Predicting quakes may help in forecasting seizures

LONDON, Jan 19: Techniques used in predicting earthquakes may prove helpful in developing ways to forecast epileptic seizures, according to a new research.

The study found striking similarities in electrical activity in the brain before and during seizures and seismological data around earthquakes.

Seizures and quakes are both preceded usually by small, barely detectable tremors and, as with an earthquake, the longer it has been since a seizure, the longer it will be until the next one.

Scientists believe these shared features mean that the patterns are not random and could even be governed by similar mathematical rules.

Epilepsy, one of the most common long-term neurological disorders, affects around 50 million people the world over.

Often it is managed by drugs that decreases brain's electrical activity, but in serious cases affected part of the brain is removed by surgery.

Seizures often start suddenly in a region of the brain and can then spread to engulf the organ. An earthquake also appears as a sudden, potentially damaging vibration focused around a relatively well-defined point. The researchers said both seizures and earthquakes could be thought of as ''relaxation events'', in which accumulated energy is suddenly dissipated, Guardian reported.

The study suggested that the similarities between electrical activity in the brain and seismic activity could bring prediction and prevention of seizures a step closer. (UNI)

Exhibition to Commemorate Russia’s First Indologist

MOSCOW, Jan 19: The History Meuseum of Yaroslavl, an old city 230 kilometres north of Moscow, is hosting an exhibition in memory of Gerasim Lebedev, the first Russian scholar of Indian culture and history.

Timed to the Year of Russia in India (2008), the exhibition is a joint project of the Yaroslavl History Museum, the city Orion Roerich Society and the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, affiliated to the Indian Embassy in the Russian Feredation, RIA Novosti agency reported.

Gerasim Lebedev (1749-1817) was Russia’s first Oriental scholar and the first to introduce India to Russian and European Orientologists as a research subject.

The exhibition demonstrates authentic documents pertaining to Lebedev’s life, his scholarly books and Russian and Indian books about him.

''Its timing to the Year of Russia in India is a symbolical tribute of Yaroslavl to one of its people, who did so much for Indian studies,'' Vladimir Izvekov, Director of the History Museum said at the opening reception.

Many scholarly works came from Lebedev’s pen, including the monograph 'An Unbiased Contemplation of Eastern India, its Holy Rites and Folk Customs', which is regarded as an 18th century encyclopaedia of India, a country known only from hearsay and fabulous accounts before.

Lebedev laid the foundation of scientific studies of India. He deservedly regarded it as the cradle of the world civilisation. ''India was the first land to disseminate the human race all about the globe, as many ethnologists testify,''he wrote.

An excellent researcher, musician and stage performer, Lebedev established the first European-style stage company in India as he lived there in 1785-97. He translated the best-known European dramas into Bengali and compiled several linguistic study books.

Once back in Russia, he also published a Bengali-Russian dictionary.

India cherishes the memory of the first Western researcher to study it. Kolkata, for one, has a Gerasim Lebedev Street. (UNI)

Konyukhov prepares for first solo circumnavigation of Antarctica

SYDNEY, Jan 19: Fedor Konyukhov, first and so far the only person in the world to have reached the five extreme Poles of the planet, is in for a next extreme voyage.

Konyukhov, 56, after climbing Mount Everest, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, hiking to both North and South Poles, cycling the length of Russia from Vladivostok to St Petersburg, is preparing for the first solo circumnavigation of Antarctica staying south of 45 degrees latitude.

A member of the Russian Geographic Society, Konyukhov will set off from Albany on January 26 on a voyage previously deemed too dangerous to attempt.

Konykhov will spend all but a few days of his 25,000 km epic in the danger zone. The boundaries of the course for the new Antarctica Cup are the 45 and 60 degree lines of latitude, passing the three great southern capes of Horn, Agulhas and Leeuwin.

The Russian, aboard the 27 m maxi yacht Alye Parusa, will have to contend with the world's strongest average winds, mountainous seas, fog and icebergs on a route south of such far-flung outposts as Macquarie Island, Kerguelen and the Falklands, The West Australian reported.

Round-the-world yacht races presently include rules to minimise competitors' exposure to the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties after a number of competitors, the most famous being Tony Bullimore, who had to be rescued when venturing too far south in bad weather.

The World Sailing Speed Record Council will ratify the voyage, if completed, to provide a benchmark for others to beat in a 2009 race being planned as the highlight of centenary celebrations of Albany's Princess Royal Sailing Club.

Konyukhov, who has four world circumnavigations to his credit, said the race around Antarctica was the last great challenge in offshore sailing.

''I have always treated the Southern Ocean leg as the most extraordinary, risky and beautiful part of the voyage,'' he said, adding, ''I have considered previously the challenge of rounding Antarctica non-stop and the Antarctica Cup offers this opportunity.''

