How to stay fit in flu season

Washington, Sept 20 (ANI): As cold and flu season approaches, giving up junk food for more healthy options would help maintain a strong immune system.

Dr Ara DerMarderosian, professor of pharmacognosy for University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and an expert in nutraceuticals and natural foods, have provided guidance to change how you eat and break habits that pack on the pounds and compromise immunity.

? Don’t play “food police”

Be conscious of what and how much you eat, but don’t overdo self-monitoring to the point that a healthy lifestyle shifts from being a choice to becoming overwhelming, pushing other activities away and interfering with relationships.

? Pay attention to true hunger

Listen to your hunger signals and refrain from eating when you’re not hungry. Eating when your body doesn’t need food can cause you to overindulge.

? Eat slowly

Eat like a gourmet – enjoy each bite to have, chewing methodically, and truly enjoy the taste of your food. Eating slowly gives your body time to break down the food, which can prevent post-meal indigestion and feeling bloated.

? Focus on eating

Do not watch television, read or work while you eat. When you’re not focused on eating, it’s unlikely you’ll notice how much is going in your mouth.

? Avoid eating when stressed

Stress is a well-known cause of overeating and digestive issues, such as heartburn. A relaxing atmosphere, enjoyable company and conversation, and not feeling rushed for time makes for a healthy meal.

? Everything in moderation

Eating food is pleasurable, so enjoy a few morsels of candy, but limit the quantity. (ANI)

Chavs top the list of Brits’ 100 most annoying things

London, Sep 4 (ANI): A survey has revealed that chavs, who are typically portrayed as uncultured, anti-social, baseball cap wearing youths, have topped the list of the 100 most annoying things Brits find.

The survey revealed that more than 60 percent people found chavs to be “very annoying”.

The Brits were also annoyed by people driving too close behind them and people who smell, with 55 per cent and 52 per cent of the 3,000 people polled saying this was one of their biggest peeves.

Of the top 10 annoyances were people who eat with their mouth open (50 per cent), rude shop assistants (50 per cent), foreign call centres (49 per cent), stepping in dog dirt (49 per cent).

The list also included people who cough without covering their mouths (49 per cent), slow Internet connections (49 per cent) and poor customer service (47 per cent).

Lactofree’s Annual Intolerance Survey also found 79 percent of people were wound up easily by the little things in life, with 65 per cent driven to distraction.

On average, people find themselves getting annoyed more than three times a day and half of all respondents said they were likely to turn into a grumpy old man or woman.

The survey also found 39 per cent of Brits were cheesed off with the nation’s obsession with Z-list celebrities, while 38 per cent were fed up with the preoccupation with Katie Price and Peter Andre’s split saga.

Low on the list was the recession, with 31 per cent of people finding it annoying, and bankers, with 13 per cent finding them irritating.

Outside the top 100 were mice, mothers-in-law and karaoke, with 9 per cent of people finding these very annoying.

“‘This survey shows how intolerant we are as a nation, and how even the smallest of things annoy us – especially when, for many, their annoyances are driving them to distraction,” the Telegraph quoted Samantha Glassford, brand manager for Lactofree, as saying.

“‘This year the poll has shown how especially irritated we are by other people and their bad habits and how surprisingly low a nationwide burden such as the recession came in the annoyance list.

“For many of us, there really isn’t a cure for these everyday intolerances, yet when it comes to those food intolerances, there can be a solution.

“Lactofree, for example, will help those with lactose intolerance enjoy dairy again without any of the symptoms such as bloating, flatulence and feeling sluggish, so that’s one intolerance that can be dealt with,” she added. (ANI)

Pet dog saves 3 Chinese kids from drowning in raging river

New Delhi, September 2 (ANI): A pet dog has saved three children from drowning in a raging river in China.

One child, however, died in the incident that took place in Tianmen, Hubei province, on Sunday.

