Diabetic women likely to deliver babies with defects

Diabetic women who become pregnant are four times more likely than other women to deliver babies with birth defects, which include heart disease and spina bifida, a study reveals.

Spina bifida is a defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. A newborn may have a sac sticking out of the mid to lower back.

These findings suggest that higher blood sugar levels in the mother raise the risk. This compares with a risk of one in 50 for women without diabetes, the journal Diabetologia reported.

The study, led by researchers at Newcastle University and the Regional Maternity Survey Office, is based on 401,149 pregnancies, including 1,677 pregnancies in women with diabetes, between 1996 and 2008 in England, according to the Daily Mail.

Researcher Ruth Bell said: "The good news is that, with expert help before and during pregnancy, most women with diabetes will have a healthy baby. The risk of problems can be reduced by taking extra care to have the best possible glucose control before becoming pregnant."

"Any reduction in high glucose levels is likely to improve the chances of a healthy baby," said Bell.

Previous research shows having diabetes increases the chance of birth defects, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the effect of glucose levels on risk.

Diabetic women likely to deliver babies with defects

Diabetic women who become pregnant are four times more likely than other women to deliver babies with birth defects, which include heart disease and spina bifida, a study reveals.

Spina bifida is a defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. A newborn may have a sac sticking out of the mid to lower back.

These findings suggest that higher blood sugar levels in the mother raise the risk. This compares with a risk of one in 50 for women without diabetes, the journal Diabetologia reported.

The study, led by researchers at Newcastle University and the Regional Maternity Survey Office, is based on 401,149 pregnancies, including 1,677 pregnancies in women with diabetes, between 1996 and 2008 in England, according to the Daily Mail.

Researcher Ruth Bell said: "The good news is that, with expert help before and during pregnancy, most women with diabetes will have a healthy baby. The risk of problems can be reduced by taking extra care to have the best possible glucose control before becoming pregnant."

"Any reduction in high glucose levels is likely to improve the chances of a healthy baby," said Bell.

Previous research shows having diabetes increases the chance of birth defects, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the effect of glucose levels on risk.

The Best Foods to Reduce Cholesterol

Watching our blood cholesterol levels has become something of an American pastime—and for good reason. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Except for a genetically lucky few, most of us need to watch our blood cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, which can result in heart attacks or strokes. Making heart-healthy choices is especially important for those who currently live with, or have a family history of, cardiovascular disease. To complicate the issue, advice from the scientific community has swung wildly over the years. For example, before the chemical makeup of trans fats was examined and understood to be much worse for the human cardiovascular system than natural animal fats, margarine was suggested in place of butter.

The Best Foods to Reduce Cholesterol

Watching our blood cholesterol levels has become something of an American pastime—and for good reason. After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Except for a genetically lucky few, most of us need to watch our blood cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, which can result in heart attacks or strokes. Making heart-healthy choices is especially important for those who currently live with, or have a family history of, cardiovascular disease. To complicate the issue, advice from the scientific community has swung wildly over the years. For example, before the chemical makeup of trans fats was examined and understood to be much worse for the human cardiovascular system than natural animal fats, margarine was suggested in place of butter.

Wine, beer doubles mouth cancer risk

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

London: Drinking two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triples the risk of developing mouth cancer, Daily Mail reported Sunday.

Drinking over the recommended daily limit for alcohol increases the risk of serious health problems, according to a new government campaign.

Under the Change4Life banner the new adverts will also inform people about a new online calculator to work out how much they are drinking, the Mail said.

National Health Services (NHS) recommendations state men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day, while women should not more than two to three.

Two million leaflets will be made available to Change4Life supporters and health professionals across England to get the message across, the newspaper said.

The campaign follows a survey of more than 2,000 people which found 85 percent do not realise drinking over recommended limits increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Some 65 percent were unaware it increases the risk of bowel cancer, 63 percent did not know about a raised risk of pancreatitis and 59 percent had no idea excess drinking increases the risk of mouth, throat and neck cancer.

