Heart patients with a distressed personality reported worse health

People with a distressed (Type D) personality reported worse health than other patients after having devices implanted to ensure proper heart rhythm, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Those reporting worse health within a year of having the internal defibrillators implanted were assessed before the procedure and found to have "Type D" personality traits, meaning they tend toward increased negative emotions but don't share them with others due to fear of rejection.

In a study of 383 patients in the Netherlands, researchers also found that all implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients whose devices shocked their hearts back into normal rhythm within a year of the procedure reported poorer health status. ICDs monitor heart rhythms and deliver electrical shocks to restore normal rhythm when life-threatening irregular heartbeats occur.

Patients who had both a Type D personality and whose defibrillators delivered a shock within the first year reported the worst health of all.

"The finding is important because it demonstrates that the trauma of experiencing the lifesaving shock isn't the only factor contributing to a patient's sense of his or her well-being and identifies a group of patients who may need additional care to improve survivability," said Susanne S. Pedersen Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of cardiac psychology at Tilburg University and at the Thoraxcenter at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. "If we only focus on patients who have received a shock, we risk under-diagnosing patients with distress and not providing them with the additional treatment they may need."

Participants in the study (79 percent men) answered questions to assess their health status and determine if they had a Type D personality.

The personality questionnaire required a response to statements such as "I often feel unhappy" or "I am a closed kind of person." Patients rated their health on a scale from 0 to 100 the day before their defibrillator was implanted and again at three, six and 12 months later. About 24 percent of the group had a Type D personality while 14 percent had experienced a shock within the first year.

Other findings about how patients rated their health: 

• Patients who received a shock during the first year rated their physical and mental health 3 to 13 points lower than those who didn't.
• Patients with Type D traits scored themselves 2 to 8 points lower than others.
• Patients who had both Type D personality traits and had received a shock scored themselves up to 30 points lower than others.

Researchers did not have information about any changes in medications during the 12-month study period that may have influenced patients' health.

Pedersen said similar results would be expected among American patients but said the study should be repeated as defibrillators may be programmed more conservatively in the United States leading to differences in the number of shocks that patients may experience in Europe and in the United States.

Provided by American Heart Association

"Heart patients with a distressed personality reported worse health." May 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-heart-patients-distressed-personality-worse.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Beauty Of Building High-Tech Cities

