Working with Priyadarshan is like homecoming: Piaa Bajpai

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Actress Piaa Bajpai, who has reunited with her mentor-filmmaker Priyadarshan for upcoming Malayalam film 'Aamayum Muyalum', says she feels like she's come home to a family she's been away from for sometime.

Piaa made her acting debut in Priyadarshan-produced 2008 Tamil comedy 'Poi Solla Poram'.

'Working with Priyan sir is like coming back home. He saw my potential and launched me when I was invisible to everybody else. He didn't care about who I was or where I came from, when he introduced me in 'Poi Solla Poram'. He liked my audition and cast me,' Piaa told IANS.

She always wished to be directed by Priyadarshan, and when it finally happened she felt as though one her dreams came true.

'While working on my first film, I had told Priyan sir that I would like to work with him. Both of us got busy with our respective careers, but we stayed in touch. Recently, he called me and said that he's working on something and asked me to keep my fingers crossed,' she said.

'When I received that call, I had a premonition because soon after the auditions of 'Poi Solla Poram', he had messaged me something very similar, and I got the film. When I finally signed this film, I was extremely happy because I was being directed by Priyadarshan sir,' she added.

Piaa remains tight-lipped about her character in 'Aamayum Muyalum', but she assures that 'she will be seen in an extremely different role'.

This is Piaa's second Malayalam outing after 'Masters', and she says it's an important film in her career.

'This is important because it's a Priyadarshan film. He's my mentor and I'm giving it my best to not disappoint him. I even told Priyan sir to tell me if there's something he would like me to do exclusively for this film,' she said.

Piaa, who has been very choosy, doesn't believe in doing films just for the sake of money.

'I don't want to be part of films I'm not proud of. If I have to sign films for money, I would end up signing at least two films every month. When you do films for money, you're happy while receiving the cheque, but when you finally watch it with audiences you'll regret big time,' she said.

Piaa currently has two films 'Kelvi' and 'Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe', which are getting ready for release.

Prithviraj becomes a dad

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Malayalam star Prithviraj has become a dad. His wife Supriya gave birth to a baby girl at a private hospital in Kochi on Monday. Prithiviraj was away during the time of delivery. According to sources, the mother and baby are doing fine.

Prithviraj is currently busy with Ennu Ninte Moideen. The baby's arrival was announced by the actor on Facebook.

5 minute walk every office hour good for your heart

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New York : If you are working long hours at the desk, do make it a point to take a five minute walk every hour to reverse negative effects of prolonged sitting, says an Indian-origin researcher.

'We found that easy five minute walks can reverse harm caused to leg arteries during hours of prolonged sitting,' claimed Saurabh Thosar, a post-doctoral researcher from the Oregon Health and Science University.

When people sit, slack muscles do not contract to effectively pump blood to the heart.

Blood can pool in the legs and affect the endothelial function of arteries or the ability of blood vessels to expand from increased blood flow.

'We have shown that prolonged sitting impairs endothelial function, which is an early marker of cardio-vascular disease and that breaking sitting time prevents the decline in that function,' added Thosar, who led the study as a doctoral candidate from Indiana University's school of public health.

The study involved 11 non-obese, healthy men between ages 20-35.

In one trial, they sat for three hours without moving their legs.

In the second trial, the men sat during a three-hour period but also walked on a treadmill for five minutes at a speed of two mph at the half hour, 1.5 and 2.5 hour marks respectively.

Researchers demonstrated that during a three-hour period, the flow mediated dilation, or the expansion of the arteries as a result of increased blood flow, of the main artery in the legs was impaired by as much as 50 percent after just one hour.

The participants who walked for five minutes each hour of sitting saw their arterial function stay the same - it did not drop throughout the three-hour period.

'Normally, a working adult sits for approximately eight hours a day. The impairment in endothelial function is significant after just one hour of sitting. It is interesting to see that light physical activity can help in preventing this impairment,' Thosar concluded.

Sexual harassment at workplace to be redefined: Minister

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New Delhi: Rules are being 'amended' to 'widen the definition of sexual harassment at workplace', Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said here Tuesday.

'Rules are being amended to widen the definition of 'sexual harassment' and 'workplace' in law and to make work environment more conducive for women,' Singh told the media at the National Media Centre.

Singh, who is also the minister of state for personnel and public grievances, said the order that a person can attest a document himself and need not get a document attested by a gazetted officer will be a boon for unemployed youth.

'.. It (self-attestation) is going to be a boon for unemployed youth. As India goes into the 21st century, everyone would recognize the stakes involved in false attestation,' said Singh.