''To me racing around Antarctica is about sport, adventure and history.''

(UNI)

Movies inspire kids to smoke: Research

WASHINGTON, Jan 19: Watching their macho heroes lighting up a cigarette on screen influences many children to take up the habit, a study suggested, making the case for banning on-screen smoking stronger.

The research by Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) proves beyond any doubt that children's exposure to smoking in movies influences their decision to start smoking.

It further suggests that smoking in movies seen in early childhood has an equally significant impact on that decision as movie smoking exposure closer to adolescence, Science Daily reported.

The research team surveyed more than 2,200 children aged 9-12 from 26 schools in New Hampshire and Vermont. Children were asked about movies they had seen and their smoking behaviour at an initial baseline survey and at two follow-up surveys. Children who had already tried smoking before the baseline survey were not included in the follow-up surveys.

Initially children were randomly given sampled lists containing 50 of the 550 top box office movies over the prior 5.5 years and asked which movies they had seen. Children were interviewed again in two follow-up surveys, one and two years later, about their smoking behaviour and the movies they had seen based on updated lists of 50 of the 200 top box office movies and video rentals during the previous year.

By the time third survey was initiated, 10 per cent of the children had started smoking. Results from the three surveys showed that each child had seen an average of 37 out of the 150 popular movies they were asked about, exposing them to an average of 150 smoking occurrences.

About 80 per cent of the children's exposure was due to smoking images portrayed in youth-rated movies.

''The results indicated that the earliest exposure to movie smoking was as important as exposure measured at the two follow-ups in predicting children's smoking initiation,'' said the lead author of the research Dr Linda Titus-Ernstoff.

''This finding suggests that the process which leads children to initiate smoking begins much earlier than adolescence. Viewing smoking in the movies may influence the decision to smoke in more than a third of children.'' she added.

The take-home message from this study is that exposure to movie smoking occurring during early childhood is as influential as exposure that occurs nearer to the time of smoking initiation.

''Even young children who see smoking in movies may be at risk for smoking later on,'' said Dr Linda.

''Parents also need to be aware, that most of children's exposure to movie smoking comes from youth-rated movies, and that they should try to reduce their children's viewing of movies that contain smoking.

(UNI)

Children more prone to adverse effects of wireless devices

WASHINGTON, Jan 19: Children are more prone to adverse effects of prolonged use of wireless communication such as mobile phones as they absorb radio frequency (RF) at a higher rate than adults.

Exposure wavelength is closer to the whole-body resonance frequency for shorter individuals. The current generation of children will also experience a longer period of RF field exposure from mobile phone use than adults, because they will most likely start using them at an early age.

The report by National Research Council, US notes that several surveys have shown a steep increase in mobile phone ownership among children, but virtually no relevant studies of human populations at present examine health effects in this population, Science Daily reported.

Although it is unknown whether children are more susceptible to RF exposure, they may be at increased risk because of their developing organ and tissue systems.

It is well known that wireless Communication devices rapid use has also simultaneously led to significant research into potential health effects from high exposure to radio frequency energy emitted by these devices.

The National Research Council report, requested by the US Food and Drug Administration, identifies research that could further extend understanding of long-term low exposure to these devices.

The report also suggests examination and research of the evolving types of antennas for hand-held wireless communication devices for the amount of RF energy they deliver to different parts of the body so the data would be available for use in future studies, the committee said.

Studies to understand the effects of RF energy irradiation from cell phone antennas on the human head have already been conducted.

However, for most of these studies, the research has assumed that cell phones have pull-out linear rod antennas and are held against a person's ear. Many newer telephones use built-in antennas for which additional SAR data are needed, the report says. Also, wireless technology is now used in laptop computers and hand-held texting and Web-surfing devices, in which the antennas are close to other parts of the body.

(UNI)

Chinese police seize endangered pangolins from home

BEIJING, Jan 19: A foul stench led Chinese police to a home where they found 16 protected pangolins in cages and plastic bags, and another 37 dead ones in the refrigerator, the Xinhua news agency said today.

The rescued pangolins, an endangered scaly ant eater sought for their skin and for use in Chinese medicine, ranged in size from the palm of a human hand to four kilograms, Xinhua said, citing the local Forest Police Station.

One bear paw was also found in the fridge in the house in southern China's Guangdong Province.

Four suspects were arrested, Xinhua said.

The solitary and nocturnal pangolin is found only in Asia and Africa. Its meat is considered a delicacy for some, its scaly skin can be made into handbags and shoes, and its scales and blood are used in Chinese medicine to treat allergies and sexually transmitted disease.

All international trade in the animals was banned in 2000. Earlier this month, two men in the southern city of Xiamen received suspended death sentances for smugging 17 containers of pangolin meat and scales worth 23 million yuan (3.2 million dollars) into China.

