canadian home sales rebound in...

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Canadian home sales rebound in January

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SHARMILA TAGORE AND SOHA ALI KHAN WITH DR. DEEPIKA KRISHNA DURING A PROGRAMME ON CANCER AWARENESS AND ITSPREVENTION BY CANCER HEALER CENTER IN NEW DELHI (IANS).

TORONTO - The new Mercedes-Benz S 550e blends an ultramodernhybrid drive configuration with the unique innovations and the luxuri-ous equipment and appointments of the S-Class. The luxury sedanimpresses with its exceptional dynamism and efficiency."The S 550e is the first luxury sedan with the performance of a V8 andthe fuel consumption of a compact model. The greatest challenge inthis is to translate efficiency into superior performance. In this re-spect there is a highly interesting parallel with our successful For-mula 1 racing car, which likewise has a turbocharged V6 engine anda high-tech hybrid drive," says Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, member ofthe Daimler Board of Management responsible for Group Researchand Mercedes-Benz Cars Development."The new S 550e offers our customers the entire range of innovationsthat make our new S-Class so successful, and thanks to its intelligentoperating strategy ensures outstanding driving pleasure and dyna-mism combined with the highest efficiency. Moreover, it allows com-pletely emission-free driving for up to 33 km," adds Ola Källenius,Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars.The Mercedes-Benz S 550e offers a system output of 436 hp and 479lb-ft torque, sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.2 seconds and candrive up to 33 km purely electrically. Key elements of this impressiveoutput are the V6 biturbo and the intelligent hybrid drive. The newhigh-voltage lithium-ion battery with an energy content of 8.7 kWhcan be externally recharged via the charging socket in the right sideof the rear bumper.The S 550e is the first plug-in hybrid model in the new S-Class avail-able in Canada. This model has environmental cer tificates that docu-ment environmental performance from development through to recy-cling, across the entire lifecycle, and is cer tified to internationallyrecognized standards by independent exper ts.

OTTAWA - According to statistics released today by The Canadian RealEstate Association (CREA), national home sales rebounded in January 2016compared to the previous month.Highlights:" National home sales edged up by 0.5% from December to January" Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 8% compared toJanuary 2015." The number of newly listed homes retreated by 4.9% from De-cember to January." The Canadian housing market has tightened but remains balanced overall." The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 7.7% year-over-year in January." The national average sale price rose 17% on a year-over-yearbasis in January; however, excluding British Columbia and Ontario, itedged down 0.3%.The number of homes trading hands via MLS® Systems of Canadian realestate Boards and Associations edged up by 0.5 percent in January 2016compared to December of last year. The monthly increase lifted nationalsales activity to the highest level since late 2009.

The number of local housing markets was almost equally split betweenthose where sales were up from the month before, and those wheresales were down. Monthly sales increases in the Greater TorontoArea (GTA) and Lower Mainland of British Columbia fuelled the na-tional sales increase and offset monthly sales declines in Calgary,Edmonton and the Okanagan Region."Single family home buyers in the GTA and Lower Mainland of British Colum-bia had been expected to bring forward their purchase decisions before tight-ened mortgage regulations take effect in February 2016," said CREA Presi-dent Pauline Aunger. "If listings in these and nearby markets were not in suchshort supply, January sales activity would likely have reached even greaterheights. Meanwhile, other major urban housing markets have an amplesupply of listings, particularly where some home buyers have become in-creasingly cautious amid an uncertain job market outlook. All real estate islocal, and REALTORS® remain your best source for information about salesand listings where you live or might like to in the future."The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold inJanuary 2016 was $470,297, up 17.0 per cent year-on-year basis.

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Eating fish during pregnancymay benefit brains of offspring

SONAM KAPOOR AND SHABANA AZMI DURING THE LAUNCH OF BOOK, THE NEERJA I KNEW IN NEW DELHI (IANS).

