THE SHILLONG TIMES, SHILLONG, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
‘‘It seems that bad advice that's fun will
always be better known than than good
advice that's dull-no matter how useless
that fun advice is.’’
--- Scott Berkun
The Shillong Times
Vol No: LIX No. 236
SHILLONG, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Dalai Lama in Arunachal
CHINA has taken great umbrage at the Dalai Lama’s
ongoing visit to the north east including Tawang in
Arunachal Pradesh to which Beijing lays claim. India
on its part reaffirms that the Dalai Lama is free to
visit any part of India including Arunachal. It is not
the first time that the Dalai is visiting the Tawang
monastery in Arunachal. Beijing’s sound and fury over
the ongoing visit passes understanding. India on its
part can object vehemently to the construction of
the China Pakistan Economic Corridor through Pakoccupied Kashmir which India claims to be its own
territory. Beijing is also blocking New Delhi’s entry
to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and its permanent
membership of the UN Security Council. All this
should cause great concern to New Delhi as does
China’s opposition to the UN declaring Masood
Azhar a terrorist.
China is set to take advantage of India’s keenness
to avoid bitterness in its relations with the Himalayan
giant. That does not mean India should give way to
China’s pressure tactics. Continuance of a soft policy
by India will deprive it of its bargaining power in
diplomatic confrontations. A trade war with India
will in fact be detrimental to China’s interest. Beijing
must be aware that the Chinese economy is slowing
down. In spite of that it brags about the superiority
of its military and economic power. The Dalai Lama
is over 70 and does not question China’s suzerainty
over Tibet. Why is Beijing so ruffled by his visit to
Tawang? China should be just as keen on maintaining
peaceful relations with India as India should with the
latter.
LOOKING BACK
March 30, 1989
KJWA against
Rail Project
The Executive Committee
of the Khasi Jaintia Welfare
Association 9KJWA) have
raised objections to the
proposed Byrnihat Boridua,
railhead project. The
population of the State,
particularly in the Bhoi area,
would be adversely affected
as the proposed railhead
would open up the
floodgates for immigration of
people from other States,
particularly cheap daily
labourers, a release from the
KJWA said.
The scheme would not be
an effective factor in
reducing the price of
essential commodities, as
the proposed distance of the
railhead from Guwahati is
only 40 km, with a radial
distance of 20 km. This
would nto be of actual
benefit to the masses since,
according to a radio
broadcast made by the
Home and Supply Minister
of the State on the eve of
the Meghalaya Bundh,
there was very little
difference in the price of
essential
commodities
prevailing in Assam and
Meghalaya.
Bodo Ultra killed in
encounter
Bodo extremist was
killed in an encounter with
the police at Gohai
Nichalagaon village in
Sarfunguri of Kokrajhar
district of Assam this
morning, an official report
received here said. Police
recovered a gun from him.
The report said that
extremists attacked a police
party which was on a
search operation in the
area. Police returned the fire
killing one of them.
(SIX)
Breach of Privilege- An
unquestionable wisdom
Power
corrupts;
privileged power corrupts
absolutely
and
unabashedly. "Nothing
against the State, man must
fall down and worship the
State" are the two maxims
of Fascism, whereas
democracy driven by the
shaft of Individualism and
Liberalism emphasized on
the mantra of free speech
and expression. "The State
is a necessary evil" is what
the Anarchist and the
Individualist contended. It
becomes more of an evil if
the people who manage the
affairs of the State are evil
in themselves. As of now
evil prevails everywhere in
the parliamentary set- up of
Indian democracy .This
evil, it seems is duly
protected
by
the
uncodified provisions like
contempt of court and in
Meghalaya the habitual
invocation of "breach of
privileges"
of
the
legislature. Yes they
demand privileges from the
red beacons to the
institutions.
Parliament privilege has
its history in England prior
to the final declaration of the
Bill of Rights in 1689. That
was the period when
England was evolving
towards democracy and
civil rights as against the
Divine Rights of Kings, the
signing of the Magna Carta,
the Petition of Rights, the
Habeas
Corpus
Act
1679,Claims of Right Act
1689 and others. All the
above stated developments
were targeted against the
superior, that is, the
Monarch and the Lords and
feudal
nobles
from
restraining and interfering
with the rights of the
Commons. At that point of
time it was more than
necessary
to
have
provisions of "breach of
privilege" so that the
evolving British House of
Commons can establish and
nurture democracy by
enabling the members to
the House of Commons to
freely discuss the affairs of
the State, be it political,
financial or even matters
relating to inheritance of the
monarch to the throne. It
can be understood that the
privileges provisions as
existed in the unwritten
Constitution of England is
to empower the common
man against the superior
power and not against the
inferior.
