Wednesday, May 2, 2012
THE KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS
Are you trying to build a successful business and running into a wall. Perhaps you need to readjust your mindset. Find out what will be the key to making you and your business successful here!
Entrepreneur shares…
When you bend your business to your ego, you forfeit your capacity to believe. You’ve defined your company’s practices as only those things and people that you can influence, control and manipulate. With this corporate policy of assumed perfection, you give away the keys to your ability to imagine your business as wildly successful.
Your mind is content without imagining. Your mind abhors the unfamiliar, preferring instead to more efficiently file away the familiar in previously established categories. By nature, you are mentally satisfied. It is OK with your mind not to imagine your company as achieving anything more than it is right now.
However, doing business today confronts you, at times even assails you, with the unfamiliar. The context in which you transact business changes every single day you open the doors and answer the phone. If you play to your mind’s laziness and refuse to accept these unfamiliar perceptions, by default you bend to your ego. You stand in your business’s batting cage and refuse to swing at anything thrown at you except those few pitches you recognize. In your assumed perfection, you settle for less than you can achieve by redefining your reality. You stop short of fulfilling your dreams. And if you keep your business alive long enough, you reach a point at which you say, “I wish I had known so I could have done something about it.”
But you were born to believe, not bend to ego, so that you can be at your best and imagine a positive work lifestyle. Imagination is your pilot through unfamiliar skies.
Think about how you do business this way: You focus your thoughts on the strengths of your business, accepting the unfamiliar changes, and filter out the negative characteristics. Next you cooperate with a team of positive people whom you’ve chosen to attract, who compare and compete rarely, and you complement one another quite well, confirming, validating and expanding positivity throughout your business. Then Team [Company Name Here] Positive — customers and clients, employees and suppliers alike — believe together that your business can grow in phenomenal ways, and begin to imagine a broader range of positive solutions you can offer and achieve based on a positive work lifestyle.
Imagination is the key to your business success. You perceive, conceive and believe based on more than what you alone can see, hear, taste, touch and smell, and primarily on what you can imagine. The impossible becomes possible. The unexpected happens. The unexplainable occurs and all you can do is shrug, and say to your partners, “All I know is it actually happened.”
Your company’s success is the culmination of how you think about it, partner with others to think about it, and then collectively imagine outcomes that seem unrealistic at the moment, but are achievable as all of you believe.
Get the entire story at Entrepreneur!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Terra Poo Wifi
You really shouldn't have to be rewarded for picking up your dog's feces off the ground. It should be the automatic, decent thing to do. But sometimes people need to be incentivized. (I lived in Inwood, in upper Manhattan, for a few years—in that neighborhood in particular, not everyone assumed it was their duty.) Now, DDB Mexico and Internet portal Terra have come up with an intriguing way of getting people to pick up their dog's poop—by giving them free WiFi service in return. Check out the video below for more. "When people throw away their bags of poop in a special box in the park, it calculates the weight and Terra gives everyone free minutes of WiFi in the park," says the writeup on Creativity. "The greater the weight, the more minutes are added—and everyone can enjoy a poo-free park." It's the old saying: Waste not, want not. How the machine distinguishes between dog poop and other garbage is unclear.
Spy Talk
 “He (Vidura) indirectly hinted, ‘A weapon not made of steel or any other material element can be more than sharp to kill an enemy, and he who knows this is never killed.’ That is to say, he hinted that the party of the Pandavas was being sent to Varanavata to be killed, and thus he warned Yudhishthira to be very careful in their new residential palace.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.13.8 Purport)
Watch any famous spy movie or spoof about the same and you’re sure to see people talking in code. Various signals are given to other members of the team, but they are verbalized out in the open. Since others are within audible range, the instructions must be cryptic and yet informative at the same time. The recipient of the information must be able to decipher the code so that they can act upon the intelligence. Some statements like, “The eagle has landed” and “The hen is in the nest”, can take on the humorous tone when used in situations where code is not necessary. Comedy writers have imagined their own variations of these kinds of statements to delight members of the audience. It appears from the ancient history documented in the Mahabharata and Shrimad Bhagavatam that the same practice of speaking in code was followed a long time back.
The Mahabharata is often considered the fifth Veda, or the supplementary division of work to the original Veda, which was later on divided into four parts by Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation of Godhead. The original Supreme Lord is one without a second, so He can accomplish all of His tasks alone. He doesn’t need any other forms or expansions, as He can see with His ears and hear with His eyes, but He nevertheless brings forth innumerable sparks of Himself that have independence in their actions. As their spiritual link to the original storehouse cannot be completely eradicated, there are varying gradations of particles of spirit.
