Cheap Loans

“Get cash at 0.99% per month interest for 12 months on your card no XXXX 1234. Call 1800 XXX YYY or call on (022) 1234 5678 or SMS CASH on XYZ. Conditions apply from: XYZ Bank.” I recieved this SMS a few minutes ago. Mr Mohan Kumar also received this message, but unlike me he bit the bait!

I must admit that the offer is quite enticing: money at 0.99% per month, that too, from a credit card company. Many of us fall for such utterly misleading advertising. In fact this is a cheap, disgusting way of marketing loans.

Unfortunately most banks believe that this is ethical and do it all the time. They think that consumers are stupid and don't understand the basic mathematics behind this game.

To our misfortune regulatory bodies like RBI, SEBI etc don't seem to have any problem with lenders who fool innocent consumers. In my opinion this is a heinous crime. Here's a dissection of the real cost of seemingly cheap deals.

Money @ 0.99% per month!
This figure amounts to 11.88% per annum and Mr Mohan thought to himself -- his bank was giving him a personal loan at 18%, so naturally this was a very good deal. Mr Mohan is told that this is a reducing balance loan. So, each month he will pay less interest.

This fact is correct but presented wrongly. If the part principal is being repaid each month why should anyone pay interest on the whole loan amount? It is a reducing balance loan and that is the way it should be.

So, so why use it like a punchline or a USP? Let's understand how this loan at 0.99% per month actually works by a layman's calculation.

* Say the loan is for Rs 5 lakh, for a 48-month period, the EMI being Rs 15,368.
* You will totally pay Rs 15,348 X 48 = Rs 737,664 against your loan of Rs 5 lakh.
* That is Rs 237,664 extra as interest over 48 months ie four years.
* That is Rs 237,664 divided by 4 = Rs 59,416 as interest per year.
* Thus Rs 59,416 divide by Rs 5 lakh = 11.88% and thus 0.99% per month.

Things could not be represented more wrongly!

The correct way to do this is to use a concept called Internal Rate of Return (IRR) as it is the IRR, which is the ‘real rate’ the bank is charging you.

Now, let's calulate cash flow for the bank as follows:

Time From the lenders perspective
Time = 0 (now) Rs 5 lakh outflow
Time = 1 Rs 15,368 as inflow
Time = 2 Rs 15,368 as inflow
Time = 3 Rs 15,368 as inflow

Till Time = 48 Rs 15,368 as inflow

In mathematical terms, the IRR of the series of cash flows shown above works out to 20.57%, that's almost 21% pa against the 0.99% per month claimed by the bank!

This is told to you only if you ask what is the IRR or the effective rate of interest.Generally you are never told this. The real cost of this 'cheap' loan is 20.57% pa!

Further more, Mohan was told that to avail this facility he will have to pay only 2% of the loan amount as processing fee and that will be charged in the first statement.

Now a 2% processing fee works out to Rs 10,000. If you account for this amount the bank’s IRR now moves up to 21.72%! So, you take the loan assuming interest rate at 0.99% per month, that is 11.88% per annum when the lender is actually earning 21.72%. But this is not it -- you still need to pay more!

The bank levies a service tax of 12.36% on processing the fee, which it needs to pay to the Government. This works out to Rs 1,236. Factoring this into your cost, increases the bank's IRR to 21.86%.

Further more, you need to pay service tax @ 12.36% on the interest component of your EMI, too. Many banks don't tell you this, and the extra charge turns up in your loan or credit card statement. Now, add this and your cost increases to an astounding 24.56%!

So, the next time you see a loan deal coming your way at say 12% per annum think again. The 'real cost' to you is easily double of that, to say the least. It's worse if you have taken it from a credit card company. The reason: if you forget or delay to make even one payment the bankers will rejoice -- you have a late fee plus about 3% more interest as penalty on the outstanding amount, plus service tax on the above.

No free lunches!
If we are told that the cost of this loan is 25% per annum and we agree to it, then it's fair. What really pinches when we are misguided and information is not correctly and openly given to us.

In this case the bank and its officers via their bonuses, commission and salary, are making money completely at your expense and many a time unethically by not guiding us correctly. To me, this is unfair. But this practice is rampant, and no one seems to have a problem with it. But remember: there's no such thing as a free lunch. And this is especially true in the case of money.

Now, I hope you wouldn't be as careless as Mr Mohan Kumar was.

US Navy missile hits satellite on first attempt

A missile launched from a Navy ship successfully struck a dying US spy satellite passing 130 miles (210 kilometers) over the Pacific, a defense official said. Full details were not immediately available.

It happened just after 10:30 pm EST Wednesday (0330 GMT Thursday).

Two officials said the missile was launched successfully. One official, who is close to the process, said it hit the target. He said details on the results were not immediately known.

The goal in this first-of-its-kind mission for the Navy was not just to hit the satellite but to obliterate a tank aboard the spacecraft carrying 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of a toxic fuel called hydrazine.

US officials have said the fuel would pose a potential health hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area. Although the odds of that were small even if the Pentagon had chosen not to try to shoot down the satellite, it was determined that it was worth trying to eliminate even that small chance.

Officials said it might take a day or longer to know for sure if the toxic fuel was blown up.

US to shoot down rogue spy satellite next week

Next week, the US will try to knockdown a malfunctioning spy satellite just before it crashes into earth. NASA will be putting its missile defenses to a real-life test to do this.

The US Navy Standard Missile fired from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie in the northern Pacific will—for the first time—attempt to hit a satellite the size of a bus that's tumbling towards earth laden with 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine.

The US spy satellite never used the fuel because it failed almost as soon at it was launched 15 months ago.

"We have had no way to communicate to invoke the safety measures that are already on the bird," US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen, James Cartwright, says.

With three quarters of the earth water, and with large parts of the land uninhabited, the chances are slim the satellite could kill anyone, yet possibilities of danger cannot be ruled out.

The problem is not so much the 5,000 lb satellite, but the 1,000 pounds of unused fuel that could cover 200 yards.

