The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 23

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The International News Weekly OFF-BEAT December 01, 2017 | Toronto 16 Mouthwash increases risk of diabetes Agencies NEW YORK: Most of us are in the habit of using mouthwash at least once or twice daily, as a part of oral hygiene. But are you aware that your routine may spike the sugar level in your blood within no time? People who use mouthwash at least twice daily are at approximately 55 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes, when compared to less frequent users, found a new study. The study, published in the journal Nitric Oxide, stated that most mouthwash contain antibacterial ingredients, which could impact the production of oral microbes that may hamper the nitric oxide formation in the mouth. This in turn might predispose to metabolic disorders, cause major shifts in blood pressure levels and lead to an increased risk of diabetes, at the same time. "Our aim was to evaluate the association between baseline over-the-counter mouthwash use and development of pre-diabetes/diabetes over a 3-year follow-up," said Kaumudi J Joshipura, researcher at Harvard University. "The indiscriminate routine use of antibacterial mouthwash products may cause more harm than good, in light of recent studies, and further supported by findings from this study," the researcher was quoted in an interview to the Telegraph. The researchers studied over 1,206 overweight individuals aged between 40 and 65 years, but without the prevalence of any major cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. It was found that 43 per cent of the participants used mouthwash at least once daily and 22 per cent used mouthwash at least twice a daily. Both the categories of population were at a higher risk of high blood sugar problems. The finding showed that mouthwash use lower than twice daily showed no association, suggesting a threshold effect at twice or more daily. Eating garlic is good to fight cystic fibrosis Agencies NEW YORK: Consuming garlic, which contains an active sulphurous compound, can help fight the robust bacteria found in chronic infections like cystic fibrosis, researchers have found. The findings showed that the sulphurous compound ajoene in garlic appears to offer the most powerful, naturally occurring resistance to bacteria and is able to destroy important components in the bacteria's communication systems, which involve regulatory RNA molecules. Ajoene also damages the protective slimy matrix surrounding the bacteria, the so-called biofilm. When the biofilm is destroyed or weakened, both antibiotics and the body's own immune system are able to attack the bacteria more directly and thus remove the infection. "We really believe this method can lead to treatment of patients, who otherwise have poor prospects, because chronic infections like cystic fibrosis can be very robust," said Tim Holm Jakobsen, assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. "But now we have enough knowledge to further develop the garlic drug and test it on patients." The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that ajoene's has the ability to inhibit small regulatory RNA molecules in two types of bacteria -- Staphylococcus aureus (responsible for skin infections) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (known to cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections). Why women are at more risk of asthma than men Agencies NEW YORK: Women are more likely to suffer from asthma than men because of the absence of testosterone -- the male sex hormone -- which prevents lungs from inhaling harmful pollen, dust or other airborne allergens, finds a study. The findings showed that testosterone acts on immune cells that act as first line of defenders of the body against invading viruses. These immune cells are linked to asthma symptoms, such as inflammation and mucus production in the lungs, which causes airways to narrow during an asthma attack. "Initially we thought that ovarian hormones would increase inflammation, more so than testosterone making it better," said Dawn Newcomb, from the Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, the US. "I was surprised to see that testosterone was more important in reducing inflammation," Newcomb said. Prior studies have showed before puberty boys have approximately 1.5 times higher rate of asthma than girls. That trend reverses after puberty, when women are twice likely to have asthma as men. This pattern continues until women hit menopause, and then the asthma rates in women start to decline, the researchers said. For the study, appearing in the journal Cell Reports, the team focused on lung cells called Group 2 innate lymphoid cells, or ILC2 cells -- which make cytokines, proteins that cause inflammation and mucus production in the lungs, making it harder to breathe. The researchers collected blood from people with and without asthma and found that those with asthma had more ILC2 cells than those without. Asthmatic women were found with more ILC2 cells than men. In addition, when the researchers added testosterone, to the ILC2 cells, they found that the male hormone prevented the cells from expanding and reduced the production of