Samuel L. Jackson becomes ”titanium man” – literally!

London, May 5 (ANI): Samuel L. Jackson has turned into titanium man after he was fitted with a bolt of the metal in his spine after a series of severe back problems.

The ‘Pulp Fiction’ star crushed a nerve and had to have the device fitted to allow him to walk, bend over and play golf.

And the actor is still amazed by the fact the surgery he had last year (09) has ended years of spinal problems.

“I have what”s known as a Coflex device, which is a titanium piece… that”s clamped to the upper phalange and the lower phalange,” the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

“The big deal for me about the surgery was… I woke up and I immediately knew I was better, but all of a sudden an hour after I woke up, there was a nurse in the room, saying, ”We”re gonna walk down the hall…” and she made me get up and walk and I walked from an hour after my surgery until now,” he added.

Jackson revealed that earlier he had back surgery to remove a cyst on his sciatic nerve.

“When I was doing S.W.A.T. I woke up one morning… I couldn”t move. I rolled out of bed, crawled to the bathroom, I took, like, eight Advil (painkillers) and eventually I ended up getting an epidural so I could finish the movie,” he said.

“Two days after the movie was over they discovered I had a cyst on my sciatic nerve,” he added.

While the movie star has now gotten rid of the pain, he still goes for regular acupuncture sessions to make sure he never has to experience the pain of spinal problems again.

“It”s one of my favourite things. Twice a week I go,” he said. (ANI)

How to know your erotic net worth?

Washington, May 4 (ANI): Do you have any idea what your erotic net worth is? Well, according to sociologist Catherine Hakim of the London School of Economics, a person’s erotic capital is a collection of attributes including physical fitness, good grooming, superior social skills, and sex appeal.

And taken together, these qualities form a powerful personal asset, and the more of each element of erotic capital you possess, the higher your overall erotic net worth.

What makes erotic capital a big deal is that the greater your erotic net worth, the more financial success you”ll have and the more social and dating advantages will come your way.

While the concept has long been discussed in relation to women, but even men are equal proprietors of erotic capital, reports Fox News.

Now, you can figure out what your erotic net worth is and how you can increase it to your advantage:

Sex appeal

You don”t have to look like a movie star to have sex appeal. What you do need is the right body language, a healthy dose of confidence, a talent for flirting, and an amazing cologne.

For men, facing others head-on with your spine erect, your head held high and your feet about a foot apart conveys a dominant, self-assured, in-control attitude, which is a huge turn-on for women.

And because women are programmed to pay attention to smell when selecting a mate, you should also choose your fragrance wisely, doing your best to track down the juice that complements your natural body odour.

Use humour to flirt and learn to read female body language — if she looks at you, then looks away, then looks at you again, she”s interested.

Social skills

Men with a high erotic net worth are charming, persuasive, playful, witty, polite, and good conversationalists.

To become adept at socializing, read voraciously and stay on top of current events as well as what”s hot in film, television, business, and technology.

Making others feel at ease is often as simple as projecting a sense of calm and asking open-ended questions (those that don”t involve simply a “yes” or “no” answer) to encourage others to talk.

In fact, because most people love to talk about themselves, showing an interest in others and listening attentively with steady eye contact will trick them into finding you fascinating even if you reveal relatively little about yourself.

Also, don”t take yourself too seriously, as the capacity to laugh at yourself and take life”s mishaps in stride shows self-confidence, which is infinitely more appealing than being uptight.

Physical fitness

Having a high erotic net worth is practically synonymous with being in shape. A sexy body indicates virility and vigour, which in women”s minds translates into stamina and dynamite sack sessions.

What you”re aiming for is a V-shaped physique, which you can achieve through a combination of weight lifting and cardio.

The right clothes will also go a long way toward creating the illusion of a perfect body, so favour V-neck tops over crewnecks and single-breasted blazers over double-breasted toppers.

Studies also suggest that taller men earn more, so give yourself a height advantage with shoes that have a half-inch heel.