Hua Hua had accompanied the four primary school students from the Fangwan village to a nearby riverbank.

When it saw the kids falling into the river while playing on the rocks, the dog jumped in to save them, reports the China Daily.

It grabbed one of the kids by the shoulder with its mouth, as the struggling children held on to each other’s hands, and pulled them ashore.

The fourth child drowned because he could not reach his friends in time when the dog was pulling them to safety. (ANI)

One call from Saudi Arabia would seal Musharraf trial seekers’ mouth: PML-Q

Lahore, Sep.2 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed has said that former President General Pervez Musharraf had left the country after inking a deal with the present government regarding not being prosecuted under high treason charges, and that one call from Saudi government would silence Musharraf’s trial seekers.

Speaking on a television chat show, Sayed said only a single telephone call from Saudi Arabia would stop demands for Musharraf’s trial.

While ruling out any involvement of the Armed Forces in the present crisis, he said Musharraf’s trial under Article Six was impossible.

“The present system had no problem from the army or the Inter-Services Intelligence or any so-called secret agencies,” The Daily Times quoted Sayed, as saying.

Commenting on the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s threat to hold a long march demanding Musharraf’s trial, he said Pakistan could ill-afford midterm elections or long marches against the ‘democratic’ government.

Sayed said the country’s leadership should have the courage to decisions on their own rather than depending upon calls from British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Miliband or US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. (ANI)

Soon, soundwaves may help find early dental decay

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): Aussie researchers are developing a tool that can use sound waves to identify early stages of tooth decay by measuring the mineral content of teeth.

Tooth decay begins by acid-forming bacteria eating away at the enamel, causing minerals to leach from it, softening, and weakening the tooth.

Sometimes dentists can identify this demineralisation by seeing a change in the colour of the tooth, or by looking at x-rays.

They also use sharp probes that test the hardness of the enamel, and find where the rot has set in, but all such probes can be painful and cause unnecessary damage to the teeth.

But PhD researcher David Hsiao-Chuan Wang, from the University of Sydney, and colleagues are now developing a less invasive new technique to measure mineral content of teeth, using sound waves generated by laser pulses.

“We want to be able to be able to quantify mineral content of the dental enamel,” ABC Online quoted Wang as saying.

He added: “We can keep the laser power below a damaging threshold.”

Laser pulses aimed at the tooth set up a series of high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) that travel through the enamel surface, penetrating it to different depths.

As a soundwave moves through a demineralised part of the tooth, it changes its speed, which can be detected.

Each soundwave penetrates to different depths of the enamel, depending on its wavelength, enabling a profile of the tooth to be built up, showing where decay has begun.

The researchers first tested the system on different known materials, before testing it on extracted human tooth.

They still have to test the system on teeth in patients, but firstly they need to develop a convenient handheld device and obtain ethics permission to trial it in humans.

Wang said that a prototype of the hand-held device could be ready in two years.

Professor Ian Meyers of the Australian Dental Association has said that testing the technique in the mouth is important, as saliva affects the property of teeth enamel.

Meyers also said that when decay was detected early, fillings could be avoided by either stopping the demineralisation through better oral care.

Otherwise, it could also be possible to re-mineralise the tooth by using products specifically designed for this purpose.

He said that the new technique could add to the range of tools available for dentists to identify early stages of decay, as long as it is affordable

Wang has estimated that the new tool would cost “below 50,000 dollars”, and complement rather than replace conventional methods.

He said that the ultrasound technique would be particularly useful in research, especially in evaluating the effectiveness of remineralisation treatments.

The study has been published in the journal Optics Express. (ANI)

Freddie out for dinner with missus and family after Ashes victory

London, Aug.24 (ANI): England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who is to go under the knife on Tuesday, will take his wife Rachael, parents and kids out for dinner, to celebrate the return of the Ashes with the 197-run victory over Australia at The Oval.

