Massive 52-Car Catastrophe On Germany's Autobahn Leaves 3 Dead

Foggy weather resulted in a huge pile up on the Autobahn near the Dutch border on Friday, leaving three dead and dozens injured. According to Autoblog, this normally sedate area of the Autobahn was overcome with fog late Friday, and the poor conditions immediately resulted in a minor two car fender bender. However, with the weather rapidly deteriorating and visibility at a minimum, the quickly approaching traffic did not have the time needed to react. Two women and a man were killed while 34 others were injured. Two of the fatalities were individuals who had left their cars after the accident, the third was found in his car at the bottom of an embankment. The vast majority of Germany's Autobahn is now speed limited and it appears this was a case of multiple drivers going far too quickly for the conditions. Check out the video for the scene after the crash.

Free Government Scheme Endangers Channel

The free notebook scheme of the Tamil Nadu government is a dangerous precedent that could have a devastating effect on IT channels. As is well known by now, the current TN government plans to dole out 6.8 million notebooks over the next five years to students ranging from those in class 8 to those pursuing post-graduation. For the first year of the scheme alone the government’s electronics purchasing arm (Elcot) has already awarded the tender to Lenovo for the supply of over 9 lakh notebooks at Rs 13,970 per unit. The specs of the notebook: either an Intel Pentium 6200 or 2.1 GHz AMD processor with dual core, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, DVD rewriter and 14” screen with 3-year support. A similar configuration with a 3-year extended warranty would cost Rs 22,000 in the open market today. Total annual PC sales in TN are estimated at around 240,000 notebooks and 300,000 desktops, with the consumer PC component being close to 45 percent. The free notebook scheme will wipe out a very large chunk of this consumer market. Resellers selling to home users and education could see a massive dent in their sales as 60-70 percent of a reseller’s business is from PC sales. Although the TN government and Elcot have taken some precautions against pilferage, the crooked will still find ways to divert the notebooks to the gray market; for example, they may lure poor students into selling their notebooks. And students from affluent families may trade their free notebooks for a higher-end version. Such actions will crash the market prices of PCs not just in TN but also in other states. It’s a known fact that the free-TV scheme floated by the previous TN government saw thousands of TVs land in small-city markets not just in TN but also in neighboring states such as Kerala and Karnataka. With most states going to the polls over the next three years, you could trust parties in other states as well to promise such freebies to please the voters. This could affect IT channels across the country. The IT channel provides employment to significant numbers of people. This would be jeopardized if channel companies go out of business which is the most likely outcome of the TN scheme. Already many partners are quitting the business because margins are falling in the IT market; they are turning to other businesses and professions that give higher ROI. It is time leading IT channel associations across the country deliberate on the matter and prepare a plan to let the TN government know how such schemes will endanger the health of an entire industry and all its stake holders.

Violinist in the Metro (story)

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? My additional thoughts would only be that so many people do things because they are "fashionable" that they forget to look at things with their own eyes, listen with their own ears, and appreciate anything with their own hearts. Source: WashingtonPost.com

50 Stress Relievers That Take 5 Minutes Or Less

1. Take ten deep breaths. 2. Do push-ups, crunches, or pull-ups 3. Play with a pet 4. Take a short walk 5. Read an article in the newspaper 6. Call a friend 7. Listen to a song 8. Watch a video on YouTube 9. Play an instrument 10. Meditate 11. Eat a healthy snack 12. Spark a conversation 13. Make yourself a cup of coffee 14. Sit in the sun and get some fresh air 15. Doodle 16. Sing a favorite song 17. Dance 18. Drum on your desk 19. Count your blessings 20. Make plans to go out to dinner 21. Go outside and feed the birds 22. Do a small favor for someone 23. Write a note to a loved one 24. Water the plants 25. Look through a photo album 26. Take a shot of liquor or take a hit of cannabis – unwind a bit 27. Do a search on Google for “funny jokes” 28. Gaze at the stars 29. Get a back massage 30. Stretch or do yoga 31. Take a quick shower 32. Write a poem 33. Check your email or Facebook 34. Make a list of old things around the house to donate 35. Clean your desk 36. Try a word puzzle or Sudoku 37. Spend a moment with your children 38. Do jumping jacks 39. Scream at the top of your lungs (or into a pillow if you don’t want to disturb anyone) 40. Go to the bathroom 41. Play a game of billiards or ping pong 42. Check the local weather report 43. Sit somewhere with good scenery 44. Make a list of things to do on the weekend 45. Recite a prayer 46. Daydream 47. Wash your face with cold water 48. Take a power nap (make sure to set an alarm!) 49. Read your affirmations 50. Drive around town briefly

The 10 college majors with the lowest unemployment rates

Majors and their unemployment rate: Actuarial Science—0 percent Astronomy and Astrophysics—0 percent Educational Administration and Supervision—0 percent Geological and Geophysical Engineering—0 percent Pharmacology—0 percent School Student Counseling—0 percent Agricultural Economics—1.3 percent Medical Technologies Technicians—1.4 percent Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology—1.6 percent Environmental Engineering, Nursing, and Nuclear Industrial Radiology and Biological Technologies—2.2 percent

Synaptics shows conceptual trackpad interface with Windows 8, better make it a reality

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/synaptics-shows-conceptual-trackpad-interface-with-windows-8-be/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

all are king: Many nations to eliminate malaria

all are king: Many nations to eliminate malaria: Malaria Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia. Nearly a third of all c...

Many nations to eliminate malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia.

Nearly a third of all countries affected by malaria are on course to eliminate the mosquito-borne disease over the next 10 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

Up to a third of the 108 countries and territories across the world where malaria is endemic are moving toward being able to wipe out the disease within their borders.

Almost half the world's population -- or 3.3 billion people -- are at risk of malaria and the parasitic disease killed 781,000 people in 2009, according to the latest data. Most of its victims are in Africa.

Malaria elimination -- halting the disease's transmission and reducing infections to zero within a defined area -- was first attempted on a large scale during the Global Malaria Eradication Program from 1955 to 1972.

During that time, 20 countries were certified by WHO as malaria-free. But that number dropped to just four countries during the following 30 years when efforts to control the spread of the disease lapsed.

Monday's report said seven countries had recently eliminated malaria and were working to prevent re-introduction, another 10 countries were monitoring transmission to get down to zero malaria cases, and a further nine were "preparing to move toward nationwide elimination of malaria."

"The extraordinary commitment, the ... financing, and the coordination of efforts to realize malaria targets over the last ten years have resulted in a situation today where we could see 10 more countries reaching a malaria-free status in a relatively short time.

PROGRESS MADE

RBM said in a report in September that a rapid scale-up of a range of malaria control measures -- such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor spraying, faster and more accurate diagnosis and access to anti-malaria drugs -- has saved an estimated 1.1 million lives in Africa over the past 10 years.

International funding for the fight against malaria has also risen substantially in recent years, reaching about $1.5 billion in 2010, up from $100 million in 2003.

David Brandling-Bennett, deputy director for malaria at the Gates Foundation, which was hosting the Seattle conference, said it was vital for global health authorities, donors and national governments not to take their eye off the ball.

The Malaria Forum is hosted and funded by the Gates Foundation, a $34 billion fund run by the billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The foundation is devoted largely to health projects in poor countries.