In Australia the problem
arising out of breach of
privileges
has
been
addressed with the passage
of the "Parliamentary
Privileges Act 1987." The
said Act was because of the
long drawn out struggle
against the incompatibility
of the parliamentary
privileges as practiced in
the U.K which Australia
also adopted prior to
passing its own Act of 1987.
Section 4 of the Act
provides that "conducts
(including the use of words)
does not constitute an
offence against the House
unless it amounts or is
intended or likely to amount
to improper interference
with the free exercise by a
House or its Committees of
its authority or functions or
with the free performance by
members of the House their
duties as a member".
The
Act
was
necessitated by a case
which happened in 1955,
when the House of
Representatives convicted
Raymond
Edward
Fitzpatrick and Frank
Courtnee Brown, the
proprietor and Editor
respectively
of
the
Bankstown Observer, to
prison. These men had been
responsible for publishing
a series of articles which
suggested that, before
entering parliament, a
member of the House had
been involved in an
immigration racket. The
House Committee of
Privileges advised that
Fitzpatrick and Browne had
been guilty of a serious
breach of privilege in
publishing the articles with
the intention to influence
and intimidate a member in
his conduct in the House
and had deliberately
attempted to impute corrupt
conduct
against
the
member for the express
purpose of discrediting and
silencing him". This
punishment given by the
House of Representative of
Australia is understood
that a breach of privileges
has happened prior to the
free deliberation and
discussion of a particular
issue that a particular
member wants to bring into
the House but not about
the true report as Patricia
Mukhim ,Editor of The
Shillong Times had done
about the post session of
the Meghalaya Legislative
Assembly; that too about
the proceedings in an open
session and not the closed
door session . Anything
which happens in an open
session, whether our public
representatives are dozing
, or discussing their
allowances, TA/DA ,which
is public money or anything
funny stated in the House
like the demand for more
delicacies in this kitchen or
that kitchen is in the public
domain. By virtue of an
open session, democracy
demands that anything
which is in the public
domain warrants that it be
subjected
to
public
criticism either in the
affirmative or negative. Any
allergic reaction against
such criticism presumes
that
such
person
(Legislator) has the wisdom
greater
than
king
Solomon's.
So far India has not
passed a legislation dealing
with
Parliamentary
Privileges or Breach of such
privileges. Art 105 and 194 (
dealing with privileges of
parliament and State
Legislature respectively) of
the constitution and their
interpretation
and
implementation depends on
the subjective satisfaction
of the House and at times
the Party which has a
stronger
number
of
members in the House.
Hence the accusation of
political vendetta in matters
pertaining to breach of
privileges either against a
member or the House as a
whole!
Art 105 and 194 of the
Constitution deals with the
power and privileges and
immunities of Parliament /
State Legislatures and its
members. The Constitution
does not exhaustively
enumerate the privileges of
Indian Parliamentarians. .As
Section 3 of both these
Articles refer directly to the
privileges of the House of
Commons
at
the
commencement of the
Constitution. Hence it
basically deals with all the
privileges that exist in the
House of Commons. As on
January 1950 Parliamentary
privileges implied two
aspects of privileges,
namely the privilege of the
House as a whole and
privileges of individual
members to perform the
democratic duties assigned
to them. Hence Clause 1, 2
and 3 of both the Articles
basically provides for
freedom of speech in
Parliament, immunity from
any legal proceedings in
respect of anything said or
any
vote
given
in
Parliament or any Committee
thereof and immunity from
legal proceedings with
freedom from arrest , in civil
cases, 40 days before and
after the session. Clause 2
of both the Articles declares
that no person shall be
liable in respect of the
publication by or under the
authority of either House of
Parliament
or
State
Legislatures respectively,
of any report, paper, votes
or proceedings. This
protection did not extend to
publication made by a
private person without the
authority of the House.