Self-presentation

The way you dress and style your hair all have a major impact on the first impression you create. Being negligent about your grooming routine and your wardrobe will cost you — on the job in terms of salary (better-looking people earn more) and in the dating realm.

To dress your best, know where to splurge and when to save. Develop a signature style by determining what colours and cuts are most flattering on you.

One thing incredibly stylish men have in common is the ability to wear trends without looking like fashion victims.

When it comes to your hair, get it trimmed every four weeks, use the right kind of shampoo and conditioner for your hair type and avoid working too much product, like gel, into your mane. Be diligent about keeping your facial hair in check and whiten your teeth every six months.

Lastly, pay attention to your hands.

Sexual competence

While possessing the previously mentioned elements of erotic capital will certainly increase your chances of finding yourself between the sheets with a potential mate, poor performance in this department will send your erotic stock plummeting.

Fortunately, sexual skills are learned rather than innate, so, start reading books and articles on the topic to improve your bedroom know-how.

Focus on finding ways to increase your sexual stamina, such as tantric practices and Kegel exercises.

Equally important in enhancing your sexual competence is figuring out the fine points involved in giving great oral sex and committing to the time involved — it takes most women around 20 minutes to achieve orgasm on average and a mind-blowing finish will immediately secure you a top spot on her list of lovers.

Bonus points for asking about her fantasies and then making them come true.

Also, even if she doesn”t seem like a girly girl, all women go gaga for a little romance. So don”t be shy in this area either. (ANI)

Interventional Spine, Inc. Announces Issuance of Key Patents

IRVINE, Calif.–(Business Wire)–
Interventional Spine, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent Office
has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,648,523, entitled Method and Apparatus for Spinal
Stabilization. This patent includes 25 claims that provide key patent protection
for Interventional Spine’s PDS System, sold outside the United States under the
PercuDyn name. This patent protection strengthens Interventional Spine’s patent
portfolio for its key technologies, which also includes Interventional Spine’s
patented CLASP technology.

Interventional Spine`s PercuDyn System is the first and only PERCUTANEOUS
Bilateral Facet-Augmentation System for treating degenerative disc disease (DDD)
and Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). With over 1,500 implants outside the United
States over the last three years, most in outpatient settings, the system has
shown positive outcomes for patients which otherwise only alternative for
treatment would have been surgery.

Walter A. Cuevas, Chief Executive Officer of Interventional Spine commented:
“This issuance by the United States Patent Office reinforces the strength of our
technologies and is one more step in our goal of making Interventional Spine a
leading provider of PERCUTANEOUS technologies for the treatment of spinal
disease. We are very pleased with this decision.”

Interventional Spine, Inc. is a privately held company based in Irvine,
California that designs, develops, and markets patented implantable devices for
the spine that can be deployed via percutaneous techniques, supported by the
Company`s unique product introduction systems, providing benefits to patients,
surgeons, and. hospitals. More information on the Company and its products can
be found at: www.i-spineinc.com.

Interventional Spine, Inc.
Walter Cuevas
Chief Executive Officer
949-472-0006

Copyright Business Wire 2010

Kicking horse fractures woman’s spine

A New South Wales north coast woman who was kicked by a horse has been transferred to a Queensland hospital.

The 33-year-old was kicked at Myocum yesterday.

She was taken to Lismore Base Hospital but has since been taken to a Gold Coast hospital with a spinal fracture.

Sharks’ Williams has another clot removed

Cronulla NRL back rower Reece Williams is recovering in a Sydney hospital following surgery to remove a blood clot from his spine after he collapsed during a New South Wales Cup game on Saturday.

Williams, who had an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain last year after being concussed in an NRL match against Parramatta, was carried off during the Sharks reserve grade team’s match against Shellharbour after making a tackle.

He underwent surgery on Wednesday.

The incident has cast doubts on whether the 2007 City Origin representative will be able to continue his career, with doctors ruling that the 24-year-old should be sidelined indefinitely.

