AB blood group linked to memory loss and dementia

Is your blood type AB? You could be at a risk of developing dementia.

According to a recent study published in the journal Neurology, those who have AB blood group, the least common blood type, have increased likelihood of developing thinking and memory problems that later on lead to dementia. According to study author Mary Cushman from the University of Vermont, College of Medicine in Burlington blood type and risk of cognitive impairment has a connected link.
 

 The study was part of a larger study (Reasons for
Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke) that included more than 30,000 people followed for an average of 3.4 years. The findings showed that those with AB blood were 82 percent more likely to develop memory problems than others. ‘Blood type is also related to other vascular conditions like stroke, so the findings highlight the connections between vascular issues and brain health,’ Cushman added. 
People with AB blood type made up 6 percent of the group who developed cognitive impairment, which is higher than the 4 percent found in the population. The researchers also looked at levels of factor VIII, a protein that helps blood to clot. High levels of factor VIII are related to higher risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. People with AB blood had a higher average level of factor VIII than people with other blood types.

What is Dementia?
Dementia refers to a group of degenerative mental diseases in which there is a serious loss of cognitive function which goes beyond normal ageing. Symptoms include confusion, mood swings, long-term memory loss and a gradual loss of bodily functions. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. It is caused due to plaque deposition in the brain’s neurons which affects its functioning and causes it to die. Why this happens is still not clear though research suggests it’s linked to genetic susceptibility and mental age. 

Here are a few of the early signs of Dementia:

Forgetfulness: The early signs of dementia usually set in as forgetfulness or subtle memory loss. Mild cognitive impairment is the stage between normal forgetfulness due to aging and development of dementia. However, this stage doesn’t always lead to the same. ‘One should be wary about it only when forgetfulness interferes with regular daily activities. It might seem okay to forget the car keys or to find it difficult to recollect the name of a known face once a while, but if it becomes so severe that it disrupts the normal proceedings of the day leading to impaired judgment, difficulty in doing simple calculations, recollecting recent conversations, it should be given due attention,’ says Siddhika. In other words, if forgetfulness sets in, in every aspect of a person’s life, it is warning enough to reach out to a neurologist or psychologist for a thorough assessment of cognitive functions

Mood swings: Symptoms of withdrawal are very common in people suffering from dementia, especially the ones who aren’t diagnosed with the same yet. ‘It is generally noticed that with declining brain function one might just give up activities that he enjoyed the most before the condition took hold of him,’ informs Siddhika. It can further lead to personality changes and make one averse to socializing and meeting new people. Such activities in fact can give rise to extreme mood changes.

 

New smartphone app to detect signs of Parkinson's

 

A new smartphone app can detect early signs of Parkinson's disease years before people experience tremors, a study has found.
The app picks up subtle changes in a person's voice, gait and manual dexterity to diagnose the condition.
"The condition is hard to diagnose, with specialists having to take a detailed history of people's symptoms and analysing them for physical signs of the disease. Using smartphone data may help to make this process much easier," said Dr Max Little, a mathematician from Aston University who is leading the project.
The app is being tested in a group of 2,500 people with diagnosed Parkinson's symptoms, or genes known to be linked to the disease, and healthy individuals, 'The Times' reported.
An earlier analysis of voice recordings suggests that effects such as increased breathiness, drifting pitch and altered vowel sounds can detect Parkinson's with 99 per cent accuracy.
In another study, participants walked 20 steps back and forth with the phone in their pocket. The data was then used to identify, with 98 per cent accuracy, those who had Parkinson's.

Boozers dare for Bottoms Up..!

A Scottish brewery has come up with the "world strongest beer", with ABV of 67.5 per cent. The experts have confirmed that Brewmeister's 'Snake Venom' carries a warning on the neck of the bottle and is produced using two different yeast strains - ale and champagne - and is freeze-concentrated to boost its alcohol content, the Daily Star reported.