In 2007, Gates and his wife Melinda urged the international community to fight for the global eradication of malaria, saying that to aspire to anything less would be "timid."

diagram representation for the afgan vs america

humans regrow fingers

Hobby-store owner in Cincinnati sliced off his fingertip in 2005 while showing a customer why the motor on his model plane was dangerous, he went to the emergency room without the missing tip.The doctor bandaged the wound and recommended a skin graft to cover the top of his right-middle stub for cosmetic purposes, since nothing could be done to rebuild the finger. Months later, he had regrown it, tissue, nerves, skin, fingernail and all. Extracellular matrix is a component of body tissue that functions outside of the body's cells (thus the "extracellular" designation). It's made up mostly of collagen, a type of protein. So extracellular matrix extracted from the bladder of a pig does not actually have any of the pig's cells in it. In human fetuses, the substance works in concert with stem cells to grow and regrow everything from heart aortas to toes. Fetuses can regrow almost anything that gets damaged while in the womb. Scientists have long believed that when a fetus reaches full development, this extracellular matrix stops functioning. But with evidence that applying extracellular matrix from a pig can initiate certain types of regeneration in humans, they're wondering if they can trigger human extracellular matrix to start working again. After all, according to regeneration researcher Dr. Stephen Badylak of the University of Pittsburgh, children up to the age of two have been known to regrow fingertips with no outside help. Pig-extracted extracellular matrix is already used by veterinarians to help horses repair torn ligaments. In people, it's used to treat ulcers, closing a hole in the tissue that lines the stomach. It employs an entirely different process than the typical mammalian healing mechanism. Let's take the case of a person who loses the tip of a finger. When the finger is severed, the cells die, and their contents seep into the surrounding tissue. This alerts the immune system to a problem. The immune system's response to cell death is inflammation and scar tissue. The formation of scar tissue prevents any future cellular development in the area. That's why scars last -- cells are prevented from doing a repair job on that skin. But when extracellular matrix is applied to a wound, it doesn't trigger an immune response. Instead, when it begins to break down into surrounding tissue, it causes the cells in that tissue to start repairing the damage the way they would in a developing fetus (or a salamander that loses a limb) -- they divide and rebuild, creating new, normal tissue, not scar tissue. Combined with developments in stem-cell research, this extracellular matrix may work miracles in the area of regeneration science. As of early 2007, testing of the effects of extracellular matrix is being carried out on a military base in Texas. Scientists are using the powdered pig extract on Iraq War veterans whose hands were damaged in the war. They're opening the wounds and applying the component to finger stubs in an attempt to regrow them. The researchers conducting the study say they don't expect to regrow the entire finger, but are hoping to regrow enough of a finger to allow for some utility. They don't believe it will regenerate bone, but nothing is for sure right now. That man in Cincinnati had only lost his finger tip, at the lower part of the nail; he hadn't lost the entire finger. Help from pigs aside, many wonder if the extracellular matrix in humans is unable to function or is simply in a latent state, awaiting some sort of trigger. Do humans in fact have the same regenerative capacity as salamanders, which can regrow an entire limb, and researchers just haven't found a way to activate the mechanism? It's not just amphibians that can regrow body parts: Deer regularly regrow lost antlers, composed of bone, tissue, cartilage and skin -- the same things that make up human limbs. Could there possibly be an internal switch that would reactivate the regeneration capacity that humans possess in the womb? Regenerative medicine is actively pursuing answers to these questions. And in the meantime, if applying powdered pig extract to a snipped finger can in fact facilitate regrowth, the possibilities for medicine are startling. Spinal injuries, amputated limbs and damaged organs could all be coaxed back into a complete, healthy state if science finds the right combination of treatments.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult to: Tell the difference between real and unreal experiences Think logically Have normal emotional responses, Behave normally in social situation Causes, incidence, and risk factors Schizophrenia is a complex illness. Mental health experts are not sure what causes it. However, genetic factors appear to play a role. Certain environmental events may trigger schizophrenia in people who are genetically at risk for it. You are more likely to develop schizophrenia if you have a family member with the disease. Schizophrenia affects both men and women equally. In children begins in age 5. Symptoms Initially, Irritable or tense feeling Difficulty sleeping Difficulty concentrating problems with thinking, emotions and behavior develop Lack of emotion (flat affect) Strongly held beliefs that are not based in reality (delusions) Hearing or seeing things that are not there (hallucinations) Problems paying attention Thoughts "jump" between unrelated topics ( “loose associations”) Bizarre behaviors Social isolation Tests How long the symptoms have lasted How the person's ability to function has changed Developmental background Genetic and family history How well medications have worked Treatment Antipsychotic medications are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. They change the balance of chemicals in the brain and can help control symptoms. Sleepiness (sedation) Dizziness Weight gain Increased chance of diabetes and high cholesterol Feelings of restlessness or "jitters" Slowed movements Tremor References Leucht S, Corves C, Arbter D, Engel RR, Li C, Davis JM. Second-generation versus first-generation antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia: a meta-analysis. Lancet. 2009;373:31-41. Epub 2008 Dec 6. [PubMed] Freudenreich O, Weiss AP, Goff DC. Psychosis and schizophrenia. In: Stern TA, Rosenbaum JF, Fava M, Biederman J, Rauch SL, eds. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. 1st ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2008:chap 28.

China "stem cell therapies" offer heartbreak

Chinese hotel manager Hong Chun had trouble using chopsticks after a minor stroke and sought treatment at a large Shanghai hospital where doctors injected what they said were donor stem cells into his spinal cord and buttocks, according to his father and cousin. Stem cells Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell. Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a rare and severe bacterial infection that occurs when people are exposed to certain environments. Causes, incidence, and risk factors Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to several types of the Leptospira bacteria, which can be found in fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine. It occurs in warmer climates. It is not spread from person to person, except in vary rare cases when it is transmitted through breast milk or from a mother to her unborn child. Risk factors include: Occupational exposure -- farmers, ranchers, slaughterhouse workers, trappers, veterinarians, loggers, sewer workers, rice field workers, and military personnel Recreational activities -- fresh water swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and trail biking in warm areas Household exposure -- pet dogs, domesticated livestock, rainwater catchment systems, and infected rodents Leptospirosis is rare in the continental United States. Hawaii has the highest number of cases in the United States. Symptoms Symptoms can take 2 - 26 days (average 10 days) to develop, and may include: Dry cough Fever Headache Muscle pain Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea Shaking chills Less common symptoms include: Abdominal pain Abnormal lung sounds Bone pain Conjunctivitis Enlarged lymph glands Enlarged spleen or liver Joint aches Muscle rigidity Muscle tenderness Skin rash Sore throat Signs and tests The blood is tested for antibodies to the bacteria. Other tests that may be done: Complete blood count (CBC) Creatine kinase Liver enzymes Urinalysis Treatment Medications to treat leptospirosis include: Ampicillin Ceftriaxone Doxycycline Penicillin Complicated or serious cases may need supportive care or treatment in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU). Expectations (prognosis) The outlook is generally good. However, a complicated case can be life-threatening if it is not treated promptly. Complications Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction when penicillin is given Meningitis Severe bleeding Calling your health care provider Contact your health care provider if you have any symptoms of, or risk factors for, leptospirosis. Prevention Avoid areas of stagnant water, especially in tropical climates. If you are exposed to a high risk area, taking doxycycline or amoxicillin may decrease your risk of developing this disease. References Ko AI. Leptospirosis. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 344.

Famine Ravages Somalia in a World Less Likely to Intervene

please go for the below link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/world/africa/famine-hits-somalia-in-world-less-likely-to-intervene.html?_r=1&hp

Recognizing Asthma in Children

Asthma Asthma is a disorder that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Causes, incidence, and risk factors Animals (pet hair or dander) Dust Changes in weather (most often cold weather) Chemicals in the air or in food Exercise Mold Pollen Respiratory infections, such as the common cold Strong emotions (stress) Tobacco smoke Asthma can develop in children of any age, but symptoms typically begin by age 5, the Cleveland Clinic says. The clinic says parents should watch for: Frequent coughing spells that occur during playtime, laughing or at night. Lack of energy during playtime. Breathing rapidly, shortness of breath or wheezing. Discomfort or pain in the chest. A perceived tightness of the neck or chest muscles. Feeling tired often.

