Tolerance | SilverScorpio.Com

Illegal strikes not tolerated

March 30, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned unions they are not above the law as she prepares to visit the Pilbara following industrial unrest earlier this year.

Ms Gillard is planning to visit Woodside’s Pluto LNG project in Karratha tomorrow for the first time since an illegal, week-long strike by about 1,600 workers who were angry at new accommodation arrangements.

Employees returned to work after the project contractor obtained Federal Court injunctions.

Although unions denied any involvement in the strike, Ms Gillard has blamed them for unduly influencing the workers.

“There are some individuals in this state who aren’t respecting the balance of the Fair Work Act.

“And, if you don’t acquit your responsibilities then you should expect to feel the full force of the law.”

Ms Gillard says the government will not tolerate illegal strikes even if WA unions have made it clear they are willing to defy the orders of Fair Work Australia.

“It certainly is a message for Mr Reynolds, Mr Macdonald and every person in the state of Western Australia.

“We have got no tolerance for people who seek to break the rules.”

Ms Gillard is also expected to fly to Barrow Island to inspect the site of the $43 billion Gorgon Gas project.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Accommodation Arrangements, Barrow Island, deputy prime minister, Federal Court Injunctions, fly, full force, geraldton-6530, government-and-politics, Industrial Unrest, Julia Gillard, karratha-6714, Mr Macdonald, Mr Reynolds, perth-6000, Pilbara, port-hedland-6721, project contractor, State Of Western Australia, strikes, tolerance, unions, wa, Woodside, work act, Work Australia

‘Zero tolerance’ policy has zero effect

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 17 (ANI): Amid an ongoing debate about changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 in the US, a Sam Houston State University economist has raised voice against a related law- the “zero tolerance” policy.

Darren Grant studied data from 30,000 fatalities in nighttime accidents involving drivers under 21, and concluded that zero tolerance laws have zero effect.

“Both in terms of the number of accidents and the blood alcohol of the drivers in those accidents, the research consistently showed that zero tolerance laws had no effect. Other factors matter, but not these laws,” said Grant.

Zero tolerance laws became prevalent during the 1990s, when the US Congress threatened to withhold highway funding from states that didn’t comply.

Grant has now said that the logic behind zero tolerance laws is suspect.

“The idea was, since drivers under 21 are not supposed to be drinking, you should be guilty of drunk driving if you are caught driving with any amount of alcohol in your system,” said Grant.

“Because you must sacrifice more to comply with the law, we should expect some people will just give up trying to satisfy the law and drink more,” he added.

But he found that this did not happen.

“Instead, among drivers involved in traffic accidents, there is the same fraction of heavy drinkers, the same fraction of mild drinkers, the same fraction of nondrinkers. It’s just not changing,” he said.

Grant also compared the blood alcohol distributions of involved drivers in the two years before zero tolerance laws were established in each state, and again in the two years after.

It was found that the two distributions were also virtually identical.

“That’s a sign that this law is essentially inert; if it’s affecting the amount of drinking that people do, these distributions should look different,” he said.

The study has been published in the journal Economic Inquiry. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 1990s, age, alcohol, amount, ANI, blood, Blood Alcohol, Changing The Drinking Age, Congress, Darren Grant, debate, distributions, drink, drinking, driving, drunk driving, economic, Economic Inquiry, economist, effect, fraction, funding, grant, heavy drinkers, highway, houston, Houston State University, idea, inert, inquiry, journal, law, logic, matter, nighttime, Nighttime Accidents, Nondrinkers, number, policy, Research, sam, Sam Houston State, Sam Houston State University, Sep, sign, state, study, system, tolerance, traffic, traffic accidents, University, US, US Congress, voice, Washington, zero, Zero Tolerance Laws, zero tolerance policy

Mild glucose intolerance in pregnancy could predict heart disease risk

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): A new study has found that mild glucose intolerance in pregnancy could be an early identifier of women who are at higher risk of heart disease.

In a large population-based cohort study, researchers from the University of Toronto and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) studied data on 435,696 women in Ontario, Canada, who gave birth between April, 1994 and March, 1998.

All women were followed until March 31, 2008. The study excluded women with pre-existing diabetes.

While women with gestational diabetes have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those without, it previously has not been known whether mild glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with heart disease. The study sought to answer this question.

Gestational diabetes is a condition leading to temporarily high blood sugars during pregnancy. It is an important risk factor for future type 2 diabetes.

Women are generally screened for gestational diabetes with a glucose challenge test in the late second trimester. If the result is abnormal, they go on to have an oral glucose tolerance test to confirm the diagnosis.

“Women who had an abnormal glucose challenge test but then did not have gestational diabetes had an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease compared to the general population, but a lower risk than women who actually did have gestational diabetes,” said Dr. Baiju Shah, Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences and co-author.

They suggest that “in women with glucose intolerance during pregnancy, type 2 diabetes and vascular disease may develop in parallel, which is consistent with the “common soil” hypothesis for these conditions.”

Current screening procedures for gestational diabetes might also provide a means for the early identification of women who are at risk for developing heart disease later in life.

