk to, taste is between 75 and 90pc about smell, and Sensa is not the only new product on the market in the States that claims to exploit the apparent connection...
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Landfill odour

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A judgment will be given next week on an EPA application for an injunction preventing A1 Waste from disposing waste at a landfill in Kerdiffstown, Naas, Co Kildare. A1 Waste is the largest firm in Dublin dealing in construction and demolition waste. It also collects commercial and some household waste. In 2003, the EPA granted Neiphin Trading, a company associated with A1 Waste, a waste licence to operate a landfill in Kerdiffstown. Advertisement SC for the EPA, Nuala Butler, said the Agency is concerned that the Neiphin facility is causing serious environmental pollution because of strong odours from landfill gas and odours from composting activities. She said the agency had received 312 complaints since last August from residents and from the GPA Golf Club, which is located next door to the facility. In one affidavit, a resident, Robert Dunleavy, who lives 2km from the landfill said smells from the facility had become unbearable and that he and his wife were in the process...
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It's the too-good-to-be-true weight loss 'system' that's taking America by storm, and its manufacturers hope to launch it here in the next few months. Sensa lets you eat exactly what you want, when you want it, and in the quantities you desire. And it still claims to help you shed around 5lb every month. It achieves the impossible – its makers say – by making sure the quantities you desire are not very great. Sensa comes as granules that are added to every meal and snack you eat. Put simply, the Sensa "sprinkles" are designed to enhance the sensory experience of eating, stimulating taste and smell to an extent that fools the brain into thinking you've eaten more than you have. Users have reported the novel experience of happily leaving food untouched on their plates. Depending on which expert you talk to, taste is between 75 and 90 per cent about smell, and Sensa is not the only new product on the market in the States that claims to exploit the apparent connection between strong smells and smaller appetites. SlimScents are pens filled with fruity or minty smells, sniffed before meals. Aroma Patch is vanilla scented and worn permanently, like a nicotine patch. All boast scientific validity. A limited number of studies have been done. Dr Alan Hirsch, the scientist behind Sensa, conducted his own research in 2005 on what would later become Sensa granules. The study followed over 1,400 subjects over a six-month period, and recorded an average weight loss of 30.5lb, and a five-point drop in Body Mass Index. Kimberly Tobman, a spokeswoman for Sensa, says those results have since been duplicated in a smaller study carried out by an independent laboratory. And last year Dr Bryan Raudenbush, an associate professor of psychology at the Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, conducted a small study which found that subjects who regularly sniffed a peppermint aroma consumed, on average, 1,800 calories fewer over the course of a week than normal. Raudenbush is not convinced by the miraculous claims of Sensa and others, and suggests we take them "with a grain of salt and cautiousness". But he does think something is going on. "From what we have found in other studies, peppermint scent can distract you from painful stimulation," he says. In one of them, participants held their hands in cold water for prolonged periods. "Participants who were administered peppermint scent held their hand in the water for a longer period of time and rated the pain as less severe." He believes that something similar may be at work in the appetite experiments: strong smells are distracting participants from physical discomfort, whether that means pain or hunger. Professor Tim Jacob, an expert in smell and taste at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences, is more sceptical of the connection between strong scents and weight loss, not least because we tend to get habituated to smells very quickly. But he thinks the idea that scents can distract us from pain or allow us to endure more of it is valid. "The olfactory (sense of smell) system and pain share some brain networks and it's thought that the positive consequences of experiencing pleasant or familiar odours offsets pain to a measurable extent," he says. In fact, there's increasing excitement in the scientific community about the power of our sense of smell, and what consequences this may have for psychological and physiological health. Though much of the research is in its infancy, various studies have shown that scents like peppermint, vanilla and coffee may have therapeutic effects. In a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, for example, researchers at the University of Tokyo found that inhaling Linalool, a natural chemical found in flowers and spices, significantly reduced stress levels in rats. And a study at Tubingen University in Germany showed that vanilla fragrance reduced the startle reflex, making us calmer. Scientists involved in this research are keen to distance themselves from what many see as the quack principles of aromatherapy – the complimentary therapy that recommends administering pleasant smells for anything from cancer to the common cold – which Professor Jacob calls "nonsense". But Jacob and others in the field of olfactory research believe the connection between smell and memory – and the associative power of odour – represents a hugely promising avenue of investigation. "Using conditioned association we could use smell therapeutically, to treat sleep problems, anxiety, blood pressure, etc; and even clinically, possibly for immune system pathologies, intractable medical conditions, for example lower back pain; and use it for drug rehabilitation," says Jacob. "Smell, once conditioned, can re-evoke a psychophysiological state. It relies upon the association of smell and memory." That might sound ambitious, but it's exactly what Jacob and colleagues are researching in his Cardiff lab at the moment. To put it simply, if you associate a certain odour with a particular state of mind – being relaxed, for example, or positive – you may be able to recreate that state of mind, at least to some extent, by simply introducing the associated smell. In fact, many of the powers ascribed to the scent of vanilla could be down to the link between memory and smell. Vanilla is a universally positive childhood aroma – holiday ice creams, perhaps, or the smell of baking on cosy Sunday afternoons. Recreating positive childhood emotions may explain vanilla's oft-vaunted powers of relaxation or stress relief. And, as Professor Jacob suggests, it may be possible to programme smell associations for particular therapeutic tasks. In the most famous study of this kind, healthy male volunteers were injected with insulin every day for four days and their blood sugar fell. At the same time, they were exposed to a smell. On the fifth day they were just given the smell, and their blood sugar still fell. Such findings hold out the promise of some pretty mind- boggling medical advances, from diabetics with inhalers instead of injections, to insomniacs cured by a smell they associate with sleepiness. We're not quite there yet, but as Jacob says, "watch this space".

