Polish Business News Magazine

Below article comes from caloriecounter.com  Very relevant to healthy eating!!
Having trouble eating your five to nine servings of fruit and veggies a day? This may motivate you: certain foods can actually prevent cancer.  If we all got our daily dose, there could be 200,000 fewer deaths from cancer every year. Fortunately, you aren’t limited to a lifetime of broccoli. These six fruits and veggies offer just as much powerful protection for your breasts and the rest of your body—and they’ll help fight diet boredom too.

Cancer Fighting Food #1: Artichokes

A study in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that artichokes had the highest antioxidant capacity of 40 vegetables and herbs tested. “Like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, artichokes are rich in flavonoids, which help slow the growth of breast and other types of cancer cells in lab studies,” says Dong Moon Shin, M.D., a professor and Frances Kelly Blomeyer chair in cancer research at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta.

Mini Recipe: Tomato-braised artichokes

• Boil 4 artichokes for 30 minutes; drain. In the same pot, brown 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 chopped onion, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 1 cup red wine, a 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes, and 4 cloves minced garlic. Place artichokes in tomato mixture; spoon mixture over then. Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes or until artichokes are tender.  (See the Nutrition Facts label for this one serving of this recipe.)

Cancer Fighting Food #2: Pomegranates

High in polyphenols and vitamin C (both antioxidants), this fruit helps fight breast cancer. “Dozens of lab and animal studies show that pomegranates may halt the spread and recurrence of the disease,” says Lynne Eldridge, M.D., co-author of Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time.

Mini Recipe: Pomegranate-berry compote

• Simmer 16 ounces unsweetened whole frozen raspberries and strawberries, 1/2 cup sweetened pomegranate juice, and a handful of chopped candied ginger for 5 minutes. Stir in seeds from 2 whole pomegranates; sweeten with honey to taste. Serve warm of cold over oatmeal, whole-grain waffles, or yogurt. You can also use the compote as a topping for roast chicken or pork.  (See the Nutrition Facts label for one serving of this recipe.)

Cancer Fighting Food #3: Bok Choy

This type of Chinese cabbage is milder then green cabbage or kale, but like those veggies, it’s packed with isothiocyanates. “These sulfur compounds help your body convert some of the estrogen it make into a weaker form, which helps protect your breasts,” says Karen Collins, P.D., a nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research. Don’t overcook bok choy; that reduces its anticancer properties.

Mini Recipe: Bok choy-shrimp stir-fry

• Stir-fry 3 heads thinly sliced baby bok choy (or one large head), 1 sliced sweet red pepper, chopped scallions, a few cloves garlic, and minced ginger in 2 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil for about 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add 3/4 pound peeled medium shrimp, a dash of low-sodium soy sauce, and a few toasted walnuts. Heat for 2 or 3 minutes more or until shrimp are just cooked through. Serve with brown rice.  (See the Nutrition Facts label for one serving of this recipe.)

Cancer Fighting Food #4: Tomatoes

Lycopene, a strong antioxidant, is what gives tomatoes their red color. “It plays a major role in helping cells communicate, mainly by rallying healthy ones to band together and kill a “sick” cell that could become cancerous,” says Steven Pratt, M.D., the author of SuperHealth. But keep in mind that your body better absorbs lycopene from foods when they’re cooked and served with a little bit of fat.

Mini Recipe: Jumbo tomato-chickpea bruschetta

• Sauté 4 cloves chopped garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 3 chopped fresh tomatoes and a 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed chickpeas; simmer for 2 minutes. Place a slice of toasted whole-grain bread in each of four bowls. Top with tomato mixture, chopped arugula, and shaved Parmesan. (See the Nutrition Facts label for one serving of this recipe.)

Cancer Fighting Food #5: Swiss Chard

“Swap Swiss chard for spinach and you’ll get similar amounts of important antioxidants-like vitamin C, bet-carotene, and lutein-which fight cell damage and strengthen your immune system,” says Shin. But this dark, leafy green is less bland, so you get a flavorful boost when you add it to pasta dishes, soups, and stir-fries.

Mini Recipe: Swiss chard with olives and golden raisins

• Brown 1 chopped onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 1 bunch thinly sliced Swiss chard, chopped pitted green olives, and golden raisins; sauté for about 6 minutes or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over polenta or couscous, or as a side dish with fish or pork.  (See the Nutrition Facts label for one serving of this recipe.)