The study has been published in published in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ANI, April, association, Aug, Baiju, birth, blood, Canada, Canadian, Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Medical Association Journal, challenge, clinical, Clinical Evaluative Sciences, CMAJ, co-author, cohort, condition, diabetes, diagnosis, disease, Dr. Baiju, Evaluative, factor, Gestational, gestational diabetes, glucose, glucose challenge test, glucose intolerance, glucose tolerance test, heart, heart disease risk, High Blood Sugars, ICES, identification, identifier, institute, intolerance, journal, life, March, means, medical, Medical Association Journal, mild, ontario, oral glucose tolerance test, parallel, population, pregnancy, Pregnancy Diabetes, question, result, risk, risk factor, risk of cardiovascular disease, risk of heart disease, screening, screening procedures, second trimester, shah, soil, study, test, tolerance, toronto, trimester, type, type 2 diabetes, University, university of toronto, vascular, Washington, Women

Malawi kids ‘taking in 50 ciggies a day’

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, August 25 (ANI): Thousands of kids in Malawi are taking in 50 cigarettes worth of nicotine a day due to their employment as child labourers on the country’s tobacco fields, warns an organisation.

According to a study by Plan, the kids showed an array of nicotine poisoning symptoms, such as severe headaches, abdominal pain, muscle weakness and breathlessness.

California university medical professor Neal Benowitz explained nicotine poisoning, also called Green Tobacco Sickness, was more severe in youngsters due to their underdeveloped tolerance level against smoking as compared to adults.

“The brain of a child or adolescent is particularly vulnerable to long-lasting adverse neurobehavioral effects of nicotine exposure,” Sky News quoted Benowitz as saying.

The report said: “Child labourers, some as young as five, are suffering severe physical symptoms from absorbing up to 54mg a day of dissolved nicotine through their skin – the equivalent of 50 average cigarettes.”

Plan also revealed that some of the kids toiled up to 12 hours a day, without protective clothing and were paid less than the equivalent of 1p an hour.

The study further pointed towards a lack of research into the long-term effects of Green Tobacco Sickness in kids, but “experts believe that it could seriously impair their development”. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abdominal, abdominal pain, adolescent, ANI, array, August, brain, California, California University, child, child labourers, cigarettes, clothing, country, day, Development, employment, equivalent, exposure, green, hour, lack, level, London, malawi, Medical Professor, muscle, muscle weakness, Neal Benowitz, neurobehavioral, Neurobehavioral Effects, NEWS, nicotine, nicotine exposure, Nicotine Poisoning Symptoms, organisation, pain, plan, poisoning, professor, protective clothing, report, Research, Severe Headaches, sickness, skin, sky, sky news, smoking, study, tobacco, Tobacco Fields, Tobacco Sickness, tolerance, Tolerance Level, University, University Medical, weakness, worth, youngsters

Prenatal malaria exposure ‘ups malaria, anaemia risk in some kids’

July 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 28 (ANI): A new study led by an Indian origin scientist has unravelled the mystery behind why some children are more susceptible to malaria infection and anaemia.

Lead researcher Indu Malhotra from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine suggests that children who are exposed to Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) malaria before birth become tolerant to the malaria parasites, or their soluble products.

This tolerance, which persists into childhood, reduces the ability of the immune system to attack and destroy parasites and increases the susceptibility of these children to develop a malaria infection.

It also increases their risk for anaemia.

“This is the first time it has been shown why some children are more susceptible to malaria and anaemia than other children,” said Malhotra.

“This study is timely given President Obama’s Global Health Initiative to assist developing countries to control malaria, one of the ‘big three’ diseases,” she added.

The researchers investigated how prenatal malaria exposure affects anti-malaria immunity in young children and their susceptibility to subsequent malaria infections.

They studied 586 Kenyan newborn babies, the researchers identified those children who had been exposed to P. falciparum malaria in utero.

The babies were classified into three groups: “sensitized” – those babies whose cord blood cells produce activating cytokines in response to the malaria antigens; “exposed, not-sensitized” – babies whose bodies did not produce activating cytokines but made an inhibitory cytokine; and “not-exposed”- babies born to mothers with no P. falciparum malaria infection at delivery.

The study involving Malhotra, Christopher King and colleagues from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Kenya Medical Research Institute and Division of Vector Borne Diseases showed that in first three years of life, the “exposed, not-sensitized” group had a 60 percent greater risk of malaria infection than the “not-exposed” group and a slightly higher risk of malaria infection than the “sensitized” group.

They also had lower hemoglobulin levels, a sign of anaemia, than the other babies. The T cells of “exposed, not-sensitized” children were less likely to make activating cytokines in response to malaria antigens.