More than 30 percent did not realise that drinking just over the limits increases the risk of high blood pressure while 37 percent did not were unaware it can impact on fertility, the Mail said.

Wine, beer doubles mouth cancer risk

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

London: Drinking two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triples the risk of developing mouth cancer, Daily Mail reported Sunday.

Drinking over the recommended daily limit for alcohol increases the risk of serious health problems, according to a new government campaign.

Under the Change4Life banner the new adverts will also inform people about a new online calculator to work out how much they are drinking, the Mail said.

National Health Services (NHS) recommendations state men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day, while women should not more than two to three.

Two million leaflets will be made available to Change4Life supporters and health professionals across England to get the message across, the newspaper said.

The campaign follows a survey of more than 2,000 people which found 85 percent do not realise drinking over recommended limits increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Some 65 percent were unaware it increases the risk of bowel cancer, 63 percent did not know about a raised risk of pancreatitis and 59 percent had no idea excess drinking increases the risk of mouth, throat and neck cancer.

More than 30 percent did not realise that drinking just over the limits increases the risk of high blood pressure while 37 percent did not were unaware it can impact on fertility, the Mail said.

China mulls next generation rockets

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

Beijing: China will launch its next generation Long March carrier rockets in the next five years, an expert said.

Yu Menglun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China has sought to develop non-toxic, low-cost, highly reliable, adaptable and safe carrier rockets.

The Long March family included the Long March-1, Long March-2, Long March-3 and Long March-4.

China will develop three other versions in the next five years: Long March-5, Long March-6 and Long March-7.

The Long March-5 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 25 tonnes and geosynchronous orbit payload capacity of 14 tonnes, Xinhua reported Sunday.

The Long March-6, designed to be a high-speed response launch vehicle, has a minimum of one tonne of sun-synchronous orbit payload.

The Long March-7 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 13.5 tonnes and 5.5 tonnes of sun-synchronous orbit payload, Yu said.

China started development of carrier rockets in 1956, and Long March rockets have become the main carriers for China's satellite launches.

China mulls next generation rockets

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

Beijing: China will launch its next generation Long March carrier rockets in the next five years, an expert said.

Yu Menglun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China has sought to develop non-toxic, low-cost, highly reliable, adaptable and safe carrier rockets.

The Long March family included the Long March-1, Long March-2, Long March-3 and Long March-4.

China will develop three other versions in the next five years: Long March-5, Long March-6 and Long March-7.

The Long March-5 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 25 tonnes and geosynchronous orbit payload capacity of 14 tonnes, Xinhua reported Sunday.

The Long March-6, designed to be a high-speed response launch vehicle, has a minimum of one tonne of sun-synchronous orbit payload.

The Long March-7 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 13.5 tonnes and 5.5 tonnes of sun-synchronous orbit payload, Yu said.

China started development of carrier rockets in 1956, and Long March rockets have become the main carriers for China's satellite launches.

CPI(M) not to emulate any nation to achieve socialism in India

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

New Delhi: The CPI(M) today said it would not emulate any country to achieve socialism in India but take into account the concrete conditions in the country and lessons drawn from the recent 'anti-imperialist' developments in Latin America.
The party also referred to 'caste-based political mobilisation' and communalism, saying these factors were being increasingly used by the ruling classes in India to perpetuate exploitation and maintain their hegemony through social oppression.Two months ahead of the 20th Congress of CPI(M), its top leaders, including Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, released a key draft resolution on 'some ideological issues' for inner- party and public debate. 

A draft political resolution, released two weeks ago, had called for expansion of Left-led movements in the country. Both the ideological and political resolutions would be adopted at the party Congress to be held in April in Kozhikode.Besides casteism, communalism or exploitation in the name of gender, regional, ethnic or tribal issues would have to be taken into account alongside the struggles against 'neo- liberal' economic policies pursued by the government in India, Politburo member Yechury said. Stressing the need for combining parliamentary and extra -parliamentary 'forms of struggle', he said the work in
parliamentary forums should be used to strengthen mass movements to 'build an alternative to the existing bourgeois- landlord order'.