LONDON, (IANS) Spanish researchers have found that children whosemothers ate three to four servings of fish a week during pregnancy hadhigher IQ scores than those whose mothers ate less amount of fish.The research also showed that consuming fish during pregnancy mayhelp reduce offspring's risk of developing autism. "Consumption oflarge fatty fish during pregnancy presents moderate child neuropsy-chological benefits, including improvements in cognitive functioningand some protection from autism-spectrum traits," the study said.What surprised the researchers was that cer tain fish, such as tuna ortilefish, which pregnant women have been discouraged from eatingbecause of their higher levels of mercury were linked to some of thebiggest developmental benefits. The findings suggest that high levelsof a compound called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may outweighany negative effects of mercury, according to the researchers.Fish such as tuna that may have mercury also hold higher levels of DHA, anomega-3 fatty acid that plays a critical role in brain growth and development,said lead author of the study Jordi Julvez from the Centre for Researchin Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain."Maybe this effect is masking the negative effects that come frommercury," Julvez was quoted as saying by Live Science. Or, "maybethis is more beneficial than the toxic effect of the mercury itself,"Julvez noted.For the study, the researchers followed about 2,000 mothers and theirchildren, beginning in the mothers' first trimester of pregnancy, andcontinuing until the children turned five. The study was publishedonline in The American Journal of Epidemiology.

NEW YORK, (IANS) A drug that causes hallucinations may have thera-peutic potential for reducing intimate par tner violence, says a study."Although we are attempting to better understand how or why thesesubstances may be beneficial, one explanation is that they can trans-form people's lives by providing profoundly meaningful spiritual ex-periences that highlight what matters most," said one of the research-ers, Peter Hendricks from the University of Alabama at Birminghamin the US. "Often, people are struck by the realisation that behavingwith compassion and kindness toward others is high on the list ofwhat matters," Hendricks noted. The researchers explored the thera-peutic potential for hallucinogens such as psilocybin or LSD.The study looked at 302 men aged 17-40 in the criminal justice sys-tem. Of the 56 percent of par ticipants who repor ted using hallucino-gens, only 27 percent were arrested for later intimate par tner vio-

lence (IPV) as opposed to 42 percent of the group who repor ted nohallucinogen use being arrested for IPV within seven years.From the 1950s through the early 1970s, thousands of studies re-por ted on the medical use of hallucinogens, mostly LSD. Due to theclassification of the most prominent hallucinogens as Schedule I con-trolled substances in 1970, research on health benefits was sus-pended, causing many of these studies to be forgotten. However,research with hallucinogens has experienced a rebir th, the studypointed out."Recent studies have shown that psilocybin and related compoundscould revolutionise the mental health field," Hendricks said. "How-ever, additional research is needed. This study suggests that halluci-nogens could be a useful avenue for reducing IPV, meaning this topicdeserves fur ther attention."

Can drug help reduce domestic violence?

HONEY CAN DESTROY HARMFUL FUNGUS, SAVE LIVESLONDON, (IANS) Researchers from Britain have identified the effect of honey used since ancienttimes for the treatment of several diseases, on pathogenic fungi that can cause devastatinginfections in vulnerable people.Researchers from the University of Manchester in Britain discovered a powerful link betweenSurgihoney -- a medicinal type of honey and the destruction of Fusarium -- a fungus that can causeblindness or even death.The researchers used different concentrations of Surgihoney, a biologically engineered honey thatproduces chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, to test how effective it could be indestroying the fungus Fusarium, which is found on plants and in soil.Even the lowest concentrations had a significant effect in breaking down the cell wall of thefungus, demonstrating its potential as a future treatment for patients, the study revealed. Chronicinfections, such as those found in long-lasting wounds comprise about 60-80 percent of infectiousdiseases in humans and the way fungi invades wounds is associated with the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.Chronic infections, such as those found in long-lasting wounds, in which fungi invades, compriseabout 60-80 percent of infectious diseases in humans. Biofilms -- thin layers of micro organisms, which group together -- contribute tothe severity and delayed healing of such chronic wounds, the researchers said."Through my research I wanted to show the potential for honey as a healing agent to break through these biofilms and in doing soincrease the process of healing. What I found amazing is that honey actually works better than some antifungals," Zain Habib Alhindi,research student at the Manchester University said in an official statement.The study opens door for fur ther work on the application of honey for many fungal infections and allows scientists to adopt differentoptions for treating a range of superficial infections, researchers concluded.