The study appears in the open access journal PLoS Medicine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ability, access, anaemia, ANI, birth, blood, blood cells, borne, case, case western reserve, case western reserve university, case western reserve university school of medicine, childhood, Christopher King, cord, cord blood, cytokine, cytokines, delivery, diseases, division, exposure, falciparum, Falciparum Malaria, Global, global health initiative, group, Health, hemoglobulin, immunity, indian origin, indu, infection, inhibitory, initiative, institute, journal, July, kenya, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenyan, life, malaria, malaria infection, Malaria Infections, malaria parasites, malhotra, medical, Medical Research Institute, medicine, mystery, newborn babies, Obama, origin, percent, Plasmodium, PLoS, prenatal, President Obama, Research, researcher, reserve, response, risk, school, school of medicine, scientist, sign, study, susceptibility, system, the, time, tolerance, tolerant, University, utero, vector, Vector Borne Diseases, Washington, western, western reserve university

Australian team discusses safety of students with W.Bengal chief secretary

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, July 15 (ANI): An Australian Government delegation, led by Colin Walters, met with West Bengal Chief Secretary Asok M Chakrabarti on Wednesday and briefed him about Canberra’s response to recent crimes against Indian students in Australia.

A statement issued by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi quoted the delegation as saying that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other political leaders have responded quickly to the issue.

“They have issued a series of firm statements saying that Australia has zero tolerance for racism and that Australia is proud of its multiculturalism. The Australian Government has initiated a review of legislation pertaining to international students, a rapid audit of institutions to ensure they deliver quality education, and established a student roundtable to bring the concerns of international students directly to the attention of Ministers. This is a first order priority for the Australian Government,” the delegation is said to have told Chakrabarti.

The visiting delegation further informed that the Australian Police have taken the issue very seriously and have deployed significant resources to make students safer in Australia, especially in Melbourne. Police are working to improve their communication with Indian students. A recent cricket match between police and students was a mark of this closer cooperation.

Australian Universities have issued a Ten-Point Plan to address issues raised by students including affordable accommodation, safety and other issues.

Chief Secretary Chakrabarti welcomed the briefing and agreed that this was generally a matter of urban crime, not racism. There was no suggestion that Indians specifically had been targeted. Like in many big international cities, a degree of crime exists and it is important to take care. He appreciated the Australian statements of regret about the crimes suffered by some students but said most students enjoyed their time in Australia and felt welcomed by the Australian community.

He said the parents of students from West Bengal and elsewhere in India should be assured that the Australian Government was taking the issue of student safety very seriously.

He added that the growth in education cooperation between Australia and West Bengal was very encouraging and it should continue to grow in the future. He also stated that both Australia and India have much to benefit from closer cooperation and hoped that Indian students and Indian people will continue to be welcome in Australia.

The Australian delegation also met with parents and students who are considering studying in Australia or who have relatives already in Australia. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accommodation, ANI, Asok, attention, audit, Australia, australian, australian government, Australian High Commission, Australian High Commission In New Delhi, Australian Police, Australian Prime Minister, Australian Universities, briefing, Canberra, care, Chakrabarti, Chief, chief secretary, colin walters, commission, communication, community, cooperation, Cricket, Cricket match, Crime, degree, delegation, Education, firm, future, Government, Government Delegation, growth, High, India, indian students, International Cities, issue, July, Kevin Rudd, Kolkata, legislation, M Chakrabarti, mark, match, matter, Melbourne, ministers, Multiculturalism, New Delhi, order, plan, point, police, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, priority, quality, quality education, racism, regret, response, review, safety, secretary, Secretary Asok, Secretary Chakrabarti, series, Significant Resources, statement, student, suggestion, team, ten, time, tolerance, Urban Crime, W.Bengal, Wednesday, west bengal

Presence of neo-Nazis once again haunts US military

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Atlanta, July 13 (ANI): The latest revelation on the appearance of at least 40 active-duty US soldiers on a neo-Nazi social networking website has confirmed the controversial government report released in April about the growing presence of white supremacy in the military.

According to the disclosure by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were at least 40 profiles related to active-duty military members on NewSaxon.org, known as the “fascist Facebook,” csmonitor.com reports.

“I love and will do anything to keep our master race marching,” writes “WhitePride85,” who claims on the site to be a 24-year-old staff sergeant from Madison, Wis.

The civil rights organization, which delivered its report to the House and Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees on Monday, raised new questions about how serious the Army is about rooting out rank-and-file neo-Nazis.

“There are many people in the military using new technology to put up racist profiles, racist music and books that they love that are racist, and as the regulations stand today that’s not grounds for being tossed out of the military,” SPLC spokeswoman Heidi Beirich said.

Undersecretary of Defense David Chu, however, told the SPLC that the Army has zero tolerance for racists in the ranks.

Jeffrey Castro, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., said his command investigates supremacist leanings only in relation to felony accusations. “Being a gang member, for instance is not a felony-level crime.”

It’s the unit commander who determines whether a soldier a neo-Nazi, and the Army policy states that commanders cannot, however, dismiss them.

In 2007, the FBI reported on concern about white supremacists recruiting soldiers, saying “hundreds” of neo-Nazis were in the active military.

