5 ways to prevent warm weather food poisoning

As temperatures rise so does the risk of foodborne illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, about 48 million people in the U.S. will contract a foodborne illness this year. Many of these cases will occur this summer when hot and humid conditions create an ideal breeding ground for bacteria that spoil food and make people sick.
Bacteria grow quickly on food, especially protein foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, and eggs, and also high-protein vegetables such as beans and grains. Remember, foods like these are not sterile when you buy them, making it easy to ingest the bacteria on raw products or to cross-contaminate nearby foods that are ready to eat.
Luckily, most of us have a healthy immune system that helps protect us against food poisoning. Still, it pays to put prevention into practice by cooking and handling perishable foods properly.  Here are five tips that will enable you to stay well and enjoy an entire summer of good eating.
Clean and wash hands often
Unwashed hands are a prime cause of foodborne illness. Before handling food always wash hands in warm, soapy water. This is especially true after using the bathroom, handling pets or changing diapers. When eating foods outside the home, bring moist towelettes, anti-bacterial wipes, and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.
Don’t cross-contaminate foods
It’s very easy for bacteria to be passed from one food to another during preparation and serving. Be sure to wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that have touched raw meats, eggs, poultry and dairy products. If you are taking raw foods outdoors always wrap raw meats securely to prevent juices from mixing with ready-to-eat foods.
Cook at proper temperatures
Food is safely cooked when it has been heated long enough and at high enough temperature to destroy the bacteria that cause foodborne illness. It’s always a good idea to use a food thermometer, whether you are cooking indoors or grilling outside. Raw beef, chops and roasts should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F; ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. For poultry, be sure to cook it to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and cook it once completely. Partially cooking poultry and meats may save time later on, but it does not kill bacteria; in fact, the warmth can actually cause bacteria to multiply so much that it is still be present after the food is thoroughly cooked.
Use cold to preserve food
As soon as groceries arrive home immediately place perishable foods such as deli meats, cooked meats, poultry, and prepared salads into the refrigerator. When taking these foods outdoors, especially away from home for picnics, it’s important to pack perishable foods in an insulated cooler surrounded by several inches of ice or frozen ice packs. Play it safe and keep coolers in the shade and inside an air-conditioned car rather than shut in a baking hot trunk.
Don’t let cooked foods sit out too long
If you purchase take-out food plan to eat it within two hours. The same applies for leftovers. And if the outside temperature is above 90 degrees F consider foods left out for more than an hour unsafe to eat.  If you are questioning whether your leftovers are still safe to eat, when in doubt throw it out!
For more useful information about food borne illnesses and how to avoid them visit the Food Safety pages on the US Department of Agriculture website.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/25/5-ways-to-prevent-warm-weather-food-poisoning/#ixzz1vxPPkhRp

Gene discovery could lead to birth control pill for men

When it comes to birth control, numerous options are available to women to help them regulate their menstrual cycle and prevent ovulation.  But what if a birth control pill for men were available?
That prospect may soon become a reality now that researchers at the University of Edinburgh have recently discovered a gene that is essential for the development of sperm.  Their study, published in the journal PLos Genetics, highlights the gene Katnal1, which causes temporary infertility in male mice when blocked.
In order to identify Katnal1 as a key element in sperm production, the researchers treated a group of mice with a chemical called ENU, which triggers mutations in the DNA.  Afterward, they bred the mice to see if any of them became infertile.  After establishing a group of impotent mice, they backtracked through genetic mapping to identify which gene had been disrupted by the ENU – leading them to Katnal1.
“Importantly the random nature of ENU, which causes changes in DNA at random, means we can identify important genes that otherwise we would have had no reason to suspect play a role in male fertility,” said Dr. Lee Smith, a reader in the department of genetic endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh as well as the study’s lead author. “For example, before this study, no one had any idea Katnal1 was even active in the testis, and as such, Katnal1 would probably not have been identified in any other way.”
Lee and his team further identified that Katnal1 was used to regulate a structure known as microtubules – parts of sperms that needed for support and the acquisition of nutrients.  Breaking down these microtubules inhibits sperms’ ability to move throughout the testes during their maturation.
The gene’s discovery not only paves the way for a male contraceptive pill, but could also aid in better understanding cases of male infertility.
“As we move towards personalized medicine, comparing DNA sequences of infertile men against gene data provided from studies such as this will help clinicians identify the causes underlying unexplained male infertility,” Smith said.  “If a genetic fault can be traced to a problem within the supporting cells of the testes rather than the sperm cells then it could be possible to use a gene-therapy approach to replace the faulty copy of the gene and restore fertility.”
However, a potential male contraceptive pill would not utilize gene-therapy, but instead would involve identifying a protein that is used to regulate Katnal1.  According to Lee, if they are able to come up with a way to specifically target the gene’s function in the testes, then they could potentially create a non-hormonal contraceptive.
Also, a male pill would not only need to be effective in stopping sperm production but also be just as effective in having it start back up again.  According to Smith, blocking Katnal1 would render a man sterile for the rest of his life.
“The important thing is that the effects of such a drug would be reversible,” Smith said in a press release,” because Katnal1 only affects sperm cells in the later stages of development, so it would not hinder the early stages of sperm production and the overall ability to produce sperm.”
Currently, there are not many options in the way of male pharmaceutical contraception.  Recent options have included testosterone injections or testosterone plus progestin injections, which are used to trick the brain into thinking the testes have produced enough testosterone, so sperm production shuts down.
However, these options rely on hormones, while the potential drug to come from Lee and his team’s research would be hormone-free and could bypass the side-effects that come with increased testosterone levels – such as mood swings and acne.
Lee said that his team has much more research to do before this drug becomes available, but he said we could see its development within the next decade.
“We are at the beginning, but have taken a great step forward in identifying a new pathway that controls male fertility.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/25/gene-discovery-could-lead-to-birth-control-pill-for-men/#ixzz1vxOTMfag

