Short Keys for Windows XP
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
1:31 AM
Labels: Awesome Collection , entertainment , IT , Windows Short Keys
Labels: Awesome Collection , entertainment , IT , Windows Short Keys
Collection of Sweet SMS
MERE SATHI MUJ KO CHOR CHALE
Mere Sathi Muj ko chor chale
Me Tanha hun Akash tale
Mere Sathi Mere Apne the
Me Tanha hun Akash tale
Mere Sathi Mere Apne the
COMPUTER SHORT COMMANDS
12:48 AM
Labels: Amazing , Awesome Collection , Computer , Internet , IT , Tips / Tricks , Windows Short Keys
Labels: Amazing , Awesome Collection , Computer , Internet , IT , Tips / Tricks , Windows Short Keys
RUN COMMANDS
Accessibility Controls = access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard = hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools = control admintools
Automatic Updates = wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard = fsquirt
Calculator = calc
Add Hardware Wizard = hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools = control admintools
Automatic Updates = wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard = fsquirt
Calculator = calc
How to Hack into a Live Security Camera
This is an interesting article. It is a sub-section of a Hacking Technique known as “Google Hacking”. All what we are looking at are unsecured cams from around the world that are interfaced with the internet. So how do you find such cameras. Just google these following strings and select any result. Whoa, you can see a live cam on your PC screen!! The strings are given below:
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Philanthropy thriving in newly rich Singapore
SINGAPORE: If you want to smell like roses and help the world's less privileged people, part with some of that extra money and give it to Lee Poh Wah."Philanthropic money is like manure. It smells if you have too much of it in the bank," said the 40-year-old chief executive officer of the Lien Foundation, one of Singapore's most high-profile philanthropic organisations.
2,200-year-old gold coin found in Israel
JERUSALEM: A rare gold coin dating back more than two millennia to the year 191 BC has been found at a dig in northern Israel, the antiquities authority said on Wednesday."The coin is beautiful and in excellent preservation. It is the heaviest gold coin with the highest contemporary value of any coin ever found in an excavation in Israel," Dr Donald T. Ariel, head of the authority's coin department, said in a statement.
Arctic ice island 'poses no immediate threat'
MONTREAL: The largest ice island in almost 50 years poses no immediate threat as it will take up to two years to drift through the Arctic Ocean, the Canadian who discovered it said.Trudy Wohlleben, a forecaster from the Canadian Ice Service, spotted the massive slab of ice that broke off a glacier in Greenland last week as she analyzed raw data from a NASA satellite.
340,000 babies born to US illegals in 2008
LOS ANGELES: Around 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the children of undocumented immigrants, a survey reported.The study from the Pew Hispanic Center comes amid growing calls amongst conservatives for the law to be amended to prevent the offspring of illegal workers from being granted automatic US citizenship.
Super resistant virus discovered in South Asia
LONDON: Experts fear that people travelling to India and Pakistan and getting medical there might get along a dangerous new mutation that makes some bacteria resistant to almost all antibiotics. Some cases have been found in Britain and the United States people who went to these Asian countries.
Some evidence vitamin D might fight colds
NEW YORK: A daily vitamin D supplement may help young men enjoy more sick-free days during cold and flu season, a small study suggests.Vitamin D has been the subject of much research of late, with studies linking low vitamin D levels in the blood to higher risks of type 1 diabetes and severe asthma attacks in children and, in adults, heart disease, certain cancers and depression.
Belgian man dies of South Asian superbug
BRUSSELS: A Belgian man died from a drug-resistant "superbug" originating in South Asia, a doctor said Friday, the first reported death from the bacteria.A second Belgian picked up the bug after being hospitalised after an accident during a trip to his native Montenegro, but recovered following treatment back in Belgium, another expert said.
Make Money Online Money Blogging Affiliate and Referral Programs
Affiliate or Referral Programs are one of the best source of income for the bloggers. They pay commission through the leads or sales generated.
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LinkShare Referral Program
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25 Best Firefox Add-ons for Bloggers
Firefox is considered to be the best ever web browser for bloggers, webmasters and web designers. It makes browsing, blog posting, SEO analysis, web page designing and other related practices much simpler and productive through various Add-ons. Following are the best firefox add-ons to enhance the productivity of bloggers, webmasters or web-designers:Top 5 ways to Monotize your Blog or Website
There are lots of ways to make money online. One great method is to start an engaging blog and be a thought leader in your niche. Some niches are very competitive such as gaming, tech, and finance but others might be quite uncompetitive.As you’re building up your readership you’ll want to start thinking about ways that you can turn that traffic into money. The following five monetization methods are an excellent place to start:
Access Multiple Gmail Accounts at once in the Same Browser
It’s a good news for the gmail users that finally they can access multiple gmail acocunts at a same time in the same browser. This was a much awaited feature for those who doesn’t want to forward emails from multiple account to one main account.
How to make Extra Money
Do you own blog ?
Do you want to make extra money with it?
No sense if it is just personal blog or business blog. No sense if it is blogger, wordpress or other blog!
You just have to decide how to monetize the traffic. You have a few ways for do that and maybe the best choice are affiliate programs and ppc programs.
GEO Health WHO declares swine flu pandemic is over
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
10:39 PM
Labels: Awesome Collection , Health , Heart Risks , Internet , Life
Labels: Awesome Collection , Health , Heart Risks , Internet , Life
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation on Tuesday declared the swine flu pandemic over, more than a year after the new virus spread around the world, sparking panic and killing thousands before fizzling out."The world is no longer in phase six of the pandemic alert. We are now moving into the post-pandemic period," WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a telephone news conference.