“I will take the missus out for dinner and spend the day with my family. But I’ll be ‘nil by mouth’ after midnight on Monday because of the operation,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Freddie hurled and hugged his son Corey and sister Holly, five, after the win, while Rachael brought one-year-old son Rocky down from the stands.

Freddie’s emotional dad Colin, 57, joined the wild celebrations, shedding tears of joy as he enjoyed the magical moment. The star’s proud mum Susan also came over to give him a hug.

Fred, who will have an operation to fix a knee injury tomorrow, said: “This is a special moment. I was nearly in tears when I saw my Mum up there. It’s like a dream, quite surreal at the moment. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

The Lancashire hero admitted he would not be repeating the boozy antics which saw him in a near-daze as he celebrated England’s last Ashes triumph in 2005.

The party mood spread nationwide last night among thrilled fans who’d seen England thump fierce rivals Australia to win the fifth and deciding Test by 197 runs.

The resounding victory ensured they clinched the summer series 2-1 and reclaimed the coveted Ashes urn they lost Down Under in 2006.

Captain Andrew Strauss said: “The guys have done amazingly. When we were bad we were very bad, and when we were good, we managed to be good enough.”

The squad headed straight from the pitch to the players’ lounge for a post-match party.

A security guard revealed two more crates of booze had to be sent in early in the evening after the stars nearly drank the bar dry.

The England squad left the Oval in a convoy of taxis just after 11 p.m. to continue their celebrations at their East London hotel.

Fans partied in pubs around the ground – many draped in England flags. England and Aussie supporters drank side by side. Downing Street also saluted the squad last night.

A spokesman said: “The Prime Minister will be writing to congratulate them on their exhilarating victory.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson, called England’s win an “incredible triumph”.

Even gutted Australians praised England in defeat. Tim Hussey, 28, from Melbourne, said: “It was an epic series. And I’m pleased Freddie went out with a bang.” (ANI)

‘I really think Ali feared me’, says ‘Smoking’ Joe Frazier

London, Aug 23 (ANI): Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Frazier, who is famous for his trilogy of Heavyweight Championship fights with Muhammad Ali, has said that he still retains a disdain for the treatment he received from Ali.

Frazier, who for a decade had impaired vision in his left eye, could not see after Ali punched his right eye closed.

The history between the pair, which is featured in a DVD released this week, demonstrates the depth of the feud, highlighted by Ali’s verbal assaults on race and religious grounds.

“Ali was nervous and he taunted me, saying I was ugly and all sorts of things. But, I think that was his way of building himself up, by running off at the mouth,” The Herald Sun quotes Frazier, as saying.

“He had a lot of respect for me. And, I think he feared I could beat him. So, he used his tongue before the fights to try to upset me and to get his own adrenaline going. I really think he feared me,” he added.

Despite protests, Frazier’s corner threw in the towel before the 15th round, which meant that Frazier had lost the rematch. Frazier was never again the force he used to be and accepts his place in history, aware that a few seconds between rounds 14 and 15 in Manila could have changed the world’s perception of his talents.

“You have corners and trainers and managers who care. I had impaired vision in my left eye and I was struggling to see out of the other. I didn’t hold anything against anybody for the fight being stopped,” Frazier said.

“I would have been in real trouble if both my eyes closed. But, to learn Ali was ready to quit at the same time my corner called an end to the fight was a bit disappointing. He ended up in more physical strife than me, but he got the verdict and all the accolades that go with winners,” he added.

The 65-year-old further said that all that happened in “The Thrilla in Manilla” fight is history now and everyone must move on.

“I am at peace with the world. I could never understand why he went on at the mouth about so many things. I’ve always believed it doesn’t matter what colour your skin is. I couldn’t figure out what he was on about. I can only hope he asks the Lord for forgiveness for the wrongs he did me,” Frazier said. (ANI)

Scientists discover deadly plant that eats rats

London, August 18 (ANI): British scientists have discovered a deadly plant that eats rats, and is believed to be the largest meat-eating shrub.