The minister also said that long pending grievances in issuing OBC certificates have been addressed by the government.

Obesity causes stroke — Expert

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A neurosurgeon, Dr. Biodun Ogungbo, tellsARUKAINO UMUKORO why stroke can also affect young people

What is stroke?

Stroke is simply the ack of blood supply to a part of the brain. The brain needs constant and continuous blood supply since it does not store food or nutrients. Hence, any sudden interference with blood supply will cause injury or death to the brain tissue.

What are the major causes of stroke?

The major or leading cause of stroke in Nigeria is hypertension. Hypertension damages the vessels carrying blood to the brain. It can lead to narrowing of the vessels, complete occlusion of the vessels or rupture leading to bleeding into the brain. Other causative factors of blood vessels damage are: diabetes, sickle cell disease and smoking.

What are the signs and symptoms of stroke?

Stroke is sudden weakness of an arm or a leg, sudden blindness, sudden severe headaches, confusion or difficulty walking. It is most often sudden, as if someone switched off the blood supply to the part of the brain affected.

Stroke is usually associated with old age, but now it also affects younger people, what is the cause of this?

Stroke can actually affect anybody and any age. It can affect the rich, poor, rural or urban dwellers. It affects Christians, Muslims or traditional religion adherents. It is more common in older people and more common as we get older. This is because of the damage to our blood vessels by hypertension, diabetes and obesity over time.

Which age group is most at risk of having stroke and why?

Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more people in their 40s and 50s suffer from stroke in Nigeria. I suppose this is because our life expectancy is pretty low and these age groups are actually ‘old people’ in Nigeria. In younger people, below the age of 20, stroke is often due to congenital conditions that they were born with, things such as sickle cell disease and abnormalities of the blood vessels themselves. Above the age of 20, lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, sedentary living, lack of exercise, and hypertension take over as the major causes.

Does age affect the recovery of someone who suffered a stroke?

Younger people do better than older people and their powers of recovery of more functions are higher. Stroke patients can recover fully if treated early. This is why we advocate early presentation or transfer to a hospital, early identification that a stroke has occurred and early treatment in the hospital. Everything must be done to reopen the blood vessels that are blocked or to remove the bleeding from the brain to prevent permanent injury or death.

Are there particular diets for people who have had stroke or are recovering from stroke?

People who have had a stroke need special diets depending on the cause of the stroke and the underlying disease. For example, those with diabetes need less sugar and starchy foods, those with hypertension require less salt in their food and others may need less fat and weight reduction programmes. Stroke affects different people in different ways and the treatment is specially developed for each person.

How can one avoid having a stroke?

The key strategies are actually pretty simple. People must know what stroke is and that it can be prevented. The prevention is to watch the dirt and keep the weight down. This reduces the level of fat in the body and layers of fat that may obstruct the blood vessels of the brain. It is also important to control the diseases that lead to stroke. These include hypertension, diabetes and sickle cell disease. Regular exercise and not smoking are also vitally important.

Can stroke be cured?

Stroke can be prevented in most cases but rarely cured. The most important is the prevention of the first stroke and then prevention of further strokes. The risk factors must be identified and managed expertly and by the affected person to prevent further strokes. Minor strokes are sadly, a harbinger of bigger and worse strokes and must not be ignored. Minor strokes are warning signs that the person is predisposed to having a stroke and must be managed effectively by doctors to prevent a bigger stroke. Anyone with symptoms of stroke must go to the hospital immediately. Churches, pastors and herbalists cannot treat or cure stroke. Even doctors cannot cure stroke, but we do the best we can to limit the damage and prevent further strokes.

Are there available statistics for the number of stroke sufferers in Nigeria?

We do not have good, reliable statistics because such research is not funded. So, we cannot reliably say the number of Nigerians suffering a stroke each day, hour or minute. This is sad and does not help with planning or resource allocation. The government needs to be encouraged to see stroke as a national tragedy. Many people with stroke die or become disabled, that we know as doctors. Many Nigerians know someone living with stroke. Stroke is a common health issue in Nigeria.

Is the country’s health system well equipped to care for stroke patients and help them recover fully?

No, the healthcare system is not well equipped and many shortcomings are evident everywhere. The lack of an emergency number to call, well equipped and staffed ambulances in Nigeria are some of the major issues. Lack of diagnostic equipment, properly trained staff, free early treatment for stroke patients are major hindrances to good recovery and survival.

What can be done to improve this aspect of healthcare in the country?

