LONDON, Apr 22: Being engaged in mundane household chores like cooking, cleaning and washing dishes could help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease even in those over 80 years of age, a new study has claimed.
The study, which was published in the journal Neurology, included 716 dementia-free men and women in their 70s and 80s who had to wear a device to monitor their daily activities. They were also given cognitive tests to measure memory and thinking ability.
After around three years, 71 of the volunteers developed Alzheimer’s disease, and it was found that the least active were more than twice as likely to develop the disease as those who were most active, the Daily Mail reported.
“The results of our study indicate that all physical activities including exercise as well as other activities such as cooking, washing the dishes, and cleaning are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said study author Dr Aron Buchman of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“These results provide support for efforts to encourage all types of physical activity even in very old adults who might not be able to participate in formal exercise, but can still benefit from a more active lifestyle.”
Dr Anne Corbett at the Alzheimer’s Society said: “It is well established that regular physical exercise is an important way to reduce your risk of developing dementia.
“It can reduce the risk by up to 45 per cent. This study adds to this evidence and suggests that simple things like cooking and cleaning can also make a difference.
“One in three people over 65 will die with dementia, but as this shows, there are things you can do to help reduce your risk. It is important to maintain a healthy weight and stop smoking.
“Eating a Mediterranean diet high in antioxidants and oily fish and even the odd glass of red wine can also help.”
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “While the study highlights an association between physical activity and cognitive decline, more research is needed to explore this relationship further.” (PTI)
Household chores may help lower Alzheimer’s risk: study
Hugo Chavez’s weeklong silence spurs uncertainty
CARACAS, Apr 22: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been out of sight for a week, speaking only through Twitter messages and written statements while undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba.
The lack of any appearances on television has left Venezuelans wondering about what his unusual silence might say about his struggle with cancer, and whether Chavez may be coping with a particularly tough phase of radiation therapy.
More than 30 messages have appeared on Chavez’s Twitter account since he left for Cuba on April 14. He has cheered on supporters with slogans such as “Let’s continue building socialism!”
In others, he has praised his military commanders, announced funding for local governments and vowed to survive and win re-election in October. But he has seldom mentioned his cancer treatment.
National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello reiterated on Friday that Chavez is expected to return to Venezuela soon.
“God willing, next week he’ll be here again with us once he has finished the treatment,” Cabello said in a televised speech.
He insisted that even when Chavez is away in Cuba, “he leads just the same as if he were here in Venezuela.”
“The commander’s presence here isn’t necessary, because just the same he’s the commander of the revolution,” Cabello said.
But even some of Chavez’s supporters have been saying recently that they wonder what’s going on with his health.
“It makes me sad, but my Comandante must not be as well as they say,” said Guillermo Suarez, a street vendor selling sunglasses. “It’s already been many days that we haven’t seen him, heard him.” (AGENCIES)
Amarnath Yatra 2012
In view of growing number of pilgrims to the holy cave of Amarnath in Kashmir, the Shrine Board has come out with a slew of facilities for pilgrimage during the current year. The ascent to the cave site is along a mountain path of over 17000 feet which, obviously, requires a strong frame to bear the cold, wind, rain, breathing problem and the tortuous track. By chance the entire ascent could happen in sunny days thereby reducing the physical effort and strain for the pilgrims. But experience has shown that this pilgrimage is usually accompanied by inclement weather conditions. This is the reason why the Shrine Board has now imposed certain restrictions on prospective pilgrims. For example obtained a medical fitness certificate from a registered medical officer is now a must. This is actually for the safety of the pilgrims and a preventive measure against exhaustion to frail bodied persons if they propose to proceed on pilgrimage. It should not be construed as intended to create obstruction to the pilgrims in their desire to have the darshan of the lingam at the cave. The Shrine Board has been thinking of many more facilities. Registration for pilgrimage is a must and can be made even on line. According to a statement of the Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Navin K Choudhary, the yatra will commence on 25th June and culminate on Rakhsha Bandhan, 2nd August 2012. From May 7, pilgrims can reserve helicopter seats online. Yatra permits have to be obtained from Board authorities and to facilitate the same 121 counters at designated branches of J&K Bank and 49 at YES Bank and four district Co-operative Banks will cater to the requirements of yatra permits. This year the number of Bank registration counters for the yatris will be 174 as against 149 in 2011. Two routes have been approved by the Board for tracking the distance and both will become operative simultaneously. All this is a clear indication that the Board and the Government are in unison in providing as many facilities to the pilgrims as can be possible.