Such groups hope to utilize their combat skills in “a coming race war,” says former marine TJ Leyden, an ex-white supremacist and author of “Skinhead Confessions.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, anything, appearance, April, armed, army, Army Policy, atlanta, author, cannot, center, Civil Rights Organization, com, combat, command, commander, concern, confessions, Crime, criminal, Criminal Investigation Command, csmonitor, David Chu, defense, disclosure, facebook, fbi, felony, Fort Belvoir, Fort Belvoir Va, gang, Government, Heidi Beirich, homeland, house, instance, investigation, Jeffrey Castro, July, law, Leyden, madison, madison wis, master, member, military, Monday, music, neo, Neo Nazis, neo-nazi, networking, NewSaxon, org, organization, policy, poverty, Poverty Law Center, presence, Race, Racist Music, Recruiting Soldiers, relation, report, revelation, security, senate, senate armed services, sergeant, site, Skinhead, soldier, southern, Southern Poverty Law, Southern Poverty Law Center, SPLC, spokesman, spokeswoman, staff, Staff Sergeant, supremacist, supremacy, Technology, today, tolerance, undersecretary, Undersecretary Of Defense, unit, US, Using New Technology, Va., war, website, white supremacists, WhitePride, Wis

Swearing ‘can actually lessen pain’

July 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 12 (ANI): F-word outbursts, for which celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is famous, can actually decrease the effect of pain, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at Keele University in Staffordshire, suggests that swearing may be a good recipe for coping with physical knocks.

The research team, led by Dr Richard Stephens, wondered whether swearing might have a psychological effect that increased pain tolerance.

To test the theory, they asked 66 volunteer students to submerge a hand into a tube of iced water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice.

At the beginning of the experiment, participants were asked for “five words you might use after hitting yourself on the thumb with a hammer”. They were told to use the first swear word on the list.

The study was then conducted again, but instead of swearing the students were asked to use one of “five words to describe a table”.

The researchers found that volunteers were able to keep their hands in the freezing water for significantly longer when they swore.

At the same time, their heart rates accelerated and their pain-perception, as measured with a questionnaire, reduced.

According to the researchers, swearing triggers a “fight-or-flight” response and heightens aggression.

“Everyday examples of aggressive swearing include the football manger who ‘psyches up’ players with expletive-laden team talks, or the drill sergeant barking orders interspersed with profanities,” the Scotsman quoted the authors as saying.

“Swearing in these contexts may serve to raise levels of aggression, downplaying feebleness in favour of a more pain-tolerant machismo,” they added.

“Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists,” the Scotsman quoted Stephens as saying.

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

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: aggression, ANI, beginning, celebrity, celebrity chef, chef, chef gordon ramsay, choice, Dr Richard Stephens, drill, drill sergeant, effect, everyday, Everyday Examples, experiment, Experiment Participants, expletive, f word, favour, feebleness, flight response, football, Football Manger, freezing, Freezing Water, Gordon Ramsay, hammer, hand, heart, Heart Rates, journal, July, Keele, list, London, machismo, manger, NeuroReport, pain, pain perception, Pain Tolerance, Psyches, psychological effect, questionnaire, reason, recipe, Research, response, Richard Stephens, scotsman, sergeant, Staffordshire, study, submerge, swearing, table, team, theory, thumb, time, tolerance, tube, University, volunteer, Volunteer Students, water, word

Salt-tolerant crops come a step closer to reality

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8 (ANI): An international team of scientists has developed salt-tolerant plants using a new type of genetic modification (GM), bringing salt-tolerant cereal crops a step closer to reality.

The research team, based at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus in Australia, has used a new GM technique to contain salt in parts of the plant where it does less damage.

Salinity affects agriculture worldwide, which means the results of this research could impact on world food production and security.

The work has been led by researchers from the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, in collaboration with scientists from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK.

According to Professor Tester, his team used the technique to keep salt – as sodium ions (Na+) – out of the leaves of a model plant species.

“Salinity affects the growth of plants worldwide, particularly in irrigated land where one third of the world’s food is produced. And it is a problem that is only going to get worse, as pressure to use less water increases and quality of water decreases,” said the team’s leader, Professor Mark Tester, from the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG).

“Helping plants to withstand this salty onslaught will have a significant impact on world food production,” he added.

The researchers modified genes specifically around the plant’s water conducting pipes (xylem) so that salt is removed from the transpiration stream before it gets to the shoot.

“This reduces the amount of toxic Na+ building up in the shoot and so increases the plant’s tolerance to salinity,” Professor Tester said.

“In doing this, we’ve enhanced a process used naturally by plants to minimize the movement of Na+ to the shoot. We’ve used genetic modification to amplify the process, helping plants to do what they already do – but to do it much better,” he added.

The team is now in the process of transferring this technology to crops such as rice, wheat and barley.

“Our results in rice already look very promising,” Professor Tester said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ACPFG, adelaide, Agriculture, amount, ANI, Australia, australian, barley, building, cambridge, campus, centre, cereal, collaboration, damage, department, food, functional, genomics, growth, impact, July, land, leader, model, modification, movement, onslaught, plant, pressure, problem, process, production, Professor Mark Tester, Professor Tester, quality, reality, Research, Rice, salinity, salt, Salt-tolerant, salty, school, security, shoot, sodium, step, stream, team, technique, Technology, third, tolerance, transpiration, type, U.K, University, Waite, Washington, water, wheat, wine, work, world, worldwide, xylem

Microscopic ‘beads’ may revolutionise organ transplantation

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 7 (ANI): If Medical College of Georgia researchers are to be believed, organ transplantation in future may include microscopic beads that create “designer” immune cells so that patients may tolerate their new organ.

