Drinking in Kerala: Rum, rum everywhere | The Economist

AT 11 O'CLOCK on a Saturday morning, there are already a dozen men queuing?at a ramshackle liquor shop near Kovalam beach, a popular tourist spot in?the small southern Indian state of Kerala. A regular stream of scooters and?auto-rickshaws brings ever more punters. Come dusk, the queue will be many?times longer, according to one rickshaw driver parked outside. ?This is our?one problem,? he says.

Perhaps surprisingly, sleepy Kerala is India?s booziest state. It gets through 8.3 litres (15 pints) of alcoholic drinks per person per year, according to a 2008 report by Johnson Edayaranmula, the director of a national alcohol and?drug-awareness group based in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.?Punjabis, often stereotyped as India?s party animals, came second with 7.9 litres. The national average was 5.7 litres. A 2011 report by one of?India?s largest trade bodies similarly found that ?Kerala accounted for 16%?of national alcohol sales, the largest proportion of any state. Mr?Edayaranmula warns that all data must be approached with caution, given the?prevalence of illicit sales. Yet, even if those were included, he is confident that Kerala would remain in first place.

Keralites say their drinking culture, and not just the amount imbibed, is intense. Men sit alone in dingy bars, on beaches, or at home, and drink with the sole purpose of getting drunk. A bar-owner in Thrissur, an inland city off the tourist trail, says a solitary customer will happily sink 6 ?pegs?, or 60ml shots, of rum or brandy in an hour. Fortunately, he says, Keralites are too laid-back for drunken brawls. But campaigners say other outcomes, such as mental illness, unhappy ?marriages, and lower economic productivity are big causes for concern. The state had India's second-highest rate of reported suicides in 2011.

Kerala?s leaders are also worried. On February 20th, the state?s coalition government, led by the dynastic Congress party that also runs India?s national coalition, raised the drinking age from 18 to 21.?In January, it appointed a one-man commission to assess the state's problem with alcoholism. Moreover, as of last summer, bars can only open at 8am?this might not sound all that strict, but they used to open at dawn to catch market traders on their way to work. Some high court judges ?recently called for bars to stay closed during the day altogther.

Home-made spirits such as arrack and toddy, made from fermented coconut water or palm tree sap, have long been part of Kerala?s culture. Yet Keralites say today?s widespread binge-drinking, driven by commercially brewed liquor bought in bars and shops, is a modern phenomenon. Since the 1980s, Keralite men have been going to the Persian Gulf en masse for work and sending home large pay packets. Periods under a Communist-led?coalition government and strong trade unions have deterred many industries that could have created jobs at home. Many emigrant workers then retire early, coming home to a quiet state where there is little to do. ?There is no doubt that the Gulf boom has had an effect [on drinking]. The easy money is there,? says Mr Edayaranmula.

For those who do find work at home, the state also has the highest wages in?India for many manual jobs. ?Even a [builder] is getting paid a lot?if they?get 500 rupees ($9.15) a day, they can spend 200-300 rupees drinking,? the?bar owner in Thrissur says of his customers. A tropical climate contributes?further to a slower pace of life. In short, Keralites increasingly have the?means and time to get sozzled.

The politicians, while keen to clamp down, are in a bind. The Kerala State Beverages Corporation, a state-owned monopoly that controls all liquor shops and ?wholesale booze sales to bars, is booming. KSBC's taxes contributed over $1.2bn to Kerala?s coffers in 2011-12, accounting for a fifth of the state?s overall revenues. Kerala?s three fellow southern states ? Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh ? have similar monopolies. Therefore while bars? opening hours are debated, KSBC shops, like the one by Kovalam beach, are open 11 hours a day and seven days a week. The state still seems in two minds as to what costs more: slow-moving citizens or sober ones.

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/03/drinking-kerala

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Syrian rebel chief says they need weapons to stop slaughter

BEIRUT (AP) ? The chief of Syrian rebel forces said Friday that his fighters are in "desperate" need of weapons and ammunition rather than the food supplies and bandages that the U.S. now plans to provide.

The Obama administration on Thursday announced it was giving an additional $60 million in assistance to the country's political opposition and said that it would, for the first time, provide non-lethal aid directly to rebels battling to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The move was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at an international conference on Syria in Rome, and several European nations are expected in the coming days to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition in order to ramp up pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition.

A number of Syrian opposition figures and fighters on the ground, however, expressed disappointment with the limited assistance.

Gen. Salim Idris, chief of staff of the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military Council, said the modest package of aid to rebels ? consisting of an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies ? will not help them win against Assad's forces who have superior air power.

