Yoga, meditation may reduce Alzheimer's risk: study

Yoga and meditation practise may help minimise the cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

Researchers found that yoga and meditation are even more effective than memory enhancement exercises like crosswords. They found that a three-month course of yoga and meditation practise helped minimise the cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia - and that it was even more effective than the memory enhancement exercises that have been considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment.

"Memory training was comparable to yoga with meditation in terms of improving memory, but yoga provided a broader benefit than memory training because it also helped with mood, anxiety and coping skills," said Helen Lavretsky from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US.

People with mild cognitive impairment are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, researchers said. The study is the first to compare outcomes from yoga and meditation with those from memory training, which incorporates activities ranging from crossword puzzles to commercially available computer programmes.

The research of 25 participants, all over the age of 55, measured changes not just in behaviour but also in brain activity. Researchers studied participants who had reported issues with their memory, such as tendencies to forget names, faces or appointments or to misplace things. Subjects underwent memory tests and brain scans at the beginning and end of the study.

Out of the participants, 11 received one hour a week of memory enhancement training and spent 20 minutes a day performing memory exercises - verbal and visual association and other practical strategies for improving memory, based on research-backed techniques.

The other 14 participants took a one-hour class once a week in yoga and practised meditation at home for 20 minutes each day. After 12 weeks, there were similar improvements among participants in both groups in verbal memory skills - which come into play for remembering names and lists of words. But those who had practised yoga and meditation had better improvements than the other subjects in visual-spatial memory skills, which come into play for recalling locations and navigating while walking or driving.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com

WHO clears air: Delhi no longer most polluted, that’s Zabol in Iran

DELHI IS no longer the world’s most polluted city, says WHO. The national Capital is now the 11th most polluted city in the world, based on average annual PM 2.5 readings of 3,000 cities in 100 countries, according to the WHO’s latest urban air quality database for 2016.

Released on Thursday, the database shows that the annual PM 2.5 levels for Delhi were down from 153 micrograms per cubic metre in the WHO’s 2014 report to 122 micrograms per cubic metre.

The 2014 report was based on 2010 data while the latest report includes data from 2012, 2013 and a part of 2014 for India, a year before the new AAP government took charge in Delhi. As for other global cities, the data spans a period of 2008-2013, depending on the numbers available from those locations. The report states that global urban air pollution levels increased by eight per cent, despite improvements in some regions.

The latest PM 2.5 level rankings show Iran’s Zabol topping the list with 217 micrograms per cubic metre followed by Gwalior with 176 and Allahabad with 170. Patna at sixth place (149) and Raipur on seventh spot (144) are the other Indian cities in the top 10. In total, the top 20 global cities with highest PM 2.5 levels includes 10 Indian cities, including Kanpur, Ludhiana and Firozabad.


Source: http://indianexpress.com/

IPL 2016: Despite talk about DD's youth, SRH were beaten by their experience

During the telecast of Delhi Daredevils' game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, Simon Doull interviewed team mentor Rahul Dravid. In the interview, Doull asked Dravid about the franchise's combination. "It is an interesting mix. We had 13 players from last season's squad and 13 new players coming in; a balance of youth and experience. We have looked to find the right balance," Dravid replied.

A lot has been said — and written — about the Daredevils' set-up this year. Most of it have been about how the youngsters have been brought in, with Dravid an obvious choice to lead them, hand-in-hand with Paddy Upton. It has worked so far; Karun Nair has looked good in the middle-order, Sanju Samson has started scoring runs again, Rishabh Pant has created waves in his few outings, while Quinton de Kock has been rock-solid at the top.

Shreyas Iyer's loss of form is a complete reversal of his Ranji fortunes, but it is the quintessential sinusoidal curve of any cricketer’s life. As such, only Pawan Negi has been a failure under this new regime, and most of it is because of that immense price tag and subsequent high expectations.

These have more or less been the main talking points, and they have superseded talks about Zaheer Khan's brilliant leadership, JP Duminy's revival, Amit Mishra's wrong ones, Chris Morris' all-round play, the excitement of Sam Billings' knocks and the sheer power in Carlos Brathwaite's sixes.

In a way, Billings, Brathwaite and de Kock do belong to that youngster classification. And it makes sense for the discourse to be about the youngsters, for the Daredevils climbed as high as second in the points table thanks to their performances. The seniors played a guiding hand in the first half of the season, until the team management decided to ring in unnecessary changes. Back-to-back losses against Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab saw them lose momentum.

Thursday night's game in Hyderabad assumed significance, as Delhi had a fight on their hands to stay ahead of the curve in the race for knock-outs. Mumbai Indians had started to catch up, while Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Lions and the Sunrisers themselves were looking to pull out a gap. It was in this setting that the seniors in the Daredevils camp put their hands up, collectively, and made a firm impression.

