“Tooth loss and gum disease, which is inflammation (发炎) of the tissue around the teeth that can cause shrinkage (萎缩) of the gums and loosening of the teeth, are very common, so evaluating a potential link with brain diseases is incredibly important. Our study found that these conditions may play a role in the health of the brain area that controls thinking and memory, giving people another reason to take better care of their teeth,” said study author Satoshi Yamaguchi, Ph.D. of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.
The study involved 172 people with an average age of 67 who did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers found that the number of teeth and amount of gum disease was linked to changes in the left hippocampus of the brain. For people with mild gum disease, having fewer teeth was associated with a faster rate of brain shrinkage, which was the same for people with severe gum disease having more teeth. After adjusting for age, researchers found that for people with mild gum disease, the increase in the rate of brain shrinkage due to one less tooth was equal to nearly one year of brain aging. By contrast, for people with severe gum disease, the increase in brain shrinkage due to one more tooth was equal to 1.3 years of brain aging.
“These results highlight the importance of preserving the health of the teeth and not just maintaining the teeth,” Yamaguchi said. Though the study does not prove that gum disease or tooth loss causes diseases like Alzheimer’s, it only shows an association. Yamaguchi added, “Future studies are needed with larger groups of people.” The current experiment involved only a small group of people in one region of Japan, and that too from one particular region of the world.
1. What does Satoshi Yamaguchi’s research focus on?| A．The reason for gum disease. |
| B．The influence of brain shrinkage. |
| C．The advances in memory improvement. |
| D．The link between dental health and brain. |
| A．Supporting evidence for the research results. |
| B．Basic theories and results of a previous research. |
| C．A further explanation of the research methods. |
| D．The detailed procedures of the scientific research. |
| A．Treat a brain problem with replacing teeth. |
| B．Frequently visit the dentists to maintain teeth. |
| C．Protect gums and teeth in their original good state. |
| D．Pull out one of their unique teeth as a study object. |
| A．The application in related fields. |
| B．The further research in wider range. |
| C．The difficulties of making the previous studies. |
| D．The suggestions for preventing teeth disease. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】AIDS-related illnesses have killed more than 30 million people since 1981. That's half as many deaths as in World War II. And it's not over. An estimated 1.1 million Americans are among the 33 million people worldwide who are now living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Between 1884 and 1924, somewhere near modern-day Kinshasa in West Central Africa, a hunter kills a chimpanzee. Some of the animal's blood enters the hunter's body, possibly through an open wound. The blood carries a virus harmless to the chimp but deadly to humans: HIV.
In June, 1981, the CDC publishes a report from Los Angeles of five young homosexual men with fatal or life-threatening PCP pneumonia. First cases recognized. In 1985, Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. Larry Kramer's AIDS play, "The Normal Heart." shocks New York audiences.
In 1986, for the first time, President Reagan publicly utters the word "AIDS." In 1987, Princess Diana is photographed hugging people with AIDS. Reagan makes his first speech on AIDS. Liberace dies of AIDS. Three years later, Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe dies of AIDS.
In 1988, the first World AIDS DAY is held on Dec. 1. During 1991-1992, the red ribbon is introduced as a symbol of AIDS solidarity(团结一致). But AIDS becomes the leading cause of death in U.S. men aged 25-44 and ten years later, AIDS becomes the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 15 to 59.
In 2008, for the first time, global AIDS deaths decline. UNAIDS calculates that the global spread of AIDS peaked in 1996 at 3.5 million new infections. Deaths peaked in 2004, at 2.2 million. Yet AIDS Day 2009 brings surprising figures: 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million AIDS deaths in the previous year.
