Saturday, 18 September 2010
Marshall Goldsmith and his workshop
You can listen and try to be a bit relaxed to improve yourself in your working environment and your leadership qualities.Despite his outstanding experience he presents with lucidity and down to earth level.
He is a world authority in helping successful leaders even to get better -- in achieving positive change in behavior for their better change.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Do you have an obese child ?........ then read the article.
If you are the parent of a obese child, though a modern day syndrome of overfeeding the kid irrespective of the physical activity of the kid, you need to read this below.
With the epidemic of childhood obesity, it is not uncommon for prescribers to puzzle over an appropriate drug dose for an obese child. Defining the optimum therapeutic dose of a drug relies on an understanding of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. [ don't worry about medical terminologies ]
Both these processes can be affected by body composition and the physiological changes that occur in obese children. As a rule of thumb, 75% of excess weight in obese subjects is fat mass, and the remainder lean mass.
Although it is reasonable to assume that increases in fat mass alter the distribution of lipophilic drugs [ drugs that dissolves with fat of the baby ]and increases in lean mass alter drug clearance, good quality and consistent clinical data supporting these assumptions are lacking for the majority of drugs.
The relatively few clinical studies that have evaluated the impact of obesity have often been limited by poor design and insufficient sample size. Moreover, clinical studies conducted during drug development rarely include (or are required to include) obese subjects. Guidance on dosing obese children ought to be provided by drug manufacturers.
This could be achieved by including obese patients in studies where possible, enabling the effect of body size on pharmacotherapy to be evaluated. This approach could be further augmented by the use of physiologically based-pharmacokinetic models during early (preclinical) development to predict the impact of obesity on drug disposition, and subsequent clinical studies later in development to provide confirmatory proof.
In the meantime, for the majority of drugs already prescribed in children, particularly those where the therapeutic range is narrow or there is significant toxicity, the lack of a validated body size descriptor to use at the bedside means the choice of dose will rely on empirical experience and application of the precautionary principle.
So whenever your kid being prescribed by a Doc, ask his counselling with regard to dosage and don't be shy in admitting that your kid is fatty or obese.
Please try to make your kid play [ I mean play physically not computer oriented ] Haaaaaaaaaaaaa..........
Note: meaning of obesity..........very fat or overweight; corpulent.
With the epidemic of childhood obesity, it is not uncommon for prescribers to puzzle over an appropriate drug dose for an obese child. Defining the optimum therapeutic dose of a drug relies on an understanding of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. [ don't worry about medical terminologies ]
Both these processes can be affected by body composition and the physiological changes that occur in obese children. As a rule of thumb, 75% of excess weight in obese subjects is fat mass, and the remainder lean mass.
Although it is reasonable to assume that increases in fat mass alter the distribution of lipophilic drugs [ drugs that dissolves with fat of the baby ]and increases in lean mass alter drug clearance, good quality and consistent clinical data supporting these assumptions are lacking for the majority of drugs.
The relatively few clinical studies that have evaluated the impact of obesity have often been limited by poor design and insufficient sample size. Moreover, clinical studies conducted during drug development rarely include (or are required to include) obese subjects. Guidance on dosing obese children ought to be provided by drug manufacturers.
This could be achieved by including obese patients in studies where possible, enabling the effect of body size on pharmacotherapy to be evaluated. This approach could be further augmented by the use of physiologically based-pharmacokinetic models during early (preclinical) development to predict the impact of obesity on drug disposition, and subsequent clinical studies later in development to provide confirmatory proof.
In the meantime, for the majority of drugs already prescribed in children, particularly those where the therapeutic range is narrow or there is significant toxicity, the lack of a validated body size descriptor to use at the bedside means the choice of dose will rely on empirical experience and application of the precautionary principle.
So whenever your kid being prescribed by a Doc, ask his counselling with regard to dosage and don't be shy in admitting that your kid is fatty or obese.
Please try to make your kid play [ I mean play physically not computer oriented ] Haaaaaaaaaaaaa..........
Note: meaning of obesity..........very fat or overweight; corpulent.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
How Music training primes nervous system and boosts learning.
Those ubiquitous wires connecting listeners to you-name-the-sounds from invisible MP3 players -- whether of Bach, or any music -- only hint at music's effect on the soul throughout the ages.
