Pheromones in Male Perspiration Reduce Women's Tension, Alter Hormone Response that Regulates Menstrual Cycle

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that exposure to male perspiration has marked psychological and physiological effects on women: It can brighten women's moods, reducing tension and increasing relaxation, and also has a direct effect on the release of luteinizing hormone, which affects the length and timing of the menstrual cycle.

The results will be published in June in the journal Biology of Reproduction and currently appear on the journal's Web site.

"It has long been recognized that female pheromones can affect the menstrual cycles of other women," said George Preti, a member of the Monell Center and adjunct professor of dermatology in Penn's School of Medicine. "These findings are the first to document mood and neuroendocrine effects of male pheromones on females."

In a study led by Preti and colleague Charles J. Wysocki, extracts from the underarms of male volunteers were applied to the upper lip of 18 women ages 25 to 45. During the six hours of exposure to the compound, the women were asked to rate their mood using a fixed scale.

"Much to our surprise, the women reported feeling less tense and more relaxed during exposure to the male extract," said Wysocki, a member of the Monell Center and adjunct professor of animal biology in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. "This suggests that there may be much more going on in social settings like singles bars than meets the eye."

After the women's exposure to the underarm extract, further testing revealed a shift in blood levels of luteinizing hormone. Levels of this reproductive hormone, produced in pulses by the pituitary gland, typically surge right before ovulation but also experience hundreds of smaller peaks throughout the menstrual cycle.

Preti and Wysocki found that application of male underarm secretions hastened onset of these smaller pulses. Duration to the next pulse of luteinizing hormone was shortened by an average 20 percent, from 59 to 47 minutes.

Preti and Wysocki are now looking at the several dozen individual compounds that make up male perspiration to determine which may be responsible for the effects they observed. They also plan to study whether female pheromones can affect men's moods or physiological functions.

"This may open the door to pharmacological approaches to manage onset of ovulation or the effects of premenstrual syndrome or even natural products to aid relaxation," Wysocki said. "By determining how pheromones impact mood and endocrine response, we might be able to build a better male odor: molecules that more effectively manipulate the effects we observed."

The underarm extracts used in the study came from men who bathed with fragrance-free soap and refrained from deodorant use for four weeks. The extracts were blended to avoid reactions to individual men's odors. None of the women involved in the study discerned that male sweat had been applied right under their noses; some believed they were involved in a study of alcohol, perfume or even lemon floor wax.

Half the women received three applications of the male secretions during a six-hour period, followed three controlled exposures to ethanol, used as a control substance, over a six-hour period. For the other half, the regimen was reversed. The women did not report feeling any more or less energetic, sensuous, tired, calm, sexy, anxious, fatigued or active after exposure to male perspiration.

Preti and Wysocki are joined in the Biology of Reproduction paper by co-authors Kurt T. Barnhart and Steven J. Sondheimer of Penn's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and James J. Leyden of Penn's Department of Dermatology. Their work is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

SOURCE: 
Biology of Reproduction, June 2003. News release, University of Pennsylvania.
           
Carter, C. Sue. "Hormonal Influences on Human Sexual Behavior," Behavioral Endocrinology (MIT, 1992, 0-262-02342-3), p. 134
Nelson, Randy J. An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology, Second Edition (Sinauer Associates, 2000, ISBN 0878936165), p. 250
Kary, Tiffany. "Crying Over Spilled Semen," Psychology Today, September/October 2002, p. 24.
Moir, A. Jessel, D. Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men & Women (Delta, 1989, ISBN 0-385-31183-4), p. 44.

Elderberry Cough Syrup

    Last spring I ordered a number of seedlings from the Missouri Conservation Department including blackberries, aronia berries, and elderberries.  After getting them planted in early April, I discovered that I already had a number of wild elderberry shrubs growing on my land.  They are pretty easy to recognize after they begin to bloom because their small clusters of flowers are very distinctive.  By July and into August the berries on my wild shrubs were ripe and ready for picking.  Each cluster of flowers ripens into a nice little bunch of deep purple berries.  It was a struggle to stay ahead of the birds that seemed to really like them.  To harvest them, I just clipped off the entire bunch and put them in freezer bags, stems and all.  I then froze them, so that I could remove the berries from the stems as I had the time to do it.  As time permitted I would take out a bunch of frozen berries and use a fork to scrape them from the stems into another freezer bag.  You have to keep as many pieces of stem out of the berries as you can, because the stems themselves can cause nausea and stomach cramps if digested.  You are not going to get all of the little pieces of stems out and a small amount isn't going to hurt you.  So you don't have to spend hours picking through the berries, just get out the big ones.  After harvesting and removing all of the stems, I really wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  I knew that they made good jelly, and I knew you could make elderberry wine, but other than that I was not sure.  I started doing some research on elderberries and found that they have antiviral qualities, I also discovered that they have been used for centuries to treat coughs and respiratory problems.  I eventually found some recipes for homemade cough syrup, so I though I would give this a try.  Most of the recipes included a large amount of sugar and some form of alcohol, but I really wanted to avoid these things so that I would feel good about giving it to my kids.  I finally came upon one that only used elderberries, water, honey, and lemon.  It appeared to be very easy to make, and I knew that honey and lemon are also commonly used to treat coughs, so I decided to give it a try.  Here is the recipe:

Elderberry cough syrup

   1 to 2 cups of frozen elderberries

   1 cup of honey

   2 tablespoons of lemon juice

   1 cup or less of water

    You start out by putting the elderberries in a sauce pan and cover them with just enough water that they won't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.  Bring them to a boil and let them simmer for about half an hour.  You then remove them from the heat and strain out the berries and bits of stem, being sure to mash the berries in order to extract all of the juice.  This will leave you with only juice.  You then put the juice back in the sauce pan and simmer for another half hour until it reduces by 1/4 or 1/2 depending on how thick you want the syrup to be.  I prefer it to be on the thick side myself.  When it is done simmering and has cooled a little, you add the honey and lemon juice, and stir until it is well blended.  Then after it cools completely, you can put it in a mason or jelly jar or whatever and put it in the refrigerator until it is needed.  The honey and lemon juice will naturally preserve the berry juice for several months.  You just have to give it a shake each time you use it.  As far as dosing, I used 2 teaspoons every 4 hours or so when I needed it.  For the kids, I cut that down to 1 teaspoon.  It seemed to me to be just as effective as over the counter cough medicine, but is all natural, and tastes good.  I was lucky enough to have some honey from a local apiary that was not processed or pasteurized, just wonderful raw honey.  Honey has natural antibiotic qualities and is good for treating seasonal allergies, so I thought this cough syrup would cover all the bases, antiviral from the elderberries, antibiotic and good for allergies from the honey, and good for suppressing coughs from the combination of the elderberries, honey, and lemon juice with no sugar or alcohol added.  I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the results so far. 

Found In Used Book, Early Texas 25-Cent Note Brings $63,250

SEE ALSO:
Average dog can learn 165 words, count up to 4 or 5 and even have a basic understanding of arithmetic.

A 168-year old piece of early Texas paper money, found in one of the dozens of used textbooks purchased for only $10 last year by an Austin, Texas, area couple, sold for $63,250 in a public auction in Tampa, Florida, on January 6, 2011.

“It’s a rare Republic of Texas Exchequer note in the amount of 25 cents, dated on May 1, 1843 and hand-signed by Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas,” said Allen Mincho of Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, (www.HA.com), the company that sold the note during its auction at a rare coin and paper money collectors convention in Tampa.
“These notes were printed in various denominations between 1842 and 1845, but probably less than two dozen Texas Exchequer notes are known to survive today.”
The presale estimate by Heritage was $50,000 or more. The name of the winning bidder who paid $63,250 was not revealed.
Mincho said Bill and Cindy Farnsworth of the Austin area were surprised to find the old piece of paper money in September in a used book after returning home from a Southeast Texas auction where they had purchased 11 boxes of old textbooks for $10.
Bill Farnsworth recalled: “My wife called to me and said, ‘I thought you might like to have this.’ The first thing I noticed was that the paper was real thin. I knew enough to know that (modern) reproduction currency is made on much thicker paper.”
He said he previously didn’t enjoy going to auctions as much as he wife did. “I just wasn’t a big auction fan, but I am now.”
Mincho said most of the historic Texas Exchequer notes were destroyed when they were redeemed in the 1840s because they were backed by gold. Although it has signs of wear, the surviving note sold in the auction shows no sign of cancellation, and apparently was never redeemed for its 25 cents face value.

Source:
Rare Early Republic of Texas Paper Money Sold At Auction
January 25, 2011: James Buchanan’s Liberty, Proof 70 Graded Coins, Rare Coin Market

Barbados vs Grenada: The Craziest Game in History of Soccer

You would think a basic winning tactic in Soccer would be to kick the ball between the posts. Your opponent's posts, that is. The team that is best at this wins the match.

Most of the time that's true, but an infamous game between Barbados and Grenada in 1994 turned logic upside-down.

Going into the last group game in a Caribbean Cup tournament (the Shell Caribbean Cup), Barbados needed to beat Grenada by two goals in order to reach the final. A draw after 90 minutes would result in extra time whereas anything less than winning by two goals would see Grenada through to the final. The catch, however, was that the organisers had decided that in the case of extra time a golden goal would count as two goals.

