variety mixed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:49:00 +0600

Zoological

About Chittorgarh Fort in India

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 May 2014 10:30:00 +0600

Chittorgarh, also called Chittaur, from the 7th century to the 16th, was the capital of Mewar under the Rajputs. Chittorgarh is the epitome of Rajput pride, romance and spirit. Chittorgarh Fort is a massive and majestic fort situated on a hilltop near Chittorgarh town in Rajasthan state in India One thing the Indian State of Rajasthan certainly has are some really magnificent old forts to look around and Chittorgarh Fort is certainly worth visiting. Chittaur evokes memories of great heroism and sacrifice by Rajput men and women in the intermittent battles that they had to fight against invaders from Northwest or Delhi. Chittaur witnessed both the ravages of war and the triumphs of the spirit. Allaudin Khilji who coveted Queen Padmini of Chittaur, invaded the city in 1303 A.D. Queen Padmini and the women of the court sacrificed themselves in a pyre of fire rather than submit to anybody.

This supreme sacrifice has been called 'Jauhar' and epitomises the fiery spirit of the Rajputs of the day. The city stands strewn with monuments and battlements as evidence of the blood and gore that it went through in medieval times.

The Chittaur fort is the best known fort in Rajasthan. Its origins are traced to the Pandavas of Mahabharata. It is said that Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers, built the fort. Standing on 180 metershigh hill , the fort covers an area of 700 Acres. Inside it is the Meera and Khumba Shyam Temple. It is associated with Meera, a mystic poetess devoted to Lord krisna whose life and bhajans have become part of the folklore and literary traditions of the region and several parts of

India

. Chittorgarh (Chittaurgarh) is the epitome of Rajput pride, romance and spirit. It reverberates with history of heroism and sacrifice, which is evident as it echoes with the tales sung by the Bards of Rajasthan. The main reason for visiting Chittorgarh is its massive hilltop fort, which is a depiction of Rajput culture and values.

It is the proud possessor of one of the largest forts to be found in Asia. Constructed by Chitrangada Mori who ruled the Rajput clan of the Mauryans during the 7th Century, Chittorgarh Fort is sat on a 180 metre high hill and overlooks the town of Chittaurgarh. The fort is 5 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide, is accessible only by seven huge spiked gates and encompasses an area of around 700 acres. Despite it's impressive fortifications Chittorgarh Fort has been taken three times - firstly in the early 1300s by The Sultan of Delhi Allauddin Khiliji and then by Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535 and finally by the Mughal Emperor Akbar-e-Azam Akbar (Akbar the Great) whose forces took the fort in February 1568 A.D. following a four month long siege.

Chittorgarh fort is also called as Water Fort. The fort had 84 water bodies, out of which only about 22 exist today. These Include talabs (ponds), kunds (wells), and baories (stepwells). All the talabs have a natural catchment. The kunds and baories are located below the talabs, so that even the seepage from the latter is not lost.

The fort spreads over 700 hectares, 40 per cent of which are given over to water bodies. The average reservoir depth is about 2 m. Taken together, this means these reservoirs can store about 4 billion litres of water.

In a year of more than normal rainfall (average annual rainfall: 700 mm), enough water would be stored to last the next 12 months. Even after water loss due to seepage and evaporation and other causes, an army of 50,000 could live in the fort for four years without fear of thirstObolokon

US may act to keep Chinese hackers out of Def Con hacker event

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 May 2014 14:32:00 +0600

Washington is considering using visa restrictions to prevent Chinese nationals from attending popular summer hacking conferences in Las Vegas as part of a broader effort to curb Chinese cyber espionage, a senior administration official said Saturday.

The official said that Washington could use such visa restrictions and other measures to keep Chinese from attending the August Def Con and Black Hat events to maintain pressure on China after the United States this week charged five Chinese military officers with hacking into U.S. companies to steal trade secrets.

China has denied the charges, saying they were "made up."

Organizers of the two conferences said they knew nothing about any efforts under consideration by Washington, but that they believed limiting participation from China was a bad idea.

Jeff Moss, founder of both Def Con and Black Hat, could not be reached, although he posted his thoughts on Twitter: "First I have heard of it, boarding flight to D.C. now. I don't think it helps build positive community."

Chris Wysopal, a Black Hat review board member, said restricting access would have little impact. Hacking talks from both conferences are videotaped and sold on DVDs or posted on the web.

Members of the community of hackers and security professionals who present at Def Con and Black weighed in on Twitter. Responses ranged from bemusement to anger.

"That is terrible," said Richard Westmoreland.

"Racism by the U.S: No Chinese people allowed at Defcon," tweeted Valdes Nzalli.

"Something tells me that the Chinese hackers who the U.S. gov are worried about don't go to defcon anyways," said Steve Manzuik.

Def Con's official Twitter feed posted a tongue-in-cheek response: "If you are going to speak at or attend #DEFCON & you need a visa to enter U.S. please contact us for invite letter to help your app."

At Black Hat, an employee of Chinese security software maker Qihoo 360 is scheduled to speak on software vulnerabilities while two researchers with Chinese University of Hong Kong are set to talk on hacking social media. Def Con does not have any Chinese nationals on its roster.

It would be tough to prevent Chinese from attending Def Con because its privacy-conscious organizers only take cash and badges have no names.