According to a report in The Sun, the giant pitcher plant lures rodents into its slipper-shaped mouth and dissolves them with acid-like enzymes.

Scientists, led by botanists Stewart McPherson and Alastair Robinson, tracked it down on Mount Victoria in the Philippines after hearing that missionaries had seen “whole rats” being eaten.

“The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century,” said McPherson, of Poole, Dorset.

The research team named the incredibly rare species after legendary wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

“My team and I named it in honour of Sir David whose work has inspired generations toward a better understanding of the beauty and diversity of the natural world,” said McPherson.

“I was contacted by the team shortly after the discovery and they asked if they could name it after me. I was delighted and told them, ‘Thank you very much’,” said Sir David.

“I’m absolutely flattered. This is a remarkable species the largest of its kind. I’m told it can catch rats then eat them with its digestive enzymes. It’s certainly capable of that,” he added.

The plant, now dubbed Nepenthes attenboroughii, is green and red and can grow a stem more than 4ft long. It is found only in the scrub high on the windswept slopes of Mount Victoria.

McPherson and former Cambridge University botanist Robinson made their discovery during an expedition in 2007.

But, they have only just described the killer shrub in a journal after a three-year study of all 120 species of pitcher plant. (ANI)

Scary metaphors can affect public health

Washington, Aug 8 (ANI): Using scary metaphors for any kind of natural disaster or health scare can not only make people notice it, but it can also spread panic or cynicism among populations, according to a study.

“Such terms can make people sit up and listen, but they can also lead to panic or cynicism,” said Professor Brigitte Nerlich, who led the research.

She added: “Recent advice on swine flu has centred on basic hygiene, which makes people feel they can do something practical, instead of being mere victims of so-called “superbugs” or “killer viruses”. But obviously this is easier to do when a disease is relatively benign.”

She pointed out that easier Internet access might also help people to feel in control-an issue that emerged from a previous ESRC project on foot and mouth disease carried out in Nottingham.

These days, especially in the context of swine flu, “email, Twitter, and public health sites all give information and advice which can be useful to worried individuals and may dampen down panic. ‘But more research needs to be done in this area,” she said.

The research focused on MRSA along with avian flu and was conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in nursing, the social study of health and illness, environmental studies and linguistics.

The study compared the language of biosecurity, hygiene and cleanliness used in policy documents and media coverage with the language used by hospital matrons and poultry farmers dealing with the realities of MRSA and avian flu.

“We found that the way people communicate about a threat largely determines how they understand it and behave towards it. Additional findings established that media coverage of hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals tended to portray doctors and nurses engaged in a heroic “battle” against “intelligent super bugs.This was personified by the modern matron wielding the weapon of “cleanliness,” said Nerlich.

After conducting interviews with hospital matrons, the researchers found that a gap between the media portrayal and the reality on the wards.

Matrons said that the limitations in their authority over contractors, and time constraints made it impossible for them to spend even half their time as a “visible presence” on the wards.

“This was another example of the control issue. Modern matrons have limited powers to limit the spread of infection or improve hygiene. For instance, they can’t hire extra nursing staff for barrier nursing or deal with problems with cleaning contractors. Our findings highlight the need for policy messages to be translated more accurately into practice,” said Nerlich. (ANI)

Scientists discover pot-bellied dino that had claws like ‘Wolverine’

Washington, July 16 (ANI): Scientists have discovered the most complete skeleton of a type of pot-bellied dinosaur, a therizinosaur, in southern Utah, US, which had claws like that of the fictional ‘X-Men’ character ‘Wolverine’.

According to a report in National Geographic News, dubbed Nothronychus graffami, the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) therizinosaur lived about 92.5 million years ago in what is present-day Utah.

When alive, the animal would have sported a beaked mouth and forelimbs tipped with 9 inch- (22 cm)-long sickle claws.