Sharks coach Ricky Stuart visited Williams on Thursday and said he was in good spirits.

“Reece is a tremendous person and an extremely talented player,” Stuart said in a statement.

“Everyone in rugby league wishes him a speedy recovery.

“Regaining his health is his number one priority and the Sharks will support him all the way.”

-AAP

Don’t ignore back pain after a sneeze

Ever felt a sudden pain in your spine after a sneeze? Medics caution not to take it lightly as there are chances of the spine becoming vulnerable to serious disorders like a slipped disc, hernia or in rare cases, paralysis of limbs. A body pulverising sneeze, which makes body jerk as if on a take off mode may cause the spine to take the full impact of the shattering blow.

“If you get a sudden pain running down your spine, it means the sneeze has really struck hard,” says Dr Ashish Shrivastav, Senior Neurosurgery consultant at B L Kapoor Memorial Hospital here. Shrivastav explains that a sneeze jerk may precipitate a slip disc especially if any of the discs is on the verge of herniating.

“A strenuous sneezing attack can leave the body with back spasms and upper or lower back pain and can cause injury. Vigorous sneezing not only wracks the entire body, but the pressure can be so intense it may actually cause a weakened spinal disc to herniate. Sneezing aggravates already existent musculoskeletal strain and might increase back pain that resulted from a previous injury,” explains Shrivastav.

A powerful sneeze creates a flutter around the spine discs and if sneezing results into a sudden pain in the back, it is best to avert a crisis by consulting a neurosurgeon, say experts.

Natural hydrogel may boost spinal cord healing

Washington, Sep 18 (ANI): A jab of biomaterial gel into a spinal cord injury site may significantly improve healing, according to researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Dr. Mark Preul and Dr. Alyssa Panitch have found in a study that injection of an engineered hydrogel made up mainly of hyaluronic acid (a naturally-occurring body substance) into the spinal cord injury site decreases scarring, and promotes a realignment of the spinal cord fibres around the injury site.

The hyaluronic acid, which forms a scaffold-like configuration may help to structurally stabilize the spinal cord injury site.

The researchers traced cells in the brain stem after injury, and found much higher levels in the hydrogel treated animals as compared to animals that did not receive the treatment, and approached nearly normal levels.

Treated animals had higher functional scores than their non-treated counterparts.

“Spinal cord injury is devastating to civilian and military populations – especially to the young. There has been little progress toward paradigms of regeneration and few results that show real, sustained functional recovery. We’ve been so pre-occupied with regeneration, but that is a highly complicated and difficult to define goal. This project is a synergy of neurosurgeons and bioengineers that attempts repair of the SCI lesion cavity using a tissue-engineering biomaterials approach,” says Preul.

He added that the team aimed at finding ways to structurally allow the body to better heal itself.

“In this project we did not add anything to the hyaluronic acid. It may be that adding growth factors or cells into the gel matrix may allow even better results,” he said.

Preul said that the results show “we may be on a practical path that can give hope to the many people who suffer this sort of injury.”

The work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in San Diego where it won the Synthes Prize for Spine Research. (ANI)

Aussie police command wobbled by sexual harassment claims

Sydney, Sep. 15 (ANI): Female police officers at an Australian police command have alleged that they were sexually harassed and intimidated by their male counterparts apart from being told that their place was in the home.

According to a complaint filed by a senior female constable at the Goulburn Local Area Command, five of her male colleagues sent sexually explicit emails to her and asked her to join a threesome.

Another three officers at the same command’s Bowral station have told their local MP they were “demeaned” due to pregnancy or because they were mothers, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The alleged harassment of the senior constable and sergeant began two years ago.

During one sleazy exchange in the police station, a senior colleague told the female constable that a threesome was “every man’s dream” and then suggested she “have a go” with the girlfriend of another officer.

The policewomen have also alleged that a local man was assaulted during an arrest in the middle of 2007 and that it was never investigated, despite his family attempting to make a complaint.

