Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Trouble is part of your life, and if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you enough chance to love you enough.

Dinah Shore

Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.

Miles Franklin

You can't stop loving or wanting to love because when its right, it's the best thing in the world. When you're in a relationship and it's good, even if nothing else in your life is right, you feel like your whole world is complete.


Keith Sweat

We mistakenly assume that if our partners love us they will react and behave in certain ways - the ways we react and behave when we love someone.

John Gray

While doing a laundry I got a call from my bestfriend who is a Pastor's wife, she is in the Philippines right now, visiting her mom who is already sickly ( old age i guess) she will go back to Las Vegas with her family this 16th, that call was a blessing, miss her now!

yeah, its sad when you are alone.

For me i try to be with friends if we all have the time, but sometimes its impossible because of our schedule, so when it happens, I make myself at home, doing chores and before I sleep I watch TV series, those that I can learn good things and best quotes (LOL)

Can Chocolate Lower Your Risk of Stroke?

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2010) — Eating chocolate may lower your risk of having a stroke, according to an analysis of available research that was released February 11 and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010. Another study found that eating chocolate may lower the risk of death after suffering a stroke.

The analysis involved reviewing three studies on chocolate and stroke.
"More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others," said study author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sahib worked alongside Gustavo Saposnik, MD, MSc, where the study was completed at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.
Chocolate is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, which may have a protective effect against stroke, but more research is needed.
The first study found that 44,489 people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke than people who ate no chocolate. The second study found that 1,169 people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46 percent less likely to die following a stroke than people who did not eat chocolate.
The researchers found only one additional relevant study in their search of all the available research. That study found no link between eating chocolate and risk of stroke or death.

Eating Citrus Fruit May Lower Women's Stroke Risk

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2012) — A compound in citrus fruits may reduce your stroke risk, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Eating higher amounts of a compound in citrus fruits, especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk. Women who ate high amounts of the compound had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least amount.

This prospective study is one of the first in which researchers examine how consuming flavonoid subclasses affects the risk of stroke. Flavonoids are a class of compounds present in fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate and red wine.
"Studies have shown higher fruit, vegetable and specifically vitamin C intake is associated with reduced stroke risk," said Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., the study's lead author and professor of nutrition at Norwich Medical School in the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom.
"Flavonoids are thought to provide some of that protection through several mechanisms, including improved blood vessel function and an anti-inflammatory effect."
Cassidy and colleagues used 14-years of follow-up data from the Nurse's Health Study, which included 69,622 women who reported their food intake, including details on fruit and vegetable consumption every four years. Researchers examined the relationship of the six main subclasses of flavonoids commonly consumed in the U.S. diet -- flavanones, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, flavonoid polymers, flavonols and flavones -- with risk of ischemic, hemorrhagic and total stroke.
As expected, the researchers didn't find a beneficial association between total flavonoid consumption and stroke risk, as the biological activity of the sub-classes differ. However, they found that women who ate high amounts of flavanones in citrus had a 19 percent lower risk of blood clot-related (ischemic) stroke than women who consumed the least amounts.
In the study, flavanones came primarily from oranges and orange juice (82 percent) and grapefruit and grapefruit juice (14 percent). However, researchers recommended that consumers increase their citrus fruit intake, rather than juice, due to the high sugar content of commercial fruit juices.
A previous study found that citrus fruit and juice intake, but not intake of other fruits, protected against risk of ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage. Another study found no association between yellow and orange fruits and stroke risk, but did link increased consumption of white fruits like apples and pears with lower stroke risk. An additional study found that Swedish women who ate the highest levels of antioxidants -- about 50 percent from fruits and vegetables -- had fewer strokes than those with lower antioxidant levels.
More studies are needed to confirm the association between flavanone consumption and stroke risk, and to gain a better understanding about why the association occurs, the authors said.

sciencedaily.com

Tonsils Make T-Cells, Too

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2012) — A new study provides evidence that a critical type of immune cell can develop in human tonsils. The cells, called T lymphocytes, or T cells, have been thought to develop only in the thymus, an organ of the immune system that sits on the heart.