Barbados took an early 2-0 lead, but Grenada made it 2-1 with seven minutes remaining. Barbados were heading out unless they scored a goal—any goal!

One Barbadian striker realised that his team were unlikely to score another goal against Grenada, with only a few minutes to go and Grenada playing an ultra-defensive tactic. Instead, he decided that their best chance of winning was to make the game go into extra time and score a golden goal, which would count as two goals.

So he promptly powered the ball past his own stunned goalkeeper to make it 2-2.

Now, Grenada needed to score a goal—at either end—to avoid extra time and to go through to the final. The Grenada players, initially stunned by the goal and suddenly realising what was going on, turned around and headed for their own net.

Now the comedy really starts as the Barbadians had anticipated this move and rushed to defend the Grenada goal—in addition to their own—until the whistle went for extra time. Now be honest, who could make up a story like this?

In the end, Barbadian ingenuity was rewarded as one of their strikers scored the winning goal four minutes into extra time, which sent Barbados to the final.

As was to be expected, the Grenadians were not amused. Grenada manager James Clarkson was furious. "I feel cheated, the person who came up with these rules must be a candidate for the madhouse.

"The game should never be played with so many players on the field confused. Our players did not even know which direction to attack; our goal or their goal. I have never seen this happen before. In Soccer, you are supposed to score against your opponents in order to win, not for them."

It took a few seconds to sink in, but when Grenada had realized what happened, they knew what to do. They had to score an own goal as well to avert the extra time. With only 5 minutes remaining the crowd witnessed the spectacle of Barbados now defending both goals. They managed to hold on. Once extra time began, the Barbadians switched back to normal tactics and scored the decisive goal. The rules meant they had won by 4-2. A place in the final round was rightfully theirs.

Video Link: Barbados vs Grenada

The Legend of the Three Sisters

Thyme Square Gardens, Native Corn, Beans and Squash, May 2011

This Legend has been told by the Iroquois Indians and passed down through many generations. It's about the relationship of companion planting and how it has proven itself as one of the most intricate and romantic growing techniques throughout the history of farming and gardening. At least I see it that way and perhaps you may as well after hearing the tale. It's a story of growing corn, beans and squash together as one in unison with each other.Allow me to first share the tale before I share my own adventures growing Three Sisters in my garden. I've found most of the story preserved at the Museum of Natural History by Shelia Wilson, a member of the Sappony Tribe.

The Legend of the Three Sisters 

A long time ago, three sisters lived together in a field. These sisters were quite different
from one another in their height and in the way they carried themselves. The little sister
was so young and round that she could only crawl at first, and she was dressed in green.
The second sister wore a bright, sunshine yellow dress, and she would spend many an
hour reading by herself, sitting in the sun with the soft wind blowing against her face.
The third was the eldest sister, standing always very straight and tall above the other
sisters, looking for danger and warning her sisters. She wore a pale green shawl and had
long, dirty-yellow hair. There was one way the sisters were all alike, though. They loved
each other dearly, and they always stayed together. This made them very strong.

One day a strange bird came to the field: a crow. He talked to the horses and other
animals, and this caught the attention of the sisters. Late that summer, the youngest and
smallest sister disappeared. Her sisters were sad. Again the crow came to the field to
gather reeds at the water’s edge. The sisters who were left watched his trail as he was
leaving, and that night the second sister, the one in the yellow dress, disappeared. Now
the eldest sister was the only one left. She continued to stand tall. When the crow saw
how she missed her sisters, he brought them all back together, and they became stronger
together again. The elder sister stands tall looking out for the crow to this day.

Native American Cornfield Beans

This year, I decided to try what is called a "Three Sisters Garden".  It was a planting method used by Native Americans that was what people now call companion planting.  The story passed on throughout generations of Native Americans is about three sisters, corn, beans, and squash.  These three sisters care about each other very much and when together, strengthen and help one another as they grow.  These were also three staple crops of the Native Americans that were essential for their survival.  Corn was a mainstay that could be eaten "green" or dried for storage and provided carbohydrates for them, beans provided protein for them and could also be eaten right off the plant or dried for storage, and squash provided many extra vitamins and minerals.  The three together provided a well balanced and life sustaining diet for them, that could be stored to get them through the winter months.   

    These three plants, when planted together, are found to benefit each other in their growth.  The corn provides a natural structure for the pole beans to climb.  The beans help the corn by providing extra support to the corn stalks to prevent wind damage, and they also are found to add nitrogen to the soil that the corn naturally depletes.  The squash provides a living mulch for both the beans and the corn, it inhibits weed growth and shades the soil to retain water better in dry times.  So, not only were these "Three Sisters" important to the people's diet, they were important to each others growth. 