U.S. agencies are weighing a range of options if China does not a curb its cyber espionage, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

"We've tried to have a constructive dialogue. The State Department and the Defense Department have traveled to China to share evidence of hacking by the (People's Liberation Army), but those types of interchanges have not sparked a lot of progress or reciprocity," said the official.

The possible visa restrictions were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. It said other options for increasing pressure include releasing new evidence about the alleged hacking operations.

Ten to 12 Chinese citizens were unexpectedly denied visas last week to attend a space and cyber conference hosted by the Space Foundation in Colorado this week, the organizers said.

Speakers included Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other high-ranking U.S. intelligence and military officials.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said visa applications were confidential, but cautioned against drawing a connection between the denials and indictments of the hacker

It's never too late to lose weight

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 May 2014 15:35:00 +0600

Are you not hitting the gym thinking that weight loss at your age may not be of any help?

Think again as researchers have now found that weight loss at any age in adulthood is beneficial as it could yield long-term heart and vascular benefits.

“Our findings suggest that losing weight at any age can result in long-term cardiovascular health benefits, and support public health strategies and lifestyle modifications that help individuals who are overweight or obese to lose weight at all ages," said professor John Deanfield from University College London (UCL).

The study examined the impact of lifelong patterns of weight change on cardiovascular risk factors in a group of British men and women followed since birth in March 1946.

They showed that the longer the exposure to excess body fat (adiposity) in adulthood, the greater the cardiovascular-related problems in later life, including increased thickness of the carotid artery walls, raised systolic blood pressure, and increased risk of diabetes.

Adults who drop a BMI (body mass index) category - from obese to overweight, or from overweight to normal - at any time during adult life, even if they regain weight, can reduce these cardiovascular manifestations.

"Our study is unique because it followed individuals for such a long time, more than 60 years, and allowed us to assess the effect of modest, real-life changes in adiposity,” Deanfield added.

The findings appeared in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Generations collide in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:13:00 +0600

Trapped in a dystopian future where marauding, shape-shifting robots have turned New York's Central Park into a concentration camp, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has no choice in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" but to travel back in time to alter history.
The film, which opens in US theatres on Friday, is the seventh based on the Marvel Comics series that has grossed more than $2.3 billion at the global box office.

A sequel to both 2006's "X Men: The Last Stand" and 2011's "X-Men: First Class”, the film begins in a future where Sentinel robots are trying to destroy mutants, and follows Wolverine as he travels back to the 1970s, when he does not have the use of his silver-coloured claws.

"The X-Men movies always have a theme of disenfranchisement or minorities or discrimination," said Jackman, 45, the best actor Oscar nominee for the musical "Les Miserables" whose action film career took off with X-Men.

"We're actually tackling real human issues in addition to having people fly and have lasers come out of their eyes," Jackman told Reuters, noting that the characters' powers come from emotional traumas they have faced.

The film, expected to be one of the biggest at the box office this year, has had a dose of unwelcome publicity after two men accused director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing them as teenagers, charges he denied.

As a result, Singer has not participated in the film's global rollout, leaving promotion to his cast of acclaimed actors with an increasingly international profile.

Academy Award winner Halle Berry ("Monster Ball") returns as weather-controlling Storm. Jennifer Lawrence, who picked up an Academy Award for "Silver Linings Playbook”, is the blue, shape-shifting Mystique and Ellen Page ("Juno") plays Kitty Pryde, who can run through solid objects.

Much of the plot revolves around Mystique's actions and Wolverine's attempts to thwart them.

Global Culture, Existential Roots

"The film is about struggle and being able to risk everything," said British actor Patrick Stewart, 73, back as Professor X in the film, whose younger self is played by Scottish actor James McAvoy, who starred in 2008's "Wanted”.

Two-time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen ("Gods and Monsters") returns as the metal-controlling mutant Magneto, with Michael Fassbender, who won an Oscar nod as the slave owner in "12 Years a Slave”, playing Magneto in the past.

Peter Dinklage is Bolivar Trask, a quietly conniving industrialist bent on destroying the superhero mutants with his Sentinel robots. "I wanted Trask to be smooth, because I don't trust that in people," said Dinklage, best known for HBO's "Game of Thrones”. "I never know where they're coming from."

As Wolverine and the other mutants attempt to stop Trask they disrupt key historical events, including the 1973 Paris Peace Accords and the Watergate scandal, during which a portly President Nixon, played by Canadian-born actor Mark Camacho, considers buying a fleet of Sentinel robots.

Fassbender's young Magneto even picks up the RFK Stadium in Washington, DC and drops it around the White House as Trask and Nixon negotiate a deal.

While the plot may be complex, it helps reset the storyline after "X-Men: The Last Stand”, in which Professor X's body is destroyed and Magneto loses most of his mutant powers. The film also returns the series to its existential roots, exploring how several characters find redemption.

New additions to the cast include Chinese actress Fan Bingbing as the teleporting mutant Blink, and Omar Sy in the role of energy-absorbing Bishop.

"We want our movies to reflect the world," said Lauren Shuler Donner, who has produced all of the "X-Men" films. "Years ago they sort of reflected the American culture, but it's no longer about the American culture. It's about the global culture."

E-cigarettes boost quitting success among smokers, study finds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:11:00 +0600

Smokers trying to quit are 60 percent more likely to report success if they switch to e-cigarettes than if they use nicotine products like patches or gum, or just willpower, scientists said on Tuesday.