The game started in a pattern that is becoming increasingly synonymous with their think-tank. Chop and change, whether out of necessity or not. Against the Sunrisers then, there was some sharp use for the former as Zaheer pulled out. Duminy was leading once again, and may yet do so for a couple more games. Against a strong batting order led by the explosive David Warner, they obviously felt the need to bolster the pace attack, and brought in Nathan Coulter-Nile. Billings and Brathwaite were dropped.

While it seemed a bold — and blind — decision at first, the Daredevils made it work. As such, for this stupendous victory over the table-topping Sunrisers, they have their seniors to thank who brought out their best performance of the season yet, that too collectively.

Duminy was as bold as Zaheer with his bowling changes. Never mind that Warner was setting the field ablaze once more, he persisted with Jayant Yadav up top and got the wicket he was looking for. The ball turned just enough to beat Warner's mighty swing and crashed into his stumps. The score read 67/1 in the 9th over, and that moment was the difference between Hyderabad ending up with 146 and not 20 runs more.

Of course, it is not to say the other batsmen were not up to scratch. But it has been well documented that Hyderabad  are mighty dependent on Warner, and play around him. Despite their high-flying standing, and the return of both Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh, they haven't yet found that pivot in the middle-order that they can revolve around in the latter half of the innings.

This is the weakness that Mishra and Morris exploited. In the early part of the season, the leg-spinner started off as their go-to man after the powerplay ended. As time progressed, he has been better utilised in the middle stages, and bamboozled the batsmen once again with a clever mix of googlies and slower leg-breaks. However, the two wickets he got were both of quicker ones, two seam-up deliveries that turned late into leg, both backed up by good fielding efforts.

So often, the word "platform" is used for batsmen as they lay charge in the death overs. On this instance, Mishra's spell laid the stage for Morris and Coulter-Nile. The leggie had put immense pressure on the batsmen to get a move on, struggling at 113/3 with five overs to go. Both the Australian and South African were right on the money with their bowling, at the start and the end of the innings. To say that they put on the squeeze on Sunrisers' scoring would be an understatement, as they came away with combined figures of 4-28 in their four overs. With Mohammad Shami coming to the party as well, Sunrisers were never allowed to get away.

It was then no surprise that their young batting polished up the chase with ease, never mind the shocking decision that went against de Kock.

With the business end of the season now taking off, Delhi needed this win to get their challenge going again after two consecutive defeats. And the handsome manner in which they won underlined that they have the wares to fight the tough battles ahead, both in terms of youth and experience.


Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Nargis Fakhri takes a month off for health reasons

Nargis Fakhri is out of country to address her health issues and not because of either a rumoured calling-off of a wedding with Uday Chopra or a decision to quit showbiz, the actress' spokesperson has said.

Nargis' sudden disappearance from showbiz -- even the promotions of her film "Azhar" -- has left fodder for gossip mongers.

There are media reports that Nargis was all set to announce her wedding with actor-producer Uday, but he called it off. Rumours were also rife that following the apparent relationship hitting rock bottom she had a 'nervous breakdown' and left the producers of all her upcoming films in a lurch.

However, the "Rockstar" actress' spokesperson has a different story to tell.

"Nargis has been extremely overworked working on three films simultaneously over the last year. For someone who is used to doing one film at a time, this was quite a bit for Nargis.

"In addition, she has been unwell right through the 'Azhar' promotions with multiple injuries - torn hamstring, anterior knee ligament thinning and mild socket dislocation along with burning of the stomach lining due to lead and arsenic poisoning.

"Due to these multiple issues and her overall exhaustion, she had a fever of about 101 degrees right through her promotions," read the official statement by the spokesperson.

The representative added that it is due to Nargis' deteriorating condition that she had to request Sajid Nadiadwala -- producer of her next film "Housefull 3" -- and "bow out of its promotions to go back home to New York for a month to address all her medical issues and recuperate".

In "Azhar", Nargis portrays Mohammad Azharuddin's second wife Sangeeta Bijlani. Next up, she will be seen in "Housefull 3" and "Banjo", and she will be back in action soon.

"She has no plans to leave B-Town and will be back to sets to complete the pending patchwork for her film 'Banjo' in the second week of June.

"In addition, she has already verbally agreed to two other projects for 2017 before she left and will complete the paperwork when she's back. That coupled with her brand commitments that extend over multiple years, is testament of her being here to stay for good," the spokesperson added.

Confirming that Nargis left mid-way through the work for "Housefull 3" due to her health, Nadiadwala said: "Our priority is Nargis's health. We do hope that she recuperates fast and can be there around the release of the film as she is an integral part of 'Housefull 3' team."

SOurce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mark Zuckerberg Announces Investigation Into Anti-Conservative Bias

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to accusations its company's "trending" topics list was suppressing conservative media, saying on Thursday the company was conducting an investigation.