cytokines. However,"sex hormones are not the only mechanism but, rather, one of many mechanisms that could be regulating airway inflammation", Newcomb said. Why red wine is better than beer Agencies Agencies LONDON: Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that develops in early childhood and permanently damages the speech, movement and posture, vision and learning disabilities of a child. The findings showed that babies born to mothers who took aspirin were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to develop the life-long and incurable condition. While babies exposed to paracetamol were 30 per cent more likely to have overall cerebral palsy and 50 per cent more likely to have it on one side. Ibuprofen had little or no impact, the Daily LONDON: If you want to feel relaxed after a hard day, better order wine or beer. Save the spirits for days you need to boost confidence or need to feel sexy, suggests the largest ever study examining how different alcoholic drinks affect emotions. The analysis included the responses of nearly 30,000 adults aged between 18 and 34. Around 59 per cent of the respondents associated spirits -- like vodka, gin, whiskey and other hard alcohols -- with feelings of energy and confidence. And more than four out of 10 associated them with feeling sexy, showed the study published in the journal BMJ Open. Spirits were, however, the least likely to be associated with feeling relaxed. Just 20 per cent felt so. Red wine was the most likely to elicit this feeling (just under 53 per cent) followed by beer (around 50 per cent). Drinking spirits was also more likely to draw out negative feelings than all the other types of alcohol. Nearly a third (30 per cent) of spirit drinkers associated this tipple with feelings of aggression compared with around 2.5 per cent of red wine drinkers. "Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol Mail reported. The biggest danger seemed to be from taking the painkillers in the middle stage of a pregnancy -- a crucial time for brain development. This is because drugs such as paracetamol and aspirin could trigger toxic conditions in the developing brain that lead to permanent damage, or could disrupt the normal level of a mother's hormones needed to regulate brain development. "The safety of these drugs now needs to be further evaluated and women should be further cautioned about their use in pregnancy," said misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population," the researchers said. The responses differed by gender and category of alcohol dependency. The findings showed that men were significantly more likely to associate feelings of aggression with all types of alcohol, as were those categorised as heavy/dependent drinkers, who were six times more likely to do so than low risk drinkers. And heavy drinkers were more likely to select any drink that was associated for them with feelings of aggression and tearfulness when at home or when out. Why you should avoid Aspirin during pregnancy researchers the from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark For the study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the researchers examined 1,85,617 mothers and their babies. Around 5,000 of the women took aspirin and a similar number took ibuprofen. Nearly 90,000 -- almost half -- admitted taking paracetamol while expecting. The team found 357 babies went on to develop brain-related problems - and those born to mothers who took aspirin were at the higher risk of developing cerebral palsy on both sides of the body.
The International News Weekly VIEW December 01, 2017 | Toronto 17 Actors are perceived as magicians in India, but performers in West: Irrfan By Arundhuti Banerjee MUMBAI: Acclaimed Indian talent Irrfan Khan, who has dabbled in Bollywood and Hollywood, says the key difference between performing in the two industries lies in how the audience perceives an actor -- for one, the parameter is engagement and charisma, while for the other, it is the nuance and subtlety. "I think the most interesting part of exploring both the worlds of cinema -- Bollywood and Hollywood -- is how the audience perceives an actor. In our (Indian) cinema, actors are like a magician who come on screen and do something to engage and mesmerise. On the other hand, in the West, actors are performers, and the audience looks for a certain amount of nuance, subtleness. "It is really an interesting area to explore for an India needs to bring archaic laws into 21st century: Lord Rana By Vishav NEW DELHI: Even as India moved into the top 100 for the first time in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business global rankings, there's a lot more that needs to be done to keep up with the rest of the world, said Diljit Rana, one of the UK's top businessmen and a member of the House of Lords. Rana, originally from Punjab who built a £60 million empire from scratch in Northern Ireland, said there was an urgent need to bring India's archaic regulations into the 21st century environment. Planning to build a world-class university in Punjab, Rana told IANS in an interview that he faced serious bureaucratic hurdles. "Planning laws are a bit outdated here. For university approval, there is a mandatory condition which requires to have