Boozers have been warned to not guzzle the drink, but savour it and take sips. Lewis Shand, managing director of Brewmeister, said that Snake Venom is not like other beers and they would not recommend drinking a whole bottle in one go. The tipple, produced in Scotland at Keith, Banffshire, is being sold through the company's website for 50 euros.

source : ANI

Street food in India safer than other tourist restaurants

Dispelling the common misconception that street food available in India is 'unhealthy and unhygienic', a well known Australian culinary historian has said that she found street foods safer than restaurants catering to tourists. Charmaine O'Brien, the author of the recently released 'The Penguin Food Guide to India', was talking during a discussion on 'Its not Curry - Eating India' at the University of Melbourne based Australia India Institute (AII) here yesterday. She said the thousands of small regional food vendors or hawkers across India mostly sold freshly cooked meals using fresh ingredients during her culinary tour to the country.

However, she suggested dodging Delhi belly after eating street food in India could vary from person to person and that one should follow their own instincts. Her latest book, launched earlier this year at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi, is the first comprehensive documentation of Indian regional food and could be read as a literary reference work on Indian food history and culture. The book, a result of four years of extensive research, has illustrated evolution and development of regional cuisines across India.

Elaborating on Indian food cuisine and culture, O'Brien said Indian regional food was most complex and offered a diverse cuisine unlike known to outside world. "Indian food is laden with history, culture, religion, economic conditions as well as weather," she said. Even trade affected the development of Indian cuisines, she said adding ‘In Madurai, the Chettinad cuisine has expensive spices like fennel, coriander, clove, cinnamon which reflected that people were wealthy and trade happened, O'Brien said.

"In desert like Kutch, there was an extensive use of millet as it was locally grown and was fast to grow so the Kutchi cuisine developed with very limited ingredients which were easily available there," she said. "People of Kutch were mainly animal herders so they produced and used dairy products like Ghee which also suited the climatic conditions," she said. O'Brien said that there were many regional sweet dishes where traces of Middle eastern origin could be found, apparently from Arab traders who came into India, she cited. "There are different varieties of Halwa similar to Turkish delight which probably evolved because of Arab traders there," she said.

O'Brien said despite enormous variety of Indian food across all four corners, outside India including in Australia there was a very limited knowledge about it. "Indian Restaurants and eateries overseas have been mostly serving similar dishes like Chicken tikka or Spicy curries that has reflected that India had a homogeneous national cuisine," O'Brien said.

source : abplive.in

Men lose sex appeal at 39 !

Men are viewed as father figures rather than sex symbols as they reach 39 even if their looks have not faded, according to a new study. The research found that men start becoming 'invisible' sexually to younger women when they approach their 40s.

This was due to a number of factors - not all concerned with ageing, the 'Daily Express' reported. According to the 1,000 people polled, the first flecks of grey hair and the emergence of a double chin are the biggest turn offs in older men.

The most obvious sign of the change is when a man is no longer eyed up by women when he goes out.
In the study, conducted by Crown Clinic in Manchester, over half of the people questioned said men start to loose their allure to the opposite sex as they approach 40. However, it is not just a matter of age. Six out of 10 women assume that most men in their late 30s are attached by that age and are not worth approaching, the report said. "Turning 40 is key turning point and it is the most popular age for men to seek a hair transplant," surgeon Asim Shahmalak from the Crown Clinic said.

Women like comfortable, while men prefer 'flesh-flashing' undies

A survey revealed that men and women share different tastes over perfect lingerie for females, as the former want something comfortable, while the latter prefer flesh-flashing innerwear.

According to the poll by lingerie Company, Bluebella, 62 per cent of men are turned on by sections of lace, cut-outs, sequins and bows, while 58 per cent of women prefer smoother, practical bras, as they sit better under blouses and T-shirts, the Daily Star reported.

The findings also revealed that 78 per cent of men are driven wild by stockings and a suspender belt, while 54 per cent of females find them a faff to put on and wear.

Emily Bendell from Bluebella said that from these results it seems that men associate lingerie with the delights underneath, so they like skimpy pieces, lace, sheer fabrics, plus obvious ties and bows that they can undo but women wear it all the time - so they want to combine comfort, adaptability and performance as well as fabulous aesthetics.

source : ANI

Delhi Second; Mumbai Sixth Populous City

Delhi has become the world's second most populous city in 2014 after Tokyo, more than doubling its population since 1990 to 25 million (2.5 crore), according to a UN report. The 2014 revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects launched yesterday said that India is projected to add the highest number of people to its urban population by 2050, ahead of China.