Now a data-driven review by Northwestern University researchers that published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience pulls together converging research from the scientific literature linking musical training to learning that spills over to skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion. The science covered comes from labs all over the world, from scientists of varying scientific philosophies, using a wide range of research methods.
scientists use the term neuroplasticity to describe the brain's ability to adapt and change as a result of training and experience over the course of a person's life. The studies covered in the Northwestern review offer a model of neuroplasticity, Kraus said.
The research strongly suggests that the neural connections made during musical training also prime the brain for other aspects of human communication.
Nina Kraus, lead author of the Nature perspective, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory says, A musician's brain selectively enhances information-bearing elements in sound,
"In a beautiful interrelationship between sensory and cognitive processes, the nervous system makes associations between complex sounds and what they mean." The efficient sound-to-meaning connections are important not only for music but for other aspects of communication, she said.
And musicians trained to hear sounds embedded in a rich network of melodies and harmonies are primed to understand speech in a noisy background. They exhibit both enhanced cognitive and sensory abilities that give them a distinct advantage for processing speech in challenging listening environments compared with non-musicians.
Children with learning disorders are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of background noise, according to the article. "Music training seems to strengthen the same neural processes that often are deficient in individuals with developmental dyslexia or who have difficulty hearing speech in noise."
"The effect of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in shaping individual development, " the researchers conclude.
Now a data-driven review by Northwestern University researchers that published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience pulls together converging research from the scientific literature linking musical training to learning that spills over to skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion. The science covered comes from labs all over the world, from scientists of varying scientific philosophies, using a wide range of research methods.
scientists use the term neuroplasticity to describe the brain's ability to adapt and change as a result of training and experience over the course of a person's life. The studies covered in the Northwestern review offer a model of neuroplasticity, Kraus said.
The research strongly suggests that the neural connections made during musical training also prime the brain for other aspects of human communication.
Nina Kraus, lead author of the Nature perspective, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory says, A musician's brain selectively enhances information-bearing elements in sound,
"In a beautiful interrelationship between sensory and cognitive processes, the nervous system makes associations between complex sounds and what they mean." The efficient sound-to-meaning connections are important not only for music but for other aspects of communication, she said.
And musicians trained to hear sounds embedded in a rich network of melodies and harmonies are primed to understand speech in a noisy background. They exhibit both enhanced cognitive and sensory abilities that give them a distinct advantage for processing speech in challenging listening environments compared with non-musicians.
Children with learning disorders are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of background noise, according to the article. "Music training seems to strengthen the same neural processes that often are deficient in individuals with developmental dyslexia or who have difficulty hearing speech in noise."
"The effect of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in shaping individual development, " the researchers conclude.
Friday, 30 July 2010
Do we need to supplement calcium tablets regularly?
Beware of Calcium tabs or capsules! These supplements are popped by millions of women and senior citizens for strong bones, it apparently has a potentially dangerous side effect. The pills could increase chances of suffering a cardiac arrest, claims a new study.
An international panel of researchers -- many of them from New Zealand's Aberdeen and Auckland University -- claim those who take calcium supplements to improve bone density face a 30% higher risk of heart attacks. It could also increase the risk of minor episodes of stroke and mortality - that means angina [ chest pain] and death.
The researchers, who published their study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Friday, came to the conclusion after reviewing 11 random controlled trials of calcium supplements, which involved 12,000 patients. [This is naturally a clear study involving these many patients ]
The findings were consistent across trials, and were independent of age, gender and types of supplement. [very wide ranging study ]
The researchers maintained calcium supplements could rapidly increase calcium levels in blood, leading to arterial disease. [ means narrowing down of lumen [ space inside the blood vessels]
Interestingly, the study has been rubbished by Indian doctors, arguing such episodes of heart attacks could occurr in the West since calcium intake in diet is anyway optimum, thanks to the food habit. Don' we have the rich class who take all kinds of foods and all imported items thinking it is their affluence.
Most Indians, the doctors said, are calcium deficient. The docs mean poor class and BPL families.
Dr Ambrish Mittal, president of Endocrine Society of India, said, "This study applies to the Westerners, who are calcium rich." How this Doctor make such a sweeping statement, thereby misleading the common man , saying they can take Calcium as before?