Helping The Little Guy

“Exploitation of the weaker living being by the stronger is the natural law of existence; there is always an attempt to devour the weak in different kingdoms of living beings. There is no possibility of checking this tendency by any artificial means under material conditions; it can be checked only by awakening the spiritual sense of the human being by practice of spiritual regulations.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.13.47 Purport) “The little guy is in trouble. It’s time to help him. He’s suffering more than we are, so why not do something that will fix his condition, bring him to a higher place? Now that you mention it, there are so many other people in the same position. The teams in the sports leagues that are always at the bottom of the standings, what can we do to help them? What about the victims of discrimination? There should be something in the law codes to address their plight. In fact, all the injustices and inequities of life need to be fixed, and I will dedicate my life to enacting and distributing the necessary fairness.” The sad case is that these issues will always exist. In a specific region of the world, one group of citizens, perhaps of a specific skin color, is exploited, while in another part of the world that same group is in the majority that exploits. Through the passage of time the positions can change, with one group dominant for a period and then the same group exploited later on. Those with a firm understanding of the purpose of this creation know how its conditions foster the attitude of exploitation. Therefore they don’t give much attention to temporary highs and lows, because in all species and at all intelligence levels the same exploitation takes place. Through following the religious principles, which are geared towards man and his higher potential for intelligence, every type of social issue is addressed, including exploitation. But aren’t religious principles dogmatic in nature? One politician says that I shouldn’t use contraception, but what business is it of his? Should the same recommendation come from a spiritual leader, what is its significance? Shouldn’t I be allowed to live my life the way that I want to? Under bona fide religious principles, the proper end goal is what drives all activity. Think of what it takes to complete a marathon. Obviously you need to practice running. But you also need to prepare mentally, not distracting yourself with too many other stressful obligations. You also need to sleep on time the night prior to the race and eat the right kinds of food. The marathon is but one short activity in a list of many that will take place in the journey through a single lifetime. That same vibrant force for action flows through the cycle of birth and death perpetually until desire is purified. The nature of the land of residence is such that it fosters attachment to temporary objects. It keeps the otherwise knowledgeable living entity in ignorance of his real position, that of servant of God. The playing field exists to facilitate the pursuit for equaling or even surpassing the Supreme Lord in the areas of beauty, wealth, knowledge, renunciation, strength and fame. Ah, but this pursuit is fatally flawed. To begin with, no one can be more opulent than God; hence He is known as Bhagavan in the Vedas. He is the most fortunate, and also the most attractive; hence another way to address Him is Krishna. He is also Rama because He gives more transcendental pleasure to others than any person possibly could. His direct energy serves at His pleasure, and since that energy is so intimately tied to Him, both He and His energy are called in the famous maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Only when I am ignorant of God’s position and the constitutional nature of His energy expansions will I feverishly pursue material gain in a temporary body. Every other conditioned soul has the right to follow the same pursuit as well. As no one can be God, the competition that results is similar to the fighting that goes on between animals. To further a specific aim, one person comes up with a system of rules and regulations, but those are regularly violated by the competitors looking to gain an edge. Discrimination against a specific race, gender, ethnicity, or income group helps to advance in the competition to become God. Hence the practice will continue, regardless of the efforts made to curb it. Recognition of the problem isn’t enough; there has to be a tangible reason provided for its root cause. Also, the proper end goal must be uncovered; otherwise man is left in the dark. The pursuit that removes the harmful competitive spirit entirely will solve the problem, at least on the local level. The starting point is recognition of God’s supreme standing and His intimate relationship to every living entity. From that knowledge one can take updevotional service with firm faith, love and determination. Chant the holy names, devote yourself to God, always think of Him, and you will gradually come to Him. “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34) How will this style of worship curb exploitation? The purification of desire is what does the trick. For instance, instead of harboring jealously for the rich, the devoted soul knows that no amount of material wealth can make one happy. True happiness comes from having the ability to stay in Krishna’s company, to be able to chant His name and remember His sweet smile. The ears are gifts from God that allow us to hear the sweet pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who protects His devotees and continues to show His mercy through the deity form, which is authorized for worship by the spiritual master, who is sent from heaven to rescue us from the ocean of material suffering. If my guiding desire is to connect with Krishna, instead of having a competitive attitude, my mindset will be to forgive as many people as possible for their exploitative attitude, for they don’t know any better. At the same time, the message of divine love, which is so nicely presented in the Shrimad Bhagavatam, can be distributed and discussed widely, as it is the only cure for the venom injected by the serpent-like fangs of competition, which then fuels the attitude of exploitation. “By remembering Shri Rama’s holy name, even those who are born into a low caste become worthy of fame, just as the wild trees that line the roads in heaven are famous throughout the three worlds.” (Dohavali, 16) Krishna’s land is worshipable, as are the foodstuff and flowers offered to Him in love and devotion. If that is the case, it shouldn’t surprise us that His devotee who regularly chants His name is also worshipable. The holy name is what removes any specific defining negative condition. This fact is nicely pointed out by Goswami Tulsidas in his Vinai Patrika. The poet says that among many other things, the holy name is the high birth for one who is low born. If I am born in a family that doesn’t have a rich spiritual culture, the odds of me turning to devotional life are very slim. Following religious principles alone will be difficult for me. But if I should chant the holy names of Krishna and Rama, all of a sudden my low birth turns into a high birth, wherein I am deserving of honor and respect from others. That status results from the ability to shed transcendental light on others. Therefore the devotee is a saint at heart and always above useless competition. The true saint knows what is best for everyone and tries to distribute that knowledge freely, without concern for the reception. The devotee saint knows how to extract the loving sentiments from every single person, giving them the greatest gift of all: the ability to practice divine love. The primary principles instituted in the beginning stages of religious life are austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. These four principles are absent in society when there is a lack of true God consciousness. From these practices the root of exploitation is removed. Dedication to these principles is strengthened by full devotion to God. In fact, bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is so powerful that one can start chantingthe holy names and worshiping the Lord even from the contaminated state. The holy name is so powerful that it will automatically bring the aforementioned primary principles to the sincere worshiper. A life dedicated to redressing a specific social ill will have temporary effects, but eventually the exploitative attitude will continue in some way or another. The weak and the strong can trade places, either in the current life or in a future one. Regardless, rebirth indicates a restart to the fierce competitive race that is destined to end with death. The devoted soul, on the other hand, finds a cure to birth and death, and reaches the supreme abode at the end of life. Giving that same gift to others through their example, the saint shows how to stop the onset of the disease of exploitation. In Closing: A fierce competitive advantage to seek, Leads to the strong exploiting the weak. One group is up while the other is down, Though in other places it’s turned around. To fix the issue is a daunting task you face, Solve one and another you’ll soon have to chase. Root of the problem is inability to see, Know the Vedas for from ignorance to be free. Saint chants holy names and thus passes on highest gift. Follow bhakti and from competitive fire yourself lift.