Cancer Fighting Food #6: Purple Grapes

“Resveratrol, which is found in red and purple grape skins, is a plant estrogen, and getting enough of it can lower your breast cancer risk because it blocks the effects of the stronger estrogen your body makes,” says Pratt. It also boosts immunity and fights cell-damaging free radicals.

Mini Recipe: Sautéed grapes with spicy chicken sausage

• Sauté 4 sausages for about 12 minutes. Transfer to a covered dish. In the same pan, brown 1 chopped red onion and 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary in 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add 2 cups grapes, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 1 tablespoon honey. Cook for 6 minutes. Add sausages and cook for 6 minutes more.  (See the Nutrition Facts label for one serving of this recipe.)

I was a bit shocked to learn that there are many places in Germany I cannot go in my car.  Although my usual policy is to park the car and then go everywhere on public transport, I do that voluntarily and not because I am forced to.  The stickers policy rather changes that and I think it is unfair.

In all fairness though I need to point out that I only run the car on vegetable oil in the summer. In the winter it is back to normal diesel!

Letter:
I am writing about Umwelt stickers for cars.
My car is diesel manufactured before 1996.  Therefore it cannot enter a protected zone at all.
However I run the car on vegetable oil (frequently used) and therefore I am not adding any contamination at all to the atmosphere.
I think it is a little unfair that I cannot enter protected zones whereas a car using fossil fuels which is polluting the environment may have a green sticker.
Perhaps this is something you could look at.
Yours sincerely,
Alan Heath

Since April of this year, the crew on the first pipe-laying ship has been
working hard on the Baltic Sea, laying the gas lines of the Nord Stream
Pipeline Project, which is to run between Vyborg in Russia and
Greifswald in the eastern part of Germany. Approximately 200,000
pipes will have to be welded together, and so 200,000 weld seams will
have to be sheathed and thus protected against damage. Elastopor® H,
an open-cell polyurethane rigid foam, has been selected to accomplish
this mission. The product’s strength and processing speed have been
refined and optimized by BASF Polyurethanes from Lemfoerde,
Germany. Consequently, this rigid foam is contributing to the success
of the project, not only quantitatively but also qualitatively.
Nord Stream, a consortium of four companies – OAO Gazprom, BASF
SE/Wintershall Holding, E.ON Ruhrgas and Nederlandse Gasunie –
plans for its pipeline to connect Russia to the European Union via the
Baltic Sea. The goal is to securely supply businesses and households
with natural gas in the future. Over next two years, the two pipe-laying
companies Saipem and the Allseas Group will deploy three ships to lay
two 1220 kilometer-long pipeline conduits on the bottom of the Baltic
Sea. The big challenge for the Nord Stream Project is the logistics
involved: three pipe-laying ships, five marshalling yards and five
countries. In such an endeavor, trust between the contractors and the
suppliers is paramount. In addition, efficient and flawless work is a
prerequisite for this type of project.
In April 2010, Saipem’s “Castoro Sei” set out to sea with the mission of
building a pipeline. It carries aboard polyurethane components made by
BASF Polyurethanes. It is anticipated that approximately 2.5 kilometers
of pipeline will be laid per day. Starting in August of 2010, the Allseas
vessel “Solitaire” is scheduled to join the team.

Quickly and uniformly distributed in the hollow space
The optimized Elastopor H was developed over the past two years. The
polyurethane systems consist of two liquid components that are mixed
together on site using special metering machines and then filled into
the hollow space in the sleeve. Subsequently, an exothermal reaction
turns the reaction mixture into the actual polyurethane, which is
expanded by means of a foaming agent that is also present in the
mixture. Thanks to its good flow properties, the polyurethane system is
quickly and uniformly distributed throughout the hollow space. In order
to prevent the polyurethane rigid foam from being buoyant, it is
configured to be open-celled so that hydrostatic pressure causes it to
fill up completely with water. Its dimensional stability is crucial here.
The material stands out for its high dry density of 160 kilograms per
cubic meter, which ensures the sophisticated physical properties of this
product. A decisive factor during the laying operation is the fast
hardening, since only after that the foam can withstand the stress
encountered while the pipeline is being lowered into the sea. Then the
weld seam of the pipeline is protected from all sides and can be
lowered into the water by the vessel’s so-called “stinger”. Once the
pipeline is finally resting on the seabed, the polyurethane rigid foam
can perform its full protective function against mechanical stress.
For instance, the Nord Stream pipeline might come into contact with the
weights used in large dragnets or with the anchors of ships. However,
the rigid foam is formulated to be so flexible that it can withstand and
absorb such a massive impact. The destructive force is not transmitted
to the pipe. In order to check this property, the foam has to undergo a
so-called impact test in which several test sleeves are fixed and
subjected to massive blows by a hammer weighing more than two tons.
The test demonstrated that the foam is able to withstand even higher
forces than required without any damage occurring to the steel pipe.