Mailbag
District status for Basohli
Sir,
Basohli, Billawar and Bani are the three neglected tehsils of district Kathua.
Due to topography, these three tehsils share their boundry with Gurdarspur (Punjab), Kangra and Chamba (HP), Samba, Doda and Udhampur.
The people in these tehsils face great hardships to get their administrative problems redressed as district Headquarter Kathua is located at a far destination from them.
The people here had raised the demand for a seperate district with the Government officials time and again. But nobody has paid a serious attention to this demand. During this time, however, seperate districts like Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar and Samba were created.
A seperate district need to be created for this region as it has remained undeveloped. No sort of worthwhile development has taken place in this part of the State.
The region has the great potential for pilgrimage tourism as it is dotted with various shrines like Mata Bala Sundri (Sunderkot), Mata Sukrala Devi, Shiv Temple, Mata Sheetla Devi etc. The region is also endowed with beauty and lush green forests.
Keeping this in view, it is requested that a district status be assigned to this region.
Yours etc…
Madan Magotra,
Kathua
Launch of
Agni V
Sir,
The successful launch of Agni V (ICBM) will give another dimension to Indian security. With its launch India has entered the elite club of nations possessing such a missile. The other nations are USA, Russia, China and France. The defense analysts believe that it will act as a deterrent against China who is presently flexing its muscles to dominate the world politics.
The launch will not only give a boost to defense technology in the country, but an encouragement to the scientific community involved in the project. The missile has established itself as a powerful weapon which could target as deep as 6000 Kms. It can hit Beijing, the capital of China. It may have to go further tests before it is finally inducted in the Indian Army. Once it is handed over to the Army, it can prove a game changer. India has produced it only to act as a deterrent, and not to intimidate neighbouring countries. India believes in mutual co-existence, and neighbourly relations.
Yours etc…
Puneet Sharma,
Sarwal Jammu
Surrogacy and legality
Sir,
After marriage, the cherished goal of a woman is to attain motherhood. But unfortunately, due to some medical condition, the woman is unable to give birth to a baby.
With the advancement in medical science, a number of techniques have come in use which can help to bless the couple with a baby. One such method is surrogacy.
Surrogacy is the practice of giving birth to a baby for another woman who is unable to have babies herself. In this practice, gametes donated by the consensual married couple are fertilised and the fertilized egg is then implanted in the healthy womb of another woman. The woman then delivers the baby after completing gestation period.
This, however, involves medicolegal complications. The woman who donated the egg claims her right over the baby on the basis of genetic inheritance. At the same time the surrogate mother in whose womb, development of baby has taken place claims her right on the basis of emotional considerations. This has given rise to a dilemma.
This has become a vexed issue before medical and legal fraternity. There has to be a serious debate by medical and legal experts and social activists to work out a logical solution that is acceptable to the society.
Yours etc…
Ramesh K Raina
Jammu
Successful joint venture
The Governor and the Chief Minister jointly inaugurated the 13.65 crore Water Supply Scheme that lifts water from Pai Nallah near Katra and supplies it to Adhkuwari and Bhavan for meeting the requirements of pilgrims to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. This shrine has assumed far greater significance than what was ordinarily thought of. The influx of pilgrims reaching over a crore during the year 2011 vindicates the vision of the decision makers who had decided to create the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in 1980s. As the shrine has progressed and developed into a social institution of great significance, we have fortunately a team of highly dedicated members of the Board and its executive functionaries who are alive to their responsibilities and duties. The Governor is the Chairman of the Board and N.N. Vohra, with his vast experience and knowledge about the State and its affairs, has consistently taken keen interest in the development of the shrine, in providing more facilities to the pilgrims and in contributing to enhancement of its social role. As a result of influx of pilgrims and the consequential infrastructure needed to support pilgrimage on such a vast scale the town of Katra, the base camp for the uphill march, is going through phenomenal expansion. One can find un- precedential hustle and bustle in its bazaars. And the town is poised to progress by leaps and bounds in years to come. Naturally, the Shrine Board and the Government both are conscious of how the impact of this great influx of pilgrims and related activities needs to be coped with.