Dr. Anatolij Horuzsko, reproductive immunologist at the MCG Center for Molecular Chaperone/Radiobiology and Cancer Virology, has already used this approach successfully in mice with skin grafts.

“It’s absolutely natural,” says the researcher.

The degradable microparticles deliver the most powerful known form of HLA-G, a natural suppressor of the immune response, straight to dendritic cells, which typically show the immune system what to attack.

The microparticles are given right after a transplant, just as dendritic cells are giving the immune system a heads up to get busy attacking the new organ.

Dr. Horuzsko says that microparticle therapy likely would be needed for just a few weeks, until the dendritic cells have learned instead to ignore it.

“It’s like a calming effect and once tolerance is established, we don’t need it any more,” he says.

His team compared the success of HLA-G microparticles with the dendritic cell marker to those without a marker, those with were much more efficient at getting where needed and acting.

He says that those without direction likely were consumed by garbage eaters called macrophages.

“We want to create in kidney transplant patients, the same tolerance to the new kidney,” says Dr. Horuzsko, who reckons that HLA-G microparticles could be doing just that within five years.

He presented the patented process along with his other latest HLA-G findings during an opening lecture of the 5th International Conference on HLA-G in Paris, July 6-8.

Dr. Horuzsko believes that marked microparticles also have treatment potential in diseases where the immune system attacks normal tissue, such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease.

He is currently working in collaboration with Dr. Laura Mulloy, chief of the Section of Nephrology, Hypertension and Transplantation Medicine in the MCG School of Medicine, to find out whether higher natural levels of HLA-G already are giving some transplant patients an edge, by comparing HLA-G expression in those who keep and reject their transplanted kidneys. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: Anatolij, ANI, approach, arthritis, Attacking, bowel, cancer, cell, center, chaperone, Chief, collaboration, college, conference, designer, direction, disease, Dr. Horuzsko, Dr. Laura Mulloy, edge, effect, expression, form, garbage, Georgia, HLA-G, Hypertension, immunologist, international, July, kidney, lecture, marker, mcg, medical, medicine, microparticle, Microscopic, molecular, Nephrology, organ, Paris, process, Radiobiology, researcher, response, revolutionise, right, school, sclerosis, section, show, skin, success, suppressor, system, team, therapy, tissue, tolerance, transplant, transplantation, treatment, virology, Washington

Government adopts zero tolerance against ragging

July 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 3 (ANI): Union Government reiterated its stand of zero tolerance for ragging in institutions of higher education and said tough regulations have been put in force against this menace.

Replying a short duration discussion on increasing incidents of ragging in the country in Rajya Sabha today Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal said the policy of the government shall be zero tolerance for anti social activities like ragging.

Sibal said stringent measures against ragging could include rustication of student, withholding of scholarship, derecognising the institution, debarring student from appearing in any test and stopping of grant to the institution.

He said previously, the government made its mind to educate students to not to indulge in ragging activities, but now the focus would be on taking strict measures to prevent ragging incidents.

Ruling out the demand for national law against ragging, Sibal said the regulations made by the University Grant Commission (UGC) have the backing of the constitution, and all educational institutions in the country have to abide by these regulations.

The HRD minister also disclosed that his ministry has written letter to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India (DCI) and Indian Nursing Council (INC) to adopt the regulations made by the UGC against ragging.

In the mid June President of India wrote a letter to the Governors and Lt Governors of all the states to use their office to control the menace of ragging in their respective states. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aicte, ANI, anti, backing, commission, constitution, Council, country, DCI, demand, dental, dental council of india, discussion, duration, Education, educational institutions, focus, force, Government, grant, HRD, hrd minister, human, human resource, inc, India, India Council, Indian, institution, Institutions Of Higher Education, July, June, Kapil, kapil sibal, law, letter, Lt Governors, mci, medical, medical council of india, medical council of india mci, menace, mind, minister, ministry, New Delhi, nursing, nursing council, office, policy, president, president of india, Rajya Sabha, Replying, resource, ruling, rustication, scholarship, Sibal, stand, stopping, Strict Measures, stringent measures, student, technical, technical education, test, today, tolerance, UGC, union, Union Government, University, University Grant Commission, withholding, zero tolerance

New Harry Potter film is all about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll: Director

July 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 03(ANI): ‘Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince director’ David Yates has revealed that the new film is all about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.

“It’s all about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Okay, maybe we should take the ‘drugs’ out. Really, this film is more sex, potions and rock n’ roll; but there are all these wonderful things in our story,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

The sixth film from the wizard franchise and the second under David’s direction will also see several of the young characters caught in a tangled web of love interests.

Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter will find himself drawn to Ginny, while Emma Watson as Hermione Granger will be jealous of Lavender Brown who casts her spell on Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint.

The new installment is also expected to be action packed; the movie is expected to open with a set piece that brings a major London landmark crashing down.

Many new villainous characters will also be introduced for the first time such as the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, and the zombie-like Inferi.

The helmer is happy about how adaptation of JK Rowling’s book offers the opportunity to explore more as a filmmaker.