To treat or not to treat: Antibiotics not always best for sinus infection

Every year, more than 37 million Americans suffer from at least one episode of sinusitis. Typically, the symptoms include nasal congestion, runny nose and pressure or pain felt behind the eyes or teeth. These symptoms are caused by inflammation and infection of the sinuses.
The sinuses are air-filled spaces located behind the forehead, nose, cheeks and eyes. Normally, mucus drains from the sinus, while air is able to circulate within them. When the sinus opening becomes blocked, bacteria and germs can easily become overgrown, resulting in infection and discomfort.
Conditions that can put you at risk for developing a sinus infection include diseases which increase mucus production or a physical block of the sinus, such as a polyp. Allergies, which affect more than 67 million Americans each year, can also increase your risk. While we are no longer experiencing unseasonably warm weather, March’s early heat wave resulted in higher than normal pollen counts and is having lingering effects for those who suffer from seasonal allergies.
While one’s initial instinct might be to request antibiotics, growing research is showing that this is rarely the best course of action. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association evaluated the efficacy of antibiotic treatment for sinus infection and found no difference in symptoms in those treated with antibiotics as compared to those who were given a placebo. This is because the vast majority of sinus infections are caused by viruses. In fact, only 2 percent of episodes are due to bacteria, which are the target of antibiotic medications. Antibiotics, unfortunately, are useless against viral sinus infections.
Viral infections are typically self-limited and the mainstay of therapy is symptom relief. Staying hydrated is key, because it helps thin the mucus and promotes drainage. Drinking warm non-caffeinated beverages helps keep you hydrated and can soothe a sore throat, while the steam helps loosen mucus. Over-the-counter medications, like ibuprofen or naproxen will help reduce pain and inflammation, while decongestants can help ease congestion.
The presence of green mucus is only a sign of infection -- not the cause. The white blood cells of your immune system contain greenish-colored components, which in a large number, can color the mucus with a greenish hue. These cells are present regardless of whether your infection is bacterial or viral.
Taking antibiotics “just in case” is not harmless and can result in an upset stomach, rash, or even a life-threatening allergic reactions. On a population level, the volume of antibiotics prescribed is a major factor in the increasing rates of bacterial resistance. In the U.S., over 70 percent of hospital-acquired infections involve bacteria resistant to at least one antibiotic. This trend is making it more difficult to treat infections that were once simple to cure.
When you suspect a sinus infection, the best course of action is to consult your doctor, so that he or she can determine whether or not antibiotics are appropriate. If your symptoms persist for longer than 10 days or get worse, you may require antibiotics. If you experience a change in vision, a sustained fever higher than 101°F, or confusion, it is important to seek medical care immediately, as these could be signs of a more concerning condition.
Dr. David B. Samadi is the Vice Chairman of the Department of Urology and Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He is a board-certified urologist, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of urological disease, with a focus on robotic prostate cancer treatments. To learn more please visit his websites RoboticOncology.com and SMART-surgery.com. Find Dr. Samadi on Facebook.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/08/to-treat-or-not-to-treat-antibiotics-not-always-best-for-sinus-infection/#ixzz1vrWQTlRZ

