Complaints as FIR? A potent weapon for Character Assassination?

New Delhi, Dec. 28:

In the wake of the shocking revelation that the Haryana Police did not register an FIR in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case for eight long years, the Union home ministry has decided to direct states to ensure that all complaints received by police stations are treated as FIRs.

In a related development, the government is contemplating a move wherein winners of police and gallantry medals can be stripped off their award if they are convicted by the courts in any case.

The home ministry has initiated a move to strip former Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore of the police medal awarded to him despite the molestation charges against him. He has been asked why he should not be stripped of his medal.

The former Haryana IPS officer, Mr R.K. Sharma, serving a life sentence in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case still has a President’s police medal, a home official said.

It was in 1990 that Ruchika, then only 14, was molested by Rathore. The traumatised teenager committed suicide in 1993 following unabated harassment of her and her family by Rathore. Yet, the FIR in connection with the incident was registered only in 1999, six years after her death.

Ruchika’s family members have alleged that when they went to lodge a complaint against Rathore, then a senior police officer in Haryana, police initially refused to register an FIR. Besides, police refused to register a case when Ruchika’s brother was allegedly harassed by police on false charges. According to sources, the home ministry has now decided to issue a circular to state governments and UTs asking them to ensure that all complaints received at police stations are treated as FIRs. While there have been many complaints over the years by members of the public regarding the reluctance on the part of the police to register FIRs, the Ruchika case has finally spurred the home ministry into being pro-active on this front.

“The circular, to be issued next week, will direct state governments and Union Territories to ensure free and total registration of all complaints as FIRs”, said ministry sources.

The Centre is considering bringing about amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code and making it mandatory for the station house officer (SHO) who heads a police station to give reasons for registration as well as non-registration of a case after receiving a complaint. According to sources, the objective will be to ensure that even if a complaint is false, police won’t be able to escape responsibility where a probe is concerned once an FIR is registered.

The Centre is likely to take a decision on withdrawing medals if an officer is later found guilty in cases registered against them. The new policy is likely to be one that will lead to the automatic revocation of police and gallantry medals awarded to officers if they are convicted by a court. The rules are likely to be formalised when a high-powered awards committee headed by the home secretary, Mr G.K. Pillai meets here on January 4. Said a home ministry official, “Any IPS officer convicted by a court should be stripped of his medal. The awards committee will look into all relevant issues and take a decision,” the official added.

Supreme Court Interprets the Offence of Rape

Taking a view that could significantly alter the manner in which rape cases are tried, the Supreme Court has held that conviction would be warranted even if the victim’s testimony, though not fully corroborated, is found credible.

A Bench of Justices J M Panchal and Deepak Verma said in a judgment that violation of a woman would be considered rape even if there is slightest penetration that does not cause rupture of the hymen. The Bench’s observations in the judgment could have far-reaching medico-legal implications in cases relating to rape.
The apex court said that minor discrepancies like the prosecution’s non-examination of a doctor cannot be a ground for giving the benefit of the doubt to a person who is accused of rape.
Referring to a particular doctor who initially conducted the medical examination of the prosecutrix, the court said: “That alone is not sufficient to discard the prosecution story. Corroboration is not the sine qua non (mandatory) for conviction in a rape case”.
The apex court, while dismissing the appeal of the convict, Wahid Khan, also held that in rape cases even the slightest penetration that does not rupture the victim’s hymen or other parts of her genitalia amounted to rape.
“Sexual intercourse...in law is held to mean the slightest degree of penetration of the vulva by the penis with or without emission of semen.
“It is, therefore, quite possible to commit legally the offence of rape without producing any injury to the genitals or leaving any seminal stains,”  the Bench said, quoting medical jurisprudence.

Sufficient evidence
In the case the Bench heard, the defence took the plea that the victim’s hymen was not ruptured and that the doctor, who examined the victim, was not questioned by the prosecution during trial.

Finer Sense of Touch

Women seem to be gifted with a finer sense of touch, thanks to their slender, smaller fingers.

"Neuroscientists have long known that some people have a better sense of touch than others, but the reasons for this difference have been mysterious," said neuroscientist and study author Daniel Goldreich of McMaster University.

"Our discovery reveals that one important factor in the sense of touch is finger size," added Goldreich.

To learn why men and women have different finger sensitivity, the authors first measured index fingertip size of 100 university students.

Each student's tactile acuity was then tested by pressing progressively narrower parallel grooves against a stationary fingertip - the tactile equivalent of the optometrist's eye chart.

The authors found that people with smaller fingers could discern tighter grooves.

"The difference between the sexes appears to be entirely due to the relative size of the person's fingertips," said Ethan Lerner of Massachusetts General Hospital, who is not with the study group.

"So, a man with fingertips that are smaller than a woman's will be more sensitive to touch than the woman."

The authors also explored why more slender fingers are more acute. Tinier digits likely have more closely spaced sensory receptors, they concluded.

Several types of sensory receptors line the skin's interior and each detect a specific kind of outside stimulation.

Some receptors, named Merkel cells, respond to static indentations (like pressing parallel grooves), while others capture vibrations or movement.

Much like pixels in a photograph, each skin receptor sends an aspect of the tactile image to the brain -- more receptors per inch supply a clearer image.

To find out whether receptors are more densely packed in smaller fingers, the authors measured the distance between sweat pores in some of the students, because Merkel cells cluster around the bases of sweat pores.

People with smaller fingers had greater sweat pore density, which means their receptors are probably more closely spaced, said a McMaster's release.

These findings were published in the December issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Hunger harmone Responsible for over eating

Hunger hormone ghrelin might drive people to eat even when they are full, says a new study.

"What we show is that there may be situations where we are driven to seek out and eat very rewarding foods, even if we're full, for no other reason than our brain tells us to," said study co-author Jeffrey Zigman.

Scientists previously have linked increased levels of ghrelin to intensifying the rewarding or pleasurable feelings one gets from cocaine or alcohol.

Zigman, assistant professor of psychiatry at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Centre, said his team speculated that ghrelin might also increase specific rewarding aspects of eating. Rewards, he said, generally can be defined as things that make us feel better.

"They give us sensory pleasure, and they motivate us to work to obtain them," he said. "They also help us reorganise our memory so that we remember how to get them."

Mario Perello, postdoctoral researcher in internal medicine, study co-author, said the idea was to determine "why someone who is stuffed from lunch still eats - and wants to eat - that high-calorie dessert."

For this study, researchers evaluated whether mice that were fully sated preferred a room where they had previously found high-fat food over one that had only offered regular bland chow.

They found that when mice in this situation were administered ghrelin, they strongly preferred the room that had been paired with the high-fat diet. Mice without ghrelin showed no preference.

"We think the ghrelin prompted the mice to pursue the high-fat chow because they remembered how much they enjoyed it," Perello said. "It didn't matter that the room was now empty; they still associated it with something pleasurable."

For the second test, the team observed how long mice would continue to poke their noses into a hole in order to receive a pellet of high-fat food.

"The animals that didn't receive ghrelin gave up much sooner than the ones that did receive ghrelin," Zigman said, according to an UT release.

The next step, Perello said, is to determine which neural circuits in the brain regulate ghrelin's actions.

These findings appeared online in Biological Psychiatry.

Anti Wrinkle Sugar Coated Tablet from Nestle

A sugar-coated tablet has been created which can bring a dramatic slowdown in ageing of the skin, say researchers.