There was shortage of water at Adhkuwari and Bhavan stops and pilgrims were facing the difficulty. In 2009, the Shrine Board and the Government jointly approved a water supply project from Pai nallah and fixed a three year time frame for its completion. They agreed to share the expenditure on the project. It is a matter of satisfaction and also an example that given the dedication and responsive attitude to the duties, projects of public utility can be completed within the time frame if not earlier. The construction and completion of this project should be an eye opener to the entire PHE Department which is running scores of projects but is unable to complete most of them within the time frame. Perhaps the labyrinthine red tape and bureaucratic complexities, through which the PHE projects have usually to go, are the real cause of delay. This process has been streamlined by the Shrine Board of Mata Vaishno Devi, and undertaking of projects has been simplified and made result oriented.
The Nav Devian water scheme as it is called, involved the laying of 12 km of pipeline from the source to the final outlet. It is a six stage scheme which has a 30,000 GPH filtration plant at Nav Devian. The Chief Minister was very happy with the time-bound completion of the plant and complimented the PHE department for executing it in two and a half year period. Incidentally, the Chief Minister in his inaugural speech disclosed that the Government had already taken up another multi crore scheme for augmenting the water supply to Katra town. Obviously keeping in mind the fast developing potential of the town and its impact on the economy of the State, the government is envisioning multi-sided development of Katra and the adjoining areas that are closely linked to the pilgrimage. We would wish to take into account the tourist dimension of the ground situation at Katra in the context of the holy shrine. Tourist dimension of the region and its proper publicity through media channels will add the tourism factor to the pilgrimage. Once that is done, tourist industry will get activated. This should be true in the case of may such shrines and places of social importance in Kashmir and other parts of the State. The shrines are among national heritages and these should be managed by almost the same pattern as Mata Vaishno Devi shrine board is running. Lastly, the timely completion of Nav Devian project is an example for the PHE department that given the dedication, a sea change can be brought about in the functioning and completion of projects.
Sugarcane area up by 2 pc so far this year
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: The area under sugarcane in the country rose marginally by 2 per cent to 4.41 million hectares so far this year compared to the year-ago period, according to official data.
Sugarcane has been planted in 44.12 lakh hectare till last week as compared to 43.23 lakh hectare in the year-ago period, an official statement said. Normal area for sugarcane cropping is 47.45 lakh hectare.
Higher area has been reported from Uttar Pradesh (0.82 lakh hectare), Tamil Nadu (0.66 lakh hectare), Maharashtra (0.51 lakh hectare), Karnataka (0.50 lakh hectare), Bihar (0.21 lakh hectare) and Madhya Pradesh (0.14 lakh hectare), it added.
India is estimated to have produced 347.86 million tonnes of sugarcane in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) as against 342.38 million tonnes in the previous year.
Higher sugarcane crop has helped in increasing the sugar production, which is estimated to rise to 26 million tonnes in 2011-12 marketing year (October-September) from 24.3 million tonnes in the previous year. (PTI)
Blyk targets to double audience base to 4 mn in India
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: UK-based mobile media company Blyk, which provides a platform to users to interact with telecom operators and third party brands, aims to double its audience base in India to four million by the end of 2012.
Blyk helps consumer brands engage with users, wherein users can receive exclusive offers, deals, free talktime, event updates, etc, while the brands promote themselves and also get customer feedback through both SMS and MMS.
“We are growing at a good pace and are adding about 4,000-5,000 users daily. We aim to have at least four million users in India by the end of this year,” Blyk India Country Manager Shubhodip Pal told.
At present, Blyk has a subscriber base of over 2 million users in the country who have “consciously” opted for Blyk.
The company had entered into India through a tie-up with Aircel in November, 2010. It has so far run campaigns with about 35 brands like Coco-cola, Reckitt Benckiser, Pizza Hut and Toshiba, among others. Blyk would soon be working with Samsung and Honda as well.