 The more purified versions are better acquainted with their constitutional position. Then there are the almost direct incarnations which carry out divine functions. Vyasadeva is one of those incarnations, and his divine nature is evidenced by the volume and quality of his output. It’s easier now to mass produce literature with the advent of modern technology, but imagine doing the same thing thousands of years back. In addition, what you were producing was unique and committed to memory. This begins to tell the story of Vyasadeva and his tremendous brainpower. He spoke the Mahabharata, one of the largest works ever composed, to his disciples. When written down, the work spans thousands of pages, but since it was crafted in Sanskrit and according to a specific style of implementation, the entire work could be sung and remembered.
Of course more important than the length was the content. If not for the proper information contained within, the Mahabharata wouldn’t be so significant. The original Veda sprung forth from the Supreme Lord at the beginning of creation, and it was rather concise. Just a small collection of hymns praising God and His qualities. The songs didn’t need to be large in number or lengthy because just from the sound vibration representation of the Supreme Lord one is able to get God within their reach. That gift brings a closeness in proximity but has no bearing on control. The Supreme Controller cannot be compelled to do anything, but if His name is recited with love and devotion, He kindly agrees to remain within the immediate vicinity of the reciter. Hence the best way to approach God, stay connected with Him, and enjoy His association is to recite His names, such as those found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
As further time elapsed from the beginning of creation, man’s interest began to divert towards other areas. The original Veda wasn’t cutting it anymore, as just singing songs was difficult to do when other enticements were available. To address the fallen condition, the Supreme Lord partially incarnated as Vyasadeva and then subsequently divided the original Veda into four branches, with each one focusing on special areas of interest. This made the highest truths of life a little easier to understand and expanded the reach of the songs to more people.
The Puranas next addressed an even further descent from the original position of pure consciousness. If you weren’t in the mood to sing songs, at the very least you could spend some time hearing stories about God and His associates. The accounts described the supernatural and the surreal, but they weren’t fabricated. Sometimes the events took place on the current planet and sometimes on other ones. Some events were from the past and others portended things to come.
 We see that in the present age one of the desired methods of relaxation is sitting down in front of the television and watching a program. There is no pressure in this activity, and typically there is no finite time allotted to the engagement. This stands in contrast to the grind of work or school, where there is constant pressure to meet deadlines and fulfill expectations. In the relaxed state, one simply has to watch, without applying too much mental effort.
Better than watching is hearing, because then at least the brain starts to engage a little more, crafting responses to the opinions set forth, or at least mentally picturing the scenes being described. The ear is sharper than the eye because visions can be distracting, while the ear is accustomed to taking in information in a certain pattern. One can look at the difference in proofreading techniques to see evidence. If you were to proofread something that you or someone else wrote, you could gloss over many of the misspellings. This is because the eyes are accustomed to seeing words as a whole, so if there are only one or two letters off or transposed, the eyes might overlook the mistakes.
Sound vibration is different. Take off a letter from a word and it will sound completely different to the ear. If you were to take the same text that you had to proofread but this time hear it pronounced out loud, you would be able to pick out so many more errors without even consciously looking for them. Of course mistakes in context and ambiguity with respect to words that had the same sound but different spellings could be missed, but these defects are more relevant to the written word and not to the meaning during oral presentation.
Take that same superiority in hearing and apply it to discourses about the Supreme Lord and you get an easy way to attain enlightenment. From a higher way of thinking you can find a better way of living. Thus Vyasadeva composed the Puranas so that man could find God just by hearing and nothing else. The Mahabharata was the lengthiest work that he authored, and it contained pretty much every type of information relevant for living in a temporary land. It’s essentially the encyclopedia of Vedic teachings, with the heart and soul of the work being a small conversation held between a hesitant warrior and his charioteer.
The warrior was a member of the Pandava family and the chariot driver was the Supreme Lord Himself, Shri Krishna. While there are expansions and partial incarnations, Krishna is considered God in His complete form. He is purna, so He is not lacking anything, including wisdom. When the unsure warrior Arjuna needed help in deciding what to do, Krishna stepped in and offered sound words of advice. Since God was speaking, the words of wisdom never lost their relevance. The teachings presented by Krishna to Arjuna are as relevant today as they were on that day many thousands of years ago on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
 The Mahabharata presents Vedic truths through the story of the five Pandava brothers. They were pious by nature, so it was not surprising that Krishna favored them. On the flip side, their cousins, the Kurus, did not like them at all. The leader of the rival cousins was named Duryodhana, and he tried in various ways to kill the brothers and their mother, Kunti Devi.