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A judgment will be given next week on an EPA application for an injunction preventing A1 Waste from disposing waste at a landfill in Kerdiffstown, Naas, Co Kildare. A1 Waste is the largest firm in Dublin dealing in construction and demolition waste. It also collects commercial and some household waste. In 2003, the EPA granted Neiphin Trading, a company associated with A1 Waste, a waste licence to operate a landfill in Kerdiffstown. SC for the EPA, Nuala Butler, said the Agency is concerned that the Neiphin facility is causing serious environmental pollution because of strong odours from landfill gas and odours from composting activities. She said the agency had received 312 complaints since last August from residents and from the GPA Golf Club, which is located next door to the facility. In one affidavit, a resident, Robert Dunleavy, who lives 2km from the landfill said smells from the facility had become unbearable and that he and his wife were in the process of moving hous...
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If smell improves our mood, could it also be an effective treatment for everything from obesity to sleeping problems? The answer is right under our noses, says Hugh Wilson

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It's the too-good-to-be-true weight loss 'system' that's taking America by storm, and its manufacturers hope to launch it here in the next few months. Sensa lets you eat exactly what you want, when you want it, and in the quantities you desire. And it still claims to help you shed around 5lb every month. It achieves the impossible – its makers say – by making sure the quantities you desire are not very great. Sensa comes as granules that are added to every meal and snack you eat. Put simply, the Sensa "sprinkles" are designed to enhance the sensory experience of eating, stimulating taste and smell to an extent that fools the brain into thinking you've eaten more than you have. Users have reported the novel experience of happily leaving food untouched on their plates. Depending on which expert you talk to, taste is between 75 and 90 per cent about smell, and Sensa is not the only new product on the market in the States that claims to exploit the apparen...
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Time to sniff out sewage works stench

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Members of Northampton Borough Council investigated the problem of smells from the Lower Ecton Lane sewage works last year and believed the problem had been resolved. But during a meeting at the Guildhall, they were told the issue had reared its head again. The member for the area, Councillor Christopher Malpas (Con, Billing), said: "People are getting an horrendous smell that only lasts for between two and 10 minutes, so by the time people come out to check it, it's not there. "They're getting that a lot more than the prolonged smells they had before." The council committee was told that during 2009, there had been a total of 14 complaints about smells from the sewage works. Councillor Dennis Meredith (Lib Dem, Thorplands), who visited the sewage works a number of times last year to monitor the smell as part of a council investigation, said: "I'm not happy about this, 14 complaints is still too high and it's very worrying to me. "It...
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Dirty Sock Odour

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Do you get a mildew-type odour when your air conditioning system first starts up? From information gathered over many years, most professionals agree the "Dirty Sock Odour" is caused by a bacteria that collects and grows on the indoor coils of heat pumps and air conditioners. Complaints normally surface when heat pumps go into defrost, or when systems are run in heating for a brief time then switched back into cooling. The bacteria or odor collects and grows on the coil during this heating time and is released all at once when the indoor coil gets cool and damp. Heat pump owners notice the odour when the system goes into defrost, usually when the outdoor temperature dips below 4 degrees C. Heat pumps and air conditioners experience the problem, when the air conditioner is turned back on after the heating has been used. Our climate can require heating in the morning and cooling in the afternoon. This is a perfect condition for a complaint to surface. Most people descri...
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There’s a new nose in town to fix Fort Hamilton stink