E-rickshaws in the Netherlands

Project of the week: E-rickshaws in the Netherlands Project type: Electric transport Speed: 80 kilometers per battery charge, maximum 50 kilometers per hour Carbon reduction: around 9 tons each year and with each vehicle Project start: in use since March 2010 in the public transport system in the Netherlands Three wheels, an axle and a two-stroke engine – that's the classic rickshaw or tuk-tuk that crams the streets of Thailand, India and other Asian countries. The model dates back to the 1950s. Now, electric versions of the tuk-tuks are making an appearance on European roads. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, the three-wheelers are already being used in local public transport. The vehicles, which are smaller than most cars, are able to easily nip in and out of traffic. A Dutch innovator first came up with the idea of importing the rickshaw to Europe. But he tweaked the concept with the aim of creating a cleaner and more silent version of the usually noisy and polluting rickshaw and to make it compliant with European roads. A research group was set up towards that purpose. The version they came up with is a truly global creature – its bodywork comes from Thailand, the engine from the US and the battery from Germany. The green three-wheeler is ideal for short rides in European cities. It's already being tested in a pilot project in Holland. The makers of the green three-wheeler have three models on offer – the "Classico" for up to three passengers, "Cargo" for delivery and the "Limo" that has room for up to six passengers with comforts not normally found on Asian equivalents. Prototypes of the green tuk-tuk are already plying the roads in some places in Belgium, Spain and Germany. Switzerland too is poised to unveil them. In Berlin, a few electric rickshaws are already out on the roads but they can only be hired so far. They aren't legally allowed as taxis because taxis usually need to have four wheels, four doors and two axles. But the makers of the electric rickshaw are hoping the authorities will make an exception.

New Drug Boosts 'Good' Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals.It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes and is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity. In addition, cholesterol is an important component for the manufacture of bile acids, steroid hormones, and vitamin D. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by animals; however, small quantities can be synthesized in other eukaryotes such as plants and fungi. It is almost completely absent among prokaryotes including bacteria.Although cholesterol is important and necessary for mammals, high levels of cholesterol in the blood can damage arteries and are potentially linked to diseases such as those associated with the cardiovascular system (heart disease). A treatment currently being studied may prevent progression of atherosclerosis, a condition caused by the build-up of plaque in artery walls that can lead to heart attack, according to new research. In conducting the study, published in the Sept. 12 issue of The Lancet, researchers followed 130 patients with atherosclerosis who were randomly assigned to be treated with either the experimental heart drug dalcetrapib, or an inactive placebo over the course of two years. In the double-blind study, neither the researchers nor the patients knew who was taking the heart drug and who was taking the placebo. While statin drugs are commonly used to lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, dalcetrapib raises HDL or "good" cholesterol in order to reduce the risk, the researchers explained. To determine the efficacy of dalcetrapib, the researchers used non-invasive imaging technology. Through MRI, the researchers found the patients on dalcetrapib had a 31 percent increase in "good" HDL cholesterol levels. Additional PET/CT scans showed that inflammation levels in the carotid artery of patients were significantly reduced only among those taking dalcetrapib. The carotid arteries are responsible for supplying oxygenated blood to the head and neck. "We are excited about the results obtained in this trial, which could have a great impact on the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease," said Fayad, who disclosed receiving financial compensation as a scientific advisory board member from the study's sponsor, Hoffmann-La Roche, whose holding company makes dalcetrapib. Fayad noted imaging technology could be a vital tool for evaluating other treatments for heart disease. SOURCE: Mount Sinai Hospital, news release, Sept. 12, 2011