EASILY STRESSED? ATRISK OF DEVELOPING HIGHBLOOD PRESSURENEW YORK, (IANS) The tendency to take more stress duringyouth may increase the risk of developing high blood pres-sure later in life, suggests a study. Also, stressed youthswho are overweight are three times more likely to develophigh blood pressure, showed the findings, published onlinein the journal Hear t.Casey Crump, researcher from the Stanford University inCalifornia, US used the national disease registry data totrack the health of more than 1.5 million 18-year-old men,who had been conscripted into the army in Sweden be-tween 1969 and 1997, till the end of 2012. None of theconscripts had high blood pressure when they began theirstint in the military. Their stress resilience level was mea-sured by structured interview.The men were quizzed about psychological adjustmentsmade, their conflicts and successes, and responsibilitiesassumed at school, home, or at work, to gain a picture ofan individual's emotional stability and maturity and arriveat a score of between one and nine on the stress resiliencescale, with nine indicating high resilience.Between 1969 and 2012, some 93,000 of the conscriptswere diagnosed with high blood pressure. The averageage of the men at the end of the monitoring period was 47,and the average age at diagnosis was 49. A low stressresilience score at the age of 18 was associated with aheightened risk of developing high blood pressure in laterlife. Men in the bottom 20 per cent of scores had a morethan 40 percent heightened risk of the condition than thosein the highest 20 per cent of scores.

AIR POLLUTION INCREASESASTHMA RISK IN BABIESTORONTO, (IANS) Babies born to mothers exposed to air pol-lution from traffic sources during pregnancy have an increasedrisk of developing asthma before the age of five, finds a newstudy. Exposure to air pollution from traffic sources duringpregnancy increases the risk of developing asthma during thefirst five years of life, even in urban areas with relativelylow levels of pollution, the findings revealed. Also, chil-dren whose mothers lived close to highways during preg-nancy had a 25 percent increased relative risk of develop-ing asthma, the study said."Our study results highlight the impor tance of exposure topollution while babies are still in the womb. Air pollutionfrom traffic sources increased the risk of developing asthmaduring early years before children reach school age, evenin an urban area with relatively low levels of air pollution,"said Hind Sbihi, from the University of British Columbia inVancouver, Canada.In addition, children born with a low bir th weight weremore susceptible to the respiratory effects of air pollution,the study showed. The risk increased with an increase inlevels of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide: two mark-ers of traffic-related air pollution, the researchers said.The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal,looks at the role of variation in air pollution in urban areasand the development of asthma, the researchers said. Over65,000 Canadian children were included in the study andfollowed up from bir th until the age of 10 years.The researchers monitored physician-diagnosed asthmacases among this group and also assessed exposure ofmothers to air pollutants during pregnancy. Each mother'spostcode was used and exposure level was determinedusing measures that focused mainly on traffic-related pollut-ants, including black carbon, fine par ticulate matter, nitrogenoxide and nitric oxide.

VACATION CAN LEAD TOWEIGHT GAINNEW YORK, (IANS) Planning for a vacation? Be prepared forweight gain with a heavier midsection -- extra weight that canhang around even six weeks post-vacation. According to alatest study, researchers found that adults going on a one-to-three-week vacation gained an average weight of nearly onepound during their trip."If you're only gaining a pound or two a year and you gainedthree-quar ters of that on a one-to-three-week vacation, that'sa pretty substantial weight gain during a short period of time,"said Jamie Cooper, University of Georgia's College of Familyand Consumer Sciences in US. The study suppor ts the no-tion of "creeping obesity" -- the common pattern of adultsgaining small amounts of weight over long periods of time,leading to increased health problems later in life.For the research, the study involved 122 adults betweenthe ages of 18 and 65, who went on vacations ranging fromone to three weeks in length between the months of Marchand August. The par ticipants agreed to three lab visits forheight, weight and body mass index recordings, in addi-tion to blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio measurements.The first measurements were taken one week prior to va-cation, then again one week and six weeks post-vacation.The study found that 61 percent of the par ticipants gainedweight while on vacation, with an average gain of 0.7pounds, and that the weight gained throughout the entirestudy averaged 0.9 pounds. There was a large variation,however, with some par ticipants losing weight and somegaining as much as seven pounds.One of the factors that likely contributed to weight gain forstudy par ticipants was increased caloric intake, especiallyfrom alcohol consumption. "Whether or not those positivechanges in blood pressure and stress can overcome thenegative health implications of gaining weight on vacationare yet to be determined," Cooper noted.

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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

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SOME HEART DISEASE DRUGS ANDANTIBIOTICS MAY FIGHT CANCER

RAPPER BOHEMIA PAYS OBEISANCE AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE IN AMRITSAR (IANS).

