It's very sad to hear and see tragedy like what is happening now in the Philippines. I hope that the victims of this calamity will be given immediate help and assistance by the Philippine government. Please continue reading the news here.

140 die in Philippine storm, toll expected to rise

MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers Monday as residents started to dig out their homes from under carpets of mud after flooding left 140 people dead in the Philippine capital and surrounding towns.

Overwhelmed officials called for international help, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand another storm that forecasters said was brewing east of the island nation and could hit as early as Friday.

Authorities expected the death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana, which scythed across the northern Philippines on Saturday, to rise as rescuers penetrate villages blocked off by floating cars and other debris. The storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours, fueling the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 40 years. At least 140 people died, and 32 are missing.

Troops, police and volunteers have already rescued more than 7,900 people, but unconfirmed reports of more deaths abound, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.

Please continue reading here

Are You Wasting Money on Multivitamins?

I guess this is a good start for the week. I just got this post in the Bulletin Board Posted by one of my friends in friendsters. Thanks a lot Merz for sharing this. This only serves as General Information. ...Continue to read if you want to know more. Who knows this might cause you to save some money and avoiding the side effects of taking vitamins...Have a great day to all!!

Date: Monday, 16 February, 2009 3:35 PM
Subject: Multivitamins....a waste??? Important , pls. read...
Message: Are You Wasting Money on Multivitamins?

Advertisements with tantalizing promises of improved health, prevention of cancer and heart disease, and greater energy have lured millions of Americans to spend billions of dollars on the purchase of multivitamins.

An article in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reported that multivitamin use did not protect the 161,808 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Study from common forms of cancer, heart attacks, or strokes. And the numbers of deaths during the 8 years of the study were the same in vitamin users as in non-users. Still, it is important to recognize that this was an observational study, not a more meaningful clinical trial. Although these findings apply only to women, other studies have failed to show benefits of multivitamins in older men.

These results are not at all surprising for several reasons. No large study has shown that multivitamins significantly benefit healthy men and women. In addition, for some years physicians prescribed folic acid and vitamins B12 and B6 in the hopes of preventing heart attacks and strokes by lowering blood levels of homocysteine. (High blood levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of coronary and other vascular diseases.) A number of recent studies, however, have shown that, while these vitamins do lower homocysteine levels, they do not prevent heart attacks or strokes.

Many doctors have also prescribed the antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Alas, studies have now proven that these supplements are not protective--and may even be harmful.

No one denies that an adequate intake of vitamins is essential; however, vitamins can and should be obtained from eating enough healthy foods rather than from swallowing vitamin supplements.
Then what about vitamins being a great source of energy? Some multivitamin ads do indeed claim that their supplements boost energy; and some professional athletes gobble handfuls of vitamin pills to increase their energy and strength. But researchers proved long ago that energy comes from calories, not vitamins. The highly touted cholesterol-lowering effects of substances added to some multivitamin supplements? Still unproven.

All this is not to say that specific vitamins supplements are never desirable. Vitamins can be valuable in certain situations:

* Folic acid supplements in women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant can help to prevent serious neural-tube defects that affect the baby's brain and spine.
* Supplements that contain more vitamin D and calcium than is present in regular multivitamin pills can help older men, and especially women, avoid osteoporosis and bone fractures.
* Supplements of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper may slow the progression of vision loss in people with early macular degeneration.
And multivitamins are beneficial for some entire groups of people:
* those on a very-low-calorie weight-loss diet
* strict vegetarians
* heavy alcohol drinkers
* individuals who are not getting an adequate diet because they are too sick or too poor--or live by themselves and are unable to prepare proper meals for themselves
I also agree with a comment made by one of the coauthors of the Archives of Internal Medicine article about postmenopausal women mentioned above. An 8-year follow-up period may not be long enough to show that multivitamins protect against cancers that take many years to develop.
All the same, the results of the studies on vitamins so far point to one conclusion: Healthy people who eat enough calories from a varied diet do not benefit from multivitamin supplements.

Cool News from Italy

This is quite cool. How about women from different countries? would you do the same? I don't have problem with this one because my husband don't burn money with fireworks. Think about it now!! Do you think it is the best solution? happy New year in advance!!