"The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course," she added, saying an international public health emergency "no longer applies."
The top phase of the WHO's six tier pandemic alert scale corresponds to a pandemic, or global spread of a disease.
New superbugs spreading from South Asia
PARIS: Plastic surgery patients have carried a new class of superbugs resistant to almost all antibiotics from South Asia to Britain and they could spread worldwide, researchers reported Wednesday.
Ishq e Rasool (SAW)
Muhammad Ki Muhabbat Deen-E-Haq Ki Shart-E-Awal Hai
Isi Mein Ho Agar Khami Tu Emaan Na Mukamal Hai
Muhammad Hai Matai Alam-E-Ejaad Se Piyara
Pidar, Mother, Brother, Jaan, Maal, Aulad Se Piyara
Muhammad Ki Mohabbat Hai Sanad Aazad Honay Ki
Khuda Ke Daman-E-Tauheed Mein Abaad Honay Ki
Isi Mein Ho Agar Khami Tu Emaan Na Mukamal Hai
Muhammad Hai Matai Alam-E-Ejaad Se Piyara
Pidar, Mother, Brother, Jaan, Maal, Aulad Se Piyara
Muhammad Ki Mohabbat Hai Sanad Aazad Honay Ki
Khuda Ke Daman-E-Tauheed Mein Abaad Honay Ki
House of bones Casa Batllo in Barcelona
BARCELONA: One of the most photographed buildings you could possibly find in Barcelona is that of Casa Batllo, also known as the ‘House of Yawns’.A more recent, more macabre name for this stunning Gaudi masterpiece is that of the ‘House of Bones’.
Situated near to its cousin, Casa Mila (or La Pedrera), upon the Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batllo stands out from the other buildings in that its walls are in an elaborately decorated order with Gaudi’s characteristic absence of straight lines.
The Casa Batllo’s disconcerting nickname (House of Bones) is owed to the ‘skeletal’ look of the columns of the building’s gallery and not because there are any skeletons to be found in the closet.
Casa Batllo’s roof has been compared to a reptilian creature, the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur, the dragon killed by St. George (Sant Jordi being the patron saint of Catalan).
It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the facade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues.
From the balconies resembling the bones of animals to the scale like surface of the front facade, the building is a tour de force of an artist reaching the peak of his powers. At night the floodlit facade has an iridescence like the scales of a fish. This polychromic finish is known as trencadís.
The enlarged windows on the first floor gave it another nickname, ‘House of Yawns’.
Sunlight can damage eyes
LONDON: Sunlight doesn’t just damage your skin, it can also ruin your eyes and increase the risk of cataract and damage to the retina.The best way of protecting eyes is always to wear quality sunglasses, reports a UK website.
A research in Britain has, however, found that over 60 percent of Britons are influenced by fashion and price rather than whether or not the glasses are effective.
Protecting children’s eyes is especially important, yet nearly half of parents put cost ahead of protection.
Good sunglasses don’t have to be expensive. People should just look for those that ensure a safe level of ultra-violet ray protection.
Google says 200,000 Android phones sold daily
| LAKE TAHOE: About 200,000 smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system are sold every day, CEO Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday, underscoring the strong challenge to rivals like Apple’s iPhone. Schmidt told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Lake Tahoe that Android a mobile software launched just over a year ago was gaining momentum in a fiercely competitive tech arena. Smartphones running the fledgling software topped the list among US consumers in the second quarter, industry tracker NPD said on Wednesday. The operating system powered a third of all smartphones sold from April to June, with Research in Motion’s BlackBerry sliding to second place for the first time since 2007. BlackBerry lost 9 per centage points of market share, diving to 28 percent. The iPhone came in third with 22 per cent. Android is now on smartphones made by a number of different manufacturers, including a revitalized Motorola’s Droid the best-selling Android handset in the second quarter among US consumers and Taiwan’s HTC. Google said recently that 160,000 Android phones had been activated each day during the second quarter, up from 65,000 in the first quarter. – Reuters |
California whooping cough outbreak largest in decades
NEW YORK: In the midst of what could be the largest whooping cough outbreak in more than 50 years — and the death of six infants under 3 months of age — California health officials are recommending booster shots for nearly everyone in the state, especially health care workers, parents and anyone who may come in contact with babies.Nearly 1,500 Californians this year have been diagnosed with whooping cough — five times the normal level for this time of year, state health officials say. Doctors are investigating another 700 possible cases. Many more may have had the infection, which often goes undiagnosed or unreported.
"This has the potential to become very huge," says Gilberto Chavez, chief of the California Department of Public Health's Center for Infectious Disease. "But we are at a point where we can contain it."
Chavez says it's especially important to protect babies, who have no natural immunity to whooping cough, also known as pertussis, and who are the most likely to die from it.
Although infants can get their first shots at 6 weeks, they aren't fully protected until after their third shot, at 6 months. Nearly 70% of infants under age 1 with whooping cough are hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Whooping cough cases have been increasing since the 1980s, partly because of better diagnostic tests, according to the CDC. It's incredibly contagious, sickening about 90% of people who are exposed to it.
The only way to protect babies — who typically contract whooping cough from their families — is to vaccinate everyone around them — parents, grandparents, siblings, caregivers, neighbors and friends, says Stacey Martin of the CDC. High vaccination rates with create a "herd immunity" for the entire community, even those who are unvaccinated, Martin says.
The state health department is providing whooping cough boosters to new mothers and other close contacts of infants at all birthing hospitals, community health centers and local health departments.