Bringing together nutritional and dermatological science, the pill has been developed by the confectionery giant Nestlé and L’Oréal.

They have used a compound found in tomatoes to promote the regeneration of new skin cells and protect old ones from damage, reports The Times.

The sweet red pill, called Innéov Fermeté, belongs to a rapidly developing class of products called cosmeceuticals, beauty treatments that are swallowed and work from within.

Patricia Manissier, head of research and development at Innéov, the L’Oréal/Nestlé joint venture producing the new drug, said: “We have done a lot of research which shows this product works and now we’re looking for ways of improving it. We know that good nutrition can prevent the skin from ageing and that there are clear links between certain nutrients and skin health.”

Teeth grown with Stem Cell Technology at Delhi, AIIMS

Don't worry about your child's loss of teeth or if they have immature ones as doctors at AIIMS can regrow them using stem cell technique by just making a minute slit in their root.

"We at AIIMS are treating children with infected, immature teeth as a result of traumatic injuries, by using locally available indigenous stem cells," Dr Naseem Shah, Chief of the Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS said.

She explained that the root forms the most important part of the tooth. It anchors the tooth within the bone and houses the pulp (tiny blood vessels and nerves) which extends to the underlying bone and helps to nourish and give feeling to the tooth.

Any trauma to the teeth may lead to infection and death of the pulp, infection in the bone and arrest of the root development. Such roots are very fragile and may fracture, ultimately leading to loss of tooth.

Conventional treatment for such teeth involves removal of dead pulp from root canal, followed by sealing of the canal with an inert material that occupies the space vacated by the removal of the pulp (known as root canal therapy).

However, in the new treatment, after the infection in root canals is controlled, bleeding is induced in the root canal by intentionally puncturing the tissues at the root end and a clot is allowed to be formed in the root canal.

Brahmi herb effective for Alzheimer's

Researchers are coming by evidence that herbs like brahmi, associated with the ayurveda system of medicine, can help ward off Alzheimer's disease and preserve one's mental faculties.

Although what exactly causes Alzheimer's is not known, sufferers experience inflammation of the brain, deposits of beta amyloid, traces of heavy metals and signs of oxidative stress.

Brahmi, a semi-aquatic plant, acts on all of these, said Con Stough, director of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) involved in trials underway at Swinburne University of Technology Brain Sciences Institute (BSI).

"It has an anti-inflammatory effect, is an antioxidant and collates and removes heavy metals and beta amyloid," he said.

Two trials with a brahmi extract called CDRI08, conducted over 90 days, have shown improvements in working memory, particularly spatial memory accuracy.

Pine bark, lemon balm, American ginseng, rosemary and brahmi, are some of the herbs showing promise in fending off Alzheimer's dementia, causing memory loss, depression and anxiety.

A 50-day trial of a particular pine bark extract supplement for men aged 50 to 65 years has also shown improved speed in spatial working memory and immediate recognition tasks, along with lowering blood pressure.

Another trial is investigating the short-term calmative effects of a special lemon balm product, because anxiety and agitation are major symptoms that Alzheimer sufferers experience.

Andrew Scholey, who heads BSI's Herbal and Nutritional Medicine Research Unit, said that historically the field of alternative medicine has struggled to gain scientific credibility.

"However, Swinburne's trials are performed to standards that provide acceptance within the mainstream scientific community," added Scholey.

Consumer research indicates that more and more people are using some form of alternative health products as part of a proactive, preventative health strategy.

Sleep Shortage can kill you

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':

http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration (<5 or 5-6 hours) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.

As you know, high BP kills.

· Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis andheart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that L)

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that lineJ)

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.

If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. J

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail to as many of your colleagues as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

Algae to power electronics in future

Reports indicate that scientists are working towards developing paper-based batteries made from algae to power electronics in the future.

According to a report in Live Science, scientists worldwide are striving to develop thin, flexible, lightweight, inexpensive, environmentally friendly batteries made entirely from nonmetal parts.

Among the most promising materials for these batteries are conducting polymers.

However, until now these have impractical for use in batteries - for instance, their ability to hold a charge often degrades over use.

The key to this new battery turned out to be an often bothersome green algae known as Cladophora.

Rotting heaps of this hairlike freshwater plant throughout the world can lead to unsightly, foul-smelling beaches.

This algae makes an unusual kind of cellulose typified by a very large surface area, 100 times that of the cellulose found in paper.

This allowed researchers to dramatically increase the amount of conducting polymer available for use in the new device, enabling it to better recharge, hold and discharge electricity.

"We have long hoped to find some sort of constructive use for the material from algae blooms and have now been shown this to be possible," said researcher Maria Stromme, a nanotechnologist at Uppsala University in Sweden.

"This creates new possibilities for large-scale production of environmentally friendly, cost-effective, lightweight energy storage systems," she added.

The new batteries consisted of extremely thin layers of conducting polymer just 40 to 50 nanometers or billionths of a meter wide coating algae cellulose fibers only 20 to 30 nanometers wide that were collected into paper sheets.

They could hold 50 to 200 percent more charge than similar conducting polymer batteries, and once better optimized, they might even be competitive with commercial lithium batteries, the researchers noted.

They also recharged much faster than conventional rechargeable batteries.

While a regular battery takes at least an hour to recharge, the new batteries could recharge in anywhere from eight minutes to just 11 seconds.

The new battery also showed a dramatic boost in the ability to hold a charge over use.

While a comparable polymer battery showed a 50 per cent drop in the amount of charge it could hold after 60 cycles of discharging and recharging, the new battery showed just a 6 percent loss through 100 charging cycles.

The researchers suggested that their batteries appear well-suited for applications involving flexible electronics, such as clothing and packaging.

iPhone can act as chemical detector

If scientists have their way, then smartphones like the iPhone may double up as chemical sensors that can transmit alerts to first responders about the release of dangerous chemicals.

According to a report in Live Science, a Nasa scientist has unveiled a postage-stamp-sized sensor that can plug into an iPhone and convert Apple's beloved product into a mobile chemical detector.

The tiny device can sniff out low amounts of ammonia, chlorine gas and methane, and send alerts to other phones or computers over regular phone networks or a Wi-Fi connection.

"Ours is the smallest in the world that can do complete sensing work," said Jing Li, a physical scientist at NASA''s Ames Research Center in California.

Her prior work gave the device a strong NASA pedigree that includes air quality sensors tested on the International Space Station.

Li and other researchers developed the proof of concept for the Department of Homeland Security's Cell-All program.

Homeland Security hopes to eventually see such sensing chips embedded in everybody''s cell phone, so that the mobile devices could form a huge chemical-alert network wherever people go.

The new silicon-based sensing chip contains 64 nanosensors that combine compactness, low-cost, low-power and high-speed.

Li's group created a power-sipping sensing chip that consumed just 5 milliwatts, or 40 milliwatts when combined with a sampling jet to help pick up chemical traces.

By comparison, an iPhone 3G charger might draw about 2 watts, or 2,000 milliwatts.

The research team estimated that an iPhone battery can last for more than 100 hours while running the sensing chip continuously, without the sampling jet.

Having continuous use with the sampling jet cuts the battery endurance down to around 20 hours - but Li pointed out that the sensing chip would probably run with only a time interval, such as every 5 or 10 minutes for a 1 or 2 minute operation, based on the user''s desire.