The senior constable said the arresting officer told her: “That guy’s a piece of s…, he was carrying on like a f…..t and mouthing off, he got what he deserved, we flogged him, he got pile-driven into the ground head first.”

A police spokesman said the women were the subject of a 181D action and faced a loss of confidence of the Commissioner.

“Their reward for a combined 37 years of dedicated front-line service is to be subjected to systematic bullying by male officers because of their gender and because they had the courage to stand up and complain about their treatment,” Hodgkinson said.
The two women have paid dearly for their service, with the senior constable needing surgery to fuse her spine last year and the sergeant suffering a broken back on duty. (ANI)

World’s first patient implanted with smallest rechargeable neurostimulator completes one year

Washington, Sep 12 (ANI): The world’s first patient to have been implanted with the smallest ever neurostimulator for chronic pain is celebrating the one-year anniversary of his procedure today.

One year ago, former U.S. Army parachutist Adam Hammond became the first patient in the world to have been implanted with an Eon Mini neurostimulator.

Adam got the chronic pain after a skydiving accident when his parachute deployed incorrectly, leaving him in a coma with life-threatening injuries, including a severed spine, broken femur, fractured pelvic bone, and torn aorta.

Although Adam recovered from his accident, he battled chronic pain that left him dependent on a wheelchair.

But, today, the picture has completely changed and Adam is active and exercising, studying for his law degree and no longer in need of a wheelchair.

Adam also went to Washington, D.C., recently to meet with representatives and advocate for pain legislation.

However, Adam is not the only chronic pain sufferers who have been helped with neurostimulation, an FDA-approved therapy that uses electrical pulses to interrupt pain signals to the brain.

Over 60,000 St. Jude Medical neurostimulation devices have been implanted in patients in 35 countries around the world. (ANI)

Novel minimally invasive surgery for treating spinal cancer patients

Washington, Sep 8 (ANI): Doctors at Toronto Western Hospital have come up with a new minimally invasive, outpatient spine surgical procedure for treating cancer that has spread to the spine.

It is believed that almost 40-50 percent of metastic cancers end up in the spine and the most common primary cancers to spread to the bones of the spine are breast and lung cancer.

Spinal tumours can drastically affect a patient’s quality of life and result in pain and reduced mobility.

A spinal tumour or a growth of any kind can impinge on nerves, leading to pain, neurological problems and sometimes paralysis.

The new procedure involves a small incision in the back (the size of a loonie) in order to remove the tumour and stabilize the damaged spine.

Other than providing a shorter recovery time, its benefits also include allowing patients to receive radiation treatment shortly after surgery.

Traditional surgical methods involve a longer and more painful recovery process, thus making patients to wait weeks before resuming radiation treatment.

The combination of surgery and radiation leads to better outcomes and quality of life. (ANI)

Girl nicknamed Human Tortoise finally comes out of her shell

London, Aug 26 (ANI): A Brit girl, who earned the nickname Human Tortoise for the body cast she had to wear, has finally been able to get rid of it after 12 years.

Megan Parker, who lives with mum Tina, dad Robert and brother Zac in Colchester, Essex, was diagnosed with curvature of the spine at just six weeks old, and, at 18 months, she was given the “shell” to help correct her twisted back.

She has had to undergo more than 40 operations, including repeated surgery to tighten titanium rods as she grew.

But now, at age 14, she is free to look forward to a normal life.

“There is so much that I want to do now, but I have to take things steady because it’s still early days,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“It has completely opened up the world to me.

“I could never wear girly clothes before – and I had never had my hair cut at a salon because I couldn’t bend my head over the sinks. It just shows why you should never give up hope,” she said.

Megan has even proved that she’s on track for a full recovery by taking up go-karting.

“Driving a go-kart was one of the first things she had wanted to do and it brought tears to our eyes when she finally did it,” Tina, 39, said.

“She is my miracle girl – she’s been through so much. The surgeons have been incredible and have transformed her life.