Polyurethane rigid foam protects welded sites
The construction of the Nord Stream pipeline also makes very strict
demands of the other materials and production processes. The pipes,
each measuring approximately 12 meters in length, are made of highstrength
steel that is suitable for underwater applications. They have a
diameter of 48 inches and have an anticorrosion coating made of
polyethylene. Over the coating, the pipe is sheathed by a layer of steelreinforced
concrete that is 60 to 110 millimeters thick. On the one hand,
this sheathing protects the pipeline against mechanical damage and,
on the other hand, its weight prevents the pipeline from floating so that
it will stay safe and sound at the bottom of the sea.
The steel pipes are welded automatically on the ship during the pipelaying
operation. In the area of the weld seam, however, there is no
corrosion protection and, since the concrete sheathing is interrupted at
this place, there is no protection against external effects either.
Therefore, this sensitive part of the pipeline has to be painstakingly
protected. With this in mind, shrink tubing is pulled over the weld site
and the interruption of the anti corrosion layer is thus sealed. A sleeve
is put over the concrete sheathing and thus an annular hollow space is
formed: This is where the Elastopor H springs into action. The
optimized foam is filled into this hollow space. Since approximately
200,000 sleeves have to be filled this way, approximately 9,000 tons of
Elastopor H are earmarked for the entire project.

British retailer Asda, part of the Wallmart group, is offering free eye tests for all Uruguayans.

A message on their website states:

Like everyone in England, we couldn’t believe our eyes when the
Uruguayan referee and linesman failed to recognise Frank Lampard’s
equalising goal against Germany.

We’re responding by offering all Uruguayans a free
eye test to avoid anything like this happeneing again. All you have to
do is bring your passport into any Asda opticians.

Optical buying manager Nik Langrish-Dixon says:
“Let’s face it – it could have been a very different game had the
disallowed goal been counted.

“After the linesman’s slip-up our expert opticians
are concerned about the state of his Urug-eyes, so we’re offering anyone
with a Uruguay passport a free eye test.”

While there’s no doubt it was a turning point in the
game, the England team have come in for a lot of stick for the way they
played.

Rather puts the conspiracy theories to rest :

http://pobieranie.dlastudenta.pl/inne/transkrypcja_rozmow_tu_154m.pdf

I am a bit curious about how German troops in WW2 could be expected to keep their oath to Hitler when Hitler had already broke his own.

In 1933 Hitler swore : ‘I will employ my strength for the welfare of the German people, protect the Constitution and laws of the German people, conscientiously discharge the duties imposed on me, and conduct my affairs of office impartially and with justice to everyone’

From 2 August 1934 the German army had to swear “Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes Adolf Hitler, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.”

Those that felt they could not keep this oath such as General Beck resigned and did not suffer any consequences.  Troops conscripted were not so lucky.

I am not sure of the legal ramifications and will be coming back to this one.

From the Financial Times - 23 March 2010.  Why the German economy is the strongest in Europe:
“I am a Bayern Munich fan. During the group phase of the Champions League, when Bayern had twice looked really bad against Olympique Lyon, I thought that if only Lyon would play a little less well, Bayern would have an easier time. But this is not the basis on which we can build a competitive system.”

Like a football manager, Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, is reluctant to give rivals an edge. With Germany among the 16-country eurozone’s best performing economies as the region emerges from recession, he sees little reason to cede its advantages as a star striker.

But while such an attitude might be right on a sports pitch, Mr Schäuble’s comments in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, have been creating exasperation elsewhere in Europe. As the aftermath of the financial crisis moves into a new phase in which concern focuses more on the wider real economy and public finances than on banks and other stricken sectors, Germany faces accusations that it is no longer a team player.

Angela Merkel, chancellor, will arrive at Thursday’s European Union summit in Brussels under pressure not only over Berlin’s reluctance to help Greece, the fellow eurozone member where worries about public finances have been most acute. With the eurozone facing its most tumultuous period since the single currency was launched in 1999 – and one that could determine its fate – Germany is being called on to take a lead in boosting growth across the region.