The Indian capital is expected to retain the spot of the world's second most populous city through at least 2030, when its population is expected to rise swiftly to 36 million. Tokyo topped UN's ranking of the most populous cities in 2014 with 38 million inhabitants and while its population is projected to decline, it will remain the world's largest city in 2030 with 37 million people.

Mumbai, which ranks sixth on the list of the world's most populous cities in 2014, is projected to become the fourth largest city in 2030 when its population would grow to 28 million from the current 21 million.

Tokyo and New Delhi were followed by Shanghai with 23 million, and Mexico City, Mumbai and Sao Paulo, each with around 21 million inhabitants in 2014. The report said that the largest urban growth will take place in India, China and Nigeria between 2014 and 2050, with the three countries accounting for 37 per cent of the projected growth of the world's urban population.

India's major cities Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Pune and Surat will add a total of 27 million people to its population in 2030. Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad will be among the world's top 30 cities by 2030.

source : PTI

Happiness Blanket : changes colours according to mood

To make flying and sleeping on its flights even more relaxing, British Airways is testing a hi-tech blanket that monitors brain waves and change colors based on the passenger's mood. The 'happiness blanket', which is woven with fibre optics, uses neuro-sensors to measure a person's brainwaves and changes colour, from red to blue, to show when they're at their most relaxed and meditative.

The airline hopes monitoring a person's sleep and relaxation patterns during a flight will help to improve aspects of the in-flight service; from changing the timing of meals, what food is served and even the types of films shown - to make flying and sleeping on British Airways flights even more relaxing.

A group of volunteers on board the BA189 Dreamliner service from Heathrow to New York, were among the first to try out the hi-tech 'happiness blankets' for themselves and report on their experiences. Frank van der Post, British Airways' managing director, brands and customer experience, said: "This is the first time this technology has been used by any airline to help shape how service is delivered on board an aircraft. "Using technology like the British Airways 'happiness blanket' is another way for us to investigate how our customers' relaxation and sleep is affected by everything on board, from the amount of light in the cabin, when they eat, to what in-flight entertainment they watch and their position in the seat," he said.

source : PTI

Your Partner fakes Satisfaction; May Be NOT !

If you think your partner generally fakes sexual satisfaction, you may be wrong. According to fascinating research, people who report better sexual communication with their partners have a more accurate perception of their satisfaction. Even when sexual communication within the relationship was poor, those with good emotional recognition fared better in gauging their partners' satisfaction, the study found.

"The results do not necessarily speak to 'faking it' per se in terms of faking orgasm," said lead author Erin Fallis, a doctoral student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. "But they do help us understand how well people do at gauging, like is their partner generally fairly satisfied with their sexual relationship or maybe not so satisfied with that sexual relationship," Fallis said.

To reach this conclusion, researchers asked 84 committed couples to answer questions about both their own levels of sexual satisfaction and that of their partners. When they compared self-reports of satisfaction to partners' perceptions of satisfaction, they found that on average, both sexes were fairly good at gauging their partners' sexual satisfaction.

The next on researchers' mind is to figure out if an accurate perception of partner's sexual satisfaction bode well for the overall sex life.

Casual Sex boosts Well-Being

Do not let that depression mount over your head if you have had a casual fling recently. Casual hookups are actually good for your overall well-being, researchers say.



"If you want to have casual sex, you definitely should. If you do not want to have casual sex, you should not," said researchers from New York University and Cornell University. The effects of casual sex depend on the extent to which this behaviour is congruent with one's general personality tendencies, they explained.

For the study, they chose a group of students who kept a weekly diary over the course of 12 weeks documenting casual sex and its effect on their overall well-being. The team found that socio-sexually unrestricted students reported higher well-being after having casual sex compared to not having sex.