NEW YORK, (IANS) Cer tain drugs currently used to treatdiseases such as hear t failure and cardiac arrhythmia havethe potential to be effective in treatment of cancer, newresearch has found. "We identified a dozen or so drugs thatreactivate tumour suppressor genes through an epigeneticmechanism that was never observed before," said study firstauthor Noel Raynal, professor at the University of Montreal inCanada."Epigenetic mechanisms control gene expression. They arehighly deregulated in cancer cells. The mechanism that wediscovered controls gene expression by targeting intracellularcalcium levels," he explained. The findings were published inthe journal Cancer Research. All the identified drugs are USFood and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved. "Since thesedrugs' safety and efficacy in humans are already known and

proven, they may readily go through clinical validation and bemade available to patients more quickly," Raynal said.The researchers screened more than 1,100 FDA-approved drugsand from this number, they chose the 14 most promising drugs,which were detected using a cellular model created in thelaboratory of Jean-Pierre Issa, professor at Temple University inPhiladelphia, US. Among the drugs selected for validation invarious types of cancer cells were cardiac glycosides andantibiotics, whose epigenetic effects were previously unknown."All our drug candidates had in common their ability to act onthe calcium channel and activate an enzyme essential for theanti-cancer effect," Raynal said. The researchers believe thatthe findings represent a new hope for children with solidtumours or recurrent of refractory leukemia who are facing atherapeutic dead end.

DEODORANTS ALTERBACTERIA'S LIFE ON YOUR SKINNEW YORK, (IANS) Wearing an anti-perspirant or deodorantdoesn't affect an individual's social life, and it substantially cutsdown the microbial life that survives on a person, says a new study.Thousands of bacteria species have the potential to live on humanskin, and in particular in the armpit, the researchers said, adding thatanti-perspirant and deodorant can significantly reduce the influenceof both the type and quantity of bacterial life found in the humanarmpit's "microbiome". "Just which of these species live in any par-ticular armpit has been hard to predict until now, but we've discov-ered that one of the biggest determinants of the bacteria in yourarmpits is your use of deodorant and/or antiperspirant," said RobDunn, professor at North Carolina State University in the US.The study, published in the journal the PeerJ, focuses on the effect thatanti-perspirant and deodorant have on the microbial life that lives onour bodies, and how our daily habits influence the life that lives on us,the researchers said. To learn about the microbial impact of anti-perspirant and deodorant, the researchers recruited 17 study partici-pants. They then launched an eight-day experiment in which all of theparticipants had swabs taken of their armpits.On day one, participants followed their normal hygiene routine inregard to deodorant or anti-perspirant use. On days two through six,participants did not use any deodorant or anti-perspirant. Ondays seven and eight, all par ticipants used antiperspirant.

Barley helps reduce appetite,blood sugar level: StudyLONDON, (IANS) Eating a special mixture of dietary fibresfound in barley can help reduce appetite and blood sugar lev-els, finds a new study. According to researchers, barley canalso rapidly improve people's health by reducing risk for car-diovascular disease. "It is surprising yet promising that choos-ing the right blend of dietary fibres can -- in a shor t period oftime -- generate such remarkable health benefits," said AnneNilsson from Lund University in Sweden. The study was conductedwith healthy middle-aged participants who were asked to eat bread largelymade out of barley kernels (up to 85 percent) for three days -- at breakfast,lunch and dinner. Approximately 11-14 hours after their final meal of theday, participants were examined for risk indicators of diabetes and cardio-vascular disease. The researchers found that the participants' metabo-lism improved for up to 14 hours, with additional benefits such as de-creases in blood sugar and insulin levels, increases in insulin sensitivityand improved appetite control.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016auto



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 auto


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016l i f e s t y l e

SIMPLE WAYS TO TAKECARE OF FRESH TATTOOS

Baby's asthma risk rises if mom-to-be uses paracetamolLONDON, (IANS) Babies are likely to have an increased riskof developing asthma if their mothers during pregnancy takeparacetamol -- a common painkiller, warns a new study. Thosechildren who were exposed to paracetamol during theirmother's pregnancy, developed asthma at the age of three, thestudy showed."Uncovering potential adverse effects is of public health im-por tance, as paracetamol is the most commonly used pain-killer among pregnant women and infants," said Maria Magnusfrom Bristol University in Brit-a in. The study examinedasthma outcomes atages three andseven andevaluated thel ike l ihoodof theasso-cia-

tion being as a result of the three most common triggers forparacetamol use in pregnancy: pain, fever, and flu, the re-searchers said.The findings, published in the International Journal of Epide-miology, showed that 5.7 percent of the children had currentasthma at age three, and 5.1 percent had asthma at age seven.Using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohor t Study,the researchers compared associations between several con-dit ions during pregnancy (with and without the use ofparacetamol) and asthma developing in the 114,500 childrenin the study.