There should be better research and funding of the health sector to deliver life-saving drugs, techniques, personnel and free investigations are important. People with stroke cannot wait for the bank to open before being offered treatment. Time is critical. Time wasted is brain wasted.

How can more awareness be created about the effects of stroke?

The main focus in Nigeria must be on preventive strategies and ways to harness local resources in the acute treatment of stroke patients. Health education of the community, with emphasis on control of the predisposing factors, especially hypertension, would reduce the burden of stroke in the country. Risk factor management should begin in childhood, with emphasis on exercise, nutrition, weight and blood sugar control, avoidance of tobacco and excessive intake of alcohol.

What should one immediately do to help someone who suffered a stroke before the person is taken to the hospital?

Prevention is important. Next to that is early presentation to hospital. ‘Brain attack’ is a term that has been coined to emphasise the need for urgent action. Studies have shown that delays in presentation are caused mostly by lack of awareness of stroke. Stroke victims must be taken to hospital immediately. Do not waste time at home.

What is the relationship between a stroke and a cardiac arrest?

Stroke is simply lack of blood supply to a part of the brain. So, any sudden interference with the blood supply will cause injury or death to the brain tissue. On the other hand, cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest, is the cessation of normal blood circulation due to failure of the heart to beat properly. The heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute in a normal adult. The heart beat must also be full and complete to get the blood to all the areas it needs to reach, like the brain, in adequate quantity.

A cardiac arrest is different from (but may be caused by) a heart attack, where blood flow to the muscle of the heart is impaired. Arrested blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen and glucose to the body. Lack of oxygen and glucose to the brain causes loss of consciousness, which then results in abnormal or absent breathing. Brain injury is likely to happen if cardiac arrest goes untreated for more than five minutes. For the best chance of survival and complete recovery, immediate and decisive treatment is necessary. The cardiac arrest must be reversed and heart function restored, by whatever means.

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

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Hit-and-run driver kills Sun vice chairman

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Son of famous journalist and Vice Chairman of Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Dimgba Igwe, Miracle Igwe, on Saturday said his father has died at a time he needed him to celebrate his call to bar at the Nigerian Law School.

Miracle went on his Facebook page to say, “I cannot stop crying. Darkness has befallen on me. Daddy, you died when I just needed you to celebrate my call to Nigerian bar as a barrister after all the money you pumped into my life.

“Daddy! Daddy!! I can’t believe it that your journey is so brief. I am sincerely frozen at this tragedy that has befallen us. But only God knows how to twist his hands to wipe dry our tears. I love you so much.”

The veteran journalist died on Saturday morning after he was knocked down by a vehicle while jogging around his residence in Okota area of Lagos State.

Igwe, who was said to have sustained a fatal injury from the accident, died immediately after undergoing a surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

The late journalist, aged 58, had also served as the Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Editor-in- Chief of the Sun Newspapers.

Igwe was, until his death, the Assistant General Overseer of the Evangel Pentecostal Church, Lagos.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, media practitioners and prominent Nigerians have described the news of his death as shocking.

Jonathan said Igwe would always be remembered as “a hardworking and dependable professional, who, through his various writings as columnist, author and public speaker, demonstrated a special ability to convey the truth and his convictions in lucid, compelling prose, and in a style that was shorn of cant and foppery.”

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan urged Igwe’s friends and associates to be consoled by the knowledge that “he put his God-given abilities to the best possible use in a very purposeful life that was wholly devoted to the defence of truth and the public interest, as well as the promotion of the highest standards of his chosen profession of journalism.”

A former governor of Abia State and Chairman of Sun Publishing Limited, Dr. Orji Kalu, expressed shock on receiving the news of the incident. He described Saturday as the darkest day in the history of the organisation.

A former Ogun State Governor and ex-Managing Director of the Daily Times, Olusegun Osoba, said, “His death has taught me another lesson of life; a terrible lesson of life. We were together in Katsina for the editors’ conference up till last weekend. He even collected a copy of Ovie Kokori’s autobiography from me and he promised to use it in his column; he promised to see me this week. I never knew it was a parting gift.”

Miracle Igwe

Also, the Publisher, LEADERSHIP Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, who spoke with our correspondent on Saturday, described the death as a tragedy.

“It is a very sad news. His relationship with Mike Awoyinfa is a very strong union many of us were proud of. I commiserate with family and twin brother (Awoyinfa),” he said.

The President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina, described Igwe’s death as devastating, while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said, “It is very sad. It is a colossal loss to journalism. He was a very dedicated journalist; a general of the guild and an impeccable writer.