"It's hard to find areas that have any significant population to them where you could put a toxic substance down across a couple of football fields and not have somebody at risk," Administrator NASA, Michael Griffin says.

Some experts think the US may have another motive: keeping wreckage from one of its newest spy satellites out of enemy hands.

"This is the first of a new generation of radar-imaging intelligence satellites. It has advanced technology on it. They may just want to keep it off of eBay," John Pike from globalsecurity.org says.

Despite all the meticulous preparations, even if the missile misses there's no real downside.

"So there is almost nothing we can do here that makes it worse. Almost everything we can do technically makes it better, which was a very strong factor weighting the decision," Griffin says.

Microfiber fabric makes its own electricity?

U.S. scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that generates its own electricity, making enough current to recharge a cell phone or ensure that a small MP3 music player never runs out of power.

If made into a shirt, the fabric could harness power from its wearer simply walking around or even from a slight breeze, they reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.

"The fiber-based nanogenerator would be a simple and economical way to harvest energy from the physical movement," Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led the study, said in a statement.

The nanogenerator takes advantage of the semiconductive properties of zinc oxide nanowires -- tiny wires 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair -- embedded into the fabric. The wires are formed into pairs of microscopic brush-like structures, shaped like a baby-bottle brush.

One of the fibers in each pair is coated with gold and serves as an electrode. As the bristles brush together through a person's body movement, the wires convert the mechanical motion into electricity.

"When a nanowire bends it has an electric effect," Wang said in a telephone interview. "What the fabric does is it translates the mechanical movement of your body into electricity."

His team made the nanogenerator by first coating fibers with a polymer, and then a layer of zinc oxide. They dunked this into a warm bath of reactive solution for 12 hours. This encouraged the wires to multiply, coating the fibers.

"They automatically grow on the surface of the fiber," Wang said. "In principal, you could use any fiber that is conductive."

They added another layer of polymer to prevent the zinc oxide from being scrubbed off. And they added an ultra-thin layer of gold to some fibers, which works as a conductor.

To ensure all that friction was not just generating static electricity, the researchers conducted several tests. The fibers produced current only when both the gold and the zinc oxide bristles brushed together.

So far, Wang said the researchers had demonstrated the principle and developed a small prototype.

"Our estimates show we can have up to 80 milliwatts per square meter of this fabric. This is enough to power a little iPod or charge a cell phone battery," he said.

"What we've done is demonstrate the principle and the fundamental mechanism."

Wang said the material could be used by hikers and soldiers in the field and also to power tiny sensors used in biomedicine or environmental monitoring.

One major hurdle remains: zinc oxide degrades when wet. Wang's team is working on a process that would coat the fibers to protect the fabric in the laundry.

Computer product Service centre in mumbai

Products	Contact Person	Contact Details	Toll Free No.	Postal Address
Asus Digicom Systems (Units of digicom complete solutions (P) Ltd.	Mr.Rajaram	56764313 56764188		5C-197, Mittal Industrial Estate Andheri Kurla Road , Andheri (E). Mumbai 4000 59
Asus Digicom Systems (Units of digicom complete solutions (P) Ltd.	Mr.Shrinivas	23822501 23852601		Sleater Road , Near Shamrao Vitthal Bank, Grant Road Mumbai 400004
Cyber Star Neat gear switch	Mr.Irfan Mr.Vinod	28386711 28386712		Fatima villa Behind sterling apts Of church road, Marol Andheri (E) Mumbai 400 059
Seagate Hard Disk Accel ICIM frontline ltd Accel ICIM frontlineltd (Tardeo branch)	Mr. Kiran Chaudhary	28311517 23574715 23521183 23521182 23512952	16001801104	A-2, jitendra estate, Opp sangam talkies, Andheri kurla road Andheri (E) Mumbai 400 059 D-16, 4th floor, Commerce Center, Near AC Market, Tardeo road, Mumbai Central (W) Mumbai - 400 034
TVS Keyboard	Mr.Manish	22000051		Om Technologies Office No 10, 1st Floor 73/75, S.S.Gaikwad Marg Dhobighat Timothy Buld Mumbai
Mediatech (India) Liteon dvd	Mr. Parag	26361111		13/B, Laxmi Ind Estate, New link road Andheri (W) Mumbai 400 053
Maxtor service Center	Mr.Vikas Mr. Praful	28579800		Excel unit no 1/2/G/3, Grd floor D wing tax center, CTS no 14/A, near HDFC Bank, Chandivali farm road, Sakivihar road saki naka Andheri (E) Mumbai 72
Canon Printer		23811836		Hybrid Electronics Grant Road Mumbai 400007 A Wing 48/50, Proctor Road , 27/A Janardhan Bldg
Express Samsung Service Center Hard Disk		65063548	1800110011	Navyug Niwas, Shop no 6, Ground Floor, Grant Road (E) Near Minerva Cinema, 167, Lamington Road,
Sony Service Center	Ms. Urmila	23676257		Sony India Pvt Ltd. Mumbai 400007 Gamdevi Road, Sterling Tower
Dlink (India) Pvt Ltd		26542264 26542265 26542266		Service Center, Ground Floor Agarwal Estate, 168, CST Road, Kalina Santacruz (E) 98 Technimount Compound,
MSI Orbit Peripherals Pvt Ltd		23827872		No.18/20, Wim Brige House, Gr. Floor, Sleater Road, Near Shamrao Vitthal Bank Grant Road (W) Mumbai 400 007
UPS Logistics Pvt Ltd Hitachi Hdd	Mr. Vijay Sawant	25708500 Ex - 8551 40608500 Ex - 8551	1800220091	A4, Unit # 4567, Chamunda Commercial Complex, Kasheli Thane Bhiwandi Road, Thane 421 302
Ashtech Infotech Pvt. Ltd		39828888		G7, Woollen Mill Estate, Mumbai 400 011 Near. Mahalaxmi Station, Shakti Mills Lane,
HP India Sales Pvt LTd.(Service Center)		66771919 66771900 66771800 56771700	1800114772	Plot NO 166, Vidyanagari Marg, Mumbai Kalina Santacruz (East) Near Maha Auto Ground,
Maple Technologies (Apple Service Center)		65921248 26422106		Apple Authoriesd Reseller 871/C, Village Bandra Pali Road, Bandra (W) 203, Dhiraj Arcade, Above Punjab Sweets Mumbai 400 050
Western Digital			1800119393
APC UPS		56987075	18004254272
ViewSonic			1800119999
Linskys			18004255797
Intel			19014252105 Ex: 789789
LG Service Center		39889999
Kingston			18004254515
AOC (LCD)			18004254318
IBM		66962020	18004256666	Global Services IBM 4th Floor, A wing, IL & Fs, Financial Center, Bandra Kurla Complex, (E) Mumbai 400 059

Your Laptop's Worst Enemies!!