Presenting findings from a study of almost 6,000 smokers over five years, the researchers said the results suggest e-cigarettes could play an important role in reducing smoking rates and hence cutting tobacco-related deaths and illnesses.

As well as causing lung cancer and other chronic respiratory diseases, tobacco smoking is also a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, the world's number one killer.

"E-cigarettes could substantially improve public health because of their widespread appeal and the huge health gains associated with stopping smoking," said Robert West of University College London's epidemiology and public health department, who led the study.

Mainly funded by the charity Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Addiction, West's study surveyed 5,863 smokers between 2009 and 2014 who had tried to quit without using prescription medicines or professional help.

The results were adjusted for a range of factors that might influence success at quitting, West said - including age, nicotine dependence, previous attempts to give up smoking, and whether quitting was gradual or abrupt.

They showed that 20 percent of people trying to quit with the aid of e-cigarettes reported having stopped smoking conventional cigarettes.

That compared with just 10.1 percent of those using over-the-counter aids such as nicotine replacement patches or gum. Of those using willpower alone, 15.4 percent had managed to stop.

E-cigarettes contain nicotine - a stimulant not thought to be particularly harmful, although it is addictive - delivering it in a water vapor rather than in smoke from burning tobacco.

A relatively new product, they have become highly controversial, with public health opinion split over whether they might be a powerful tool in helping those hooked on cigarettes to finally give up, or whether they simply replace one bad habit with another.

Because switching to e-cigarettes from tobacco ones does not entail kicking the addiction to nicotine, some specialists say they could spell the end of smoking - which the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls "But critics point to a lack of long-term scientific evidence to support the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes, and warn they may also re-normalise smoking, enticing children or other non-smokers to take it up.

West agreed that evidence about long-term use is e-cigarettes is scant, but stressed the balance of risks had to be weighed against the very strong evidence of tobacco's harms.

"It's not clear whether long-term use of e-cigarettes carries health risks, but from what is known about the contents of the vapour these will be much less than from smoking," he said.

Smoking tobacco kills half of all those who do it, according to the WHO, and has a death toll of 6 million people a year.

West said evidence shows that smokers who seek professional help from doctors or health clinics that provide stop-smoking services have the highest success rates in quitting.

"These almost triple a smoker's odds of successfully quitting compared with going it alone or relying on over-the-counter products," he said.

one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced".

How smart phones are ruining your sleep

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:08:00 +0600

Know that blue light your smart phone emits during the night gives you false signal that it is actually morning - forcing you to open eyes and look outside the window?
Switch off smart phones or tabs as the blue light is actually destroying your sleep, researchers warn.

“One of the best biological cues we have to what time of day it is is light. And it turns out that blue light in particular is very effective at basically predicting when morning is,” Brian Zoltowski from the American Chemical Society was quoted as saying in media reports.

In the evenings, there is more red light than blue light that signals your body to get ready for bed.

The red light does this by interacting with the protein called melanopsin in cells deep inside your eyes.

“When the light hits this protein, these cells send a signal to the 'master clock' of the brain that dictates when we wake and when we get sleepy,” Zoltowski explained.

After witnessing blue light, these cells sends a 'wake up' signal at night, messing up with sleep.

Keep your smart phone or tablet away from your vision for a good night's sleep, the researchers noted.

'Invisible' wireless networks brought to life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 May 2014 16:31:00 +0600

Ever wondered how does the digital network that surrounds us all the time appear and how does it react to human movements?
You may now see the “ghosts” of invisible digital networks as a researcher at Newcastle University in Britain have created images that show the ‘spectres’ of wireless networks sweeping, swirling and swooping around a ghostly figure.

“I call the images ‘spectres’ because wireless networks remind me of ghosts,” he said.

Luis created the photographs by 'Kirlian' Device, an instrument specially designed by him to reveal the qualities of wireless networks.

The instrument scans continuously for wireless networks, and transforms the signal strength to colour LEDs.

Then, using the device in different places, his movements were captured using long exposure photography.

The results are multi-coloured streaks of light which twirl and wrap in spaces, showing how we are surrounded without even realising we are.

“It is an impossibly fragile and volatile infrastructure that holds our digital technologies together, and shapes the way in which we interact with the digital world,” Luis added.

“Something as seemingly inconsequential as walking around the house will interfere with and reshape their propagation and strength field. Close the wrong door, and the bedroom becomes a dead spot for wireless,” he explained.

Luis has also created a 'Kirlian Device' app which can be downloaded for free for Android devices here.

The images were produced as part of Luis Hernan's Digital Ethereal project, which aims to bring the invisible world around us to life.

Russians consume most alcohol, says WHO data

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 May 2014 11:33:00 +0600

Russians and their neighbours drink more than almost everyone else in the world, a recent map of the World Health Organization (WHO) shows.
Portugal, Grenada, and Andorra are also ranked in the highest category at more than 12.5 liters per person over the age of 15 in 2010.
WHO notes in its report that 48% of those included in this data abstain from drinking altogether.
So if those people were excluded, per capita consumption among those who do drink would be even higher than what's shown on this map.
Alcohol consumption is low in northern Africa, but the southern half of the continent sees higher drinking rates, especially South Africa and Namibia.