“We aim to be talking to minimum of eight brands in a month,” Pal added.
Blyk Global CEO Eric Kip said the company’s revenue from India has increased four times year-on year from January, 2011 to January, 2012.
According to industry estimates, the mobile advertising market in India is just about USD 25-30 million, but is poised to grow to USD 200 million in the next five years.
Pal said the scope for mobile advertising market in India in huge, however, it needs to be targeted advertising rather than spamming users with messages.
“We provide users with content related to sectors they have opted for and try to add value to their usage,” he said.
Asked if the company plans to partner other operators for its services, Kip said, “We are not looking at more tie-ups for the moment. Both Aircel and Blyk have put in substantial efforts and investments.”
He added that the company is working with Aircel to help the operator strengthen their relationship with subscribers.
“We are not just advertising with Aircel. We are working on creating customer stickiness and helping lower the churn,” he said. (PTI)
Faster web, apps drive smartphone purchases: report
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Faster Internet accessibility and ability to use more applications are the main reasons that drive people to buy smartphones, a report by Ericsson Consumerlab said.
“Among today’s users in high growth markets, smartphone adoption is driven by application functionality and a faster Internet experience,” the Ericsson ConsumerLab’s Emerging App Culture report said.
About 43 per cent people say that better Internet access is the main reason for buying a smartphone while 33 per cent prefer to buy these devices to access more applications, the report said.
The research was carried out among smartphone users in the 15-54 year age group, who accessed Internet at least once a week, in India, Russia and Brazil.
“The app culture emerging in these high-growth markets reflects a trend similar to that in the US… We see a general evolution toward new users purchasing increasingly specialised apps, such as those for dating services and price comparison, from the moment they get their smartphones,” Ericsson ConsumerLab Senior Specialist Jasmeet Singh Sethi said.
People mostly use their smartphones to check in to locations, use maps for navigation, watch Internet TV, movies, live news, play online games, among others, the study showed.
A majority owners are first-time users who purchased their
smartphone during the past six months, it added.
However, mobile applications (apps) are used differently across the three markets.
“The Indian smartphone users are more interested in downloading personalisation applications, such as screen savers, live wallpapers and third party browsers apart from social media applications and games,” it said.
Russians use their phones for navigation and maps, shopping comparisons, barcode scanners, translators, dictionaries while the Brazilians used applications to enhance their social interactions, the report said.
The study said users have few applications on their phones but they use them frequently.
“While 69 per cent say they access Internet using applications daily, almost half do not use more than one to five applications on a weekly basis,” the study said.
When it comes to the daily application usage, 49 per cent people say they use it for social networking, 39 per cent for chat, 31 per cent for weather forecasts, 26 per cent for news, 20 per cent for maps, GPS and navigation and 12 per cent for timetables and traffic. (PTI)_
Govt permits 3 airlines to directly import 12.65 lakh kl ATF
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Three Indian carriers, which have been permitted to directly buy jet fuel from foreign sources, would together import almost 13 lakh kilo litres (kl) of the fuel at a cost of about Rs 5,780 crore for the present.
The carriers which have recently received permission from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Commerce Ministry, to import aviation turbine fuel (ATF) are Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet and IndiGo.
Air India, which has also applied for such an approval, is yet to receive permission to import ATF. The move will help the airlines to significantly slash its operating costs.
“All the three airlines have been permitted to directly import ATF,” a senior Commerce Ministry official told.
While InterGlobe, owner of no-frill airline IndiGo, got approval to import 7.15 lakh kl worth Rs 3,200 crore of jet fuel, cash-strapped Kingfisher has been allowed to buy five lakh kl worth Rs 2,233 crore. SpiceJet would import only 50,000 kl worth Rs 235 crore, the official said.
The three carriers have been negotiating with leading oil marketing companies and were hopeful of beginning fuel imports in due course, a source said.
Industry experts have claimed that a mix of taxes levied by state-run oil marketing companies and the state governments make jet fuel prices in India among the highest in the world.
Currently, fuel costs account for about 40 per cent of an airline’s total operating costs.