Are women with a history of violent experiences more likely to have risky sex?

Women who have experienced multiple forms of violence, from witnessing neighborhood crimes to being abused themselves, are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, according to a new report in the Psychology of Violence.

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine say certain patterns of violence in both childhood and adulthood may make a woman more likely to take significant sexual risks, such as having unprotected sex or a high number of sexual partners.

The findings offer new insight on the known link between exposure to violence and HIV/STD risk behavior, particularly among low-income, urban women, who may experience high rates of violence.

"Sadly, our results show that many women must cope with multiple forms of violence, and that some combinations of violent experiences put women at risk for HIV, other STDs or unplanned pregnancy – not to mention the risks from the violence itself," said lead author Jennifer Walsh, Ph.D., of The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine.

Although previous research has linked sexual risk behavior and diverse forms of violence – including childhood maltreatment and sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and exposure to community violence – very few studies have considered patterns of violence and their impact on sexual risk-taking, even though some women experience multiple types of violence.

The current study included 481 women attending an urban STD clinic who were assessed for previous history of violence and current sexual risk-taking behaviors. The women were primarily African American and most were socioeconomically disadvantaged. Overall, women reported high rates of exposure to violence compared to the general population. All types of violence were interrelated, with women who experienced one type of violence being more likely to experience other forms as well.

Using a statistical technique known as latent class analysis to find common patterns in the data, researchers identified four classes of women with different experiences of violence: women with low exposure to violence (39 percent); women who were predominantly exposed to community violence (20 percent); women who were predominantly exposed to childhood maltreatment (23 percent); and women who experienced multiple forms of violence (18 percent).

The team found women who reported experiencing multiple forms of violence and those who were exposed to community violence had the highest levels of sexual risk behavior, including lifetime number of sexual partners and alcohol and drug use before sex.

Walsh believes the study has several clinical implications. "Given the ties between multiple violent experiences and sexual risk-taking, clinicians working with women who experience violence or who are at risk for HIV/STDs may need to consider the overlap between the two in order to impact sexual health consequences," she said.

She adds, "The clustering of different types of violence suggests clinicians who work with women who have experienced one type of violence should inquire about other types of violence in order to get a complete picture."

With the understanding that multiple violence experiences are common for women with the highest sexual risk, Walsh also suggests interventionists working to reduce HIV risk may want to provide women with resources for coping with intimate partner and community violence, or for overcoming childhood maltreatment or abuse. Similarly, those working with women experiencing intimate partner violence or other forms of violence may want to address strategies for safer sex.

"These findings also highlight how social and community context influence individuals in complex ways, how social and health problems often cluster, and the need to broaden risk reduction programs to include couples as well as focusing on individuals," notes Michael Carey, Ph.D., director of The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine and a co-investigator on the study.

Either way, the authors say further research is needed to better understand how and why violent experiences are associated with sexual risk behavior in order to develop more effective interventions.

Walsh says that the research is especially timely, coming on the heels of a recent Presidential memorandum establishing a working group known as "Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Gender-related Health Disparities." The working group aims to address both the rising incidence of HIV among women and girls as well as the increasing rates of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Provided by Lifespan

"Are women with a history of violent experiences more likely to have risky sex?." May 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-women-history-violent-risky-sex.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Getting a grip on memories

(Medical Xpress) -- Having a fat head may not be a bad thing, according to new findings at The Johns Hopkins University. As reported in the February 9 issue of Neuron, Hopkins researchers have made a significant discovery as to how adding fat molecules to proteins can influence the brain circuitry controlling cognitive function, including learning and memory.