Child abuse produces damagingeffects in bipolar patientsLONDON, (IANS) Childhood abuse and neglect can lead to arange of negative outcomes in patients with bipolar disorder,warns a study. Bipolar patients with a history of childhoodmaltreatment developed the depressive mental condition morethan four years earlier than patients with no history of mal-treatment, revealed the study.In addition, they were almost twice as likely to attempt sui-cide and nearly four times more likely to have a diagnosis ofpost-traumatic stress disorder. Also, up to 15 percent of peoplewith bipolar disorder die by suicide, the research, publishedin The Lancet Psychiatry, showed."Our findings have impor tant implications for clinical prac-tice, as they suggest that a history of childhood maltreatmentcould be used as an early indicator of high risk for poor out-comes among individuals with bipolar disorder," said JessicaAgnew-Blais, post-doctoral researcher at King's College Lon-don. Bipolar patients with a history of childhood maltreatmenthave more severe manic, depressive and psychotic symp-toms; higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxietydisorders, and substance and alcohol misuse disorders; ear-lier onset of symptoms; more frequent manic and depressiveepisodes; and higher risk of suicide attempt, the researcherselucidated.

Cancer patients in India increasedue to lifestyle changesNEW DELHI, (IANS) India has seen a 7.5 percent rise in thenumber of cancer patients due primarily to poor lifestyle choicessuch as consumption of alcohol, 'pan masala' and tobacco, a studyhas revealed.The lifestyle problems have contributed to cancer of lips, mouth,stomach, colon and rectum among men and to breast, ovarian andcervix uteri cancersamong women, saysthe 'Globocan' projectstudy conducted byInternational Agencyfor Research on Can-cer of the WorldHealth Organisation(WHO).The latest findings ofthe study show thatIndia witnessed 10lakh new cancercases and six lakhdeaths last year, a 7.5per cent rise over thecorresponding fig-ures in 2008. TheGlobocan projectaims to provide con-temporary estimatesof the incidence of, mortality and prevalence from major types ofcancer, at national level, for 184 countries of the world."With more than 10 lakh new cases and over six lakh deaths re-ported in a year, India bears a heavy burden of cancer. Consideringthe current trends, the incidence and mor tality are expectedto reach more than 12 lakh and more than eight lakh by2020, respectively," said the study. Late detection is alsothe cause of 70 per cent of cancer deaths in India, it said.While 50 per cent of the deaths in the US are accounted forby people above 70 years of age, 71 percent of the deathsin India claim people in the productive years of 30 to 69years. Fifteen percent of patients are children, comparedto the global average of 0.5 per cent."There is a lack of knowledge regarding cancer. There areregions where cancer patients are still treated as untouchables anddeserted by even close relatives. The fact is that the quality oflife can be improved through proper guidance of doctor andsuppor t of the family," said Asha Kapadia, head of oncology atPD Hinduja hospital in Mumbai.

NEW DELHI, (IANS) Getting a tat-too is an amazing feeling butmaintaining it is difficult as evenslight negligence and careless-ness can wreck an intr iguingpiece of body ar t and turn into adisaster. Once the tattoo is com-plete, resist the temptation toopen the plastic wrapped on yourtattoo and never touch your newtattoo with dir ty hands, says anexper t.Vikas Malani and Micky Malani,co-founders of Body Canvas tat-too studios and piercing parlour,have shared tips on how to carefor your new tattoo.* Once the tattoo is complete andyou have left the parlour, resistthe temptation to open the plasticwrapped on it.* After removing the cling wrap(after 2 hours minimum), washyour tattoo gently with the help ofyour hands with a mild, fragranceand alcohol-free soap or handwash. Do not use a loofah to re-move excess blood, ointment andink.* After washing the tattoo, pat itdry with a tissue paper. Do notrub it and don't use a towel fordrying off excess water.* For moisturising, apply only a

thin layer of Nivea cream, i tshould just be enough to make thetattoo shine (your tattoo should bevis ib le and the extra creamshould be wiped off gently).* Cover the tattoo with cling wrapagain.* Take a bath with a cling wrapon the tattoo as contact with a di-rect stream of water may ad-versely affect it.

* After the third day regime, justapply Nivea cream every twohours for two weeks and you willobserve that your tattoo is glossy.* Never touch your new tattoowith dir ty hands or fingernails. Donot wear tight fitting clothes. Don'tgo gymming or swimming for twoweeks (depending upon the heal-ing of the tattoo).* Don't expose your tattoo to di-

rect sunlight. After the healingprocess is over you can wear asun-block.* Instructions may vary from artist toartist; but here the guidelines are basicand for general care.* Healing time varies with eachindividual and the area that wastattooed. With proper care, youcan expect the tattoo to heal withintwo to three weeks.