Alcohol consumption in Russia is a major concern. A recent study found that the high number of early deaths in Russia could be attributed to people drinking too much, the report said.
Commons causes of early deaths include liver disease, alcohol poisoning, and getting into accidents or fights while drunk.
Other countries near Russia, including Ukraine and Belarus, have similar levels of alcohol consumption.
The report notes that the European region contains just 14.7% of the world's population above the age of 15, but accounts for 25.7% of the total alcohol consumed worldwide.
The report uses the most recent data for alcohol consumption around the world.
In addition to having some of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world, Russia and Ukraine also have the most risky patterns of drinking, according to WHO.
To determine which countries have the riskiest drinking patterns, WHO considers the usual quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion, proportion of drinking events when drinkers get drunk, proportion of drinkers who drink daily or nearly daily, festive drinking, drinking with meals, and drinking in public places.

Now the hard part: Nadella touts new Surface tablets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 May 2014 13:57:00 +0600

Satya Nadella has enjoyed a fairly smooth ride in his first 100 days as Microsoft Corp chief executive, but he risks hitting a rough patch next week when he unveils the latest models of the tepidly received Surface tablet.
Investors have lapped up Nadella's "mobile first, cloud first" strategy to recast the venerable software maker as a "devices and services" company, sending its shares up 9 percent since he took the helm.

So far he has stressed the services side of the business, making the momentous move to put Microsoft's Office suite on Apple Inc's iPad. This was popular with Wall Street and more importantly with consumers, who performed 27 million downloads in a matter of weeks.

But Microsoft is expected to unveil the third generation of its Surface devices at an event on Tuesday, laying hints that it will also introduce a smaller tablet, to address the fast-selling lower end of the market dominated by Apple's iPad mini, Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire, Google Inc's Nexus and Samsung's Galaxy range.

The devices side of the strategy has been a challenge. Microsoft's Surface, launched in October 2012, has about 2 percent of the market and has not made a dent on Apple's iPad. That fits with Microsoft's 3 percent global share in smartphones.

Given that tiny market, some investors believe Microsoft should not waste time and money on the low-margin hardware business.

ValueAct Capital, which led the shareholder revolt last year which culminated in previous CEO Steve Ballmer's retirement, has lobbied against Microsoft's hardware effort, including its costly acquisition of Nokia's handset business.

"Nadella is off to a golden start as CEO, although turning around the tablet and mobile business over the next 12 to 18 months remain his two key Herculean tasks," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.

"If the turbulence gets too rough on the tablet and/or mobile segment, we can potentially see some strategic changes on the horizon around the hardware business."

Despite unspectacular sales, there are signs that Microsoft's Surface Pro 2, which runs the full Windows operating system, is starting to attract Microsoft's core business customers.

"There’s certainly tons of interest in the Surface Pro as an Ultrabook (lightweight laptop) replacement that has tablet capabilities," said JP Gownder, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester. "It is the No. 1 model I get asked about, it's going to have a lot of eyes on it."

Even if the Surface never dominates the market, Gownder thinks Nadella and Microsoft are right to persevere with hardware, if only as a way of showing other device makers how best to make use of Windows.

"Microsoft would be nuts not to have devices in the mix. The danger is in not exploring," said Gownder. The Surface "is an important product to basically show what their overall vision is for Windows, and also to offer businesses and consumers another choice".

The Royal Bengal tiger.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 May 2014 13:38:00 +0600

The Bengal tiger (also known as the Royal Bengal tiger) is a subspecies of tiger, found across the Indian subcontinent. The Bengal tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh and is considered to be the second largest tiger in the world.

The Bengal tiger is the most numerous species of tiger in Asia and is found in dense forests and mangrove swamps and jungles throughout India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, although the Bengal tiger's range today is much smaller than it once was.
The Bengal tiger is considered to be the second largest species of tiger, although recent reports suggest that the Bengal tiger is on average, larger than the Siberian tiger. The Bengal tiger has a yellow or light orange coat with black or dark brown stripes and a white belly.
The white tiger is a Bengal tiger that has mutated genes, meaning that it is white in color with black stripes.
Black tigers are known to have black fur with lighter colored stripes but are even rarer than the white tiger.
The Bengal tiger is a dominant and carnivorous predator, hunting its prey by stalking it until the Bengal tiger has the opportunity to catch it off guard. Bengal tigers primarily hunt larger mammals including deer, wild boar, cattle and goats.
Due to the size and power of the Bengal tiger, it has no natural predators in its native environment. Humans that hunt the Bengal tiger and habitat loss are the only threats to the Bengal tiger.
After a gestation period of 3 to 4 months, the female Bengal tiger gives birth to up to 5 cubs. Newborn Bengal tiger cubs weigh about 1 kg (2 lb) and are blind and helpless. The mother feeds them milk for about 2 months and then the Bengal tiger cubs are introduced to meat. Bengal tiger cubs depend on their mother for the first 18 months and then they start hunting on their own.

Today, due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, and hunting by human poachers, the Bengal tiger is considered to be an endangered species.. Despite being the most common of all the tiger species, there are thought to be around 2,000 Bengal tigers left in the wild.

Indian Election 2014: Star politicians who stole the show

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 May 2014 17:02:00 +0600

The poll battle is over and many film celebrities like Hema Malini, Moon Moon Sen and Kirron Kher have emerged victorious to become members of parliament.
"Dream Girl" Hema Malini, contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, won eaily, while actress Kirron Kher, also BJP, emerged victorious from Chandigarh, defeating not only former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress as well as actress-turned-politician Gul Panag of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The male BJP star politicians also made it.

Vinod Khanna retained Punjab's Gurdaspur while Shatrughan Sinha was re-elected from Patna Sahib and Paresh Rawal tasted victory on his maiden electoral foray, winning from Gujarat's Ahmedabad East.

Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari, also a BJP candidate, won from Delhi North East constituency while Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo won from West Bengal's Asanol but music director Bappi Lahiri, contesting for the same party, was not as lucky in Sreerampore where he ended up third.

Some celeb politicians contesting as candidates of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in West Bengal also made to parliament.

Moon Moon Sen was elected from Bankura, matinee idiol Dev aka Deepak Adhikari from Ghatal, Satabdi Roy from Birbhum constituency, Sandhya Roy from Midnapore and Tapas Pal from Krishnanagar.

Popular Malayalam actor Innocent, an independent candidate supported by the Left, contested from Chalakudy in Kerala and won.

Another unlucky celebrity was southern star Ramya, who lost in Karnataka's Mandya to the Janata Dal-Secular candidate, despite being the sitting MP having won the seat in a by-election last year.

Natural choices to combat ageing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 May 2014 16:53:00 +0600

Ageing begins from when a child is born. However, there are other factors that can lead to premature ageing, including the usage of incorrect skincare products and gorging on unhealthy foods. One can achieve a perfect skin by including turmeric, ginger and green leafy vegetables in the food intake, says an expert.
Speaking at the Anti-Ageing Health and Beauty show, held at the London Olympia this past weekend, Geraldine McCulgan of the College of Naturopathic Medicine said: “What you eat today... you wear tomorrow.”

The beauty therapist shared some helpful tips on natural choices for anti-ageing and the small changes that one can effect in one's lifestyle to help slow down ageing.

Accelerating ageing is affected by the following:

* Glycation - the process of sugar and it affects joints

* Inflammation

* Lack of nutrients

* Overload of toxins

* Free radical damages

* Stress

* Loss of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which regulates cellular energy

* Lack of oil and water

So if you want to slow down ageing, McCulgan recommends following a diet made up of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, mild-sweet and non-sweet fruits. One can also try the following things:

* Avoid refined sugar

* Eat protein with every meal

* Swap refined sugar products with wholegrain alternatives

* Eat plenty of fibre rich vegetables

* Include cinnamon - lowers blood sugar levels

* Consult the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale - which identifies the anti-oxidants in foods

Inflammation is behind many degenerative diseases, so here we have some advice from Geraldine on how to reduce it:

* Eat organic

* Turmeric

* Ginger

* Green leafy vegetables

* Fermented foods

* Acid/Alkaline balancing

* Omega 3 fatty acids

Justin Bieber in robbery charge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 May 2014 11:10:00 +0600

Pop singer Justin Bieber has been accused of attempted robbery, a Los Angeles Police Department official said on Tuesday, following media reports that he had tried to snatch a young woman's mobile telephone.
Bieber, 20, has not been arrested or questioned, said LAPD spokeswoman Rosario Herrera. A spokeswoman for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Detectives have interviewed the victim, who reported the alleged crime, Herrera said. The incident occurred at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles.

Media reported Bieber allegedly tried to take a young woman's mobile phone, according to Sgt. Paul McLaughlin with LAPD's Devonshire Division, which includes Northridge and other areas of the San Fernando Valley.

It was reported to police on Tuesday. No other information was available.

The Canadian singer is due to stand trial in July in Miami on charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and using an expired license. In February, Bieber was charged with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto.

Implanted device to modify medicine for you

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 May 2014 10:03:00 +0600

What if your doctor can implant an electronic device in your body that informs him about what is happening inside your body for best-suited treatments?
Researchers have now developed electronic devices that become soft when implanted inside the body and can deploy to grip 3D objects such as large tissues, nerves and blood vessels.

“These biologically adaptive, flexible transistors can change shape and maintain their electronic properties after they are implanted in the body,” said Jonathan Reeder, a graduate student in materials science and engineering at University of Texas at Dallas.

You need the device to be stiff at room temperature so the surgeon can implant the device, but soft and flexible enough to wrap around 3D objects so the body can behave exactly as it would without the device.

“By putting electronics on shape-changing and softening polymers, we can do just that,” Reeder added.

Shape memory polymers developed by Walter Voit, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering, are key to enabling the technology.

The polymers respond to the body’s environment and become less rigid when they are implanted.

In addition to the polymers, the electronic devices are built with layers that include thin, flexible electronic foils.

The Voit and Reeder team fabricated the devices with an organic semiconductor but used adapted techniques normally applied to create silicon electronics that could reduce the cost of the devices.

The rigid devices become soft when heated. Outside the body, the device is primed for the position it will take inside the body.

“The next step is to shrink the devices so they can wrap around smaller objects and add more sensory components,” Reeder noted.

The research is now available online on the journal Advanced Materials' website.

Alec Baldwin arrested for riding bike in wrong direction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:30:00 +0600

Actor Alec Baldwin was arrested in New York on Tuesday for riding his bicycle in the wrong direction on a one-way street and acting "in a violent, threatening manner" toward police officers, officials said.
The Emmy-award winning actor was taken into custody by two officers who spotted him riding his bike against traffic in lower Manhattan around 10am, police said.

He was issued two summonses, one for the bicycle violation and another for disorderly conduct.

"He was acting in a violent, threatening manner towards the police officers," Sergeant Lee Jones of the New York Police Department told Reuters.

Baldwin, who portrayed Jack Donaghy in the hit TV comedy "30 Rock," was taken to the 13th Precinct for processing and was released by late morning, said an NYPD spokeswoman.

Earlier this year, Baldwin said he was considering leaving the city, due in part to press accounts last year that portrayed him as a hot head and a homophobic bigot.

"I probably have to move out of New York," Baldwin said in a New York Magazine article in February. "I just can't live in New York anymore."

Lady Gaga Dubai concert censored to respect culture

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:28:00 +0600

A planned Lady Gaga concert in Dubai in September will be censored to respect cultural traditions, the United Arab Emirates daily Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
Lady Gaga, who is known for her outrageous stunts and provocative costumes, cancelled a concert in Indonesia in 2012 because of security concerns over objections by Islamic groups to her style.

The Gulf News quoted Marco Rios, the chairman and CEO of AMI Live, one of the three firms involved in bringing Gaga to Dubai, as saying: "There will be some edits for Dubai. It cannot be the full show, because it wouldn't be allowed. So it's a special show for Dubai and for the culture."

Reuters could not immediately reach a representative for Lady Gaga for comment.

The UAE, where expatriates make up most of the population, has had to contend with controversy surrounding international pop artists' shows in the Muslim state.

In 2012, many Emiratis were enraged by a concert Madonna held in Abu Dhabi, one of seven emirates in the UAE, which that included erotic dancing and a Hebrew prayer.

Lady Gaga's concert in Dubai, part of her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball tour, is set for Sept 10.

Want to live long? Aim big in life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:25:00 +0600

Greater purpose in life is linked to lower mortality risk, the findings showed.

“Our findings point to the fact that finding a direction for life, and setting overarching goals for what you want to achieve can help you actually live longer, regardless of when you find your purpose,” said Patrick Hill of Carleton University in Canada.

So the earlier someone comes to a direction for life, the earlier these protective effects may be able to occur, Hill added.

For the study, researchers looked at data from over 6000 participants, focusing on their self-reported purpose in life and other psychosocial variables that gauged their positive relations with others and their experience of positive and negative emotions.

Over a 14-year follow-up period, 569 of the participants had died.

Those who had died had reported lower purpose in life and fewer positive relations than did survivors.

Greater purpose in life consistently predicted lower mortality risk across the lifespan, showing the same benefit for younger, middle-aged, and older participants across the follow-up period.

And the longevity benefits of purpose in life held even after other indicators of psychological well-being, such as positive relations and positive emotions, were taken into account.

“These findings suggest that there is something unique about finding a purpose that seems to be leading to greater longevity,” Hill noted.

The study appeared in the journal Psychological Science.

100 cameras to spy on Berlin for 100 years!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:13:00 +0600

What if you are told that your grandchildren would retrieve a hidden camera 100 years from now - May 16, 2114 to be precise - to witness municipal changes in your city!
This is what a conceptual artist and "experimental philosopher" Jonathan Keats has done in Berlin.

It is part of the century camera project - an "unauthorised surveillance" system consisting of 100 ultra long exposure photographic devices deployed in and around Berlin that Keats plans to distribute next week May 16 to anyone who wants to participate.

Volunteers are then responsible for finding a place to secure their camera and to provide retrieval instructions to their kids and grandkids.

In place of film, the century camera uses a special black paper surface to record images very slowly.

Working with Berlin's Team Titanic art gallery, Keats says he hopes the project will expand to include more cameras, more participants and more cities.

"I'm already having conversations with people in places ranging from Los Angeles to Mexico City," Keats was quoted as saying.

Is the pdf near its end?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:10:00 +0600

You download it often to read academic paper, research note, even a profile of your favourite candidate on your smart phone or tablet.

But according to a World Bank study, most of pdfs are left buried unread on the servers.

Of the 1,611 pdf reports the study looked at, only 25 were downloaded more than 1,000 times in the five-year period between 2008 and 2012.

Over 31 percent of the reports the group looked at - 517 separate research papers - were not downloaded a single time.

The reason for this is because “pdfs often give up machine readability in favour of human readability”.

“The basic format does not include any requirement that text be selectable or searchable,” said a Guardian report.

Data presented as charts and tables is often impossible to export in any useable way.

Despite efforts to create 'pdf to html' converters, they still need human oversight to check for errors of interpretation.

According to the study, “more expensive and complex reports on middle-income countries with larger populations tend to be downloaded more frequently”

Noah, Sophia popular names in US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:08:00 +0600

Even before the 2014 movie "Noah" featuring actor Russell Crowe climbed the box office charts, Noah became the most favourite baby name for boys in the US, a report said.

Sophia topped the list of popular names for baby girls for the third straight year, according to the list of most popular baby names for 2013 released by the US Social Security Administration.

"This is big news in the world of baby names with Noah rising to the top, unseating Jacob," the release stated.

There is only one new name in the top 10 this year - Daniel.

The fact that Noah and last year's top baby name for boys Jacob (that dropped to number three), have gotten top marks may not have anything to do with their biblical roots.

"I think it does mark a change in style, even though those are two classical Old Testament names," Laura Wattenberg, founder of the baby name website babynamewizard.com, was quoted as saying.

These name choices have a lot to do with sound, she contended.

While Liam and Jacob follow Noah in the list of most popular names for boys, Emma and Olivia follow Sophia.

Cambodia Culture & Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 May 2014 11:14:00 +0600

The culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many centuries, and has been heavily influenced byIndia & China . Throughout Cambodia's long history, a major source of inspiration was from religion. Throughout nearly two millennium, Cambodians developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century A.D. It is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the Gulf of Thailand and the Pacific while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan.

History

The golden age of Cambodia was between the 9th and 14th century, during the Angkor period, during which it was a powerful and prosperous empire that flourished and dominated almost all of inland south east Asia. However, Angkor would eventually collapse after much in-fighting between royalty and constant warring with its increasingly powerful neighbors, notably Siam and Dai Viet. Many temples from this period however, like Bayon and Angkor wot still remain today, scattered throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as a reminder of the grandeur of Khmer Arts & culture Cambodia's unparalleled achievements in art, architectures, music, and dance during this period have had a great influence on many neighboring kingdoms, namely Thailand and Laos. The affect of Angkorian culture can still be seen today in those countries, as they share many close characteristics with current-day Cambodia.
Architecture and housing

The Angkorian architects and sculptors created temples that mapped the cosmic world in stone. Khmer decorations drew inspiration from religion, and mythical creatures from Hinduism and Buddhism were carved on walls. Temples were built in accordance to the rule of ancient Khmer architecture that dictated that a basic temple layout include a central shrine, a courtyard, an enclosing wall, and a moat. Khmer motifs use many creatures from Buddhist and Hindu mythology, like the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, use motifs such as the garuda, a mythical bird in Hinduism. The architecture of Cambodia developed in stages under the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th century, preserved in many buildings of the Angkor temple. The remains of secular architecture from this time are rare, as only religious buildings were made of stone. The architecture of the Angkor period used specific structural features and styles, which are one of the main methods used to date the temples, along with inscriptions.
Angkor Wat, The most Cambodian famous heritage.

In modern rural Cambodia, the nuclear family typically lives in a rectangular house that may vary in size from four by six meters to six by ten meters. It is constructed of a wooden frame with gabled thatch roof and walls of woven bamboo . Khmer houses are typically raised as much as three meters on stilts for protection from annual floods. Two ladders or wooden staircases provide access to the house. The steep thatch roof overhanging the house walls protects the interior from rain. Typically a house contains three rooms separated by partitions of woven bamboo. The front room serves as a living room used to receive visitors, the next room is the parents' bedroom, and the third is for unmarried daughters. Sons sleep anywhere they can find space. Family members and neighbors work together to build the house, and a house-raising ceremony is held upon its completion. The houses of poorer persons may contain only a single large room. Food is prepared in a separate kitchen located near the house but usually behind it. Toilet facilities consist of simple pits in the ground, located away from the house, that are covered up when filled. Any livestock is kept below the house. Chinese and Vietnamese houses in Cambodian towns and villages are typically built directly on the ground and have earthen, cement, or tile floors, depending upon the economic status of the owner. Urban housing and commercial buildings may be of brick, masonry, or wood.
Religion

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist with 90% of the population being Theravada Buddhist, 1% Christian and the majority of the remaining population follow Islam, atheism, or animism.
Buddhism has existed in Cambodia since at least the 5th century CE. Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion since the 13th century CE (excepting the Khmer Rouge period), and is currently estimated to be the faith of 90% of the population.
Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. According to Po Dharma, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975. Persecution under the Khmer Rouge eroded their numbers, however, and by the late 1980s they probably had not regained their former strength. All of the Cham Muslims are Sunnis of the Shafi'i school. Po Dharma divides the Muslim Cham in Cambodia into a traditionalist branch and an orthodox branch.

Christianity was introduced into Cambodia by Roman Catholic missionaries in 1660. However, it made little headway at first, particularly among Buddhists. In 1972 there were probably about 20,000 Christians in Cambodia, most of whom were Roman Catholics. According to Vatican statistics, in 1953, members of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia numbered 120,000, making it, at that time, the second largest religion in the country. In April 1970, just before repatriation, estimates indicate that about 50,000 Catholics were Vietnamese. Many of the Catholics remaining in Cambodia in 1972 were Europeans—chiefly French. American Protestant missionary activity increased in Cambodia, especially among some of the hill tribes and among the Cham, after the establishment of the Khmer Republic. The 1962 census, which reported 2,000 Protestants in Cambodia, remains the most recent statistic for the group. Observers reported that in 1980 there were more registered Khmer Christians among the refugees in camps in Thailand than in all of Cambodia before 1970. Kiernan notes that, until June 1980, five weekly Protestant services were held in Phnom Penh by a Khmer pastor, but that they had been reduced to a single weekly service after police harassment. There are around 20,000 Catholics in Cambodia which represents only 0.15% of the total population. There are no dioceses, but there are three territorial jurisdictions - one Apostolic Vicariate and two Apostolic Prefectures.
Highland tribal groups, most with their own local religious systems, probably number fewer than 100,000 persons. The Khmer Loeu have been loosely described as animists, but most tribal groups have their own pantheon of local spirits. In general they see their world filled with various invisible spirits (often called yang), some benevolent, others malevolent. They associate spirits with rice, soil, water, fire, stones, paths, and so forth. Sorcerers or specialists in each village contact these spirits and prescribe ways to appease them. In times of crisis or change, animal sacrifices may be made to placate the anger of the spirits. Illness is often believed to be caused by evil spirits or sorcerers. Some tribes have special medicine men or shamans who treat the sick. In addition to belief in spirits, villagers believe in taboos on many objects or practices. Among the Khmer Loeu, the Rhade and Jarai groups have a well developed hierarchy of spirits with a supreme ruler at its head.
Ways of life