The study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC -- James), could improve the understanding of T-cell cancers and autoimmune diseases, and how stem-cell transplantation is done.
The study identified T cells at five distinct stages of development in the tonsil. These stages, identified using molecular signposts on the cells, were very similar to the stages of T-cell development in the thymus, although some differences were found as well.
The study also discovered that the cells develop in a particular region of the tonsil, in areas near the fibrous scaffold of the tonsil.
The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"We've known for a long time that a functional thymus is necessary to develop a complete repertoire of T-cells, but whether a T-cell factory existed outside the thymus has been controversial," says principal investigator Dr. Michael A. Caligiuri, director of Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
"I believe our study answers that question. It is the first report to describe a comprehensive, stepwise model for T-cell development outside the thymus."
It also raises a number of questions. Caligiuri notes that it's still unclear whether T-cells that develop in the tonsil also mature there or whether they leave the tonsil to mature elsewhere.
"The complete implications of this phenomenon for human health and disease are not entirely known," adds first-author Susan McClory, a graduate fellow in Caligiuri's laboratory. "It could be important in the development of T-cell cancers and autoimmune diseases, or it might suggest a location for T-cell development when thymus function is poor. We hope to do additional studies to explore these possibilities," she says.
Caligiuri, McClory and their colleagues conducted the study using tonsil tissue obtained from children undergoing routine tonsillectomy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, and thymic tissue obtained from children undergoing thoracic surgery.
Using the molecular features of T-cells as they develop in the thymus, the researchers identified five populations of maturing T cells in the tonsils. They found, for example, that the first two of those groups resembled cells of the earliest stages of T cells that developed in the thymus, while cells in the fifth group were similar to nearly mature T-cells in the thymus.
They also showed that all five of the cell groups had the capacity to develop into T cells in laboratory tests, and that the first four populations had the capacity to develop into immune cells called natural killer cells.
"Overall, our work suggests that the tonsils serve as a T-cell factory, along with the thymus," Caligiuri says. "Next, we need to learn what proportion of T-cells is derived within the tonsil compared with the thymus."
Funding from the National Cancer Institute supported this research.
Other researchers involved in this study were Tiffany Hughes, Edward Briercheck, Chelsea Martin, Anthony J. Trimboli, Jianhua Yu, Xiaoli Zhang, Gustavo Leone and Gerard Nuovo of Ohio State University; and Aharon G. Freud of Stanford University.

http://www.sciencedaily.com

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Cosmetic surgeons call for surgery adverts ban


The PIP implants were made with low-grade silicone not meant for medical use
Continue reading the main story
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'No more tests' for PIP implants
Plans to insure cosmetic surgery
Lansley calls for implant action
Cosmetic surgery advertising should be banned and annual checks carried out on surgeons, the industry has said.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) wants measures including increased regulation of the "cowboy" market in the UK.

Prof Sir Bruce Keogh is leading a government review of the trade after the PIP breast implants scandal.

Sir Bruce has said an insurance scheme for the sector, similar to that in the travel industry, could be introduced.

'Marketing gimmicks'
The government is also considering the introduction of a breast implant registry to make a record of all cosmetic operations.

Baaps said cosmetic surgery as a medical procedure should not be advertised, in the same way that the promotion of prescription medicines is banned.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

In no other area of surgery would one encounter Christmas vouchers and two-for-one offers”

Fazel Fatah
President, British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Baaps president Fazel Fatah said: "Over the last decade the Baaps has worked tirelessly to educate the public on the many aggressive marketing gimmicks that not only trivialise surgery but endanger the patient.

"We have warned against the unrealistic expectations set by reality 'makeover' shows and against crass competition prizes promising 'mummy makeovers' and body overhauls.

"In no other area of surgery would one encounter Christmas vouchers and two-for-one offers - the pendulum has swung too far, and it is time for change.

"Thus we are delighted with the upcoming inquiry and put forward our realistic and achievable proposals for consideration by the government."

'Patient welfare'
The Independent Healthcare Advisory Services represents the cosmetic surgery industry.

Its director Sally Taber told the BBC that "this type of advertising has increased to an inapproprate level".

However, she added: "We do not agree that there should be a total ban on cosmetic surgery advertising.

"Advertising should be honest and ethical, in everybody's interests so the patient is aware of what is available.

"We have worked hard with Baaps to ensure there isn't this incentivised advertising."