Researchers have discovered more than a dozen antibodies that target the HIV virus. They hope that these discoveries will lead to a vaccine that offers long-term protection against AIDS. One antibody in particular, PGT 128, is considered among the most potent and promising—preventing about 70% of viruses from infecting cells in laboratory tests.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．HIV: from monkeys to humans. | B．A hunter's killing caused HIV. |
| C．HIV is harmless to the chimpanzee. | D．HIV is deadly to humans. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．The red ribbon and the World AIDS Day are both the symbols of AIDS solidarity. |
| B．In 2008, AIDS caused most deaths since 1981 and the death began to go down. |
| C．In 1986, President Reagan used the word "AIDS" and made a speech on it. |
| D．During 2001-2002, AIDS is the leading cause of death in the world aged 15 to 59. |
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Optimistic. | C．Objective. | D．Uncertain. |
【推荐2】Imagine being handed a fake(假的) pill by your doctor to treat an illness. You would be pretty mad if you found out the pill was not a real medication, wouldn't you? Better yet, imagine the doctor tells you the pill is fake. At that point, you'd probably question whether the doctor even knows his staff at all. But wait, there's more to the story.
Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard University conducted an experiment to help treat irritable bowel syndrome(肠过敏性综合征) pain in 2010,in which he clearly marked the patients 'pills as “placebo”(安慰剂), or fake. Unbelievably, the group that was aware that it was receiving the placebo reported significant improvement in their condition.
Many of you probably know about the placebo effect. It's the idea that giving patients an ineffective treatment —such as a sugar pill-for their condition might actually produce beneficial effects.
Why does it work? We don't really know. One theory is that the placebo causes your brain to have a response that flows down to other parts of the body. Placebos presented as stimulants(兴奋剂) tend to increase the heart rate and blood pressure, and those presented as depressants do the opposite.
In fact, the placebo effect can be compared to the experience of watching a horror movie. Although you know that what you're seeing isn't actually real, you most likely experience some pretty real effects such as increase in the heart rate and sweating.
Kaptchuk's work differed from the traditional placebo effect, in that he told the patients that the pill they were receiving was not real medicine. When the patients have this knowledge, the term" open-label placebo” is used. The resulting improvement' proved that in many cases, patients don't need to be tricked in order for the desired effects of a placebo to take place. In fact, the fake medication helped some patients so much that they requested additional pills after the experiment was over.
Of course, the natural question is: was this an extraordinary medical phenomenon, or just plain luck? That's why Kaptchuk and his team are attempting to do a seven-week trial before introducing the results to cancer survivors to treat severe tiredness caused by the aftereffects of the disease.
1. The first paragraph of the article implies that____| A．doctors have poor medical ethics | B．fake medicines are sold in hospitals |
| C．patients don't really trust doctors | D．we may have a wrong idea of fake pills |
| A．taking fake pills to feel much better | B．using sugar pills to treat the patients |
| C．benefiting patients with real medicines | D．treating patients in an ineffective way |
| A．Why does the placebo effect work in real life? | B．How will they carry out the seven-week trial? |
| C．Will a fake medication really exist in the world? | D．Are patients being totally treated with fake pills? |
【推荐3】Doctors in hospital emergency rooms often see accidental poisonings (中毒). A frightened parent arrives with a child who swallowed a cleaning liquid. Or perhaps the harmful substance is a medicine. Or it might be a chemical product meant to kill insects. These are common causes of accidental poisoning.
In cases like this, look for medical help as soon as possible. Save the container of whatever caused the poisoning. And look on the container for information about anything that stops the effects of the poison. Save anything expelled from the mouth of the victim. That way, doctors can examine it.
In the past, some people forced poisoning victims to empty the stomach. They used a liquid, syrup of ipecac (催呕剂), to do this. But an organization of children's doctors no longer advises parents to keep syrup of ipecac. The American Academy of Pediatrics says some poisons can cause additional damage when they come back up the throat.
Millions of people know a way to save a person who is choking on something trapped in the throat. The method is commonly known as the Heimlich Maneuver or abdominal thrusts. The American Red. Cross says a rescuer should first hit the person on the back five times between the shoulder bones. These bac blows may es the choking. If the airway is still blocked, he Red Cross suggests pushing hard five times along he victim’s abdomen. The abdomen is the areas between the chest and the hip (骨)bones.