Wireless sensor watches blood sugar for diabetics
WASHINGTON: Researchers have developed an implantable sensor that measures blood sugar continuously and transmits the information without wires -- a milestone, they said, in diabetes treatment.The device worked in one pig for more than a year and in another for nearly 10 months with no trouble, they reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
It takes the diabetes field a step closer to development of an "artificial pancreas" -- a device that can replace natural functions to control how the body handles blood sugar.
And it would be handy for people who need to check blood sugar daily, such as patients with type 2 diabetes, the team at the University of California San Diego and nearby privately held GlySens Inc wrote.
"You can run the device for a year or more with it constantly working, and recording glucose quite satisfactorily," bioengineering professor David Gough, who led the study, said in a statement.
"We hope to begin the first human trial in a few months," Gough added in a telephone interview.
He said his team has been testing such experimental devices in pigs for 31 years.
Medical device makers have been working to develop a so-called artificial pancreas to deliver insulin to patients with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys its own ability to make insulin and thus to properly break down sugar.
Even with treatment, eventually blood vessels and organs get damaged and patients can lose vision, organs and limbs. An estimated 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in childhood or in young adults.
Gough's team said their device could also work for people with type 2 diabetes, which is far more common and becoming worse. An estimated 180 million people globally have diabetes.
The implant used in the pig study is about 1.5 inches in diameter, and 5/8 inch thick. "We hope to make it smaller in the future," Gough said.
It transmits 10 to 12 feet.
The device uses a sensor that detects oxygen in the tissue where it is implanted to measure glucose. "The present artificial pancreases use needle-like sensors or wire-like sensors," Gough said. "This device is likely to be more appealing to people with diabetes. There is nothing protruding from the body."
To inject insulin or use an insulin pump, patients need input on blood glucose levels. Too little insulin and patients get damage from hyperglycemia, or too much blood sugar.
Too much insulin and hypoglycemia -- dangerously low blood sugar -- can send patients into a coma.
Gough foresees ways to have the glucose monitor send its signals to cell phones.
"There are parents with diabetic children who spend their nights worrying that their child in a nearby bedroom may go into nocturnal hypoglycemia," he said. An implanted sensor could wake a parent if the child's glucose levels dropped to a dangerous level.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which helped pay for the study, has been working with several companies to create a seamless artificial pancreas. It works with U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson's unit Animas, which makes insulin pumps, and DexCom Inc, which makes continuous glucose monitoring devices.
Smiths Medical, a unit of Smiths Group Plc, Abbott Diabetes Care, a unit of Abbott Laboratories Inc, and Medtronic Inc also make glucose and insulin devices.
Gough and colleagues at the university founded GlySens and the company collaborates with the institution.
Over 21,000 children in Ghana are HIV positive
CAPE COAST: About 21,202 children have tested positive to the HIV/AIDS disease nationwide, the Central Regional Coordinator on HIV/AIDS Mr. Ebenezer Koomson, said on Tuesday.He painted a dismal picture of the HIV/AIDS situation in the country and described as a "worrying trend" the high rates of deaths of its victims, which was 17, 058 annually.
Mr Koomson expressed these concerns at the second quarter review on HIV/AIDS Control activities in the various districts in the region at Cape Coast.
He said the HIV/AIDS population in the country was 240,802 nationwide of which 219,600 are adults.
He pointed out that epidemiologically, when the prevalence of a chronic disease goes above one per cent it becomes a major problem that needs to be tackled by health personnel, with urgency.
The GHS, particularly, at the district level, should, therefore, collaborate with other stakeholders and health related NGOs to address all health issues in their areas to ensure quality health care delivery, he declared.
Mr. Koomson announced that as part of strategies to deal with the pandemic, his outfit embarked on Sentinel Survey, which provided a primary data for estimation and projection of HIV and AIDS impact on the general population at the regional level.
Other measures were the "Know Your Status Campaign" (KYSC), a strategy to create greater access for the population to access care and treatment if one is infected with the disease.
He advised that pregnant women should not be excluded from KYSC but be involved for them to be linked to care and further treatment if tested positive to prevent mother to child transmission.
He expressed regret that some infected persons were neglected, ex-communicated, shunned or ejected in some communities, noting those practices were still common and pointed out that the discrimination often left victims in a state of insecurity and hopelessness, resulting in their early death.
Mr. Koomson said an HIV positive person with a little care from friends and relatives could live longer and asked Ghanaians to treat relatives and friends with the disease with respect and utmost care.
On the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS) he told the public to disabuse their minds of the notion that it was a positive reinforcement for the records of numerous pregnancies in the various communities.
He noted that this was a challenge for the NHIS to partner the health directorates in their districts to provide quality health care services and evolve means to meet the needs of the public.
Presenting reports on HIV/AIDS in the districts, Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district health directorate recorded five positive of the 30 people who went in for voluntary counselling and testing during the second quarter of this year.
It said of the 855 expectant mothers screened on the prevention from mother to child (PMTC) services, 16 tested positive adding that, currently 17 people were on treatment while 13 babies are also HIV positive.
In the Assin North district, eight HIV/AIDS deaths were recorded during the first quarter and one in the second quarter of this year.
He mentioned the frequent shortage of Anti-Retroviral Drugs, as s a major challenge in managing the disease at the district level.
The other districts appealed for regular supply of drugs as well as funds to enable them to manage the disease effectively.
Rare disease carried by mosquitoes kills infant
TAMPA: Gulf coast health officials are urging residents to use mosquito repellant after two people died of Eastern equine encephalitis this month.On Thursday, Hillsborough County health officials elevated an advisory first issued in April to an alert to let residents know they need to be more cautious.