After intensive fitness training in the years prior to the global crisis, German exporters were quick to benefit from the economic upswing that followed. But with the government also keeping a firm hand on the budget, and the country’s consumers as cautious as ever, domestic demand has not kept pace – meaning the impulse to European growth has been small. Mr Schäuble’s speech followed a Financial Times interview in which Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, went public with her criticism, asking whether countries running large trade surpluses – for which read her eastern neighbour – could not “do a little something”.

Until late last year, eurozone membership was a source of comfort, especially for smaller countries, which were sheltered from exchange rate crises. European solidarity – the dream of much of the continent’s political class since the second world war – appeared to have become a reality, even though it remained a monetary and not a political union. Now, the debate over Germany has exposed a potentially disastrous flaw in the 11-year-old eurozone.

For the weaker performing countries – particularly in southern Europe – monetary union has become a straitjacket. Greece’s travails have heightened the risks of a eurozone break-up. Given the scale of the task in matching Germany’s success, the danger is that the tensions will only grow worse.

With currency devaluation not an option, Germany’s stubbornness leaves other countries no option but to follow its competitiveness-focused strategy and binding fiscal rules. “If you don’t, you are raising your hands and saying, ‘I want to get out of the euro’,” says Jacques Delpla of the Conseil d’Analyse Economique, which advises the French government.

That is not how it is seen in Germany. It is a country whose successes were hard won. In the first half of the last decade, the Social Democrat-led government of Gerhard Schröder faced social unrest as it forced through structural reforms to curb public spending and boost labour market competitiveness. Now, many Germans argue, it is other countries that need to make changes.

Analysts also dismiss calls that Germany could change its behaviour overnight. “We are not living in a centrally planned economy,” says Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “Germany cannot change its model, because it is the model of millions of individuals and companies.”

Germans also reject the idea that they failed to shore up domestic demand. During the worst periods of the economic crisis, subsidies for short-time working prevented a steep rise in unemployment. Berlin’s pioneering “cash-for-clunkers” subsidies for new car sales, copied by the US among other countries, meant that even though the German economy overall contracted by 5 per cent last year, consumer spending actually rose. Real personal consumption was up by 0.3 per cent, compared with a 0.6 per cent fall in the US. Germany’s trade surplus declined significantly last year. “Germany was able to serve as an important buffer for world demand,” argued Axel Weber, Bundesbank president, in a speech in Denmark on Monday.

To strengthen their defence, German policymakers also point out that even Europe’s largest economy cannot transform the region’s prospects alone. Stronger German growth would boost demand for imports from France, say, lifting the French economy as well. But such gains are likely to be modest. According to the London-based National Institute of Economic and Social Research, whose economic model is widely used in Europe’s finance ministries and central banks, a 1 per cent increase in German gross domestic product lifts French GDP by just 0.2 per cent in the first year. Even then, there would be a downside. Faster growth in Germany would almost certainly lead to interest rates rising faster.

The European Central Bank’s view is that in the first decade of monetary union, the bloc’s biggest member was making up for the competitiveness it had lost in the years after the unification of east and west Germany in 1990. Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, told the European parliament on Monday that Germany’s trade surpluses were also a way of saving to pay for a rapidly ageing population.

Thus faster German growth would heighten the ECB’s fears of higher inflation. Even if the ECB held back, market interest rates would probably rise. For the French Treasury, higher borrowing costs would more or less wipe out the beneficial effects on revenues of stronger German growth, according to the NIESR model. “Even in a monetary union, you have to put your own house in order. You can’t expect others to do it,” says Ray Barrell, its director of forecasting.

As a result, eurozone countries’ economic fates lie in their own hands. The risk is of a damaging beggar-thy-neighbour contest to deflate costs (with Germany winning on penalties).

“Other countries are forced to reduce their wages, which means Germany will lose competitiveness. So what are the Germans going to do?” asks Paul De Grauwe, professor of economics at Belgium’s Leuven university. “Their model, which they are so proud of, will dwindle … Too many countries want to build their model on export surpluses – and that is not a model that will lead to domestic demand and growth.” Worse, the pressure from financial markets created by the crisis over Greece may force other governments to slam the brakes on spending just when their economies are at their weakest, thus further undermining recovery prospects.

Is it really all doom and gloom? Not necessarily. Germany’s economy might adjust automatically. Mr Delpla at the Conseil d’Analyse Economique points out that as a result of wage moderation, corporate profits have risen to about 40 per cent of GDP – much higher than most European countries. Some kind of rebalancing appears inevitable, as “German trade unions will become angry about not seeing their wages go up”, he says.