No evidence of alleged manipulation had been found, but "if we find anything against our principles, you have my commitment that we will take additional steps to address it," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.

Tech news outlet Gizmodo reported on Monday that a former Facebook worker alleged that articles from politically conservative outlets -- particularly when written about conservative subjects -- were deliberately omitted from Facebook's sidebar of popular stories.

The social media giant has denied the allegations amid outrage over the claims.

Facebook said the popularity of news stories was determined by an algorithm, then audited -- never manipulated -- by review team members to confirm that the topics were in fact trending news items.

However according to Gizmodo, which also spoke to other former employees, stories covered by conservative media that were trending enough to be picked up by Facebook's algorithm were only included if they were also covered by "mainstream sites" such as The New York Times, the BBC or CNN.

There was no evidence that management mandated or was aware of any political bias at work, Gizmodo reported, noting that one former worker "described the omissions as a function of his colleagues' judgements."

Gizmodo reported that workers were told to put stories deemed as important by management in the trending news feed even if they weren't generating much buzz.

The charges unleashed a fierce debate in the US media and on the social network itself, which has around 1.6 billion users around the globe.

In his post, Zuckerberg also announced plans to invite "leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum" to talk with him about accusations of political bias at Facebook.

SOurce: http://www.ndtv.com/

Italy May Out PM Modi Meeting If...': Agusta Middleman's New Claim

Italy will out a private conversation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he allegedly asked for information against Sonia Gandhi if Delhi does not release an Italian marine, claims Christian Michel, a man India wants extradited from the UK for its investigations into the AgustaWestland chopper scam.

Mr Michel, an alleged middleman, has suggested in an exclusive interview to NDTV that the Italian government "may do something unpleasant" if a marine charged with murder is not released by India. The "unpleasant" move would be to "admit to a meeting" between PM Modi and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, he said.

Both governments have emphatically denied that PM Modi met with his Italian counterpart in New York on the sidelines of a UN conference and offered to release the two marines facing trial in India on murder charges in exchange for information about the Agusta chopper deal that could embarrass or implicate Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Michel insisted that the meeting did happen, arguing that the governments had only denied a formal bilateral. "Under the auspices of the UN bilateral discussions there was no meeting. I am talking about a casual brush-by meeting which has plausible deniability attached to it," he said, claiming that the Italian embassy in Delhi briefed Agusta's parent company Finmeccanica about the meeting, which in turn informed him.

He refused to reveal the name of the embassy official citing "very delicate negotiations" between the two countries on whether the marine will return to Italy. The two marines are accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2012; one of them has been allowed to return over health reasons while the other remains in Delhi. Italy says the marines mistook the fishermen for pirates.

"They (Italy) are very upset with the Congress for not supporting them on marines issue. They have a new government and a new opportunity to solve the issue. There is a suggestion of the deal on the table of the way of doing it...the trouble with the suggestion of the deal is it requires an illegal act to have happened involving Mrs Gandhi, which hasn't happened... and I knew it would be a mess," Mr Michel told NDTV.

On the possibility of India not sending the marines home, Mr Michel replied: "If the basis of a deal is flawed, the deal will collapse...the honourable prime minister is in a horrible position - if he lets the marine go, he will be accused of a deal. If he doesn't let him go, the Italians may do something unpleasant - admit to a meeting".

The scandal over kickbacks allegedly paid by Agusta middlemen in India resurfaced after a court verdict in Milan last month. The BJP has alleged that documents attached to the verdict give new proof that Congress leaders helped Agusta swing the deal to provide a dozen choppers to India.

Mr Michel raises very awkward questions for the Congress after he confirmed that he did describe Sonia Gandhi in a 2008 note as "the driving force" of the decision to acquire new helicopters for use by top politicians.

"The note is genuine. We were asked who are the important people in India today and we sent the message," he said. Asked to explain why the note suggested the British High Commissioner should "target" Mrs Gandhi and her advisers, Mr Michel said: "It is a note about lobbying, not kickbacks."

SOurce: http://www.ndtv.com

World's Oldest Person Dies In New York At The Age Of 116

The world's oldest living person, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones, died on Thursday in New York City, a research group said.

Jones' death makes Emma Morano-Martinuzzi, a 116-year-old woman in Italy, the oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Jones, who was born in the southern U.S. state of Alabama in 1899, was the daughter of sharecroppers and granddaughter of slaves.

After graduating from high school she moved north in 1922 to New Jersey and then New York, where she worked as a housekeeper and childcare provider, according to Guinness World Records and the Vandalia Senior Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where she lived.

Jones, who retired in 1965, had said that lots of sleep is the secret to her longevity and that she had never smoked or drank alcohol.

The oldest verified person was Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 at 122 years and 164 days, the research group said.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in