Li's group plans create a slicker sensor that can display the data right on the iPhone, because a computer is currently required to do all the data decoding.

The researchers want to not only identify chemicals by name, but also detect chemical concentration, humidity and temperature.

They even plan on the data including pinpoint locations of the chemical events, courtesy of GPS on the iPhone.

Scientists grow meat in laboratory

London: In what can be claimed a breakthrough, scientists have for the first time grown a form of meat in a laboratory, but they are yet to taste it.

A team in the Netherlands has created the "soggy pork" by using cells from a live pig to replicate growth in a petri dish, which it believes may lead to sausages and processed products being made from laboratory meat in five years.

The scientists extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig and then put them in a broth of other animal products. The cells then multiplied and created muscle tissue.

"You could take the meat from one animal and create the volume of meat previously provided by a million animals," The Sunday Times quoted Mark Post of Eindhoven University, who is leading the Dutch government-funded research.

The scientists have so far managed to develop a soggy form of pork and are seeking to improve its texture.

"What we have at the moment is rather like wasted muscle tissue. "We need to find ways of improving it by training it and stretching it, but we will get there. This product will be good for the environment and will reduce animal suffering. If it feels and tastes like meat, people will buy it," Post said.

Sri Rama – The Model Leader for the World

On this auspicious occasion of 25^th International Ramayana Conference, let us observe the great traits of leadership in Raama, as portrayed by Sage Valmeeki in Ramayana. Leadership is a natural trait for many people, among which Sri Rama stands as the tallest.

Leadership cannot demand respect, but shall command respect. To command respect, leadership cannot limit itself to preaching, but shall stand in the frontline, to practise the tenets of the philosophy, they follow. Valour is not to slay a mighty person or a group of weak kneed foot soldiers. Valiant Leader is the one, who does not crumble under pressure to compromise the principles.

To analyse this better, let us remember some of the ground rules to define leadership and valour.

· विकारहेतौ सति विक्रियन्ते येषान्न चेतांसि त एव धीराः। They are the brave people, whose minds do not waver in the trying circumstances.

· न मात्सर्यं न च क्रोधः न भीतिः, न च भेदधीः। No Jealousy, No Fury, No Fear, No Discrimination – These are traits of a good leader.

· न खलु वयस्तेजसो हेतुः। The nature of great people is noticed from the very beginning. Age cannot be the criteria, for bravado.

· संस्कारमात्रेण जनः प्रवर्तते, निर्बन्धवाक्यं फलदायि न स्यात्। स्वयं त्वनुष्ठाय फल प्रदर्शनं You need not and should not force someone to follow your principle. Instead, exhibit your achievement and success by simply putting into practice your guiding principles. Your success should induce your follower to be guided by your philosophy. This will have long lasting effect, rather than compulsion.

· धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः। Dharma is a principle, which protects the humanity, if followed properly. If violated, it would turn out to be your nemesis. Apply this to the instance of a traffic rule, which prohibits traffic movement on the right side of the road (in India). If you violate this principle, collision is inevitable which could result in grievous injury and even death.

All of the above mentioned sentences are exemplified by Sri Rama. We shall now analyse the Magnanimous personality of Raama by citing some of the instances from Ramayana.

Generally people tend to follow principles, if it conforms to their convenience. A person can be termed, as principled if does follow under two circumstances.

1. In the most trying difficult moment.

2. In absolute privacy (where there is no supervision or surveillance

Though most of us come across such situations of life it is common that we succumb to the temptation. The incarnation of Rama was to help us draw parallels of joys and sorrows of life and manners of dealing with the circumstances. All through his life, Rama had faced many such testing situations in life. His apt behaviour had not only defined his virtuous character, but also laid ground rules for thousands of generations to emulate. Let us cite some of them.

1. Following Sage Viswamitra to the forest, in view of the compelling state of his unwilling father

2. Slaying the demoness Taataka

3. Relinquishing throne, to honour the promise of his father to Kaikayee.

4. Reaffirming his resolve to spend 14 years of Life in forest, even without basic amenities

5. Refusing the lusty overtures of Surpanakha (even in absolute privacy)

6. Obliging Hermits to control the misdeeds of demons

7. Providing refuge to the kin of the enemy, without inhibition

8. Dispatching an emissary with a message of peach to avoid bloodshed of thousands of followers (Soldiers) and ordinary mortals losing life for the sake of the lust of their ruler

9. Ensuring decent funeral and according respects to the brave and great enemy, in spite of his committed sins

10. Assigning the kingdom to the native, instead of usurping the defeated regime

These are some of the examples to draw our attention to the fact that, Sri Rama had been a leader to inspire scrupulous adherence to fundamental principles of life. In fact, he was a sort of unassuming leader inspiring millions of people throughout the kingdom to follow his path.

Normally, ideals are construed as impractical. (Whatever is termed as good ideal ought not to be practical, due to constraints and temptations). However, Rama’s regime was one such exception in known human history, where the emperor had led his subjects to practise and uphold Dharma. Precisely, this is the reason, why we fondly term the word Raama Raajya, which refers to the combination of idealism with practicality.

Eventful years in the history of Raama, such as the 14^th year of Vana Vaasa (Stint at the Forest) and the preceding and following years are gloriously portrayed in many treatises, due to the dramatic values. But, very little is said about the institution, Sri Rama had set up during his greatest regime, spanning over 10,000 long years. He was the first known ruler to assign administrative divisions to able men, among the clan for better administration. In fact, this decentralisation of power had averted frequent battles.

Moreover, no transgression on the part of administrators or officials was overlooked and excused, instilling a sense of accountability among ruling class. Absence of this vital aspect, wreaks havoc in the world, as it is evident. Threat of usage of Force, rather than the actual usage of force worked wonders in his regime. This was solely possible; due to the moral authority he exercised to pre-empt the crime; apart from the divine prowess.

The first chapter of Ramayana enlists the virtues mandatory for an administrator. Ramayana mentions, the humility required for the mighty, so that one does not end up being arrogant.

In these days, in the garb of secularism, we are not teaching the next generation, the basic ethos of our culture. Even those, reading Ramayana as a religious scripture are oblivious of the great Dharmik traits exhibited by Sri Rama, ending up as equally indifferent. In this process, the society is getting demoralised, in the sense of insensitivity towards morality and ethics. In fact, conservative Europe is still lucky to have the religious education, in which students inculcate fundamental ethics of life. But, for minor exceptions the system has been quite useful, as we can observe. Etymologically speaking, religion is to reconnect our self to divinity, so that we remain poised and dignified in joy and sorrow.

In order to train our future administrators, officials and to inspire the rulers including politicians to do the perfect job, it is highly needed to study the Ramayana from the administrative perspective. Rather than looking Rama as a mythological figure or a religious personality, it is quite pertinent to view his administrative personality as a case study and to emulate the precedent, as applicable to current day context.

On this forum, we call upon the intelligentsia and political leadership, to wake up and address the calamity of ethical degeneration, resulting in the disintegration of society due to corrupt practices and environmental pollution due to greed, perversion and neglect. Poverty in terms of values and ethics is far more frightening than material poverty, as affluence acquired thru ill-gotten methods is destined to end up in disaster sooner or later. This is often proved by history.

Let us vow to emulate Sri Rama in right earnest and promote His principles thru the study of Ramayana.