The Pandavas had several well-wishers helping them, either secretly or in the open. One of the key players behind the scenes was Vidura, the older brother of the Pandavas’ departed father Pandu. The Pandavas were lured into so many traps set by Duryodhana and his clan, but Vidura would secretly give the brothers information to be used as warnings. Without Vidura’s help, the Pandavas would not have survived.
At the same time, the different cryptic messages sent forth by Vidura can be taken in a humorous light, as they showed cleverness from both speaker and recipient. The Mahabharata is an ancient work, but just because the events described took place so long ago doesn’t mean that the human beings inhabiting the earth were bereft of variety, color and humor. The Vedas give you everything, including humorous incidents and delightful interactions between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and parents and children.
Maharaja Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, years later remembered Vidura’s partiality with appreciation. Through some way or another the saints look out for the innocent, the people who are willing to accept their instructions. In more recent times, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His spiritual brother Nityananda Prabhu took that benevolence to another level by offering sound words of advice to every single person, regardless of the reception they gave. Friend or foe, Shri Shri Nimai Nitai asked everyone to chant the names of Hari, the Supreme Lord who removes the distresses of His devotees. That security arrives from both the Supreme Lord and His representatives, which include the dear servants like Mahatma Vidura.
In Closing:
Strange phrases out in the open make up spy talk,
Reveal signals for things like knowing where to walk.
“The eagle has landed, the hen has returned to the nest”,
These phrases known to some but not to the rest.
Such talk found in works Vyasadeva compiled,
Through hearing find eternal wisdom and also a smile.
Vidura, to the five Pandava brothers a well-wisher,
To save them from danger, acted as secret instruction giver.
Shri Shri Nimai Nitai similarly to the world grant,
Best kept secret, holy names of Hari always chant.
|
கடுகின் மருத்துவ குணங்கள்
 “கடுகு சிறுத்தாலும் காரம் போகாது” அந்த அளவிற்கு எண்ணற்ற சத்துக்களையும், மருத்துவ குணங்களையும் சின்னஞ்சிறிய கடுகு தன்னகத்தே கொண்டுள்ளது.
5 ஆயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பிருந்தே கடுகின் பயன்பாடு இருந்துள்ளது. கடுகில் கருங்கடுகு, வெண்கடுகு, நாய்க்கடுகு, மலைக்கடுகு, சிறுகடுகு என பலவகை உண்டு.
இது சிறு செடி வகையைச் சார்ந்தது. இந்தியாவில் பல இடங்களில் பயிராகிறது. வெண்கடுகை விட கருங்கடுகில் காரம் மிகுந்து காணப்படும். இதன் மேல்தோல் கறுப்பாக இருக்கும்.
கடுகில் நோய் எதிர்ப்பு சக்தி அதிகம் உள்ளது. கடுகில் செலினியம் அதிகம் செரிந்துள்ளது. இதில் உள்ள மெக்னீசியம் ஆஸ்துமா கோளாறுகளை நீக்குகிறது. கடுகில் உயர்தர கால்சியம், மாங்கனீஸ், ஒமேகா 3 கொழுப்பு அமிலம், இரும்பு, புரதம், நார்ச்சத்து போன்றவை காணப்படுகிறது.
மைக்ரேன் தலைவலி: கடுகானது மைக்ரேன் தலைவலிக்கு அருமருந்தாக செயல்படுகிறது. அதேபோல் ருமட்டாய்டு ஆர்த்தடீஸ், குறைந்த ரத்த அழுத்தம் போன்றவைகளை குணமாக்குகிறது. தோல் நோய்களுக்கு சிறந்த மருந்தாகும்.
ஜீரணக்கோளாறினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு கடுகு சிறந்த மருந்தாகும். ஜீரணத்தை தூண்டும் சக்தி கடுகுக்கு உண்டு. தினமும் உணவில் கடுகை சேர்த்துக் கொள்வது நல்லது.
கடுகை நன்கு அரைத்து பொடியாக்கி அதனுடன் மிளகு பொடி, உப்பு சேர்த்து காலையில் ஒரு ஸ்பூன், அளவு எடுத்து வாயில் போட்டு வெந்நீர் குடித்து வந்தால் செரிமான சக்தியைத் தூண்டி அஜீரணக் கோளாறைப் போக்கும்.