Water, coffee, and soda are among your laptop's worst enemies. Just a little bit of such a liquid on your laptop keyboard can damage or destroy your machine or cause you to lose data.

Some laptops are more vulnerable to damage from a spill on the keyboard than others, and it doesn't always have anything to do with the price tag. Some keyboards have a thin rubber membrane beneath the keys with electrical contacts molded right into little domes under each letter; that design may feel squishy and cheap to some users, but it stands up better to a splash or a flood than a more traditional design with springs and exposed contacts. How do you know which type of design you have? Take a look for yourself by prying off a keytop; if you're shopping, you may be able to get the information from the manufacturer or a dealer.

The best way to prevent damage from a mix of liquid and electronics is to keep them as far apart as possible. Keep your laptop far away from cups of coffee, glasses of water, and cans of soda.

But in the real world, stuff happens. If you have a choice of poisons, take the water spill. A hot cup of coffee, a cold glass of soda, or a glass of wine are each bad news; all of them are slightly acidic. Acidic liquids are nastier than nearly neutral water because the acid can corrode metal contacts. And both coffee and soda can become gummy and sticky as they dry.

Here's the drill for an emergency recovery from a spill:

1. If you have your machine plugged into wall current, turn off the power at the circuit breaker in your home or office.

You don't want to touch a wet wire carrying 110 volts or so.

If you're running the machine on battery power, it's still operating, and you don't see sparks, hear odd noises, or smell burnt electrical components, shut your laptop down through the normal Windows process.

If something is obviously wrong with the machine, turn it off immediately by depressing the Off switch or by removing the battery.

2. Ground yourself by touching the center screw on the faceplate of a dry electrical outlet or by touching some other metal object that reaches to ground.

3. If you haven't done so in emergency mode, remove the AC adapter and the battery, and set them aside.

4. Disconnect any external devices (such as a mouse) attached to the USB, FireWire, serial, or other ports.

5. If you find any liquid on the battery or AC adapter, wipe them carefully and set them aside.

If your spill has thoroughly soaked the AC adapter or the battery, you probably need to consider it a loss. You can get replacement AC adapters and batteries from various sources, including the original equipment manufacturer, laptop accessory companies, and the used market.

6. Remove any cards installed in the PC Card slot.

If they're wet, carefully dry them off. If any water has gotten into the narrow slot, dry out the area with a cotton swab, taking care not to leave any threads of cotton in the internal connector.

7. Wipe off any liquid on the display.

Use a clean cloth dampened with water to remove any sticky residue.

8. Remove the hard drive and the CD/DVD drives if you have them installed in plug-in bays.

Dry them off if they're wet. Set them aside.

9. Open the memory module container; remove and dry the memory modules.

Make notes on the placement of the modules. Set them aside.

10. Hand-dry the keyboard surface with a lint-free cloth.

If you spill soda or coffee, consult the instruction manual for your computer and learn how to carefully remove each of the keycaps for the affected area. If the instruction manual includes a picture of the keyboard, make sure that you can see the names of all the keys and their locations; otherwise, make a drawing of the board, paying special attention to the location of some of the specialized keys, including cursor keys, Page Up, Page Down, Scroll Lock, and the like. Or you can use a digital camera to take a picture of the keyboard.

11. Clean the exposed membrane or switch cover and the keys themselves.

Leave the keys to dry before replacing them.

12. Leaving the display open, place the computer on a sturdy surface supported by two books or small boxes.

This setup lets air circulate all around the computer. Leave the computer and all of its separate parts to air dry for at least 24 hours. Don't use a fan or (horrors) a hair dryer to attempt to fast-forward the drying process.

13. Reassemble the pieces that you removed.

Do this step a day or more after doing Step 1 through Step 12, and make sure that everything is dry and that you don't have any dried puddles of sticky acid left anywhere on the machine. Remember to ground yourself before touching any circuitry or modules, and begin the power-up process with the battery first and the AC adapter second.

If in doubt about the safety of any part, you should go ahead and replace it instead of using it. Replacing a battery, an AC adapter, or even a hard disk drive always costs a lot less than replacing a motherboard.

BSNL is in the process of commissioning of a world class

BSNL is in the process of commissioning of a world class, multi-gigabit, multi-protocol, convergent IP infrastructure through National Internet Backbone-II (NIB-II), that will provide convergent services through the same backbone and broadband access network. The Broadband service will be available on DSL technology (on the same copper cable that is used for connecting telephone), on a countrywide basis spanning 198 cities.

In terms of infrastructure for broadband services NIB-II would put India at par with more advanced nations. The services that would be supported includes always-on broadband access to the Internet for residential and business customers, Content based services, Video multicasting, Video-on-demand and Interactive gaming, Audio and Video conferencing, IP Telephony, Distance learning, Messaging: plain and feature rich, Multi-site MPLS VPNs with Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. The subscribe will be able to access the above services through Subscriber Service Selection System (SSSS) portal.
Key Objectives



*

To provide high speed Internet connectivity (upto 8 Mbps)
*

To provide Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to the broadband customers
*

To provide dial VPN service to MPLS VPN customers.
*

To provide multicast video services, video-on-demand, etc. through the Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS).
*

To provide a means to bill for the aforesaid services by either time-based or volume-based billing. It shall provide the customer with the option to select the services through web server
*

To provide both pre-paid and post paid broadband services

Technical Capability of the Backbone

The Broadband Service will be given through the state of the art Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based IP Infrastructure, which is designed to provide reliable routes to cover all possible destinations within and outside the country. Layer 1 of the network will consist of a high speed Backbone comprising of 24 powerful Core Routers connected with high speed 2.5 Gbps(STM-16) links. The routers are located on the national DWDM network interfacing at STM-16 optical level to provide for high transmission speeds.