SpiceJet’s chief executive Neil Mills had recently said the airline industry would benefit from direct ATF imports due to high ATF prices here.
“Aircraft fuel expenses were 90 per cent higher than the same period last year and fuel cost as a proportion constituted 50 per cent of the total revenue in October- December, 2011 quarter as compared to 37 per cent in the comparable quarter for the fiscal 2011,” SpiceJet had said in its Q3 financial statement.
The cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, which was burdened by a debt of over Rs 7,000 crore, had earlier strongly pitched for permission to allow foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers.
India’s civil aviation sector grew at an average of over 18 per cent in the last seven years and the government has taken various steps to resolve the woes faced by airline industry, including allowing them to directly import jet fuel. (PTI)
JSPL to spend over Rs 10,000 cr on capex in FY’13
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Naveen Jindal-led JSPL will invest over Rs 10,000 crore in 2012-13 to part-fund its Rs 2 lakh crore capex plan that aims to ramp up its steel making capacity to 18 million tonnes in five years.
“We will be spending more than Rs 10,000 crore in FY’13 to part finance the ongoing expansions in our company. We had invested around the same amount last fiscal,” JSPL Dy Managing Director and CEO (Steel Business) V R Sharma told.
JSPL produces around 4.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) at its Raigarh plant in Chhattisgarh. It is now setting up three steel facilities at Angul in Odisha, Patratu in Jharkhand and Raigarh to raise capacity to 18 mtpa.
Besides, it is setting up a 4,200 MW captive power plants in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The company is also investing Rs 45,000 crore in a Coal to Liquid project in Odisha.
Asked about financing the Rs 10,000 crore investment for the project, Sharma said the company was always maintaining a 2:1 debt-equity ratio for project funding.
“Our profits is Rs 4,000 crore each year. So each year, we can spend up to Rs 12,000 crore. We will have no problem to get the debt part as well. We are taking loans from banks,” he said, adding, however, that the company was also getting loans from export credit agencies (ECAs).
An ECA is a quasi-governmental institution that acts as an intermediary between national governments and exporters to issue export financing. It can be taken in the form of credit or guarantees or both.
“ECAs are soft loans for 10 years. The rates are very low also,” Sharma said, adding JSPL hopes to get USD 125 million through this route in the current fiscal.
He said the company has already invested about Rs 40,000 crore towards the planned investment. Orders have also been placed for all the proposed expansion. (PTI)
Spring Air Bedding plans to invest Rs 500 cr in 3 years
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Mattress maker Spring Air Bedding Co India plans to invest Rs 500 crore in the country in the next three years for expansion, including setting up of two new manufacturing plants.
The firm, which is a licensee of US-based Spring Air, is aiming to achieve up to 15 per cent share in the country’s Rs 6,000 crore mattress and pillow market.
“We aim to invest about 50 per cent of Rs 500 crore on acquiring equipment from Europe and Taiwan and on establishing a strong management team here,” Spring Air Bedding Company India Director Ashok Sharma told.
The rest of the fund will be used for marketing campaigns, new product launches and setting up of two manufacturing units in Mumbai and Kolkata, he added.
“We already have presence in North and South India, where we have manufacturing facilities. Now, we plan to establish manufacturing capabilities in Kolkata and Mumbai,” Sharma said.
The company, which started operations in India in 2008, has two facilities in Noida and Bangalore with a combined capacity to produce 50,000 mattresses and 2.5 lakh pillows annually.
The two new manufacturing plants in Kolkata and Mumbai will have capacity to produce 1 lakh mattresses and 5 lakh pillows annually, Sharma said.
The company, which is a joint venture between Oman-based firm WJ Towell and Ashok Sharma, is aiming for a bigger pie in the Indian mattress market.
“Out of the entire Rs 6,000 crore annual market for mattresses and pillows in the country, we aim to have around 10-15 per cent over the next five years,” Sharma said.
At present, the firm has a market share of around 10 per cent in the premium mattress segment, which is estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore, he said.
The company sells mid and high range of mattress brands like Orthomedical Plus, Visco Grandeur, Posture Power and Comfort Rest and pillows, with price starting at Rs 12,000 and going over Rs 99,000. (PTI)