He said: “Because it’s Harry Potter and because of the fan base, I think there’s a higher tolerance for what we can present to the audience.

“The viewers know the world and they’ve read about these things and they’ve experienced it on the page. Hence, we are able to do a little bit more than maybe other films can.”

The film will release on July 15th but Yates has already started filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, the final chapters in the series. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: action, adaptation, ANI, audience, base, bit, blood, book, brown, Daniel Radcliffe, david, David Yates, Deathly, direction, director, Emma Watson, fan, Fenrir, film, Filming Harry Potter, filmmaker, franchise, Ginny, Greyback, half, half blood prince, Hallows, Harry Potter, harry potter and the deathly hallows, harry potter and the half blood, harry potter and the half blood prince, harry potter film, helmer, hermione granger, Inferi, installment, J.K. Rowling, July, landmark, lavender, Lavender Brown, London, London Landmark, love, movie, New, opportunity, page, piece, prince, rock, roll, Roll Director, Ron Weasley, rowling, Rupert Grint, Second, series, Sex, Sex Drugs And Rock N Roll, Sex Potions, Sixth Film, spell, story, Telegraph, the, time, tolerance, web, werewolf, who plays harry potter, wizard, world

‘I’m no alcoholic, says Symonds

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Brisbane (Australia), June 29 (ANI): Sacked Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds has denied that he is an alcoholic, but admitted to being a binge drinker.

In an interview on Nine Network’s Sixty Minutes last night, Symonds said: “I am not an alcoholic, I have been diagnosed as a binge drinker. I go out and drink hard all in one hit. Too fast, too much.

Everyone’s tolerance is different. I became not good to be around.

“I have let them (team-mates) down a number of times. I had to front up and apologise to them a number of times. They were embarrassing, difficult awkward situations. It is not ideal. I am not saying I am perfect but I am not setting out looking for trouble,” news.com.au quoted Symonds, as saying.

“I am not proud of the times I have drunk too much or been rude to people or broken team rules – it’s unacceptable. I am out of that environment and that won’t happen any more for those people,” he added.

Symonds wayward disciplinary record saw him sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England. Cricket Australia subsequently withdrew a new contract and Symonds international career is now considered over.

Symonds confirmed he had several drinks while watching the first State of Origin match while in England and thus broke the contract.

Symonds admitted the pressure of stardom thrust upon him in recent seasons and the stresses of a race row in which he was taunted by Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh had worn him down. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: Andrew Symonds, ANI, apologise, Australia, Australian cricketer, Awkward Situations, binge, Binge Drinker, brisbane, brisbane australia, career, com, contract, Cricket, cricket australia, cricketer, cup, disciplinary record, drinker, drinks, England, england cricket, environment, everyone, front, Harbhajan, harbhajan singh, home, international career, Interview, June, June 29, network, new contract, NEWS, night, number, origin, pressure, Race, record, row, sacked, Singh, Sixty Minutes, spinner, stardom, state, State Of Origin, stresses, team, team-mates, thrust, tolerance, trouble, twenty20 world cup, world

Prime Minister sends “Chadar” at Ajmer Sharif shrine

June 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ajmer, June 28 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent a “Chadar” or, the holy cloth as his offering at the revered shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chisti in Ajmer Sharif on Sunday.

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan and Minister of State Sachin Pilot presented the sacred cloth on Prime Minister’s behalf on the shrine.

Dr. Singh in a message stated that the teachings of the great Khwaja is more relevant in today’s strife torn world.

“He equated feeding the hungry, redressing the aggrieved and helping the distressed, to prayers…the legacy of the great Khwaja is more relevant in today’s strife torn world, than ever before,” said Chavan read out from PM’s message.

The Dargah of Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chisti is hosting the religious fair or “Urs” marking the 797th death anniversary of the Sufi saint that began on Friday (June 26).

“Urs”, as the congregation is called in Urdu, marks the death anniversary of Moin-ud-din Chisti who is popularly called “Garib Nawaz”, or the “messiah of the poor”.

Millions of devotees from all across the world visit the saint’s shrine during the Urs ceremony. The shrine also attracts devotees from Pakistan.

Moin-ud-din Chisti is believed to have been born in 1142 AD. Since his ancestors belonged to a town named Chisti, people began calling him by that name.

Chisti, who preached tolerance and unity of all religions, died in Ajmer where his tomb has become a shrine for millions of people.

In 1236 AD, the saint entered his cell to pray in seclusion for six days, at the end of which he died. Since then Urs has been celebrated for six days every year.

It is believed that praying at the tomb of the saint fulfils a person’s wishes.

Devotees visiting the shrine offer fresh flowers as a symbol of their devotion. Some even go up to the extent of offering large amounts of money and expensive jewels. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ajmer, ANI, anniversary, behalf, cell, ceremony, chadar, Chavan, Chisti, cloth, congregation, Dargah, death, death anniversary, devotees, devotion, Dr Singh, Earth, earth sciences, end, extent, fresh flowers, Friday, Garib, June, Khwaja, legacy, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, message, Message Stated That, Messiah, minister of state, Moin-ud-din, MONEY, name, nawaz, offer, offering, Pakistan, person, pilot, pray, prime minister manmohan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, prithviraj, Sachin, Sachin Pilot, Sacred Cloth, saint, Science, seclusion, sharif, shrine, Singh, state, strife, sufi saint, sunday, symbol, Technology, today, tolerance, tomb, town, union, Union Minister, unity, urdu, Urs, visit, world, year

LaBeouf opens up about his eye injury on Transformers sequel set

June 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Jun 23 (ANI): American actor Shia LaBeouf has opened up about the eye injury that he got on the set of the Transformers sequel.