“She can play with friends as she has always wanted to. I feel like my little girl has finally come out of her shell – in both ways,” she added. (ANI)

Oz boffins question ‘ideal’ sitting posture

Melbourne, Aug 26 (ANI): Australian researchers have questioned the science behind the ‘ideal’ sitting posture.

According to researchers at the University of Queensland’s Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, the posture often recommended as ideal cannot be achieved sans assistance.

In fact, the ‘ideal’ curved lower back posture is not only difficult to achieve in a sitting position, it also takes effort to maintain, reports ABC Online.

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Claus says the belief that slumped postures are worse for spine than upright ones is making assumptions based on limited evidence.

“That’s the thing that we’re starting to redress,” says Claus.

“It may be that slumped postures are uncomfortable for the spine and may cause people some problems, but the science to actually test or prove that is really weak,” he adds.

To reach the conclusion, boffins used sensors attached to the backs of ten male volunteers to monitor the angle of their backs as they imitated pictures and descriptions of various postures. They were later helped to achieve the positions by a physiotherapist.

After analyses, scientists found that men could not achieve the much-recommended curved lower back posture unless hands-on guidance was provided, but were able to adopt the flat back and slump positions without any help.

Claus says that it suggests that if such a posture is the ideal, people must be educated properly on how to achieve it and specially designed chairs are unlikely to be enough.

The study has been published in the journal Manual Therapy. (ANI)

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis put on sizzling show in sex scene

London, Aug 25 (ANI): Actresses Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis are said to have put in their best effort for a sizzling girl-on-girl action in a new movie.

Portman, 28, and Kunis, 26, both play rival ballet stars in the spine-chiller movie ‘Black Swan’.

“There is an angry, aggressive sex scene in the movie. It’s pretty raunchy, both girls give it their all,” the Daily Star quoted an insider as revealing.

Meanwhile, Portman is all set to produce high school comedy ‘Booksmart’ for Fox. (ANI)

Strength training, aerobic exercise help reduce cardiovascular risks, pain

Washington, July 11 (ANI): Strength training helps lower heart disease and stroke risk factors, while all-around exercise reduces neck and shoulder pain, suggests a new study.

Lead researcher Dr. Mogens T. Pedersen, of the University of Copenhagen, says that strength training and all-around exercise are a valuable part of work site exercise programs that have multiple benefits.

During the study, the researchers randomly assigned 841 Danish employees to two exercise groups.

One group did all-around exercise like aerobics and walking, while the other focused on strength training, particularly on the shoulder and cervical spine (neck) muscles.

A third group received no exercise program at work.

The researchers found reductions in cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure and body fat, in not only those assigned to aerobic exercise, but also in those who did strength training.

The average reduction in blood pressure was big enough to lead to a 25 percent reduction in stroke risk.

Both types of physical activity also reduced back and shoulder pain by nearly 30 percent, when compared to the no-exercise group.

Dr. Pedersen and colleagues write: “These positive health-related adaptations occurred in spite of relatively small changes in physical capacity.”

The study has been published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (ANI)

Jackson ‘warned Britney not to end up like him’

Washington, July 8 (ANI): A few weeks before his death, Michael Jackson reportedly advised Britney Spears to retire from the music industry to focus on life with her family.

The late ‘Thriller’ star – who died of a suspected cardiac arrest on June 25 – reportedly telephoned the ‘Toxic’ hitmaker and warned her not to ‘end up’ like him.

“Michael told her, ‘Don’t end up like me.’ His warning was eerie, like he was trying to tell Britney he was going to die,” Contactmusic quoted a friend of Britney as saying.

The source told Britain’s Look magazine: “I think Michael’s warning sent shivers down Britney’s spine. He was emphatic in warning her she should leave showbusiness in order to maintain her sanity.

“He thought she should retire after the ‘Circus’ tour so she could focus on the things that mattered – her sons and family.

“Britney must have taken Michael’s words to heart as she promised him she would at least take a long break after she finished the tour,” the source added.