“When you learn something, you strengthen and inhibit certain transmissions and sculpt a particular circuit. Recall [or memory] is using that circuit again,” says Richard L. Huganir, Ph.D., professor and director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. His team’s latest finding describes for the first time how one protein chemically alters another in this circuit strengthening process and represents another step toward understanding a key part of how memories are made and maintained within the brain, something researchers believe could provide a pathway toward treating disorders like Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

In studying the molecular underpinnings of learning and memory, Huganir and his team have focused on one of several processes in which a molecule is tagged by another molecule of fat. Tagging sends the molecules to a particular destination within a cell. Specifically, the team has studied DHHC5, which is known to add a fat molecule to other proteins. Until now it was not known which proteins receive this tag.

The scientists suspected a target molecule would need to bind DHHC5, which would then transfer fat onto it. To determine what DHHC5 could bind, they used it as bait in a large pool of rat brain proteins to fish for those that stuck to DHHC5. Within that pool, DHHC5 bound four different proteins, researchers found. Using a computer program, they compared these with other proteins implicated in learning and memory. All four shared similarity with the brain protein known as GRIP1, mutations of which have been linked to disorders such as autism. The scientists then tested GRIP1 and DHHC5 directly and found that they bound each other as well. Next, they put GRIP1 into human kidney cells, either by itself or with DHHC5, and analyzed each group of cells to see what happened. They found that only the GRIP1 proteins that were added to cells with DHHC5 were tagged with fat. From this they concluded that DHHC5 does indeed tag GRIP1 with fat.

The researchers then wanted to know if this process happens in a brain. However, they needed a way to look into a living cell and be able to tell apart GRIP1 that had a fat tag and GRIP1 that didn’t. They designed two distinct GRIP1 proteins: one permanently tagged with fat, and another mutated so that it could never be tagged. They added color markers to both proteins so they could track them under a microscope, and then added one type or the other to living brain cells. The fat-tagged proteins seemed to form clusters extending to the cell’s edges in a pattern resembling that of cellular recycling-center proteins. The untagged proteins, in contrast, seemed to diffuse around the center of the cell. From this, the team concluded that DHHC5 tags proteins like GRIP1 with fat to send them to be recycled.

According to Huganir, protein recycling is critical for strengthening and maintaining memory circuits. Since GRIP1 is involved with recycling, it may be important in this critical aspect of memory formation. Huganir believes some day researchers could learn how to control this mechanism and reverse the disease process for disorders like Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

“Some day we may be able to inhibit or activate these molecules,” Huganir says. “These molecules are involved in mediating everything in the brain, all behaviors.”

Besides Huganir, authors on this study include Gareth Thomas, Takashi Hayashi, Shu-Ling Chiu and Chih-Ming Chen.

This research was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

Under a licensing agreement between Millipore Corporation and The Johns Hopkins University, Richard L. Huganir is a paid consultant to Millipore Corporation and is entitled to a share of royalties received by the university on sales of products described in this article. The terms of this arrangement are being managed by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict-of-interest policies.

More information: http://www.cell.com/neuron/

Provided by Johns Hopkins University

"Getting a grip on memories." May 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-memories.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Psychologists reveal how emotion can shut down high-level mental processes without our knowledge

Psychologists at Bangor University believe that they have glimpsed for the first time, a process that takes place deep within our unconscious brain, where primal reactions interact with higher mental processes. Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, they identify a reaction to negative language inputs which shuts down unconscious processing.

For the last quarter of a century, psychologists have been aware of, and fascinated by the fact that our brain can process high-level information such as meaning outside consciousness. What the psychologists at Bangor University have discovered is the reverse- that our brain can unconsciously 'decide' to withhold information by preventing access to certain forms of knowledge.

The psychologists extrapolate this from their most recent findings working with bilingual people. Building on their previous discovery that bilinguals subconsciously access their first language when reading in their second language; the psychologists at the School of Psychology and Centre for Research on Bilingualism have now made the surprising discovery that our brain shuts down that same unconscious access to the native language when faced with a negative word such as war, discomfort, inconvenience, and unfortunate.

They believe that this provides the first proven insight to a hither-to unproven process in which our unconscious mind blocks information from our conscious mind or higher mental processes.

This finding breaks new ground in our understanding of the interaction between emotion and thought in the brain. Previous work on emotion and cognition has already shown that emotion affects basic brain functions such as attention, memory, vision and motor control, but never at such a high processing level as language and understanding.

