£430 million project to extract ilmenite, a mineral which can be used to produce titanium dioxide pigment. Around 750,000 tonnes of the ore will be extracted each year at the start of the operation, which could last 40 years. The huge economic growth of China has led to an enormous demand for the white pigment, which is used in paper, paint and plastics, at a time when other ilmenite mines in A...

Epidemiological studies suggest that chocolate increases the incidence and severity of acne. Here we demonstrate that chocolate consumption primes human blood mononuclear cells from volunteers to release more interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-10 upon stimulation with Propionibacterium acne or Staphylcoccus aureus, the two microorganisms involved in the pathogenesis of acne. In contrast, production ...

In the present study, the effects of substituting sucrose with maltitol and xylitol as bulking agents in compound milk chocolate were examined in relation to their physico-chemical, rheological and sensory characteristics. Standard reference chocolate was made using sucrose. The Casson mathematical model was the best fitting model for predicting rheological properties. Compared with chocolate s...

We investigated the discrimination of what, when, and where in rats (n D 5) using an eightarm radial maze. Rats received daily training consisting of forced-choice visits to four baited arms, one of which was randomly chosen each day to contain chocolate (Phase 1). In Phase 2, all eight arms were available. After a short (30 min) retention interval (RI), the four arms that were not available in...

The objective of this study was to determine the urinary excretion of methylxanthines in horses following ingestion of chocolate over eight days. The study was performed in response to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirmation of the presence of caffeine in a positive urine test in a racehorse. The trainer of the horse alleged that he often administered chocolate-coated peanuts ...

Recent reviews on “The role of diet in acne: facts and controversies”1 and “Nutrition and acne”2 were interesting but may not have adequately challenged the dogma that chocolate does not exacerbate acne vulgaris. Our Medline search, using the key words “acne and chocolate,” showed that only 3 studies examined the role of chocolate consumption and acne. One clinical trial had 8 patients,3 anothe...

To examine the neural circuitry involved in food craving, in making food particularly appetitive and thus in driving wanting and eating, we used fMRI to measure the response to the flavour of chocolate, the sight of chocolate and their combination in cravers vs. non-cravers. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analyses showed that the sight of chocolate produced more activation in chocolate cr...

OBJECTIVE Many individuals have difficulty adhering to a weight loss diet. One possible explanation could be that dietary restriction paradoxically contributes to overconsumption. The objective of this study was to examine ingestive behavior under a forced chocolate restriction with a focus on the anticipatory restriction period and the post-restriction period in frequent chocolate consumers. ...

Objective To model the long term effectiveness and cost effectiveness of daily dark chocolate consumption in a population with metabolic syndrome at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Design Best case scenario analysis using a Markov model. Setting Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study. Participants 2013 people with hypertension who met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, with no ...