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What in Bloomberg’s name is that rotten egg smell? After more than four years of failed city investigations into the mysterious odor along Fort Hamilton Parkway between 92nd and 101st streets, officials finally agreed to bring in an independent nose that will sniff out the problem. Workers from Webster Environmental Associates, which specializes in monitoring air and water flow from sewers, will be dealing with a formidable stench indeed — one so bad that some locals are considering moving away. “The odor is affecting residents’ quality of life all and despite city agencies’ best efforts, the cause is a mystery,” said Councilman Vince Gentile (D–Bay Ridge), who pushed for the city-funded inspector. “It’s high time that the nuisance is taken care of.” The funk began in 2006 after the city spent $6.9 million to connect sewer lines between Marine Avenue and 99th Street. Both the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Design and Construction launched counter-st...
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Councilor's plan hikes odor fines

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NEWBURYPORT — City councilors agreed last night to take more time to review a proposal by at-large Councilor Kathleen O'Connor Ives that would allow the city's health director to impose thousands of dollars in fines on any party that violates rules and regulations by creating air pollution — or, in the case of the landfill, odors from the emission of hydrogen sulfide. In a measure submitted to councilors at the start of the meeting, O'Connor Ives removed an emergency preamble to her bill that would have allowed councilors to skip the steps of referring the measure to their subcommittees. The state Department of Environmental Protection would need to approve the measure, O'Connor Ives said. O'Connor Ives instead asked the bill be sent to the council's General Government and Planning and Development subcommittees. Members of the city's Board of Health, new health agent Robert Bracey, and representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection...
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Raising a stink

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A BROOKLYN composting company found guilty of leaking offensive odours was ordered to pay $40,000. SITA Australia Pty Ltd appeared in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on 29 January charged with breaching its EPA licence over an incident that occurred in September 2008. The Court was told that Brooklyn residents had complained of an unbearable and sickening smell wafting from the site. EPA officers detected a strong odour of compost drifting from the site and found it was coming from the company’s green waste windows. EPA’s director of environmental services Bruce Dawson said the smell distressed many residents. “SITA is required under its EPA licence conditions to ensure odour is confined to the site,” Mr Dawson said. “Composting facilities need to have odour control measures in place, which prevent odour from impacting the broader community. EPA is working with these companies to identify and implement improved technologies for odour control.” The company pleaded guilty a...
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Bees choose key smells

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Every moment of every day the brain is forced to process thousands of separate odorants from the world around us. Through a new study of honeybees, scientists at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute have discovered the brain has an advanced ability to isolate specific odours and recollect smells. “There's a lot of information coming into the brain whenever a scent is detected and it would be difficult to process it all," lead researcher Dr Judith Reinhard said. "We've found that honeybees pick only a handful of so-called ‘key odorants' out of every complex aroma that they really learn. They may remember just two or three odorants from a couple of hundred, the rest are ignored." Colleague Dr Charles Claudianos said if you had to learn the hundreds of compounds your brain would be overwhelmed with information. "By choosing the key odorants, you can function more effectively without being swamped,” Dr Charles Claudianos said. The research, publis...
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cabbage odour methyl mercaptan

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Methanethiol is released from decaying organic matter in marshes and is present in the natural gas of certain regions, in coal tar, and in some crude oils. In surface seawater, methanethiol is the primary breakdown product of the algal metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Marine bacteria appear to obtain most of their protein sulfur by the breakdown of DMSP and incorporation of methanethiol, despite the fact that methanethiol is present in seawater at much lower concentrations than sulfate (~0.3 nM vs. 28 mM). Bacteria in oxic and anoxic environments can also convert methanethiol to dimethyl sulfide (DMS), although most DMS in surface seawater is produced by a separate pathway. Both DMS and methanethiol can be used by certain microbes as substrates for methanogenesis in some anoxic sediments. Methanethiol is a weak acid, with a pKa of ~10.4. This acidic property makes it reactive with dissolved metals in aqueous solutions. The environmental chemistry of these interactions in...
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