"We don't want food and drink and we don't want bandages. When we're wounded, we want to die. The only thing we want is weapons," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"We need anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to stop Bashar Assad's criminal, murderous regime from annihilating the Syrian people," he said. "The whole world knows what we need and yet they watch as the Syrian people are slaughtered."

Syria's main rebel units, known together as the Free Syrian Army, regrouped in December under a unified Western-backed rebel command called the Supreme Military Council, following promises of more military assistance once a central council was in place.

But the international community remains reluctant to send lethal weapons, fearing they may fall into the hands of extremists who have made inroads in some places in Syria.

Idris, who defected from the Syrian army and is seen as a secular-minded moderate, denied media reports that the rebels have recently received arms shipments.

Croation officials have also denied reports by local media and The New York Times that arms, including machine guns, rifles and anti-tank grenades used in the Balkan wars in the 1990s have recently been sent to the Syrian rebels.

"These reports are all untrue. Our fighters are suffering from a severe shortage in weapons and ammunition," Idris said.

"The only weapons we have are the ones we are getting from inside Syria and the weapons we are capturing from the Syrian military," he said.

Idris spoke from northern Syria where fierce clashes continued between government forces and rebels attacking a police academy near Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub.

Rebels backed by captured tanks have been trying to storm the police academy outside the city since launching a new offensive there last week. Activists say the academy, which has become a key front in the wider fight for Aleppo, has been turned into a military base used to shell rebel-held neighborhoods in the city and the surrounding countryside.

The Syrian state news agency said Friday that government troops defending the school had killed dozens of opposition fighters and destroyed five rebel vehicles.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group also reported heavy fighting Friday around the school, and said there were several rebel casualties without providing an exact figure.

The Observatory said clashes were still raging around Aleppo's landmark 12th century Umayyad Mosque in the walled Old City, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosque was heavily damaged in October 2012 just weeks after a fire gutted the old city's famed medieval market.

There were conflicting reports about whether the rebels had managed to sweep regime troops out of the mosque and take full control of the holy site.

Mohammed al-Khatib of the Aleppo Media Center activist group said the mosque was in rebel hands, although clashes were still raging in the area.

"The regime forces left lots of ammunition in it (the mosque) with guns and rocket-propelled grenades," he said via Skype.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said rebels have been in control of at least half of the mosque for days, but he could not confirm that they now had captured the entire grounds.

Near the capital, Damascus, activists said the bodies of 10 men ? most of them shot in the head ? were found dumped on the side of a road between the suburbs of Adra and Dumair.

Such incidents have become a frequent occurrence in Syria's conflict, which the U.N. says has killed nearly 70,000 people since March 2011.

Also on Friday, a spokesman for a Kurdish group in northern Syria said it had reached a deal with the leaders of the Syrian National Coalition to end infighting between rebels units in al-Hasaka province along Syria's border with Turkey.

The rebels seized control of large swathes of land in the area after they ousted government troops from military bases, border crossings and ethnically mixed villages and towns in the northeast.

The opposition's gains, however, have been marred by weeks of deadly infighting between Kurdish and other Syrian rebel groups over liberated territory.

Xebat Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units, or YPG, said a deal was reached late Thursday to end the infighting and unite behind a common goal, which is to oust Assad from power.

"From now on, the Syrian rebels will fight together with the YPG against the regime," Ibrahim told The Associated Press on Friday.

According to the agreement, the Syrian rebels will retreat from Kurdish areas in northern Syria. In return, Kurdish fighters are to battle alongside rebels units fighting the regime's troops anywhere in the Kurdish-dominated region of Syria, Ibrahim said.

___

Associated Press writers Ryan Lucas and Ben Hubbard in Beirut and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebel-chief-pleads-weapons-143853633.html

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Skin Tags Removal Treatment | Kristophs Health and Fitness Blog

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About The Author

Author: tracie, Copyright ? 2013, Yahoo Answers

Source: http://kristophshealthandfitnessblog.com/skin-tags-removal-treatment/

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Renewable energy: Nanotubes to channel osmotic power

Feb. 28, 2013 ? The salinity difference between fresh water and salt water could be a source of renewable energy. However, power yields from existing techniques are not high enough to make them viable. A solution to this problem may now have been found. A team led by physicists at the Institut Lumi?re Mati?re in Lyon (CNRS / Universit? Claude Bernard Lyon 1), in collaboration with the Institut N?el (CNRS), has discovered a new means of harnessing this energy: osmotic flow through boron nitride nanotubes generates huge electric currents, with 1,000 times the efficiency of any previous system. To achieve this result, the researchers developed a highly novel experimental device that enabled them, for the first time, to study osmotic fluid transport through a single nanotube. Their findings are published in the 28 February issue of Nature.