The faulty implants were made by the now-closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP) and filled with industrial rather than medical grade silicone.

Some 300,000 of the implants were sold around the world, mainly in Europe.

About 40,000 women in the UK received PIP implants, with 95% dealt with by private clinics.

The government has said implants given on the NHS can be removed and replaced free of charge, and removed but not replaced if it was done privately.

Private clinics have varied in their response to whether they will remove the implants for free.

NHS medical director Sir Bruce said: "I am working with experts from the plastic surgery field to look at what we can do to make sure people who choose to have cosmetic surgery and other cosmetic procedures are safe.

"I will be looking at all aspects of regulation, at the regulation of implants and fillers, at whether the people who carry out cosmetic interventions have the right skills, at whether the clinics look after the care and welfare of their patients."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16675155

Fall victim's skull repaired using stomach fat injections

Part of Tim Barter's head had collapsed
A man whose skull was partly removed after he fell from a drainpipe has had his head reshaped using stomach fat.

Tim Barter, 32, from Brixton, awoke from a coma 10 days after his 25ft fall with a brain haemorrhage, shattered eye socket, and part of his skull removed.

King's College Hospital surgeons used body fat to repair his temple in the first procedure of its kind in Britain.

Mr Barter, a visual effects supervisor, said: "I'm making the most of everything now where I didn't before."

In June 2009, Mr Barter, who has regularly worked on the BBC's Doctor Who, locked himself out of his house and decided to climb up to an upstairs window to gain entry.

But the drainpipe collapsed beneath him, causing him to plunge to the ground.

He said he had no recollection of the fall but believes he must have landed face-first.

Mr Barter was discovered unconscious by his neighbours and taken to the major trauma centre at King's College Hospital, where part of his skull was removed to cope with the bleeding and swelling on his brain.


Tim Barter's skull was partly removed after he fell from a drainpipe and damaged his head
"Life stopped for a number of months. I couldn't work and I had double vision," he said.

A custom-made titanium plate was fixed to replace the piece of removed skull.

The plate was developed at King's using computer technology to make it mirror the other side of his head.

Meanwhile, the fat from his stomach was injected into his temple to fill out the concavity that had appeared through the slump of inactive muscle.

Robert Bentley, director of trauma at King's, said: "Tim highlights an area of expertise that I've developed here at King's over the last nine years in which we have inserted over 250 such prostheses."


Since making a full recovery from his fall, Tim Barter is learning to skydive
Since his fall, far from fearing heights, Mr Barter developed a love for skydiving.

"I love the falling. It's just the split second at the end that's an occasional problem."

Following his recovery, which lasted for two years, he has been wall climbing, kayaking and going to the gym "to get a decent physique".

"I can't put anything off any more I'm doing what I've always put on my list," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17204589

Sun-dried tomatoes linked to hepatitis A outbreak

Four of the seven infected people had consumed sun-dried tomatoes
Continue reading the main story
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'Millions' live with hepatitis
UK health experts believe sun-dried tomatoes could be the cause of a recent outbreak of hepatitis A.

The Health Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency fear contaminated samples were to blame for the infection that hospitalised four people and caused illness in another three people in late 2011.

Hepatitis A virus is carried by human faeces and can be passed on through contact with food or water.

Severe cases can lead to liver failure.

All of the seven people infected have since made a recovery.

One of the strains of hepatitis A identified in two of the patients was identical to a strain that caused a similar outbreak linked with sun-dried tomatoes in the Netherlands in 2010, says a report.

Four of the patients in this latest outbreak in England said they had consumed sun-dried tomatoes.



Hepatitis A - the most common type and is usually caught via contaminated food or water. Usually short-lived. Vaccine is available
Hepatitis B - passed from person to person through unprotected sex or by sharing needles to inject drugs. Vaccine is available
Hepatitis C - usually transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. No vaccine
Hepatitis D - only possible to have hepatitis D if you have hepatitis B. Affects about 5% of those with hep B
Hepatitis E - rare in the UK and usually caught via contaminated food or water
Officials are on the alert for further cases. But they say they do not know which brands of sun-dried tomatoes might be involved. This is because there is no reliable test to find the virus in food.

A spokeswoman for the Food Standards Agency said: "Sun-dried tomatoes are being investigated as one possible source of the hepatitis A cases reported last year.