Whooping cough epidemic declared in Wash. state

Washington state's worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge residents to get vaccinated amid worry that cases of the highly contagious disease could spike much higher.
It's the first state to declare a whooping cough, or pertussis, epidemic since 2010, when California had more than 9,000 cases, including 10 deaths. Washington has had 10 times the cases reported in 2011, and so has Wisconsin with nearly 2,000 cases this year, though that state has not declared an epidemic.
California responded to its crisis two years ago with a public information campaign, readily available vaccines and a new law requiring a booster shot for middle- and high-school students. Doctors were urged to spot whooping cough early, send infected babies to the hospital and promptly treat those diagnosed. In 2011, the number of cases there dropped significantly.
In Washington, about 1,280 cases have been reported in 2012, and officials believe the state could see as many as 3,000 cases by year's end. Health Secretary Mary Selecky declared the epidemic April 3, and since then officials have bought up the vaccine and made it available for free for people who don't have insurance.
State officials have asked hospitals to vaccinate every adult who goes home with a new baby, and urged businesses to encourage their employees to get the adult booster shot. Washington already requires a booster shot for middle- and high-school students.
Last week, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced the state is putting $90,000 into a public awareness campaign and diverting some federal money to pay for 27,000 doses of vaccine. The state has also asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send a special team of investigators and an epidemiologist to the Washington.
State epidemic declarations are up to the states; there are no federal regulations for such decisions. Selecky said this is the first time in her 13 years on the job she has declared a state epidemic, but felt she needed to take action to stop the disease from spreading further.
"When we've looked historically, we've seen nothing like this," she said. "We're taking this very seriously."
Adults and teens need booster shots so they don't give pertussis to the babies in their lives, said CDC spokeswoman Alison Patti
"We want to create a cocoon of protection around them," she said. "We're really worried about keeping babies safe."
Pertussis is known as whooping cough because of the "whooping" sound people often make while gasping for air after a coughing fit. A highly contagious bacterial disease, it starts off like a cold but leads to severe coughing that can last for weeks. In rare cases, it can be fatal.
Until routine child vaccination became widespread in the 1940s, pertussis caused thousands of fatalities each year in the United States. While deaths are uncommon today, they still occur: In recent weeks, infants in New Mexico and Idaho have died from the disease.
Because the adult booster for pertussis — called Tdap for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis — has only been available since 2005, fewer than one in 10 adults have gotten the shot and most don't even know they need it. The numbers are better for teens: about 70 percent have received a booster shot. Most people do not find out they even need a booster until they go to the doctor for a tetanus shot, Patti said.
Patti emphasized that pertussis isn't spreading because of an anti-vaccine movement. Among possible reasons for the recent spike are that diagnoses in teens and adults are getting better and doctors are doing a better job with reporting, she added
Health officials say the disease tends to return in three-to-five-year cycles.
"The incidents tend to oscillate," said Herbert Hethcote, a professor emeritus from the University of Iowa who is a specialist in mathematical modeling of the spread of infectious diseases,
He said the growth of pertussis in Washington state has followed a pattern: As the population ages, the immunity level goes down because the vaccine is wearing off. The disease spreads and the cases grow until more people get the vaccine and the numbers go down again.
Hethcote said his daughter had whooping cough as an adult during the last spike of cases in Washington, four or five years ago. She coughed so hard she broke a rib and was sick for more than a month, he recalls. She never found out how she caught it but the experience raised awareness in his family that pertussis is not just a children's disease.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/10/whooping-cough-epidemic-declared-in-wash-state/#ixzz1vrVoNRvr

Blood test may help identify kids' smoke exposure, study finds

More than half of the children who took part in a study on exposure to cigarette smoke tested positive for such exposure, despite only a handful of their parents admitting to lighting up, according to a U.S. study.
Parents may think their children are exposed only if they're around someone actively smoking a cigarette, or are unaware of where else their children may be breathing in smoke - but a blood test may help identify and reduce smoke exposure, said researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.
Secondhand smoke exposure in children has been tied to sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory problems, ear infections and asthma.
"What the test does is allow the doctor, in consultation with the parent, to figure out the source of exposure and then to eliminate it," said Jonathan Winickoff, an associate professor of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston.
Winickoff, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, told Reuters Health the test can also identify if a child is being exposed to smoke without the parent realizing it, such as by living in an apartment building where smoking is allowed.
The researchers tested 496 blood samples left over from children, most aged one to four, to determine how many of them were exposed to secondhand smoke. The blood samples were initially taken at San Francisco General Hospital to test for lead exposure between November 2009 and March 2010.
The researchers tested the blood for cotinine, a chemical produced by the body after it is exposed to nicotine.
Overall, 55 percent of the blood samples had a measurable amount of cotinine, which meant those children had been exposed to smoke within the previous three to four days.
Only 13 percent of parents, however, admitted that their child had been exposed to secondhand smoke.
"I think parents do not understand the various sources of potential exposure," said Neal Benowitz, one of the study's co-authors.
The researchers reported that some parents may also believe a child has to be around someone who is smoking to be exposed - but that is not the case.
For example, children still get the effects of secondhand smoke if they spend time in a room where someone recently smoked.
Benowitz and his colleagues said testing children for cotinine could ultimately prevent diseases brought on by secondhand smoke exposure by helping detect the source.
"Once you know there is exposure then you can talk to the parent," he added.
Testing for cotinine is currently not readily available to the general public, but Winickoff said the best approach would be to integrate cotinine testing with routine testing for lead.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/11/blood-test-may-help-identify-kids-smoke-exposure-study-finds/#ixzz1vrVQ3Ga0

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US lowers cutoff for lead poisoning in young kids