When a reservoir of salt water is brought into contact with a reservoir of fresh water through a special kind of semipermeable membrane, the resulting osmotic phenomena make it possible to produce electricity from the salinity gradients. This can be done in two different ways: either the osmotic pressure differential between the two reservoirs can drive a turbine, or a membrane that only passes ions can be used to produce an electric current.

Concentrated at the mouths of rivers, Earth's osmotic energy potential has a theoretical capacity of at least 1 terawatt -- the equivalent of 1,000 nuclear reactors. However, the technologies available for harnessing this energy are relatively inefficient, producing only about 3 watts per square meter of membrane. Today, a team of physicists at the Institut Lumi?re Mati?re in Lyon (CNRS / Universit? Claude Bernard Lyon 1), in collaboration with the Institut N?el (CNRS), may have found a solution to overcome this obstacle.

Their primary goal was to study the dynamics of fluids confined in nanometric spaces, such as nanotubes. Drawing inspiration from biology and cell channel research, they achieved a world first in measuring the osmotic flow through a single nanotube. Their experimental device consisted of an impermeable and electrically insulating membrane pierced by a single hole through which the researchers, using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, inserted a boron nitride nanotube with an external diameter of a few dozen nanometers. Two electrodes immersed in the fluid on either side of the nanotube enabled them to measure the electric current passing through the membrane..

Using this membrane to separate a salt water reservoir and a fresh water reservoir, the team was able to generate a massive electric current through the nanotube, induced by the strong negative surface charge characteristic of boron nitride nanotubes, which attracts the cations contained in the salt water. The intensity of the current passing through the nanotube was on the order of the nanoampere, more than 1,000 times the yield of the other known techniques for retrieving osmotic energy.

Boron nitride nanotubes thus provide an extremely efficient solution for converting the energy of salinity gradients into immediately usable electrical power. Extrapolating these results to a larger scale, a 1-m2 boron nitride nanotube membrane should have a capacity of about 4 kW and be capable of generating up to 30 megawatt-hours (1) per year. This performance is three orders of magnitude greater than that of the prototype osmotic power plants currently in operation. The next step for the researchers in the project will be to study the production of membranes made of boron nitride nanotubes and test the performances of nanotubes made from other materials.

This project was made possible largely through the support of the ERC and ANR.

Note:

(1) One watt-hour corresponds to the energy consumed or delivered by a system with a power of 1 watt for one hour.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Alessandro Siria, Philippe Poncharal, Anne-Laure Biance, R?my Fulcrand, Xavier Blase, Stephen T. Purcell, Lyd?ric Bocquet. Giant osmotic energy conversion measured in a single transmembrane boron nitride nanotube. Nature, 2013; 494 (7438): 455 DOI: 10.1038/nature11876

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/GksEYTxPZog/130228093509.htm

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Modified protein could become first effective treatment for vitiligo

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers have developed a genetically modified protein that dramatically reverses the skin disorder vitiligo in mice, and has similar effects on immune responses in human skin tissue samples.

The modified protein is potentially the first effective treatment for vitiligo, which causes unsightly white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body. Loyola University Chicago has submitted a patent application for the protein, and researchers are seeking regulatory approval and funding for a clinical trial in humans.

I. Caroline Le Poole, PhD, and colleagues describe the modified protein in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Le Poole is a professor in Loyola's Oncology Institute and in the departments of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology.

About 1 million Americans have vitiligo, and the condition affects about 1 in 200 people worldwide. Vitiligo is most noticeable in people of color, but also can be distressing to Caucasians. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system goes into overdrive and kills pigment cells, which give skin its color.

Previous studies have found that a protein called HSP70i plays a vital role in the autoimmune response that causes vitiligo. (HSP70i stands for inducible heat shock protein 70.)

HSP70i consists of 641 building blocks called amino acids. Le Poole and colleagues genetically modified one of these amino acids to create a mutant HSP70i. This mutant protein supplants normal HSP70i, thereby reversing vitiligo's autoimmune response.

Resarchers Jeffrey A. Mosenson and Andrew Zloza gave mutant HSP70i to mice that developed vitiligo, and the results were striking. Mouse fur ? affected by vitiligo -- had the coloring of a salt-and-pepper beard. But when the mice were vaccinated with mutant HSP70i, the fur turned black.

"The mice look normal," Le Poole said.

Some of the effects seen in mice also were seen in human skin specimens.

