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Courtesy of the Erie Canal Museum An 1852 Abbot map of the Erie Canal.

By Beverly C. Tyler

Farming on Long Island has changed significantly over the past 350 years. The early settlers in Brookhaven used horses and oxen, raised cows, pigs and sheep and grew a wide variety of crops including wheat, Indian corn, barley, rye, flax, grasses, apple and pear trees. As wheat and Indian corn were the largest and most important crops, the local gristmill became the vital connection between the farm field and table.

For farmers, the miller and the blacksmith were the vital craftsmen. Brookhaven’s colonial blacksmiths worked in iron to produce farm tools and hardware. They made horseshoes and shod horses, oxen and occasionally cows. In 1681, John Thompson, Brookhaven’s blacksmith, made all the iron and steel work for a new Setauket gristmill run by John Wade.

By the end of the 18th century, increased agricultural productivity was becoming vital to Long Island farmers. By enriching the soil with seaweed, shells and manure, Suffolk County farmers increased the yield of each acre of wheat and other grains by two to three times. However, the dominance of wheat in Long Island agriculture was soon to change.

At the start of the 19th century, New York City had a number of tidal gristmills along the East River to grind grain. Grain and flour came from Long Island and as far away as Ohio. Grain from the west, transported by wagon, was more expensive than Long Island grain. This, however, was also soon to change.

With the end of the War of 1812, trade with Europe and Great Britain resumed. Europeans remained willing to pay high prices for American cotton and wheat. Great Britain passed the “Corn Law of 1815,” placing a tax on the import of grains. This was to keep the price of grains up and preserve the profits of the “landed gentry” (the British noblemen who owned most of the land).

In 1812 the United States exported 1.3 million barrels of flour to Britain. In 1816 that fell to about half (620,000 barrels). Long Island farmers still earned their living by raising grain and herding livestock, as they had since the 17th century. Now they began to have a wider market through New York City.

The Erie Canal forever changed Long Island’s relationship with New York City. Begun in 1817, the Erie Canal was fully completed in 1825 from Buffalo to Albany — a distance of 363 miles — establishing a water commerce route between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes.

The effect of the canal on Long Island and New York City population and commerce was dramatic. By 1826, 42 barges a day carried 1,000 passengers, 221,000 barrels of flour, 435,000 gallons of whiskey and 562,000 bushels of wheat. Shipping costs from Lake Erie to Manhattan plummeted from $100 a ton to less than $9.00.

By 1830, due largely to the Erie Canal, New York, which had always been behind Philadelphia and Boston in exports, was exporting four times as much as Philadelphia. By 1850, New York’s exports had grown another 160 percent.

On Long Island, wheat, barley, corn and rye proved unable to compete with cereal grains from the West. By 1836, with a population that more than doubled to over 275,000 since 1820 and shipping that tripled over the same period, Long Island farmers, seeing their market disappear, switched to raising potatoes, cabbage, peas, beans, asparagus and tomatoes for booming Manhattan and Brooklyn.

To be continued next time: A trip on the Erie Canal.

Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Road, Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. WWW.TVHS.org.

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Hydrangeas need plenty of water to survive. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

If you’ve checked lately, you’ve seen that in some of the prime growing months (March, April, June and July) we’ve had less rain than we usually get. June in particular registered just over one inch at Brookhaven National Laboratory, while the average is almost four inches. This situation happened last year as well. The U.S. Drought Monitor (www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu) noted that as of the end of July, central Suffolk is in a severe drought and the rest of Long Island in a moderate drought. Riverhead Town has even asked residents to cut back on water use.

On average, Long Island gets about four inches of rain per month. On average, it rains once every three or four days. This is generally ideal for most plants grown here including lawns. But, we could get a week of rain followed by three weeks of virtually no rain. On average, we’re doing just fine but many plants will not make it through those three weeks of drought. So, gardeners need to be aware of not only the current weather but their plants’ requirements.

10 things to consider:

1. Is this a time of even mild drought? If it is, you need to make sure you water plants as needed. Follow local restrictions and recommendations on when to water.

2. Sandy soil lets excess rain drain quickly — if all the rain comes at the same time, there will be days or weeks when your plants are drying out.

Hydrangeas are literally “water vessels,” growing natively where they receive plenty of water. In times of even mild drought, they dry out quickly. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Hydrangeas are literally “water vessels,” growing natively where they receive plenty of water. In times of even mild drought, they dry out quickly. Photo by Ellen Barcel

3. Consider what are the ideal conditions for the plants you have selected. Geraniums are very drought tolerant, for example, while hydrangeas are not.

4. Native plants are more adapted to changing conditions. They are more accustomed to heavy rain or times of drought. This doesn’t mean that you can ignore them completely, but if you are away for a week or two, you don’t need to worry that your garden will be burned to a crisp when you return. Nonnative plants with similar requirements should do well here as well.