LOOK STYLISH WITH DENIMS THIS SEASONNEW DELHI, (IANS) This season, look your stylish best in denims. One can opt for many looks likethe raw look or team up a denim jacket with a black coloured t-shir t, say exper ts. Exper ts fromJohn Players Jeans have provided a complete guide to dress up in denims.* The raw look: Explore the range of deep blues for the occasion and pair them with solidcolour T- shir ts or washed denim shir ts. Clear dark denims is the latest global trend. Withthis raw look, you will definitely stand out of the crowd.* The washed look: Pick from a whole range of experimental washes; be it acid wash, ragwash and more with shades of denim ranging from dark to mid blue to highly bleached.Pair with crisp printed floral shir ts for edgier look or polo t shir ts for a stylish look.* Do it the distressed way: Distressed denim is the new rage in denims. The young prefertheir denim torn, patched and repaired for the rock grunge look. Pair them with washed shir tsand throw on leather boots to complete the ensemble.* Denim Jackets: Denim jackets are a must have for the party look. Wear a white or black shir t witha pair of jeans and top the whole ensemble with a denim jacket.* Rock it with black: Rock the special evening with a black or grey denim. Pair with slogan T-shir t or rock inspired print T-shir t for alook which will surely have a lasting impression.

COUCH POTATO? YOUR BRAIN MAY SHRINK AS YOU AGENEW YORK, (IANS) Do you love to spend more time watching TV or movies and hate to exercise? Go hit the ground running as poorphysical fitness in middle age may accelerate brain ageing in just two decades, warn researchers."We found a direct correlation in our study between poor fitness and brain volume two decades later which indicates acceleratedbrain ageing," said study author Nicole Spar tano from Boston University School of Medicine in the US. People with poorphysical fitness of ten have higher blood pressure and hear t rate responses to low levels of exercise compared to people withbetter fitness. For the study, published in the journal Neurology, 1,583 people were enrolled with an average age of 40 withoutdementia or hear t disease and took a treadmill test. They went through another test two decades later along with MRI brainscans. The researchers also analysed the results when they excluded par ticipants who developed hear t disease or star tedtaking beta blockers to control blood pressure or hear t problems.The results showed that those who per formed poorly on the treadmill test had brain volume smaller two decades later --equivalent to two years of accelerated brain ageing. When the people with hear t disease or those taking beta blockers wereexcluded, lower physical per formance was associated with reductions of brain volume equal to one year of accelerated brainageing, the researchers noted.

HEMA MALINI WITH AMITABH BACHCHAN AND DHARMENDRA DURING THE LAUNCH OF HER NEW MUSIC ALBUM DREAM GIRLIN MUMBAI (IANS).



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016



DIABETIC DRUG MAY HELPTREAT COCAINE ADDICTION

KRISHNA CHATURVEDI AND RUHI SINGH DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE TO PROMOTE THEIR UPCOMING FILM `ISHQFOREVER` IN JAIPUR (IANS).

NEW YORK, (IANS) Researchers have found that a US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA)-approved drug currently used for obese patientsand Type-2 diabetics has the potential to be used in the treatment ofcocaine dependence. The drug, trade name Byetta, derives from anaturally occurring hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, which regulates feeding behaviour.In a two-and-a-half year study of rats, the researchers showed thatwhen they activated GLP-1 receptors in the region of the brain thatdeals with reward behaviour, called the ventral tegmental area,or VTA, the animals self-administered less cocaine. It is the firsttime such a role has been shown for the hormone in the brain, thestudy said.Physiologically, the hormone acts similarly in rat brains and humanbrains. Rather than injecting cocaine, the scientists modelled theway a human would take the drug by offering the study rats a lever topress for intravenous infusions. Once the animals stabilised in theirdrug-taking regimen, the researchers introduced the GLP-1 receptordirectly into the brain. "We were looking at what activation of GLP-1receptors in the VTA does to the animal's self-administration of co-caine," said study lead author Heath Schmidt from the University ofPennsylvania in the US.