Jackson and Spears had remained friends since they famously performed ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ together at Michael’s 30th anniversary celebration concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2001. (ANI)

KP claims gruelling fitness regime caused his Achilles injury

London, June 28 (ANI): England middle-order bat Kevin Pietersen has said that his gruelling self-imposed Caribbean fitness regime caused his Achilles injury.

With the First Test against Australia just 10 days away, Pietersen is still not 100 per cent fit.

According to News of The World, Pietersen has already had a cortisone jab injected into the nerve in his spine to treat the injury.

He admits that too much running during England’s winter tour of the West Indies fuelled his current fitness problems.P’s personal training schedule included:

.3.5mile sprints on a treadmill the night before Test matches.

.Running six miles from the ground in St Kitts to the England hotel instead of catching the team bus.

. Mile-long shuttle runs up and down hills near the team hotel.

“Road running is what I absolutely love, but I did too much. I was doing huge runs in the Caribbean – too much – which hurt my back and was linked to the problems I’ve since had,” he was quoted, as saying.(ANI)

Mysterious South American glaciers grow as others shrink

Washington, June 23 (ANI): In times when most glaciers in the world are shrinking due to global warming, two mysterious South American glaciers are displaying strange behavior in the sense that they are growing.

“Most of the 50 massive glaciers draped over the spine of the Patagonian Andes are shrinking in response to a global warming,” said Andres Rivera, a glaciologist at the Center for Scientific Studies in Valdivia, Chile.

But, according to a report in National Geographic News, the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina and Pio XI glacier in Chile are taking on ice, instead of shedding it.

“What is happening is not well understood,” Rivera said.

Theories center on the geography and topography of the glaciers; the depth and temperature of the waters where the glaciers end; and how quickly, or slowly, they react to changes in the climate.

Yet overall, “if you account for the gains and losses of all of Patagonia’s glaciers, they are (still) losing huge amounts of ice,” Rivera pointed out.

“One hypothesis for the 3-mile-wide (5 kilometer-wide) Perito Moreno’s advance is the glacier’s apparent insensitivity to changes in what glaciologists call the equilibrium line on glaciers,” Rivera said.

As a result, the amount of ice lost or gained is minimal.

It could also be that Perito Moreno simply hasn’t got all that much to lose.

Lago Argentino, the lake where Perito Moreno ends, is shallower than the bodies of water at the ends of most glaciers.

Most glaciers calve, or release ice, in deep water, but not Perito Moreno, where the calving rates are higher than on other Patagonian glaciers.

That means less of the glacier is in the melting zone below the equilibrium line.

As heavy snowfall above the equilibrium line pushes the glacier downhill, the glacier breaks up when it hits the lake, Rivera explained.

“Such impacts kept the glacier from growing longer when the climate was cooler, and thus more likely to expand,” he said.

As for the Pio XI glacier in Chile, some scientists have attempted to explain its advance as a glacial surge, a periodic and sudden expansion of a glacier that is little understood but is thought to be unrelated to external forces. (ANI)

Informa India brings global leaders’ series to India for the first time

Mumbai, May 15 (ANI/Business Wire India): Informa, the owners of information super-brands including Lloyd’s List, Taylor and Francis and Datamonitor, have announced the first Indian edition of the world’s largest series of leadership events.

Leaders business fora command audiences of 1000s of top corporate executives every year, with speakers most recently including Kofi Annan, CK Prahalad, Philip Kotler, Stephen Covey, Richard Branson and Steve Forbes.

Leaders in India, is the latest edition of what is widely regarded as the world’s largest series of business leadership events, which so far have taken place annually in major international cities including London and Dubai.

Informa, producers of the event, have received a particularly strong response from Indian and international organisations, with GE, JSW, Johnson and Johnson, Birla, Nokia and Abbot amongst many others already having confirmed their delegations to the event.

“India is one of the most dynamic markets of the world, where innovation, business, and technical acumen will continue to grow and thrive for many years to come,” said Trump Jr.. “I look forward to bringing many incredible projects to this market, which is now primed and ready for world class development.”