In life, sheathed in hornlike keratin, the talons would have each been about a foot (30 centimeters) long, or about as long as the dinosaur’s head.

In addition to its imposing claws, which are a therizinosaur trademark, the newfound dinosaur had a less-than-fearsome potbelly, a birdlike beak, stumpy legs, and a short tail.

Its stumpy legs, large gut and other features suggest the lumbering giant scarfed down plants rather than chasing after meaty prey.

Because these facts suggest that the animal was a plant-eater, scientists are puzzled about the use of the killer claws for the dinosaur.

“We really don’t know,” said study team member Lindsay Zanno of the Field Museum in Chicago.

“There are some things we can rule out, such as digging. Other than that, the claws may have been used for defense, to forage for plants, or to attract mates,” she added. (ANI)

Fergie vows to clean up her ‘filthy’ language during shows

Washington, July 14 (ANI): Black Eyed Peas singer Stacy Ann Ferguson, aka Fergie, has vowed to clean up her “filthy” language during the band’s stage shows.

Fergie, 34, who had embraced her sexual side during her solo career, and turned stage shows into raunchy extravaganzas, revealed that she would like to be a better role model for young girls.

She insists the Boom Boom Pow hitmakers are a family band, and has vowed to keep performances with them child-friendly.

“I wasn’t trying to be a role model with (debut solo album) The Dutchess…,” Contactmusic quoted her as having told Marie Claire magazine.

“Seeing little girls in the audience with their moms. (It) made me think about what I do onstage a little bit more. I had to watch my mouth, because it can be filthy,” she added. (ANI)

What Obama may gift to Pope Benedict XVI during their meeting

Washington, July 11 (ANI): Barack Obama’s staff called the owner of a religious gift shop in Philadelphia, Louis DiCocco, for advice as to what gift should be given to Pope Benedict XVI when the U.S. President meets him.

“Someone there remembered us from the Pope’s last visit,” the Washington Post quoted DiCocco as saying in a phone interview.

It may be significant to note that DiCocco’s shop had designed and built the chair that was used by the pope when he met U.S. bishops in Washington last year.

And this time around, he and Obama’s staff went back and forth for five days, trying to strike the right balance of history, significance, and sentiment.

The newspaper report suggests that not just American-Vatican relations were at stake, but also Obama’s reputation as a decent gift giver.

DiCocco first suggested the state department officials that they select an antique chalice his family had in their shop, which could be traced back to the 1920s.

He told them that it was a parish priest style gold-plated cup with a highly engraved base, and that written around the mouth of the chalice were the words “Sanctus, Sanctus, Santus”-meaning “holy, holy, holy”.

However, watching that the officials were still looking around for something better, DiCocco suggested that they could take a sacred relic from the saint John Neumann-a stole-in possession of the Redemptorist, an order of Catholic priests and brothers that originated in 1732 at Naples.

When DiCocco suggested the stole to the state department, “it was just kind of a no-brainer,” he said.

“It was just the right touch of American Catholic history and relevance. I mean, here was this saint, an immigrant who came to America and did so much beautiful work,” he said.

DiCocco personally picked it up, and hand-delivered it to government officials in Washington last week.

The White House has declined to confirm the gift or discuss it before the meeting between Obama and Benedict.

The Redemptorist order, however, has said in a statement that it was “a delight” to be able to give something to the Holy Father.

“We’re giving the gift because it was asked for by our government to be given to the pope, and it’s an honor,” said Al Bradley, an official with the order.

DiCocco said that his family were ecstatic to have been able to serve their country and their pope, not just once with the chair last year, but now twice.

“We’re humbled by it all. And just know there’s going to be a piece of American history in the Vatican – not just American, but Philadelphia history – it’s just a great feeling,” he said. (ANI)

Diets bad for the teeth may be bad for the body too

Washington, July 10 (ANI): Dental disease may be a warning that the high-glycemic diet that led to dental problems in the short term may, in the long term, cause harm to the body.