There are no long-term effective treatments for vitiligo. Steroid creams sometimes return some color to affected skin. But this treatment also thins the skin, and can cause streaks or lines. Bright lights, similar to tanning booths, also can return color, but can cause sunburns and other side effects, including vitiligo. Skin grafts transfer skin from unaffected areas to the white patches, but can be painful and expensive. None of the existing treatments effectively prevent vitiligo from progressing.

Le Poole and colleagues wrote that mutant HSP70i "may offer potent treatment opportunities for vitiligo."

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Loyola University Health System: http://www.luhs.org

Thanks to Loyola University Health System for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127054/Modified_protein_could_become_first_effective_treatment_for_vitiligo

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'Machine vision' MFT cam arrives for robotics, remote photography, special effects

If you're asking yourself "where's the shutter button on that thing?" then a new machine vision camera from SVS-Vistek, the SVCam-evo "Tracer" is probably not for you. However, it may spark tinkerers or other niches as the boxy look belies its capabilities. For starters, it packs a micro four thirds mount with a Truesense CCD sensor, opening the door to lenses a cut above the usual industrial fare. You'll also get frame rates of 146, 85, 40 and 21 fps at 1, 2, 4 and 8-megapixels, respectively, along with auto gain; exposure, focus and electric zoom control; PC software for basic image capture; and a GigE Vision interface. The latter -- along with a Windows and Linux SDK -- will make the device ideal for those who don't mind digging into code for applications like robotics, aerial and remote imaging or even "special effects and unique POV" cinematography. The rest of us won't be able to just fire it up and take pictures, however, and as for the price? There's no word yet on that or availability, but don't expect a consumer-friendly figure.

Filed under: Cameras

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Via: 4/3 Rumors

Source: SVS-Vistek (pdf)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/01/svs-vistek-outs-industrial-mft-cam/

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dancing through life: Removing the Stigma Surrounding Mental Health

A big component of this blog series and my show has been about working to eradicate the stigma around mental health. Even though 1 in 5 of us will have direct experience with mental illness in our lifetime, there is still a lot of negativity out that that just needs to go. On February 12, I saw more people discussing mental illness candidly than I ever had before and rather than save it for one day when donations are being made and a hashtag is created, the discussion needs to be ongoing. I'm really proud that the Life is Sweet series has opened up a dialogue and I truly want that to continue.? I used to think that Twitter was silly, but it has connected me to some incredible people, like Joseph, who I wouldn't have met otherwise. He has been an awesome supporter of this project and I am so happy he got on board to write.?
For years (more years than any of us have been alive) there has been a stigma around mental illness that has prevented us from speaking openly about it. As a sad consequence, there has been an extreme lack of resources for those of us who need help, or perhaps even sadder those resources may exist but an awareness of where or how to find them does not.

We see extreme cases of what happen when help isn't readily available in such tragedies as the recent Newtown shooting, or virtually a host of other heart-wrenching examples. One thing I have learned in life, though, is that nothing is just good or bad... it's both. Every shadow has it's sunshine. All of the darkness that we see such as the many sad stories of untreated mental illness resulting in tragedy all carry a ray of sunshine. It's apparent to all that because of the recent Newtown tragedy that we are starting to speak more openly about mental illness. (Take, for example, the articles of "I am Adam Lanza's..." mother, psychiatrist, doctor that sprung up so quickly after the shootings in Connecticut.) We are making great strides in removing the stigma that holds so many of us back from finding the help we need.?

I am excited about any and all of these developments that shine light on these important issues, including the recent #BellLetsTalk initiative. But there is also much more that I believe needs to be done. And, I don't believe the solution is going to be found in talking about mental illness more. It's a good start, but there is a deeper stigma that needs to be removed. What we really need to do is remove the stigma around mental health.

It may sound too simple, but mental health is more important than mental illness. None of us fall into a box of mentally ill or mentally healthy. It's not an either/or proposition. Instead of looking at this issue of "check this box for mentally ill, or the other for mentally healthy" we would benefit far more by looking at our mental & emotional well being as a spectrum.?

We do this with health & fitness. Or, at the very least, we are starting to do so a lot more. We no longer just count on our doctor to tell us if we are "healthy" or "unhealthy." Most people realize that they could be healthier than they currently are, or they see that they are now in a better state of health than they were last year. We all acknowledge that eating more vegetables, and less donuts, will be good our bodies. As will trading in that diet coke for water, the deep fried French fries for a salad, or choosing to walk or bike to work instead of driving our car. Should we not begin to acknowledge the same for our mental wellness? Some things will strengthen it, others will weaken it.?