உணவு உண்பதற்கு முன்பு கருப்பு கடுகினை 20 நிமிடம் ஊறவைத்து அரைத்து பாலில் கலந்து குடித்து வர ஜீரணசக்தி கிடைக்கும். அஜீரணக் கோளாறால் வாய்வுக்கள் சீற்றமடைந்து வயிற்றில் வலியை உண்டாக்கும். இந்த வயிற்று வலி நீங்க கடுகை பொடி செய்து வெந்நீரில் கலந்து அருந்தி வந்தால் வயிற்றுவலி நீங்கும்.
சைனஸ் கோளாறு நீங்கும்: ஒரு சிலருக்கு இருமும் போது தலைப்பகுதி முழுவதும் வலி உண்டாகும். இந்த இருமல் நாளுக்கு நாள் அதிகரித்து தலைச்சுற்றலை உண்டாக்கும்.
கடுகுப் பொடியுடன் தேன் கலந்து சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் இந்த இருமல் நீங்குவதுடன் தலைவலியுடன் உண்டாகும் இருமல், மூக்கில் நீர் வடிதல், அதிக உமிழ்நீர் சுரத்தல் போன்றவை குறையும்.
விஷ முறிவு: மருந்து சிலர் தெரிந்தோ தெரியாமலோ விஷம் சாப்பிட நேரிட்டால் அவர்களுக்கு முதலில் கடுகை அரைத்து நீரில் கலந்து கொடுத்தால் வாந்தி உண்டாகும். இந்த வாந்தியுடன் உள்ளிருக்கும் விஷமானது வெளியேறும்.
கருப்பை கட்டி: கடுகிலிருந்து எடுக்கப்படும் எண்ணெயை வட இந்தியாவில் சமையலுக்கு பயன்படுத்தி வருகிறார்கள். கொழுப்பு சத்து அதிகமில்லாத இந்த எண்ணெய் இதய நோயை தடுக்கும்.
கருப்பைக் கட்டியைச் சுருக்குவதில் கடுகு எண்ணெய் பெரும்பங்கு வகிக்கிறது. ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் கடுகு மற்றும் சீரகம் போன்றவற்றைத் தாளிக்க நீங்கள் கடுகெண்ணெயைப் பயன்படுத்தவும்.
வயிற்றின் மீது வெளிப்பூச்சாகவும் கடுகெண்ணெயை வெதுவெதுப்பாகப் பூசி, காலையில் வெந்நீரில் குளித்துவர, வலி நீங்கும். கடுகானது பெண்களின் மெனோபாஸ் கால சிக்கலை நீக்குகிறது. நல்ல உறக்கத்தை தருகிறது.
|
ஆரோக்கியமான வாழ்விற்கு
 நம் உடல் பாதுகாப்பாக இயங்கப் பத்து சூப்பர் உணவுகள் உள்ளன. காற்று, நீர் மூலம் பரவும் நோய்த் தொற்றைப் படுசுத்தமான மனிதர் கூடத் தடுக்க முடியாது.
நாம் சாப்பிடும் முக்கியமான உணவு வகைகள், நம் உடலில் சேரும் இத்தகைய நோய் நுண்மங்களை எளிதில் தடுத்து அழித்துவிடும். நோய் பரவுவதைத் தடுக்கும் அந்தப் பத்து சூப்பர் உணவுகள்.
வெள்ளைப் பூண்டு: பண்டைய எகிப்திலும் பாபிலோனியாவிலும் அற்புதங்களை விளைவித்துக் குணமாக்கிய மண்ணடித் தாவரம். குடலில் உள்ள புழுக்களிலிருந்து மற்றும் தலைவலி முதல் புற்றுநோய் வரை பல நோய்களையும் குணமாக்க வெள்ளைப் பூண்டு பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது.
அறிவியல் முடிவுகளால் கூட வெள்ளைப் பூண்டு பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. அறிவியல் முடிவுகளால் கூட வெள்ளைப் பூண்டின் பெருமையை மங்கச் செய்ய முடியவில்லை. உடலில் நன்மை செய்யக்கூடிய கொலாஸ்டிரல் உருவாக பூண்டின் பங்கு மகத்தானது.
வெங்காயம்: வெள்ளைப் பூண்டுடன் சேர்ந்து வல்லமை மிக்க, புகழ்மிக்க மருந்தாக வெங்காயம் செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. ஜலதோஷத்தை ஏற்படுத்தும் நச்சு நுண்மங்களையும், புற்று நோய்களையும், இதய நோய்களையும் தடுத்து நிறுத்துகிறது.