आपदा मपहर्तारं दातारं सर्वसम्पदाम्।

लोकाभिरामं श्रीरामं भूयो भूयो नमाम्यहम्।

श्रीरामाय नमः

Overuse of antibiotics can make you drug resistant during critical & Serious treatment

London: Regular use of cough and cold medicines is not good for health as it makes a person immune against antibiotics, experts have warned.

The prescription of the pills, even when it is not required, is fuelling a rise in number of infections that are resistant to antibiotics, experts at European Centre of Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm said.

Due to routine use of cough and cold drugs, modern medicine is reaching a point when it will not be able to function as antibiotics would become powerless to fight life-threatening hospital infections, the Telegraph reported.

"If this wave of antibiotic resistance gets over us, we will not be able to do organ transplants, hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, intensive care and neonatal care for premature babies," said Dominic Monnet, senior expert at ECDC.

Echoing Monnet's views, Laurance Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's General Physicians committee, said, "the idea that antibiotics cure coughs and colds and are all purpose things that are good for you has to be discarded".

Sarah Earnshaw, another expert at ECDC said, patients, especially parents are often demanding antibiotics for their children. A survey in 2002 showed that 60 per cent of people did not know that antibiotics do not work against viruses such as flu".

The ECDC would be writing to all general physicians warning them about overuse of the drugs and giving them materials to help them explain to demanding patients that antibiotics must be used sparingly, she added.

SOLAR ENERGY FROM SPACE for the usage on EARTH

It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan’s space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

The government has just picked a group of companies and a team of researchers tasked with turning the ambitious, multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy into reality in coming decades.

With few energy resources of its own and heavily reliant on oil imports, Japan has long been a leader in renewable energies and this year set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.

But Japan’s boldest plan to date is the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), in which arrays of photovoltaic dishes several square kilometres (square miles) in size would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming,” researchers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the project participants, wrote in a report.

The cells would capture the solar energy, which is at least five times stronger in space than on Earth, and beam it down through clusters of lasers or microwaves.

3 Vegetables That Fight Against Stomach Fat

3 Vegetables That Fight Against Stomach Fat

A unique way that a few specific vegetables can actually stimulate the burning of abdominal fat...

An Article by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

I bet you didn't know that there is a specific class of vegetables that contain very specific phytonutrients that actually help to fight against stubborn belly fat.

Let me explain what these unique vegetables are and why they help to burn stomach fat...

Chemicals that force your body to hold onto belly fat

Something you may have never heard about is that certain chemicals in our food supply and our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and certain petrochemicals from air and water pollution, household cleaners, cosmetics, etc can react with your body and make your body store excess abdominal fat.

These chemicals are known as xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that you are exposed to (and are hard to avoid in the modern world) that have an estrogenic effect in your body.  Excess exposure to these can cause hormone balance disruptions for both men and women. So these can wreak havoc in the body for both guys and gals.

These estrogenic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis can stimulate your body to store belly fat, along with many other problems (including cancer risks in the long term).

So here's where this specific class of vegetables comes in handy...

One of those cool tricks that I teach my clients that hire me for nutritional counseling is the use of cruciferous vegetables to help fight against stomach fat.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc. contain very specific and unique phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help to fight against these estrogenic compounds...

And by fighting against these belly fat stimulating estrogenic chemicals, this is just 1 more step in helping you to win the battle against abdominal fat!

So there you go... just another excuse to do what mom always told you and eat more broccoli!

Alternate-day fasting best bet to fight flab

UPAVAASAM on Festivals/ Vratas was meant for that!!

Alternate-day fasting can be the right way lose weight and boost cardio-vascular health, experts from University of Illinois at Chicago have suggested.

The conclusion was reached after observing 16 obese people-12 women and four men- who ordained to a 10-week trial of not eating any food every alternate day.

The age group of the studied people was between 35-65, while their weight was more than £210 each.

Also, they had kept their weight stable for the previous three months, and had body mass indexes of between 30 and 39.9.

Attention was given that none was diabetic, had a history of cardiovascular disease, was taking weight-loss or lipid- or glucose-lowering medications, or smoked.

The study was divided into three different phases. The first two weeks, participants ate and exercised normally.

While, between weeks three and six, participants ate normal meals one day then would fast the next.

On fast days, participants ate the equivalent of a three-course lunch prepared by UIC''s Human Nutritional Research Center. The meal provided between 20 and 25 per cent of daily energy needs.

However, in the final four weeks, participants chose on their own what to eat, based on what they had learned about meal sizes and food choices.

Krista Varady, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition, who led the UIC research team, said: "We wanted to see if they could actually do it by themselves -- because what''s the point of studying this diet if you have to feed people meals prepared at metabolic kitchens all the time?"

Researchers noted that weight loss ranged from 10 to 30 pounds; the researchers expected an average loss of only five pounds.

In addition to it, blood pressure and heart rate were lowered, along with total cholesterol and circulating fat levels.

Varady added: "Why are some able to do it but others not? It takes about two weeks to adjust to the diet, after which people don''t feel hungry on the fast day. We need to find out how long they can stay on this diet -- and if they go off it, do they automatically regain the weight?"

The study was published in the November 1 issue of 'The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.'

UPAVAASAM on Festivals/ Vratas was meant for that purpose too! Men and Women after 30s had this stipulation for better health!! Is it not??

Quick Eating will induce Over Eating

Washington: Gorging on your favourite meal can make you overeat, say researchers.

The research team from Laiko General Hospital in Athens Greece have found that eating quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full.

The decreased release of these hormones can often lead to overeating.

"Most of us have heard that eating fast can lead to food overconsumption and obesity, and in fact some observational studies have supported this notion," said Dr Alexander Kokkinos, lead author of the study.

"Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating," Kokkinos added.

Previous studies on that gut hormones, such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), has shown that their release after a meal acts on the brain and induces satiety and meal termination.

Until now, concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones have not been examined in the context of different rates of eating.

During the study, subjects consumed the same test meal, 300ml of ice-cream, at different rates. Researchers took blood samples for the measurement of glucose, insulin, plasma lipids and gut hormones before the meal and at 30 minute intervals after the beginning of eating, until the end of the session, 210 minutes later.

They found that subjects who took the full 30 minutes to finish the ice cream had higher concentrations of PYY and GLP-1 and also tended to have a higher fullness rating.

"Our findings give some insight into an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat faster and in greater amounts than in the past," said Kokkinos.

"The warning we were given as children that "wolfing down your food will make you fat," may in fact have a physiological explanation,” the expert added.

The study appears in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). — ANI

Cell Phone Usage for 10 years or more could lead to BRAIN TUMOUR

Nov 1: Though it's not yet proved that cellphones cause brain cancer, a new study has claimed that long-term use of mobiles could up the risk of brain tumours.

Researchers have based their findings on an analysis of the key 23 studies that have investigated the effects of the phone -- the study involved more than 12,000 patients who had developed brain tumours and 25,000 who hadn't.

The study concluded mobile phone use of 10 years or longer was associated with an increased risk of tumours of up to 34 per cent, the 'Sunday Express' reported.

Radiation expert Dr George Carlo, who led the biggest industry-funded research project into cellphone use and brain cancer, was quoted as saying: "This information confirms our fears, giving serious concern for us and future generations."

The researchers, whose findings have been published in the 'Journal of Clinical Oncology', said only eight of the 23 studies had reliable and up-to-date information.