Key to this is the understanding that people have a greater reaction to emotional words and phrases in their first language- which is why people speak to their infants and children in their first language despite living in a country which speaks another language and despite fluency in the second. It has been recognised for some time that anger, swearing or discussing intimate feelings has more power in a speaker's native language. In other words, emotional information lacks the same power in a second language as in a native language.

Dr Yan Jing Wu of the University's School of Psychology said: "We devised this experiment to unravel the unconscious interactions between the processing of emotional content and access to the native language system. We think we've identified, for the first time, the mechanism by which emotion controls fundamental thought processes outside consciousness.

"Perhaps this is a process that resembles the mental repression mechanism that people have theorised about but never previously located."

So why would the brain block access to the native language at an unconscious level?

Professor Guillaume Thierry explains: "We think this is a protective mechanism. We know that in trauma for example, people behave very differently. Surface conscious processes are modulated by a deeper emotional system in the brain. Perhaps this brain mechanism spontaneously minimises negative impact of disturbing emotional content on our thinking, to prevent causing anxiety or mental discomfort."

He continues: "We were extremely surprised by our finding. We were expecting to find modulation between the different words- and perhaps a heightened reaction to the emotional word - but what we found was the exact opposite to what we expected- a cancellation of the response to the negative words."

The psychologists made this discovery by asking English-speaking Chinese people whether word pairs were related in meaning. Some of the word pairs were related in their Chinese translations. Although not consciously acknowledging a relation, measurements of electrical activity in the brain revealed that the bilingual participants were unconsciously translating the words. However, uncannily, this activity was not observed when the English words had a negative meaning.

More information: Journal of Neuroscience (May 9, 2012; 32(19):6485– 6489, 6485)

Provided by Bangor University

"Psychologists reveal how emotion can shut down high-level mental processes without our knowledge." May 8th, 2012.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-psychologists-reveal-emotion-high-level-mental.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

‎15 GREAT THOUGHTS BY CHANAKYA

1) "Learn from the mistakes of others... you can't live long enough to make them all yourselves!!"

2)"A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first."

3)"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."

4)"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."


5)" Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."


6)"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."


7)"The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman."


8)"Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest."


9)"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."


10)"God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple."


11) "A man is great by deeds, not by birth."


12) "Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness."


13) "Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends."


14) "Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person."


15) "Education is the Best Friend. An Educated Person is Respected Everywhere. Education beats the Beauty and the Youth."

Shivan Statue In Spanish

Sitar & Veena (indian Musical Instruments).

The Sitar Situation: Instrument History

Hailing from Northern India, the sitar is a member of the lute family. For thousands of years, the sitar has been charming and serenading discriminating audiences. But did you know that this stringed instrument’s history is as fascinating as the very sounds it produces?

But what exactly is a sitar?

Traditionally, the sitar is considered the main musical instrument among Hindustani cultures. The term “Hindustani” refers to various dialects and art forms native to northern India and Pakistan. As the leading stringed instrument of pre-Islamic India, the sitar was a common element of religious festivals. Over time, the sitar became the go-to instrument for the women who sang and danced for visiting diplomats and other important guests.

 

It wasn’t until the 18th and 19th Centuries that the sitar was accepted as a solo classical instrument. History was made, and this instrument has become a part of the world musical scene. Today, the sitar has become a popular feature in the entertainment world, especially in India (or “Bollywood,” as it’s commonly referred to). With its light, delicate sound, the sitar is used to accompany dancing and other happy scenes.

A Blend of Instrument History and Culture

Most musical instrument historians agree that the sitar’s origin lies with other stringed instruments. One of these, the Veena, was a fretted stringed instrument popular in ancient India. The Veena was said to have been played by Saraswati, the Indian Goddess of Music and Learning.

The sitar may also be an off-shoot of another stringed instrument, the “tanbur.” This long-necked lute played a crucial role in Medieval Muslim cultures. The sitar’s other musical influence was likely the “vina” (or “bin”), a type of narrow and complex Indian zither. Oh, and by the way, the guitar is thought to be a direct descendant of the sitar.