நோய்த் தொற்றைத் தடுத்து உடலில் நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தியை அதிகரிக்கிறது. வெங்காயத்தில் உள்ள அலிலின் என்ற இராசயனப் பொருள்தான் பாக்டீரியாக்கள், நச்சு நுண்மங்கள், காளான் போன்றவை உடலில் சேராமல் தடுக்கின்றன. இத்துடன் புற்றுநோய்க் கட்டிகள் வளராமலும் தடுக்கின்றன.
காரட்: நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தி வேலிகள் நன்கு உறுதிப்பட காரட்டில் உள்ள பீட்டா கரோட்டின் உதவுகிறது. குறிப்பாக நம் உடல் தோலிலும், சளிச் சவ்விலும் நோய் எதிர்ப்புப் பொருள்கள் நன்கு செயல்படும்படி தூண்டிக்கொண்டே இருப்பது காரட்தான்.
ஆரஞ்சு: வைட்டமின் சி ஒரு முகப்படுத்தப்பட்டு சேகரித்து வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இப்பழத்தில் இன்டர்பெரான் என்ற இராசயனத் தூதுவர்களை அதிகம் உற்பத்தி செய்வது வைட்டமின் சி.
காற்று மற்றும் நீர் மூலம் பரவும் நோய்த் தொற்றுக் கிருமிகளை இந்த இன்டர்பெரான்கள் எதிர்த்துப் போராடி உடலில் அவை சேராமல் அழிக்கின்றன. ஆரஞ்சு கிடைக்காத போது எலுமிச்சம்பழச் சாறு அருந்தலாம்.
பருப்பு வகைகள்: பாதாம் பருப்பு, வேர்க்கடலை போன்ற கொட்டை வகைகளில் உள்ள வைட்டமின் ஈ, வெள்ளை இரத்த அணுக்கள் சிறப்பாகச் செயல்படத் தூண்டிவிடுகின்றன. இதனால் நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தி அதிகரிக்கிறது.
கோதுமை ரொட்டி: நரம்பு மண்டலமும், மூளையும் நன்கு செயல்படவும் புதிய செல்கள் உற்பத்தியில் உதவும் மண்ணீரலும், நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தியை அதிகரிக்கும். தைமஸ் சுரப்பியும் விரைந்து செயல்பட ப்ரெளன்(கோதுமை) ரொட்டியில் உள்ள பைரிடாக்ஸின்(B4) என்ற வைட்டமின் உதவுகிறது. இத்துடன் கீரையையும், முட்டையையும் தவறாமல் சேர்த்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.
இறால் மீன் மற்றும் நண்டு: அழிந்து போன செல்களால் நோயும், நோய்த்தொற்றும் ஏற்படாமல் தடுப்பதில் இவற்றில் உள்ள துத்தநாக உப்பு உதவுகிறது. எனவே, வாரம் ஒரு நாள் இவற்றில் ஒன்றைச் சேர்த்து சாப்பிட்டு வரவும்.
தேநீர்: தேநீரில் உள்ள மக்னீசியம் உப்பு நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் செல்கள் அழிந்துவிடாமல் பாதுகாப்பதில் ஒரு நாட்டின் இராணுவம் போன்று செயல்படுகிறது. சூடான தேநீர் ஒரு கப் அருந்துவதால் நோய்த் தொற்றைத் தடுத்துவிடலாம்.
பாலாடைக்கட்டி: சீஸ் உட்பட பால் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட பொருட்களில் உள்ள கால்சியம், மக்னீசியம் உப்புடன் சேர்ந்து கொண்டு உடலில் நோய் எதிர்ப்புத் தன்மை அமைப்பு கருதி தவறாமல் ஆற்றலுடன் செயல்பட உதவுகிறது.
முட்டைக்கோஸ்: குடல் புண்கள் ஆறு மடங்கு வேகத்தில் குணம் பெற முட்டைக் கோஸில் உள்ள குளுட்டோமைன் என்ற அமிலம் உதவுகிறது.
உணவின் மூலம் உள்ளே சென்றுள்ள நோய்த்தொற்று நுண்மங்கள் முட்டைக்கோஸால் உடனே அகற்றப்படுகின்றன. இதனால் நோய் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தி அதிகரிக்கிறது. முட்டைக் கோஸஸுக்குப் புற்று நோயைத் தடுக்கும் ஆற்றல் உண்டு.