However,
the
Constitution
44th
Amendment Act 1978 has
put the immunity for
publication on a very
sound footing. It has added
Article 361-A to the
Constitution
which
provides in Clause (1) "no
person shall be liable to any
proceedings, civil or
criminal in any court in
respect of the publication in
a news paper of a
substantially true report of
any proceedings of either
House of Parliament or
Legislature of States, as the
case may be, unless the
publication is proved to
have been made with
malice". This Clause
prohibited publication of
any report on any matters
which the House has
deliberated secretly or held
as a closed door session.
The following Case will
prove how our honorable
legislators have properly
utilized the breach of
privileges provisions. In P.V
.Narasimha Rao versus the
State (JMM Bribery Case
(V1) the Court held that the
privileges and immunity
from courts proceedings in
Art 105 (2) extends even to
bribes taken by members of
Parliament for the purpose
of voting in a particular
manner in Parliament. The
majority judges concluded
that expression in respect
of Art 105 (2) must be given
a wide meaning so as to
comprehend an act having
a nexus or connection with
the speech made or a vote
given by a member in
Parliament
or
any
Committee thereof. So
interpreted, it would
include within its ambit
acceptance of bribe by a
member in order to make a
speech or to cast his vote
in parliament or any
committee thereof in a
particular
manner.
Therefore the bribe taking
MPs who had voted in
parliament against the Noconfidence motion were
entitled to protection of Art
105(2) and were not
answerable in a court of law
for alleged conspiracy and
agreement. The court
further held that the bribe
taking MPs who did not
vote in the No confidence
motion are not entitled the
protection under Art 105(2)
accessible to the bribe giver
MPs.
There
are
many
provisions of the Indian
Constitution
where
implementation is based on
the subjective satisfaction
of the executive(including
the Speaker of Parliament
and state legislatures).
Breach of privileges
provisions as borrowed
from the Constitution of UK
is rather unfit or needs
Indianisation in the sense
that in the UK it is the
parliament which is
supreme. As the saying
goes, there is nothing
which
the
English
Parliament cannot do except
to turn a man into a woman
and a woman into a man.
But
in
India
the
Constitution is supreme. In
the absence of codification
of majestic powers like the
Contempt of Court and
Breach of Parliamentary
privileges it appears that the
incumbents to powerful
offices who reign supreme
and not the Constitution.
(The author is Lecturer
Seng Khasi College
Shillong)
section believes that every
disabled has all the rights
to live and enjoy this
beautiful world of God and
it is everyone's prime duty
to help them to live their
lives comfortably.
Hence, it is the third
section of society that
needs to understand that
disability is not inability. It
is a condition attached to
particular beings. Rather, it
is the inability in the mind
of the human race in general
who
either
avoid
understanding
this
condition because without
imperfection, neither you
nor I would exist. Disability
is part of diversity. The only
disability in life is a bad
attitude. It is noticed that
even people who claim
everything is predetermined
and that we can do nothing
to change it, look before
they cross the road.
Science and religion
cannot be set aside while
we link curse with disability.
There is a fundamental
difference between religion
which is based on authority,
and science, which is based
on observation and reason.
Science will win, because it
works. The eastern and
western religion is symbolic
in understanding disability.
Let us take one example - As
Jesus passed by, he saw a
man blind from birth. And
his disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he
was born blind?" Jesus
answered, "It was not that
this man sinned, or his
parents, but that the work of
God might be displayed in
him." (John 9:1-3)
Nor is disability is curse,
as some communities still
see it.
Though our outer self is
wasting away, our inner self
is being renewed day by
day. For this light
momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal
weight of glory beyond all
comparison, as we look not
to the things that are seen
but to the things that are
unseen. For the things that
are seen are transient, but
the things that are unseen
are eternal. (2 Corinthians
4:16_18). Affliction or
disabilities
are
not
hindrances to God's grace
in our lives - quite the
opposite. On the other
hand, what merits mention
are the list of successes of
science in healing various
disabilities. God has
empowered human race to
scale any hurdles whether
it is disability or the
association of curse with
disability. Once the
disability is scaled the curse
fades.
Ability is a blessing. In
contrast, disability should
be considered neither a
curse, a sign of God's wrath
nor His retribution for sin.
When children are born
with disabilities it does not
imply that they are
inherently sinners or their
parents are wrongdoers. In
other words, disability
should not be associated as
curse, disability should be
construed instead as part
of a divine plane, existing
so that "the works of God
might be displayed" (John
9:3)
Yours etc.