"However, no food source has been conclusively identified so far and no other relevant cases have been reported in the UK since November 2011. The investigation by FSA and HPA is ongoing."

Hepatitis A is a notifiable condition. This means that when the condition is diagnosed, the doctor making the diagnosis must inform the local authority.

In most cases the infection is relatively short-lived and people recover within a couple of months.

bbc.co.uk

Sleep quality 'improves with age'

The study involved more than 150,000 people

Brain, body training 'treats ME'
The belief that older people tend to suffer worse sleep may be false - in fact the reverse may be true, according to US researchers.

A telephone survey of more than 150,000 adults suggested that, apart from a blip in your 40s, sleep quality gets better with age.

Those in their 80s reported the best sleep, says the study in Sleep journal.

A UK sleep researcher said while poor health could affect sleep, it was a "myth" that age alone was a factor.

While universities have equipment which can measure sleep duration and disturbance in study volunteers, this does not always match the volunteer's own opinion on their night's rest.

The research, conducted by the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, instead focused on asking large numbers of randomly selected people about their sleep.

They were also asked about their race, income, education, mood and general health.

While being depressed or having health problems was linked to poor sleep quality, once the researchers had adjusted the results to compensate for this, a distinct pattern emerged.

Instead, they found that complaints about poor sleep quality fell as age rose, with the lowest number of complaints coming from the over-70s.

Middle age blip
The only exception to this trend was middle age, where sleep quality was poorer.

Dr Michael Grandner said the original reason for setting up the study was to confirm the precise opposite - that sleep quality declined in old age.

He said: "These results force us to re-think what we know about sleep in older people - men and women."

He suggested that it was possible that older people were sleeping worse, but simply felt better about it.

"Even if sleep among older Americans is actually worse than in younger adults, feelings about it still improve with age."

Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, Professor of Sleep and Physiology and Director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, said the study was "interesting".

He said: "We have got to get away from all these myths about ageing - many people are very content with their sleep."

However, he said that asking people for their subjective opinion about sleep patterns could produce answers that were dependent on their mood at the time.

"If you are angry because your boss didn't give you a pay rise, your perception of sleep quality may be very different from someone who is feeling generally content."

bbc.co.uk

Child behaviour link' to snoring

Children who snore, or who have other night-time breathing conditions, are at risk from behavioural problems, according to a study.

Sleep apnoea and snoring made conditions such as hyperactivity more likely later on, researchers said.

The study, published in the US journal Pediatrics, looked at data on 11,000 children living in the UK.

Lead researcher Dr Karen Bonuck said the sleep problems could be harming the developing brain.

One estimate suggests one in 10 children regularly snores and 2% to 4% suffer from sleep apnoea, which means the breathing is obstructed and interrupted during sleep.

Often enlarged tonsils or adenoids are to blame for the conditions.

In adults, the result can be severe day-time tiredness, and some studies have hinted that behavioural problems such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder might be linked to the condition in children.

The latest study is sufficiently large to offer a clearer view of this.

Oxygen supply
Parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire in which both the level of snoring and apnoea were recorded in the first six or seven years of life, and contrasted with their own assessment of the child's behaviour.


If the sleep problem is addressed, the behaviour will improve almost immediately.”

Marianne Davey,
British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Society
Dr Bonuck, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York, said that children with breathing issues during sleep were between 40% and 100% more likely to develop "neurobehavioural problems" by the age of seven.

She believes that the sleep breathing issues could cause behavioural problems in a number of ways - by reducing the supply of oxygen to the brain, interrupting the "restorative processes" of sleep or disrupting the balance of brain chemicals.

She said: "Until now, we really didn't have strong evidence that sleep-disordered breathing actually preceded problematic behaviour such as hyperactivity.

"But this study shows clearly that symptoms do precede behavioural problems and strongly suggests that they are causing these problems."

Marianne Davey, from the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Society, said that sleep problems in the young were an under-recognised reason for poor behaviour.

She said: "Often parents won't make the connection and mention them to the GP, so this label of ADHD is given to the child, and sometimes they are even given drugs.

"This is wrong, as if the sleep problem is addressed, the behaviour will improve almost immediately."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17237576

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