Menstrual cycle linked to suicides, claims AIIMS study

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/099200905241011.htm

Women in depression, especially during their menstrual periods, run a greater risk of harming themselves including committing suicide, an AIIMS study has claimed.

A team of researchers at the country's premier medical institute here have found that complexities in menstrual cycle may be a reason for heightened suicide risk.

"Women with menstrual problem were more likely to have a major depressive disorder than women with no such problems and menstrual cycle has a positive association with suicidal behaviour," said Dr. T.D. Dogra, Head of the Department of Forensic Sciences, AIIMS.

Using Hispathological examination, a method of collecting tissues from uterus through biopsy, was used to determine the stage of menstrual cycle of the women who committed suicide and were brought for autopsies at the department.

The doctors at the forensic department studied 100 cases of women, between the age group of 15-45, the bodies of whom came for the post-mortem. Of these, 56 were suicide cases while the remaining had died due to other reasons.

Monday Wednesday Friday

A husband and wife came for counseling after 20 years of marriage. When
asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful
tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had
been married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness,
loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of
unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time,
the therapist got up, walked around the desk and, after asking the wife
to stand, embraced and kissed her passionately as her husband watched
with a raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though
in a daze.

The therapist turned to the husband and said, 'This is what your wife
needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?'

The husband thought for a moment and replied, 'Well, I can drop her off
here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I go fishing

Genetic link to transexuality 'discovered'

Washington (PTI): For decades, there has been debate over the causes of transexuality. Now, researchers have discovered a significant genetic link between gender identity and a gene involved in testosterone action.

From an early age people develop an inner sense of being male or female -- their gender identity. Transsexuals however, identify with a physical sex opposite to their perceived biological sex.

For the study, an international team collected DNA samples from 112 male to female transsexuals and then compared genetic differences with non-transsexuals.

The researchers discovered that male to female transsexuals were more likely to have a longer version of a gene which is known to modify the action of the sex hormone testosterone, the 'Biological Psychiatry' journal reported.

"We think that these genetic differences might reduce testosterone action and under masculinise the brain during foetal development," said lead researcher Lauren Hare.

Added co-researcher Professor Vincent Harley of Prince Henry's Institute: "There's social stigma that transsexualism is simply a lifestyle choice, however our findings support a biological basis of how gender identity develops. As with all genetic association studies, it will be important to replicate these findings in other populations."

The researchers are now planning even larger genetic studies and are investigating a wider range of genes that may be related to gender identity.

Condoms 'too big' for Indian men

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6161691.stm

A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men.

The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms.

It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India.

The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country had their penises measured precisely, down to the last millimetre.

The scientists even checked their sample was representative of India as a whole in terms of class, religion and urban and rural dwellers.


It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters
Sunil Mehra
The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture.

Doctor Chander Puri, a specialist in reproductive health at the Indian Council of Medical Research, told the BBC there was an obvious need in India for custom-made condoms, as most of those currently on sale are too large.

The issue is serious because about one in every five times a condom is used in India it either falls off or tears, an extremely high failure rate.

And the country already has the highest number of HIV infections of any nation.

'Not a problem'

Mr Puri said that since Indians would be embarrassed about going to a chemist to ask for smaller condoms there should be vending machines dispensing different sizes all around the country.

"Smaller condoms are on sale in India. But there is a lack of awareness that different sizes are available. There is anxiety talking about the issue. And normally one feels shy to go to a chemist's shop and ask for a smaller size condom."

But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally according to Sunil Mehra, the former editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim.

"It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said.

"From our population, the evidence is Indians are doing pretty well.

"With apologies to the poet Alexander Pope, you could say, for inches and centimetres, let fools contend."

Neurosurgery

* Anton Eiselsberg – Established Neurosurgery as an independent discipline
* Harvey Cushing – Known as the father of neurosurgery
* Wilder Penfield – Known as one of the founding fathers of neurosurgery
* Walter Dandy – Known as one of the founding fathers of neurosurgery
* Gazi Yasargil – Known as the father of modern microneurosurgery
* Ben Carson – Famous African American Neurosurgeon
* Brian Andrews (doctor) – Noted American Neurosurgeon
* Lars Leksell – Swedish Neurosurgeon who developed the Gamma Knife
* Frances K. Conley – Pioneer woman neurosurgeon at Stanford University

Tamil Nadu State Board Plus Two, +2, 12th , HSC Exam Results to be Announced on May 14th 2009

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/State-Board-Plus-Two-results-to-be-declared-on-Thursday/articleshow/4522152.cms

Results of the State Board Plus Two public examinations will be declared on Thursday (May 14), just a day after the State goes to polling in the general elections and when tired teachers return after a hectic poll duty from centres located in different parts.