"Except Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh, the intake of dairy products -- a rich source of calcium -- are abysmally low across the country" he reasoned to bolster his claim. Did he do any study with wide data or simply talking as if an authority?
An international panel of researchers -- many of them from New Zealand's Aberdeen and Auckland University -- claim those who take calcium supplements to improve bone density face a 30% higher risk of heart attacks. It could also increase the risk of minor episodes of stroke and mortality - that means angina [ chest pain] and death.
The researchers, who published their study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Friday, came to the conclusion after reviewing 11 random controlled trials of calcium supplements, which involved 12,000 patients. [This is naturally a clear study involving these many patients ]
The findings were consistent across trials, and were independent of age, gender and types of supplement. [very wide ranging study ]
The researchers maintained calcium supplements could rapidly increase calcium levels in blood, leading to arterial disease. [ means narrowing down of lumen [ space inside the blood vessels]
Interestingly, the study has been rubbished by Indian doctors, arguing such episodes of heart attacks could occurr in the West since calcium intake in diet is anyway optimum, thanks to the food habit. Don' we have the rich class who take all kinds of foods and all imported items thinking it is their affluence.
Most Indians, the doctors said, are calcium deficient. The docs mean poor class and BPL families.
Dr Ambrish Mittal, president of Endocrine Society of India, said, "This study applies to the Westerners, who are calcium rich." How this Doctor make such a sweeping statement, thereby misleading the common man , saying they can take Calcium as before?
"Except Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh, the intake of dairy products -- a rich source of calcium -- are abysmally low across the country" he reasoned to bolster his claim. Did he do any study with wide data or simply talking as if an authority?
"While, a healthy adult may require 900 mg of calcium a day, a staple Indian diet provides just about 400 mg, that also if the individual has two glasses of milk along with paneer, cheese and curd with every meal. Hence, it is premature to say popping a 500-mg of calcium pill a day will cause heart attacks," Dr Mittal explained. Does he not feel responsible at least towards common man?
Dr Sushil Sharma, president of the Arthritis Foundation of India, said the normal level of calcium in human body should be between 8.8 mg/dl-10.8 mg/dl per 100 ml of blood. If it goes above 10.8 mg/dl, it could cause hypocalcaemia and cause heart attacks. But, that only happens when a diet provides optimum calcium requirement and on top of that an individual is taking a 500-mg pill. If anything goes down in the body, that creates problems, right, but how many go to hospitals to test and find out whether they are hypo or hypercalcaemia.
Ian Reid of the University of Auckland -- one of the lead researchers -- disagreed with the Indian doctors' assertions.
He claimed that calcium supplements are not necessarily the ideal way to protect bones since that could reduce chances of fractures by only around 10%.
President of Heart Care Foundation of India and cardiologist Dr K K Agarwal, who is also attached to Moolchand Hospital, said, "Around 1,500 mg of calcium intake a day is recommended for women and senior citizens in India. But, Indians largely suffer from acute deficiency of Vitamin D required for absorption of calcium. That's why the 40+ population needs to take calcium pills daily for good bone health." He is right , Vitamin D is what is required for the absorption of Calcium which we normally ingest through our normal intake of food like milk, cheese,curd etc.,
Anyway this is written to make an awareness to those above 40+.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Friday, 21 May 2010
George Washington's library book returned, 221 years later
It was over two centuries late, but a copy of a library book George Washington borrowed was returned yesterday to a New York library.
The former president borrowed "The Law of Nations" by Emer de Vattel on 5 October 1789, the New York Society Library says.
Staff discovered, it was missing when they conducted an inventory of books in the library's 1789-1792 ledger earlier this year. Washington had never returned the book – an essay on international affairs – to the library, which shared a building with the federal government at the time and was used by members of Congress and the cabinet as well as the president. The former president's overdue fines, it has been calculated, would theoretically amount to $300,000 (£209,000).
After staff at Mount Vernon, Washington's former home in Virginia, learned of the situation, they got in touch with the library – New York's oldest – offering to replace the book with another copy of the same edition. A ceremony yesterday saw Mount Vernon staff present the book to the library.
Two hundred and twenty-one years later, The Law of Nations has finally come home, with – fortunately for Mount Vernon's coffers – no mention made of the fine.
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