“At our last conference in Katsina, he contributed a lot and was one of the discussants in a paper. To hear that he is dead one week after is indeed devastating,” he said.

In his reaction, a former Editor of the Daily Times, Areoye Oyebola, described the death as a sad occurrence at a time when the coming generation of journalists would need his experience and skill to sustain the industry.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) described Igwe as trailblazer, who, along with Awoyinfa, pioneered “a refreshing brand of newspapering with the Weekend Concord.”

The governor described the death as a sad loss to the journalism profession in particular and the literary world in general.

Similarly, his Oyo State counterpart, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, recalled Igwe’s “deep, incisive and fluid” commentaries.

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US strikes Islamic State militants near Iraq dam

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The US is carrying out a series of air strikes on Islamic State militants close to the vital Haditha dam in western Iraq, US officials say.

The strikes are to protect the Iraqi forces and Sunni tribesmen in control of the dam.

The US has carried out scores of air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they try to halt the advance of the militants in the north and west.

Earlier, Kurdish forces retook the strategically important Mount Zarta.

Islamic State fighters have targeted a number of dams in their offensive, capturing the facility at Fallujah and battling for the largest dam at Mosul.

The group has so far failed in its attempts to capture Haditha dam in western Anbar province.

It is Iraq’s second largest dam.

PDP won Plateau’s Langtang North LG poll -Tribunal

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The Local Government Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, has reaffirmed the victory of Mr. Nanmwa Kumzhi of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2014 local government election in Langtang North Local Government council .

In a six-hour judgment on Saturday, the Chairman, Justice Halima Nshi, dismissed the petition brought by Mr. Daniel Dul of Democratic People Party challenging the election of Kumzhi.

Dul had alleged Kumzhi falsified the result of the election in Jat ward of Langtang North

The tribunal however noted that the petitioner did not produce enough evidence in support of the allegation of massive rigging and forgery of results by the returning officer in the ward to the favour of the respondents.

Though the tribunal ruled that it has the jurisdiction to entertain the case, it said there was no case of over-voting in Jat ward as was alleged by the petitioners’ claims because there was no prove from the supervisory officer of Longmak, Kelir, Sabon Layi and other polling units.

The tribunal chairman added that they didn’t produce any result on the side of witnesses in the judgment but relied on Obasanjo Vs Mahammadu Buhari supra 2003 judgment.

Counsel for Nanmwa Kumzhi, Mr. Sunday Oyawole, in his written address argued that the petitioner could not prove his case that the election in Lohmak B and sabon Layi ward was full of malpractices.

‘Sugar Daddies’ and HIV in Africa (Scientific American)

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Examining a common assumption about the transmission of HIV in Africa, the Geisel School of Medicine’s Tim Lahey poses a question in his recent opinion piece in Scientific American: “Ultimately, the real question is whether intergenerational sex drives the burgeoning HIV epidemic in Africa and other developing world countries?”

Citing research findings, he writes, “Contrary to expectations, the high-quality, longitudinal study showed that participation in intergenerational sex did not impact the likelihood of contracting HIV infection.”

Lahey, an associate professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology, says the research does not exonerate intergenerational sex as a factor in the transmission of HIV in Africa, and adds that more research must be done.

However, he writes, “the most critical implication of this study is that researchers and public health authorities should be cautious about making assumptions about sexual behavior in Africa, particularly when those assumptions travel across national or continental boundaries.”

Read the full opinion piece, published 9/4/14 by Scientific American.

Categories: In the News

Tags: Faculty • Geisel School of Medicine • Opinion

PM announces Rs.1,000 crore aid for Jammu and Kashmir

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 Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, announced a special assistance of Rs.1,000 crore for the flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir besides a Rs.2 lakh compensation from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the kin of the dead and Rs.50,000 for those seriously injured.

Modi, who took an aerial view of the flood-affected Jammu and Srinagar regions, said the current crisis was a 'national level disaster'.

He assured the people of the state that they were not alone in this crisis.

'I would like to assure the people of the state that it is not their crisis alone. It is a crisis for the whole country,' Modi said.

The prime minister also offered to extend all possible help to the flood-affected people in the Pakistan-administerd Kashmir.

'India will never hesitate from doing work of humanity,' Modi said, adding the government was prepared to help the people of Pakistan-administered Kashmir in every capacity.

Over 100 people have died in floods in the state due to incessant rainfall during the week.

Modi arrived at the Jammu airport here Sunday, specially to conduct an aerial survey of the flood-ravaged areas of the state.

He was received by Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

IANS