“The five-alarm fire bell of a tooth ache is difficult to ignore,” says Dr. Philippe P. Hujoel, professor of dental public health sciences at the University of Washington (UW) School of Dentistry in Seattle.

Hujoel weighed two contradictory viewpoints on the role of dietary carbohydrates in health and disease. The debate surrounds fermentable carbohydates: foods that turn into simple sugars in the mouth.

Fermentable carbohydrates are not just sweets like cookies, doughnuts, cake and candy. They also include bananas and several tropical fruits, sticky fruits like raisins and other dried fruits, and starchy foods like potatoes, refined wheat flour, yams, rice, pasta, pretzels, bread, and corn.

One viewpoint is that certain fermentable carbohydrates are beneficial to general health and that the harmful dental consequences of such a diet should be managed by the tools found in the oral hygiene section of drugstores.

A contrasting viewpoint suggests that fermentable carbohydrates are bad for both dental and general health, and that both dental and general health need to be maintained by restricting fermentable carbohydrates.

The close correlation between the biological mechanisms that cause dental decay and the factors responsible for high average levels of glucose in the blood is intriguing.

Hujoel explains that eating sugar or fermentable carbohydrates drops the acidity levels of dental plaque and is considered an initiating cause of dental decay.

“Eating these same foods, he says, is also associated with spikes in blood sugar levels. There is fascinating evidence that suggests that the higher the glycemic level of a food, the more it will drop the acidity of dental plaque, and the higher it will raise blood sugar. So, possibly, dental decay may really be a marker for the chronic high-glycemic diets that lead to both dental decay and chronic systemic diseases. This puts a whole new light on studies that have linked dental diseases to such diverse illnesses as Alzheimer’s disease and pancreatic cancer,” Hujoel said.

The report has been published in the Journal of Dental Research. (ANI)

‘Hotspots’ of human impact on coastal areas ranked

Washington, July 10 (ANI): A new study has ranked ‘hotspots’ among coastal marine ecosystems that are at risk worldwide as a result of human activities.

The study, by scientists at UC (University of California) Santa Barbara, US, is the first integrated analysis of all coastal areas of the world.

“Resource management and conservation in coastal waters must address a litany of impacts from human activities, from the land, such as urban runoff and other types of pollution, and from the sea,” said Benjamin S. Halpern, the study’s first author, who is based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UCSB.

“One of the great challenges is to decide where and how much to allocate limited resources to tackling these problems,” he said.

“Our results identify where it is absolutely imperative that land-based threats are addressed-so-called hotspots of land-based impact-and where these land-based sources of impact are minimal or can be ignored,” he added.

The hottest hotspot is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, explained Halpern, with the other top 10 in Asia and the Mediterranean.

“These are areas where conservation efforts will almost certainly fail if they don’t directly address what people are doing on land upstream from these locations,” he said.

Nutrient runoff from upstream farms has caused a persistent “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi runs into this body of water.

The dead zone is caused by an overgrowth of algae that feeds on the nutrients and takes up most of the oxygen in the water.

The researchers state that they have provided the first integrated analysis for all coastal areas of the world.

They surveyed four key land-based drivers of ecological change, namely, nutrient input from agriculture in urban settings, organic pollutants derived from pesticides, inorganic pollutants from urban runoff, and direct impact of human populations on coastal marine habitats.

Halpern explained that a large portion of the world’s coastlines experience very little effect of what happens on land-nearly half of the coastline and more than 90 percent of all coastal waters.