Women's ultimatum: Sex or fireworks

NAPLES, Italy (UPI) -- A group of more than 40 women in Naples, Italy, said they will withhold sex if their husbands or boyfriends set off fireworks during the holiday season.

Dr. Vincenzo Sorrentino said the idea for the committee of women pledging to withhold sex came after years of injuries and deaths resulting from Christmastime fireworks, ANSA reported Friday.

"We've tried everything to stop the mayhem caused by fireworks but we've never reached the results we hoped for," Sorrentino said. "We decided to get women involved because they are more convincing and they always achieve their goals."

Carolina Staiano, 42, the head of the women's committee, said her own father was seriously injured years ago by exploding fireworks.

"So far we've had more than 30 women join up and we're hoping for more," she said Friday. "We're fed up with these stupid annual massacres. This time they're just going to have to choose: sex or fireworks."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Termites helped destroy New Orleans dikes?

This seems to be a very interesting article about New Orleans...Most of us know how termites can be very dangerous to your house and your other properties. If you have some termites at home, better act earlier now...keep reading this news below ...any comments or reaction are very welcome!!

Termites helped destroy New Orleans dikes?
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

NEW ORLEANS (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've discovered evidence termites might have been to blame for the failure of some New Orleans dikes during Hurricane Katrina.

Louisiana State University Professor Gregg Henderson says he discovered Formosan subterranean termites (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) in the floodwall seams of some New Orleans dikes five years before Katrina struck.

After the dikes were breached in 2005, Henderson and colleague Alan Morgan inspected 100 seams for evidence of termites where major floodwall breaks had occurred. They said they discovered 70 percent of the seams in the city's London Avenue Canal, which experienced two major breaks during Katrina, showed evidence of insect attack, as did 27 percent of seams inspected in the walls of the 17th Street Canal.

Henderson said the termites might have contributed to the destruction of the levees in New Orleans by digging networks of tunnels, which can weaken the levee system.

"I believe the termites pose a continuing danger that requires immediate attention," Henderson wrote, suggesting New Orleans' 350 miles of levees and floodwalls should be surveyed for termite damage.

The researchers detail their findings in the fall issue of the journal American Entomologist.

News..News..News...

This is quote interesting..thought of sharing it to you before I delete it in my inbox...
happy Thursday!! Good night..need to go to bed now!!

Details of anthrax investigation revealed
Copyright 2008 by United Press International...arcamax.com

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A team of U.S. scientists spent nearly seven years working in secret to help crack the 2001 anthrax letter case, the FBI said.

Federal investigators asked scientists from a number of research institutions, including Sandia National Laboratories, to help in the investigation of letters containing bacillus anthracis that were mailed in 2001 to several media organizations and two Democratic U.S. senators -- Tom Daschle of North Dakota and Pat Leahy of Vermont. Five people were killed and 17 people were injured.

Sandia said research by the lab demonstrated to the FBI that the form of bacillus anthracis contained in those letters was not a weaponized form. Investigator Joseph Michael said the information was crucial in ruling out state-sponsored terrorism.

Michael, Paul Kotula and roughly a dozen other researchers examined more than 200 samples over six and one-half years, Sandia said Thursday in a release.

"Sandia's work was the first to actually link the spore material in the New York Post, the Daschle and the Leahy letters," the release said. "The elemental signatures and the locations of these signatures, while not indicating intentional weaponization, did show that the spores were indistinguishable and therefore likely came from the same source. That conclusion was corroborated a few years later by the DNA studies."

Malaysian medicine cuts chemo resistance

MONTREAL (UPI) -- A Canadian, U.S. and Austrian study has discovered a Malaysian folk medication reduces resistance to cancer chemotherapy treatments.

McGill University researchers said the study focused on a class of natural products known as cyclopenta benzofuran flavaglines, or CBFs. Working with mice genetically modified to mimic human leukemias, they found the CBF compound silvestrol can make tumors susceptible to the killing effects of anticancer drugs.

Silvestrol is a natural compound derived from a large genus of trees and shrubs found in Malaysia, South China and some Pacific islands, the scientists said. It's been used in Malaysian folk medicine for generations, but never as a cancer therapy.