What advantage does MPLS have over other Technologies?

MPLS VPN is a technology that allows a service provider like BSNL to have complete control over parameters that are critical to offering its customers service guarantees with regard to bandwidth throughputs, latencies and availability.


Services available through Broadband



*

High speed Internet Access: This is the always-on Internet access service with speed ranging from 256 kbps to 8 Mbps.
*

Bandwidth on Demand: This will facilitate customer to change bandwidth as per his / her requirement. For example a customer with 256 kbps can change to 1 Mbps during the video Conferencing session.
*

Multicasting: This is to provide video multicast services for application in distance education, telemedicine etc
*

Dial VPN Service: This service allows remote users to access their private network securely over the NIB-II infrastructure.
*

Video and Audio Conferencing:
*

Content based Services: Like Video on Demand, Interactive Gaming, Live and time shifted TV

What the customer needs in order to be able to use Broadband?



*

BSNL's Bfone (Basic phone) connection
*

Personel Computer with 10/100 Ethernet Port
*

ADSL CPE (Customer Premise Equipment). This can be taken from BSNL at nominal rental per month.

When is the service being launched



The Broadband Service has been launched in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata from 14th January 2005. Soon, it will be extended to more than 200 cities.

Is Diet Soda Really Bad for You?

Diet Coke--the best-selling sugar-free soft drink in the country--has spawned a cult-like following among Americans. Some even swear they’re addicted to the stuff. But rumors abound about the drink’s health effects, some blatantly false and some surprisingly true. Can you separate fact from urban legend?

1. People have grown deathly ill from drinking cans of Diet Coke with dirty tops.

Myth. Legend has it that the lethal hantavirus spreads to humans when they drink soda contaminated by the droppings of warehouse rats or mice. True, humans can catch hantavirus from rodent waste bur there are no known cases of a person getting it from unclean Diet Coke cans (or any food packaging). Still, it’s a good idea to wipe icky stuff off your top before popping it.

2. Diet Coke is 99% water.

Fact. One Diet Coke ad actually brags about this. The marketing strategy behind the ad hinges on the idea that anything that is mostly water can’t be bad for you. (Not true. Insecticides are often mostly water.) What’s important is what makes up that other 1%.

3. Diet Coke’s sweetener was developed as an ant poison and is therefore hazardous.

Myth. Aspartame, the artificial sweetener in Diet Coke, was created by a chemist working on an ulcer drug. The compound doesn’t kill ants or short-circuit their nervous systems, as legend has it. Even if those things were true, they wouldn’t prove that aspartame is dangerous to humans, since many products that aren’t toxic to us (like black pepper) repel ants.

4. Diet Coke exacerbates arthritis.

Myth. In fact, the aspartame in Diet Coke may actually ease arthritis! Studies of people with osteoarthritis or a mix of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis found that aspartame relieved their pain and helped their joints move more fluidly. (Note: The studies weren’t done specifically with Diet Coke.)

5. Drinking Diet Coke while eating Mentos candies can create a mildly explosive reaction in your body.

Fact! Luckily, you can’t consume enough to cause a major internal eruption. Yet some very sticky people have had a wild and crazy time creating geysers that shoot over 10 feet high, including a mini-version of the Las Vegas Bellagio fountains that involved hundreds of candies and 200 liters of Diet Coke (we’re not kidding). How does it work? Certain types of Mentos have a microscopically rough surface that, when combined with the carbon dioxide in Diet Coke (or any soda), seems to create an insane number of bubbles. Pressure builds FAST and boom! Watch it happen.

6. Drinking Diet Coke can cause or worsen multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Myth. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation has debunked this falsehood, as have the FDA and other organizations. The notion that Diet Coke can cause neurological disorders may be based on an observation by the Centers for Disease Control years ago, that in some people, aspartame seemed linked to mild neurological problems, such as headaches and moodiness. However, the CDC found that these symptoms are mild and affect most people, not just diet soda drinkers.

7. Diet Coke isn’t 0 calorie.

Myth. Contrary to Web rumors, Diet Coke does not have 40 or more calories, and the company does not get to call its drink calorie-free in exchange for paying big ol’ fines to the FDA. Drinks can only be called “calorie-free” if they have fewer than 5; Diet Coke has less than 1.

8. Diet Coke may cause cancer.

A big maybe. Arguments about an aspartame-cancer connection have flared for years. Recently, Italian researchers concluded that aspartame does increase certain cancers in rats, including breast cancer. But the scientific truism applies: Rats aren't people. And more than 200 studies, including one on humans in 2006 by the National Cancer Institute, have found no evidence of this. Still, suspicious groups remain, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an ardent consumer advocacy group. What to do? Drink responsibly--and we don't mean downing the FDA's "acceptable" max of 21 cans of aspartame-sweetened soda a day for a 165-pound adult. Inside all the research there's an informal consensus that, for adults, a can a day is likely to do no harm.


Tons of cola drinkers have switched to diet formulas to slash their sugar intake. And avoiding foods with simple sugars as one of their first five ingredients can make your RealAge 3.6 years younger. Sweet!

At some point or another, it happens to everyone: You can't sleep. When you finally drop off, the alarm buzzes a microsecond later. Then you can't get up. And then it gets worse: When you finally drag yourself out of bed, you look like youknowhat.

Can't imagine why the sleep gods had it in for you? Think about what you ate the night before, says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of The Food & Mood Cookbook. Any of the following--much less a combo platter--can leave your body on uneasy street for hours.

1. Spicy Foods Garlic, chilies, cayenne, and other intense spices are yummy going down but can keep you up with heartburn or indigestion. Avoid MSG too, as it can trigger dreams that are a bit too vivid.