For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.
The new standard announced Wednesday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead. Too much lead is harmful to developing brains and can mean a lower IQ.
"Unfortunately, many, many more parents will be getting bad news," said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a Maryland-based nonprofit focused on hazards to kids in homes.
The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research persuaded experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.
Really, "there is no safe level of blood lead in children," said Christopher Portier, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He heads the agency's environmental health programs.
The CDC announced the change Wednesday, adopting recommendations made in January by an advisory panel of experts. At the same time, CDC officials acknowledged they don't have additional funds to help doctors or local health departments do more testing of children or find and clean up lead contamination.
Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.
Under the old standard, lead poisoning in children had been declining in the U.S. Experts estimated that somewhere between 77,000 and 255,000 children had high levels of lead, though many of them are undiagnosed. The change could raise the count to 450,000 cases.
Lead - a metal that for years was common in paint and gasoline - can harm a child's brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels in the blood can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.
Usually, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put it in their mouth. Lead has been banned in paint since 1978. Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, and from dust tracked in from industrial worksites.
Most cases of lead poisoning are handled by tracking and removing the lead source, and monitoring the children to make sure lead levels stay down. A special treatment to remove lead and other heavy metals is used for very high levels.
Specialists describe children as having lead poisoning only at those very high levels, but others use the term more broadly to describe any child with levels that can impact intelligence or cause other harm.
The CDC's threshold was last changed in 1991. The new standard was calculated from the highest lead levels seen in a comprehensive annual U.S. health survey. The CDC plans to reassess that level every four years.
Health officials have been focused on young children, who are most affected by lead poisoning. There is not a threshold for older children or adults, although pregnant women should have blood lead levels below 5 micrograms to protect the developing fetus. Most cases in adults come from manufacturing jobs or hobbies, but those numbers have also been declining.
Some health officials consider the CDC's action overdue. Cleveland and other cities in northeastern Ohio adopted a standard of 5 micrograms five years ago.
The CDC was following recommendations made to the agency in January by an advisory panel of experts. But Portier said the agency wasn't able to do everything the panel suggested.
For example, the panel said the CDC should do more to make sure no children are exposed to lead hazards. It also said all doctors should report high levels to local health departments, re-test the children to see if they improve, and help teach parents how to find and eliminate lead sources. The CDC agreed that should happen, but doesn't have the money or staff to bolster such an effort. Congress cut the CDC lead program's budget from about $29 million last year to $2 million.
In many places, it's up to city and county health departments to provide many of the services for lead poisoned kids, and those departments have lost more than 34,000 jobs in the last three years because of budget cuts.
The timing is unfortunate, Morley said. "But we wouldn't want to keep information from parents just because there's not money to provide the service," she added.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/16/us-lowers-cutoff-for-lead-poisoning-in-young-kids/#ixzz1vrT7SSay

Beware the potential risks of bee pollen supplements

When it comes to supplements, natural doesn’t always mean safe.  Experts are warning that taking natural bee pollen supplements may come with the risk of suffering a serious allergic reaction, including life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
Bee pollen is used to enhance energy, vitality, memory and performance, and sometimes even to reduce allergies, though there’s little evidence to support any of these uses. It’s considered a super food because it contains proteins and is rich in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It comes from the pollen that collects on the bodies of bees.
The pollen is not just from flowers but also from grass, dandelions and other plants that are responsible for springtime allergies. When taken at the suggested dose, the bee pollen extracts could contain a large amount of airborne pollen. It also contains saliva from bees.
A new report, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, describes the case of a 30-year-old woman who started to take bee pollen and a few other supplements. On day two of her new supplement regimen, she had to be rushed to the emergency room because her eyelids, lips and throat began to swell, and she had difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath and felt faint. Doctors discovered she had suffered from seasonal allergies in the past. The bee pollen apparently put her over the edge.
Though there are not a lot of reports in the science literature on how common or rare reactions are to bee pollen, one Italian study found that, between 2002 and 2007, the Italian national surveillance system for natural health products received 18 reports of adverse reactions associated with propolis, a bee pollen product.
Less scientific, though also troubling, anecdotes of severe reactions abound on the web, even on websites hawking bee pollen.  Though one website says that serious reactions are rare, at the same time, they advise anyone taking bee pollen to do a “tolerance test” by starting with one raw bee pollen kernel and putting it under your tongue and slowly increasing your dose each day. The website warns users not to jump straight to a tablespoon of pollen during the first week or so of using the pollen.
Patients with allergies to pollen or bee stings may be at particular risk. Studies that have done skin prick tests on patients found a strong association between being allergic to bee pollen and having allergies to various grasses and other airborne allergens.  But there have also been cases reported in people with no history of allergies.
Another problem is that aside from causing a serious reaction, using these supplements may set off an allergy to pollen and bee stings that a person may have never previously experienced, making him or her susceptible of anaphylaxis in the future. That may not be a risk people want to take.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/22/beware-potential-risks-bee-pollen-supplements/#ixzz1vrSY2k3v