Story

‘You have done a brilliant work Rajesh. You have been given….rrrrhhhhh……Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh………… Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh .’- what!! I woke up from a sudden jerk. ‘Raaajeeessshhh… .’…I heard my wife yelling. What’s w/ her? Always yelling for something or the other. I can’t be in peace even in my dreams. Shucks!! Angrily, I kicked my blanket and got down. ‘Raaajesssh….’ ‘Coming Meera..what’s w/ you. Why are you shouting like this..’. I hurried down the stairs. I saw Meera, my sweet(??!!) wife, sitting in the couch giving breakfast to my 7yr old daughter Achala. Both looked happy, watching TV. I got confused at the whole scenario. I came running down, expecting some kind of earthquake, but instead here everything was in place. I looked at my wife & daughter. She smiled at me back. Now, I more got confused, what’s happening here? Am I in a dream? ‘Meera…’ ‘Yeah Rajesh…’ ‘You called me. In fact yelled.’ ‘Yes. You are right!’ ‘Everything is fine here right? Why you screamed like that then…’ ‘It’s ‘cos it’s going to be 8am now.’ I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. Is she playing some kind of prank? Is this the time for all these? I have to be in office by 9am for a meeting. ‘Yes. It’s going to be 8am.Right! So…?’ ‘Rajesh, don’t tell me, you forgot…today is 27th ‘ ‘27th..What 27th? ‘Don’t tell me you don’t remember?’ Meera gave me an ‘I’ll kill you’ look. Is it her birthday? No it’s somewhere at the year end. Is it my daughter’s? No no , we celebrated last month only right. Got it. Should be our Anniversary. ‘Hey Meera, How will I forget our Anniversary…’ ‘Whaattttttt? ???….Anniversaryy yyy???…..’ Got it. It’s not our anniversary. Before I get killed…What’s w/ 27th. What ?? what?? Come on Rajesh!! Think. Nothing hit my mind. I looked at my daughter for a clue. She turned her face away. What’s with all women? Why can’t they be straight forward & say things. With so much work pressure, how on earth I am supposed to remember all the dates?. If I say something, then Meera will pick up a fight, and I will miss the meeting, my whole day will be gone. I made up my mind to surrender. ‘Meera, Sorry, I don’t remember. This medicine I am taking for cough, Something happened..my memory is deteriorating ..What’s today?’ Meera doesn’t seem like buying that excuse from me. ‘Meera, please tell me’ I asked in a pitiable tone.. ‘Rajesh..You don’t remember at all?’ I moved my head left & right meaning NO. I kept my face like I am a patient suffering from ‘amnesia'. 'Rajesh, As part of annual day celebrations, today is 'Daddy's Day' in Acchu's school. I have been telling you for the past 3 weeks. Now don’t tell me you forgot. You already promised that you will go with her to her school' I couldn’t believe that I accepted for something like that. 'Meeraa..did I??' 'Yes. You did' ‘at what time it starts..?' 'By 8:30am and ends at 1pm'. Gosh!! 9am!! I have such a critical meeting. How I will attend all these. “Meera, you could have reminded me yesterday right?’ ‘Oh I didn’t remind you? Great. I didn’t call to your office. Or remind you in the evening and before going to bed’ Might be I wouldn’t have heard it. Or slipped out of my memory. Whatever!! 'Meera! Can’t you attend all these. Why should I??' "Rajesh. It’s Daddy's Day!...DADDY'ss!!!!!' 'Oh yeah....but. ..' 'But what????...' 'errrh....might be some other day...' 'What? You want the school to postpone the function?' 'No..No…actually. .what..I am saying is..' 'What Rajesh??? What?? Tell me. You promised Acchu and are you going to disappoint her? ' I stood there totally helpless. I looked at my daughter. She was all dressed up and ready to go. She looked like, she will cry any time. I saw Meera. She gave me a murderous look. I thought for a moment and my mind raced with many calculations. Important meeting. I can’t miss for sure. Half a day is too much. So many deliverables will get affected. I can’t face Meera again if I don’t go. Might be I can postpone the meeting by an hour and for name sake visit that function and escape to office. 'Meera, I will go, but I can spend only 1 hour..' 'No...that’s not..' Before Meera finished the sentence, Acchu rushed to me 'Thanks daddy. 1hour. Mom, 1hour is enough mom. Please don’t fight mom. Daddy, get ready soon..' she nudged me. ‘Do you know her school name and the route for the school or you want me to tell???’ Asking that Meera threw me an angry look and left the living room. I rushed up, got ready. Called my manager & told that I got stuck in traffic jam and postponed the meeting to 10am. I took Achala to her school. I felt somehow entering the school, ‘cos it’s the 2nd time, I am entering her school. In fact 1st time. I once dropped her outside her school gate. The school had a big playground, Small Park with all kids playing equipments. Some stalls were put up. So many kids with their fathers moved around here & there. Suddenly I felt some one touching my hand ‘Are you achala’s daddy?’ – A small kid asked. She had curly hair and bubbly smile. ‘Yes,,,My Daddy..…’ – Achala responded in an excited tone. And some kids ran towards me and Achala started introducing everyone. ‘Daddy! this is Rohit, this is zakir, Anis, Sylvia, Divya..’ – I told hello to everyone. ‘Daddy, Daddy, Zakir is my best friend.’ – I smiled at that cute blue eyed boy. ‘Uncle, Acchu told that you have so much work and you won’t be able to come. She told she won’t come in today. You don’t have work Uncle?’ – Zakir asked me. I suddenly felt very bad on how my daughter has understood me. ‘No Zakir, I don’t have work’ ‘Daddy, they are calling for the games. ‘ . Zakir ran to his father and waved his hands at me & achala. I took achala by hand and walked towards the stage. They were announcing the 1st game. Fathers will be given a sheet containing questions about their kids. Fathers have to fill about their kids which will be verified with the kids response. Achala was all excited about the game and she was all set to go. But I felt shivers. I looked at my daughter. Suddenly, I felt very far from her, and the reality hit me, that I don’t know anything about my very own daughter. I blurted out ‘Acchu..we will attend the next game..This one ..’ She gave me a deep stare. I thought she is going to cry or shout or do something. But instead she pulled out a small paper from her jeans pocket and gave it to me. Completely baffled, I opened the sheet. My name is Achala. My birthday March 21st. I am 7yrs old. I like butterfly. Superman. Dairy milk. painting. dancing. I am in 1st standard A section. I like Dora. Mango. Apple. Fried rice. Jelly. I don’t like banana. I drink boost.. I like yellow color. My nick name is ‘Honey dew’ And the list went on with small, small spelling mistakes. I looked at Acchu. ‘Daddy, read it, I know they will keep this game. So I wrote it 2 days back itself, to give you if you come. If they ask anything about me, write there. Ok Now go & attend the game’. Most of the things, my daughter has written & gave me, I never knew anything about it. I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. I went to the stage waved my hand to Acchu and got the question sheet. Since Acchu gave the sheet, I came to know about her & I answered almost all the questions. Then they asked Acchu on stage and asked the questions to her. We got the 2nd highest mark in that game. Acchu came running towards me and hugged me. They gave a ‘toy guitar’. Everyone congratulated us. Thou’ I won that game, I felt like a loser. I know, I don’t deserve this. I don’t know anything about my daughter. She looked very happy showing that guitar to her best friend, zakir . What a kid she is. Understanding that her dad is totally hopeless and don’t want to let her dad down, before others she prepared that sheet and gave to me. The lump in my throat started getting bigger and my heart became heavy. I caressed her hair. What a beautiful smile she has and such big eyes. Does she miss a wing to get qualified as an angel? I have never admired my daughter or even watched her in all these years. She has that cute dimple of Meera’s as well as her eyes. Does that curling lip edges when she smiles, is mine? How I missed all this in my life. Achala pulled me to the stalls there and I got some eatables and ballons for her and zakir.. She kept talking about the next game and suddenly my mobile rang. Oops!! Is it already 10am. I looked at Acchu . Suddenly her face became dark. She looked totally upset and asked in an low voice ‘Daddy! You have to leave now?’ I looked at my mobile. My manager was calling. It’s already 10am. I looked at Acchu. I looked around. All those happy kids with their fathers. I thought about my school days, where my dad used to come for all sports day, annual day, sit with me, cheer me up. Every day morning, while dropping me to school, he will wait near the gate until my head disappear. Evening, he will come & pick me up in his cycle, and I will be telling him all the stories that happened that day in school. I saw Acchu. How many untold stories my daughter has kept in her heart to say me? I thought about all those days, where I yearned for a girl child and I wonder, how much of my time I gave her. I pulled her closer, gave a kiss on her fore head ‘No Honey! I am not going. I will be here only…we will attend all games and roam around whole day.ok?’ ‘Really?’ – She asked in an unbelievable tone. ‘Yes sweetz’ ‘Thank you Daddy!’ – Achala kissed my cheeks and ran to her friends. School teaches you something or the other always. This time, ‘back to school’ has taught me a wonderful life’s lesson. I called my manager & told that am running high fever and can’t come in today. I know, I can handle things tomorrow. Today my daughter needs me more than anyone can need me in this world. With a lighter heart, I got up; ran towards Acchu, lifted her and gave her a big swing. She erupted into an uncontrollable laughter. The lump in my throat started melting away. Moral of the story: Life is often misinterpreted.. We work to live and not live to work.. Search the real meaning of Life..

Jokes

Kids Are Quick TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .. MARIA: Here it is. TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ? CLASS: Maria. ____________ _________ _________ ______ TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor? JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables. ____________ _________ _________ _________ ___ TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?' GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D- I-A-L' TEACHER: No, that's wrong GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it. ___________ _________ _________ _________ _____ TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water? DONALD: H I J K L M N O. TEACHER: What are you talking about? DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O. ____________ _________ _________ ____ TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago. WINNIE: Me! ____________ _________ _________ _________ ___ TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty? GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are. ____________ _________ _________ _________ TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with " I " MILLIE: I is.. TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.' MILLIE: All right ... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet." ____________ _________ _________ __ TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him? LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.... ____________ _________ _________ ________ TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating? SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook. ____________ _________ _________ TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's ... Did you copy his? CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog. ____________ _________ _________ _____ TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested? HAROLD: A teacher

World's most powerful women

1. Angela Merkel (second woman to chair the G8)
2. Hillary Clinton (United States Secretary of State)
3. Dilma Vana Roussef (president of Brazil)
4. Indra Nooyi (chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Nooyi)
5. Sheryl Sandberg (chief operating officer of Facebook)
6. Melinda Gates (American philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates)
7. Sonia Gandhi ( ruling United Progressive Alliance and the president of the Congress National party)
8. Michelle Obama ( advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating)
9. Christine Lagarde (managing director of the International Monetary Fund)
10. ene Blecker Rosenfeld (Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods)

Top 10 Mysterious Diseases

There are many sicknesses doctors can cure with the swish of a pen across prescription pad.
10. AIDS(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
09. Alzheimer's Disease(degenerative brain disorder)
08. The Common Cold(nose-running, cough-inducing cold)
07. Avian Flu(no immunity in birds)
06. Pica(to eat non-food substances)
05. Autoimmune Disorder(Lupus and MS)
04. Schizophrenia(Mental disorder)
03. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease(Brain disorder)
02. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(medically unexplained physical symptoms disease)
01. Morgellons Disease(cropped up again)

California Fugitive Arrested 36 Years After Escape

William Walter Asher III, 66, was arrested Friday at his home in Salida, about 70 miles south of Sacramento

Asher was sentenced to seven years to life in prison for robbing a San Francisco bar during which a bartender was shot and beaten to death in 1966. Asher was 20 at the time.

He was denied parole twice before escaping in January 1975 from Growlersburg Conservation Camp, an inmate fire camp in El Dorado County


home that belonged to a man named Garry Donald Webb, who appeared to resemble an older, thinner Asher and worked at a trucking business. A fingerprint on Webb's driver's license matched one on Asher's fingerprint card.

Asher admitted his identity after questioning from authorities, they said. He was living with a woman who had been with him for more than 10 years but didn't know about his fugitive status.