The researchers cautioned trials in humans and possible treatments are still many years away.

The results of the study that included Boston University, the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Vienna and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are published in the June issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Heel ultrasound predicts osteoporosis risk

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (UPI) -- An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, Swiss researchers said.

Lead author Dr. Idris Guessous of the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland said along with certain risk factors -- including age or recent fall -- radiation-free ultrasound of the heel may be used to better select women who need further bone density testing, such as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry exam.

In the three-year, multi-center study, 6,174 women ages 70 to 85 with no previous formal diagnosis of osteoporosis were screened with heel-bone quantitative ultrasound, a diagnostic test used to assess bone density. Researchers asked about risk factors such as age, history of fractures or a recent fall.

The study, published in the the journal Radiology, showed that 1,464 women, or 23.7 percent, were considered lower risk and 4,710, or 76.3 percent, were considered higher risk.

In the group of higher risk women, 290, or 6.1 percent, developed fractures, whereas 27, or 1.8 percent, of the women in the lower risk group developed fractures. Among the 66 women who developed a hip fracture, 60, or 90 percent, were in the higher risk group.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Sacramento same-sex weddings mostly female

SACRAMENTO (UPI) -- A tally of marriage licenses issued in Sacramento County indicates more female same-sex couples are getting married than males.

The Sacramento Bee took an informal tally of the paperwork this week and determined tha, as of Friday, 60 percent of the same-sex couples getting married in the county were lesbian while 40 percent were male couples.

"Women want to be married more than men do," said Gary Gates, a demographer at the UCLA law school. "The idea of partnering is more attractive to women."

Gates said statistics nationwide showed that female couples in "committed" relationships outnumbered male couples by a 2-1 margin.

On the other hand, Gates said, lesbian relationships tended not to last as long on average as those between gay men.

The Bee said that of the 170 couples that applied for marriage licenses in Sacramento County this week, 133 were homosexual based on the first names of the applicants.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Scientists ID new Alzheimer's disease gene

MANHASSET, N.Y. (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they have identified a gene that puts people at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

Philippe Marambaud of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and Fabien Campagne of the Weill Medical College at Cornell University said the calcium channel modulator gene holds promise as a potentially new way to treat or even prevent Alzheimer's disease.

They said they found the risk gene called CALHM1 strongly expressed in the hippocampus -- a brain region necessary for learning and memory. The researchers said CALHM1 leads to a partial loss of function, which means less calcium gets into a cell, thereby weakening signals normally regulated by calcium. They determined one of those signals controls the levels of amyloid peptides, the building blocks of the characteristic disease plaques.

Using DNA from deceased U.S. Alzheimer's victims and age-matched controls, along with DNA samples from patients in France, Italy and the United Kingdom, the researchers ran tests on 3,404 samples. They discovered people having the genetic variant had 1.5 times higher risk of developing Alzheimer's.

The study that included French researcher Jean Charles Lambert is detailed in the journal Cell.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Union: Gender imbalance in Defense Dept.

OTTAWA (UPI) -- A Canadian union has called for more women in Defense Department emergency response units after women were stripped and washed by male responders.

The Union of National Defense Employees wants a mandate to employ more women in the hazardous materials and security units following an anthrax scare last year at a military base in Quebec, in which an all-male team took off female employees clothing and scrubbed them through the decontamination process, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Union President John MacLennan told the newspaper there are only seven female emergency responders in the Defense Department across the country.

"You have to have a hazardous response team that represents gender, male and female," he said.

Defense Department spokeswoman Lynne Rattray told the newspaper in an e-mail the incident is being overblown by the union.

"In this particular case, all personnel present were informed of what was involved in the decontamination process, and voluntarily complied," she wrote.


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

U.S. tomato warning expanded nationwide

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Many U.S. restaurants have removed dishes containing raw tomatoes from their menus in the wake of a nationwide federal warning.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the weekend expanded its warning that a salmonellosis outbreak has been linked with consumption of certain uncooked red plum, red Roma and red round tomatoes, as well as products containing such tomatoes.

The FDA said consumers can continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

"Since mid-April, there have been 145 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul nationwide, including at least 23 hospitalizations," the FDA said in a statement. "States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin."