Bellbora Wankhar,
General Secretary
MEPAD, Shillong
By Sadon K Blah
TO THE EDITOR
Cheating in
Board Exams
Editor,
I am a student of Shillong
Public School, Shillong and
I am writing my ICSE exams
this year. I have noticed that
there is a lot of cheating
going
on
and
the
supervisors don't even
notice. Some of the boys
who work hard feel
discouraged seeing others
get marks so easily. I request
the concerned authorities to
take action.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on
request
Backdoor entrants
as Assembly
employees
Editor,
I find it absurd and also
illegal on the part of the
Meghalaya Assembly to
regularize a huge mass of 435
employees when their
method of entry is
questionable. As far as my
knowledge goes most of
these
employees
are
backdoor appointees of the
Speakers as mentioned in
your paper (ST April 7,
2017). Instead a question
should be raised as to why
open interviews were not
called to fill up so many
posts so that anyone who
is eligible can apply. The
Right to Equality has been
trampled by simply using
the word 'TEMPORARY.'
After 'REGULARIZATION'
the employees become
permanent staff. The only
solution
to
this
discrimination for giving
employment only to those
having access to people in
power is to approach the
High Court and File a PIL
(public Interest Litigation)
so that their appointment/
regularization can be
stopped and quashed
permanently. Where are
those NGOs who claim to
look after the welfare of the
society...Please WAKE UP
now.
Yours etc.,
M Synrem,
Via email
Is disability a
curse?
Editor,
The disabled constitute
about 15% of the world and
2.1% of Indian population.
According to the 2011
census a very small section
of humans are affected with
this curse. The opinion of
the world community on
disability is divided into four
sections. One section
believes that disability is a
punishment
for
sins
committed by a person in his
previous birth. A second
section believes that these
crippled persons are the
examples set by the
Almighty so that those with
no disability should thank
God for their healthy and
complete
body
and
whosoever supports and
attempts to reverse the
cause of disability, will be
rewarded by God and attain
heaven in the next world.
The third section of society
believes that disability is a
curse to the extent that such
foetus with disability should
be aborted. The fourth
Justifying
pluralism and
alienation
By Ananya Guha
We have become a nation
of symbols; religious
symbols to unravel a certain
religious predominance.
This is a deliberate attempt
to debunk secularism and
plurality of the country. A
single edifice , a super
structure upon the structure
is cleverly being built not
only to recreate a mythic
past but to destroy
intervening historical truths.
If history is coloured and
tinged with myths then we
make the whole issue of
historical reality emotional.
And
what
best
to
commingle religion with it to
whip up a fervour about one
nation Hindu Rashtra? This
is pandering to RSS and
Shiv Sena acolytes who,
mind you, at times have also
sharp wedges.
Religion is a deeply
personal engagement. In
India people have realised it
notwithstanding the Mandir
Masjid tangle which for
thirty years threatens
eruption any time. The
symbols that I am talking
about are now quite explicit.
The recurrent ones are Siva
and Parvati. Even the Prime
Minister countenances them
in public ceremonies or
gatherings. The problem
with myths is that they are
myths. To interface them
with historical truths is
problematic.
The problem is that such
symbols invoke fierce
religious passion which
policies separately and the
politics
of
culture
separately. There are strong
feelings that the party may
go down well with the
people even in the
Meghalaya elections. But
the politics of culture works
not through votes but
through rabid organisations
having their fingers in art,
education and ordaining
history of a nation. So we
should not be fooled. The
game plan is subtle but
crafty. It has to do with Yoga
culture as well. It has to do
with invoking again and
again the name of Swami
Vivekananda who has been
misrepresented and whose
quotations are sometimes
taken out of context.
Alienation will come fully
only when people will see
through
the
agenda
mentioned and described
above.
And now the moral
policing
and
cow
vigilantism has exacerbated
in states like Uttar Pradesh.
Imagine having a probe in a
house simply because male
colleagues are sitting with a
female one. This is the
height of misplaced piety.
And we are tolerating all this
and licking sore wounds.
The cow vigilantism has
again captured headlines,
hurting sentiments and
deliberately
assailing
minority groups and even
harming the economy;
rather it is a gross attempt
The game plan is subtle but crafty.