(AGENCIES)

UK's Brown focuses on climate change in China

BEIJING, Jan 19: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visit to China switches focus to the environment tpday as he highlights how Britain and China can cooperate to fight climate change.

Action on climate change is a priority for Brown, who spent the first day of his visit yesterday telling Chinese officials that Britain would welcome more trade and investment from China, including from its new 200 billion dollars sovereign wealth fund.

China is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the United States and is poised to overtake it.

Brown's government has proposed the world's first climate change law which requires Britain to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

But if other countries do not act to tackle climate change, it will not solve the problem, British officials say.

''We very much need other countries, particularly the largest emitters ... To move similarly onto a low carbon path, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Britain and British companies are already working with China on clean energy initiatives and agreements signed by China and Britain yesterday aim to increase that cooperation further.

Brown visited a gas-fired power station in Beijing that British officials say is nearly twice as efficient as the coal-fuelled power stations China typically builds.

It is a combined heat and power plant that uses waste heat to heat water for people's homes.

The Taiyang Gong power station was partly financed by Britain through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism which enables companies from rich countries to invest in clean energy projects in developing nations in return for credits to offset their own emissions.

ECO-CITY

Brown today also visited the 91,000-seat Bird's Nest National Stadium, which will hold the opening and closing ceremonies for this year's Beijing Olympics. He arrives in Shanghai later in the day where he will see plans for China's first eco-city.

Brown, accompanied by his wife, Sarah, and British double gold-medal winning athlete Kelly Holmes, was given a 20-minute tour of the 400 million dollars stadium complex.

''This is going to be one of the greatest Olympic Games ever,'' Brown told reporters.

Holmes, asked if she would be worried about running in Beijing's smoggy conditions, said: ''I am sure China will do their upmost to make it as comfortable as they possible can for the athletes involved.''

The eco-city scheme is to be built at Dongtan, near Shanghai, where all energy will be renewable and no gasoline-fuelled cars will be allowed.

Major developing countries such as China have been loath to agree to firm targets for emissions cuts that could hold back their rapid economic growth.

But last month UN-led talks in Bali approved a roadmap for negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol that would widen the treaty to the United States, China and India.

Brown said after his talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday that Wen took the problem of climate change seriously.

''He's not denying there's a problem. He knows action needs to be taken,'' he told BBC television.

A declaration on climate change signed by Britain and China on Friday commits Britain to provide at least 50 million pounds (100 million dollars) to support investment in energy efficiency, renewables, clean coal and carbon capture and storage in China.

Under a second agreement, Britain and China will collaborate on developing low carbon cities. Britain plans an eco-city of its own in the Thames Gateway, east of London. (AGENCIES)

Tonsillectomy boosts quality of life studies

NEW YORK, Jan 19: For children and adults who suffer repeated bouts of tonsillitis, surgery to remove the tonsils (tonsillectomy) leads to substantial improvements in quality of life, according to results of two studies published this month.

In one study, researchers surveyed the parents of 92 children with recurrent tonsillitis before tonsillectomy as well as 6 months and 1 year after the surgery. The researchers defined recurrent tonsillitis as three or more tonsil infections in the span of one year. Follow-up data were available for 58 children at 6 months and 38 children at 1

year.

The children, whose average age was 10.6 years, showed ''significant improvements'' in a validated disease-specific quality of life instrument, Dr. Nira A. Goldstein, of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, told Reuters Health. For example, clear-cut improvements were seen in airway and breathing, eating and swallowing, behavior, rates of infection and use of health care resources.

The children also showed significant improvements in their general health perceptions, and social and physical functioning. ''Parents also reported significantly fewer sore throats, antibiotic courses, and doctor visits,'' Goldstein noted, as well as days missed from daycare or school and persistent bad breath.

Similarly positive changes in quality of life were seen in a study of 72 adults with recurrent or chronic tonsillitis who completed quality of life surveys before and 6 months and 1 year after tonsillectomy.

Moreover, 98 percent of the adults reported fewer infections in the 6 months following tonsillectomy and 77 percent expressed strong satisfaction with the outcome of the surgery, Dr. David L. Witsell of Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues report.

The adults also reported fewer cases of persistent bad breath, sore throats, and doctor visits due to sore throat.

Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in children, and while the number of tonsillectomies performed in adults is lower, it is still a routine operation.

Dr. Michael G. Stewart from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, who was not involved in either study, says these studies are ''important contributions and they add to our understanding of the impact of tonsillectomy in patients with recurrent tonsillitis.'' (AGENCIES)

Tokyo to sell off Governor's luxury mansion ...

TOKYO, Jan 19: Tokyo's city Government is selling its governor's residence, which has been lying empty for years, hoping to raise tens of millions of dollars for local Government coffers.