Birth and death rituals
The birth of a child is a happy event for the family. According to traditional beliefs, however, confinement and childbirth expose the family, and especially the mother and the child to harm from the spirit world. A woman who dies in childbirth—crosses the river (chhlong tonle) in Khmer is believed to become an evil spirit. In traditional Khmer society, a pregnant woman respects a number of food taboos and avoids certain situations. These traditions remain in practice in rural Cambodia, but they have become weakened in urban areas.
Death is not viewed with the great outpouring of grief common to Western society; it is viewed as the end of one life and as the beginning of another life that one hopes will be better. Buddhist Khmer usually are cremated, and their ashes are deposited in a stupa in the temple compound. A corpse is washed, dressed, and placed in a coffin, which may be decorated with flowers and with a photograph of the deceased. White pennant-shaped flags, called "white crocodile flags," outside a house indicate that someone in that household has died. A funeral procession consisting of an achar, Buddhist monks, members of the family, and other mourners accompanies the coffin to the crematorium. The spouse and the children show mourning by shaving their heads and by wearing white clothing. Relics such as teeth or pieces of bone are prized by the survivors, and they are often worn on gold chains as amulets. If the child is always ill, his or her parents can go and change the name of child.

Erratic sleep may affect memory later: Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:38:00 +0600

In your 40s and miss on that crucial sleep either because of erratic lifestyle or odd working hours? Get your sleep habits back in shape as extreme changes in sleep duration from middle age to older age may worsen memory function.
In a study on 15,263 women participants, researchers found that women who slept five or fewer hours either in midlife or later life had worse memory than those sleeping seven hours per day.

“Women whose sleep duration changed by greater than two hours per day over time had worse memory than women with no change in sleep duration,” said Elizabeth Devore, an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in the US.

Participants were female nurses and were free of stroke and depression at the initial cognitive assessment.

“Given the importance of preserving memory into later life, it is critical to identify modifiable factors, such as sleeping habits, that may help achieve this goal," Devore stated.

Getting an 'average' amount of sleep, seven hours per day, may help maintain memory in later life.

Greater changes in sleep duration appear to negatively influence memory in older adults, the study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, noted.

Short men may live longer: Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:29:00 +0600

Don't get depressed if she has refused to go on a date with you owing to your short height. Tell her you are going to stay longer on earth for better chances knocking on your door!
According to research on Japanese men, shorter men are more likely to have a protective form of a gene, leading to smaller body size during early development and a longer lifespan.

Shorter men are also more likely to have lower blood insulin levels and less cancer.

"The study shows that body size is linked to the longevity gene (FOXO3), which is important in longevity across most species," said Dr Bradley Willcox, a professor in University of Hawaii's (UH) John A. Burns School of Medicine.

The research was based on the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Programme (HHP) and the Kuakini Honolulu-Asian Aging Study (HAAS).

Researchers categorised Japanese men into two groups - those who were 5-feet-2 and shorter, and 5-feet-4 and taller.

The former category members, who were shorter, lived the longest.

"The range was seen all the way across from being 5-feet tall to 6-feet tall. The taller you got, the shorter you lived," Willcox added.

The Kuakini HHP started research in 1965, on 8,006 American men of Japanese ancestry born between the years 1900 and 1919.

Around 1,200 men from the study lived into their 90s and 100s, and about 250 of those men are still alive today, said the study published in the journal Plos One.

The Sundarbans are the largest littoral mangrove belt in the world .

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:27:00 +0600

Sundarbans mangrove forest is the largest in the world, and covers areas of

India

and

Bangladesh

for more than 80 kilometers in forming Sundarbans National park, declared a World heritage site by Unesco.
A third of this area is covered by water and marshes, as well Sundarbans since 1966 has been considered a sanctuary for wildlife because it is estimated that there live about 400 Royal Bengal tigers and more than 30,000 deer in this area.
The forest lies at the feet of the Ganges and is spread across areas of

Bangladesh

and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests.
The forest covers 10,000 km2 of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh. It became inscribed as a site in Unesco World heritage 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotope, these are separately listed in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. It is estimated that there are now 500[citation needed] Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area. Sundarbans was designated a Ramsar site on May 21, 1992. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the ecoregion has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. The remaining forests, together with the Sundarbans mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective flood barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Kolkata (Calcutta) against the result of cyclone activity.
Sundarbans is home to many different species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and fish. It is estimated that there may be found more than 120 species of fish and over 260 species of birds and more than fifty species of reptiles and eight amphibians. Many tourists go there to see the Bengal tigers, saltwater crocodiles, leopards and snakes cobra.
Geographical data of Sundarban -Latitude: 25.7667
Longitude: 88.7167
Average Height: 34
Time Zone: Asia / Dhaka