It has to do with Yoga culture as well.
It has to do with invoking again and
again the name of Swami
Vivekananda who has been
misrepresented
and
whose
quotations are sometimes taken out
of context.
everyone in this country
cannot identify with. What
about Buddhists, Jains,
Christians, Parsees and
Muslims? In short, invoking
them means alienation of the
rest. Such alienation is being
cleverly
worked
and
reworked to create divides
which could be woefully
irreversible. Culture and
religion are not hand maids.
To make them synonymous
is asking for trouble in
pluralistic settings. But
perhaps trouble is what the
culture vulture wants. This
is highly disturbing.
Then again this is being
done in a systematic and
planned manner. Even those
normally moderate are
bearing fangs of petty,
egoistic nationalism. What
is nationalism is of course
the question. The forces of
brute and disharmonic
nationalism are peddling
with jingoism. Will we the
people of India fall for this
perverseness?
We are used to rich
pluralism, not this barbaric
jingoism. The monolith can
be erected only at the
expense of diversity which
cannot be dismantled, but
grossly sidelined. These are
the tensions and writings on
the wall. We encounter
symbols in our day to day
lives, not what we eat or
whom we pray to, but
engaging symbols of the
richly diverse aspects of this
great country, it's beautiful
geography,
majestic
mountains, sultry plains, it's
exotic temples, mosques and
churches The symbols
coalesce and counter any
stratification.
The
political
manifestations may be
different. Diehards will say
that the BJP is acceptable to
the people of the North East
especially after elections in
Assam and Manipur. So it is
largely acceptable to a
recalcitrant North East
which has a large Christian
population. So let us keep
to snatch livelihoods. Once
again another symbol is
added to the supposed pan
Indian culture. Inchoate
symbols like these only add
fuel to fire, and alienate large
sections of the people who
consider themselves as
inveterate Indians. Who is
an Indian then, and what is
Indian culture?
It seems we are
impervious to past shaping
of historical realities and
movements. It is not simply
agenda; it is blatant
disregard for others and
their sentiments. Being
Indian means regimentation
: stand up, sit down, light
the lamp, be holy, have a
dress code and above all
uphold Indian culture,
referential points being
mighty Himalayas where
Siva and Parvati reside, the
holy cow, invocation of
sacrosanct hymns. One may
be steeped in all these but
why should they be
symbolic manifestations of
a broad Indian way of life?
Indian and Indianisation
manifest
in
deeply
articulated diversity of the
country, not in myths and
incantations.
All this is happening
because we are frenetically
reworking a past which only
partially existed. Half truths
to be made akin with truths
is a muddled and contorted
reality. It is dangerous for
the health and overall well
being of a nation, infested
as it is with deleterious and
unethical politics. Such
politics has degraded the
nation and is responsible for
cutting
wedges
and
deliberately rooting for
alienation. The British
policy of divide and rule is
used with panache by our
present lot of politicians. We
know that but only smugly
say that politics is a dirty
game. That this dirt, this filth
has diseased the country is
of course another thing. Or
is it?
THE SHILLONG TIMES, SHILLONG, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
F
(SEVEN)
‘Substance abuse worsens depression’
ar from offering any
long-term solution to
the problem of depression, abusing substances
such as alcohol, opioids,
and drugs like cocaine and
heroin will only worsen it,
health experts have warned.
People suffering from
depression reach for drugs
as a way to lift their spirits
or to numb painful thoughts.
But depression and substance abuse actually feed
into each other and one
condition often makes the
other worse.
"Substances worsen the
depression and cause dependence. It may also increase the risk of suicide and
self-harm in people suffering from depression. Such
people do not respond to
the standard treatment procedures and their recovery
gets delayed," Mrinmay
Kumar Das, Senior Consultant, Behavioural Medicine
Department, Jaypee Hospital, Noida, told IANS.
Substance abuse also
covers up the underlying
depression, making it difficult for the clinician or therapist to address the root
cause of the problem.
"Our body contains
naturally
occurring
chemicals
called
neurotransmitters
(dopamine) that bind to receptors throughout the
brain and body to regulate
pain, hormone release and
feelings of well-being. This
can be externally triggered
with substance abuse," Sandeep Govil, Consultant,
mental health and behavioural sciences at Saroj Super Speciality Hospital, New
Delhi, said.