The four-bedroom house, complete with meeting rooms and emergency communications centre, is set on more than 20,000 square metres (215,300 sq ft) of land in an upmarket area of Shibuya in central Tokyo, the Yomiuri newspaper said today.

Rebuilt at a cost of 1.2 billion yen (11.22 million dollar) in 1997, it was occupied by the then governor for less than two years. Current governor Shintaro Ishihara refused to move in when he was elected, saying he could not relax there, the paper said.

''Who would live there? It's just a load of meeting rooms,'' the paper quoted him as telling reporters. ''I can't understand why someone would build such a stupid thing. Anyway, it's a waste to leave it lying empty, so we're going to sell it.'' (AGENCIES)

Autopsy: Hawaiian Boy dropped from overpass died from fall...

HONOLULU, Jan 19: A toddler thrown from a pedestrian overpass onto a busy freeway died from the 9 m fall, not the vehicle that ran over him, the city medical examiner said.

An autopsy showed Cyrus Belt, who would have turned 2 early next month, died from "multiple blunt force injuries due to fall from height," the examiner said yesterday.

Police arrested a 23-year-old neighbour of the boy. Charges were pending, police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.

Witnesses say they saw the man hold Cyrus in the air on the pedestrian overpass Thursday and then drop him to the asphalt below. One or two vehicles may have struck the boy.

The man, who was wearing green hospital scrubs, was taken to the police station and then to a hospital, Yu said. She didn't know whether he had a history of mental illness or a criminal record.

Several people visited the overpass Friday, leaving balloons, stuffed animals and flower lei in Belt's memory.

The police, meanwhile, continued to investigate how the suspect allegedly got hold of the child, Yu said. The man acted erratically after his arrested, screaming "Thank you!" into reporters' microphones and rocking back and forth in a police car.

The child's mother, Nancy Asiata Chanco, told reporters she would never let the neighbour take care of Cyrus.

"He was strange" and "not all there," Chanco told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "He always tried to hold the baby," she said. (AGENCIES)

Predicting quakes may help in forecasting seizures ....

LONDON, Jan 19: Techniques used in predicting earthquakes may prove helpful in developing ways to forecast epileptic seizures, according to a new research.

The study found striking similarities in electrical activity in the brain before and during seizures and seismological data around earthquakes.

Seizures and quakes are both preceded usually by small, barely detectable tremors and, as with an earthquake, the longer it has been since a seizure, the longer it will be until the next one.

Scientists believe these shared features mean that the patterns are not random and could even be governed by similar mathematical rules.

Epilepsy, one of the most common long-term neurological disorders, affects around 50 million people the world over.

Often it is managed by drugs that decreases brain's electrical activity, but in serious cases affected part of the brain is removed by surgery.

Seizures often start suddenly in a region of the brain and can then spread to engulf the organ. An earthquake also appears as a sudden, potentially damaging vibration focused around a relatively well-defined point. The researchers said both seizures and earthquakes could be thought of as ''relaxation events'', in which accumulated energy is suddenly dissipated, Guardian reported.

The study suggested that the similarities between electrical activity in the brain and seismic activity could bring prediction and prevention of seizures a step closer. (UNI)

Mars too has clouds!.......

WASHINGTON, Jan 19: Contrary to popular perception the arid planet Mars' orange sky also possesses dense clouds that can cast shadow on the surface.

Until now, Mars has generally been regarded as a desert world, where a visiting astronaut would be surprised to see clouds scudding across the orange sky.

Mars is not entirely a heaven for Sun worshippers. Clouds of water ice particles do occur, for example on the flanks of the giant Martian volcanoes. There have also been hints of much higher, wispy clouds made up of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice crystals.

This is not too surprising, since the thin Martian atmosphere is mostly made of carbon dioxide, and temperatures on the fourth planet from the Sun often plunge well below the 'freezing point' of carbon dioxide, Science Daily reported.

Now, a team of French scientists has shown that such clouds of dry ice do, indeed, exist. Furthermore, they are sometimes so large and dense that they throw quite dark shadows on the dusty surface.

''This is the first time that carbon dioxide ice clouds on Mars have been imaged and identified from above,'' said Franck Montmessin, lead author of the paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

''This is important because the images tell us not only about their shape, but also their size and density,'' he said.

Even more surprising is the fact that the CO2 ice clouds are made of quite large particles - more than a micron (one thousandth of a millimetre) across and they are sufficiently dense to noticeably dim the Sun. Normally, particles of this size would not be expected to form in the upper atmosphere or to stay aloft for very long before falling back towards the surface.

Since the CO2 clouds are mostly seen in equatorial regions, the research team believes that the unexpected shape of the clouds and large size of their ice crystals can be explained by the extreme variations in daily temperature that occur near the equator. (UNI)