The warning comes after a woman in her 50s died on July 1, followed by the death of an infant, a website reported.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE, is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito, the Centers for Disease and Prevention said on its website. It’s a rare illness in humans and only a few cases are reported in the U.S. each year. The most severe cases of EEE involve encephalitis, which is inflammation on the brain.
The CDC said you can reduce your risk of being infected with EEE by using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing, and staying indoors when mosquitoes are most active.
Breast cancer rates 4 times higher than east Africa
LONDON: The number of women being diagnosed with breast cancer is four times higher in Britain than in eastern Africa, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) said.The non-profit association found that 87.9 British women in every 100,000 were diagnosed with the disease in 2008, compared with 19.3 in east Africa.
Superior diagnostic and recording techniques in Britain account for some of the variation, but the WCRF warned that lifestyle decisions were also reinforcing the trend.
Scientists highlighted obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and lower breastfeeding rates as factors contributing to the alarming figures.
"The fact that breast cancer rates in eastern Africa are so much lower than in the UK is a stark reminder that every year in this country, thousands of women are diagnosed with a case of cancer that could have been prevented," Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the WCRF, said.
"The fact that rates of breast cancer are much lower in other parts of the world highlights the fact that breast cancer is not inevitable. This means we need to do more to get across the message that just by making relatively simple changes to our lifestyle, women can reduce their risk of breast cancer.
"Scientists estimate that about a third of the most common cancers in the UK could be prevented just through eating healthily, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight," she added.
High blood pressure on the rise in Britain
LONDON: A shocking 35% of Brits aged between 16-34 suffer from hypertension, according to a survey released today. The news quashes the belief that high blood pressure only affects the old age.Experts suggest binge drinking, lack of exercise and poor diet are to blame for the high levels of hypertension recorded, which consequently increases the likelihood of suffering from strokes, heart attacks and kidney problems.
Professor Eoin O’Brian, from University College Dublin, warned, ‘People of all ages need to take their blood pressure seriously and re-evaluate their lifestyle to reduce the risk of hypertension.’
The study involved the analysis of 8,586 blood pressure tests, which confirmed a UK average blood pressure reading of 140/86, significantly higher than the recommended reading of 120/80.
Disturbingly, only one in four of those tested had the recommended blood pressure, while more than half had a reading categorised from mild to severe.
Shafeeque Mohammed, a health expert at Lloyds pharmacy who carried out the survey, said that high blood pressure recorded in young people is of particular concern.
Last month, it emerged that Britain’s booze culture had resulted in a huge increase in patients being treated for high blood pressure.
In just five years the number of adults diagnosed with hypertension as a result of excessive drinking has risen by a staggering 74%.
Worryingly, women who drink more than six units of alcohol a day are doubling their risk of developing high blood pressure.
New super-strong painkiller developed from snail spit
LONDON: Scientists have developed a new pain-relief pill from a chemical used by sea snails to catch their prey. It was found to be as effective as morphine for relieving the most severe forms of pain but without the added risk of addiction.
Marine cone snails produce a saliva that contains a deadly dose of peptide toxins to help the slow-moving creatures catch prey. They inject passing victims with needle-like teeth that shoot out of their mouths.
Researchers said the peptide could potentially revolutionise the treatment of the most severe forms of pai.n
Scientists have already transformed one of the chemicals into a pain-reliever for humans. However, it has to be injected directly into the spinal cord which limits how much it can be used.
Now researchers in Australia, led by David Craik of the University of Queensland, have developed a form of the painkiller that can be taken orally.
The modified chemical was found to reduce severe pain in rats at a much lower dose than existing medications, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News.
'For years people have been saying that peptides make fantastic drug leads because they've very potent,' Professor Craik told the magazine.
However, peptides were regarded as poor drugs as they were not stable and could not be taken orally.
This could be set to change, after the team led by Professor Craik, found they could stabilise the amino-acid chains by synthetically lashing the head to the tail.
'All you need is for the ends to be roughly close to one another,' he said.
The drug could potentially revolutionise the treatment of the most severe forms of pain and Professor Craik is keen to take his research further.
'The most challenging aspect has been just raising the money to get it commercialised,' he told Chemical & Engineering News.
China, Mexico, Pacific sites get World Heritage status
BRASILIA: Six sites located in Brazil, China, Mexico, France's Reunion Island and the South Pacific nation of Kiribati won World Heritage status from a UNESCO panel meeting in Brazil.Four existing World Heritage sites were also expanded to include nearby natural or cultural treasures in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain, the UN cultural agency said in a statement.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, in a 10-day meeting in Brasilia that will wrap up Tuesday, has already added or extended 17 other sites to its list, bringing the total number of sites around the world with the prestigious stamp to 910.
The latest additions comprised three culturally important sites and three environmentally unique ones.
Sao Francisco Square in the northeastern town of Sao Cristovao was designated a World Heritage site because of a church and convent there, and a palace and associated houses, all from the 18th and 19th centuries that "creates an urban landscape which reflects the history of the town since its origin."
China's Danxia, or rugged red landscapes that emerged from river silt deposits in southwest China, were added because of their role in preserving subtropical forests and hosting flora and fauna, including 400 considered rare or threatened.
Mexico had two sites inscribed.
The first, the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, or the Royal Inland Road, which was a route that runs from north of Mexico City into the United States, was used to transport silver from mines for 300 years from the 16th century. UNESCO noted it "fostered the creation of social, cultural and religious links in particular between Spanish and Amerindian cultures."
The second was a complex of prehistoric caves in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, some of which bear "archeological and rock-art evidence for the progress of nomadic hunter-gathers to incipient farmers." One of the caves contained seeds and corn cob fragments dating back thousands of years that are thought to be the earliest evidence of domesticated plants on the continent.