Later this year, a £20 million research project is expected to show those who used mobiles for a decade or longer could have "significantly increased" risk of developing some types of brain tumours.

Powerwatch, which has examined electro-magnetic fields and health dangers for 20 years, said there was enough evidence to warn people to limit mobile phone use and ban them from children.

Website Name in Devanagari Script Soon …….

Seoul: The non-profit body that oversees Internet addresses has approved the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on the Latin alphabet in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN voted on Friday to allow such scripts in so-called domain names at a meeting in South Korea's capital.

The decision was widely expected and follows years of debate and testing. It clears the way for governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names, likely beginning November.

Internet users could start seeing them in use early next year, particularly in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts in which demand has been among the highest, ICANN officials say.

First Ever Cosmetic Surgery to the Nose by Sushruta

London: India has laid claim to the world’s first nose job, which according to scriptures, was conducted by Sushruta, who lived around 600 BC and is cited to have performed “sophisticated reconstructive surgery”.

Generations of Indians have believed that Westerners such as Aristotle drove scientific advances, largely because the Indian education system was framed by Britain, according to N.R. Iyer, the director of Delhi’s National Science Centre.

“There is the widespread perception that science began in Greece. We want to correct this, and publicise advances made in India as long as 5,000 years ago,” he told the Times.

A new exhibition at the centre suggests that the study of atomic theory, mathematics, biology and cosmic evolution were all born in the subcontinent — when Britons were living in huts made of wattle and daub.

The exhibition, the largest of its kind in the country, is intended to foster a sense of “scientific nationalism” among the burgeoning middle classes.

Highlights include the work of Sushruta, who lived around 600BC and performed “sophisticated reconstructive surgery” — probably on convicts who had their noses cut off as punishment.

He may, therefore, have been the world’s first cosmetic surgeon, working about 150 years before Hippocrates — the Greek credited as “the father of medicine” — formulated his famous oath.

The Delhi exhibition shows advances in smelting from AD 800, breakthroughs in astronomy between AD 400 and AD 1000 and multiple cropping used by farmers in 2500 BC.

However, the poster boy for the campaign is Sushruta — claimed as a genius — who pioneered rhinoplasty: rebuilding noses.

He wrote, “The portion of the nose to be covered should be measured with a leaf. Then, skin of the required size should be dissected from the living skin of the cheek, and turned back to cover the nose, keeping a small pedicle attached to the cheek.”

“The physician should then stitch the two parts swiftly, keeping the skin elevated by inserting two tubes of eranda (the castor-oil plant) in the position of the nostrils,” he had added.

Sushruta also prescribed a rudimentary form of pain relief for the procedure.

“Wine should be used before operation to produce insensibility,” he said.

The centre has been directed by the Indian Government to form a committee of experts to write papers laying claim to areas of science that arguably have their roots in India.

Top of the list is likely to be mathematics and the decimal system, and specifically the concept “zero” — a word derived from the Sanskrit shunya.

Internet to get non-English addresses soon

Seoul: The Internet is set to undergo one of the biggest changes in its four-decade history with the expected approval this week of international domain names — or addresses — that can be written in languages other than English, an official said on Monday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) — the non-profit group that oversees domain names — is holding a meeting this week in Seoul. Domain names are the monikers behind every website, e-mail address and Twitter post, such as ".com" and other suffixes.

One of the key issues to be taken up by ICANN's board at this week's gathering is whether to allow for the first time entire internet addresses to be in scripts that are not based on Latin letters.

That could potentially open up the web to more people around the world as addresses could be in characters as diverse as Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Hindi and Cyrillic — in which Russian is written.

"This is the biggest change technically to the internet since it was invented 40 years ago," Mr Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the ICANN board, told reporters, calling it a "fantastically complicated technical feature."

He said he expects the board to grant approval on Friday, the conference's final day.

The internet's roots are traced to experiments at a US university in 1969 but it wasn't until the early 1990s that its use began expanding beyond academia and research institutions to the public.

Infant's thumb sucking may impair speech

Washington: Pacifier, baby bottle or thumb sucking may hamper a child's speech development if the habit goes on too long, says a new study.

The children were more likely to have difficulty producing certain word sounds and to simplify their pronunciation. A team led by Clarita Barbosa from Corporacion de Rehabilitacion Club De Leones Cruz Del Sur in Patagonia, Chile, conducted the study with University of Washington (UW) Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT).

Looking at a group of 128 children aged three to five years, researchers gathered parents' reports of each child's feeding and sucking behaviours during infancy and evaluated the child's speech. They found that delay in giving a baby bottle until the child was at least nine-month-old reduced the risk of their developing speech disorders, while children who sucked their fingers or who used a pacifier for more than three years, were three times more likely to develop speech impediments.

"These results suggest extended sucking outside of breast-feeding may have detrimental effects on speech development in young children," says Barbosa. This finding is particularly relevant as the use of baby bottles and pacifiers has increased over the past few decades, said an UW release. Previous research also has suggested that breast feeding may be beneficial to developing coordinated breathing, swallowing and speech articulation. The results were published in the Wednesday edition of BMC Paediatrics. — IANS

What is Kalyaanam?

कल्याणोत्सव तत्पर स्स भगवान् कुर्यात् सदा मङ्गलम्

What is Kalyanam>

Why and How is it required to be performed?

• Kalyaanam literally means Welfare/ Well being (Mangalam). As marriage/ initiation into Gruhastha Aashrama (System of House Holder with duties to take care of the beings around him) is vital to the world, marriage is also called Kalyaanam. In physical sense, it is to bring together two clans, two families, two bodies, two souls closer to each other. In other words, it is indicative of the process of Unification. Hence, marriage has also come to be known as an institution.
• From the philosophical perspective, Kalyanam as explained in the story cited in Brahma Vaivarta Puranam; is a metaphysical concept. It is to convey the concept of Creation and sustenance as well as delusion. Without the advent of Sakti (Raajasika Pravrutti of Maaya), Siva (Param Brahma) is a static, monistic, all pervading, omnipotent, omni scent force. The potent energy remains latent, till aroused by the dynamism of Sakti.
• To assume the form of dynamic force, the combination of Maaya is compulsory. This is well explained in the first stanza of Soundarya Lahari. (शिव श्शक्त्या युक्तो यदि भवति शक्तः प्रभवितुं नचेदेवं देवो न खलु कुशल स्स्पन्दितुमपि।) Hence, for the world to be exuberant with dynamism, creativity and incessant existential energies; the communion of Siva & Sakti (in other words Prakruti & Purusha or Saguna Brahma & Maaya) is absolutely required.
• To signify and propagate this concept of the Universal Creation and Existence, Devata Kalyanam is observed annually in temples all over India. Several Mythological stories and epics have narrated various fables to convey this concept, as part of Avataara Kathaa (Description of the incarnation of a deity).
• In fact, incarnation or Avataara is nothing but the assumption of form to limit the scope and outlook of the unlimited Almighty. (Ava is downward; Taara is to transform/ convey = Effectively it is downsizing/ downgrading the infinite Saguna Brahman to a finite existence, with Janma & Niryaanam (Birth and Expiry comparable to humans).
• Without a form, it is highly difficult to a common mortal to understand and experience this high theory/ principle of Creation. It is quite common for a professor/ teacher to draw an illustration to convey his idea effectively to his subjects.
• Hence, all the concept of Kalyanam is nothing but a metaphysical representation of the Universe. The Sankalpam and several procedures amply explain the same, if one has time and knowledge to examine the Mantras, recited in the Program.
• To affirm that the Naama & Roopa (Name & Form) are representation of the Limitless/ Infinite Almighty; the Mantras list out several benefits that can accrue to the participant in the Kalyanam, if observed and understood properly. Thus, from Nirguna Param Brahma> Saguna Brahma + Maaya > Prakruti + Purusha; our critical analysis is reaching the mythological stage.
• The concept of Prakruti & Purusha is also abstractive to explain to a common listener/ starter. Hence, the sages have explained the several stories denoting the communion of Static and Dynamic Forces (Hitherto bounded energies); leading to Unified Monist/ infinite energy of Almighty. Those who understand this concept and perceive the Meta Physical process will be enlightened to achieve Moksha (Salvation). Otherwise, the innumerable benefits, listed in the Kalyaana Sankalpam are impossible for anyone to beget.