“This is because a vast majority of the planet’s landscape drains into relatively few very large rivers, that in turn affect a small amount of coastal area,” said Halpern.
In these places with little impact from human activities on land, marine conservation can and needs to focus primarily on what is happening in the ocean,” he added. (ANI)

Clinical studies establish strong link between oral infections and cardiovascular disease

Washington, July 10 (ANI): Clinical studies conducted recently have established a strong link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Marvin J. Slepian and and Neil R. Gottehrer, who will lead a discussion titled ‘Oral Body Inflammation Connection’ during the 57th Annual Meeting of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) in Baltimore, say that these findings strengthen their belief that oral infections contribute to CVD morbidity and connection of chronic infections and CVD.

The discussion will be one of the first discussions held at the AGD’s annual meeting that integrates both dentistry and medicine because the disease is common to both health management groups.

“It is critical for all dentists and physicians to collaborate in helping patients reduce inflammation, which can become a target factor for cardiovascular disease,” says Dr. Slepian.

The researchers believe that the information presented during the event will provide dentists with hands-on knowledge regarding how to communicate with physicians in order to collaborate and create more proactive management periodontal disease treatment plans, which can then improve periodontal and associated physical health by reducing CVD.

“This is a landmark course being presented and I am honored to be holding the discussion with my colleague, Dr. Slepian. We hope to provide groundbreaking and useful information to attendees to help them improve the overall health of their patients and to build an increased awareness about the connection between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease that many, if not most, patients are unaware of,” says Dr. Gottehrer.

CVD has a wide range of categories, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. A recent study that will be cited during the presentation explored the existence of bacteria known to cause periodontitis and the growth of blood vessel walls, which is a symptom of CVD.

The researchers say that upon examining the subjects of the study, they found a positive connection between the growth of blood vessel walls and the existence of bacteria found in dental plaque, causing periodontitis.

Dr. Gottehrer stresses the importance of brushing and flossing twice a day to reduce the risk of gum disease and to maintain a happy, healthy mouth. He suggests if abnormal occurrences are noticed, a person should contact a general dentist immediately in order to prevent possible further damage to teeth and gums and to also reduce the risk of CVD. (ANI)

Soon, face recognition computers that can see through disguises

Washington, July 8 (ANI): Florida Atlantic University engineers in Boca Raton are working on a superior new face recognition technique that can see through disguises.

Lin Huang, from the university’s Department of Engineering, says that every face has special features that define people, yet faces can also be very similar.

The researcher adds that this is what makes computerized face recognition for security and other applications an interesting, but difficult, task.

Face recognition software has been in development for many years, but the main technical limitation is, although the systems are accurate, they require a lot of computer power.

Early face recognition systems simply marked major facial features – eyes, nose mouth – on a photograph, and computed the distances from these features to a common reference point.

In the new study, Huang and colleagues Hanqi Zhuang and Salvatore Morgera have applied a one-dimensional filter to the two-dimensional data from conventional analyses, such as the Gabor method (which is based on neural networks).

This allows them to reduce significantly the amount of computer power required without compromising accuracy.

The team tested the performance of their new algorithm on a standard database of 400 images of 40 subjects. Images are grey scale and just 92 x 112 pixels in size.

They found that their technique was not only faster and worked with low resolution images, such as those produced by standard CCTV cameras, but it also solved the variation problems caused by different light levels and shadows, viewing direction, pose, and facial expressions.

It could even see through certain types of disguises, such as facial hair and glasses.

The findings have been published in International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications. (ANI)

Megan Fox goes topless for horror flick

London, July 7 (ANI): Megan Fox has gone topless for a scene in her new horror movie ‘Jennifer’s Body’.

The ‘Transformers’ beauty roams around through a jungle topless for the scene in the film, which has her in the role of a demon-possessed cheerleader who turns men into bloody pulps, reports the Sun.

To add spooky zing to the film, Fox will be seen with a giant mouth and razor-sharp teeth.

‘Jennifer’s Body’ comes to UK cinema screens in October. (ANI)

Megan Fox goes topless for horror film

London, July 6 (IANS) Model-turned-actress Megan Fox has gone topless for a scene in her new horror movie “Jennifer’s Body”.
Fox roamed around through a jungle topless for the scene in the film, which has her in the role of a demon-possessed cheerleader who turns men into bloody pulps, reports thesun.co.uk.