5. Lawn sprinklers don’t always give enough water for shrubs and trees. I have several hydrangeas that don’t get enough water from the sprinkler system. So, I need to be aware of when it rains (then all plants get watered). If it doesn’t rain for a few days, I start checking these hydrangeas and may need to hand water them even if the sprinkler was on. After all, hydrangeas are, quite literally “water vessels.”

6. Drip irrigation systems bring water to the roots, keeping leaves dry and therefore less likely to get fungal diseases. Also, less water is lost to evaporation, which can happen with sprinkler systems.

7. Plants with taproots (oak, catalpa, dandelions, etc.) do better in times of drought than plants with more surface roots. These taproots reach way down into the soil, where there’s more likely to be water.

8. Unless you have clay soil, you generally don’t have to deal with a situation of too much water. Long Island’s generally sandy soil drains quickly. If you do have a spot where water collects, consider a rain garden there, that is, plants that tolerate standing water.

Geraniums are drought-tolerant plants. Even in containers they need less water than most plants. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Geraniums are drought-tolerant plants. Even in containers they need less water than most plants. Photo by Ellen Barcel

9. Plants grown in containers need special consideration. Small pots dry out quickly. Clay pots dry out more quickly than man-made materials like plastic. If you’re going to be away on vacation, you probably need someone to come in and water your containers and hanging baskets at least every few days. Moving them out of the direct sun can also help. Look for self-watering planters that have a large water reservoir that you can fill up before you leave. Use watering crystals, which hold excess water and then release it as the soil dries out.

10. The leaves of plants grown in containers can act like umbrellas over the container’s soil. So, even if it’s rained a lot, check those pots to make sure that the rain penetrated down into the soil. I’ve seen bushy plants in containers easily dry out, even after a heavy rain. Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Sweet 'n Sour Pork Chops

It’s hard to believe but the kids on the North Shore are headed back to school this week and fall is just around the corner. For parents, the days are just going to be busier, with sports, homework, meetings, activities, concerts — the list goes on and on…

During this time of year, your slow cooker can become your best friend, making delicious meals that are quick and easy. Get in the back-to-school swing with these delicious slow cooker recipes, Slow Cooked Short Ribs and Sweet ‘n Sour Pork Chops from Thomas H. Sarc’s “Dishing Out Delicious” cookbook, a collection of the Long Island author’s family recipes.

Sweet ‘n Sour Pork Chops

INGREDIENTS:

Sweet 'n Sour Pork Chops
Sweet ‘n Sour Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops, 1 inch thick

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 package (14 oz.) frozen bell pepper stir-fry blend

4 teaspoons corn starch

DIRECTIONS: Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place on high heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with pepper to taste. Add to skillet and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side until browned. Transfer to a slow cooker. In a small bowl whisk together brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic until sugar dissolves. Pour over chops. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.

Add frozen vegetables and increase heat to high. Cook one hour more or until chops are heated through (145 F) and vegetables are tender. Transfer chops to a platter, reserving the liquid and vegetables in the slow cooker. For the sauce, whisk together corn starch and 4 tablespoons cold water until dissolved. Stir in cooking liquid from slow cooker. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Return to the slow cooker. Spoon vegetables and sauce over the pork chops and serve.

Slow Cooked Short Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

Slow Cooked Short Ribs
Slow Cooked Short Ribs

3 pounds beef short ribs

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS: Place the ribs in a slow cooker. Top with onion. In a medium bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, honey, flour and mustard. Pour over ribs. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours or until the meat is very tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the ribs from the slow cooker and place on a a platter. Spoon cooking liquid over ribs before serving.

dishing-out-delicious‘Dishing Out Delicious’ is available at Barnes and Noble and www.amazon.com.

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Tony Zador. Photo courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

By Daniel Dunaief

For some people, the frontier lies deep in space, further than the eye can see. For others, the frontier resides at tremendous pressure beneath the surface of the ocean. For Tony Zador, the chair of neuroscience and professor of biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the frontier is much closer to home, in the collection of signals in our brains that enable thought and direct our actions.

Recently, Zador and his research team helped explore that frontier, developing a technological innovation that allowed them to see where nervous system cells from one important region projected into other areas.

About six years ago, Zador came up with the idea to barcode the brain. Zador and his former graduate student Justus Kebschull explored the connections between the locus coeruleus (LC) and other parts of a rodent brain. The LC is responsible for reacting to stressful situations, allowing an animal to stimulate areas that might help save its life, including those responsible for visual or auditory processing.

Researchers believed that the intercom system that connected the LC to the rest of the brain could stimulate all areas at once, like a building-wide announcement coming over the public address system. What scientists didn’t know, however, was whether that communication system could send messages to individual areas.