The research appeared in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science.
Source : IANS

PDA becomes unacceptable when you're older

A new study has claimed that Public Displays of Affection (PDA) is unacceptable after a certain age. The study has revealed that one should not get a tattoo over the age of 31 because having a tattoo was viewed as a teenage rebellion and 31 is an appropriate cut off point for a new one.


Study contained cut-offs for other stuff as well like kiss in the street (24), men wearing baseball caps (32), ending emails or texts with a kiss (29) and other emoticons at the age of 26, the Daily star reported. A similar list of age rules applied for women revealing that women over 48 should not opt for bikinis regardless of the fact that how good their bodies are and high heels should be avoided by women over 34.


source : ANI

Unwed parents should marry before their kids' turn 3 : Study

A new study has claimed that the best time to tie the knot for unmarried couples who have kids, is before their kids' 3rd birthday.

Federal policies have often presumed that unmarried parents will be most receptive to marriage right after a baby's birth, a period that has been dubbed the 'magic moment', and as per author Christina Gibson-Davis from Duke University, it turns out that the period lasts longer than conventional wisdom has held, lasting even longer for some subgroups.

The study also found that 64 percent of children born out of wedlock see their moms get married, where most of those marriages don't last. Nearly half of post-conception marriages end in divorce, and those numbers are higher still for African-American women.

Gibson-Davis added that such marriages were fragile, and very few kids born out of wedlock got to experience a stable marriage.

She continued saying that the odds improve somewhat when mothers marry their child's biological father. After 10 years, 38 percent of post-conception marriages involving biological parents had dissolved. In the same period of time, 54 percent of marriages to a stepfather had ended. Those findings held true across racial lines.

The study draws upon a nationally representative survey that looks at 5,255 U.S. children born out of wedlock. The study is published online in Demography.

Moldovan women ecstatic about oral sex classes

Looks like Moldovan men have been rather fortunate lately as a large number of women from the country have been taking up lessons for 'oral sex'.

Representational Picture

According to the Daily Star, oral sex classes were being conducted in the capital town of Chishinau by a group of psychologists and sociologists, who were trying to reprise the long forgotten famous sex act in the land locked country.

But even though learning the act of performing refined fellatio is not low-priced, and ranged from 50 to 200 pounds for a three and-a-half-hour session, the classes received a good response, especially from women between the age group of 25 and 45.

source : abplive.in

Upcoming : Biggest Mall in Dubai

Dubai, a shopping-loving city that is already home to one of the world's largest malls, now wants to build one even bigger. The emirate’s ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has laid out plans for a sprawling real-estate project, the Mall of the World, which will include an 8-million-square-foot mall, a climate-controlled street network, a theme park covered during the scorching summer months and 100 hotels and serviced apartments.

Dubai Holding, the company behind the project, says on its website that the mall will be the world's largest, but that claim could not be independently confirmed. By comparison, Minnesota's Mall of America, the largest in the United States, is 4.87 million square feet.

Plans for the project also include a cultural and theater district drawing inspiration from New York's Broadway, a shopping thoroughfare based on London's Oxford Street and a wellness district meant to attract medical tourists.

The complex will be built near the Mall of the Emirates, which has an indoor ski slope, and is a short drive from the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, and the adjacent Dubai Mall. That shopping center is currently the emirate's largest and features a dinosaur skeleton, an indoor ice-skating rink and a multistory aquarium.

"The growth in family and retail tourism underpins the need to enhance Dubai's tourism infrastructure as soon as possible," Mohammed said Saturday in a statement announcing the plan. "This project complements our plans to transform Dubai into a cultural, tourist and economic hub for the 2 billion people living in the region around us, and we are determined to achieve our vision."

The emirate has long used high-profile, big-ticket real estate projects in attempt to drive economic growth and establish itself as an international tourist destination. Its ambitions were slowed by a financial crisis that came to a head in 2009, forcing the delay or cancellation of some of its more outlandish plans.

The new mall project alone is expected to create an additional 20,000 hotel rooms.

Women fall for guys with a rich romantic history

According to a fascinating study, women are more likely to choose a partner who has had a few romantic relationships because they are perceived to be more desirable to others.

"Females do not select male partners independently. Instead, they favour males having previous associations with other females, a phenomenon known as mate copying," explained lead study author Ryan Anderson from Australia.