"When substances are
used for over a period of
time, the brain gets used to
the system of secreting the
chemical, thereby increasing the levels. High levels
of dopamine are said to
worsen depression and may
lash out with aggressive behaviour," Govil explained.
A recent report by the
World Health Organisation
titled "Depression and
Other Common Mental Disorders - Global Health Estimates" said the total number
of people living with depression in the world is 322
million.
The estimated prevalence of depressive disorders in India is 4.5 per cent
of the country's total population, according to the report. Usually, the symptoms of depression include
a predominantly low mood
on most days.
Depressed individuals
may feel a lack of interest
in their favourite activities,
feel physically exhausted,
and sleep too much or too
little. They also tend to lose
appetite and hence unwanted weight loss is often
observed. There is also a
feeling
of
guilt,
hopelessness
and
worthlessness which may
lead them to take extreme
steps like committing
suicide or self-harm.
For some individuals
who have depression and
a substance-use disorder,
giving up on drugs or alcohol may be even more challenging. Those using alcohol for years to bury depressive symptoms find
that depression rises to the
surface in sobriety.
That is why it is so important to receive integrated treatment for both
depression and substance
abuse at the same time.
Without treating depression
that
drives
addiction or vice versa,
patients are likely to go
back to their addictive
behaviours or to experience
a return of depressive
symptoms as soon as they
finish rehabilitation, the experts said, adding that earlier the people come out of
their shell and talk about
their mental health problems, the better.
Discussing depressive
disorders and other mental
disorders can help in iden-
tifying, managing and treating the problem at an early
stage. "People should come
out and talk about their
problems. Treatment at an
early stage is easy, doesn't
need medication and can be
managed through simple
counselling techniques,
and by using coping strategies that can be adapted
individually or through
help at home," said Pallab
Maulik, Deputy Director
and Head of Research at The
George Institute for Global
Health India.
Research shows that only
one in every 27 people with
mental disorders receive any
care in countries like India.
"Depression,
unlike
physical illnesses, requires
much more than medical support -- like support of family,
friends, and motivation to
get well by talking about it,"
Prashant Goyal, Consultant
Psychiatrist at Sri Balaji
Action Medical Institute in
New Delhi, added. (IANS)
Kidney patients’ urine Pet exposure may reduce allergy, obesity risk
may predict death risk N
P
atients with chronic
kidney disease who
have low ammonium
excretion in their urine may
be at high risk of disease progression or death, a new
study warns.
Measuring ammonium
excretion in the urine may
be help identify patients
with chronic kidney disease
(CKD) who face serious
health risks, researchers
said. Keeping the body's pH
level in balance is important
for normal organ function.
Doctors commonly assess whether a patient's
body fluids contain too
much acid, a condition called
acidosis, by measuring bicarbonate levels in the
blood.
This can indicate whether
the body is having trouble
maintaining its acid-base
balance, but it may reveal
only part of the picture be-
cause the kidneys are important for eliminating acid in the
urine. Kalani Raphael from
University of Utah in the US
and colleagues looked to see
if urine levels of ammonium
may be a better indicator of
acid accumulation in the
body.
Their analysis included
1,044 individuals with CKD
in the African American
Study of Kidney Diseases
and Hypertension.
The researchers found
that low urine ammonium excretion predicted kidney failure or death in CKD patients
irrespective of serum bicarbonate concentration.
Compared with participants with the highest levels of daily ammonium excretion, those with the lowest
levels had a 46 per cent higher
risk of dying or needing dialysis, and those with intermediate levels had a 14 per
Atmosphere
found around
Earth-like planet
A
stronomers have for
the first time detect
ed an atmosphere
around an Earth-like planet
just 39 light years away, a significant step towards the detection of life beyond our
solar system.
Scientists, including
those from Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, studied the planet
known as GJ 1132b, which is
1.4-times the size of our
planet. They imaged the
planet's host star, GJ 1132,
and measured the slight decrease in brightness as the
planet and its atmosphere
absorbed some of the starlight while passing directly
in front of their host star. The
super-Earth GJ 1132b marks
the first time an atmosphere
has been detected around a
planet with a mass and radius close to Earth's mass and
radius researchers said.
(IANS)
P
cent higher risk.
Low ammonium excretion
predicted these outcomes
even in patients who had
normal serum bicarbonate. In
addition, those with low ammonium excretion had a 2.6fold higher risk of developing acidosis within one year.