“People knew before our work that neurons in the locus coeruleus broadcast their signals throughout the cortex,” Zador said. “What was not known was whether there was any specificity. It was always assumed.”

Zador found that individual neurons had precise connections to different parts of the brain. While this doesn’t prove that the LC can selectively activate one area, the way a superintendent might send a signal to one wing of a building, it demonstrates the specificity of the connections, which “raises the possibility” of selective signals.

Indeed, if each neuron diffusely spread out across the entire cortex, there would be no way to achieve localized control over cortical functions through the LC system. The visual cortex, for example, would be alerted at the same time as the auditory and frontal cortex.

Ultimately, Zador is interested in the brain’s neuronal network. The way nervous system cells communicate in our brains can help us understand how we process and interact with the world around us. Down the road, he is hoping to help create something called a connectome, which will provide a map of that network.

This information, at a basic level, could provide a better understanding of neurological conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, depression and addiction.

At this stage, however, Zador is building a network called the projectome, which provides a map of the specific regions neurons go in the brain. He collects this information by inserting a deactivated virus with a unique genetic code into the brain. These viruses act as a label, allowing Zador and his colleagues to trace the areas where individual neurons go. This technique, he said, doesn’t indicate whether neuron one is connected to neuron two, three or four, but, rather, it indicates whether neuron one is connected to a bunch of neurons in regions one and two but not in three and four.

Zador “had to develop a method of bar coding each neuron so that it is unique and a technique of detecting each bar code individually,” said Bruce Stillman, the president and chief executive officer of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. By collecting numerous samples of where these neurons go, Zador, his collaborators and other scientists can determine the natural range of variability for animal models of individuals with typical behaviors and reactions. Once they establish that range of typical wiring, they can compare that to animal models of neurological challenges, like autism. Zador wants to “create a baseline against which we can compare neuropsychiatric models of disease.”

Stillman explained that Zador’s focus at CSHL has been on cognition — how the brain makes decisions, retains memory and pays attention to tasks at hand. Zador, Stillman suggested, is “one of the pioneers in establishing the rodent cognition area.”

To understand cognition, however, Zador needed to see what regions of the brain are connected to other areas, providing a road map of the brain. Even though he didn’t have a background in molecular biology, Zador benefited from working with specialists at CSHL to create this bar coding, Stillman explained. Stillman described Zador as “bright” and “broad thinking.”

Zador said the next step in his work will be to relate the projections to the individual cells’ function in the brain. He would also like to see their neuron-to-neuron connectivity. He said he is pursuing both goals and hopes to submit a paper in the next month or two describing such a method for the first time.

“Although we can sequence the codes” from neighboring neurons, “we still have work to do to figure out connectivity,” Zador said. “That involves significant molecular tricks that we’re refining.”

Georgio Ascoli, a collaborator with Zador and the director of the Center for Neural Informatics at the Krasnow Institute of Advanced Study at George Mason University, described Zador as an “internationally renowned, highly respected scientist,” whose best known contributions relate to the challenge of understanding how the brain can seamlessly decide which stimuli in a varied environment like a cocktail party to listen to among numerous choices.

A resident of Laurel Hollow, Zador lives with his wife Kathy Shamoun, who practices Chinese medicine at CSHL and is a childbirth educator and doula. The couple has two sons, Ronin, 10, and Bowie, 6.

As for the benefits of this bar-coding approach, Ascoli explained that the technique is “potentially revolutionary because of its inherent scalability to full mammalian brain mapping, which is currently out of reach for alternative approaches.”

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Dolly the sheep. File photo

By Elof Axel Carlson

Dolly was a Dorset Finn breed of sheep born in 1996 in Scotland. She was conceived from a nucleus taken from a breast cell of an adult healthy sheep that was transferred into the cytoplasm of an egg of a different breed whose nucleus had been removed.

Dolly was the first successful live-born lamb out of about 250 tries. She was named for Dolly Parton. Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell were the scientists who constructed her. Dolly began developing arthritis at age 5 and died a year later showing signs of old age. Normal life expectancy for a Dorset sheep is 12 years. It was thought that the cloning nucleus from the donor Dorset sheep passed on its age to Dolly at birth and that this led to her premature aging. That turned out to be false.

Kevin Sinclair, a developmental biologist in England, obtained four live clones from the breast tissue that was used to make Dolly. The successful live-born sheep were named Debbie, Diana, Daisy and Denise. They are now (2016) 9 years old and in perfect health.

Cloning is still inefficient and more failures (mostly during early embryonic stages) occur than successes. Success with dogs in Japan has led some pet owners to pay for a cloned twin of a favored aging pet. In Dolly’s case an electric shock was used after the transfer of the nucleus to stimulate the cell to divide. For some embryologists a series of transfers to fresh enucleated eggs is required to achieve success.

Why most fail is not known, but the field of epigenetics may supply some of the answers. Genes are coated chemically by the organism in body tissues. Normally, in males and females these coatings, which regulate whether genes are on or off, are removed in the testes or ovaries where reproductive cells are made. I do not doubt that in a decade or so scientists will learn to do that in a test tube or Petri dish. Will that technology be used commercially? Very likely. Prize race horses and beef or milk cattle could be cloned if the success rate was about 70 percent. It will probably not be better than that because natural fertilization fails in about one third of fertilized eggs, a substantial part of that being extra or missing chromosomes when sperm or egg nuclei are produced.

Living things are very complex and the chance of getting almost 100 percent “perfect” cells is virtually impossible to achieve. That is why many couples attempting to have children often take months or years before they become pregnant or seek help from an in vitro fertilization clinic.

The success of Dolly’s cloned sibling sheep worries some medical ethicists that, if applied to humans, this could be abused by narcissistic personalities who want to clone themselves. So far that hasn’t happened and many countries (and states in the U.S.) have banned cloning using human tissues. For those who enjoy watching (and betting on) horses, it raises an interesting idea. If races were eventually done with cloned champions, it would favor the training over the breeding as the basis for who wins. Imagine a field of a dozen cloned Seabiscuits and trying to figure out whose training was the best.

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

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Hormone replacement can have serious consequences. Stock photo

By David Dunaief, M.D.

We are bombarded continually with ads suggesting that men should talk to their doctors about “Low T.” This refers to low testosterone. Is this all hype, or is this a serious malady that needs medical attention? The short answer is it depends on the candidate. The best candidates have deficient testosterone levels and are symptomatic.

Men do go through andropause or have unusually low testosterone (hypogonadism). The formal name for treatment is androgen replacement therapy.

The greatest risk factor for lower testosterone is age. As men age, the level of testosterone decreases. Respectively, 20, 30 and 50 percent of those who are in their 60s, 70s and 80s have total testosterone levels of less than 320 ng/dL (1). However, some of the pharmaceutical ads would have you think that most men over 40 should seek treatment. Treatments offered include gels, transdermal patches and injections.

While real estate is all about “location, location, location,” with testosterone “caution, caution, caution” should be used.

Who are the most appropriate candidates for therapy? Those who have symptoms including lack of sexual desire, fatigue and lack of energy. However, what is scary is that around 25 percent of patients are getting scripts for testosterone without first testing their blood levels to determine if they have a deficiency (2). A simple blood test can measure total testosterone, as well as free and weakly bound levels at mainstream labs.

The number of testosterone scripts increased threefold from 2001 to 2011 for men more than 40 years old (3). Either we have discovered vast numbers of men with low levels or, more likely, marketing has caused the number of scripts to outstrip the need.

What are the risks and benefits of treating testosterone levels? Is testosterone treatment really the fountain of youth? There are benefits reported for those who actually have significantly deficient levels. Benefits may include improvements in muscle mass, strength, mood and sexual desire (4). However, several studies have suggested that testosterone therapy may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart disease and even death. These are obviously serious side effects. It also may cause acquired hypogonadism by shrinking the testes, resulting in a dependency on exogenous, or outside, testosterone therapy.

When testosterone is given, it may be important to also test PSA levels (5). If they increase by more than 1.4 ng/ml over a three-month period, then it may be wise to have a discussion with your physician about considering discontinuing the medication. You should not stop the medication without first talking to your doctor, and then a consult with a urologist may be appropriate. If the PSA is greater than 4.0 ng/ml initially, treatment should probably not be started without a urology consult.

How can you raise testosterone levels and improve symptoms without hormone therapy? Lifestyle changes, including losing weight, exercising and altering dietary habits, have shown promising results. Let’s look at the evidence.

Cardiovascular risk

One study’s results showed that men were at significantly increased risk of experiencing a heart attack within the first three months of testosterone use (6). There was an overall 36 percent increased risk. When stratified by age, this was especially true of men who were 65 and older. This population had a greater than twofold risk of having a heart attack. This risk may have to do with an increased number of red blood cells with testosterone therapy. Those who were younger showed a trend toward increased risk but did not meet statistical significance.

When the patient was younger than 65 and had heart disease, there was a significant twofold greater risk of a heart attack; however, those without heart disease did not show risk. This does not mean there is no risk for those who are “healthy” and younger; it just means the study did not show it. This observational study compared over 50,000 men who received new testosterone scripts with over 150,000 men who received scripts for erectile dysfunction drugs: phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, including tadalafil (Cialis) and sildenafil (Viagra). PDE5 inhibitors have not demonstrated this cardiovascular risk.

Unfortunately, this is not the only study that showed potential cardiovascular risks. A 2013 study reinforced these results, showing that there was an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and death after three years of testosterone use (7). Ultimately, it found a 30 percent greater chance of cardiovascular events. What is worse is that risk was significant in both those with a history of heart disease and those without. This was a retrospective study involving 1,200 men with a mean age of 60.

We need randomized controlled trials to make a more definitive association. Still, these are two large studies that suggest increased risk. If you already have heart disease, be especially careful when considering testosterone therapy.

FDA response

The FDA, which approved testosterone therapy originally, is now investigating the possible cardiovascular risk profile based on the above two studies (8). The FDA doesn’t suggest stopping medication if you are taking it presently, but it should be monitored closely. The agency, in the meantime, has issued an alert to doctors about the potential dangerous side effects of androgen replacement therapy. The FDA says that the use of testosterone therapy is for those with low levels and other medical issues, such as hypogonadism from either primary or secondary causes.

Conflicting data

Two newer studies contradict the previous findings and suggest that testosterone supplementation for those who are deficient may not increase the risk of cardiovascular events or death. However, both studies have their weaknesses. One found that, although the cardiovascular events and death increased over the first two months, over the medium (9 months) and long terms (35 months), the risks actually decreased (9). Weaknesses: There was an initial detrimental cardiovascular effect; the study was observational; and the population was not well-defined as to participants’ history of cardiovascular disease or not. The second study was retrospective or backward-looking in time (10). These studies may not change the FDA warnings. What we need is a large randomized controlled trial.

Obesity and weight loss

Not surprisingly, obesity is an important factor in testosterone levels. In a study that involved 900 men with metabolic syndrome — borderline or increased cholesterol levels, sugar levels and a waist circumference greater than 40 inches — those who lost weight were 50 percent less likely to develop testosterone deficiencies. Those who participated in lifestyle modification had a highly statistically significant 15 percent increase in testosterone (11). Also, when men increased their physical activity and made dietary changes, there was an almost 50 percent risk reduction one year out, compared to their baseline at the start of the trial.

Interestingly, metformin had no effect in preventing lower testosterone levels in patients with abnormal sugar levels, but lifestyle modifications did. These patients were relatively similar to the average American biometrics with prediabetes: HbA1c of 6 percent and glucose of 108 mg/dL; a mean of 42-inch waists; and a BMI that was obese at 32 kg/m2. The mean age was between 53 and 54.

If there is one thing that you get from this article, I hope it’s that testosterone is not something to be taken lightly. You can improve testosterone levels if you’re overweight by losing fat pounds. If you think you have symptoms and you might need testosterone, talk to your doctor about getting a blood test before you do anything. It may be preferable to try alternate medications that improve erections such as sildenafil and tadalafil.

References: (1) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Feb;86(2):724. (2) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Online 2014; Jan 1. (3) JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Aug 12;173(15):1465-1466. (4) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Aug;85(8):2839. (5) UpToDate.com. (6) PLoS One. 2014 Jan 29; 9(1):e85805. (7) JAMA. 2013;310:1829-1836. (8) FDA.gov. (9) Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2016;4(6):498-506. (10) Eur Heart J. 2015;36(40):2706-2715. (11) ENDO 2012; Abstract OR28-3.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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Perfect Peach Pie

Roasted White Peaches with Honeycomb and Vanilla Ice Cream

YIELD: Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar, divided

Roasted White Peaches with Honeycomb and Vanilla Ice Cream
Roasted White Peaches with Honeycomb and Vanilla Ice Cream

1 lemon, zested

4 ripe but firm white peaches, halved and pitted

2/3 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

nonstick cooking spray

1/3 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

4 cups Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, divided

honeycomb (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 425 F. In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons sugar and lemon zest for about 1 minute or until sugar is fragrant and moist. Arrange peaches, cut side up, in 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Pour water into dish. Sprinkle lemon sugar mixture over peaches and roast 25-30 minutes or until peaches are slightly softened and have released their juices. Meanwhile, lightly spray cooking spray on small baking sheet. In a medium-heavy saucepan over high heat, bring remaining sugar, honey and 2 tablespoons water to boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, without stirring, about 5 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 305 F. Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda until blended and mixture begins to bubble. Gently pour hot mixture onto prepared baking sheet and cool. Spoon 1/2 cup ice cream into each of 8 bowls. Top with warm roasted peaches and warm juices. Sprinkle with honeycomb pieces if desired and serve immediately.

Source: Breyers

Perfect Peach Pie

YIELD: Makes 1 pie

Perfect Peach Pie
Perfect Peach Pie

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry for two-crust pie

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup cold butter, cut up

ice water

1 egg white

Filling

6 cups peeled and sliced peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl mix the flour and salt. With a pastry blender or fork cut in the shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix lightly with fork after each addition, until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape dough into two balls, one slightly larger. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight (if chilled overnight, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes). Roll out crusts on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the smaller half of the pastry and place in a pie plate. Sprinkle with sugar to prevent it from getting soggy.

Toss sliced peaches in large bowl with remaining ingredients, then spoon mixture into pie crust. Place the second half of the pie crust on top; cut slits and brush egg white over it. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 425 F or until the crust is golden. Serve warm or cold.

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By Ellen Barcel

The term monoculture is generally used in agriculture to refer to a farmer raising only one variety of a particular crop. There are benefits and disadvantages to monoculture. The benefit is that a farmer can select the best, most well-adapted plant, a plant that will produce the biggest harvest, etc.

The disadvantage of monoculture is that if that particular plant is attacked by an insect pest, fungus, bacteria or virus to which it has no resistance, the entire crop can be wiped out. This happened in the 1800s when only a few strains of potatoes were raised in Ireland. When they were attacked by a blight to which they had no resistance, the Irish potato famine was the result. Had they grown a broader variety of potatoes (and other food crops), this wouldn’t have been as big a disaster.

The same concept can be applied to gardeners when they plant virtually all of the same type of plant. When an insect pest or some sort of disease strikes a particular variety of plant, then their garden is wiped out.

Current situations to keep in mind

Oak wilt has been found in Central Islip recently. It’s a fungal disease that blocks the water-conducting vessels of a tree. Without water, the tree dies. At present there is no cure for oak wilt. The trees must be removed and destroyed so the disease doesn’t spread. This potentially could be a problem on Long Island since we have so many oak trees growing here naturally.

Southern pine beetles have been found on Long Island. The southern pine beetle bores into healthy trees, eventually killing the trees. The Department of Environmental Conservation has been fighting this forest pest, and recently New York State provided grants to local communities to help control it by cutting down the infested trees and destroying them, again, the best method of control.

The Asian longhorn beetle is a pest that particularly attacks hardwood trees. According to New York State Department of Agriculture, it was first discovered in North America in 1996 in Brooklyn. The beetles were detected in Islip in 1999 and eradicated in 2011. They were also detected on Staten Island in 2007 and eradicated in 2013. Recently, an infestation of the beetle has been found in West Babylon. Check your pool filters for these pests and check your hardwood trees for signs of infestation such as bore holes.

Some helpful strategies

◆ Check your trees more frequently. Look for anything out of the ordinary: fungus, unusual deposits of sap, holes in the bark, etc. Call in an arborist if you see anything you don’t like. The sooner a problem is detected, the easier to control it and prevent its spread.

◆ A broader solution is to avoid monoculture. Plant a variety of trees and shrubs that do what you want a particular plant to do: provide shade, provide a living fence, provide a specimen plant, etc. That way, if a pest or disease attacks one species, you have a chance of keeping at least some of your carefully tended plants.

◆ Look for disease- or pest-resistant plants. For example, the Irish potato famine was caused by a fungus that also attacks certain tomato cultivars. This was a problem on Long Island just a few years ago. Check plant tags and catalog descriptions. This is particularly true for new trees being added to your property. It’s easy enough to try a new variety of tomato plant each year, but trees take many years, decades in some cases, to reach maturity.

◆ Lastly, support organizations that are working to develop disease-resistant plants. For example, The American Chestnut Foundation is working toward developing disease-resistant plants. The American chestnut tree was nearly wiped out by a fungal disease known as the chestnut blight in the early 20th century. The tree was native to much of the eastern part of North America. Visit www.acf.org for further information on its work.

For further information on the above and other garden pests and diseases, go to www.dec.ny.gov, www.na.fs.us and www.agriculture.ny.gov.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Trying to avoid triggers for migraines can be worse than navigating a minefield. Stock photo

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Migraines are a debilitating disorder. Symptoms typically include nausea, photophobia and phonophobia — sensitivity to light and to sound, respectively. The corresponding headache usually is unilateral and has a throbbing or pulsating feeling.

Migraines typically last anywhere from four to 72 hours, which is hard to imagine. Then, there is a postdrome recovery period, when the symptoms of fatigue can dog a patient for 24 hours after the original symptoms subside. Migraines are among the top reasons patients see a neurologist (1).

According to the American Migraine Foundation, there are approximately 36 million migraineurs, the medical community’s term for migraine sufferers. This has increased from 23.6 million in 1989. Women are three times more likely to be affected than men (2), and the most common age range for migraine attacks is 30 to 50 (3), although I have seen them in patients who are older.

What causes a migraine?

The theory was once simple: It was caused by vasodilation (enlargement) of the blood vessels. However, this may only be a symptom, and there are now other theories, such as inflammation of the meninges (membrane coverings of the brain and spinal cord). As one author commented, “Migraine continues to be an elephant in the room of medicine: massively common and a heavy burden on patients and their healthcare providers, yet the recipient of relatively little attention for research, education, and clinical resources” (4). There are many potential triggers for migraines, and trying to avoid them all can be worse than navigating a minefield. Triggers include stress, hormones, alcohol, caffeine, diet, exercise, weather, odor, etc. (5).

Focusing on prevention

There are many problems with treating acute migraine attacks beyond the obvious patient suffering. Eventually, patients may increase tolerance to drugs, needing more and more medication until they reach the maximum allowed. There are also rebound migraines that occur from using medication too frequently — more than 10 days in the month — including with acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDs (6). There are several options for preventive paradigms, some of which include medication, supplements, alternative therapies and dietary approaches.

Medication’s role

There are several classes of medications that act as a prophylaxis for episodic (less than 15 days per month) migraines. These include blood pressure and anti-seizure medications, botulinum toxin (botox) and antidepressants (7).

Blood pressure control itself reduces the occurrence of headaches (8). The data is strongest for beta blockers. Propranolol, a beta blocker, has shown significant results as a prophylaxis in a meta-analysis (group of studies) involving 58 studies where propranolol was compared to placebo or compared to other drugs (9). However, it showed only short-term effects. Also, there were a substantial number of dropouts from the studies.

Topiramate, an anti-seizure medication, showed a significant effect compared to placebo in reducing migraine frequency (10). In a randomized control trial (RCT) that lasted six months, there was a dose-response curve; the higher the dose, the greater the effect of the drug as a prophylaxis. However, drugs come with side effects: fatigue, nausea, numbness and tingling. The highest recommended dose is 100 mg because of side effects. As a result, almost one-third or 30 percent of patients cease therapy at the 200-mg dose because of side effects (11).

Botulinum toxin type A injection has not been shown to be beneficial for preventive treatment of episodic migraines but has been approved for use as a prophylaxis in chronic (greater than 15 days per month) migraines. However propranolol, mentioned already, has shown better results with fewer adverse reactions (12).

Alternative approaches

Butterbur, an herb from the butterbur (Petasites hybridus) root, was beneficial in a four-month RCT for the prevention of migraine (13). The 150-mg dose, given in two 75-mg increments, reduced the frequency of migraine attacks by almost twofold compared to placebo. This herb was well tolerated, with burping the most frequent side effect. Only Petasites’ commercial form should be ingested; the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which may be a carcinogen and seriously damage the liver.

Feverfew, another herb, but this time the leaves are used for medicinal purposes, unfortunately, had mixed prophylaxis results. In a meta-analysis, study authors concluded that feverfew was not more beneficial than placebo (9). And, the most significant caveat with herbal medications is that their safety is not regulated by the FDA nor by any officially sanctioned regulatory body.

What about supplements?

High-dose riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, may be an effective preventive measure. In a small RCT, 400 mg of riboflavin decreased the frequency of migraine attacks significantly more than placebo (14). The number of days patients had migraines also decreased. The side effects were mild for both placebo and riboflavin. Thus, this has potential as a prophylaxis, though the trial, like most of those mentioned above, was relatively short.

How about diet and exercise?

From my experience and those of other physicians, such as Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Neal Bernard, nutrient-dense foods are potentially important in substantially reducing the risk of migraine recurrence. I have seen many patients, both in my practice and in the three years I worked with Dr. Fuhrman, do much better, if not recover. There are a number of foods that are unlikely to cause migraine and reduce their occurrence, such as cooked green, orange and yellow vegetables, some fruits — though not citrus fruits — certain nuts, beans and brown rice. The number of foods can be expanded over time.

Interestingly, endogenous (from within the body) and exogenous (from outside the body, such as preservatives) toxins cause high levels of free fatty acids and blood lipids that are triggers for migraine (15). Higher fat diets and high levels of animal protein have been associated with more migraines. In addition, obesity may increase the frequency and severity of migraines (16).

Also, there was a small randomized controlled trial that showed exercise with 40 minutes of cycling three times a week may be comparable to medication for migraine prevention (17). Thus, there are several options for preventing migraines. The most well studied are medications; however, the most effective may be dietary changes and exercise, which don’t precipitate the rebound migraines that medication overuse may cause. And the herb butterbur may be an option as well.

References: (1) uptodate.com Sept. 2011. (2) Headache. 2001;41(7):646. (3) Medscape.com. (4) Annals of Neurology 2009;65(5):491. (5) Cephalalgia. 2007;27(5):394. (6) Headache. 2006;46 Suppl 4:S202. (7) uptodate.com. (8) Circulation. 2005;112(15):2301. (9) Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004. (10) JAMA. 2004;291(8):965-973. (11) CMAJ. 2010;182(7):E269. (12) Prescrire Int. 2011;20(122):287-290. (13) Neurology. 2004;63(12):2240. (14) Neurology. 1998;50(2):466-470. (15) J Women’s Health Gend Based Med. 1999;8(5):623-630. (16) Obes Rev. 2011;12(5):e362-371. (17) Cephalalgia. 2011;31(14):1428-1438.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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Maureen O’Leary on an expedition in Mali. Photo by Eric Roberts

By Daniel Dunaief

At their greatest depths, oceans hold onto their secrets. With layers of light-blocking water between the surface and the bottom, they hide the kind of clues that might reveal more about who, or what, lived or traveled through them.

What if a sea dried up millions of years ago? And, what if that sea left behind pieces of information — some of them small and subtle and others larger and easier to spot? That’s what happened in a part of Africa that long ago gave up any signs of flowing water. The Sahara desert was, millions of years ago, home to an inland sea called the trans-Saharan seaway.

Maureen O’Leary, a professor in the Department of Anatomical Sciences in the School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, has been to Mali, a country in the northwest of Africa, three times on expeditions, most recently in 2008. There, she collected fossils that are members of extinct groups that are part of larger evolutionary units with living members today.

O’Leary has explored and cataloged a number of remnants from the region, including a turtle and crocodile skull. She and her collaborators have also discovered sting ray fossils. Originally considered likely residents after an asteroid hit Earth that caused a massive extinction, these fossils now suggest that these sting rays lived in the area earlier than previously believed.

“This suggests that the sting rays did survive” the asteroid impact, said O’Leary. “Often extinction events are described in very broad terms but specific studies like this help us” hone in on the kind of species that survived.

She also found intriguing deposits in fossilized feces. Invertebrates burrowed through these fossilized remains, leaving a cast of the shapes of their bodies. The group that left traces of their activities in fossilized feces includes Pholadidae, which has living members. “A careful inspection of a whole fauna of fossils allows you to find invertebrates you had no record of,” said O’Leary.

Leif Tapanila, the director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History and an associate professor of geosciences at Idaho State University, joined O’Leary on an expedition to Mali in 1999, where he was the invertebrate expert. Tapanila said the feces of sharks, crocodiles and turtles have bone fragments that tend to preserve well. Some of these fossilized feces can be four- to five-feet-thick deposits. A prehistoric diver from 30 million years ago would have found that the bottom of the seaway, which was probably 50 to 70 meters at its deepest points, was covered in these hard feces, Tapanila said.

Tapanila described O’Leary as an effective collaborator who ensured scientists formed effective partnerships. “She brings people together,” Tapanila said. “One of her biggest strengths is that she finds pieces of the puzzle that are needed for a particular scientific question. She sets up the infrastructure to make a research project work.”

In one of the blocks of limestone recovered in 1999, O’Leary found a crocodile skull with well-preserved ear bones. That level of detail is unusual in a fossil because of the relatively small and fine nature of those bones. Robert Hill, who was a doctoral student in O’Leary’s lab and is now a professor at Hofstra University, noticed that the ear bones had bite marks on them. A closer examination suggested that the marks were made by a shark, either during a prehistoric battle or after the crocodile had died.

O’Leary is currently working with Eric Roberts, the head of Geoscience at James Cook University in Australia, to write a review paper on Mali that would contain some reconstructions of the region and the species. The paper would emphasize a big picture story using the specialized details she and others collected. This will not only help people see the world as it was but also may help them see the Earth as a changing place, where rising sea levels could cause another transition in a dry and arid region.

While O’Leary would like to return to Mali, she and numerous other scientists have kept their distance amid the political instability in the area. In 2008, Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler was taken hostage for 60 days. “There were some diplomats there who seemed unflappable and serious” who suggested that O’Leary and her colleagues return home during their expedition. “The American Embassy was instrumental in leaning on me to leave.” O’Leary said the politics of these areas, despite the rich story they may have to tell about the past, “can play into whether science can even be done.”

In addition to her research in Mali, O’Leary raised the money and created an online system called MorphoBank, which enables scientists studying anatomy all over the world to collect their information in one place. MorphoBank encourages those interested in anatomy of any kind to find data in one place. Tapanila credits O’Leary for creating a valuable resource. For the time, MorphoBank was “totally new. It takes a lot of effort and vision to pull that off,” he said.

O’Leary is married to Michael Novacek, an author and senior vice president and curator in the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. He is one of the team leaders of the joint American Museum of Natural History/Mongolian Academy of Sciences ongoing expeditions to the Gobi Desert. The duo, who collaborated on an expedition in Morocco, have co-authored papers on the philosophy of science, placental mammal evolution and a team-based study of mammal evolution that was published in the journal Science.

O’Leary watches the political scene in and around Mali from afar.“I do keep an eye on it and would love to return,” she said.

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