Asher was being held at the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown. He could face new charges related to his escape and could spend the rest of his life in prison, authorities said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/23/california-fugitive-arrested-36-years-after-escape/#ixzz1VqDFUdi4

North Sea oil leak 'pretty much dead'

It has greatly reduced the flow of a leaking oil pipeline in the North Sea, but environmental groups say Shell's response raises questions about the oil industry's ability to tackle disaster in colder regions.

Boost Creativity

Times when even the most creative person gets bored, starts going round in circles, or hits a cul-de-sac. So here are 7 unusual creativity boosters that research has shown will increase creativity:

1. Psychological distance
2. Fast forward in time
3. Absurdist stimulation
4. Use bad moods
5. Combining opposites
6. Path of most resistance
7. Re-conceptualisation

Stem Cell Therapeutics expands patent portfolio

Biotechnology company Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp (CVE:SSS) reported Thursday that both the U.S. and Japan patent offices have granted the company patents for drugs used to treat stroke and multiple sclerosis.

Stroke
A stroke is an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack."

multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).

read more, visit following website:
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/17391/stem-cell-therapeutics-expands-patent-portfolio-in-us-japan-17391.html

photos (lightstalking)

Causes of Depression

There are many well-known depression triggers: Trauma, grief, financial troubles, and unemployment are just a few.
But if you are depressed and none of these apply to you, it can be hard to pinpoint a specific cause.

1.Weather
2. Smoking
3. Thyroid disease
4. Poor sleep habits
5. Facebook overload
6. End of a TV show or movie
7. Where you live
8. Lack of fish in the diet
9. Poor sibling relationships

read more : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/16/sneaky-causes-depression/

10 Tricks to Be More Active

Staying in good shape and promoting better health doesn't always have to be limited to the confines of your local gym. Instead, if you can focus on everyday ways to be more active, you can burn calories, get leaner and help maintain or even build additional muscle mass.

1. Join a Recreational Men's League
2. Keep Up With the Yard Work
3. Wear a Pedometer
4. Take on Home Renovations
5.Get a Dog
6. Take Your Significant Other to Dance Lessons
7. Never Spend Your Weekends Indoors
8. Go Camping
9. Avoid Elevators
10. Bike to Work

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/16/top-10-tricks-to-be-more-active/#ixzz1VNCNcgrV

9 Ways to Remove Anger

Keep these guidelines around to use when you need them! Here are nine practical ways to remove the biochemical basis for anger:

1. Slowly drinking several glasses of cool water (not icy cold) is a sure way to get rid of Anger. Soft drinks, with a lot of sugar, acids, and often caffeine will not do. They will only increase the excitement.

2. Drinking water that has been stored in a silver cup, accumulating lunar energy for a day and night or more, is the very best. As an alternative, sun-baked or unglazed clay cups may also be used.

3. Not taking any sweet or fat and especially fasting for some time is a sure way to deny combustibles to the fire of anger. Since the feeling of hunger may increase irritability, any food fasting should be combined with exercising calmness.

4. Taking a little sweet may help, but only a small amount should be taken and allowed to slowly melt in the mouth, just to give the direct effect of the taste.

5. Avoid pungent, salty, sour, and astringent tastes in general.

6. Avoid alcohol, because it is the best combustible available, heating and drying the body.

7. Chewing red or green cardamom will turn the acid biochemistry to alkaline and thus reduce anger.

8. Yogurt and lemons are very good also. Lemons are sour but are cooling, unlike most sour foods.

9. Wearing pearls or taking pearl powder for more than one lunar cycle is a good way to get rid of persistent anger.


Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/remove-anger-nine-ways.html#ixzz1VMHQtcOd

Russia Unveils Its First Stealth Fighter

Military Tech
Russia Unveils Its First Stealth Fighter

Published August 16, 2011

| NewsCore

Print
Email
Share
Comments

PAK FA T-50 prototype

Sukhoi

PAK FA T-50 prototype on its maiden flight, January 29, 2010.

Russia on Tuesday unveiled its first stealth fighter to the public, lifting the curtain on a secret project designed to flood the market with cheaper versions of better-known US jets.

The Sukhoi Tu-50, being developed jointly by Russia and India, made its maiden flight at a Far East airbase in January 2010 and was rolled out for public viewing at the MAKS international airshow outside Moscow.

Russian state media reports last year said up to $10 billion was being poured into the jet's development but that the fighter would sell for no more than $100 million a piece.

Each US raptor sold for $140 million, a price tag that prompted Washington to order a halt to new jet purchases in 2009.

The Pentagon is now focused on developing the F-35, another stealth fighter whose funding is being partially provided by Britain and other members of NATO.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/16/russia-unveils-its-first-stealth-fighter/#ixzz1VI7W9MRq

Nine Innovation Roles

In case you missed it, the nine innovation roles are:

Revolutionary
Artist
Troubleshooter
Conscript
Connector
Customer Champion
Judge
Magic Maker
Evangelist

Computers and your eyes

Can looking at computer screens damage my eyes?
No. While complaints of eye fatigue and discomfort are common among computer users, these symptoms are not caused by the computer screen itself. Computer screens give off little or no harmful radiation.

Can looking at a computer screen cause eyestrain?
Fatigue, dry eyes, bad lighting, or how you sit in front of the computer can cause eyestrain.

What can I do to prevent eyestrain?
1. Place your screen 20 to 26 inches away from your eyes and a little bit below eye level.
2. Use a document holder placed next to your computer screen. It should be close enough so you don’t have to swing your head back and forth or constantly change your eye focus.
3. Change your lighting to lower glare and harsh reflections. Glare filters over your computer screen can also help.
4. Get a chair you can adjust.
5. Choose screens that can tilt and swivel. A keyboard that you can adjust is also helpful.

10 Hidden Benefits of Having Children

chatted with dozens of parents and poured through mountains of medical research to find the real reasons why Americans continue to reproduce. Come along as we explore the top 10 hidden benefits of having children.

1. Children lower your blood pressure
2. Children entitle you to major tax savings
3. Children get you better parking
4. Children keep you sane
5. Children renew your thirst for knowledge
6. Children make you sexier
7. Children give you an alibi
8. Children increase your self-esteem
9. Children remind you to stop and smell the roses
10. Children make you happier

Tattoos Increase the healthe problems

Tattoos is now maximum of the people to be used in our daily life.
In our body for example backside,chest,leg and many other places to draw the tattoos and enjoying them self. Now some of the celebrity also using tattoos is fashion. But in that tattoos no body knows its harmful our body. That matter only discuss in this post.

The more tattoos a person(youths,prison inmates & people in 30 countries) has, their greater the risk of contracting hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases, according to a University of British Columbia study published in August in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

"Since tattoo instruments come in contact with blood and bodily fluids, infections may be transmitted if instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized or without proper hygiene techniques," study researcher Dr. Siavash Jafari, a resident in the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health, said in a statement. He also warned that many tattoo dyes are not kept in sterile containers..

Kay and colleagues were asked to investigate a case of a 44-year-old man who developed a rash, then small bumps on his arm after getting a tattoo there in August 2009. The lesions remained for weeks after treatment with several antibiotics.And finally to identify the reason."Tap water" was used to dilute tattoo ink, and may have been the source of the bacteria, the CDC said. While using tap water is not against standards, the researchers recommended tattoo artists instead use distilled or sterile water at all times.

Prevention infection

To avoid tattoo infections, consumers should make sure the tattoo parlor they go to has properly trained artists, is clean and uses sterile equipments.

toys airplane using solar power

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used.For instance, a small child may pick up a household item and "fly" it through the air as to pretend that it is an airplane.
Most young mammals (Toddlers) have been observed to play with whatever they can find, turning such things as pinecones, rocks and food into toys. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations.