The Sitar in Profile

Typically, sitars feature five melody strings; these are tuned to Ma (F), Sa (C), Pa (G), Sa (C), and Pa (G). Sitars also sport two Chikari strings for rhythm. In addition, they sport five or six drone strings, which are used to accentuate the rhythm or pulse. Sitars have hollow necks (usually made of Indian mahogany, known as “tun”), which include convex frets housing 9-13 sympathetic strings. The sitar’s neck tapers off to a dried gourd, or gourd-shaped container, which is covered by a pegbox (the container that anchors the strings).

   

Much like other stringed instruments, sitar enthusiasts can learn to play on their own. However, most sitarists have found it very difficult to accurately master this instrument, often more than a decade! For that reason, many up-and-coming (and even accomplished) sitar musicians find it much more effective to study at the feet of master musicians. These sitar “apprentices” are then able to learn all that they can. This could include the instrument’s history, construction, and especially ways to bring out their true musical potential.

Musicians and fans have long appreciated the lush, complex harmonies of this instrument. Historically, this unique sound is due to the instrument’s two sets of strings. Of these, sitars usually feature six or seven playable strings; up to 13 sympathetic strings are located beneath curved, movable frets.

Like all plucked instruments (guitar, bass, banjo, harp, lyre, etc.), the sitar requires a pick (known as a “mizrab”). Traditionally, sitarists’ use their left hands to slide over the five melody strings, and their right hands for the pick. Other sitarists take advantage of another playing technique, the “Meend.” With this technique, the sitarist pulls the string down over the curved frets; this produces the sitar’s unique “singing” sound.

Now that you know the instrument's history and make-up, why not take in some beautiful music? Click here to listen to the instrument!

                

About the Saraswati Veena:

The Saraswati Veena is one of the most ancient and revered of South Indian instruments. Together with Bansuri flute this form of veena may be seen in many sacred pictures of Saraswati, goddess of music.

The following is reproduced by kind permission of David Courtney Phd:

The Saraswati veena has an interesting construction. It has a body made of wood, generally, this is jackwood. The highest quality veenas have the entire body carved from a single block of wood, while the ordinary veenas have a body which is carved in three sections (resonator, neck and head). There are 24 frets made of brass bars set into wax. There is another resonator at the top of the neck of the veena. This is no longer a functioning resonator, but is mainly used as a stand to facilitate the positioning of the instrument when it is played. Because it is no longer functioning it is not unusual to find that this upper resonator may be made of acoustically neutral materials such as paper mache, cane or other similar materials.

Unlike north Indian instruments like the sitar, the Saraswati veena has no sympathetic strings. It has only four playing strings and three drone strings (thalam). The main bridge is a flat bar made of brass. This bar has a very slight curve. It is this light curve which gives the veena its characteristic sound. A major centre for the manufacture of the Saraswati veeni is in Tanjore.

 

Features:

52" Long

24 brass frets

7 strings.

Painted and carved peg box.

With wooden shell case.

Most popular traditional Veena.

A fine quality instrument.

Price $1350.00.  Please email regarding shipping cost

shridi orginal saibaba aarti

வீணாகும் டயர்களால் ரப்பர் சாலைகள்

   

மோட்டார் கழிவுகளில் முக்கியமானது டயர்கள். உலகம் முழுவதும் 100 கோடி டயர்கள் வீணாகக் குப்பையில் வீசப்படுகின்றன. ‘ஆனால் இனிமேல் பழைய டயர்கள் வீணாகாது. அதனை மறுசுழற்சி செய்து ரப்பர் மற்றும் புதிய டயர்கள் தயாரிக்கலாம், புதிய ரப்பர் சாலைகள் அமைக்கப் பயன்படுத்தலாம்’ என்கிறார் ஆஸ்திரேலியாவின் டீகின் தொழில்நுட்பப் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர் குய்பெங் குவா (Qipeng Guo).

பழைய டயர்களை குப்பையோடு குப்பையாக வீசுவதால் நிலத்தடி நீர் கெட்டு, சுற்றுச்சுழல் பெரிதும் மாசுபடுகின்றது. குப்பையில் வீசப்படும் டயர்களை எரிப்பதாலும், புதைப்பதாலும் அதிலிருந்து வெளியாகும் ரசாயன வகைகள் வளிமண்டலத்தில் கலந்து காற்றினை மாசுபடுத்துகின்றன.

