A team of researchers has identified a molecule with anti-inflammatory properties in maple syrup.

Arthritis and other inflammatory diseases could someday be treated with medication containing the molecule quebecol from maple syrup.

Discovered in 2011, quebecol is the result of chemical reactions during the syrup-making process that transform the naturally occurring polyphenols in maple sap. After successfully synthesizing quebecol and its derivatives, Universite Laval researchers under the supervision of Normand Voyer, a chemist with the Faculty of Science and Engineering, evaluated its anti-inflammatory properties.

They called on colleague Daniel Grenier, who developed an in vitro model for determining the anti-inflammatory potential of natural molecules. "We take blood cells called macrophages and put them with bacterial toxins," explained Professor Grenier. "Macrophages usually react by triggering an inflammatory response. But if the culture medium contains an anti-inflammatory molecule, this response is blocked."

The researchers carried out tests that showed quebecol curbs the inflammatory response of macrophages, and some derivatives are even more effective than the original molecule.

"The most powerful derivative has a simpler structure and is easier to synthesize than quebecol," said Normand Voyer. "This paves the way for a whole new class of anti-inflammatory agents, inspired by quebecol, that could compensate for the low efficacy of certain treatments while reducing the risk of side effects."

The study is published in the journal Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Parents, take note! Children tend to consume more calories after playing online games that involve food, a new study has found.

Researchers found that shortly after playing a game with an embedded food advertisement, children ate 55 per cent more of the candy offered to them than children who had played a game with an embedded toy advertisement.

At least once a week, two thirds of all children of primary-school age will play an internet game that was created to draw attention to a brand, researchers said.

Most of these advertisements are for snacks and candy.

Only 6 per cent of these children are aware that such advergames are advertisements.

Such games do affect their behaviour, said Frans Folkvord, from Radboud University in The Netherlands.

Folkvord tested the effects of such hidden online food advertisements on the eating behaviour of more than 1,000 children.

"In contrast to television, where the clearly delimited blocks of commercials can help viewers guard against temptation, on the internet, advertising is mixed with other types of content," said Folkvord.

"The websites of food manufacturers contain games, which also offer children the option of sharing games with their friends," he said.

Folkvord found that children do not recognise the games as advertisements, even when brand names and logos are clearly visible.

Moreover, it does not matter whether the games are about candy or fruit - children eat more candy after playing a game involving food.

During the five-minute break after playing the food-related games, children ate 72 more calories than did children in the control conditions.

Although Folkvord found no link between eating candy and having a higher BMI two years later, choosing the snack did have an effect.

The BMIs of children who chose to satisfy their hunger with an apple instead of with candy were lower two years later than were those of children who had chosen to satisfy their hunger with candy.

"These children had apparently learned to make healthier choices," Folkvord said.

"Children play a game, get hungry and reach for treats.

As the cycle continues, children fail to learn healthy eating behaviour," said Folkvord.

"The results of my study indicate that these advertisements have an even heavier influence on children who are already overweight," he said.

Men with moustaches significantly outnumber women in academic medical leadership positions in the US, says a study.

Thirteen percent of department leader positions at top academic medical institutions in the US are held by women, while nearly 20 percent are held by men with mustaches, the findings showed.

"The lack of women in leadership roles in medicine is well-documented, but despite the eccentricities of the study, our results show that even when you focus solely on men with mustaches - which are rare - women are still outnumbered across various specialties," said lead author Mackenzie Wehner from the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The number of women in medicine has risen significantly in recent times. Almost 50 percent of US medical students are women, but the proportion of women in academic medicine is still low with only 21 percent full professors being women, the study pointed out.

The lack of women in leadership positions is a problem because of the "strong ethical argument for equality", the researchers said.

They analysed 1,018 medical department leaders by searching the institutional websites of the selected medical schools to identify leaders, such as the chair, chief or head of each specialty.

In the study, the number of women was compared to the number of men with moustaches in academic medical leadership positions.

The team looked at moustaches because these are rare, and wanted to see if women were even rarer. The team measured the proportion of women and men with moustaches across institutions and specialties.

Results showed that women accounted for 13 percent of department leader positions, while moustachioed men accounted for 19 percent of department leader positions.

Only five specialties had more than 20 percent women department leaders, and they were obstetrics and gynaecology, pediaetrics, dermatology, family medicine, and emergency medicine.

The study was published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal).

Intensive bouts of exercise can lead to significant and progressive decline in sleep quality, says a new study.

The researchers also found that a high carbohydrate regime reduces some, but not all, of the effects of hard training.

For the study, the scientists from Loughborough University in England studied the effects of two nine-day periods of heavy training on 13 highly trained cyclists.

The researchers monitored the athletes' moods, sleep patterns and performance before, during and after exercise.

To determine whether diets could counter the effects of any sleep deprivation, the athletes were also given high or moderate amounts of carbohydrate throughout the study, though none of them knew which.

The researchers discovered that even as little as nine days of intense training can cause 'significant and progressive decline in sleep quality'.

"Sleep efficiency was significantly reduced during the intensified training period," the researchers observed, with the number of times the athletes woke throughout the night significantly increased.

They also noticed that the athletes' moods and capacity for exercise both worsened over the period of observation.

As for the additional carbohydrates, the team concluded that a high carbohydrate regime reduced some, but not all, of the effects of hard training.

The study appeared in the Journal of Sports Sciences.

Adolescence is a time when many children may consider experimenting with alcohol or drugs. A new research shows parents can reduce that risk by maintaining a healthy and open relationship with their children.

"Adolescents are more likely to drink or use drugs if they hang out with deviant friends or if they actively seek out peers to facilitate substance use," said study's lead author Thomas Schofield from Iowa State University in the US.

"Parents who know what's going on with their children and their friends can minimize the impact of both pathways," Schofield added.

Nearly 675 children were included in the study.

Researchers observed mothers and fathers separately as they interacted with their children in fifth grade and again in seventh grade.

Their data shows that for many, this age range is a starting point or baseline for alcohol, tobacco and drug use. It's also a time when parents may be caught off guard by changes in their child's behaviour, if they don't have a strong foundation established, Schofield said.

He added: "Preadolescence and early adolescence is not a particularly risky time; it's just the best time to get kids on board with collaborating, communicating with their parents and creating that relationship earlier."

This indicates that more than genetics is at play, and parents can make a difference in influencing their child's behaviour, Schofield said.