The study involved 123 female university students. The students were shown pictures of men either alone or with one, two or five women. The men were described as currently in a romantic relationship; having previously been in one, two, or five relationships; or not having had a romantic relationship at all in the past four years.

The researchers discovered that women found men with one or two previous partners more desirable than those with none. But men who had five relationships or more were deemed unattractive, probably because they were perceived as likely to stray.

The study, published in the journal Human Nature, also found that younger women were more likely to judge their partner on how many relationships they have had.

Haryana Youths and Brides from Bihar

In a bizarre promise to youths of Haryana ahead of the assembly polls this year, BJP leader O P Dhankar has said he will bring brides from Bihar for them if they are unable to find a match in the state infamous for its skewed sex ratio.

Addressing a Kisan Mahasammelan (farmers' meeting) at Narwana in Jind on Friday, Dhankar asked the gathering to strengthen the hands of BJP in the state, saying, "Making BJP strong also means that those youths in many villages who are roaming without brides will get one."

"I told them that Sushil Modi (senior BJP leader in Bihar) is a good friend of mine. We will ensure a compatible match and do away with the practice of bringing brides from any other place," said Dhankar, who is BJP Kisan Morcha President.

With Haryana infamous for its skewed sex ratio of 879 girls per 1,000 males, according to 2011 Census, Dhankar said a bunch of 150-200 youths in many villages were unable to find brides.

Commenting on the remark, Modi said, "Dhankar just said that those who want to marry legally, will be helped by him; so that the girls are respected in the family. I feel that he has talked about giving respect to women and Bihar government should look into the fact that girls in such a large number are going to Haryana.

"The government should see the objective of such a move. The fact that those girls are being bought and taken away is a matter of concern."

Ridiculing Dhankar's suggestion, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said,"What meaning does his words have? Marriage happens on its own. Many people from Haryana and Bihar have married. That happens by consent, not by force.

"There are strange people in the country and the media is spreading such statements by people," he added.

source : abplive.in

Five mistakes you must avoid while using sunscreen!

Many people remain confused and make mistakes when it comes to the use of skincare products, particulary sunscreen. While people belonging to the ethnic dark-skinned groups think that they do not need sunscreen, fair-skinned people too commit blunders, which in turn can increase the risk of melanomas.

Below are five common sunscreen mistakes that all of us make:

Using little sunscreen: Do not be stingy with the sunscreen, apply a sufficient amount of it on those parts of your skin which are often exposed to the sun such as face, neck, hands, arms and feet.

Not reapplying often enough: Even if you wear a water-resistant/sweat-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30, you should reapply your sunscreen every 2-3 hours, especially after swimming or perspiring.

SPF values: Many people think that SPF values can be added while actually it cannot be. For eg, if you are using a sunscreen of SPF 15 and then of 10, you will not have the added advantage or protection of 25, but will be getting the protection of SPF 15 only.

Wearing low SPF while outdoor: If you are going out in the sun, make sure that you wear a high SPF of 30 or above, which is sweatproof and waterproof. However, if you wear a low SPF you should reappy it more often.

Using sunscreen that has only UVB protection: Always wear a sunscreen that has protection for both UVB/UVA rays. Because UVA can cause long-term effects such as premature skin ageing whereas UVB can caue sunburn.

SOURCE:http://zeenews.india.com/

Listen to your wife to lower heart attack risk

Do find time to talk to your wife even if you come tired from office and want to hit the sack - for a better heart health.

According to new research, positive interactions with your partner can lower the risk of heart attack or stroke for you.

"More negative interactions between partners were linked to having thicker carotid arteries - the blood vessels that carry blood through the neck to the brain," Nataria Joseph from VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in California was quoted as saying.

Thicker carotids are linked with increased risk of cardiovascular problems.

In the study, researchers found that people who reported few positive interactions with their partners had an 8.5 percent higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the future.

For the study, researchers analysed 281 middle-age adults who were married or living with partners in marriage-like relationships.

They found that interactions may be closely tied to emotions, health behaviours and physiology, all of which have effects on health.