2. A Big Dinner An overtaxed digestive system takes hours to settle down and there's nothing restful about that. When sleep's critical, make lunch your largest meal and enjoy a light 500-calorie dinner early in the evening.

3. Raucous Veggies Eat those good-for-you-but-gassy foods--beans, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts--in the middle of the day. A tankful of gas can keep anyone up at night.

4. Speed Eating Relax and enjoy meals to avoid swallowing air, another common cause of midnight tummy trouble.

5. Nightcaps Alcohol may make you drowsy at first but later on it disturbs sleep patterns and leads to awakenings and restlessness. A 4-ounce glass of wine with dinner won't hurt, as long as it's not within two hours of bedtime.

6. Coffee after breakfast Caffeine can linger in your body for as long as 12 hours. So if you're often wide-eyed at bedtime, make sure you're caffeine-clean for at least 12 hours. (Skip tea, chocolate, cola, or other caffeine culprits too.) Still watching the clock at 2 a.m.? Wean yourself off even morning java, then stay caffeine-free for two weeks. If you definitely sleep better, you have your answer: Caffeine is not your friend. If the results are mixed, "Try adding back a cup or two of coffee or tea in the morning and watch what happens," says Somer. "But if sleeplessness comes back, cut it out."

Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night doesn't just make your eyes bright, your skin happy, and your mind sharp, it can also make your RealAge as much as 3 years younger.

Surgical gown 'marked up for ops'

A surgical gown has been developed to help medical students get a closer understanding of what it is like to go under the knife.

The gown is covered in nine zips showing where incisions are made for operations such as open heart surgery and removal of the appendix.

Its silk material is also more like human tissue than the plastic of traditional models.

It has been designed by teams at Durham and Ulster Universities.

We want to help students understand the significance of the body as well as its structure Professor John McLachlan Durham University

The creators hope the gown, which goes on international display in the US this week, will significantly improve understanding, not only of where operation incisions are made, but also what they mean to the patient.

The idea is that it should be worn by students in the classroom, and supplement traditional teaching aids in helping to explain surgical procedures.

Plastic models can be used to show areas of the body where incisions will roughly be made, say the creators, but give no sense of empathy for the patient.

Potentially, the gown could also help explain procedures to patients.

Professional distance

Developer Professor John McLachlan said: "Current anatomical teaching aids describe but they don't evoke.

"They take no account of emotional involvement or the feel of the body.

"The way medical students distance themselves emotionally from the patient's body has long been seen as a desirable outcome of current modes of medical training.

"But this 'desensitation' also brings with it the risk of objectifying the body. The patient becomes 'the liver in bed four' rather than Mrs Smith.

"We want to help students understand the significance of the body as well as its structure."

The developers hope the gown will be used in medical schools across the UK and beyond.

Providing infants with nutritious food is long-term economic investment

Scientists for the first time have come out with direct evidence that providing infants and very young children with healthy, nutritious food is a long-term economic investment for developing countries both in terms of human resources and a healthy society.

The authors of the study said in a teleconferencing from Washington DC, last night, that the study in Guatemala is the first to show direct evidence of the effects of early childhood nutrition programs on adult economic productivity and incomes. snows

The results of the study 'The Impact of Nutrition during Early Childhood on Income, Hours Worked, and Wages of Guatemalan Adults' carried out by John Hoddinott, John A. Maluccio, Jere R. Behrman, Rafael Flores, and Reynaldo Martorell are to published in tomorrow's issue of medical journal 'Lancet'.

"Although substantial, but indirect, evidence from previous research suggests that providing infants and very young children with healthy, nutritious food is a long-term economic investment for developing countries, this is the first direct evidence based on a result-oriented study," according to the study

The researches were conducted on four rural communities from Guatemala villages and they were given vegetable protein mixture with micronutrients, the scientists said, adding the African countries can use the study in their health policies.

The research was conducted in Guatemala by Emory University, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlebury College.

Investments in early childhood nutrition can be long-term drivers of growth and a wise economic investment and the findings from the study show that improving nutrition in early childhood leads to significant increases in wage rates for men.

The authors said that the past research has demonstrated that the first two years of life are the "window of opportunity" when nutrition interventions have the greatest benefits for a child's health, growth, and development.

This study confirms that improving nutrition in early childhood also leads to healthier and more productive adults, bringing economic returns to both individuals and societies.

From 1969-1977, four rural communities in Guatemala participated in a food supplementation study, in which children received one of the two supplements fortified equally with micro nutrients. The first supplement was high in protein and energy; the second contained no protein and was low in energy, said the lead author Hoddinott.

The program enrolled all children and infants who were under seven years of age when the program was launched in 1969. Babies born during the study period were also included.

Children and infants continued to participate in the program until they were seven years old or until the study ended in 1977, whichever came first. Thus, the participating children were exposed to the supplement.

In 2002-2004, researchers returned to Guatemala to collect follow-up data and interview adults who had participated in the nutrition program as children.

Nearly 2,400 individuals were involved in the original study. At the time of follow-up, they were 25-42 years old. About 78 per cent of the individuals were alive and living in Guatemala; 11 percent had died; 7 per cent had left the country; and 4 per cent were untraceable, a IFPRI release said.

During the follow-up study, researchers collected economic data, including information about income-generating activities, from approximately 1,425 Guatemalans, or 60 per cent of the adults who were enrolled in the original program.

Researchers then calculated annual earned income, hours worked, and hourly wage rates for each adult. Respondents who were not engaged in economic activities or participating in the labour market were excluded from the analysis.

Boys who received the high-energy, high-protein supplement in the first two years of life earned on average 46 per cent higher wages as adults. Boys who received supplement in their first three years earned 37 percent higher wages on average.

However, those who first received the supplement after age three did not get any economic benefits as adults and consumption of supplement in childhood did not have an effect on women's income, probably because of gender differences in labour force participation and work activities.

In Guatemala, participation in the formal labour market is significantly lower for women than for men. However, first analysis suggests that schooling increased for women who had consumed supplement, and that reading comprehension increased significantly for both men and women.