1. The underlined word “expelled” in the second paragraph means ________.| A．prevented | B．swallowed |
| C．forced | D．chosen |
| A．look for medical help | B．look on it |
| C．use it to break the poison | D．look for harmful information |
| A．To keep the stomach empty | B．To keep the stomach full. |
| C．To keep syrup of ipecac safe. | D．To avoid more damage. |
| A．a way to prevent a person from choking | B．a way to cure choking |
| C．the abdominal thrusts | D．the abdomen |
| A．Accidental poisonings | B．Learning the basics of first aid |
| C．Common causes of accidental poisoning | D．Poisonings and first aid |
【推荐1】Have you ever noticed that your fingertips are wrinkled (起皱的) when you’ve just finished swimming or washing dishes? It seems as if your hands have aged 30 years in a second. But is this an accident? Or is it something that nature has built into our bodies?
“If your finger’s wrinkling up had no use at all, it wouldn’t need to.” Professor Tom Smulders from Newcastle University UK told BBC News. By studying wet fingers closely, Smulders and his partners found that the wrinkles looked a bit like the patterns on the car tire or the bottom of the running shoes. So they made a guess that wrinkles on fingers might be able to help the hand hold things more tightly.
To test this, researchers asked 20 people to pick up marbles (大理石) from water with their hands. But before they started, some of the people had to keep their hands in water for half an hour. The researchers found that the people with wrinkled fingers completed the task faster than those with dry hands. But when they were asked to move dry marbles, all the people performed equally well no matter they had the wrinkled fingers or not. Researchers said our ancestors might not have played with marbles but wrinkled fingers could have made it easier for them to climb around in the wet forests and catch fish from rivers. Similarly, our toes also get wrinkled in water. This may have developed from our ancestors need to run on wet ground.
But the question is if wrinkled fingers are so helpful, why don’t our hands just stay that way all the time? Researchers explained that wrinkling had its disadvantage: wet fingertips are far less sensitive than smooth ones, reducing our sense of touch.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in the third paragraph refer to?| A．Whether fingers have wrinkles after they are put in water. |
| B．Whether wrinkled fingers can hold things more tightly. |
| C．Why keeping things in water makes them wrinkled. |
| D．Why wrinkles help hands hold things more tightly. |
| A．wrinkled hands hold dry things more tightly than dry hands do |
| B．dry hands hold dry things more tightly than wrinkled hands do |
| C．wrinkled hands hold wet things more tightly than dry hands do |
| D．dry hands hold wet things more tightly than wrinkled hands do |
| A．They are too sensitive to be touched. |
| B．They might be more likely to get hurt. |
| C．They cannot hold things tightly enough. |
| D．They are not so sensitive as dry fingers. |
【推荐2】An extra finger can be extremely flexible(灵活的). Two people born with six fingers per hand can tie their shoes, manage phones and play a difficult video game—all with a single hand. What’s more, their brains have no trouble controlling the movements of their extra fingers, a new study finds.
Extra fingers are not that rare. About one or two in every 1,000 babies are born with extra fingers. If the extras are small, they may be removed at birth, but the new study shows some extra fingers can prove helpful.
Its results also show how flexible the human brain can be. That information can guide people who design brain-controlled robotic fingers.
Etienne Burdet is one of those people. He’s a bioengineer at Imperial College London in England. His team worked with a 52-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son, both of whom were born with six fingers on each hand.
The researchers studied the subject’s hands with MRI(磁共振成像)and also looked at activity in the parts of the brain that control the hands. The results showed that a specific brain system controls the extra fingers and that the sixth fingers have their own muscles and tendons(腱). That means they don’t just depend on the muscles that move the other fingers, as some doctors had thought.
The brain has no trouble directing the extra fingers, the researchers showed. To Burdet, that suggests someone’s mind would be able to control robotic fingers. He says that such fingers would likely give similar orders to the brain. However, it might be harder for a person not born with extra fingers.
Living in a world designed for people with five fingers has led the mom and son to use their fingers in interesting ways, Burdet notes. For example, forks are too simple for them. “They frequently change their ways of using forks,” he notes. After spending time with the pair, “I slowly felt my five-fingered hands were a disadvantage,” he says.