Yechury made it clear that CPI(M) would 'not emulate' China, Latin America or any other country in its pursuit towards establishing socialism in India but draw important lessons from the developments there and in other nations like Vietnam or even North Korea. 'Left-wing coalitions, including communist parties, that have emerged in (Latin American) countries are providing an alternative to imperialist globalisation and neo-liberalism within capitalism,' Yechury told a press meet. Party General Secretary Prakash Karat and Politburo members S R Pillai and Brinda Karat were also present.

He said the rising struggles in Europe and the US like the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement were a result of 'sharp intensification in the global capitalist crisis and recession.'These struggles and the 'anti-imperialist' governments in Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador were 'an important element' in the global struggle against imperialist globalisation, against military aggression by imperialist powers in several countries like Iraq, Libya and Syria, he said.'It is this unity that needs to be built into a powerful
global anti-imperialist movement which will have the potential for a future revolutionary transformation,' Yechury said. While noting the 'tremendous strides' made by China over the last 30 years, he, however, pointed out that this process has 'clearly brought to the fore adverse changes in production relations and, therefore, in social relations.' Noting growing inequalities and corruption in China, he said the future course of development in that country would depend on 'how successfully these contradictions are dealt with by the Chinese Communist Party'. PTI

CPI(M) not to emulate any nation to achieve socialism in India

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

New Delhi: The CPI(M) today said it would not emulate any country to achieve socialism in India but take into account the concrete conditions in the country and lessons drawn from the recent 'anti-imperialist' developments in Latin America.
The party also referred to 'caste-based political mobilisation' and communalism, saying these factors were being increasingly used by the ruling classes in India to perpetuate exploitation and maintain their hegemony through social oppression.Two months ahead of the 20th Congress of CPI(M), its top leaders, including Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, released a key draft resolution on 'some ideological issues' for inner- party and public debate. 

A draft political resolution, released two weeks ago, had called for expansion of Left-led movements in the country. Both the ideological and political resolutions would be adopted at the party Congress to be held in April in Kozhikode.Besides casteism, communalism or exploitation in the name of gender, regional, ethnic or tribal issues would have to be taken into account alongside the struggles against 'neo- liberal' economic policies pursued by the government in India, Politburo member Yechury said. Stressing the need for combining parliamentary and extra -parliamentary 'forms of struggle', he said the work in
parliamentary forums should be used to strengthen mass movements to 'build an alternative to the existing bourgeois- landlord order'.

Yechury made it clear that CPI(M) would 'not emulate' China, Latin America or any other country in its pursuit towards establishing socialism in India but draw important lessons from the developments there and in other nations like Vietnam or even North Korea. 'Left-wing coalitions, including communist parties, that have emerged in (Latin American) countries are providing an alternative to imperialist globalisation and neo-liberalism within capitalism,' Yechury told a press meet. Party General Secretary Prakash Karat and Politburo members S R Pillai and Brinda Karat were also present.

He said the rising struggles in Europe and the US like the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement were a result of 'sharp intensification in the global capitalist crisis and recession.'These struggles and the 'anti-imperialist' governments in Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador were 'an important element' in the global struggle against imperialist globalisation, against military aggression by imperialist powers in several countries like Iraq, Libya and Syria, he said.'It is this unity that needs to be built into a powerful
global anti-imperialist movement which will have the potential for a future revolutionary transformation,' Yechury said. While noting the 'tremendous strides' made by China over the last 30 years, he, however, pointed out that this process has 'clearly brought to the fore adverse changes in production relations and, therefore, in social relations.' Noting growing inequalities and corruption in China, he said the future course of development in that country would depend on 'how successfully these contradictions are dealt with by the Chinese Communist Party'. PTI