Mr Weber argues that Germany’s past export success was “boosted by strong but ultimately unsustainable global economic growth” that is unlikely to be repeated, adding: “German enterprises will naturally have to focus more on the domestic market than before.”

Elsewhere, prices may fall, helping other countries regain competitiveness. “It will be cheaper for a German to go on holiday in Greece or buy a house in Spain,” says Mr Delpla. The ECB and European Commission are keen that eurozone countries seize the moment to embark on labour market reforms that increase cost efficiency and flexibility.

The worry is that inflexible European economies will take too long to adjust, risking social conflict and political tensions. Germany’s experience in the past decade shows it can take years to restore competitiveness within Europe’s monetary union, in which exchange rates are fixed – and the global environment at the time was much more favourable.

Germany’s lead might, moreover, simply prove too great for others. Until last year, when pushed sharply higher by the collapse in production, its unit labour costs had barely risen in a decade. Over the same period, these had risen in Spain, Ireland and Greece by 25 per cent or more. Even France showed a nearly 20 per cent increase.

“The magnitude [of the adjustment needed] is so big that it is going to be extremely long and painful – especially if we are in a very low-inflation environment,” says Jean Pisani-Ferry of the Brussels-based Bruegel thinktank. “If German wages are frozen, it is almost hopeless what you can achieve in a country like Spain.”

Fragile economic growth could also exacerbate weaknesses in the eurozone financial system. For the first decade of the euro, sluggish growth in Germany meant eurozone interest rates were set at a level that now seems to have been too low to prevent house price bubbles in countries such as Spain and Ireland. Now, the situation has reversed and, in setting interest rates for the region as a whole, any rises risk squeezing the weaker countries even more. Monetary union means “you have to set interest rates for the average – but the average is purely some statistic. There is no reality behind it,” says Mr Pisani-Ferry.

Mr Krämer at Commerzbank says the next few years may see the eurozone becoming more of a “transfer union” – in which better performing countries have to help out weaker members. “That could mean Germany says, ‘we are no longer willing to support the weaker parts of the EU’, and the Greeks say that they are not prepared to have policy dictated by the Germans,” he adds. “The risk cannot be totally excluded of a eurozone break-up within 10 to 15 years – and this is a consequence of widening eurozone divergences.”

If that risk rose, Europe would be facing a very different ballgame.

I am now offering historical tours to the places which can be seen on my you tube channel :  www.youtube.com/alanheath

Tours can be based from Warsaw, Gdańsk, Kraków, Prague or Berlin.  You will get transport to the site with expert commentary en route and whilst there.  Accommodation can also be arranged if required.

I take care of transport for up to four people. You have to take care of all other expenses (food, accommodation etc..)
Visits can be arranged to the following places:

1. The Nazi infrastructure for the invasion of the USSR - the place where Hitler spent most of WW2 - Rastenburg, Pozezdrze and more.  One day from Warsaw or Gdańsk.

2. Treblinka

3. Warsaw to include sites from the battles of 1939 and 1944, the Warsaw ghetto and Nazi infrastructure
4. Lublin including both the Nazi and Communist infrastructure. Sobibór
5. Bełzec

6. Auschwitz - Birkenau

7. Austerlitz (Czech Republic)

8. Theresienstadt (Terezin) (Czech Republic).  A visit here can also take in Prague although I am not a very good guide for the Czech capital.

9.  Free City of Gdańsk (Danzig), including visits to the places where WW1 started and battles for the Hel peninsula and places where the mass murder of citizens took place such as Stutthof and Piasnica Wielka.

10. Berlin and the Battles of Seelow Heights.  Can also include the former German defence line on its eastern border and trips into the tunnels for those who are fit enough.

Tailor made for you!

What are you interested in?  Give me a ring and discuss it on +48 502 159080.  Then we can work out a suitable itinery!
Conditions

The cost of the guide plus car including as many km as we can travel is EUR200 per day.  A deposit of 35% needs to be received at the time of booking.  No booking is final until the deposit is paid. The deposit is not refundable!  The remainder needs to be paid at the beginning of the first day.
Tours are for up to four people.  More than four people can travel but in this case the cost of hiring a larger vehicle is at the cost of the person making the booking.
Accommodation if necessary needs to be paid by the hirer.

Tours may start and finish in Berlin or Prague but need to be for at least three days in total duration.