மேற்கண்ட உணவுப்பொருட்களில் ஏழு உணவுப் பொருட்களாவது தினமும் நம் உணவில் இடம் பெற வேண்டும். இதைச் செய்து வந்தால் நம் மருந்துவச் செலவு குறைந்துவிடும்.
|
சைனஸ் பிரச்னைக்கான நிரந்தர தீர்வுகள்
 கோடையில் உண்டாகும் சைனஸ் பிரச்னையை 2 வகையாகப் பிரிக்கலாம். ஒன்று திடீர் திடீரென வந்து போகும், அதிக வலியை தரும் சைனஸ். இன்னொன்று நிரந்தரமான ஆனால் குறைவான வலியைத் தரும் சைனஸ்.
முதல் வகையை நாசில்ஸ் ஸ்பிரே, நோய் எதிர்ப்பு மாத்திரைகளால் எளிதில் குணப்படுத்தி விடலாம். மிகச் சில பேருக்கு மட்டுமே அறுவை சிகிச்சை வரை போக வேண்டியதிருக்கும்.
சைனஸ் பிரச்னையை பொருட்படுத்தாமல் விடுவதால் வரும் 2-வது வகையை என்ன மருந்து கொடுத்தாலும் முழுமையாக குணப்படுத்தி விட முடியாது.
வலியை வேண்டுமானால் கட்டுப்படுத்த இயலும். பாதிக்கப்பட்ட அத்தனை திசுக்களையும் நீக்கினால் தான் முழு நிவாரணம் கிடைக்கும். தற்போதைய நவீன சிகிச்சை முறையில் திசுக்களை நீக்க வேண்டியதில்லை.
என்டோஸ்கோப்பிக் சைனஸ் அறுவை சிகிச்சை முறையில் அதை குணப்படுத்த முடிகிறது. குணப்படுத்த முடியாத சைனஸ் என்று எதுவும் இல்லை. மூடப்பட்ட சைனஸ் அறை கதவை திறந்து உள்ளே இருக்கும் சீழ் வெளியேற்றப்படும் வகையில் தற்போது சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்படுகிறது.
சி.டி.ஸ்கேன், எம்.ஆர்.ஐ. ஸ்கேன் என்ற நவீன வசதிகளால் எந்த சைனஸ் அறை பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது, எவ்வளவு பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது என்பதையும், அவற்றில் இருப்பது சளியா அல்லது சீழா என்பதையும் மிகத்துல்லியமாக கண்டறிய முடிகிறது. இதனால் அறுவை சிகிச்சை எளிதாகி விட்டது என்பதை தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்.
|
Study may offer clues to reverse cognitive deficits in humans
The ability to navigate using spatial cues was impaired in mice whose brains were minus a channel that delivers potassium — a finding that may have implications for humans with damage to the hippocampus, a brain structure critical to memory and learning, according to a Baylor University researcher.
Mice missing the channel also showed diminished learning ability in an experiment dealing with fear conditioning, said Joaquin Lugo, Ph.D., the lead author in the study and an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.
"By targeting chemical pathways that alter those potassium channels, we may eventually be able to apply the findings to humans and reverse some of the cognitive deficits in people with epilepsy and other neurological disorders," Lugo said.
The research was done in Baylor College of Medicine Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center Mouse Neurobehavior Core in Houston during Lugo's time as a researcher there.
The findings are published online in the journal Learning & Memory.
The channel, called Kv4.2, delivers potassium, which aids neuron function in the brain's hippocampus. The hippocampus forms memory for long-term storage in the brain. Potassium also helps to regulate excitability.
Individuals who have epilepsy sometimes exhibit altered or missing Kv.4.2 channels or similar types of channels.
In the experiment investigating navigation, "knockout" mice — those without the channel — were tested in a water maze four feet in diameter and 12 inches deep, with eight trials daily — each lasting about a minute — over four days, he said. Their performance was compared with that of normal mice.
Both groups responded to visual cues — colored symbols — in learning their way around the maze, but the knockout mice did not respond as well as the normal mice in terms of spatial cues — hidden platforms in the water.
"When the mice don't have this channel, it hurts their ability to learn," Lugo said.
In a separate experiment examining fear conditioning, both knockout mice and normal mice were placed in a cage, and researchers sounded a tone before giving the mice a mild electric shock. In repeated trials, both groups began to freeze upon hearing the tone as they anticipated a shock. But the normal mice also reacted to the context — being placed in the cage — while the mice who did not have the Kv4.2 channel reacted only to the tone.