At first it had been reported that LaBeouf, 23, had been injured during a controlled explosion on the set, but the actor has revealed that he impaled his face on a spike.

“We were in the middle of some chaos and I mistimed something and impaled my face on a spike,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

“I came up and I had a spike in my eye and I had blood coming down my face and it was the dark, dark purplish kind, which is actually a great thing.

“If it had been reddish and clear, it would mean my eye (had) popped,” he said.

LaBeouf’s co-stars feared the worst when they saw his bloody face.

“His face was destroyed… He (LaBeouf) has the highest tolerance for pain that I’ve ever seen in a human being,” Megan Fox said.

Josh Duhamel added: “We thought he’d lost his eye.”

LaBeouf even impressed members of the military, who were drafted in as extras during a battle scene shoot at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, when he refused to take time off after the injury.

“We were all pretty impressed. To get up from a movie explosion, which leaves you injured, and get back in there is cool,” a soldier who was among the extras witnessed the injury and told WENN last year.

“He’s got broken fingers from his car crash and now his eyelid has been slashed open. He’s lucky he still has his sight.

“He was treated at the clinic at the air force base and then a local ophthalmologist came by to check on his eye.

“He was in the clinic for about four hours and then he returned to the set once the swelling had gone down,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: air force base, american actor, bloody face, Broken Fingers, car crash, chaos, co-stars, explosion, eye injury, fingers, Josh Duhamel, lost, megan fox, members, New Mexico, ophthalmologist, shia labeouf, soldier, spike, tolerance, transformers sequel

Obesity ‘reduces gray matter in postmenopausal women’s brains’

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 19 (ANI): Obesity reduces volume of gray matter in the brains of postmenopausal women, according to a new study.

“A subset of women from the Pittsburgh Healthy Women Study (HWS) who had been followed for an average of 15 years was invited to participate in brain imaging studies,” said lead author Isabella Soreca, M.D., an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

“We found that those who had gained the most weight had lower gray matter volume,” Soreca added.

In the study, 48 women participants underwent MRIs to determine the volume of both white and gray matter in their brains.

Researchers excluded participants from the study if their white matter showed specific signs of possible decreases in blood supply to the brain.

They also excluded participants if they had high blood pressure, diabetes or other health concerns.

“Women who gain weight tend to have high blood pressure, impaired glucose tolerance and other health concerns that are known to affect the brain,” Soreca said.

“The group we used were overweight, but were otherwise completely healthy. It was surprising that these healthy women still showed reductions in gray matter volume, and this indicates that weight gain by itself may impact the brain,” Soreca added.

The study appears online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ANI, assistant, assistant professor, author, average, Biobehavioral, blood, Blood Supply To The Brain, brain, Brain Imaging, brains, decreases, diabetes, gain, glucose, glucose tolerance, Gray Matter, group, Health, health concerns, high blood pressure, HWS, imaging, isabella, journal, June, matter, md, medicine, medicine journal, MRIs, obesity, Online, overweight, Pittsburgh, postmenopausal, postmenopausal women, pressure, professor, Psychosomatic, psychosomatic medicine, Soreca, study, subset, supply, tolerance, University, university of pittsburgh, volume, Washington, weight, weight gain, white matter, Women

Snoring in pregnancy ups diabetes risk

June 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON: If you are pregnant and your husband complains about your repeated snoring, you may have bigger problems than a groggy,
sleep-deprived partner.

A new study by Northwestern University has found that women who reported frequent snoring during their pregnancy were more likely to develop gestational diabetes. The condition can cause health problems for both the mother and infant.

Researchers also found that pregnancy increases the likelihood that a woman will snore.

Pregnant women who were frequent snorers had a 14.3% chance of developing gestational diabetes, while women who did not snore had a 3.3% chance.

Francesca Facco, study lead author said: “Snoring may be a sign of poor air flow and diminished oxygenation during sleep that can cause a cascade of events in your body. This may activate your sympathetic nervous system, so your blood pressure rises at night. This can also provoke inflammatory and metabolic changes, increasing the risk of diabetes or poor sugar tolerance.”

This is the first study to report a link between snoring and gestational diabetes.

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: air flow, blood pressure, cascade, diabetes, diabetes risk, Facco, Francesca, gestational diabetes, health problems, likelihood, Metabolic Changes, Northwestern University, oxygenation, Pregnancy Diabetes, Pregnant women, sleep, Snoring, sympathetic nervous system, tolerance, ups

Daily alcohol intake leads to binge drinking

May 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 29 (ANI): A tipple three to four times per week can put youngsters at a greater risk of binge drinking, suggests a new study.