Now this isn't a discussion about whether doing or not doing something causes mental illness. If you think about physical wellness, nobody is so naive to say that having that one slice of sugar-frosted cake instead of some organic kale chips causes diabetes... BUT we are aware enough to know that it has an effect. We know that one is better for our health than the other. We are also aware that those who regularly opt for the kale chips instead of the cake are far healthier physically. In many ways it's the same for mental health. Mental illness is a complex issue, far beyond my full comprehension. What I do know, however, is that if we shift our thinking away from either/or this "caused it" or didn't to what supports or what doesn't, then we will see much more individual - and collective - progress.?

Sadly, we have stigmatized mental health in such a way that many positive things we can do for ourselves are stigmatized as well. Far too often I see the perception that those who work with a therapist, counselor or a coach are broken. Or the sentiment that support groups & group counseling are for the weak. "People only see therapists when they are broken enough to need help to even function in life" is a paradigm that seems to pervade much of the population, and it is holding us back. Big time.

Let's switch back to the physical health analogy for a second. People who work with personal trainers are rarely viewed as the lowest on the spectrum of physically fitness. In fact, it's quite the opposite. All the elite athletes work with trainers, or even a team of trainers, and get the best results. When an everyday person hires a personal trainer, they begin to get better results and see a much faster transformation. We often regard them as committed to their goals, motivated and see them as high performers. We admire them for their examples, and often aspire to the same.?

Why is it not the same for mental health??

It should be, and it can be. We can make that shift happen.?

Improving our own mental wellness

Shifting from a "broken VS healthy" mindset to that a spectrum, allows us to enjoy a much higher quality of life. I'm reminded of a powerful formula that I remember learning as an athlete in high school.?

Performance = potential - resistance.?

This formula applies to athletics, physics, my career in marketing, and probably in many others. It also applies to mental health.?

In simple terms, our happiness in the present moment (potential) is equal to the hope we have in our future (potential), less the degree to which we let the past hold us back (resistance).

Happiness, being the aim & end of our existence, can be increased by improving the view we have of our future, and by eliminating the resistance created by a past we can't let go of. We can improve our view of the future through the standard path of personal development. Eliminating the resistance of the past is the realm of addressing childhood trauma, learning to embrace our shadows, forgiving others - and ourselves - of less than picture perfect memories.

Improving our collective mental wellness

We need to remove the judgment of others that becomes implicit with the paradigm of mentally ill or not. Instead of this us VS them mindset, a paradigm of a wellness spectrum becomes more of a "we" issue. We're all in this together, and our communities, and planet, all get better as any individual gets better.

This simplest way to do this is to ask the question "How are you?" and actually mean it. In North America, we use the phrase "how are you?" as a greeting, without expecting a real answer. This is obvious by the way we ask it while still walking past each other. How many times have we automatically answered "I'm good. You?" and just kept walking? Even when we are feeling depressed, neurotic, overwhelmed, etc, we often just say "Good, you?" because we know the asker doesn't really want to know. I knew a man who would get an honest answer out of anyone he asked, though, because of the simple reason that he'd stop, hold your hand and look you in the eyes as he asked, and then waited for a response. If you'd answer "good, you?" he'd say "How are you really?" and always provoke a thoughtful response.

Also, let's embrace the positive change of others. I recall the story of a woman who is a Well known speaker on the topic of self-acceptance. An overweight woman herself, she spoke of the power that comes from rejecting society's skewed notion of runway model beauty and learning to love ourselves exactly as we are. Her message was liberating others, especially those who didn't fit the mold of tall, skinny, magazine-cover "beautiful." When, however, she decided to start losing weight (after hearing her doctor report that recent test results showed that her health was in jeopardy) her followers began to criticize her for "selling out" and being inauthentic in her message. What she was really doing, was taking another step forward to improve her quality of life. Eliminating her earlier resistance of feeling inadequate for not being skinny was a powerful step in increasing her happiness and emotional well being. Improving her potential by becoming healthier was another powerful step. We often quote that "misery loves company" but we need to remember to celebrate when people make positive changes, even if those changes may leave us behind temporarily. Instead of holding ourselves and each other back, we need to exhibit attitudes of encouragement and shift to a mindset of "growth loves company" and help each other along on our journey.

So, tell me... How are you today, really?

Joseph Ranseth is an author, speaker and marketer who refuses to write a bio. He's one of my favourite people and I am grateful to call him a friend. Follow him on the Twitter and he'll tell you about having the #BestDayEver, well, every day. He runs a purpose-driven marketing company with an official launch just around the corner.?

Source: http://www.dancingthroughlifeblog.com/2013/02/removing-stigma-surrounding-mental.html

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