Haiti health workers to give cholera vaccine

The chief advocates for a cholera vaccination program in Haiti will begin distributing the vaccine this weekend after a government ethics committee gave approval following months of delay, a project organizer said Friday.
Jonathan Lascher, Haiti program manager for the Boston-based Partners in Health, said more than 200 trained health workers will start administering the oral vaccine on Sunday to almost 50,000 people outside the western port city of Saint Marc.
A Health Ministry ethics committee initially blocked the campaign because it mistook it for a research project rather than a pilot program that could be expanded throughout the Caribbean nation, Lascher said. The vaccination campaign had been planned to begin in January.
"We're all set to go and there are no more bureaucratic hoops to jump through," Lascher said by telephone. The ethics committee "understands that it's not a research project."
Haitian health officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
PIH and partner Gheskio Center, a Haitian nonprofit supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, plan to vaccinate almost 100,000 Haitians in the Saint Marc area and in a downtrodden neighborhood of the capital as the country's rainy season begins and threatens to spread the waterborne disease.
Gheskio reportedly began administering the first of two required doses of the vaccine this week in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Gheskio director Jean William Pape didn't respond to email messages seeking comment Friday.
The proposal for a vaccine campaign in Haiti surfaced soon after cholera emerged in October 2010, when U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal apparently introduced the disease inadvertently, according to several scientific studies. Since then, cholera has killed more than 7,000 people and sickened 530,000 more, health officials say, giving Haiti the highest cholera infection rate in the world.
It seemed obvious that Haiti would benefit from such a vaccine but there were obstacles from the beginning.
Some public health experts questioned the program because it would inoculate only 100,000 people, or 1 percent of Haiti's population, and could deplete the world's stock of available cholera vaccine, potentially putting people at risk in other vulnerable places. At the time, there was only one cholera vaccine on the global market. A second, Shanchol, wasn't approved by the World Health Organization until September.
The approval was needed so U.N. agencies like UNICEF could procure the vaccine.
There were other concerns about the vaccine. The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders argued that the money for the vaccine, whose immunity wears off within three years, would be better spent on improving Haiti's inadequate sanitation, a source for spreading cholera. PIH's co-founder, Dr. Paul Farmer, countered that the vaccine could be distributed without compromising efforts to develop Haiti's water and sewer system.
The project is expected to cost $1.3 million. The American Red Cross is contributing $1 million of that, said Tamara Braunstein, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/13/haiti-health-workers-to-give-cholera-vaccine/#ixzz1vrRPyJIi

How to stay happy at work (and home)

The happiness we experience from positive events in our lives—a new job, a new partner or buying a new house—tends to diminish over time, making the search for new sources of happiness never ending.
The process is known in psychiatry lingo as "hedonic adaptation"—we gradually adjust to positive changes, so much so that we don’t feel their positive effects on us for long.
Hedonic adaptation is what leads many people to get bored or unhappy with their jobs, their partners, their cars and other things in their lives that once brought them pleasure. It also leads people to seek out new sources of happiness, perhaps never fully appreciating the ones they had.
But new research, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, points to ways to hold onto your newfound happiness for longer.
In the study, researchers from the University of Missouri and the University of California at Riverside surveyed nearly 500 people about their happiness. Six weeks later participants described a recent positive change in their lives that had brought them happiness. Six weeks after that, the researchers evaluated whether that positive change still made them happy.  For most people, it didn’t, though for a few it did. The psychologists then applied (and confirmed) their happiness model for predicting whose happiness boost had lasted.
Here are the main points of their happiness model:
Recognize your quest for more and better.  In the study, for example, “The majority got used to the change that had made them happy in the first place,” said Kennon Sheldon, professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri. “They stopped being happy because they kept wanting more and raising their standards,” he added.
Appreciate what you have. Some people were able to appreciate what they had rather than looking at what they didn’t have—sort of looking at the glass half full rather than half empty. These were the ones who were happier in the long term.
Create new experiences. An important piece of appreciating what you have is finding new, positive ways of experiencing it.  Most people in the study stopped having fresh positive experiences with their new partner or their new job, for example. That lowered their level of enjoyment they derived from it. Those who stayed happy tended to look for new experiences within the change.  At work, that could mean looking for new projects or simply going to lunch with different people.  With a partner, it could mean doing or learning something new together.
Don’t find happiness in purchases. Though you can get a boost of happiness from a new purchase, it’s usually very short lived, largely because most purchases don’t keep on providing varied positive experiences.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/24/how-to-stay-happy-at-work-and-home/#ixzz1vrPwrafO