The research team from the Universite de Montreal and the University of Western Ontario showed that frequent alcohol consumption can lead to binge drinking among all gender and all age groups, particularly young men.

“The relationship between drinking frequency and consumption per occasion might be both cultural and biological,” said study coauthor Andree Demers, a Universite de Montreal sociology professor and director of the Research Group on the Social Aspects of Health and Prevention.

“Regular drinking builds up tolerance, therefore daily drinkers will need more than their usual drink or two to make a difference with everyday life and gain that festive feeling,” said lead author Catherine Paradis, a Universite de Montreal PhD candidate.

“That fosters drinking beyond healthy limits – at least sporadically and perhaps weekly – to five drinks or more per occasion. And five units is above the recommended limits of healthy drinking,” she added.

During the study, researchers examined the GENACIS Canada project data, approximately 11,000 respondents were asked to report on their alcohol consumption within the last 12 months.

The study is published in the journal Addiction. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: 12 months, addiction, age, age groups, alcohol, alcohol consumption, alcohol intake, Andree, ANI, aspects, author, binge, binge drinking, Canada, canada project, candidate, Catherine Paradis, coauthor, consumption, daily, Demers, difference, director, drink, drinking, drinks, everyday life, feeling, frequency, gain, GENACIS, gender, group, Health, intake, journal, life, May, montreal, occasion, ontario, Paradis, PhD, phd candidate, prevention, professor, project, relationship, Research, research group, respondents, risk, social, Social Aspects, sociology, sociology professor, study, study researchers, team, tipple, tolerance, universite, universite de montreal, University, university of western ontario, Washington, week, western, young men, youngsters

Manmohan Singh appeals for peace in Punjab

May 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has expressed deep concern over incidents of violence in Punjab.

In his message, Dr. Singh said, “I am deeply distressed by the outbreak of violence in Punjab following certain incidents in Vienna, Austria. Whatever the provocation, it is important to maintain peace and harmony among different sections of the people.”

“Sikhism preaches tolerance and harmony. All the revered Gurus of Sikhism preached the values of equality, brotherhood and harmony. Invoking the teachings of the Gurus, I appeal to all sections of the people in Punjab to abjure violence and maintain peace,” he added.

The Prime Minister said: “In areas where curfew has been imposed, it is necessary that people should go back to their homes and allow the security forces to restore law and order.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abjure, ANI, Austria, brotherhood, concern, curfew, Dr Singh, Dr. Manmohan Singh, equality, gurus, harmony, Invoking, law, law and order, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, May, message, New Delhi, order, outbreak, peace, peace and harmony, people, Prime Minister, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, provocation, Punjab, security, security forces, Sikhism, Singh, tolerance, Tolerance And Harmony, Vienna, vienna austria, Violence

ICC clears Pak off-spinner Saeed’s bowling action

May 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 25 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday cleared the bowling action of Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal who was reported for a suspect action during the one-day international series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.

“Saeed’s action is found to be legal in an independent test and the player can, therefore, continue to bowl in international cricket,” the Daily Times quoted a spokesman for the ICC, as saying.

He added that during a comprehensive analysis it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension in Saeed’s bowling action for all deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted in the ICC regulations.

The analysis was performed by Professor Bruce Elliott, a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, at the school of sport science, exercise and health, University of Western Australia, Perth on May 14.

The umpires reported Saeed’s ‘doosra’ delivery, which spins away from right-handed batsman, during the second ODI in Dubai but he was allowed to continue bowling till Elliott’s assessment of his action was completed.

Saeed, however, will be permitted to continue bowling at the international level subject to certain conditions.

“The first of which is the effect of Elliott’s report and any report from a biomechanical expert, cannot be to clear him without limitation in the future.

The effect of Elliott’s report is simply to confirm that Saeed is capable of bowling with an action which complies with ICC regulations,” added the ICC spokesman.

Second, whenever Saeed bowls in a match in the future, his action will be under the scrutiny of the match officials.

And finally, according to the ICC regulations, the match officials will use the naked eye to determine whether his action complies with the Laws of Cricket.

The 33-year-old spinner was named in the Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in England next month.

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam had backed Saeed’s bowling action and had criticised what he called inconsistency in the ICC’s process of dealing with bowlers with illegal action. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: action, ajmal, Alam, amount, Analysis, ANI, assessment, Australia, batsman, bowl, bowling, bowling action, Bruce Elliott, cannot, coach, Council, Cricket, cup, daily, degree, Degree Level, delivery, doosra, Dubai., effect, elbow, elbow extension, England, exercise, expert, extension, eye, future, Health, health university, icc, inconsistency, Independent Test, international, international cricket council, Intikhab, intikhab-alam, Lahore, laws, level, Level Subject, limitation, match, May, member, month, movement, odi, Pak, Pakistan, panel, perth, player, process, Professor Bruce, Professor Bruce Elliott, report, Saeed, Saeed Ajmal, school, Science, Science Exercise, scrutiny, series, spinner, spokesman, Sport, Sport Science, squad, sunday, suspect, test, times, tolerance, twenty20 world cup, UAE, United Arab Emirates, University, university of western australia, University Of Western Australia Perth, western, world