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Australian women over-dieting, says survey

MELBOURNE (UPI) -- A survey suggests that Australian women are going to extreme and even unhealthy lengths to try to lose weight.

Fortune magazine polled 1,000 Australian women aged between 18 and 35 and found that 56 percent had used diet pills, while 88 percent regularly skip meals and 17 percent go for more than a day without eating in order to lose weight. Another 15 percent admitted to being anorexic or vomiting after eating.

Eating Disorder Foundation founder Amanda Jordan said the survey reflected national research.

"This really highlights the absolute tyranny of image and how women are being seduced into dangerous and unhelpful behavior," she told the Melbourne Sun-Herald, suggesting that magazines such as Fortune were partly to blame for their images of overly-thin women as ideals.

"If you're going to blame magazines, then you are also going to have to blame TV, Internet and advertising. Everyone carries the same stories," said executive editor, Ali Wick.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Men to 'protest' 'Sex...City' pink drinks

TORONTO (UPI) -- Mock protests against "pink drinks" organized by a distiller and brewer are scheduled in Toronto for Friday's premiere of "Sex and the City."

The maker of Canadian Club whiskey announced Thursday seven mock rallies will be in the city to mark the premiere with organizers leading chants such as "Hey hey ho ho pink drinks have got to go!"

A release said the spoofs are "to protest the rise of the pink, girlie cocktail and the demise of the masculine cocktail" in the movie about four women in New York.

Meanwhile, a survey of 500 Canadian men by Moosehead Lager found 36 percent will be watching a hockey game and drinking beer rather than attending the film's debut. Another 28 percent said they would be walking the dog Friday night, a release said.

Regardless, at least 35 percent of the men polled had advance knowledge of the movie. Asked which of the four women was the "hottest," 11 percent named Samantha, followed closely by Charlotte with 10 percent. The Carrie character scored 7 percent and Miranda was fourth with 4 percent.

Among the men, Mr. Big scored 2 percent as the hottest, the release said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Scientists find 'nervous wreck' gene

Scientists find 'nervous wreck' gene
MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- U.S. scientists announced the discovery of a gene they call "nervous wreck" that is essential to the proper development of nerve cells in the fruit fly.

The gene governs the size of a synapse -- the junction between nerve cell endings. University of Wisconsin scientists said the gene prevents synapses from overgrowing by damping the effects of a pro-growth signal. Mutations in a human version of the "nervous wreck" gene have been linked to a severe genetic developmental disability

The 100 billion nerve cells in the human make trillions of synaptic connections to neurons, muscle cells and other cell types. Malfunctions at synapses are believed to be among the many factors leading to various neurological disorders.

Kate O'Connor-Giles, a postdoctoral fellow who led the study, said, "We really need to have a deep understanding of how all the factors involved are working together to develop rational treatments for neurological disorders associated with aberrant synaptic growth."

The researchers say their findings might speed the development of treatments for neurological disorders.

The study appears in the journal Neuron.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Police officer breastfeeds quake orphans

JIANGYOU, China (UPI) -- A Chinese police officer, who is the mother of a baby, has become a national heroine for breastfeeding infants separated from their mothers by the earthquake.

Jiang Xiaojuan continues to feed two babies for women whose milk stopped from the trauma of the earthquake or the physical difficulties immediately afterwards, CNN reported. At her busiest, she was feeding nine.

"I am breastfeeding, so I can feed babies," she said. "I didn't think of it much. It is a mother's reaction and a basic duty as a police officer to help."

One newspaper hailed her as "China's Mother No. 1." But she says everyone in the quake zone tried to do what they could to help those who were injured, orphaned or left homeless.

The official death toll for the May 12 7.9-magnitude earthquake is 51,000 with about 29,000 people missing. Thousands of children are believed to have been orphaned.

Jiang's own son is being cared for by his grandparents while the earthquake emergency lasts.



Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

New moms tested for HIV infection

LONDON (UPI) -- Hundreds of new mothers in Britain are being tested for the HIV virus after learning the doctor who delivered their babies has the deadly virus.

Women who had Caesarean section births at two hospitals in Essex were sent letters urging the tests to determine whether they contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, The Daily Mail reported Friday.