Childhood cancer effects may linger in adults

Survivors of childhood cancers have an increased risk of disfigurement and persistent hair loss later in life, and for some that may lead to long-term emotional distress, suggests a new study.
Compared to their siblings, survivors were more likely to have scarring and disfigurement on their head, arms and legs later in life. And adults with those traits had more depression and a lower quality of life, on average.
"I think it showed us these aren't necessarily life threatening late effects of cancer... but certainly we need to be more aware of the outcomes these patients are dealing with," said Karen Kinahan, coordinator of the STAR Survivorship Program at the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago.
Kinahan and her colleagues used information on 14,358 childhood cancer survivors and 4,023 of their siblings already participating in an existing study.
Survivors -- including those with a history of leukemia, lymphoma and kidney cancers -- had been diagnosed before they were 21 years old and started treatment between 1970 and 1987. Each person answered a questionnaire when they entered the study and another in 2003.
Overall, one-quarter of cancer survivors had a scar or disfigurement on their head or neck, compared to one in 12 of their siblings.
Cancer survivors were also more likely to have scars or disfigurements on their arms, legs, chests and stomachs.
Scars and disfigurements can be caused by surgery or radiation. And in people who are still growing, areas that are radiated tend not to grow as well, according to Dr. Karen Wasilewski-Masker, a pediatric oncologist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She said that may lead to cancer survivors looking out of proportion as they get older.
People with scars or disfigurements on their head, neck, arms or legs had a 20 percent higher risk of depression than those without scars, the researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology this week.
Hair loss was more common in cancer survivors compared to their siblings as well -- about 14 percent of survivors and six percent of cancer-free siblings reported going bald. And balding was also linked to depression, especially in women.
"I found the results to be more encouraging than discouraging," said Wasilewski-Masker, who is part of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's program for childhood cancer survivors.
She told Reuters Health the difference in survivors' emotional troubles relative to the non-survivors was not "astronomical."
Still, the researchers found several aspects of cancer survivors' quality of life were worse and linked to scarring, disfigurements and hair loss. Those included general health, physical ability, pain, mental health and social functioning.
"We need to be aware of the possibility of some psychosocial problems in patients that have some type of disfigurement... but we also need to not assume that just because a person may look different because of a cancer treatment that it's impacting them in a negative way," said Wasilewski-Masker.
Most get back to work
In another new study, published in the same journal, researchers found that close to three-quarters of 388 people between 15 and 39 years old were back at work or school full-time within 15 to 35 months of being diagnosed with cancer.
More than half, however, reported problems when they went back, including forgetting things and having trouble keeping up with the work.
Helen Parsons, the study's lead author from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, told Reuters Health it's still too early to make any conclusions about possible interventions to prevent unemployment.
"Really this study is a starting point to understand the groups in this population who are least likely to return to work. It really sets the stage for future studies," she said.
Wasilewski-Masker also told Reuters Health that there are differences between cancer patients when making the determination of whether to stop working or going to school.
For example, high school and college students are usually still financially supported by their parents, and patients' abilities may differ based on the intensity of their treatment.
She said doctors want their patients to survive, but they also want them to live healthy, happy lives.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/24/childhood-cancer-effects-may-linger-in-adults/#ixzz1vrOfzuX7

Calcium supplements and heart attack : Implications for a nutrient hungry nation

A recent study out of the University of Zurich Wednesday reported the controversial findings that taking calcium supplements is linked with double the risk of heart attack.
After studying over 24,000 men and women, researchers found that those who took calcium supplements were 86 percent more likely to have a heart attack than people who did not – and the risk was more than doubled for those who were only taking calcium supplements.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of dietary supplements is a familiar trend, with over half of the population reported taking them from 2003 to 2006.  Calcium supplements in particular have increased in popularity, jumping from 28 percent of use from 1988 to 1994, to 61 percent from 2003 to 2006 in women over 60.
With no prescriptions required and touted for their nutritional benefits to the body, vitamins have been easily accepted as both harmless and helpful add-ons to daily diet routines.  However, with findings such as the ones from the University of Zurich and from other similar studies, experts caution people not to be too cavalier with taking supplements.
“Supplements should be treated like any other medication,” Dr. Phil Ragno, the director of cardiovascular health and wellness at Winthrop Hospital in Long Island, N.Y., told FoxNews.com.  “It’s important for patients to sit down with their doctors to discuss what they’re taking and does it have an effect on their body as you can see.”
The results from Zurich are not the first of their kind, according to Ragno.  For him, it makes perfect sense for there to be cause for concern when it comes to taking extra calcium.
“Calcium is a very important ion that has many effects on the heart and vascular system,” Ragno said. “It helps the electrical conduction of the heart; it helps the contractility of the heart, and there’s always the possibility it can contribute to calcification of the blood vessels – one of the precursors to the clogging of an artery.  As our arteries build with plaque, calcium deposits in that plaque, so the calcium itself may have some effect on the clotting mechanism.”
While the possible effect that calcium supplements may have on hearth health may seem staggering, it shouldn’t be a cause for panic among those who are currently taking them.
“Certainly this is a controversial study; however, similar risk associations have been found before with the routine use of calcium supplements,” said Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing editor of Fox News Health.  “The issue at hand is how to interpret the data.  The study could not show cause and effect, and we also do not know what metabolic risk factors the population that was studied had – factors such as existing calcium deposits in the coronary arteries as well as levels of inflammatory mediators like c-reactive proteins.
“Nonetheless, I think that patients should be cautioned about the routine use of calcium pills, especially in older folks,” Alvarez added.   “To me, the important thing is that if you are eating a balanced diet, there is no need to take any supplements.”
Ragno agreed that a healthy diet negates the need for such supplements.  However, he acknowledged people with calcium deficiencies or bone disorders should continue taking their supplements, under the supervision of a clinician.  In the meantime, those who are looking for a calcium boost can turn to plenty of different foods.
“Getting calcium from dietary sources has not been linked to increased cardiovascular risk,” Ragno said.  “Dairy products are good of course.  Eating fish – sardines, salmon – is good for calcium. For the true vegan, it’s difficult.  Vegetables such as spinach can give quite a bit of calcium.”
But according to Ragno, the chances that you are calcium deficient are most likely low.
“In reality, very few Americans have vitamin deficiencies,” he said.  “It shouldn’t just be shotgun blast of supplementation – where you take a fistful of supplements at leisure.  However, if you need them, you should take them.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/24/calcium-supplements-and-heart-attack-implications-for-nutrient-hungry-nation/#ixzz1vrMDFOIs