I knew that I wanted to do this type of garden, but did not plan as well as I should have, so this year is a bit of an experiment to see how it does.  After doing our "Lasagna Garden", we were hit with rainy and wet conditions, great for the lasagna garden, but the wet ground kept me from preparing the mounds for the "Three Sisters".  I had originally wanted to order some flint or field corn to plant, but it was already late may, and all the local stores only sold packets of sweet corn.  So, I went with sweet corn instead.  Which is fine, because I love to eat fresh corn, but I had planned on drying some of it to use as a supplement to chicken feed this winter.  Sweet corn does not dry all that well, so I plan on just freezing any extra, and occasionally  thawing and giving the chickens some ears as a treat this winter.  So at the end of May, the ground dried out enough for me to form about five mounds in the space left over next to my winter wheat.  I planted several seeds in a circular pattern in each mound.  

As soon as these spouted, I planted my pole beans.  I put three to four seeds around each of the sprouted corn.  Again, I had originally wanted to plant a good bean that I could not only eat, but that I could dry to add to the chicken's feed.  However, due to easy availability, I just went with a Kentucky Wonder green bean.  The family loves green beans, and we could can any extra to eat later or feed to the chickens.          

    I went with pumpkins for the squash, mainly because I had an old pack of pumpkin seeds.  I now wish I would have gotten a new pack because only around seven of them sprouted.  One mound did not have any pumpkins sprout, but I think I can direct the runners from one mound to the other.  The pumpkins were planted on the edge of the mounds and I will keep the runners directed into the mound to provide that living mulch.  My plan is to have some jack-o-lanterns for the kids this Halloween and to dry the seeds to eat and again, give to the chickens.

    At this time everything is growing, but not very impressive yet, I will post more pictures and update this post as things progress.

Native Cornfield Bean Pods at the base of the corn stalks.

The first Native American series coin was released in January 2009 and has a reverse side that depicts a Native American woman sowing seeds of the Three Sisters, symbolizing the Indian tribes' contributions to agriculture. It is better known as the Sacagawea Dollar. I found it a very befitting symbol to be placed on a round coin because round circles are how the Native Americans have always grown their crops.
The native people believe, because the Great Spirit caused everything in nature to be round. The Sun, Sky, Earth and Moon are round that the circle represents the circle of life. When they plant their Three Sisters it is planted on mounds in round circles. This is exactly how we planted our Three Sisters here at Thyme Square Gardens and it is the most beautiful experience I have had in gardening. From start to finish we have grown as close to the ways of the Native Indians as possible. Right down to trying to grow the closest varieties to our Native American Texas soil.When you plant your corn in the circle with the beans on the outside of the corn and then the pumpkins on the outside of the beans, everything gets the proper light it needs. With all the high winds we've had this season, not one stalk has blown over. Every sister truly supports the other in so very many ways. Actually the field is even easier to walk through while the pumpkins are still maturing. Every thing seems to cling so nicely on the little mounds. Companion planting is the only way to grow!!

The beauty of companion planting

Companion planting will help your garden to look attractive. It encourages you to consider a greater variety of planting, which is always good for biodiversity, and different layouts and arrangements of plants within the plot.

It helps your garden to sustain itself – with well-selected companion plants, your garden should be humming with life, not sterile and formal. 

Adopting companion planting methods should mean you can greatly reduce or eliminate any use of pesticides. It should help you to raise better crops and improve the sustainability of your soil. At the Secret Garden Club, we're aiming to create a harmonious combination of edible and ornamental plants and companion planting has found its way into the heart of that plan.

1. Bird Clan of E. Central Alabama: The Three Sisters
http://www.birdclan.org/threesisters.htm

2. Cornell University Garden Based Learning: Three Sisters Garden- A Legend
 http://blogs.cornell.edu/garden/get-activities/signature-projects/the-three-sisters-exploring-an-iroquois-garden/a-legend/

3. MN State U: Native American Vegetable Contributions: Three Sisters Garden
http://www.mnstate.edu/tah/lesson-plans/lesson_plans_for_2008-2009/native_american_vegetable_c_2.html

References and Further Reading

1. Creasy, Rosalind, "Cooking from the Garden", Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1988
2. Dodson, Mardi, “An Appendix to Companion Planting: Basic Concepts & Resources - Ancient Companions. ATTRA: National Center for Appropriate Technology, 2002. Available at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html#appCultivation.
3. Eames-Sheavly, Marcia, "The Three Sisters, Exploring an Iroquois Garden", Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell U., 1993
4. Hays, Wilma and R. Vernon, "Foods the Indians Gave Us", Ives Washburn, Inc. NY, 1973