More information: http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/19/5/182.full
Provided by Baylor University
"Study may offer clues to reverse cognitive deficits in humans." April 26th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-clues-reverse-cognitive-deficits-humans.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
After Head Injury, Man Becomes Math Genius
This man suffered an attack from thugs and from his subsequent head injuries, develops amazing mathematical abilities he never possessed before.
The question I pose is why are certain segments of our brain are blocked or understimulated to a point where this hidden knowledge refuses to be accessed unless another part of the brain retains deficiencies?
It seems the Pythagorus theorem has an underlying theme to the construct of our realities.
In an incident which appears be a perfect plot for any reality-based fiction work, an American college dropout after being brutally attacked by a group of street robbers has turned a mathematics genius.
It happened after 41-year-old Jason Padgett's brain was damaged in a brutal attack by muggers. He was left concussed after being ambushed outside a karaoke club and repeatedly kicked in the head, the Daily Mail reported.
Now, wherever Padegtt looks, he sees mathematical formulas and turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams he can draw by hand.
He is the only person in the world known to the skill, which experts say, was caused by his head injury. They believe the damage to Padgett's brain has left him with a "remarkable gift" for figures.
To understand how Padgett's brain works, neuroscientist and philosophy professor Berit Brogaard and her team flew Padgett to Finland to run a series of tests.
His brain scanning showed damage that was forcing his brain to overcompensate in certain areas that most people do not have access to.
Brogaard, who is based at the Centre for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri-St Louis, said the result that Padgett is now an acquired savant, meaning brilliant in a specific area.
"Savant syndrome is the development of a particular skill, that can be mathematical, spatial, or autistic, that develop to an extreme degree that sort of makes a person superhuman," the professor added.
New research expands understanding of psychoactive medication use among children in foster care
A few months after the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the use of psychoactive drugs by children in foster care in five states, a national study from PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia describes prescription patterns over time in 48 states. The updated findings show the percentage of children in foster care taking antipsychotics--a class of psychoactive drugs associated with serious side effects for children-- continued to climb in the last decade. At the same time, a slight decline was seen in the use of other psychoactive medications, including the percentage of children receiving 3 or more classes of these medications at once (polypharmacy).
As public scrutiny has increased about the use of psychoactive medication by children over the past decade, children in foster care continue to be prescribed these drugs at exceptionally high rates compared with the general population of U.S. children. According to the PolicyLab study, 1 in 10 school-aged children (aged 6-11) and 1 in 6 adolescents (aged 12-18) in foster care were taking antipsychotics by 2007.
The research team looked at the 686,000 foster-care children enrolled in Medicaid annually in 48 states from 2002-2007, and saw that both overall psychoactive use and polypharmacy-- the practice of prescribing multiple classes of psychoactive drugs at once-- increased from 2002 to 2004, and then began to decline from 2005 to 2007. Prescriptions for antipsychotics, on the other hand, increased each year from 2002 to 2007.
"While it is encouraging to see fewer kids being prescribed multiple classes of drugs, and--to some degree--a slowing rate of growth in the use of antipsychotics by 2007, these medications are still being prescribed much too frequently to children in the foster care system," said David Rubin,MD, MSCE, one of the study's authors and Director of PolicyLab.
Previous studies have established that children in foster care experience trauma and behavioral problems at higher rates than other children, and therefore use mental health services-- including psychoactive medications-- more frequently. Recent research demonstrating serious side effects of these medications in children has focused attention on their use and prompted policy evaluation at both the federal and state level, particularly among high-risk populations like children in foster care.
"We're not saying these medications should never be used for children, but the high rate at which they're used by children in foster care indicates that other interventions and supports, such as trauma-based counseling, may not be in place for them. In other words, health care providers may not have other, non-medication, tools to offer families dealing with mental health concerns," said Rubin. "Responding to high and growing levels of antipsychotic use will not simply require efforts to restrict their use, but calls for larger investments in mental health programs that help these children cope with trauma psychologically."
Prescription rates for both antipsychotic use and polypharmacy varied widely from state to state. Over the six-year period, antipsychotic use increased in all but three states. Conversely, 18 states showed an increase in polypharmacy, while 19 states showed decline and 11 no change. In 2007, states reported prescriptions of antipsychotics ranging from 2.8 percent to 21.7 percent of the foster care population, and from 0.5 percent to 13.6 percent for children receiving multiple classes of psychoactive drugs. The authors note, however, that it's not possible to use this study to compare states against one another.