France's Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, gained its first World Heritage site within its national park. The area, dominated by volcanic peaks and cliffs, comprises "subtropical rainforests, cloud forests and heaths creating a remarkable and visually appealing mosaic of ecosystems and landscape features," UNESCO said in its statement.
Kiribati's Phoenix Islands, a zone that is the largest marine protected area in the world, also won heritage endorsement. The island group "conserves one of the world's largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, together with 14 known underwater sea mounts" thought to be extinct volcanoes, complete with a staggering variety of marine species.
Existing sites expanded by the World Heritage Committee included ones that now take in an Austrian castle, a Bulgarian national park, a monastery in Romania and prehistoric rock art in Spain.
The 17th castle in Austria, the Schloss Eggenberg, is located three kilometers (two miles) from the historic center of the city of Graz, which was granted World Heritage status in 1999. It is an "exceptionally well-preserved example which bears witness... to the influence of the late Italian Renaissance and the Baroque period," UNESCO said.
Bulgaria's Pirin National Park listing, given in 1983, was expanded to include the Pirin Mountains, except for two areas set aside for skiers.
In Romania, a site including seven churches in Moldavia built in the 15th and 16th centuries that gained World Heritage prestige in 1993 was expanded to include The Church of the Sucevita Monastery -- an edifice decorated with late 16th century paintings.
And the inclusion of 645 prehistoric engravings on a cliff in Siega Verde, in Spain's Castilla y Leon, extended the World Heritage site of Portugal's ancient rock art in the Coa Valley.
Saturday, the UNESCO committee announced heritage labels for an imperial palace in Vietnam, temples in China, an Australian penal colony, a historic bazaar in Iran, 14th-century villages in South Korea, an 18th-century astronomical observatory in India, Sri Lanka's Central Highlands region, and the United States' Papahanaumokuakea archipelago.
Earlier, the committee also added Florida's Everglades and Madagascar's tropical forest to a special list of 31 World Heritage sites considered to be in danger.
Mobile for the hard of hearing
LONDON: It will not make you popular with the neighbours. But if your hearing is not what it was and you do not always hear your mobile ring, it could be the phone for you.
With a ring tone that can reach 100 decibels, the same as a pneumatic drill, there is no chance that you'll miss it going off - and nor will anyone in your street.
And for the hard of hearing, the earpiece can be set to an even higher volume - 110dB, the equivalent of a South African vuvuzela horn being blown at full blast beside your head.
Designed with large, clear buttons and a lack of complicated features, the makers of the Amplicom M6000 say it is the ideal phone for the elderly or anyone with hearing loss.
While it is compatible with hearing aids, product manager David Youngs, who has hearing difficulties himself, says many people like to be able to make calls without wearing theirs.
'I can make a call and even if I haven't got my hearing aid on I can just push the volume up and hear the conversation perfectly,' he said.
'The ring tone is also extremely loud - put it this way, if it went off in a restaurant on the highest setting, you'd probably get thrown out!'
The phone was designed for those with hearing difficulties, but the simple, uncluttered design is expected to prove popular with anyone who feels the range of often unnecessary functions on modern phones is just too much.
'To those who want simplicity, talk of megapixel cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and music files is extremely off-putting,' added Youngs.
The standard earpiece volume of the M6000 goes up to 30dB, but a 'boost' function enables it to be increased right up to 110dB - louder than a motorbike or the average thunderclap, and almost as noisy as being at a rock concert.
In addition to its ear-splitting volume, the phone features a large, clear keypad and a screen with displays text messages in extra-large type.
And while it has no camera, there are extra functions - including an SOS button on the back which can be set to ring a relative in an emergency.
There is also a motion sensor which can be set to automatically ring 999 or an emergency contact if the user falls over.
The handset, which sells at £119.99 and according to the manufacturers is compatible with all UK operators except the 3 network, could prove a hit with the estimated 4.5million UK pensioners who don't own a mobile.
While there are almost 77 million mobile subscriptions in the UK, more than half of voice calls still originate from landlines rather than mobiles.
But by last year, four in five households had both a mobile phone and a landline phone.
Amplicom are also targeting the 165,000 people registered as being hard of hearing in England. Out of these, 65 per cent are over the age of 75.
Seven hours the magic number for sleep
WASHINGTON: People who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day, including naps, are increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, a study published Sunday shows.Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke, the study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University's (WVU) faculty of medicine and published in the journal "Sleep" says.
And sleeping more than seven hours also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, it says.
Study participants who said they slept nine hours or longer a day were one-and-a-half times more likely than seven-hour sleepers to develop cardiovascular disease, the study found.
The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold compared to people who sleep seven hours.
Women who skimped on sleep, getting five hours or fewer a day, including naps, were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Short sleep duration was associated with angina, while both sleeping too little and sleeping too much were associated with heart attack and stroke, the study says.
A separate study, also published in "Sleep", showed that an occasional long lie-in can be beneficial for those who can't avoid getting too little sleep.
In that study, David Dinges, who heads the sleep and chronobiology unit at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine, found that 142 adults whose sleep was severely restricted for five days -- as it is for many people during the work week -- had slower reaction times and more trouble focusing.
But after a night of recovery sleep, the sleep-deprived study participants' alertness improved significantly, and the greatest improvements were seen in those who were allowed to spend 10 hours in bed after a week with just four hours' sleep a night.
"An additional hour or two of sleep in the morning after a period of chronic partial sleep loss has genuine benefits for continued recovery of behavioral alertness," Dinges said.
In the study about sleep and cardiovascular disease, researchers led by Anoop Shankar, associate professor at WVU's department of community medicine, analyzed data gathered in a national US study in 2005 on more than 30,000 adults.
The results were adjusted for age, sex, race, whether the person smoked or drank, whether they were fat or slim, and whether they were active or a couch potato.
And even when study participants with diabetes, high blood pressure or depression were excluded from the analysis, the strong association between too much or too little sleep and cardiovascular disease remained.
The authors of the WVU study were unable to determine the causal relationship between how long a person sleeps and cardiovascular disease.
But they pointed out that sleep duration affects endocrine and metabolic functions, and sleep deprivation can lead to impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening the arteries.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that most adults get about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
Shankar suggested that doctors screen for changes in sleep duration when assessing patients' risk for cardiovascluar disease, and that public health initiatives consider including a focus on improving sleep quality and quantity.
"Sleep" is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
Vitamin B no help for stroke victims: study
PARIS: Vitamin B, while harmless, does not help prevent a repeat occurrence of strokes or heart attacks, according to a study released Wednesday.The findings, based on first-ever clinical trials, suggest that vitamin B supplements should no longer be recommended for patients who have suffered severe vascular events, the researchers said.
Previous research has shown a link between an increase of amino acid in the blood -- a condition known as homocysteine -- and a higher risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.
At the same time, other studies have shown that a daily dose of B vitamins can reduce abnormal amino acid levels.
What remained unknown was whether the supplements would also help cut the risk of repeat heart attacks or strokes, fatal or non-fatal.
To find out, an international consortium of doctors and scientists in 20 countries conducted a clinical trial with more than 8,000 patients who had recently had a serious heart or vascular problem.
Half the participants were given a daily dose of B vitamins -- a mix of folic acid, B6 and B12 -- while the other half swallowed lookalike placebos.
During a follow-up period that averaged 3.4 years, there was no statistically significant difference in the outcome: 15 percent of the vitamin B group experienced a major vascular event, compared to 17 percent for the control group.
At the same time, the vitamins did not cause any unwanted side effects.
The results were published in the British medical journal The Lancet.
Chinese Man Lives on Leaves of Grass Alone
BEIJING: A 50-year-old Chinese man Li Sanju, from Niwuei, has been eating only grass and roots, for the last year and a half, without any serious health problems.The eccentric Chinese says the idea came to him, in October of 2008, while watching TV show, where he learned man can survive for 10 days without eating. This inspired him to live on water and stuff he could find on the mountain. At first he gave up meat completely, but continued eating some rice. After a few weeks, he gave up on rice and only ate grass, roots and tree leaves.
After eating a lot of grass, Mr. Li suffered from diarrhea, for days in a row. He believed it was from the pesticides spayed on plants around the village, so he decided to only pick his food from up the mountain. He has lived like this for a year and a half, and says it made him healthier. The tumors he had on his right leg simply vanished, and he hasn’t had any other health problems.
Li Sanju says he rarely goes to the city these days, since there’s little for him to eat there. Someone offered him 10,000 yuan to eat a piece of meat, but he says he declined, for fear of dying.
Low-carb edges low-fat for heart risk factors
NEW YORK: Low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets can be equally effective at helping obese adults shed weight over the longer term, but cutting carbs may have an advantage when it comes to some heart risk factors, a study published Monday suggests.
Researchers say the findings offer reassurance that low-carb diets -- which tend to be relatively high in fat -- are not a threat to heart health.
Instead, the study found that over two years, people on the low-carb plan had a greater increase in "good" HDL cholesterol than those on the low-fat regimen. They also had a more significant dip in diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number in a blood pressure reading.
Still, that does not mean that everyone hoping to lose weight should go low-carb, according to lead researcher Dr. Gary D. Foster of Temple University in Philadelphia.
Both diets, he said in an interview, helped people shed pounds and improve their risk factors for heart disease. So the bottom line is that individuals should choose the diet changes that they can live with for the long haul, according to Foster.
"With either diet, you're looking pretty good," he said.
The caveat, though, is that everyone in the study adopted their diets as part of an overall program focused on lifestyle change.
They were instructed to start exercising regularly -- mostly brisk walking -- and learned tactics for weight management, such as writing down what they ate every day and setting reasonable short-term goals (if you normally eat 10 candy bars a week, for instance, first try cutting out a couple rather than going cold-turkey.)
And that behavioral shift may be key in helping people keep the weight off in the long run. Foster cautioned against "becoming myopically focused on what you should or shouldn't eat."
The study findings, which appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are based on 307 middle-aged obese adults who were randomly assigned to either a low-fat or low-carb diet, plus the lifestyle program.
People in the low-carb group followed an Atkins-style plan, strictly limiting carbohydrates for the first 12 weeks to 20 grams, or about 80 calories' worth of carbs, per day -- with vegetables as the only source. After that phase, they gradually added small amounts of carbs from certain fruits, grains and dairy. They were allowed unlimited amounts of fat and protein.
People in the low-fat group cut their calories to between 1,200 and 1,800 per day, depending on their sex and initial body weight, and aimed to get 55 percent of their calories from carbs, 15 percent from protein and 30 percent from fat.
Over the first year, the whole study group averaged a weight loss of about 22 pounds; after the second year, they'd managed to keep off about 15 pounds, on average. There was no significant difference between the low-fat and low-carb groups, Foster's team found.
In the first six months of the study, the low-fat group had the edge when it came to "bad" LDL cholesterol. On average, their LDL fell by about 10 mg/dL, from a starting point of 124 mg/dL; LDL levels below 100 mg/dL are considered "optimal."
In the low-carb group, LDL initially rose during the first three months -- probably, according to Foster, because of participants' newfound freedom to eat unlimited fat. But by year two, both diet groups had LDL levels that were several points lower than their starting numbers, with no significant difference between the groups.
Similarly, triglycerides (another type of blood fat) and systolic blood pressure (the top number in the reading) declined to a comparable degree in both groups.
When it came to HDL, the average for the low-carb group rose by nearly 8 mg/dL, from a starting point of 46 mg/dL; HDL levels below 40 mg/dL are considered a risk factor for heart disease, and ideally, levels should be at least 60 mg/dL.
HDL levels in the low-fat group rose by almost 5 mg/dL, on average, from a starting point of 45 mg/dL.
The low-carb group also had a modest advantage when it came to diastolic blood pressure, showing a three-point decline at year two, versus a half-point dip in the low-fat group.
Some side effects were more common among low-carb eaters. At the six-month mark, 45 percent reported hair loss, versus 21 percent of the low-fat group. After three months, nearly two-thirds said they had problems with bad breath, compared with 37 percent of the low-fat group.
The only persistent side effect, however, was constipation. After two years, 39 percent of the low-carb group reported constipation, versus 17 percent of the low-fat eaters.
It's not yet clear why the low-carb diet created a greater increase in HDL cholesterol, according to Foster. But the findings suggest that increased fat intake, itself, may be responsible.
However, whether that HDL advantage actually translates into greater heart-health benefits is unclear.
For now, Foster said, the message is that either a low-fat or low-carb diet can work in the longer term. He also noted that people do not necessarily have to join a formal program to learn the behavioral changes that can help them succeed, as the same type of information is available online and in books.
Researchers say the findings offer reassurance that low-carb diets -- which tend to be relatively high in fat -- are not a threat to heart health.
Instead, the study found that over two years, people on the low-carb plan had a greater increase in "good" HDL cholesterol than those on the low-fat regimen. They also had a more significant dip in diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number in a blood pressure reading.
Still, that does not mean that everyone hoping to lose weight should go low-carb, according to lead researcher Dr. Gary D. Foster of Temple University in Philadelphia.
Both diets, he said in an interview, helped people shed pounds and improve their risk factors for heart disease. So the bottom line is that individuals should choose the diet changes that they can live with for the long haul, according to Foster.
"With either diet, you're looking pretty good," he said.
The caveat, though, is that everyone in the study adopted their diets as part of an overall program focused on lifestyle change.
They were instructed to start exercising regularly -- mostly brisk walking -- and learned tactics for weight management, such as writing down what they ate every day and setting reasonable short-term goals (if you normally eat 10 candy bars a week, for instance, first try cutting out a couple rather than going cold-turkey.)
And that behavioral shift may be key in helping people keep the weight off in the long run. Foster cautioned against "becoming myopically focused on what you should or shouldn't eat."
The study findings, which appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are based on 307 middle-aged obese adults who were randomly assigned to either a low-fat or low-carb diet, plus the lifestyle program.
People in the low-carb group followed an Atkins-style plan, strictly limiting carbohydrates for the first 12 weeks to 20 grams, or about 80 calories' worth of carbs, per day -- with vegetables as the only source. After that phase, they gradually added small amounts of carbs from certain fruits, grains and dairy. They were allowed unlimited amounts of fat and protein.
People in the low-fat group cut their calories to between 1,200 and 1,800 per day, depending on their sex and initial body weight, and aimed to get 55 percent of their calories from carbs, 15 percent from protein and 30 percent from fat.
Over the first year, the whole study group averaged a weight loss of about 22 pounds; after the second year, they'd managed to keep off about 15 pounds, on average. There was no significant difference between the low-fat and low-carb groups, Foster's team found.
In the first six months of the study, the low-fat group had the edge when it came to "bad" LDL cholesterol. On average, their LDL fell by about 10 mg/dL, from a starting point of 124 mg/dL; LDL levels below 100 mg/dL are considered "optimal."
In the low-carb group, LDL initially rose during the first three months -- probably, according to Foster, because of participants' newfound freedom to eat unlimited fat. But by year two, both diet groups had LDL levels that were several points lower than their starting numbers, with no significant difference between the groups.
Similarly, triglycerides (another type of blood fat) and systolic blood pressure (the top number in the reading) declined to a comparable degree in both groups.
When it came to HDL, the average for the low-carb group rose by nearly 8 mg/dL, from a starting point of 46 mg/dL; HDL levels below 40 mg/dL are considered a risk factor for heart disease, and ideally, levels should be at least 60 mg/dL.
HDL levels in the low-fat group rose by almost 5 mg/dL, on average, from a starting point of 45 mg/dL.
The low-carb group also had a modest advantage when it came to diastolic blood pressure, showing a three-point decline at year two, versus a half-point dip in the low-fat group.
Some side effects were more common among low-carb eaters. At the six-month mark, 45 percent reported hair loss, versus 21 percent of the low-fat group. After three months, nearly two-thirds said they had problems with bad breath, compared with 37 percent of the low-fat group.
The only persistent side effect, however, was constipation. After two years, 39 percent of the low-carb group reported constipation, versus 17 percent of the low-fat eaters.
It's not yet clear why the low-carb diet created a greater increase in HDL cholesterol, according to Foster. But the findings suggest that increased fat intake, itself, may be responsible.
However, whether that HDL advantage actually translates into greater heart-health benefits is unclear.
For now, Foster said, the message is that either a low-fat or low-carb diet can work in the longer term. He also noted that people do not necessarily have to join a formal program to learn the behavioral changes that can help them succeed, as the same type of information is available online and in books.
Cancer girl saved by windpipe made of her own stem cells
LONDON: Doctors have carried out pioneering lifesaving surgery to give a new windpipe to a British teenager suffering from cancer.The 19-year-old was able to speak within a few days of the operation carried out in Italy using her own stem cells.
Another 31-year-old patient from Czechoslovakia also underwent surgery for the same rare form of trachea cancer.
Doctors regenerated tissue from the patients’ nose and bone marrow stem cells to create windpipes in the laboratory, which were biologically identical to the patients’ original organs.
Because they contained no donor material, the patients will not have to take anti-rejection drugs.
Walter Giovannini, from AOU Careggi Hospital, in Florence, Italy, said the British woman was speaking just three or four days following the operation last month.
He said: 'This is a unique solution for a problem that had none, except the death of the patient.
'Surgeons have been making advances in the transplant of windpipes, but previous cases have mostly focused on patients whose windpipes have been physically damaged due to trauma.
'While trachea cancer is rare, it is very difficult to treat because it is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation and transplants of mechanical devices to replace the windpipe have not been effective.'
Experts suggest low-calorie diet for longer life
LONDON: The dinner table during the second half of your life should look and taste a lot like that of the first half: a well-balanced plate with lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy grains and low-fat dairy products.For seniors, who may have limited energy and resources, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of eating processed foods and frozen dinners loaded with salt and additives.
“The message doesn't change,” said Jane Doroff, director of senior nutrition at the Council on Aging. “Stay away from as much processed food as you can and utilize your farmers market, buying produce from them rather than just opening a can.”
According to the Tufts University's Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults, seniors need fewer calories, but they still require a high level of nutrients from whole grains, protein and brightly colored veggies and fruit, along with adequate water. But because appetite and thirst diminishes with age, seniors often forget to eat and drink on a regular basis throughout the day. That can lead to weight loss and infections, and exacerbate chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
“The biggest problem we see is dehydration,” said Genevieve Ladha, who provides meals for seniors in their homes as the owner of Sonoma Homecare. “Because their thirst diminishes, they're not interested ... But you have to drink your water. It's a chore, but a really important one.”
To help boost water intake, Ladha suggests purchasing a Brita water filter, available at Safeway and other stores. The pitcher holds six glasses of water and is easy for seniors to lift.
“You can make water taste better by being filtered,” she said. “You have to help them remember or give them a benefit.”
Ladha, who is a certified senior advisor, or CSA, provides nutrition advice for seniors through a series of “Food After 50” workshops held at various senior living complexes throughout Sonoma County.
Her clients also enjoy the boosted flavor and smooth texture of hummus and carrots, caramelized roasted vegetables and whole-grain breads from Alvarado Street Bakery, which can be toasted for breakfast. Instead of white rice, Ladham suggests that seniors choose corn tortillas and whole-grain tortillas as the starch component of their meal.
While it's easy to slice carrots, colorful vegetables such as squash and pumpkin can be unwieldy for seniors to chop. Instead, Ladma recommends buying frozen squash from the grocery store, then mixing it with black beans and sauteed spinach for a nutritious meal.
If you use canned beans, however, she suggests rinsing the beans several times to remove the excess salt.
For clients who have high cholesterol, she likes to cook with two fresh eggs — but only one yolk — for a simple frittata breakfast or lunch. Another high-protein breakfast is yogurt mixed with a small amount of fruit.
“A quarter cup of yogurt, with berries, is manageable,” she said. “We use the Fage Greek yogurt, and it has a ton of protein.”
As part of her “Food After 50” workshop, Ladha takes seniors to local farmers markets to help steer them toward vibrantly colored foods such as sweet potatoes and blueberries, along with other fresh produce.
“They go to the farmers market and pick up radishes and greens,” she said. “And they like the crunch of Romaine lettuce.”
Ladha finds that her senior clients are particularly fond of her Caesar salad because she makes it with a fresh, lemon-anchovy dressing.
One of the tips for stimulating a senior's appetite is to have them suck on a lemon drop or bite into a lemon before eating, to wake up their taste buds.
“It's a refresher, and it cleanses the palate,” Doroff said. “Their taste acuity does diminish, because their taste buds slough off.”
At the Council on Aging, a nonprofit organization serving 900 meals to Sonoma County seniors each day, almost everything is made from scratch, which enables the kitchen to keep the sodium and fat content in check.
Sharon Spratling, senior-meal program dietician for the Council on Aging, plans all the menus according to American Heart Association guidelines for low-fat and low-salt meals. She must include sources of vitamin C, calcium, fiber and protein in each meal.
Getting enough protein can be especially challenging for seniors who are on a tight budget or have difficulty chewing their food, but experts view it as a key component of a healthy diet.
“Research shows that boosting your protein intake can help retain your lean muscle mass, even when you're sedentary,” Spratling said. “Lean meat, dairy, eggs and beans are all wonderful.”
While tofu is still a hard sell among older seniors, it can provide an excellent source of protein for younger seniors more open to new foods, Spratling said.
The Council on Aging sends out nutrition tips with their daily menus and in their monthly newspaper that encompass everything from farmers market updates to ideas for easy entrees for one. The council also recommends that seniors try to integrate some physical activity as part of their daily regime. That viewpoint, however, is not always met with enthusiasm.
“We were on a roll about growing container gardens right off your patio as a good physical activity,” Doroff said. “Then we got a comment from an 88-year-old, who said, ‘That's enough with the health. I'm 88 years old and I'm going to do what I want.'”
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