Quick tips to turn your unhealthy home into a healthy one

Your home is a place to show off your sense of style – but it can also have a profound effect on your health and happiness.
Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, a designer and founder of ApartmentTherapy.com, shared some tips on how to rid your place of common ‘unhealthy’ elements.
“Your home is an extension of your body,” Gillingham-Ryan explained.  “In fact, it’s the only space you really control because the street, your office – none of that is really your own.”
According to Gillingham-Ryan, clutter is a common problem that can stress you out and overstimulate your eyes.
“What’s going on in the room is what you take inside,” Gillingham-Ryan said.  “So if it’s cluttered and disorganized in the room, you’re going to feel cluttered and inside yourself.”
If furniture is getting in your way, or impossible to clean, you may need to re-think the arrangement of the room, he said.
Lack of color can also bring down your mood.  If a room is full of neutrals, Gillingham-Ryan recommended adding a pop of color.  Only 20 percent more color in a room can make a huge difference.
“Some people love color and they want to put it everywhere,” Gillingham-Ryan said.  “For them, I urge to pull back a little bit.  A little bit goes a long way.”
Overall, it only takes a few minutes to turn an unhealthy space into a healthy space.  Spend a few minutes cleaning each day, and designate areas like shelves or bins to store your belongings.  As a final note, Gillingham-Ryan suggested putting an air-purifier in your bedroom to improve breathing conditions.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/24/quick-tips-to-turn-your-unhealthy-home-into-healthy-one/#ixzz1vrLeXh24

Enjoy the IPL season on your mobile for free at select ‘Buzz’ locations near you

TELiBrahma (TIB), the mobile advertising solutions company, has partnered with Times Internet Limited (TIL) a Times Group company and a leader in the Mobile-Internet convergence space to deliver near-LIVE IPL video clips on consumers’ mobiles.

The near live video clips from the matches are available on Buzz which is a consumer engagement platform developed by TIB and deployed at TIB’s partner locations including Cafe Coffee Day, Crosswords, Nirulas, Spencers, Barista, transit lounges, leading malls and various Railway stations.
Now you can seamlessly enjoy the new season of IPL at any of the Buzz locations. Cricket lovers visiting Buzz locations just have to turn on their Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on their mobile devices to experience the IPL excitement free of charge. The best part about this service is that people will be able to enjoy near live streaming of ipl matches with a delay of just 5 minutes. Buzz also has an app which you can use to stream the IPL videos when you are in of the Buzz locations.

Now call at just Re.1 while travelling to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh on Airtel

Airtel has made international roaming more affordable if you are planning to travel to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. The telecom operator now operates in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and has now introduced new rates for its mobile customers in India traveling to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Airtel mobile customers can enjoy home call rates at Re. 1 on roaming while making local calls when they are visiting Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Rs.10 when they call back to India.

BlackBerry Bold 9700 with Ferrari badges spotted in the open

BlackBerry had come up with a Porsche themed smartphone namely the Porsche Design P’9981 costing a little more than your usual smartphones. Now a new car company themed BlackBerry device has been spotted.

This time it is Ferrari who changes the colours on the BlackBerry Bold 9700.
The device does seem legit and the source says that it will be a limited edition, so you can expect a limited number of units available in the market. Also there isn’t anything special about the handset except the Ferrari colours, a few badges and a carbon fibre like finish around the handset. There isn’t any info available about the smartphone regarding price or availability.

So is this BlackBerry’s new strategy to survive in the market? Because launching limited edition handsets won’t be enough to survive in the smartphone world.

New iPad launching in India on April 27, starts from Rs 30,500

Apple has just announced the new iPad will be launching in India on April 27.
The official new iPad pricing:
Wi-Fi: 16GB Rs 30,500, 32GB Rs 36,500, 64GB Rs 42,500.
Wi-Fi+3G: 16GB Rs 38,900, 32GB Rs 44,900, 64GB Rs 50,900

Read on for official press release.
CUPERTINO, California?April 16, 2012?Apple® today announced the new iPad®, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive in South Korea and 11 additional countries on Friday, April 20. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina™ display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight® camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. The new iPad still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life* while remaining amazingly thin and light.
In addition to South Korea, the new iPad also will be available beginning on Friday, April 20 in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Beginning on Friday, April 27, the new iPad will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.
The new iPad Wi-Fi and iPad Wi-Fi + 4G** will be available in black or white in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.
Additionally, iPad 2 is available at a more affordable price.
Pricing & AvailabilityThe new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white on Friday, April 27 for a suggested retail price of INR 30,500 inc. VAT (INR 29,048 exVAT) for the 16GB model,INR 36,500 inc. VAT (INR 34,762 ex VAT ) for the 32GB model and INR 42,500 inc. VAT( INR 40,476 ex VAT) for the 64GB model. The iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models will be available for a suggested retail price of INR 38,900 inc. VAT (INR 37,048 exVAT) for the 16GB model, INR 44,900 inc. VAT (INR 42,762 ex VAT) for the 32GB model and INR 50,900 inc. VAT (INR 48,476 ex VAT) for the 64GB model.** The new iPad will be sold through select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, iPad 2 is available at a more affordable price starting at just INR 24,500 inc. VAT (INR 23,333 ex VAT) for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and just INR 32,900 inc. VAT (INR 31,333 ex VAT) for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model