"These results suggest
that low urine ammonium excretion identifies individuals
at high risk of CKD progression or death irrespective of
the serum bicarbonate concentration," said Raphael.
"Overall, acid levels in the
urine provide important information about kidney
health above and beyond
acid measurements obtained
from the blood," Raphael
said. The study also suggests that CKD patients with
low urine ammonium excretion might benefit from alkali
before overt acidosis develops. (PTI)
eed another reason
to adopt a furry
friend? Scientists
have found that having pets
can protect your kids from
allergies and obesity.
A new study showed
that babies from families
with pets - 70 per cent of
which were dogs - showed
higher levels of two types
of microbes associated with
lower risks of allergic disease and obesity.
"There's definitely a critical window of time when gut
immunity and microbes codevelop, and when disruptions to the process result
in changes to gut immunity,"
said Anita Kozyrskyj, from
the University of Alberta in
Canada.
The latest findings come
from the team's work on fecal samples collected from
infants registered in a previous study which showed
that children who grow up
with dogs have lower rates
of asthma.
The theory is that exposure to dirt and bacteria
early in life - for example, in
a dog's fur and on its paws can create early immunity,
though researchers are not
sure whether the effect occurs from bacteria on the
furry friends or from human
Yoga may offset side effects
of prostate cancer treatment
racticing yoga just
twice a week may lead
to better physical,
sexual and emotional health
among patients undergoing
prostate cancer radiation
treatment, suggest the results of a trial.
Men who attended the
yoga classes reported less
fatigue and better sexual
and urinary function than
those who did not, according to the study that looked
at the effect of yoga on the
side-effects and quality of
life issues caused by prostate cancer treatment.
"Levels of patient-reported fatigue are expected
to increase by around the
fourth or fifth week of a typical treatment course, but
that did not happen in the
yoga group," said the trial's
principal investigator Neha
Vapiwala from the University of Pennsylvania in the
US.
"Both the severity of the
fatigue as well as the patients' ability to go about
their normal lives appeared
to be positively impacted in
the yoga group," Vapiwala
said. All of the patients in
the trial underwent between
six and nine weeks of external beam radiation therapy
for prostate cancer.
The patients were randomised into two groups -one arm participated in a
yoga class that met twice a
week and the other arm
served as a control group.
Each session lasted 75
minutes, beginning with
five minutes of breathing
and centering techniques
and ending with five minutes of Savasana, a common
yoga position.
Typical sessions incorporated sitting, standing
and reclining positions that
were modified using props
to adapt to each patient's
needs and restrictions.
Patients in the yoga
group reported lower fatigue scores over time, as
they attended more yoga
sessions, relative to where
they started.
Patients who did not participate in yoga trended in
the opposite direction, reporting greater fatigue as
treatment progressed, according to the study published in the International
Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics.
Researchers also evaluated both groups in terms
of their sexual health.
The trial also found that
while the emotional well-being of both groups increased as patients progressed through treatment,
the evaluation scores in the
yoga group rose more rapidly than in the control
group. (IANS)
transfer by touching the
pets, said Kozyrskyj.
The study takes researchers a step closer to
understanding the connection by identifying that exposure to pets in the womb
or up to three months after
birth increases the abun-
Gadget Review
Samsung brings Galaxy C7 Pro to India
T
argeting millennials
who are constantly
looking for powerful
devices, Samsung India on
Friday launched its latest
smartphone Galaxy C7 Pro
which will be sold exclusively on Amazon India
from April 11.
Priced at Rs 27,990, Galaxy C7 Pro features 2.5D
Gorilla Glass and sports a
5.7-inch, full-HD Super
AMOLED display.
"Galaxy C7 Pro is a slim
and stunning device which
comes packed with powerful features for unparalleled
multitasking and multimedia
experience," said Sandeep
Singh Arora, Vice President,
Online Business, Samsung
India.
The device -- available in
navy blue and gold colour - comes equipped with a
2.2GHz octa-core processor
paired with 4GB of RAM,
Olive oil can decrease cardiovascular diseases J
A
s heart attacks con
tinue to kill one per
son every 33 seconds in India, health experts
on Friday said that olive oil
can help in decreasing cardiovascular diseases.