Tracy Cause, 33, from Leigh-on-Sea, said she found it unbelievable that someone working with mothers and babies could be infected with HIV and potentially passed along the virus.

"The letter from the hospital said they were aware it could be upsetting but that doesn't even come close," Cause said.

Basildon Hospital in Essex sent 126 warning letters and 66 were mailed to patients at Southend Hospital.

The doctor worked at both of the hospitals between 2006 and 2007 but reportedly was moved to a "risk free" role, the newspaper said.

Dr. Stephen Morgan, Basildon medical director, said, it was "rare" for an infected healthcare worker to infect a patient.

A Health Protection Agency spokesman said patients were being asked to contact a helpline for a "consultation where they will be offered advice, counseling and a blood test."


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Sect mothers may face hard choice

ELDORADO, Texas (UPI) -- Branding a West Texas polygamist sect an abusive environment, officials may tell the sect's mothers they must choose between their children and their religion.

Some lawyers said this edict could mean women would never be able to return to the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, The Dallas Morning News said Thursday.

Other experts said adults who have tolerated underage "marriages" of girls to older men might have forfeited rights to raise their children.

In advance of court hearings scheduled to begin Monday, Child Protective Services has drafted 10 goals and 14 tasks that parents will have to work toward in order to regain custody of their children.

CPS is proposing to give parents until next April to "provide a home free of persons who have or will abuse" children and "demonstrate the ability to protect the child(ren) from sexual abuse."


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Global warming may increase kidney stones

Global warming may increase kidney stones
DALLAS (UPI) -- U.S. urologists say rising global temperatures might lead to an increase in kidney stones.

The study, presented Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., during the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association, shows kidney stone disease, already linked with dehydration in warmer climates, will be exacerbated by global warning.

As a result, scientists said the prevalence of kidney stone disease will increase, along with the costs of treating the condition.

The southern United States is considered "the stone belt" because it has higher incidences of kidney stones. The researchers said rising global temperatures could expand that region with the fraction of the U.S. population living in high-risk stone zones predicted to grow from 40 percent in 2000 to 50 percent by 2050. That could lead to an increase of one to two million lifetime cases of stone disease.

The cost associated with treating kidney stone disease could climb as high as one $1 billion annually by 2050, representing a 10 percent to 20 percent increase over present-day estimates, the researchers said.

The study, led by Dr. Margaret Pearl of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was reported in the April issue of the Journal of Urology.


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Victim often knows sexual attacker

DURHAM, N.H. (UPI) -- A University of New Hampshire study shows that the vast majority of incidents of unwanted sex on campus are perpetrated by someone the victim knows.

More than 2,400 undergraduate students were surveyed in the 2005/2006 academic year, with previous student surveys conducted in 1988 and 2000.

"Colleges and universities around the country find this same percentage, yet the stereotype remains that the perpetrator is a stranger," the study said. "We need to continue to educate the campus community that acquaintances are most likely to be the perpetrators against women."

Overall, unwanted sexual contact occurs where students live, in the context of social events, and often alcohol is involved, the study said.

Of the female victims surveyed, 85 percent report that someone they know committed unwanted sexual intercourse.

Seven percent reported having unwanted sex themselves, while 25 percent reported unwanted sexual contact, the study found.

Copies of the study are available at: unh.edu/news/docs/2006unwantedsexualexperiences.pdf.


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com

Change needed in end-of-life dementia care

MILTON KEYNES, England (UPI) -- British researchers say many improvements are needed in the care provided to people in the final stages of dementia.

Open University Professor Jan Draper and Clinical Nurse Specialist Deborah Birch reached that conclusion after reviewing 29 published studies conducted in nine nations during the past 10 years.

"We must act now to stop people with dementia from suffering from protracted, potentially uncomfortable and undignified deaths" said Draper. "Our review has reinforced the importance of providing appropriate palliative care to individuals suffering from end-stage dementia and clearly identified some of the barriers to extending such provision."

The recommendations include: communicating the diagnosis of dementia in a sensitive way; acknowledging the potential influence on treatment decisions on the beliefs and values of members of the healthcare team; and reconsidering aggressive medical treatments that have limited benefits and might cause further discomfort to dying patients.

The review appears in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.


Copyright 2008 by United Press International
arcamax.com