The aim of the study was to determine the clinical and perceived effectiveness of the Sunflower therapy in the treatment of childhood dyslexia. The Sunflower therapy includes applied kinesiology, physical manipulation, massage, homeopathy, herbal remedies and neuro-linguistic programming. A multi-centred, randomised controlled trial was undertaken with 70 dyslexic children aged 6-13 years. The ...

Sunflower (cv. "Mammoth Greystripe") and soybean (Merr. cv. "Amsoy 71") leaves were exposed to continuous light for at least 52 hours in an attempt to determine the relationship between leaf starch levels and photosynthetic rates. Immature rapidly expanding and relatively mature slowly expanding sunflower leaves were studied. After 52 hours continuous light, the rapidly expanding leaves accumul...

Health benefits of lycopene from tomato products have been suggested to be related to its antioxidant activity. Dietary fat may influence the absorption and hence the plasma levels and antioxidant activity of lycopene. In the present study, we have compared the effect of consumption of tomato products with extra-virgin olive oil vs. tomato products plus sunflower oil on plasma lycopene and anti...

This paper presents an investigation on the tribological properties of zinc borate ultrafine powder (ZBUP) employed as a lubricant additive in sunflower oil. The stable dispersions of 0.5 wt%, 1 wt% and 2 wt% ZBUP in sunflower oil were achieved by using an ultrasonic homogenizer. Both a 4-ball tester and a pin-on-disc tester were employed to evaluate the antiwear and friction reduction capabili...

Genes encoding helianthinin, the major seed protein in sunflower, are highly regulated. We have identified putative cis-acting and trans-acting elements that may function in the control of helianthinin expression. A 404-base pair DNA fragment on the sunflower helianthinin gene HaG3D, located 322 base pairs from the transcriptional start site, enhanced beta-glucuronidase expression in transgenic...

Wild Helianthus species are a valuable genetic resource for the improvement of cultivated sunflower. We report the discovery and characterization of a unique high frequency production of triploids when cultivated sunflower was pollinated by specific accessions of diploid Helianthus nuttallii T. & G. and H. maximiliani Schr. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) analyses indicated that the triplo...

Genomic scans for selection are a useful tool for identifying genes underlying phenotypic transitions. In this article, we describe the results of a genome scan designed to identify candidates for genes targeted by selection during the evolution of cultivated sunflower. This work involved screening 492 loci derived from ESTs on a large panel of wild, primitive (i.e., landrace), and improved sun...