Selection of Name & Form for Kalyaanam

• At this stage, an enquiry would be initiated to select the name and form to visualise the process of Devata Kalyanam. Naturally, we try to trace a source of information, where a similar event is purported/ reported to have occurred in the past Yugas. At this juncture, Puraanas (Epics) are the only source of exhaustive information and authentication.
• Hence, wherever a Puraana has explained in detail, a procedure of marriage citing the name and form of a deity, Kalyaana Utsavam is performed by devotees. We should not get confused to mix the philosophical concept with the selection of name and form. Precedent and Traditional Authentication is an integral mandatory part of this selection.
• For an example: Siva has many forms - some fierce, some calm, some benign, some destructive, some tranquil. Among these, the form of Kalyaana Murty, which is described in the Puraanas, is chosen for Kalyaana Utsavam. Similarly, Lord Vishnu had many incarnations, among which Seeta Raama Kalyaanam, Rukmini Krishna Kalyaanam are performed. It would be inappropriate to select Vaamana, Narasimha, Matsya, Koorma, Varaaha, Parashuraama, Buddha or Kalki, citing the Philosophical theory of one force - many names & Forms.
• Hence, understanding the logic; mythological precedent combined with tradition observed by knowledgeable elders should be the basic requirement for the observance/ celebration of any event. We should well grasp that, Bhaarateeyas are better known for their acumen rather than superstition. Though, sentiments play a greater role in our preferences, it would be wise to harmoniously blend logic and authentic traditions in choosing our options, to realise full extent of benefits, enlisted in the scriptures.

सर्वं ब्रह्ममयम्

3 meals a day protect us from fungi

Washington: Having three meals everyday keeps us warm and protects us from any kind of fungal attack, a new study suggests.

The research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Yeshiva University has revealed that just because humans and other mammals eat a lot, they are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens. The research, showed that the elevated body temperature of mammals - the familiar 98.6 F or 37 C in people - is too high for the vast majority of potential fungal invaders to survive.

"Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as we move to mammalian temperatures," said Dr Arturo Casadevall, chair and professor of microbiology and immunology at Einstein.

"Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases. And being warm-blooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs," he added.

Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function.

In the study, the researchers investigated how 4,082 different fungal strains from the Utrecht collection grew in temperatures ranging from chilly - 40 C or 39 F - to desert hot - 45 C or 113 F. They found that nearly all of them grew well in temperatures up to 30 C.

Beyond that, though, the number of successful species declined by 6 per cent for every one degree centigrade increase. Most could not grow at mammalian temperatures. Those that did well in hotter conditions were often from warm-blooded sources.

Dr Casadevall noted that the current study covered thousands of fungal strains and made use of a computerised database of the Utrecht collection.

"This was possible only because we could use bioinformatic tools to analyse the records in the culture collection. There is no way to do a study like this without such technology given the enormous numbers of samples and the labour involved," he said.

The results of the study could help explain why mammals maintain a seemingly energy-wasteful lifestyle requiring a great deal of food.

On the other hand, reptiles need only eat once a day or even less often.

"The payoff, however, may be that mammals are much more resistant to soil and plant-borne fungal pathogens than are reptiles and other cold-blooded vertebrates," he said.

The study has been published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

तस्मात् त्रिरह्नः पशवः प्रेरते

(Animals take food thrice a day, to keep healthy)

- यजुर्वेदः

Naked Scanners at Airports on anvil

October 13th, 2009

London: In an initiative to enable airport security staff in the UK to beef up security, a human X-ray machine has been introduced at Manchester Airport that can instantly spot any hidden weapons or explosives.

The X-ray machine, made by RapiScan Systems, will scan passengers and produce naked images, will also show up any breast enlargements, false limbs, piercings, and a clear outline of passengers'' private parts.

“The black and white image will only be seen by one officer in a remote location before it is deleted,” The Daily Express quoted, Sarah Barrett, head of customer experience at Manchester Airport, as saying.

“Most of our customers do not like the traditional "pat down" search, they find it too intrusive, but they still want to be kept safe. This scanner completely takes away the hassle of needing to undress. The images are not erotic or pornographic and they cannot be stored or captured in anyway,” she added.

However, considering passengers’ interest due to the graphic nature of the images, they will have the option to refuse the virtual strip search at Terminal 2, and opt for the pat down search instead. The Department for Transport has installed them on trail and will decide whether to install them permanently at the end of the trial, which is expected to last for a year.

Biomolecular computers can now 'think logically'

October 14th, 2009

Washington: Researchers have devised an advanced programme for biomolecular computers that enables them to 'think' logically.
Research students Tom Ran and Shai Kaplan, students of Ehud Shapiro at Weizmann Institute's biological chemistry lab have found a way to make these devices 'user friendly,' even while performing complex computations and answering complicated queries.

The team introduced the first autonomous programmable DNA computing device in 2001. A new version, created in 2004, detected cancer in a test tube and released a molecule to destroy it. Besides the possibility that such biology-based devices could one day be injected into the body - a sort of �doctor in a cell' locating disease and preventing its spread, biomolecular computers could conceivably perform millions of calculations in parallel.

The train of deduction used by this futuristic device is remarkably familiar. It was first proposed by Aristotle over 2,000 years ago as a simple if... then proposition: 'All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.' When fed a rule (All men are mortal) and a fact (Socrates is a man), the computer answered the question 'Is Socrates Mortal?' correctly.

The team went on to set up more complicated queries involving multiple rules and facts, and the DNA computing devices were able to deduce the correct answers every time. These findings were published online in Nature Nanotechnology.

Warning againgst Exposure to Cell Phone (Electro Magnetic/ Radio Signals)

 

Limit exposure to cell phones: French health authority

October 15th, 2009

Paris: French health watchdogs, in a precautionary move, recommended on Thursday reducing exposure to mobile phones and other portable wireless devices that emit radio-frequency electromagnetic waves.

The guidelines are an interim step pending the outcome of wider research into any impacts from health from radio frequency fields.

"The time for inaction has passed," Martin Guespereau, director of the French Health and Security Agency (Afsset), said at a press conference.

"Let's not wait until the indications become pathologies before moving forward with limiting exposure," he said.

More than 1,000 studies were examined and most of them did not show any negative impacts from mobile phones, Wifi emitters, microwave ovens, cordless home phones and other gadgets emitting electromagnetic radiation, Guespereau said.

Some research, however, did point to possible health problems, including cell damage, reduced male fertility and a lower blood flow to the brain.