Olive oil is rich in MUFA
or mono unsaturated fatty
acids which helps in improving glycemic control and
plasma lipid control and increase insulin sensitivity in
diabetics and improve cardiovascular health, according to experts.
The World Health Organisation estimated that by
2020, cardiovascular disease will be the cause of
over 40 per cent deaths in
India as compared to 24 per
cent in 1990.
"Olive oil contains a very
important health benefiting
element called oleic acid. It
is known to be extremely
heart-healthy and capable of
fighting free radical damage
(or oxidative stress), which
has numerous health implications," said Nidhi Dhawan, head dietician at city
based Saroj Superspecialty
hospital.
Dhawan said that due to
the presence of powerful
antioxidants known as
polyphenols, olive oil is
considered an anti-inflammatory food.
According to experts,
when someone's immune
system essentially begins to
fight their own body as a
result of a poor diet, stress
or other factors, inflammatory responses are triggered
which lead to dangerous,
disease-causing inflammation.
They said that the purpose of inflammation is to
protect against illnesses
and repair the body when
needed, but chronic inflammation is extremely harmful
to arterial health and linked
to heart disease, autoimmune diseases and more.
Olive oil helps reverse
inflammatory along with
age- and disease-related
changes in the heart and
blood vessels.
"It has been proven that
olive oil is beneficial as it
prevents strokes, keeps the
heart young, fights osteoporosis, protects from depression, prevents skin and
breast cancer," said Neelima
Burra, Chief Marketing Officer of Cargill foods.
The experts were speaking on the occasion of
World Health Day.
Unlike other edible oils,
olive oil contains about 75
per cent mono saturated fat
which makes it the healthiest. Cargill food had earlier
launched Leonardo Olive -approved by the Food
Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI)
-- keeping in mind the rising
cases of cardiovascular and
other diseases such as diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive and pulmonary
disease and cancer.
Stating that there was a
rise in cardiovascular cases
in urban India as well, Burra
said that there is a need for
the people of urban India to
have more awareness about
olive oil and its health benefits. (IANS)
dance of two bacteria, Ruminococcus and Oscillospira, which may reduce
childhood allergies and
obesity, respectively.
"The abundance of
these two bacteria were increased twofold when there
was a pet in the house,"
said Kozyrskyj.
Pet
exposure
was
shown to affect the gut
microbiome indirectly from dog to mother to unborn baby - during pregnancy as well as during the
first three months of the
baby's life.
In other words, even if
the dog had been given
away for adoption just before the woman gave birth,
the healthy microbiome exchange could still take
place.
The study also showed
that the immunity-boosting
exchange occurred even in
three birth scenarios known
for reducing immunity.
The study suggested
that the presence of pets in
the house reduced the likelihood of the transmission
of vaginal GBS (group B
Strep) during birth, which
causes pneumonia in newborns and is prevented by
giving mothers antibiotics
during delivery. (PTI)
has 64GB internal memory
which is expandable up to
256GB
and
houses
3,300mAh battery, with fastcharging capabilities to fully
charge the phone in 100
minutes.
Galaxy C7 Pro features a
16MP rear camera as well as
a 16MP front camera both
with an f1.9 aperture lens.
The rear camera comes
equipped with phase detection auto-focus and dualLED flash features.
The floating camera button in Galaxy C7 Pro enables
users to take best shots at
ease with a single hand.
(IANS)
Sansui launches Horizon 1 smartphone
apanese electronics ma
jor Sansui on Friday
launched a 4G/VoLTEenabled smartphone 'Horizon 1' which will be available
exclusively on e-commerce
marketplace Flipkart.
Priced at Rs 3,999, the
device comes with 5MP rear
camera with Dual-LED flash
and 3.2MP front camera
with 'Selfie Flash'.
"Through our partnership with Flipkart, we aim to
impact the exclusive online
market with the entry of a
revolutionising range of
value for money 4G
phones," Sansui COO-Mobiles Abhishek Malpani said
in a statement.
The 4.5-inch smartphone
is powered by 1.3 GHz QuadCore Processor coupled
with 1GB RAM and 8GB
ROM (expandable upto 64
GB) internal storage and
runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
"We are confident that
the Sansui's 'Horizon 1' will
be latest addition to our
long list of hot-selling
phones from Flipkart"
added Ajay Yadav, HeadMobiles, Flipkart. (IANS)