இதற்கு மாற்றாக புதிய தொழில் நுட்பத் தீர்வினை குய்பெங் குவா கண்டுபிடித்துள்ளார். ரசாயனப் பொருட்களைப் பயன்படுத்தாமல் குறைந்த அளவிலான மின்சாரத்தைக் கொண்டு டயர்களை மறுசுழற்சி செய்யும் முறையை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியுள்ளார். இதனைப் பயன்படுத்தி புதிய டயர்கள், கார் பாகங்கள் தயாரிக்கலாம். மேலும் ரப்பர் சாலைகள் அமைக்கலாம். பொது இடங்களில் குப்பைத் தொட்டியாகவும் இந்த டயர்களை மாற்றிப் பயன்படுத்தலாம்.

டயரை மறுசுழற்சி செய்யும்போது கிடைக்கும் Ruberized Asphat Concrete (RAC) என்ற கூழைப் பயன்படுத்தி, சாலைகள் போடும்போது உறுதியான சாலைகள் பெற முடியும் என்கிறார்கள். இவ்வகையான ரப்பர் சாலைகளை அமைக்கும்போது 50 சதவிகிதம் செலவினம் குறையவும் வாய்ப்புள்ளதாகக் கூறப்படுகின்றது. ‘புயல், வெள்ளம் போன்ற இயற்கைப் பேரிடர்களின்போது இந்த ரப்பர் சாலைகளில் எந்தப் பாதிப்பும் ஏற்படாது’ என்கிறார் குய்பெங் குவா.

நமது அரசுகளும் மனது வைத்தால் மார்க்கம் பிறக்குமே!
நன்றி :புதிய தலைமுறை.

People love talking about themselves, brain scans show

Self-disclosure on social media might serve evolutionary purpose, researcher says.

(HealthDay) -- Got something to report about yourself? An opinion, perhaps, or a status update? Nobody may care except you, but new brain research suggests you can make yourself feel good simply by sharing.

Participants who talked about themselves showed signs of activity in the areas of the brain that are linked to value and motivation, said Diana Tamir, lead author of a study published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This helps to explain why people so obsessively engage in this behavior. It's because it provides them with some sort of subjective value: It feels good, basically," said Tamir, a graduate student in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at Harvard University.

Indeed, the researchers found that the regions of the brain that are activated by talking about oneself are also responsible for the thrills of food, sex, money and drug addiction, Tamir said.

The findings are more than a scientific curiosity, Tamir said, considering how much time people spend discussing themselves. By one estimate, 30 percent to 40 percent of your speech has to do with you.

"Self-disclosure is a behavior that we do all of the time, day in and day out: When you talk to people, they'll often talk about themselves," Tamir said. "On Twitter and Facebook, people are primarily posting about what they're thinking and feeling in the moment. This is one piece of evidence about why we may do that."

In the study, Tamir and a colleague conducted several experiments on subjects whose brains were scanned as they were told to do various things.

In one experiment, 78 participants alternately disclosed their own opinions -- about things like whether they preferred coffee or tea -- and judged the opinions of others whose photographs they looked at.

In another experiment, 117 people alternately talked about their personality traits (among other things, declaring whether they're "curious" or "ambitious") and those of the U.S. president at the time, either George W. Bush or Barack Obama.

The researchers found that certain parts of the brain were more active when people talked about themselves. In terms of monetary value, participants valued being able to share a thought as being worth about a penny, Tamir said: "We like to call it a penny for your thoughts."

So, why did evolution encourage humans to feel good when they talk about themselves? "We're doing some tests to see what larger role this behavior may play, whether people's motivation to self-disclose changes depending on their motivations to bond with someone," Tamir said. "Some studies show that the more you self-disclose to someone, the more you like them, the more they like you. It may have something to do with forming social bonds."

Paul Zak, a brain researcher and founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, said the findings are "very convincing" and offer insight into human evolution.

"If a social creature did not disclose information, then other creatures might stop interacting with it," he said. "Animals do this with smells and movements, and humans do this with language. This study reveals how our brain evolved to motivate sociality, which is pretty cool."

More information: “Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding,” by Diana I. Tamir and Jason P. Mitchell, PNAS (2012).

To learn more about the brain, try Harvard's brain atlas.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

"People love talking about themselves, brain scans show." May 7th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-people-brain-scans.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek