Terms with unexpected meanings, part 2

There is so much to learn from studying an old dictionary! Here are some other terms I found interesting recently. I hope you will, too.

* "poop" = one definition is "a short jarring sound; GULP, TOOT." Who ever expected "poop" to be basically equated with "gulp"? (I can tell you what I won't be drinking at 7-11 ever again....)

* "neurohemal organ" = "an organ (as a corpus cardiacum of an insect) that releases stored neurosecretory substances into the blood." This appears to be a broader definition than how the term is used now.

* "lib" =  (noun abbreviations) book; liberal; pound; library, librarian; (transitive verb) to castrate. While this word is now most associated with the women's lib movement in the USA, the original meaning of it, when not used as an abbreviation, was "to castrate." And, yes, castration can be surgical sterilization of men or women. I don't think "women's lib" was meant to be a nice nickname in the minds of some who used it....

* "far-red": this term was given two contradictory definitions in the 1971 dictionary: 1) "lying in the part of the infrared spectrum farthest from the red--used of radiations with wavelengths between 30 and about 1000 microns" and 2) "lying in the part of the infrared spectrum nearest to the red--used of radiations with wavelengths starting at about 0.8 micron." How does one word get defined in two obviously contradictory ways like that?

* "rig": again, this word was given two different-but-related meanings one right after the other within the same definition segment: 1) "the complete station of an amateur radio station" and 2) "a high fidelity sound system." No one would call a radio station and a stereo the same thing, but this definition appears to be doing just that.

* "mi contra fa" = "TRITONE--used in early contrapuntal music as an expression of caution to the musician against the use of dangerous intervals." That's what the dictionary says, dangerous. What is the significance of that? 

* "mhometer" = "an instrument for measuring conductance." I didn't know this was an available measuring device. It seems like we're always indirectly measuring conductance via resistance with an ohmmeter, but conductance is not the same thing as resistance. Shouldn't we measure conductance directly?

* "cretin": you have to see this one to believe it. Apparently, the writers/editors of this dictionary--Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1971--at some point included person(s) with a big grudge against Christians.

[February 3, 2023 update on "cretin": I found a 1977 Webster's dictionary yesterday that claimed an "uncertain" origin for "cretin," and sandwiched it between two very rare words that were defined as "lying" and "deceit." Here's a photo of the excerpt: 

Dictionaries get treated as objective authorities, but they are written by ordinary people who can hold grudges and exhibit varying levels of honesty.]

And there you have today's installment of interesting word definitions. 

Terms with unexpected meanings, part 1

As I look through my 1970s dictionary, I occasionally come across a word that has a definition I didn't know it had. Some of these words are ones that would be used in legal agreements, so it's important for everyone involved in the agreement to be aware of the possible definitions of the words they are using.

Here are some of the alternate definitions that have stood out recently to me:

* "sympathetic" = of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system [this isn't as limited as one might think, for the sympathetic nervous system is archaically--which means "old-fashioned," but not "no-longer-in-use"-- defined as the autonomic nervous system, which in turn is defined as "a part of the vertebrate nervous system that innervates smooth and cardiac muscle and glandular tissues, governs actions that are more or less automatic (as secretion, vasoconstriction, or peristalsis), and consists of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system."]

* "hype" = (as a noun) deception, put-on; (as a verb) to put on (synonyms--mislead, deceive)

* "happening" = an event or series of events designed to evoke a spontaneous audience reaction to sensory, emotional, or spiritual stimuli: as a: the activities concurrent with or involved in the creation or presentation of a nonrepresentational art object (as an action painting) b: a [usually] unrehearsed stage performance utilizing art objects and sound effects for chance and impromptu results

* "boo" = marijuana

* "hunting" = a self-induced or undesirable oscillation of a variable above and below the desired value in an automatic control system; a continuous attempt by an automatically controlled system to find a desired equilibrium condition

* "ice" = an undercover premium paid to a theater employee for choice theater tickets

* "genetic code" = the self-reproducing record of the specific protein pattern of an organism which is apparently stored in triplets of sequential nucleotides in the nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid and which is transmitted through a series of ribonucleic acids to the cytoplasmic seats of protein synthesis [APPARENTLY?]

* "interrogate" = to give or send out a signal to (as a computer) for triggering an appropriate response [notice that this expands interrogating humans from the usual understanding of just asking us questions to actually triggering responses in us]

A good warning for us all, as we casually click "I accept" for all kinds of agreements these days, is the experience of the indigenous people of New Zealand, who learned that they could be bound by an agreement they didn't know they had made. Look into the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 if you haven't read about it before. The British held the Maori to the English-language version of the treaty, even though the Maori leaders thought they had only agreed to the Maori-language version. Of course, the English-language treaty gave the British more power than than the Maori anticipated.

Pay attention to the first word above, "sympathetic." When most of us read that word, we think of "being nice." However, the world trade agreements currently in force frequently include a contractual duty of countries to "afford sympathetic consideration" to each other. What meaning of sympathetic is being used? Because if it's a meaning that includes the "part of [our] nervous system" that "governs actions that are more or less automatic," there's potential there for exploitation of our "more or less automatic" thinking processes, an abusive exploitation which we supposedly agreed to in the world trade treaties. Definitions matter, and fine print should be scrutinized.

Using "concrete poetry" to manipulate people

Today I came across a term introduced in my 1970s dictionary that I think might help explain some of the political and societal polarization we have seen with the rise of the internet as a major news medium. The term is "concrete poetry," and it means "poetry in which the poet's intent is conveyed by the graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather than by the conventional arrangement of words."

Suppose a poet's intent is to creat disgust or other strong feeling by means of graphic patterns in the text of his or her verses. How to do such a thing? I think that one way is by creating associations. For instance, the poet could use an odd font or line/letter/paragraph spacing when discussing something that most people find revolting, like vomit or diarrhea. Then later on, when discussing something that is not generally an object of disgust, the poet could utilize that same font or spacing pattern to recall those feelings of revulsion in connection with the new topic.

Imagine how useful that could be in political newswriting. A news outlet could subtly shift the spacing and appearance of letters in all articles that have to do with sexual harassment, and then it could use that same spacing and letter appearance when writing about a politician whom it opposes; readers would develop sensations of disgust towards that politician without even realizing why they are doing so. Subtle manipulation in such a way can be even more effective than overt propaganda because people can't intentionally, rationally reason through feelings that they don't realize have been subtly created in them.

The internet's primary use as a text-based information outlet with a wide variety of fonts and text patterns makes it ideal for exploiting the principles of concrete poetry. The ability to create positive and negative feelings in people can be harnessed to, among other things, increase sales, boost or decrease popularity, win elections, shift public opinions, and divide nations.

Does vesicle fusion within the process of intraneuron recycling deserve more attention when it comes to researching dementia? Could TRPML1-3 be involved?

Last night I was reading this article--"Pathogenic cascades in lysosomal disease-Why so complex?" (J Inherit Metab Dis. 2009 Apr; 32(2): 181–189; full text online at http://europepmc.org/article/MED/19130290), and it occurred to me that some health problems that we associate with reduced autophagy (i.e., impaired autophagic function), ones such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's, are more likely to be caused by impaired reforming of intra-cell functions than by reduced autophagy per se. I think the reduced autophagy is the body's feedback mechanisms trying to slow down the recycling of cellular parts because something is not working correctly in the recycling process. 

Here's an excerpt from the article that caught my eye:

Lysosomal diseases are also caused by defects in soluble and membrane-associated non-enzyme proteins of late endosomes and lysosomes believed essential for the processes of substrate degradation and egress, as well as vesicle fusion....

Like NPC1 and NPC2 described above, defects in other enigmatic proteins have similarly been linked to lysosomal disease. For example, mutations in the MCOLN1 gene which codes mucolipin-1, a lysosomal membrane TRP (Transient Receptor Potential) family of ion channel, causes mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) disease (Zeevi, et al., 2007). In spite of its name MLIV has little connection other than historic with MLII/III diseases which are caused by defects in the phosphotransferase enzyme responsible for adding the mannose-6 phosphate moiety to lysosomal enzymes as required for normal targeting to lysosomes. Like NPC1, mucolipin-1 resides in the membrane of late endosomes/lysosomes and while implicated in lysosomal pH control and in membrane fusion/fission events, its function remains essentially unknown. A similar situation exists for many of the proteins implicated in the ten (CLN1-CLN10) so-called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses, or Batten diseases (Kyttälä, et al., 2006). The CLN3 protein, for example, defects in which cause juvenile Batten disease, may be associated with autophagolysosomes fusion/maturation (Cao, et al., 2006), in lysosomal pH control (Pearce, et al., 1999), or a host of other functions (Rakheja, et al., 2008). Similarly, the CLN6 and CLN8 proteins are believed localized to membranes of the ER and while their absence leads to lysosomal storage, their functional link to lysosomes is unknown (Kyttälä, et al., 2006).

I'm most intrigued by the mucolipin mentioned above. There are now three mucolipins identified, TRPML1, TRPML 2, and TRPML3, as well as promoters and inhibitors of them. It would be interesting to see how they affect intraneuron recycling processes and whether they are involved in the development of dementia.

A synergy between cobalt (including the cobalt in vitamin B12) and hydrogen peroxide appears to elevate risks of developing colorectal cancer

While I was thinking recently about how reverse osmosis filters can elevate the amount of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in our mouths and digestive tracts by removing fluoride F−ions from our drinking water, I thought of a teenage boy I know of who lives in a fluoride-avoiding household with a reverse osmosis filter and who was diagnosed in 2020 with Stage 4 colorectal cancer. He is still alive in 2023, but it's been a hard fight against the cancer.

It is highly unusual for someone his age to have aggressive colorectal cancer. I wondered whether there could be a connection between having more H2O2 in the gastrointestinal tract and his youthful development of colorectal cancer. Here is what I found:

Regarding direct genotoxic mechanisms, [cobalt(II)] induces the formation of reactive oxygen species when combined with hydrogen peroxide in cell-free systems. At high (i.e., millimolar) concentrations, [cobalt(II)] also decreases the fidelity of DNA synthesis.

Beyersmann D, Hartwig A. The genetic toxicology of cobalt. Toxicology Applied Pharmacology 1992;115(1):137-145, ISSN 0041-008X, https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-008X(92)90377-5. Online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0041008X92903775.

Cobalt has already been noted to impair DNA replication and damage DNA (see "Cobalt and nickel impair DNA metabolism by the oxidative stress independent pathway" online at https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/mt/c7mt00231a). Cobalt has been found to be associated with colon cancer (see "Association between heavy metals and colon cancer: an ecological study based on geographical information systems in North-Eastern Iran" online at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33858386/). Taking vitamin B12--the only vitamin that contains cobalt--appears to increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer (see "Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 Supplementation and the Risk of Cancer: Long-term Follow-up of the B Vitamins for the Prevention of Osteoporotic Fractures (B-PROOF) Trial" online at https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-1198; see also "Genetically predicted circulating B vitamins in relation to digestive system cancers" online at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-021-01383-0).

Failure to accurately replicate DNA (i.e., decreased DNA synthesis fidelity) has been found to increase susceptibility to early-onset colorectal cancer, per an interesting 2010 article:

Perhaps the strongest early evidence that increased spontaneous mutation (i.e., mutator phenotype) contributes to human cancer was the discovery that defective mismatch repair (MMR) causes hereditary colon cancer....In the early 1990s, colorectal cancer samples from Lynch syndrome pedigrees (also called hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer or HNPCC) were noted to have microsatellite instability, normal cytogenetics, and were associated with a unique clinical presentation. Two groups simultaneously reported that these families carried mutations in MSH2, the gene encoding one of the primary proteins required for MMR. Shortly thereafter, MLH1, the gene encoding another essential MMR protein, was cloned and found to be mutated in additional Lynch syndrome families. The majority of Lynch syndrome patients inherit a mutation in either MSH2 or MLH1, with a smaller percentage inheriting mutations in PMS2 or MSH6. The wild-type allele is then lost in tumors through LOH or gene silencing. Patients with inherited MMR deficiency are primarily susceptible to early-onset colorectal cancer, but also have an increased risk for extra-intestinal neoplasms. Inherited MMR defects are only responsible for a small number (1–5%) of colorectal cancer cases; thus, most colorectal cancers with MSI (~15% of all colorectal cancer cases) result from acquired defects in MMR, almost exclusively due to MLH1 promoter hypermethylation. MMR defects and MSI are also detected in non-colonic sporadic tumors, most commonly in endometrial, lung and gastric cancer.

Preston BD, Albertson TM, Herr AJ. DNA replication fidelity and cancer. Semin Cancer Biol. 2010 Oct;20(5):281-93. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2010.10.009. Epub 2010 Oct 15. PMID: 20951805; PMCID: PMC2993855. Online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2993855/.

As far as I have heard, the parents of this family encourage the use of vitamins, especially B vitamins. It appears that their desire for clean water and adequate vitamins might have inadvertently contributed to DNA replication issues in their son that could be behind his unusual early-onset colorectal cancer.

Faucets, aerators, and pipes as possible factors in delaying or accelerating dementia

Way back in September of 2016, I was looking at how hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) causes hair to go gray, for a chronically elevated level of H2O2 increases cell death and as we age we have less activity of enzymes that break down H2O2. In February of 2017, I considered whether H2O2 in the mouth was responsible for increased stroke risk as we age. The oxidative stress caused by H2O2 also seems like it could be connected to the development of dementia, as I published in this hypothesis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28915962/.

Here is an update on H2O2 and a new question. 

First, the update: I continue to go gray more slowly than expected. Decades ago, I got into the habit of letting my toothpaste stay in my mouth for extended periods of time while I did other parts of my going-to-bed routine, including reading (which for me can be quite a long time). Many toothpastes rely on sodium fluoride (NaF) as their primary active ingredient, and NaF can help break down H2O2. All of my siblings are going gray faster than I am, including the one with the most similar hair pigmentation. The sibling who is going gray fastest of all avoids fluoridated water, going so far as to have installed a reverse osmosis filter in her home around fifteen years ago. I think simple fluoride F−))))))aions really are helping slow down the death of my hair-pigment-producing cells (the technical name for those cells is melanocytes).

The new question is whether we should be paying more attention to fluoride and fluorine generally when it comes to developing dementia. My elderly mother moved last year from her 1970s home to a newer apartment, and she quickly "went downhill" as far as her memory issues. The older home had older plumbing and faucets, while the new apartment had newer everything. While fluoride in NaF can help break down H2O2, diatomic fluorine molecules (F2) actually can increase the presence of H2O2 by oxidizing water (H2O) to H2O2 where free electrons are present. As we all learn at an early age from shocking each other after scuffling our feet along carpet, friction can cause free electrons to be present, so it appears to merit more investigation as to how pipes, faucets, and especially aerators on faucets are affecting the water that we put into our mouths.

Hidden information in page 307-308 of many books: a key left by editors who are hiding biochemical "needles in haystacks"

I noticed last year that pages 307-308 of many books contain on one page of the pair of pages some imagery--either actual illustrations or written descriptions--resembling an erupting volcano. These pairs of pages then contain words on the different pages that often relate to research I've been doing on nutrition and other ways in which chemistry and physics interact with the human body. The word pairs include dyads like kelp:fur, clanging bells:lulling music, rings:magic, etc. It rather reminds me of the analogy section of the old SAT exams.

I think that some editors intentionally have been hiding important biochemistry-related information and left this pattern as a "key" in older books (newer ones often lack the same pattern, and self-published books for small readership never seem to contain it) to identify themselves to each other. My library is limited. I can only imagine how much information could be found in larger collections of older books, though, using this key.