Wooden toys are simply classic, and when made from FSC wood they're a very green and safe option for kids. But today's kids' toys often have a gadgety gimmick. These wooden helicopter and airplane toys by BERTYandMASHA on Etsy keep all the classic and add some cool with subtle solar power. Watch them whirring in the video after the jump.

he designers write on their Etsy page, "This wooden airplane needs just a little sun or a strong light to spin its propeller. The stronger the light, the faster it will spin. There are no batteries and no switch, which makes it very reliable. It will be a lot of fun for children from the age of 5, and for adults as well. It gives a first experience with renewable energies, and unlike most solar toys this is made from solid chestnut wood. The wooden figure is made of beech."

No batteries, no switches, nothing very complicated -- and it teaches about the power of the sun for providing energy -- all in a wooden toy with a timeless style.

The toys are priced at about USD$108, which is very expensive. But considering the toy is likely to last a long time without plastic bits breaking off or batteries going dead, it seems reasonable.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Watermelon is a vine-like (scrambler and trailer) flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center. Pepos are derived from an inferior ovary, and are characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon – although not in the genus Cucumis – has a smooth exterior rind (green, yellow and sometimes white) and a juicy, sweet interior flesh (usually pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, red and sometimes green if not ripe). It is also commonly used to make a variety of salads, most notably fruit salad.

Requirement

4 cups cubed seedless watermelon, about 1 1/4 pounds

1 pound ripe tomatoes, quartered or cut into sixths

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Generous 1/2 cup chopped celery (2 ounces)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Thin celery slices or sticks for garnish

Method

Working in batches, purée all of the ingredients except the garnish in a blender for two minutes or longer until frothy and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, making sure you have used enough salt and lemon juice for a vivid flavor. Transfer to a bowl, and chill for several hours. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve, garnishing each bowl with thinly sliced celery or, if serving in glasses, with a thin lengthwise slice of celery stick.

Yield: Four to six regular servings, or 8 to 12 aperitifs.

Advance preparation: You can serve this soup the day after you make it. Leftovers are good for two or three days.

Nutritional information per serving (four servings): 130 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 17 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 19 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 2 grams protein

Conclusion:
Celery brings together the elements of this surprising soup.

Spielberg plans return trip to 'Jurassic Park

Twenty years after his Velociraptors and T.rex ruled Jurassic Park, director Steven Spielberg says the maneaters are returning to a movie theater near you -- teeth sharpened, and not for the popcorn.

Spielberg on Thursday told audiences at the giant Comic-Con International convention in San Diego that he was at work on a new "Jurassic Park" movie, delighting a packed house at the pop culture showcase.

"We have a story. We have a writer working on the script, and I think we will see a 'Jurassic 4' in our foreseeable future, probably in the next two or three years."

"Jurassic Park" thrilled audiences in 1993 with its modern-day dinosaurs developed from DNA in fossils that wreaked havoc upon a theme park where, instead of enjoying the wonders of science, the guests got eaten. The movie took in $915 million worldwide in its day and spawned two sequels.

Spielberg made his first trek to Comic-Con this year to show audiences clips from his upcoming film, "The Adventures of Tintin," which was directed by the Oscar winner and produced by "Lord of the Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson. It is scheduled for release in December of this year.

The movie is based on the comic books by Belgian artist Georges Remi, whose pseudonym was Herge, and they tell of a young journalist and his faithful dog who find themselves on numerous adventures, solving mysteries.

Spielberg said he and Jackson, a pair of filmmakers he characterized as "just two huge Tintin fanboys," began conceptualizing the movie as many as six years ago. He said they used state-of-the-art digital camera technology and capitalized on innovations developed by director James Cameron on his smash hit movie, "Avatar."

"We wanted to use animation to get as close to the characters that (Herge) invented and not characters that we would then reinvent based on big names, big movie stars," Spielberg said.

The director, a sci-fi film fan since childhood who made the genre movies "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," was at Comic-Con to receive an Inkpot Award for achievement in science-fiction movies.

He received a standing ovation from the crowd and told them: "We all love the same source material that has brought all of us here and the source material has always been the collective imaginations of so many brilliant artists and storytellers."

Health at birth linked to teen academic performance: Study

Babies who get low scores on a test of heart, lung and brain function given just a few minutes after birth may be more likely to need special education as teenagers, suggests a new study from Sweden.

But an outside researcher said that the chance of going to a special school was still low enough that parents shouldn’t be concerned so long as their kids with a low so-called “Apgar score” do fine early in life.

Apgar scores are measured one minute after birth and again five minutes after birth. They’re rated on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 meaning a baby is very pink and breathing well, has a fast enough heart rate and has good reflexes and muscle tone.

“It’s simply a measure of how well the baby has transitioned from intrauterine life,” said Dr. Nigel Paneth, a pediatrician at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

While a low Apgar score might mean that something went wrong during delivery – for example, the baby was deprived of oxygen at some point – “Apgar score to some extent reflects the underlying condition of the baby and the baby’s brain,” added Paneth, who was not involved in the new study.

A couple of things are known for sure about babies with very low Apgar scores, he said: they have a higher risk of dying soon after birth, and they also are more likely to have cerebral palsy, a group of brain disorders that originate during development.

Other than that, Paneth added, only weak connections have been found between Apgar scores and how well a kid does later on.

In the current study, researchers led by Dr. Andrea Stuart of Central Hospital in Helsingborg used large Swedish databases to link Apgar scores with kids’ grades in school and their chances of being in a special-education school.

The researchers had data on close to 900,000 babies born between 1973 and 1986.

Most of those kids had a normal Apgar score of 9 or 10 at the five-minute test. Only about 1 percent had a score below 7 and one-third of those were below 4, indicating serious immediate problems.

In total, about 23,000 of the kids were going to a special-education school at age 16.

Kids with an Apgar score below 7 were about twice as likely to go on to special schools as kids with high Apgar scores. Kids who had scores as low as 2 or 3 were about three times more likely to need special education.

Still, the authors point out in Obstetrics & Gynecology, only 1 in 44 babies with a score below 7 will go on to need special education because of whatever caused that low score at birth.

That shows that the Apgar score really doesn’t help predict which kids will end up needing more help in school, Paneth said.

“The vast majority of these kids with Apgars of 7 or less are going to normal schools and they’re getting good grades,” he said – though on average, these kids did slightly worse in normal schools than kids who had scores of 9 or 10.

The findings also can’t prove that low Apgar scores – or whatever made babies have trouble early on – caused more of them to need extra help in school as teens. But “the reasons leading to a low Apgar score … might have an impact on future brain function,” Stuart told Reuters Health in an email.

She added that kids with low scores shouldn’t be singled out.

“Children born with a low Apgar score should not be seen as a separate group, but each child should be treated individually, both medically and academically, based on its medical needs and academic capacity.”

Piramal, DBT begin second stage of drug discovery initiative

NEW DELHI: Piramal Life Sciences Ltd (PLSL) today said its drug discovery partnership with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has entered second stage to find new medicines for various diseases, including cancer and diabetes.

Government of India and PLSL expect to find new drugs from 14,000 bioactive cultures discovered in a nationwide search for new drugs from biodiverse habitats across the country in collaboration with nine national institutes, PLSL said in a statement.

As per the initiative, which is jointly funded by PLSL and DBT, a total of 2.45 lakh different microbes were collected and characterised at national centres, it said.

"Extracts from these microbes were screened for biological activities across four different therapeutic areas namely cancer, diabetes, inflammation and infectious diseases," it added.

Based on the results of these studies, the team has identified greater than 14,000 cultures that showed potent activities in the above disease conditions, it said.

All these cultures are in the process of classification and storage in a national repository created by DBT at the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS).

"This enormous database is a starting point for the isolation of novel scaffolds that may be useful for developing drugs," it said.

The team has now moved ahead for the second phase of the programme to identify and characterise the chemical entity which is responsible for the bioactivity described for the extracts.

"With the integration of high end technology platforms both in biology and chemistry, rapidity in isolation has been achieved, and 1000 extracts out of the 14000 will be evaluated within the next one and half years to obtain lead molecules," the company said.

The company plans to take advantage of the high end chemistry platforms that can handle batches of more than 500 extracts at a time and follow them through dereplication database analysis for recognising the active molecules.

PLSL and DBT had in 2007 kicked off their joint initiative to find new drugs.

Shares of PLSL today closed at Rs 96.05 on Bombay Stock Exchange , up 4.52 per cent from its previous close.

To Make It As A Flight Attendant In China, You Have To Be Beautiful

In China, becoming a flight attendant is serious business.
The positions are considered prestigious and thousands compete for coveted spots despite poor treatment, low pay, and grueling conditions, according to the Global Times.
China Southern Airlines, one of the country's largest carriers, recently held a pageant-style competition to recruit a new class of stewardesses. Tens of thousands applied; the company even turned the interview process into an American Idol-type reality TV show. 98% didn't make it past the first interview.
Here's what China Southern Airlines requires:

• Women must be 25 or younger
  
• They must be single
  
• They must be between 5' and 5'9"
  
• Their legs cannot be "X or O shaped"
  
• There are also restrictions on their weight-to-height ratio
  
• No glasses or visible scars
  

Hong Kong Airlines goes beyond physical requirements and trains all its flight attendants in kungfu.
American airlines imposed similar restrictions on flight attendants' physical characteristics in the 1930s and '40s; those standards were relaxed, although they lingered in some form, through the 1960s. Today such requirements would be considered illegal.

Is Tiger Woods Running Out Of Money?

Nike reportedly slashed their contract with Tiger Woods by 50% last year, cutting his endorsement earnings to less than one-third of what had been previously reported.
Last month, Forbes estimated that Woods' endorsement deals brought in about $75 million in 2010, but now a report by Fortune says that his actual earnings may be less than $20 million.
Many of his major sponsorship deals were canceled in the wake of sexual scandals in late 2009, but the quiet renegotiation with Nike – by far his biggest benefactor – has delivered this biggest hit.
Given his recent (very expensive) divorce and a series of huge real estate deals, his debt may soon become overwhelming. He's paying more than $10 million a year in mortgage payments and property taxes just on his main Florida home.
The declining revenues may also explain why IMG did not put up a fight when Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg, decided to leave for another agency. An IMG sources tells Fortune their income off his deal had dropped to about $1.5 million a year.
In January, a Dubai investment group pulled the plug on his luxury golf resort project. And yacht prices aren't what they used to be.
Compounding Woods' troubles even more is the fact that he hasn't won a tournament in almost two full years. He's won about $1.8 million the last two years. In 2009 alone, he won $10.5 million in a single campaign.
No one is going to feel sorry for a pro golfer making "only" $20 million a year, but for a guy used to living on top of the world, it's not just his knee and ankle that are hurting right now.
His agent denies that he's facing any financial strain.

neuropathology blog: A 58-year-old woman presenting with headache and u...

neuropathology blog: A 58-year-old woman presenting with headache and u...: "Here's a recent case of mine involving a lesion in the third ventricle of a 58-year-old woman who presented with headache and unsteadiness o..."

Four favorite tips for green computing

Whether you call yourself green or just a good-old-fashioned miser, saving energy and resources usually means saving some money too. But how does that apply to using computers? In honor of Earth Day, we polled Macworld's readers to find their favorite tips for green computing. Here are the results.
1. Use PDFs whenever possible
Paper products represent the largest portion of the United States’ trash, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2007, they made up roughly 68 million tons (or a little over a quarter) of all materials in the municipal waste stream. But even if you don’t feel ready to go all the way to a paperless workflow, you can still cut back on your paper use.
It's easy to take advantage of OS X's built-in support for the PDF file format in small but significant ways. Reader ckasper called out the ever handy Save As PDF feature as a paper saver. For instance, instead of printing receipts for every online purchase, press Command-P and in the Print window that appears, click on the PDF button. Choose Save PDF To Web Receipts Folder and a copy of the receipt—images and all—will be saved to a pre-made folder in youruserfolder/Documents.
If you want to save PDFs in a different folder you can do that too. (For instance, make one for “Donations.”) Create your new folder where ever you’d like. Then, next time you need to save a PDF, press Command-P, click on the PDF button, choose Edit Menu from the bottom, and then click on the plus (+) button to add your folder. The folder will appear in the PDF menu from then on.
Reader Matt Clement also vouched for the power of PDFs. He e-mails reports to himself so he can view them on his iPad instead of printing out hard copies. “I send them in PDF and them open them in iBooks, so I’ve got them all week in one handy place,” he said. (We recently shared an Automator workflow that simplifies moving PDFs onto an iPad or iPhone.)
2. Make the most of your paper
If you really must print, use both sides of the page, noted reader bradhurley. Most newer printers can do this automatically. (Without requiring you to turn the paper over and put it back in the paper tray.) Press Command-P, click on the menu at the lower-right of the dialog box and choose Layout. If you have the option, you’ll see a Two Sided menu at the bottom of the dialog box. Choose Long Edge Binding or Short Edge Binding.
When you need to check through a large document and can’t bear to do it onscreen, consider cramming more than one page onto a sheet of paper. To do this, go to the same menu, choose Layout, and then choose a number (up to 16) from the Pages Per Sheet pop-up menu. Choose a layout direction to control how the pages stack up.
Still got used sheets of paper lying around? Reader kevinbriankelly recommended using old printed documents for scrap paper. For more tips, see “Simple ways to save when you print.”
3. Turn things off when you’re not using them
The easiest way to save energy is to turn your equipment off when you’re not using it as reader Maxer and ckasper suggested. Putting your computer sleep is good, but a sleeping Mac still draws power. Turning it off altogether reduces the load even more.
Still, if you’re backing up your Mac, you’ll want to give it some time to do its thing when you’re not at your keyboard. Go to System Preferences, choose Energy Saver, and click on Schedule. A sheet will appear where you can choose a daily startup and shutdown time for your Mac. You can even determine a separate schedule for the weekdays and weekend by clicking on the Every Day pop-up menus.
Reader technologist noted that many devices—especially all those battery chargers and peripherals—continue to draw power (known as their vampire draw) even when they’re not being used. (See for yourself by plugging one in to a $20 Kill A Watt electricity usage monitor or Belkin's $30 Conserve Insight energy use monitor.) The only way to truly cut their power use to zero is to unplug them or use a “smart” power strip.
Sophisticated Circuits’ $199 PowerKey Pro USB 650 lets you choose which devices will be completely powered down. Belkin offers a number of energy-saving devices that combine, for example, surge protection with outlets that switch off at the end of the day. The $45 EcoStrip 2.0 switches off power to peripherals when your Mac is turned off. The not-quite-available-yet UFO Power Center will include four outlets that can be remotely controlled and report back on energy usage to an iPhone app.
You can get ahead of the game by buying energy efficient equipment at the start. Reader bradhurley pointed out that the ideal computers and monitors are rated EPEAT Gold or Silver. “These computers generally include recycled content, exceed Energy Star standards, and are made to be easy to recycle,” he said. All Apple computers are not only Energy Star qualified, but also meet the EPEAT Gold standard.
4. Reuse old equipment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 29.9 million desktops and 12 million laptops were discarded in 2007—that’s roughly 115,000 computers out with the trash each day. Similarly, the agency estimates 235 million units of electronic products are in storage—sitting unused in home closets, attics, or basements.
Many readers, such as nyalathotep, encouraged others not to let old equipment go to waste. First consider if friends or family might benefit from hand-me-downs or if there’s a job for old Macs to do (see “Use an old Mac as a backup server”). It’s surprisingly easy to sell old electronics on sites like Craigslist or eBay. Check out our stories about “Preparing an old Mac for sale” and how to “Preserve your Mac’s resale value.”
On the flip side of that, others wrote in to say their golden rule was to buy used instead of new. “Don’t grossly overbuy your machine,” added reader bastion. “The difference in power consumption between a high-end mini (peak) and a low-end Mac Pro (idle) is truly staggering. It’s not only green but it keeps money in your wallet, which for many people is far more compelling. My early 2009 mini has paid for itself in the form of lower electric bills compared to the G5 it replaced.”
For more tips on recycling, donating, and even using Mac parts in craft project, see “How to recycle your Mac” as well as Apple’s own recycling programs for Macs and displays and for iPod and mobile phones.