EUR200 per day is for historical tours only and not for business consultancy which is charged totally separately!

Findings from a survey of European prostate cancer patients, presented at the 2nd European Multidisciplinary Meeting on Urological Cancers (EMUC) in Barcelona, Spain, highlight the need for further sources of information about the disease.
It found that only 44 per cent of patients felt the information given to them on the likely outcome of their disease at the time of diagnosis was very informative. The critically important role of the physician in providing information about prostate cancer was strongly recognised with over three quarters of those surveyed identifying their specialist as the most important source.
Experts consider the provision of information post-consultation to be vitally important in enabling those affected to understand their situation and work with their physician to combat their disease, even though 40 per cent of respondents indicated they preferred to let their physician decide what is best in terms of treatment. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents stated they prefer to discuss options with their physician and decide together on the best way forward.
The survey discovered that many patients had not discussed key issues with their physician. For example, maintenance of a normal lifestyle during treatment of prostate cancer was considered as important by patients (40 per cent) as concerns about side effects (42 per cent), but many had not talked about lifestyle with their specialist.
To help aid understanding and communication, people across Europe affected by the disease can for the first time access a new online resource, UnitedAgainstProstateCancer.com, designed to particularly inform men affected by prostate cancer, through novel and comprehensive educational resources and links to patient organisations across Europe. The survey and website have been commissioned as an educational initiative by Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.
Professor Bertrand Tombal, Chairman of Urology Services at Universitaires Saint-Luc, Belgium, who reviewed the information available on the website said: “The survey shows us the pivotal role of the specialist physician in educating and informing patients about prostate cancer following diagnosis. The key question is what happens after the consultation. A diagnosis and subsequent treatment plan is a lot of information to take in and consider, so resources are required to help refresh the memory and continue to promote and enhance understanding away from the consultation room.”
He added, “UnitedAgainstProstateCancer.com is a highly welcome and valuable resource which helps to fill information gaps not only for patients but men, their families and anyone touched by prostate cancer. It recognises that it is not just patients who are affected, and that the need for ongoing learning and education about the disease among all those touched by it is high.”
UnitedAgainstProstateCancer.com aims to help demystify prostate cancer by offering a range of straightforward visual representations of the condition and its impact on the body. It also provides up to date information on treatment options and contact information to organisations across Europe who are united in supporting patients.

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“Men may direct more attention to sensory aspects of emotional stimuli and tend to process them in terms of implications for required action, whereas women direct more attention to the feelings engendered by emotional stimuli,” said Andrzej Urbanik, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Radiology at Jagiellonian University Hospital in Krakow, Poland.
For the study, Dr. Urbanik and colleagues recruited 40 right-handed volunteers, 21 men and 19 women, between the ages of 18 and 36. The volunteers underwent fMRI while viewing pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a widely used, standardized testing system comprised of several thousand slides of various objects and images from ordinary life designed to evoke defined emotional states. The images were displayed in two runs. For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the second run, only positive pictures were shown.
While viewing the negative images, women showed decidedly stronger and more extensive activation in the left thalamus, which relays sensory information to and from the cerebral cortex, including the pain and pleasure centers. Men exhibited more activation in the left insula, which gauges the physiological state of the entire body and then generates subjective feelings that can bring about actions. Information from the insula is relayed to other brain structures involved in decision making.
“The brain activation seen in the women might indicate stronger involvement of the neural circuit, which is associated with identification of emotional stimuli,” Dr. Urbanik said. “The more pronounced activation of the insular cortex in the men might be related to the autonomic components, such as elevated heart rate or increased sweating, that accompany watching emotional material.”
The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions, including respiration, heart rate and digestion, and helps to adjust certain functions in response to stress or other environmental stimuli. It is responsible for the body’s “fight or flight” response to threatening situations.
“In men, the negative images on the slides were more potent in driving their autonomic system,” Dr. Urbanik said. “This might signal that when confronted with dangerous situations, men are more likely than women to take action.”
While viewing positive images, women showed stronger and more extensive activation in the right superior temporal gyrus, which is involved in auditory processing and memory. Men exhibited stronger activation in the bilateral occipital lobes, which are associated with visual processing.
Dr. Urbanik believes these differences indicate that women may analyze positive stimuli in a broader social context and associate the positive images with a particular memory. Viewing a picture of a smiling toddler might evoke memories of a woman’s own child at this age. Conversely, male responses are more perceptual.
“Positive images are devoured by mens’ visual and motivational systems,” Dr. Urbanik said.