To add spooky zing to the film, Fox will be seen with a giant mouth and razor-sharp teeth.

Richard Wagner’s text-music match helped both performers and listeners, say researchers

Washington, July 2 (ANI): Contrary to all suggestions regarding Richard Wagner’s “difficult” reputation, a new study now suggests that the German composer used to set his text to music in a way that uses the acoustics of the soprano voice in a manner that helps both performers and listeners.

“Each vowel in European languages is associated with a set of resonance frequencies of the vocal tract,” says author Dr. John Smith, of the University of New South Wales.

“Both the intelligibility to listeners and the ease of production by singers could be improved if the pitch of the musical note written for a vowel corresponded with one of its resonance frequencies,” Smith says.

UNSW co-author, Professor Joe Wolfe, adds: “If this occurred we should expect to find that vowels normally sung with an open mouth would occur more often at the high notes of the soprano range.”

Writing about their work in the Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, the researchers have revealed that they tested this idea by examining the musical scores for eight operas.

For over 20,000 notes sung by solo sopranos in these operas, the authors recorded the vowel sound associated with each note.

In the Wagnerian operas, vowels that required an open mouth were used significantly more often for the very high notes. However, this was not the case for the other operas studied.

The researchers say that the preferential use of vowels in an appropriate range of pitch might have evolved because Wagner’s idea of opera was a continuous music drama in which singers often have to communicate lengthy, subtle aspects of plot via sung text alone.

Earlier operas often linked separate arias and choruses with the plot explained by recitative and actions on stage. There was thus less need for intelligibility at high pitch in these other operas.

The researchers further point out that Wagner wrote for much larger orchestras than available to Mozart or Rossini, and wrote vocal parts that severely test the stamina and capabilities of singers.

Thus, according to them, the employment of vowel-pitch matching could have helped satisfy the concomitant requirements of intelligibility, vocal power and easier singing of difficult parts.

“We know of no written evidence that Wagner tried to make singing parts easier for sopranos, but this research indicates that suitable matching of vowels with pitch increased systematically as Wagner’s experience as a composer increased,” says Dr. Smith.

Wagner was unusual as he wrote the librettos for all his operas, and thus had a distinct advantage in matching text with music.

Furthermore Wagner had considerable time to “polish” his operas. While Rossini wrote some 26 operas in seven years, Wagner wrote only fourteen in over 50 years. (ANI)

Soon, wheelchairs controlled by tongues

Washington, July 1(ANI): Scientists have developed a novel headset that makes it possible for a person suffering from spinal cord injury to precisely control a wheelchair or computer using the tongue.

The “tongue drive”, being trialled at Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, could also give astronauts a third hand in difficult situations like spacewalks.

Invented by electrical engineer Maysam Ghovanloo and Xueliang Huo, the device works by using two sensors to track a 5-millimetre-wide magnet attached to the tip of the user’s tongue.

The magnet is attached to a person’s tongue using surgical adhesive.

The sensors – implanted in a wireless headset – accept fluctuations in the strength of the magnetic field as the tongue moves, and transmit the signals on to a computer, where they are interpreted and acted upon.

By moving the tongue in predefined patterns, the user can steer a cursor on a screen, direct a wheelchair, and can even on switch on a TV.

Conventional methods include “sip and puff” devices, which are operated by blowing or sucking on a straw held in front of the mouth.

However, according to the Ghovanloo, tongue-drive system can accept a wider variety of commands.

“Some don’t like their sip and puff because it sits right in front of their face, and is like a signal of their disability,” New Scientist magazine quoted Ghovanloo as saying.

“Our design can be made less conspicuous,” Ghovanloo added.

The researchers say that they are in talks with a dental expert about installing them into a plastic retainer that fits inside the user’s teeth. (ANI)