The directorate of government examinations surprised many on Tuesday by declaring that the results of the Board examinations will be released at 9 am on May 14. "School students can get their marks at the same time from their respective schools," an official release issued by the state government said. The results can be accessed on a host of websites and through phone and e-mail as well.

Earlier, there were intense speculations about the date of the results leading to anxiety among the student community. Initially it was learnt that the directorate of government examinations was under pressure from the school education ministry to declare the results before the elections were held to create positive vibes among voters. However, later officials had indicated that the results will be published only around May 18 by when the results of the general elections would be announced and the teachers who were deputed for poll duty would have returned to their homes.

The decision to sandwich the results of the public examination between the time when the State goes to the polls and the results of the elections are declared has made critics wonder about the need for exhibiting such urgency.

Officials, however, discounted any ulterior intentions behind the decision and said since the results were ready they decided to publish "to end the anxiety of students and parents as the admission season has already begun."

Officials said the students can register for free at the website of the school education department, www.pallikalvi.in, to get their marks via SMS. BSNL subscribers can send a message in the following format: Send HSC to 54373 to get the results on their mobile phones.

Some of the websites on which the results will be available are:

• www.tnresults.nic.in, 
• www.dge1.tn.nic.in, 
• www.dge2.tn.nic.in, 
• www.dge3.tn.nic.in, 
• www.tngde.in, 
• www.collegesintamilnadu.com, 
• www.classontheweb.com, 
• www.schools9.com, 
• www.chennaivision.com, 
• www.mygaruda.com, 
• www.tnagar.com, 
• www.indiacollegefinder.com, 
• www.chennaionline.com, 
• www.nakkeeran.com, 
• www.getyourscore.in, 
• www.examresults.net, 
• www.webdunia.com, 
• www.jayanews.in, and 
• www.findchennai.com.
  

Results in SMS On Your Mobile :

• Tamilnadu 12th std results sms DTHSC ROLLNO to 54545 ( visit
  

Results In Your Mail Inbox :

• Tamilnadu +2,12th Results ( HSC Resullts ) visit http://results.sify.com?vsv=smm
  

Teacher Student Jokes

Here are some sayings from School....smile!

Teacher: 'What is your name?'
Student: 'Mera naam Suraj Prakash hai.'
Teacher: 'When I ask a question in English, answer it in English.'



Student: 'My name is Sunlight.



Teacher: 'What is your name?'.
Student: 'My name is Beautiful Red Underwear'
Teacher: 'What kind of a name is this? Don't joke tell me the right name'
Student: 'My name is Sunderlal Chadda."

Teacher: What happened in 1869?
Student: Gandhiji was born.
Teacher: What happened in 1873?
Student: Gandhiji was four years old.

Teacher: What is the full form of maths?



Student: Mentally affected teachers harassing students

Teacher: Now children, if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped him
then what virtue would I be showing?
Student: BROTHERLY LOVE

Teacher: Because of Gandhiji's hard work what do we get on 15th August?
Student: A holiday


Teacher: 'Can anyone give me an example of Coincidence? '



Johnny: 'Sir, my mother and father got married on the same day same time.'

Teacher: How old is ur father.
Sunny: As old as I am.
Teacher: How is it possible?



Sunny: He became father only after I was born. (1st Rank)


Teacher: There is a frog, Ship is sinking, potatoes cost
Rs3/kg...Then, what is my age?
Student: 32 yrs.
Teacher: How do you know?
Student: Well, my sister is 16 yrs old and she is half mad.

India logs over 2 lakh traditional medical formulations

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_logs_over_2_lakh_traditional_medical_formulations/articleshow/4101577.cms

NEW DELHI: In what is the world's first Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), India has completed documenting over two lakh medical
formulations of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani to save them from piracy.