Rifts between DataWind and Aakash assembler Quad Electronics emerge

Recently reports emerged that DataWind and Quad Electronics were in the middle of a blame game in relation to payments. Quad Electronics claimed they did receive payment from Datawind for assembly of the Aakash tablet and Datawind claimed that Quad Electronics had infringed on their intellectual property rights and had allegedly also signed a separate memorandum of understanding with IIT-Rajasthan. In the continuation of this blame game saga Tech2 reports that, DataWind CEO Sunnet Singh Tuli has called the report an inaccurate and negative sensationalist attempt. He goes on to say the company is working on the Aakash-2 and will be supplying 100,000 Aakash-2 tablets through IIT-Bombay.
In a statement Tuli says that the Aakash was designed and developed by DataWind and Quad Electronics was only sub-contracted to manufacture the product, but Quad Electronics infringed upon DataWind’s intellectual property rights and signed a direct MoU with IIT Rajasthan and then sold the product off their inventory in the open market. Intensifying his ire against the accusation from Quad Electronics on non-payment of dues, he claims no further payment is due. Datawind has since partnered with another assembler, though the name of the new partner has not been revealed.

Apple’s new iPad not compatible with India’s 4G network

As reported earlier, the new iPad will be available in India from April 27, a month after it started selling the latest version of its popular tablet computer in 10 countries including the United States.
The third iteration of the best-selling device is priced between 30,500 rupees and 50,900 rupees in the Indian market depending on the variant.
The new iPad will be available in a choice of black or white, with the Wi-Fi models retailing for Rs. 30500 (16GB), Rs. 36500 (32GB), and Rs. 42500 (64GB), while the Wi-Fi+4G model will be sold for Rs. 38900 (16GB), Rs. 44900 (32GB), and Rs. 50900 (64GB).
The new iPad is, however, not compatible with the 4G LTE network currently available in India and customers will have to make do with the 3G networks.
Bharti Airtel launched India’s first 4G network in Kolkata this month and is expanding the high-speed network to Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh in the coming months.
But the Indian networks are powered by a different radio spectrum band than the ones used by the 4G iPad, which is supported only on the networks of a handful of U.S. and Canadian carriers.
While the iPad is the clear market leader globally, and the new version with its faster chips, fourth-generation wireless and a sharper display is only expected to cement Apple’s lead, the company has hit some bumps in the road.
In March, the consumer watchdog in Australia took legal action to ensure the company makes consumers aware the new iPad cannot connect to 4G networks in Australia, prompting Apple to offer refunds to all affected buyers in Australia.
There were also complaints in Britain about misleading claims about access to 4G, which is not available in the country.
Customers have the option to buy the new iPad in black or white with 16, 32, or 64 GB of memory, and can choose a model that works only on Wi-Fi or on both Wi-Fi and 4G.
As reported earlier, Apple continues to sell the iPad 2 in India at reduced prices, with the 16 GB Wi-Fi model now available for 24,500 while the 3G version will cost 32,900 rupees.

BSNL launches internet data centers in six locations across India

State-run telecoms company BSNL launched internet data centers in six locations across India in a tie-up with Dimension Data, in an effort to drive up its revenues.
BSNL will offer managed co-location, managed hosting and cloud services through these centers and the revenues will be split between the telco and Dimension Data that has built these centers and will operate and manage them in the future.

The centers are located in Mumbai, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Ghaziabad. Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Punjab Treasuries had already begun using these centers on a pilot basis, Dimension Data India CEO Kiran Bhagwanani told ET Monday.
The data centre market is estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 22% and may touch Rs 6,500 crore by 2016.
The duo is targeting to get around 25 clients and Rs 100 crore in revenue in the first year. “We expect to sign more contracts from state and central government departments as well as several private enterprises shortly,” BSNL chairman and managing director RK Upadhyay said at the launch.
Bhagwanani said that he was banking on the government organisations, distance education providers, private entreprises being serviced by BSNL and defence services that may be tempted to purchase the telco’s cloud and hosting services since data would be housed in state-owned premises, ensuring security.
The public-private initiative will leverage the strength of BSNL in telecom infrastructure and vacant buildings and that of Dimension Data in providing data center and cloud computing, communications minister Kapil Sibal said.
Sibal went on to add that he had asked the loss-making PSU to submit plans related to tower sharing, usage of land and unused infrastructure which will aid the telco in moving towards profitability.
BSNL’s losses tripled to Rs 5,997 crore during 2010-11 and the telco suffered a massive loss of Rs 1 ,823 crore in the previous fiscal. ET had recently reported that the company might lose its ‘mini-navratna’ status due to its poor financial health.
BSNL had reported the highest net profit of over Rs 10,000 crore in 2005-06 but since then its profits have been falling and reported first net loss in 2009-10.
BSNL has over 50,000 towers and one of the largest land banks and network assets in the country. “In my term, I want to see BSNL becoming a Navratna,” Sibal added.