Apples 'can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's'

An apple a day can keep the Alzheimer's away. A new study has found that the popular fruit contains protective antioxidants which help in reducing the risk of dementia in people.

According to the study by researchers in the United States, not only apples, other fruits like oranges and bananas are important sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre which protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. The researchers at the Cornell University came to the conclusion after investigating the effects of apple, banana, and orange extracts on neuron cells.

They found that the phenolic phytochemicals of the fruits prevented neurotoxicity on the cells. Among the three fruits, apples contained the highest content of protective antioxidants, followed by bananas then oranges. "Our study demonstrated that antioxidants in the major fresh fruits consumed in the United States and Korea protected neuronal cells from oxidative stress.

"Additional consumption of fresh fruits such as apple, banana, and orange may be beneficial to improve effects in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's," the researchers wrote in the 'Journal of Food Science'.

The study came just days after British scientists discovered the key to reversing the effects of dementia. The researchers at the University of Sunderland found that regular exposure to safe low-level, infra-red light could turn back the brain's biological clock and reverse the effects of memory loss.

In fact, their study showed that the treatment could improve learning performance and also kick-start the cognitive function of the brain, particularly in those suffering from gradual memory loss.

Fizzy drinks linked to gout

Men who consume large amounts of fizzy or sugary drinks are at higher risk of contracting gout than those who abstain, a new study has concluded.

Researchers from Harvard and the University of Vancouver found that those who consumed five or six sweet beverages a week were nearly 30% more likely to suffer attacks of the illness than those who drank less than one serving monthly. The risk rose to 85% for those drinking two or more a day.

As well as sugar in drinks, the study found that natural fruit sugar, or fructose, posed a substantial risk for gout.

That means people who drank orange or apple juice or even ate those fruit regularly were prone to the illness. Meanwhile, diet soft drinks, which often contain sweetener rather than fructose, were not found to be associated with gout.

"The risk of gout was about twice as high among men in the highest fifth of free fructose consumption than among men in the lowest fifth… the current study provides prospective evidence that fructose and fructose-rich foods are important risk factors in the primary prevention of gout in men."

Hyon K Choi and Gary Curham surveyed over 46,000 male medical professionals aged 45-70 with no history of the illness over a period of 12 years, as part of a wider study into diet and general health. A total of 755 reported incidents of the condition. The link between gout and sugary drinks and fructose remained even when accounting for age, alcohol consumption, body mass and high blood pressure.

Gout is caused by a build-up of uric acid in the bloodstream and can cause joint swelling, inflammation and acute pain in the extremities. Uric acid is produced by the kidneys and digestive system from purines, which normally occur in rich food, meat and beer. Women are less likely to suffer from the condition.

Fructose is often used as a substitute for sugar, especially in high-fructose corn syrup, which is cheaper than cane sugar. It is a common ingredient in fizzy drinks. The risk is such that researchers caution that patients who switch from purine-rich food to improve their gout could in fact make it worse if they start eating large amounts of fructose.

The study is published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal.

Girls with big breasts are more prone to diabetes

Toronto: Girls with big breasts have a 68 percent higher chance of developing diabetes by middle age than their small-breasted counterparts, according to a new study by Canadian scientists.

The decade-long study to find the link between big breasts and diabetes development among nurses in the US shows that those with bigger breasts at the age of 20 are at a higher risk of developing the disease in later years.

Joel Ray, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a clinician-scientist at the local St Michael's Hospital, said this was "the broad conclusion" of his research team on the basis on this study.

"Our findings are based on data from the Nurses Health Study II project in 14 American states. In a nutshell, 92,102 nurses were studied for link between their breast size and their chances of developing diabetes by the age of 35. The bigger their breasts are at the age of 20, the bigger their chances of developing diabetes," Ray said.

However, Ray was quick to add that the breast size could be one of the factors, apart from smoking, family history, diet and ethnicity that trigger diabetes in women.

"Obesity remains a big factor. Obese women tend to have larger breasts, thereby becoming more prone to diabetes," he said.

From these findings, he said, it will be interesting to study how breast fat influences insulin resistance.

Ray emphasised that their research was preliminary at this stage and should not be taken at its face value.

Women should not think about breast surgeries to minimise their chances of developing diabetes.

"It is an interesting possibility that needs to be studied before we can say anything," he said.

During the study, he said, it was found that nurses with a family history of diabetes or those who smoked were more prone to developing the disease.

"Out of 92,102 nurses in the decade-long study, 1,844 developed diabetes."

The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, also showed that big-breasted nurses reported being heavier than others at young ages of five and 10, and entering puberty earlier. Ray said there is a definite link between early puberty among fat girls, insulin resistance and their predisposition to diabetes.

Breast tissue is extremely sensitive to hormones. Since insulin is a hormone, there is resistance to it by breast tissue, he said. A bigger breast means more insulin resistance and more chances of diabetes.

Ray said he was not sure how important these findings were for Indian and South Asian women.

"Since this study was conducted on mostly white women, I won't say how significant it is for Indian and South Asia women. Diabetes in India is becoming rampant because of genetic and other reasons," he said.

Actress Eva Mendes is getting "professional support" for some "personal issues," her rep said Friday on the heels of a report saying she's in rehab battling a substance abuse problem.

"Eva has been working hard for the past year and made a positive decision to take some much-needed time off to proactively attend to some personal issues that, while not critical, she felt deserved some outside professional support," her rep told FOXNews.com.

"Out of respect for Eva's privacy, we do not wish to discuss further details," the rep added.

The "Ghost Rider" star, 33, has spent several weeks at Cirque Lodge in Utah, where Lindsay Lohan was recently treated, TMZ.com reported.

Mendes was just named "Sexiest Actress" of 2008 by Victoria's Secret, and Calvin Klein announced Friday that she will be featured in an upcoming Calvin Klein Fragrances advertising campaign, which will debut Fall 2008.

RealPlayer Labeled As 'Badware'

Two versions of RealNetworks' RealPlayer media software have been designed "badware" by StopBadware.org, an organization opposed to abusive software.