1. What’s a common misunderstanding of extra fingers?| A．They remain tiny. | B．They are a bit common. |
| C．They do harm to the brain. | D．They are more trouble than help. |
| A．People who have extra fingers. | B．People who need robotic fingers. |
| C．People who design robotic fingers. | D．People who deal with extra fingers. |
| A．It is poor at controlling robotic fingers. |
| B．It is as active as the brain of other people. |
| C．It has no difficulty controlling the sixth fingers. |
| D．It sometimes stops other fingers from working well. |
| A．Extra fingers are pretty handy. | B．Special forks should be designed. |
| C．He is dissatisfied with his fingers. | D．The pair have trouble using forks. |
【推荐3】Bad teeth can be painful and even be deadly. Infections of the gums (牙龈) and teeth can release bacteria into the blood system. Those bacteria can increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke and worsen the effects of other diseases. And adults are not the only ones at risk. For example, a 12-year-old boy died when a tooth infection spread to his brain in 2007 in Washington. Experts said it might have been prevented had he received the dental care he needed.
Experts say good dental care starts at birth. Breast milk，they say，is the best food for the healthy development of teeth. Breast milk can help slow bacterial growth and acid production in the mouth. But dentists say a baby’s gums and early teeth should be cleaned after each feeding by using a cloth with a little warm water. Experts say if you decide to put your baby to sleep with a bottle, give only water.
When baby teeth begin to appear，you can clean them with a wet toothbrush. Dentists say it is important to find soft toothbrushes made especially for babies and to use them very gently. The use of fluoride (氟化物) to protect teeth is common in many parts of the world. For example, it is often added to drinking water supplies. The fluoride mixes with enamel (釉质)，the hard surface on teeth, to help prevent holes from forming.
But young children often swallow toothpaste when they brush their teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry notes that swallowing fluoridated toothpaste can cause problems. So young children should be carefully watched when they brush their teeth. And only a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste, the size of a pea, should be used.
Parents often wonder what effect finger sucking might have on their baby’s teeth. Dental experts generally agree that this is fine early in life. Most children stop sucking their fingers by the age of four. If it continues，experts advise parents to talk to their children’s dentists or doctors because it could interfere with the correct development of permanent teeth.
Dentists say children should have their first dental visit at least by the time they are one year old. They say babies should be examined when their first teeth appear—usually at around six months.
1. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．Bad teeth can be a threat to people’s health. |
| B．Bad teeth come along with other health problems. |
| C．Tooth infections can spread to brain easily. |
| D．Dental care should be done at an early age. |
| A．Making the surface on teeth much cleaner. |
| B．Protecting gums from being infected. |
| C．Keeping holes on teeth from forming. |
| D．Slowing down bacterial growth and acid production. |
| A．To warn us of the deadly infections of gums and teeth. |
| B．To introduce the advantages of fluoridated toothpaste. |
| C．To draw our attention to the dental care of young children. |
| D．To present the research results about dental care. |
【推荐1】Thrift Books Library Program
Thrift Books sells millions of used books at the lowest prices. We personally assess every book’s quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We deliver the joy of reading in 100% recyclable packaging.
Our Library Program allows libraries to make use of books they no longer want or need on their shelves. Libraries send us books, make money and create space for new books. Thrift Books receives used books of good quality, lists them for sale, and finds new readers worldwide, extending the life of books. We put quality, affordable books into the hands of those who love to read.
Following our program is as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Pack your books;
2. Contact us;
3. Get paid monthly.
Library Program benefits
Make Some Money ● Sales Tracking ● Monthly Payments Promote Literacy (识字)Worldwide ● Help Save Our Environment |
Reduce: Get rid of books no longer suitable for your needs.
Reuse: Books find new homes via resale or donation to literacy programs.
Recycle: All unusable books are recycled.
How is it done?
We do the listing, shipping and customer service! With our large network of distribution centers, we partner with thousands of library systems in North America to recycle their books through easy shipping options. There is no extra spending, and no pre-scanning requirements.