After eight years of toil, over 200 scientists and researchers from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Union health ministry's department of Ayush have scientifically converted information of traditional Indian medicine from Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Tamil to five international languages - English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish.

The TKDL, 30 million pages of information, has been created to prevent those living abroad from claiming patent for existing formulations. India, till now, has lost over 15,000 patents of medicinal plants to the West.

According to Dr V P Gupta from CSIR who created TKDL, India would lose 2,000 new patents every year without such a digital library.

In the past, patents have been granted by the European Patent Office
(EPO) on the use of over 285 Indian medicinal plants such as papaya, Indian long pepper, kali tulsi, pudina, ginger, aloe, isabgol, aaonla, jira, soybean, tomato, almond, walnut and methi.

This is why India has now also signed a landmark agreement with the EPO. Under the three-year agreement, which came into effect on February 3, TKDL's database would be available to the patent examiners at EPO (34 member states) "for establishing prior art", in case of patent applications based on Indian systems of medicine (ISM).

However, TKDL's information will be restricted only for patent search and examination purposes. EPO will not be able to disclose the information to a third party.

While India will help EPO with search assistance, EPO will, once every three months, inform India about what information was used as citation from the TKDA.

According to CSIR DG Prof Samir Brahmchari, on an average, it takes five to seven years to oppose a granted patent internationally and costs Rs 1-3 crore. "Therefore, the cost of protecting all ISM formulations in the absence of TKDL would be staggering and completely unaffordable," Brahmchari said.

Ayush secretary S Jalaja added, "People will now think twice before even applying for such dubious patents. Till now, we have documented 81,000 Ayurveda, 1.4 lakh Unani and 12,000 Siddha formulations."

TKDL has become a model for other countries wanting to defend their traditional knowledge from misappropriation. South Africa, African Regional Property Organisation, Mongolia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Thailand have asked India to help them replicate TKDL.

Health secretary Naresh Dayal said, "TKDL will ensure Indian traditional medical knowledge remains safe, used by Indian companies for the benefit of Indians."

The decision to create TKDL was taken in 2001 in the aftermath of wrong patents granted by US Patent and Trade Mark Office (USPTO) on wound healing properties of turmeric (1995) and on anti-fungal properties of neem granted by European Patent Office (EPO), even though the plants were being used for centuries under ISM for such benefits.

"If TKDL existed earlier, then international disputes regarding patenting of neem, turmeric and basmati would not have occurred," CSIR's Dr Gupta said.

He added that in a study conducted in 2000, 4,896 patents were granted by US PTO on medicinal plants, 80% on which were on plants of Indian origin. "In a study of 760 such patents, we found 350 patents should have never been granted. Over 200-500 such patents are granted every year, mainly due to the lack of access to documented knowledge in India," Dr Gupta said.

Women who enjoy stimulating childhoods 'have brighter kids'

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/008200902050312.htm


Women who enjoy stimulating childhoods 'have brighter kids'

London (PTI): Women who enjoy more stimulating childhoods are likely to have naturally brighter kids, says a new study.

An international team has carried out the study and found that a mother's life experience during her childhood can have a direct impact on her offspring's memory and ability to learn, the 'Journal of Neuroscience' reported.

Researchers, led by Rush University Medical Center, have based their findings on an analysis of laboratory mice. The team gave a set of infant female mice an enriched environment, including exposure to toys, social interaction and exercise. They stopped the stimulation once adolescence ended and impregnated the mice who subsequently gave birth.

They found that a mother mouse who had a childhood filled with toys, socialising and exercise, gave birth to an offspring with more powerful brains.

To prove that improved memory of the offspring was not the result of better nurturing by mothers who're enriched when they were young, a number of offspring were raised by foster mothers. Even in the offspring raised by non-enriched mothers, they still maintained an improved memory.

"What's so unique about this study is that we provided an enriched environment during pre-adolescence, months before the mice became pregnant, yet the beneficial effect reached into the next generation.

"The offspring had improved memory even without an enriched environment," 'The Daily Telegraph' quoted lead researcher Dean Hartley as saying.

According to the researchers, if a similar phenomenon occurs in humans it could explain why educated middle classes tend to have higher achieving children and lead to ways of helping underachieving sections of society.

"The study suggests that environmental changes can permanently change the DNA of offspring," co-researcher Larry Feig of Tufts University School of Medicine said.