Emphasising caution, Guespereau also pointed out that cell phones have been widely used for barely a decade, not long enough to study long-term impacts from constant exposure.

Given this level of uncertainty, the French health authority said further research was needed to determine potential health consequences.

Get Ready for An Arctic Summer Retreat!!

(Serious Climatic Disaster for Souther Coastal Cities of the Globe)

London
Oct. 15: British researchers on Thursday revealed latest data on Arctic Ocean which proves that the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is rapidly thinning, supporting the theory that the ocean will be largely ice-free during summers within a decade.

An ice-free Arctic could lead to drastic climate changes and extreme global weather like alarming increase in temperature and increased floodings affecting one-fourth of the world population.

The scientists analysing the data found that the survey area is comprised almost exclusively of first-year ice. Traditionally, the region has contained older, thicker multi-year ice. The average thickness of the ice-floors measured 1.8 metres, a depth considered too thin to survive the next summer’s ice melt.

The scientists at the Cambridge University made the findings based on data collected in the Catlin Arctic Survey, completed earlier this year.

The survey, which provides the latest ice thickness record, collected by manual drilling and observations on a 450-kilometre route across the northern part of the Beaufort Sea. “With a larger part of the region now first year ice, it is clearly more vulnerable.

The area is now more likely to become open water each summer, bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone,” said Professor, Mr Peter Wadhams, of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge, who led the data interpretation group.

He said that the data reveals that ice-free Arctic is not distant in future. “The Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the new consensus view — based on seasonal variation of ice extent and thickness, changes in temperatures.

Alternative to Fruit Labels

Washington: Those small and inconvenient sticky labels in illegible print on consumer items like fruits are likely to be replaced by laser 'tattoo' technology, which is currently undergoing tests.

Called laser etching, the new technology puts a tattoo on grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket checkout lines.

The technology was invented by former University of Florida (UFL) scientist Greg Drouillard, now with Sunkist Growers.

Grapefruit has always been labelled with sticky paper labels that mar the fruit and stick to one another in storage. The labels are also easily removed, making it more difficult to track a piece of produce back to the source if the need arises.

Microbiologist Jan Narciso at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Citrus and Subtropical Products Lab and UFL researcher Ed Etxeberria investigated laser technology as an alternative to sticky paper labels.

A carbon dioxide laser beam was used to etch information into the first few outer cells of the fruit peel. The mark can't be peeled off, washed off or changed, offering a way to trace the fruit back to its original source.

This permanent etching into the fruit peel does not increase water loss or the entrance of food pathogens or post-harvest pathogens if the laser label is covered with wax.

Further testing shows the wax may be unnecessary, since the tiny holes etched into the grapefruit peel are effectively sealed by the carbon dioxide, preventing decay and food pathogen entry.

However, wax coverage is recommended to eliminate water loss. In testing for fruit decay, the fruit was inoculated with decay organisms and then etched with the laser. No pathogens were found in the peel or the fruit interior, said an ARS release.

Narciso and Etxeberria found that the laser cauterizes the peel, much like when a laser is used on human skin. The cauterized area is impenetrable to pathogens and decay organisms and resists water loss.

The research was published in HortTechnology.

Soil Testing Thermometre for Earth by Israeli Scientists

Scientists at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel have developed what is literally a 'thermometer' for the Earth, which would assess the health of our planet.

Known as the "Optical Soil Dipstick" (OSD), the instrument has been developed by Professor Eyal Ben-Dor of TAU's Department of Geography, along with his team.

According to Prof. Eyal Ben-Dor, his soil dipstick will help scientists, urban planners and farmers understand the changing health of the soil, as well as its agricultural potential and other associated concerns.

"I was always attracted to drug development and diagnostics, which spurred the development of this OSD device," he said. 

"It's like a diagnostic device that measures soil health. Through a small hole in the surface of the earth, we can assess what lies beneath it," he added.

Ben-Dor explained that as climate change alters our planet radically, this dipstick could instantly tell geographers what parts of the US are best - or worst - for farming.

For authorities in California, it is already providing proof that organic farms are chemical-free, and it could be used as a whistle-blower to catch environmental industrial polluters.

Today, there is no simple and inexpensive way to test for soil health in the field.

Testing can be much simpler with Prof. Ben-Dor's dipstick, which can be used by non-professionals.

The thin catheter-like device is inserted into a small hole in the soil to give real-time, immediately accurate and reliable information on pollution and the all-round health of the soil.

Analysing chemical and physical properties, the dipstick outputs its data to a handheld device or computer.

"To optimise production and save costs, farmers need to know if their crops are getting the right blend of minerals. This tool could permit them to pursue 'precision agriculture'," said Ben-Dor. The OSD, which is expected to cost about $10,000 per unit per application, allows technicians to determine if the soil needs water or is contaminated.

It also provides information about the condition of root zones where crops are growing.

According to the researchers, the quality of information is identical to that provided by large government laboratories.

Ben-Dor said that these dipsticks can also be remotely and wirelessly networked to airplanes and satellites, providing the most detailed, comprehensive and reliable soil map of the US.

The OSD is currently in a prototype stage and is set for commercialisation. If the right strategic partner is found, a new evice could be on the shelves, and in the ground, within the year.

Treating mild diabetes during pregnancy - Beneficial

NEW YORK – Treating even mild diabetes that develops during pregnancy helps keep moms and babies from gaining too much weight and makes for easier deliveries, new research shows. Pregnant women in the U.S. are routinely tested and treated for high blood sugar levels, although it hasn't been clear whether treating the mildest cases really benefited them and their infants.

In a study of 950 women, those with mild gestational diabetes who were treated had fewer overly large babies, fewer cesarean sections and fewer pregnancy complications, compared to women who didn't have their diabetes treated.

"There is every reason to fully treat women with even the mildest (gestational diabetes) based on our results," said the study's leader, Dr. Mark Landon of Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.

Gestational diabetes begins during pregnancy and usually goes away after childbirth. It affects as many as one in seven pregnant women, depending on the population. The mother's elevated blood sugar can cause the fetus to grow too large, sometimes requiring a C-section and can bring on other health problems for the mother and baby.

Risk factors include being over 25, being obese and a family history of diabetes.

Medical groups support testing pregnant women for the condition and treatment, although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government health panel, said last year there wasn't enough evidence to recommend screening.

Landon said he'd had doubts about treating mild cases, and was surprised by the study's results.

"I did it, yet I wondered, 'Was I overtreating?'" he said.

For the government-funded study, 958 women with mild gestational diabetes were recruited at 15 medical centers. They got either diabetes treatment or standard prenatal care. Treatment included diet counseling and insulin if needed to get their blood sugar under control.

In the treatment group, there were fewer babies of unusually large size (7 percent vs. 15 percent in the untreated group) and fewer babies weighed more than about 9 pounds (6 percent vs. 14 percent). On average, the treated women gained 5 fewer pounds after their diagnosis than the untreated ones.

There were also fewer C-sections and cases of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication. There were no deaths in either group, and no difference in other birth-related complications.

Landon noted that a "remarkable" 93 percent of the women in the treatment group kept their blood sugar under control with diet alone; only 7 percent needed insulin.

The findings are reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. David A. Sacks of Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Bellflower, Calif., said switching to a healthier diet could help other pregnant women limit weight gain, too. More large babies are born to overweight or obese women who don't have diabetes, he said.