The Way We ThinkInfluences What We ThinkBY RENUEAPEN, PROGRAM CONSULTANTRecognizing our thinking pattern can help identify ourmoments of excellence. When you know your thinkingpattern you will be able to pick out unique talents withinyourself, which means, you can turn what might have beensheer luck into a repeated series of success.Everyone is unique. Everyone has their own way of thinkingand storing memories, ideas and information. For somechildren, an incident that took place a long time ago mayremain sharp in their minds. They will be able to rememberminute details, such as colors, time or people but some-thing taught to them just an hour before may not be soeasily recalled. This is not because of their lack of interestin learning but simply because their pattern of thinking isformed as a series of pictures. Those who remember andthink in pictures and stories are right brain dominant. Theright side of their brain focuses on visual imagery and canmake sense of what they see. Right brain dominant individu-als are generally more creative, imaginative and have a strongsense of estimation and judgment.Those who are left brain dominant are strategic and analyticalthinkers. They can easily understand mathematical andscientific concepts. They are logical and have strong numericand writing skills.We take information through all senses: sight, hearing, touch,taste and smell. Visual thinkers think in pictures. To them,ideas, memories, and imagination come in forms of images.Auditory thinkers learn better by listening. To them, noises orvoices ring sharply in their minds. Similarly, some individualsthink better through the sense of touch, also known asKinesthetic method of learning. They learn better throughexperiments, relating everything through activities anddemonstrations. Taste and smell are a part of this category.Our minds may prefer one system over the other which caninfluence the way we think and communicate. By recognizingour patterns, we can store information in our unique way ofunderstanding and remembering. This can help our minds tobe sharper and stronger. At Brainobrain, children are taughtusing the VAK method- Visual, Auditory and Kinestheticmethod of learning. By doing so, children from a young age areable to use both sides of their brain. This helps them toempower their learning skills by improving their memoryand concentration power. Children will be able to graspmathematical concepts quicker and expand their creativeminds. They will also be able to recognize their ownthinking pattern which will enable them to learn and retaininformation in their own unique way.

DAILY EXERCISE LEADS TOHEALTHIER BONES IN MENNEW YORK, (IANS) High-impact exercise during adoles-cence and young adulthood is linked to healthier bones inmiddle-aged men, reveals a study. According to research-ers, individuals who continuously par ticipated in high-impact activities such as jogging and tennis duringadolescence and young adulthood had greater hip andlumbar spine bone mineral density than those who did not."While osteoporosis is commonly associated with onlypost-menopausal women, it is, in fact, a serious issue formen as well," said Pamela Hinton from the University ofMissouri. Research has shown that the consequences ofosteoporosis can be much worse for men as they are lesslikely to be diagnosed and are at a greater mor tality riskfrom fractures that occur as a result of a fall.To protect men against osteoporosis, researchers aimed tounderstand the connection between bone-loading exerciseduring adolescence and young adulthood when the skeletonis still growing and bone mass in middle age. For the study,published in the American Journal of Men's Health,researchers analysed data from the physical histories of203 males aged 30-65 years.Par ticipants' spor ts and exercise histories varied, both intype and level of activity, and the length of time spent doingvarious physical activities also differed. The researchersfound that exercise-associated bone loading duringadolescence and young adulthood benefited bone density inadulthood.

FEELING OLDER INCREASESRISK OF HOSPITALISATIONLONDON, (IANS) People who feel older than their peers aremore likely to be hospitalised as they age, regardless oftheir actual age or other demographic factors, warns a newstudy. According to the researchers, feeling older is linkedto a higher risk of hospitalisation."How old you feel matters. Previous research has shown itcan affect your well-being and other health-related factorsand now we know it can predict your likelihood of endingup in the hospital," said lead author Yannick Stephan fromUniversity of Montpellier in France.The research, published in the journal Health Psychology, analyseddata from three longitudinal studies comprising more than 10,000participants across the US from 1995 to 2013 with the age rangingfrom 24 to 102. In each sample, the participant's subjective age wasassessed by asking them how old he or she felt at the beginning of thestudy. They were also asked to provide information about previouslydiagnosed health conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer,lung disease, heart condition, stroke, osteoporosis or arthritis) andanswered a questionnaire designed to assess symptoms ofdepression.According to the findings, those who reported feeling older than theiractual age had 10 to 25 percent increased likelihood of beinghospitalised over the next two to 10 years when control-ling for age, gender, race and education. The findingsreplicated across the three samples.