Donald Trump Jr., has announced ambitious plans for investment in India’s real estate sector, and will elaborate on successfully dealing with the obstacles faced by international companies when entering the Indian market.

Tom Peters, among the most influential management gurus of today, and renowned author of ‘In search of excellence’, will provide practical tools to tackle one of the most pressing issues on every CEO’s mind – ‘how to win the war for talent.’

In spite of a more favorable employer’s market at present, the ‘war for talent’ is expected to remain one of Indian business’ paramount challenges as the country continues to develop rapidly over the coming decades.

On why Informa has decided to bring ‘Leaders’ to India, Abhaey Singh, Managing Director, Informa India, said, “Indians are ideas people – we love inspiration, and Leaders in India will be two days packed with the proverbial tingles down your spine.”

“But more than just that, our country is gradually positioning itself at the fore of the 21st Century knowledge economy. From our legendary IITs and IIMs, to our booming media and information industry; and from complex analyses performed for global firms in our KPO centres, to continual advances in indigenous rocket science – India’s inherent knowledge resources are now being more comprehensively harnessed by and interconnected with Indian and global business. So we think it’s an excellent time to leverage the hugely respected Leaders brand into this very exciting country”, added Singh.

Featuring Indian leaders such as Adi Godrej, Kishore Biyani and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, along with special guest speakers Abhinav Bindra and Shashi Tharoor, the event will also host The “IIBAAs” (Indo-International Business Achievement Awards), which has been instituted to acknowledge exceptional entrepreneurial and innovative talent, effective and responsible leadership and management, and the setting of new standards within Indian and global businesses. (ANI)

Ferguson keeps vigil beside his gravely injured grandson’s hospital bed

London, May 7 (ANI): Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson kept vigil beside his gravely injured grandson’s hospital bed, as the kid fought back from the brink of death.

Ferguson clutched Charlie’s hand and whispered words of support as the sedated ten-year-old recovered from a five-hour op to reduce brain swelling.

Ferguson, 67, was shaken to learn of the crash hours before his side’s Champions League semi-final second leg clash with Arsenal.

Charlie, who dreams of one day playing for Sir Alex’s Manchester United, was last night in a “serious” condition and faces more surgery today to repair his spine after shattering a neck vertebra. e is the stepson of Sir Alex’s manager son Darren, 37, but both treasure him as “their own flesh and blood.”

He suffered a catalogue of injuries, including a punctured lung and bowel damage, in a head-on car smash in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on Tuesday.

His mum Nadine Metcalfe – Darren’s ex – broke both legs and was cut free with Charlie’s sister Grace, six.

Charlie walked unaided when they reached Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Cheshire. But medics realised that he had severe internal bleeding only after he keeled over.

He was airlifted to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital for surgery, The Sun reported.

Nadine was “stable” last night in Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital. Grace, who had cuts, has been released from the hospital. (ANI)

Women with arthritis more likely to quit job than men

Washington, May 1 (ANI): A new study has shown that women suffering from arthritis are more likely to stop working than men with the same disability.

While men keep working, they are likely to report negative experiences.

The research team led by Simone A. Kaptein of the Toronto Western Research Institute analysed the responses for almost 9,000 individuals between the ages of 25 and 64.

They were asked about the intensity and frequency of activity limitations for activities likely to be encountered in the work place.

The results showed that 2.3 percent of the working-age population had arthritis disability, the second-most frequent cause of disability after back and spine conditions.

More than half of those with arthritis disability reported being out of the labour force, almost 41 percent were unemployed, and 5 percent were unemployed and looking for work.

A higher proportion of women were out of the labour force than men. The study showed that single or previously married women were more likely to be out of the labour force.

“Additional research needs to examine in more detail the specific reasons that men and women give up employment and their relationship to family composition and marital status,” the authors state.

The study was published in the May issue of Arthritis Care and Research. (ANI)