The difference we make
★750,000 books processed every day;
★Over 1 billion books saved from landfills;
★6,000,000+ books donated to literacy programs;
★18,000,000 books sold last year.
Contact us
Getting started is fast and easy. Simply give us a few details by filling out the contact form. Submit (提交) it, and we’ll be in touch.
1. What can libraries get from the program?| A．Rare books. | B．New shelves. |
| C．More visitors. | D．Some earnings. |
| A．Free delivery service. | B．Its distribution centers. |
| C．The big profits it makes. | D．Many partners in the world. |
| A．They were sent to other libraries. |
| B．They were donated to charity groups. |
| C．They were sold as second-hand books. |
| D．They were collected by other organizations. |
【推荐2】Scientists based in Japan’s Osaka University have found a way to 3D print wagyu beef in a lab — a step they believe will one day help make widely available and sustainably-produced cuts of cultured meat that closely resemble original products.
Using stem cells that they took from wagyu cows, the scientists set out to create a structure with the characteristic marbling (or sashi) seen in wagyu beef that sets it apart from other cuts of beef.
By isolating beef cells, the scientists organized how the muscles, blood vessels and fat should be arranged. The researchers then shaped these tissues into the form of a steak using a technique called 3D bio-printing, where cell structures can be layered to resemble real tissues in living things.
The researchers believe that proving that a wagyu steak can be accurately 3D-printed could be a big step toward a sustainable future where cultured meat can be created that closely resembles existing products. Its origins from real meat also differentiate it from plant-based options, like those created by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
“By improving this technology, it will be possible to not only reproduce complex meat structures, such as the beautiful marbling (sashi) of Wagyu beef but to also make delicate adjustments to the fat and muscle components.” Michiya Matsusaki, one of the project's researchers, said in a statement. Michiya Matsusaki said that with these adjustments, customers might one day be able to order a cultured cut of meat with the amount of fat they desire, tailor-made to their tastes and health concerns.
While this might be the first cut of wagyu beef ever to be 3D-printed, other attempts have been made to bio-print steaks. In February this year, Aleph Farms and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology-jointly bio-printed and cultivated a steak using real cow cells.
1. What does the underlined word "isolating" in paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Cutting. | B．Separating. | C．Testing. | D．Observing. |
| A．By taking stem cells from wagyu cows. |
| B．By copying the shape of a wagyu steak. |
| C．By arranging the printed cell structures in layers. |
| D．By creating the similar muscles, blood vessels and fat. |
| A．The First Attempt to Bio-print Steak | B．A New Way to Use 3D Bio-printing |
| C．A Replacement for Expensive Wagyu Beef | D．Wagyu Beef Can Be 3D-bioprinted in Japan |
| A．Science. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
【推荐3】It is important to teach your dog to guard you and the other members of your family to fight against danger Here are some tips on how to train your dog to protect you.
It is very important to introduce your dog to other people and let it interact with them. A good guard dog is friendly to the people around it. This exercise is very important because it will help the dog distinguish between good people and bad people.
Use proper commands
A dog acts according to how it has been trained. The only way to do this is through com- mands and your own body actions and sounds. Command the dog to attack by saying the word “Attack” loudly. Soon, whenever you use the command "Attack!", your dog will understand that it needs to fight the thing you are pointing at.
Teach night guarding
Teach your dog to keep a check on the house by taking it around the house and making it sniff the area. You will need to do this a couple of times so that the dog understands that it needs to keep a check every night.
Reward it for its good behavior
Giving rewards such as a pat, a hug, verbal praise "Good dog!" or treats is an excellent way of letting the dog know that you are happy with its behavior.
| A．Since you are the master |
| B．Encourage communication |
| C．While you are training the dog to attack |
| D．Train an older dog to protect its master |
| E．After a few days, the dog will begin to check on its own |
| F．People who are good will be those who are allowed to come close to it |
| G．If your dog does not come inside, you will need to command it to get back |