"In illustrating both the national and state-specific trends in the use of psychoactive medications over time, we hope to provide a resource to officials at both the federal and state levels to help identify progress and prioritize intervention areas," noted Meredith Matone, MHS, a research scientist at PolicyLab who co-authored the study currently published online in the journal Children and Youth Services Review.
Bryan Samuels, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), said "the study's findings contribute to ongoing Federal efforts to improve the oversight and monitoring of psychoactive medications by providing a new snapshot in time on how these drugs were used in almost every state in the nation." ACYF, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works across federal agencies and with the States to use the latest data and research to design and deliver the best health care services for vulnerable children.
In August, ACYF will bring child welfare, mental health, and Medicaid leaders from all 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico together to address the appropriate use of psychoactive medications in state foster care programs.
Provided by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
"New research expands understanding of psychoactive medication use among children in foster care." April 30th, 2012.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-psychoactive-medication-children-foster.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
Multitasking may hurt your performance, but it makes you feel better
People aren't very good at media multitasking - like reading a book while watching TV - but do it anyway because it makes them feel good, a new study suggests.
The findings provide clues as to why multitasking is so popular, even though many studies show it is not productive.
Researchers had college students record all of their media use and other activities for 28 days, including why they used various media sources and what they got out of it.
The findings showed that multitasking often gave the students an emotional boost, even when it hurt their cognitive functions, such as studying.
"There's this myth among some people that multitasking makes them more productive," said Zheng Wang, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University.
"But they seem to be misperceiving the positive feelings they get from multitasking. They are not being more productive - they just feel more emotionally satisfied from their work."
Take, for example, students who watched TV while reading a book. They reported feeling more emotionally satisfied than those who studied without watching TV, but also reported that they didn't achieve their cognitive goals as well, Wang said.
"They felt satisfied not because they were effective at studying, but because the addition of TV made the studying entertaining. The combination of the activities accounts for the good feelings obtained," Wang said.
Wang conducted the study with John Tchernev, a graduate student in Communication at Ohio State. Their results appear online in the Journal of Communication and will be published in a future print edition.
Wang said many studies done in laboratory settings have found that people show poorer performance on a variety of tasks when they try to juggle multiple media sources at the same time: for example, going from texting a friend, to reading a book, to watching an online video.
But surveys show that media multitasking is only becoming more popular. The question, Wang said, is why do people do so much multitasking if it actually impairs their performance?
To answer that question, Wang said they had to move out of the laboratory and into real life. They recruited 32 college students who agreed to carry a cellphone-like device and report on their activities three times each day for four weeks.
The participants reported on each media use (such as computer, radio, print, television, radio) and sub types (for computer use, whether they were web browsing, using social networking, etc.) They reported the type of activity, the duration, and whether any other activities were performed simultaneously (in other words, whether they were multitasking).
They also provided their motivations for each activity or combination of activities from a list of seven potential needs, including social, fun/entertainment, study/work, and habits/background noise. For each need, they reported the strength of the need on a 10-point scale, and whether those needs were met on a 4-point scale.
The results showed that participants were more likely to multitask when they reported an increase in cognitive needs (such as study or work) or habitual needs or both.
That means, for example, that the students were more likely to multitask when they needed to study (a cognitive need.)
But one of the key findings of the study is that this multitasking didn't do a very good job of satisfying their cognitive needs which actually motivate the multitasking in the first place, Wang said. That's probably because their other media use distracted them from the job of studying. However, the students reported that the multitasking was very good at meeting their emotional needs (fun/entertainment/relaxing) - interestingly, a need they weren't even seeking to fulfill.
In addition, the results showed that habits played an important role in the use of media multitasking.
"Our findings showed that habitual needs increase media multitasking and are also gratified from multitasking," she said.
This suggests that people get used to multitasking, which makes them more likely to continue.
"We found what we call a dynamical feedback loop. If you multitask today, you're likely to do so again tomorrow, further strengthening the behavior over time," she said.
"This is worrisome because students begin to feel like they need to have the TV on or they need to continually check their text messages or computer while they do their homework. It's not helping them, but they get an emotional reward that keeps them doing it.
"It is critical that we carefully examine the long-term influence of media multitasking on how we perform on cognitive tasks."
Provided by The Ohio State University
"Multitasking may hurt your performance, but it makes you feel better." April 30th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-multitasking.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)