Healthy Summer Meal Ideas

Summertime cookouts can be healthy when you serve a menu featuring lean cuts of meat, top foods with light and flavorful sauces, and serve with good-for-you salads and veggies

1. Tex Mex on the Grill
Flank steak and vegetable fajitas offer authentic flavor and cook up in minutes. Pair with Refried Beans and sliced papaya to round out your meal.

2. Pork Tenderloin With Spicy Guava Glaze
Rubbing lean pork tenderloin with a fragrant spice mixture before grilling infuses flavor into the meat. Then, instead of a traditional barbecue sauce, brush the pork with a sweet glaze of guava paste, vinegar, and jalapeño pepper to add a tropical note to your barbecue. To carry out your island theme, serve the pork with rice and a mango salsa.

3. Sizzling Grilled Steak
Satisfy the steak and potato crowd with this easy grilled menu that's ready in about 40 minutes. A California Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect wine to pair with the steak, and it you want to offer an easy dessert, homemade Peach Ice Cream will make everyone happy.

4. Jerk Pork Tenderloin With Pineapple-Plum Relish
Jerk seasoning originated in the Caribbean and is used as either a marinade or rub for grilled meats. The blend of cinnamon, allspice, thyme, black pepper, and habañero pepper give the seasoning its characteristic sweet heat. The fruit relish balances the heat and is a colorful addition to the plate. Serve the pork and relish with steamed rice and fresh greens for a truly unique barbecue meal.

5. Kansas City Barbecued Chicken
Take a break from pork and sauce up some chicken with this sweet and spicy Kansas City-style sauce. This version has a nice balance of brown sugar and vinegar so the sauce isn't overwhelmingly sweet. Low-fat potato salad and crisp coleslaw make perfect accompaniments.

6. Hoisin and Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is the leanest and most tender cut of pork–a 3-ounce portion has about the same amount of fat as a 3-ounce skinless chicken breast. Grilling tenderloin over wood chips and basting in a sweet-and-spicy glaze puts the flavor over the top. Invite some friends over and serve the pork with Tomato Relish, Spring Giardiniera, Rosemary-Roasted Mashed Potatoes, and Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie.

7. Beer-Can Chicken With Cola Barbecue Sauce
Cooking a chicken over a can of beer may seem kind of zany, but it really does add flavor to the chicken and helps keep it moist during grilling. To complement the hint of beer in the chicken, serve it with this unique sauce of cola, ketchup, and Worcestershire. You'll love this chicken with Sweet Potato Shoestring Fries and Fresh-From-the Garden Vegetable Salad.

8. Carolina Pulled Pork With Lexington Red Sauce
Carolina-style barbecue features a thin, vinegar-based sauce that gives the shredded pork a tangy kick. Vinegar-based sauces are typically lower in sugar than sweet, tomato-based sauces, and here, the sauce is brushed on a bone-in pork shoulder, also known as Boston butt. Complete the menu with fresh tomato slices and grilled corn.

9. Grilled Chicken With White Barbecue Sauce
Fans of white barbecue sauce love its tangy creaminess with just the right kick from both black and red ground pepper. This sauce is low in fat because it uses reduced-calorie mayonnaise, vinegar, and a splash of lemon juice. Create a hearty backyard menu by adding potato salad, a fresh lima bean-corn salad, and homemade ice cream.

10. Barbecued Pork
If you're tired of the same ol' BBQ sauce, this pork is marinated and basted with a rich mixture of brewed coffee, molasses, spicy brown mustard, and vinegar. The coffee flavor is subtle, but adds a rich depth to the molasses and mustard. And as long as you're departing from tradition, why not replace baked beans with black beans and potato salad with grilled plantains?

11. Flank Steak With Radish Salsa
This lightened menu includes grilled favorites like flank steak and veggies in a balsamic mixture. Serve flank steak with a radish salsa on top of grilled Italian-Herb Bread for a filling meal. Round out the meal with slightly sweet tea and grilled banana splits for those with a sweet tooth.

Color Psychology

Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms?
Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate.

Black

Black is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil. Villains, such as Dracula, often wear black.

White

Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. However, white shows dirt and is therefore more difficult to keep clean than other colors. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility.

Red

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.
The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy.

Blue

The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue can also be cold and depressing. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. People are more productive in blue rooms. Studies show weightlifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.

Green

Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. However, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread on the eve of a fashion show for fear it will bring bad luck.

Yellow

Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.

Purple

The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

Brown

Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.

Colors of the Flag

In the U.S. flag, white stands for purity and innocence. Red represents valor and hardiness, while blue signifies justice, perseverance, and vigilance. The stars represent the heavens and all the good that people strive for, while the stripes emulate the sun's rays.

Food for Thought

While blue is one of the most popular colors it is one of the least appetizing. Blue food is rare in nature. Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple. When food dyed blue is served to study subjects, they lose appetite.
Green, brown, and red are the most popular food colors. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant.

Watermelon and Squid Salad

I have a pretty limited knowledge of Persian food – I’ve only had it a few times at a restaurant called Reza’s in Chicago, where I had heavy stews each time.  They were really good, but pretty standard meat/vegetable concoctions. 

Then I saw an article about a Persian chef who makes light and healthy Persian food in June’s issue of Food and Wine.   I was interested in learning about a side of Persian food I wasn’t familiar with, and when I saw that the article included a watermelon and squid salad recipe, I immediately tore it out and put the ingredients on my grocery list.  Not only do I have a soft spot for savory watermelon recipes, but the the combination of watermelon and squid just sounds so fun.

Grilling the squid was an adventure.  It’s important to get your grill really, really hot before you put the squid on, because you want to get char marks and have some smoky flavor on your squid, but you don’t want to leave it on the grill too long or it will get rubbery.  I balanced each little tentacle on the grill grates very carefully so it wouldn’t fall through (no casualties, phew!), but if you have a pan that’s made for using on the grill with odd-shaped items, that seems like a much easier way to do it.

This salad is perfect for dinner on a hot summer night.  The dressing on this salad is a little bit tart and a little bit spicy, and perfect for the sweet watermelon.  I could even imagine using the dressing on a green salad with watermelon cubes or on watermelon alone – it was SO good.  The original version of this recipe calls for it to be sprinkled with sumac at the end, which I didn’t have on hand, but if you can get some, the dark red color would look great sprinkled on top.

Watermelon and Squid Salad

Adapted from Food and Wine/Hoss Zare
Print version here

• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 jalepeno, minced (leave seeds out for milder dressing)
• Zest of one lime
• Juice of one lime
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound squid, bodies and tentacles separated
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• About 3 pounds of watermelon, cut into small wedges (about ½ inch thick and 4 inches tall)
• 1/3 cup chopped mint

1.  Whisk the vinegars, green onions, jalapeno, half the lime zest, and half the lime juice in a small bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
2. Heat your grill.  In a medium bowl, toss the squid with the olive oil, crushed red pepper, and remaining lime juice and zest.  When the grill gets very hot, grill the squid over the hottest part of the grill until lightly charred, about 4 minutes.  Slice the squid bodies into thin rings.
3. Arrange the watermelon on a platter, cover with the squid, and drizzle with the dressing.  Garnish with the chopped mint and serve.