"Badware" describes software that fails to respect user choice. Malware, deceptive adware, and spyware qualify as badware, though those terms imply an illegal or unconscionable level of deception on the part of the software creator. This is arguably distinct from the white lies and exaggerations that are the mainstay of marketing.

StopBadware claims that RealPlayer version 10.5 inadequately discloses "advertising behaviors" and that RealPlayer version 11, the most current version of the software, installs an additional application, the Rhapsody Player Engine, without clearly notifying the user.

Maxim Weinstein, manager of StopBadWare, said that RealNetworks' software came to the group's attention because of a user's complaint. He said the user visited a Web site, saw a notice that he needed a plug-in to view some content, and then agreed to install the plug-in. What the user got, he said, was full version of RealPlayer 10.5. "Within a few minutes, there were ads popping up from his system tray," Weinstein said.

"The advertising software bundled with RealPlayer is misleadingly called a 'message center,' and is described incompletely and inconspicuously in the EULA [End User License Agreement] as software designed to provide useful software updates," StopBadware says in a statement issued Thursday. "When RealPlayer 10.5 is installed, the advertising features of this 'message center' are enabled by default for users who choose not to register their personal information with RealNetworks after the software is installed."

The group also objects to RealPlayer 11 for failing to disclose that it's installing the Rhapsody Player Engine and for failing to remove it when the user uninstalls RealPlayer 11.

A spokesman for RealNetworks disagreed with the group's assessment of the company's software.

"We're really transparent about what we're installing on someone's machine," he said. At the same time, he noted that RealPlayer 11 addresses some of the issues StopBadware has with RealPlayer 10.5 because it requires the user to opt-in to advertising rather than opt-out. He also said that RealPlayer 11's failure to uninstall the Rhapsody Player Engine will be addressed in a future update.

Labeling RealNetworks' software as badware may prove to be little more than a public relations challenge for the company. The designation appears unlikely to lead to any sort of blacklisting or blocking of RealPlayer. Weinstein said he didn't know of any computer security company that used the organization's findings to inform its products.

"A big part of our motivation is to really encourage software producers to really, actively inform users of the effects of the decisions they make when installing their software," he said.

StopBadware is backed by Harvard and Oxford universities, as well as Google, Lenovo, PayPal, and VeriSign.

Get Eee PC for Rs.18,000

Mumbai: ASUS, the leading technology brand, today announced the launch of the revolutionary ASUS Eee PC 4G model in India.

Aptly titled the ASUS Eee PC, the product aims at changing the way computing is perceived by user segments like school children, housewives, senior citizens, teenagers etc. who enjoy simple computing with a lightweight gadget like the ASUS Eee PC which is not only very convenient to carry around, but also very trendy.

The other models of the ASUS Eee PC are also expected in India soon. The ASUS Eee PC has been a phenomenon the world over.

This level of interest was also generated in the India market which has a huge potential for such special concept technology products.

The ASUS Eee PC is a new line of PCs that focuses on providing users with the most comprehensive Internet application based on three Es: Easy to learn, work, play; Excellent Internet experience and Excellent mobile computing experience, and hence the product name of Eee PC.

ASUS has introduced the revolutionary Eee PC in the Mumbai market initially and it is available through major retailers like Croma and also through the company's network of channel partners.

The Eee PC will be available at an MRP of Rs. 18000/- only.

The first sale of the ASUS Eee PC will commence on the 2nd of February 2008, 5 p.m. onwards at select Croma outlets in Mumbai. The first 100 buyers will be entitled to an additional special gift.

The only shrieking Maria Sharapova wants to hear 10 years from now will be coming from her babies, with the newly-crowned Australian Open champion vowing to quit tennis before she hits 30.

The Russian queen of scream is just 20 years old but secured her third Grand Slam at Melbourne Park with a straight sets win over Ana Ivanovic.

US-based Sharapova said she had a deep love of the game but also wanted to have a family and would not stretch out her career for too long.

"No. Definitely not," she replied when asked if she would play on until 2018.

"I hope by that time I'll have a nice husband and a few kids."

Sharapova also ruled out making a comeback as a racquet-wielding tennis mum like Lindsay Davenport, who she beat in the second round on her way to claiming the Australian title.

"I don't think you'll see me back playing, take my word for it," she said.

Sharapova said she felt she had earned the rewards that tennis success had brought, giving her a sense of accomplishment that allowed her to hold her head high when branded a "spoiled brat".

"When I see other 20-year-olds that might be driving in their Range Rover I know that I worked for mine, I have that satisfaction," said the world number five, who picked up a 1.2 million US dollar winners at the Australian Open.

"Sometimes you get those dirty looks, where they're looking at you and thinking 'that spoiled brat, who is that, her father probably bought her a Range Rover'.

"Like 'no honey!' I bought that myself.

"In those moments you feel mature."

Sharapova said she had been forced to grow up quickly after winning Wimbledon as a teenager in 2004.

"Because I achieved success so early in my career by winning Wimbledon at 17, I think it just automatically makes you older because all of a sudden you're a Grand Slam champion," she said.

"You're expected to win more Grand Slams, you're expected to win every tournament you play and it makes you so much more mature."

She said the grind of being on the women's tour also had its downsides, including lengthy enforced separations for her parents Yuri, who accompanies her on tour, and mother Yelena, who is rarely seen at tennis tournaments.

"It's strange because my career, though amazing, has brought us a lot of downfalls," she said.

"My parents don't get to see each other very often. But those are the sacrifices that I and my family have to make. We've been through a much tougher process (than others) with not seeing my mum when I was younger."

Despite the talk of retirement, Sharapova said she retained her passion for tennis.

"To do something that you love to do and being good at it, there's no better gift," she said.

"When I step on the court, it's a place I love to be in and nothing will ever change that

"I forget about past matches, I just draw my attention to the things I want to work on, all those things, positive or negative, they just go away.

"There's a holiday break, Christmas-time, two great days off and then you're back on the court and it's like it never ended.

"When I go on there everything else is gone."

Environmental pollution may trigger diabetes, scientists suspect in the US.

In the commentary published in the recent edition of the Lancet, Cambridge scientists Oliver Jones and Julian Griffin highlight the need to research the possible link between certain pollutants and diabetes.

