research

Due to the intense public interest that mangosteen has generated, a lot of research has taken place on this tropical plant which figures in many Eastern medicine systems. Of late, care has been taken that there is no commercial bias attached - in other words, the studies are by independent researchers who are not paid to hype specific products.

The focus of research is invariably on the antioxidants called xanthones, which are so abundantly present in the flesh and pericarp (skin) of the mangosteen fruit. The results have encouraged mangosteen enthusiasts and skeptics alike.

The antioxidant properties are beyond dispute. Purified xanthone compounds distilled from mangosteen - particularly garnicone E - may be a useful adjunctive treatment in certain types of carcinomas (malignant tumors). However, NO evidence supports the wishful thinking that sees mangosteen as a stand-alone cure. Repeated cell cycle analyses have shown no specific arresting effect of garnicone E.

The most medicinally important xanthones so far isolated in mangosteen are Alpha Mangosteen and Gamma Mangosteen. A recent piece of research seems to indicate that these xanthones act as histamine and serotonin receptor antagonists. This may lead to the development of unique antihistaminic and antidepressant medicines in the future, but the issue still needs extensive investigation.

It has been established that polysaccharides obtained from mangosteen pericarp can stimulate metabolic action that rids the body of the intracellular bacteria S. enteritidis. Additionally, natural xanthones derived from mangosteen have displayed considerable antifungal activities and act as effective scavengers of harmful free radicals in the body.

Probably the most significant results in the future will concern the research that is being conducted on the possible effects of mangosteen compounds on the HIV virus. So far, findings seem to point towards at least some limited inhibitory effect on the replication of this dreaded virus.

Mangosteen provides detailed information about mangosteen, mangosteen fruit and more. Mangosteen is affiliated with Bottled Water Companies.

Share This

Carrying out a research project is an integral and extremely important component of most college and university courses, programs and degrees.

It should be the most enjoyable and rewarding piece of work undertaken. More often than not, however; planning, executing and writing up research, be it a thesis, dissertation or project becomes a source of great stress and worry for many students.

With this in mind, particularly in my capacity as a research supervisor I put together the following guidance notes for my students, which I hope you will find useful.

Getting Started

In many cases the first thing you’ll be asked to do is to submit, or at the very least think about putting together a project/research proposal. At this stage, any general ideas you have will probably be too broad or too vague.

Don’t worry, you belong to the 99.9% of students who find themselves in the same position.

The good thing about putting together a research or project proposal so soon into the process is that it will force you to refine your ideas sooner rather than later. What follows, is designed to get you thinking about the early key stages in the research process.

Stage 1: Developing a focus within a general area of interest.

This stage of the research process assumes that you have a general research idea in mind. Whether you consider this idea to be somewhat vague or well developed (the former being the most likely) you must establish and maintain a clearly defined focus throughout your investigation. I can’t emphasise this point enough because it really will determine how smoothly your research goes and ultimately how well you do.

The main reason for this is that it will provide the foundation for what is known as the golden thread, i.e. the major concept within your research that influences every stage of the research process; and just as importantly can be seen developing within each section of your dissertation/thesis write-up. In developing your focus of inquiry remember that practicality and ethics must be taken into account.

The Literature Review

Another benefit of narrowing your focus is that you will have a structured search strategy in place when conducting your literature review. It might sound obvious but having a clear idea of what to look for will save you valuable time and energy. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of time and effort students spend collecting information that they will never use.

Unless you are researching something unique, most topic areas will have an established body of research from which to draw upon. In such cases you must familiarise yourself with both the traditional/classic studies in the field, as well as the most up-to-date research.

Stage 2: Developing research questions.

The main way to demonstrate and maintain your focus of inquiry is to develop appropriate research questions or hypotheses. There are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes an ideal research question/hypothesis. Nevertheless, a sensible rule of thumb is that you are able to provide a clear rationale for the question/prediction being posed.

Essentially you have to take each research question/hypothesis in turn and justify its inclusion. More often than not, this justification will have emerged from your literature review e.g. this research question approaches a particular topic from a new angle, it taps into current debate etc. Incidentally, you should be able to provide a similar rationale for your research as a whole).

Also, again don’t forget practicality, is the research question over ambitious given your ‘time-scale’, ‘word limit’, ‘resources’ etc? Developing simple and straightforward research questions does not mean you cannot undertake sophisticated research. You will know if you are on the right track if you can ask yourself, and confidently answer the following questions.

What am I hoping to explore in the course of my research?

What is the thinking behind my study’s research questions/hypotheses?

Can I access a wide range of background material?

Will it be relatively straightforward to access my target population?

Ethically, am I on safe ground?

The best advice I can give you in the early stages of your research is to make sure you get it right before you start. keep it simple and be pragmatic. Remember research is a process, and you will be assessed on how well you undertake that process.

You can get hold of more research advice and tips by visiting my webite http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com.

Having worked as a lecturer in psychology in the UK, I recently moved to sunny Spain with my family, where I now work as a distance learning tutor and research dissertation supervisor.

Since 2000, I’ve been involved in collaborative research with teams of forensic scientists in the UK, US and Canada.

To find out more about the fascinating world of forensic psychology Visit my website http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com.

Share This

If you’re serious about getting your manuscript published, whether it’s a literary novel, a true-crime book, or a genre romance, it’s a good idea to find out who exactly might publish it. “But that’s my agent’s job,” you might say. True. But it’s also your job, and your responsibility to your career as an author, to be well informed about publishing houses. Gather any knowledge you can about who’s publishing what — whether you have an agent or not.

Most publishing houses, especially big ones, are divided into “imprints,” which publish under a separate name, often in a specific genre. They usually have their own editors, though some editors acquire manuscripts for multiple imprints. Some are narrower in focus than others — books published under the imprint that shares the name of the house (Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc.) usually cut a wide swath: fiction and nonfiction; literary and commercial. But each publishing house also has more specific imprints and regularly creates new ones. Random House, the world’s biggest publisher, lists no fewer than fifty-five U.S. imprints on its website.

Visit Random House’s website, and those of other publishers. Even if you think it’s not the place for your genre, you may be surprised. Most publishers list their imprints with brief descriptions, and often a specific imprint doesn’t fit the overall image of that publishing house. Houses create new imprints to follow book industry trends — following the success of such authors as Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter, several politically conservative imprints appeared, including Crown Forum at Random House, Sentinel at Penguin, and Threshold at Simon & Schuster. Other imprints, such as Rayo at HarperCollins, are popping up to cater to the fast-growing market of Latin-American readers.

After you consult the publishers’ lists, bypass their marketing lingo and look at bookstores. Browse Amazon, or go into your local Barnes & Noble, and head for the section where you think your book belongs. Browse the shelves, or scroll down the Amazon pages of books similar to yours, and list the imprints you see. A few will appear over and over — the major publishers — and you’ll see a few others, perhaps smaller houses or new imprints. If you’re in the mystery section, about one-fourth of the books’ spines will say “Berkley Prime Crime” — Penguin’s mass-market mystery imprint.

Once you have an agent, if they’re competent, they’ll know to submit your genre mystery series to an editor at Berkley who acquires for Prime Crime. But let’s back up: if you see a particular type of mystery filling the shelves (or missing from them), keep that in mind when devising your own series idea. But don’t follow trends blindly: remember that the books now on the shelves were acquired as long ago as two years, and the trend you see may already have passed.

An even more helpful goal is to be able to ask a prospective agent the reasonable question, “What are some imprints you might submit my manuscript to?” If you’ve written a commercial mystery series, and they don’t mention Berkley, perhaps that agent isn’t savvy enough or simply isn’t the right one for your manuscript. If you’ve done your homework, you’re equipped to make in informed decision.

The same holds true after you’ve signed with an agent. Refrain from sending them a list of publishers you want your manuscript submitted to. That says “I don’t trust you to do your job.” Few things annoyed me more when I was an agent. And, I beg you, don’t contact an editor who received your manuscript through an agent, unless you know the editor personally. Following up is your agent’s job. However, it is (or should be) perfectly acceptable to ask where your manuscript was submitted and why an imprint isn’t on the list.

There’s a terrific reference book for info about both publishers and agents: Jeff Herman’s Guide, which is updated every year. It needs to be, since its long list of book agents and book publishers is ever-changing. It provides company contact info, names, submission policies, and genre preferences of both agents and publishers. If your agent mentions a publisher/imprint to you that you haven’t heard of, look them up in the guide, search for them on Amazon, and Google them.

In short, become as knowledgeable as you can about the industry. It can help you focus your manuscript, especially if it’s in a commercial genre. It’ll help you find an agent, work with your agent to market your book to the right places, and identify whether your agent is doing right by your manuscript. You don’t need insider contacts or a subscription to Publishers Weekly. Just browse the Web or the bookstore, and reap the benefits of your homework!

Lisa Silverman is a freelance book editor and works in the copyediting department of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, one of New York’s most prestigious literary publishing houses. She has also been a ghostwriter and a literary agent representing both book authors and screenwriters. She founded www.BeYourOwnEditor.com in order to provide writers with free advice on both writing and the publishing business.

Share This