BEETROOT JUICE IMPROVES ENDURANCE,BLOOD PRESSURE IN ELDERLY

NEW YORK, (IANS) A daily dose ofbeetroot juice may significantly im-

prove exercise endurance and bloodpressure in elderly patients with the

heart failure with preserved ejectionfraction (HfpEF) syndrome, a new

study says. While the daily dose ofbeetroot juice improved aerobic en-durance by 24 percent, it significantlyreduced blood pressure by 5-10mmHg, the study said."These initial findings suggest thatone week of daily beetroot juice couldbe a potential therapeutic option toimprove aerobic endurance in pa-tients with HfpEF, which has im-plications for improving everydayactivities and quality of life," saidDalane Kitzman, professor atWake Forest Baptist Medical Cen-ter in Nor th Carolina, US.HfpEF, a dominant form of hear tfai lure, occurring primarily inolder women reflects how the leftventricle of the hear t pumps witheach beat, the researchers said.Primary symptoms of HFPEF in-cludes shor tness of breath andfatigue with normal amounts ofexer tion, par tly due to non-car-diac factors that reduce oxygendel ivery to act ive skeleta lmuscles. The findings are detailed inthe Journal of the American College ofCardiology-Heart Failure.The researchers enrol led 19people in a double-bl inded,randomised safety study to de-termine which was better at improv-ing exercise intolerance, a singledose or a daily dose of the juice givenover multiple days. First, aerobicendurance and blood pressure weremeasured after the participants re-ceived either a single dose of beetrootjuice or a placebo.They were then administered a dailydose of beetroot juice to all 19 pa-tients for an average of seven days,and measured endurance and bloodpressure again. The juice dose in thestudy was equivalent to 2.4 ouncescontaining approximately 6 milli-moles of inorganic nitrate.



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DR HARPREET BAJAJ, CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGIST AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST, WITH DR SUMEET SUNEJA, NEPHROLOGIST(KIDNEY SPECIALIST) AT WILLIAM OSLER HOSPITAL BRAMPTON DURING HIS SHOW, YOUR HEALTH. THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSIONWAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL BLOOD PRESSURE AND KIDNEY COMPLICATIONS. THE SHOW IS TELECAST EVERY MONDAY ONCHANNEL Y AND CAN BE VIEWED ON ROGER 857 AND BELL FIBE 828.

YOUR BOSS CAN INFLUENCEYOUR HEALTH!NEW YORK, (IANS) Strong and effective leadership are vitalfor any workplace. Managers play a huge role in creating thebest work environment, polishing the behaviour of employees,and also promoting their health and wellness.However, a new study suggests that managers must be pro-vided with incentives to focus on creating a healthier workenvironment. Increase in employee wellness and motivationcan be achieved by tying 10 percent of managerial salary in-creases to health initiatives, the findings, published in the Journalof Occupational Health Psychology, suggested. "Instead of fo-cusing on individual wellness outcomes, we propose that itwould be more effective if managers were incentivised to cre-ate healthier overall work environments with simple, easy toimplement actions such as installing a water cooler, providinghealthy snacks at meetings, and encouraging work/life bal-ance," said lead author Rebecca Robbins from Cornell Univer-sity in New York, US. The initiative requires tapping into themanager's ability to lead his or her team to wellness and can,as a result, have a big payoff in terms of creating a culture ofhealth at the workplace, and could tip the scales towardhealthier employees. The study surveyed 270 adults with man-ager roles and found that 68 percent suppor ted the idea ofbeing evaluated by their employee wellness actions.



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AN EGG A DAY WON'T RISK YOUR HEARTLONDON, (IANS) A high-cholesterol diet and eating eggs will not increase risk of hear t attack, noteven in persons inclined genetically, reveals a new study. Relatively higher intake of dietary cho-lesterol, or eating an egg every day, are not associated with an elevated risk of incident coronaryhear t disease or with the thickening of the common carotid ar tery walls, the study said.Frequent consumption of eggs does not increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases even in per-sons who are genetically predisposed to a greater effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterollevels, the research showed. Fur thermore, no association was found among those with the APOE4phenotype, which affects cholesterol metabolism, the findings, published in the American Journalof Clinical Nutrition, revealed. The dietary habits of 1,032 men aged between 42 and 60 years andwith no baseline diagnosis of a cardiovascular disease were assessed at the onset the KuopioIschaemic Hear t Disease Risk Factor Study, KIHD, in 1984-1989 at the University of Eastern Finland.During a follow-up of 21 years, 230 men had a heart attack, and 32.5 percent of the study participants were carriersof APOE4. In the highest control group, the study participants had an average daily dietary cholesterol intakeof 520 mg and they consumed an average of one egg per day.

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