"This is a real easy therapy to apply to every single pregnant lady," said Sacks, who wrote an editorial about the study in the journal.

Even before she got pregnant, Lorenda Donaugh knew all about gestational diabetes. She works with Landon at Ohio State, doing ultrasounds for his patients, and ended up becoming one after she was diagnosed at 28 weeks with a mild case.

"I knew it was going to be hard work. It takes a lot of time and planning," said the 27-year-old, who lives in the Columbus suburb of Westerville.

Donaugh, who was not part of the study, monitored her blood sugar several times a day, modified her diet and took extra walks. She eventually took a diabetes medication.

Planning meals and cutting back on sugar was the hardest part, she said. Whenever she was tempted, she thought of her baby. "Being pregnant, you have all those cravings, but you still have to limit that food," she said.

The work paid off. She delivered a healthy daughter on Sept. 14. Adelynn weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and her mom had only gained a modest 22 pounds.

Guru Parampara

श्री गणेशाय नमः श्रीसरस्वत्यै नमः

श्री पादवल्लभ नरसिंह सरस्वती श्रीगुरु दत्तात्रेयाय नमः

 

 

दत्तात्रेय समारम्भां नृसिंहादिक मध्यमाम्।

सच्चिादनन्द पर्यन्तां वन्दे गुरु परम्पराम्।।

PUROHITA - An Excellent Component of Indian Society

प्रब्रवाम शरदश्शतम्, अजीतास्स्याम शरदश्शतम्।

Preamble

The word PUROHITA is a grand nomenclature, intended to bring harmony to the society. It has another synonym called PURODHAS. An inspection at the etymology, gives us the deep insight propounded by Vedas in myriad texts. I deem it appropriate to delve into this topic, on this joyous occasion.

Choices of Life Hitam - Priyam

            In life, we find two important choices, often contrary to each. Sages have categorised them as HITAM and PRIYAM. Hitam is the better of the two as it seeks to promote absolute welfare of the person in this life as well as next births, and even in the achievement of salvation. However, Hitam may be hard to follow, as common trait of the mortals is to jump for short term gain, rather than concentrating on long term eternal benefit.

Where as Priyam (temporary comfort) is the obvious choice for most of the people, as it gives happiness instantaneously in short term. But, it is bound to lead to a chaotic situation, which could be horrendous.

Let us illustrate an example to explain the difference. A child always likes to spend time in play (PRIYAM) and dislikes the strict rigorous discipline in studies and ethics (HITAM). But, parents and guardians do not allow him to spend all the time in casual Play, as it will jeopardise his career and affect his life later.

Hitam, though seems the harder choice of the two; is not that difficult, as it is appears at the entry level. Let us consider the fact that, once attuned to the rigorous study schedules and moral ethics, the child will start relishing it too. Therefore, all the mortals require a person to advise them to choose the better choice of life, at all times.

Who is a PUROHITA?

            In light of the above explained scenario, the Vedic Tradition devised the system of PUROHITA, which can be correlated as the conscience keeper of the society, at large. Explaining the term further – PURAS means Forward. Hitam is the welfare. If you need to get ahead continuously, you need to adhere to path of Dharma. (Dharma Aacharanam alone could ensure the competitive edge, required to achieve ever lasting stupendous success. (For an example: By luring gullible people to invest in unrealistic high interest yielding deposit scheme, one may mobilise lots of money to dispense with. Failure to honour the commitment could land him in serious trouble, later).

            The synonym PURODHAS further explains the purpose beautifully. It is not only sufficient to achieve one time success, but the more important goal is to maintain it all times to achieve respect and dignity. (DHA – is the root Dhaatu, which is translated as: to hold, maintain or nourish.) For this, the society requires an essential conscience keeper, called PUROHITA. In order to make us realise this importance, VEDA starts with the first hymn:

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितम्। यज्ञस्य देव मृत्विजम्।

As mortals, are bound to die at some time, it is essential to know the eternal PUROHITA who is none other than AGNI. He is the primordial RITWIK (a partner) of our YAGNA and its fruits. As it is difficult to stipulate a blanket rule and implement it by mere oral instruction at macro level; micro level consultation and assistance is necessary for smooth implementation. Hence, the society is categorised with several nuclei such as Gender, Family, Clan, Race, Family and Sect for easier implementation of DHAARMIKA JEEVANA (Righteous living) that is to opt for HITAM in life.

It is very important to realise, that this categorisation in done with a great bonafide intention of ensuring success for all the humans. Further classifying the duties of the society, Vedic tradition stipulated that a BRAAHMANA, as representative of AGNI shall undertake this sacred and honorary duty as PUROHITA, with nil expectation of any dividend. To qualify as a PUROHITA, a person is required to be scholastic in Dharma Saastra (Ethical Code), Karma Kaanda (Rituals) and Jyotishya (Astrology). Last but not least, a PUROHITA needs to set an example by overcoming the personal temptations to jump for unscrupulous interim benefits and should practise Dharma at personal level through out life.

It is mutually convenient to seek/ provide consultation at personal level, to meet individual requirements. Hence, the duties for PUROHITA are envisaged as under:

1.     To assist and support a family (Client) in Personal Rites

2.     To fix the Muhoortam for several rituals

3.     To advise the family, as a guide during entire life cycle from birth to death (in 16 Samskaaras (Rituals to shape and invigorate important stages of life)

4.     To advise at times of adversity such as defeat, ailments and calamities; by diagnosing the symptoms; analysing the causes and suggesting remedies enlisted in Dharma Sastra.

5.     Consultation and Implementation partnership, at micro level

6.     To fix dates for Rituals and course of action for the welfare of the society

7.     To advise rulers and administrators in determining best practices of Dharma and judging righteous actions.

It is a gracious fact, that PUROHITA was a necessary component of society, requiring each family to have a dedicated PUROHITA for life. It even extended from generations to next generations, inventing the term KULA PUROHITA.

We can draw the reference to several instances in our epics, where Great Sages such as Vasishtha, Garga etc have supported rituals in many incarnations such as Rama and Krishna. Brahma, himself conducted many rituals himself and accepted to be PUROHITA at many instances. Dakshina (Money/ Emoluments) offered to PUROHITA, as a courtesy represented their respect towards the scholar.

Current Status

With changing times, the stark reality is that this respected honorary Profession of PUROHITA has started to become derogatory, due to the decline of ethics and morality in society. In changing circumstances, Scholarly persons have declined to be PUROHITA, as it was being associated with connected with unjustified gains. Dwindling income from the profession was another important reason, for knowledgeable persons avoiding this profession.

Due to the paucity of qualified scholars as PUROHITA, the dynamics of demand supply have led to an unhealthy proposition. Thus, the remaining few Purohitas have lesser time for their clients and underserved families are either ignorant of this necessity or could not afford for the services of a Purohita. In this reprehensible process, the profession of Purohita, started to be depicted as inferior at many important forums of the society such as literature, drama and it continues till date, as Purohita is lampooned as buffoon in movies. All these factors are dissuading youngsters to yearn for other jobs.

Conclusion

            To revitalise the institution of PUROHITA, an effort has to be made to enlighten and educate the professionals about its purpose and importance. On the other hand, it is also pertinent to sensitise the society in honouring the Professionals, whom it requires at all times. May God amply bless all of us, in this direction!!

Jaya Guru Datta