Past research had found individuals are more at risk of diabetes if they are thin with high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in their blood than if they are overweight but with low levels of POPs, scientists said.

POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods and are considered as toxic to humans and wildlife.

The POPs came into prominence as effective pesticides with the introduction of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) one of the best-known synthetic pesticides in the 1940s.

However, many of these chemicals, including DDT, fell out of favour after they were blamed for the declining number of wild birds and other animals and the possible negative human health effects, according to a report posted in the Cambridge University website.

As the compounds biodegrade slowly, they continue to find their way into the food chain and ultimately into the blood streams of individuals even though many of these toxins were banned years ago.

Additionally, these compounds can persist in body fat for very long periods of time following exposure. It is well documented that significant exposure to POPs can cause negative health effects.

The US Environmental Protection Agency states that the pesticide Chlordane, for example, can cause cancer and can lead to behavioural disorders in children if exposed before birth or while nursing, and harms the endocrine system, nervous system, digestive system, and liver.

Honey ! I Shrunk the Sugar !!

WE are bombarded with so much health information every day, we can repeat it in our sleep. But most of this information goes into one ear and out of the other.

How many of us apply this knowledge to our lives? For example, we know sugar has nothing but empty calories but we cannot do without it in our daily lives. Most of us need a spoonful of sugar in our tea and coffee, and even if we can do without it, can you imagine eating a chocolate brownie or walnut muffin that doesn't have any sugar? You wouldn't eat it, would you? So what do you do? Trying to abstain from sugar unless you have a medical condition that forces it is futile.

What you can do instead, is replace sugar with natural substitutes like honey or jaggery. Both taste as good and are healthier than sugar.

Not only that, you can substitute sugar with them in almost everything. versatile honey Honey is a source of simple carbohydrates and is composed of two main sugars: levulose and dextrose.

These sugars do not need to be broken down by the digestive process so honey is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, giving you a quick energy boost. Honey also contains protein, vitamins and minerals.

Honey is very versatile. You can put it in your tea, coffee, porridge or cereal.

You can pour it on your toast. You can use it while baking.

In fact, using honey instead of sugar during baking increases the shelf life of baked goods. Honey can also substitute sugar in desserts like kheer.

Mothers and grandmothers firmly believe in honey's healing properties. That is why those with persistent coughs have been made to swallow a concoction of honey and ginger to soothe the throat for years.

In the winter, many of you must remember your grandmothers urging you to eat almonds soaked in honey. 'It keeps you warm,' they used to say.

Having half a teaspoon of honey and lemon in lukewarm water first thing in the morning is also a good way to cleanse your system and prevent constipation. But grandmothers aren't the only ones to recognise honey's beneficial properties.

Recent studies have proved honey's beneficial nature especially as an antibacterial topical treatment for burns. This is because honey has osmotic properties.

That is, it tends to withdraw water. Water molecules react strongly with the sugars in honey, leaving very little water for microorganisms.

So, the bacteria that cause infection are literally dehydrated to death. "Besides all this, honey is high in carbohydrates and is therefore a great energy source.

It also contains the minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc required for various functions in the body," says Dr Kajal Pandya, nutrition consultant at Delhi's Sitaram Bhartia hospital. wrinkle warrior Honey also has antioxidant properties.

Antioxidants eliminate free radicals that are reactive compounds in the body. Free radicals are created through the normal process of metabolism and contribute to many serious diseases.

"Generally, darker honeys and those with higher water content have stronger antioxidant potential, which can help prevent degenerative diseases," says Sharon Arora, a dietician with G M Modi hospital. Scientists say the antioxidant properties of honey could help counter the effects of ageing and decrease anxiety too.

But like sugar, you have to watch how much honey you eat every day. "Although honey is a better option than normal white sugar, keep in mind that you must limit the intake of honey to 3-4 teaspoons a day.

And if you are overweight, any form of sugar whether white or brown or even honey is not good for you," cautions Charu Dua, head of department, dietetics and nutrition, Max Healthcare, Delhi. Honey is great beauty aid too.

"Honey is a natural humectant, which means it has the ability to attract and retain moisture. The skin's ability to stay moist is an important factor in its ability to maintain softness, suppleness and elasticity.

As skin ages, or as it is exposed to environmental stresses and chemical agents, it loses its ability to retain water; it becomes dry and appears wrinkled. Honey's natural hydrating properties make it ideal for use in moisturising products.

That's why honey, with its antioxidant properties, is used in most skin-tightening masks," explains beauty expert Bharti Taneja. sweet substitute You can also replace sugar with jaggery or gur, an unrefined form of sugar that is made from sugarcane.

Jaggery scores over sugar because it contains minerals and vitamins that are lost when sugarcane juice is processed further to make sugar. "Jaggery, being a wholesome sugar, is rich in vitally important mineral salts like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron.

A teaspoon of jaggery delivers approximately 3-5 mg of calcium, 3-5 mg phosphorous, 6 mg magnesium, and 45 mg of potassium. Jaggery is very rich in iron, which prevents anaemia," explains Charu Dua.

Sugar, on the other hand, contains no minerals at all. Just like honey, jaggery can be taken in tea, in desserts like kheer and sandesh (made of date palm jaggery).

It can even be eaten on its own, especially in the winter since it tends to keep the body warm. Jaggery even aids in digestion.

WARMTH GENERATOR "Many of us are fond of eating jaggery mixed with dry fruits, ginger and fennel which, again, is excellent for digestion and even keeps one warm," says Arora. But she adds that jaggery's heat giving quality means you should not eat it in the summer.

Jaggery is not called the 'medicinal sugar' for nothing. "It helps to take jaggery when you have a dry cough, cough with sputum, indigestion or constipation.

Ancient medical scriptures also state how it purifies the blood and prevents rheumatic afflictions and disorders of the bile," adds Dr Pandya. Studies have shown that people who work in highly toxic surroundings (like industrial workers) but consume jaggery regularly show little or no lung discomfort.

Given that we live in pretty toxic cities, that should be reason enough to switch over.