"The study, however, shows a correlation but not a cause-and-effect relationship between interactions and thicker carotid arteries," Joseph said in a Live Science report.

Women cannot have it all, says PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi

In an unusually frank interview, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said she doesn't think that women can "have it all," adding that a career requires women to sacrifice some aspects of motherhood.

"I don't think women can have it all. I just don't think so," she told David Bradley, owner of the Atlantic Media Company, at the Aspen Ideas Festival earlier this week. "We pretend we have it all. We pretend we can have it all," Nooyi, who has been married 34 years and has two daughters, said.

She continued:

And every day you have to make a decision about whether you are going to be a wife or a mother; in fact, many times during the day you have to make those decisions. And you have to co-opt a lot of people to help you. We co-opted our families to help us. We plan our lives meticulously so we can be decent parents. But if you ask our daughters, I'm not sure they will say that I've been a good mom. I'm not sure. And I try all kinds of coping mechanisms.

As an example, Nooyi explained she had to usually skip a Wednesday morning class coffee with other mothers at her daughter's Catholic school.


My daughter would come home and she would list off all the mothers that were there and say, "You were not there, mom."

The first few times, I would die with guilt. But I developed coping mechanisms. I called the school and I said, "Give me a list of mothers that are not there." So when she came home in the evening she said, "You were not there, you were not there."

And I said, "Ah ha, Mrs. Redd wasn't there, Mrs. So-and-so wasn't there. So I'm not the only bad mother."

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi addresses the audience at PepsiCo's Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Plano, Texas, in 2010.

Despite such coping mechanisms, Nooyi says there's no way to square a high-pressure career with raising kids.

"My observation, David, is that the biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with each other. Total, complete conflict. When you have to have kids, you have to build your career. Just as you're rising to middle management, your kids need you because they're teenagers, they need you for the teenage years," she said.

One of Nooyi's solutions was to enlist her employees for help. When her daughter was young and wanted to play Nintendo, for instance, she would call Nooyi's office. A receptionist would run her through a list of questions, including, "Have you finished your homework?" If her daughter said yes, the receptionist would give her permission to play Nintendo for 30 minutes.

In addition to discussing parenting, Nooyi also relayed an anecdote about her own mother. When Nooyi found out she would be named president of PepsiCo in, she says she headed home early — at 10 p.m., instead of midnight — to share the news.


I got home about 10, got into the garage, and my mother was waiting at the top of the stairs. And I said, "Mom, I've got great news for you." She said, "Let the news wait. Can you go out and get some milk?"

I looked in the garage and it looked like my husband was home. I said, "What time did he get home?" She said, "8:00." I said, "Why didn't you ask him to buy the milk?" "He's tired." [...] She said, just get the milk. We need it for the morning. So like a dutiful daughter, I went out and got the milk and came back.

I banged it on the counter and I said, "I had great news for you. I've just been told that I'm going to be president on the Board of Directors. And all that you want me to do is go out and get the milk, what kind of a mom are you?"

And she said to me, "Let me explain something to you. You might be president of PepsiCo. You might be on the Board of Directors. But when you enter this house, you're the wife, you're the daughter, you're the daughter-in-law, you're the mother. You're all of that. Nobody else can take that place. So leave that damned crown in the garage. And don't bring it into the house. You know I've never seen that crown."

Twitter may be reason for your Break-Up

According to new research, active users of social networking who are in a romantic relationship may find that Twitter-related conflicts cause relationship problems that can become serious enough to result in infidelity or divorce. To reach this conclusion, researchers from University of Missouri-Columbia evaluated the amount of time a person spends on Twitter.

They looked at how much conflict arose between couples as a result of active Twitter usage and whether negative relationship outcomes were associated with active Twitter use and Twitter-related conflict. "The idea was to characterise the relationship between active Twitter use, Twitter-related conflict and negative relationship outcomes," said Russell Clayton from University of Missouri-Columbia.

Clayton found that active Twitter use and Twitter-related conflict were positively associated with an increase in emotional and physical cheating, break-up and divorce. These outcomes, however, were not impacted by length of romantic relationship. The study appeared in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.