so much land. Like in Punjab, to get approval as a private university, the minimum land requirement is 35 acres," Rana told IANS in an interview during a visit here. "But there are many universities across the world which have much less land. And they are world famous universities. So to put a condition for having so much land for university approval -- especially in the age where we are going all electronic -- it does not feel right," he said. He added that land in Punjab is anyway scarce and very expensive and instead of such requirements, the focus should be on the quality of education. "What we should be concerned about is the quality of teaching, the faculty and the collaboration with foreign universities to lift our standards. Because the world is changing so much and so fast that half of what we teach these days, nobody would need those subjects in 20 years time. We need to concern ourselves with that," he added. Rana currently runs an education project -- Lord Rana Edu- City -- in Sanghol, his birthplace in Punjab, where too he had faced problems with the bureaucracy as the grant for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students amounting to around Rs 2 crore had been pending with the government for around two-and-a-half years now, he said. "First, the Akali Dal government kept delaying and now the new government said they had no funds," said Rana, who met the Finance Minister and the Chief Minister of Punjab regarding the issue. actor like me," Irrfan told IANS. Iconic film directors like Mira Nair, Colin Trevorrow and Danny Boyle have worked with Irrfan in international projects. Some of the titles he has worked in include "The Warrior", "A Mighty Heart", "The Namesake", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Life of Pi" and "Jurassic World". Irrfan may not be among the blockbuster Khans of Bollywood, but he has made his mark as a critically acclaimed performer who has strengthened Indian presence in films internationally. Critics praise his performance for intangible elements and for how he can convey a situation or a reaction with mere silence sometimes. He says there's a thought behind it. Explaining how he adds "soul" to any written character, Irrfan said: "In the National School of Drama, we learned how to perform, deliver a dialogue or monologue, and how to carry a certain body language for a character that we are playing. But the thought that always played in my mind is how a character establishes its relevance in silence, without uttering a dialogue. "In film acting especially, it works -- a small expression, a small silence and then amalgamate it with the subtext of the situation." However, he believes, one has to be very careful about improvisation as By Radhika Bhirani Indian showbiz is going through "difficult times", but it's a phase that shall pass if content providers remain focussed on maintaining quality and universal appeal, says N.P. Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India. According to KPMG India-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017, television experienced a slower growth last year, while films had a disappointing year with growth down to just three per cent. "We are passing through some difficult times at the moment, but it's a phase, and this too shall pass, as I always say. We have to stay focused on creating topquality content, and content that will appeal to the viewers," Singh told IANS here. He pointed at Sony Pictures Networks India's "ambitious projects". On the film front, there's "Soorma", directed by Shaad Ali and starring Diljit Dosanjh. It will bring to light the story of former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh, who went through many ups and downs on the personal and professional fronts. "This film is currently under production," he said. Biopics on sportspersons have become trendy in Bollywood. N.P. Singh, an industry veteran with almost two decades of experience, reflected: "If you look at any of these stories, they are very inspiring. They inspire not just the youth, but people of all age groups, and, therefore, it makes all the more sense for us to showcase all these stories to inspire people to challenge themselves. "The fire in the belly inspires the youth. I hope Sandeep Singh's biopic will be inspirational too, as will be the one on Pullela Gopichand or Saina Nehwal and more... These are inspiring stories and there's a lot to learn from all of them." Sony Pictures Networks India caters to viewers via television, films and even the digital platform. The core idea is to produce content that is consumed by everyone and anywhere. "We are essentially a content company. We create a lot of content for TV, big screen and also digital. The advantage we have it might just spoil a character at times. Irrfan stressed that having this understanding is important in the character-building process for an actor. "For instance, in 'Maqbool', after improvising certain parts in two scenes, I just realised that what I am trying to add is taking away the essence of the character," said Irrfan, whose Indian filmography is decorated with projects like "Paan Singh Tomar" and "Piku". Pointing out how actors at times create their own comfort zone by improvisation, he said: "I have seen actors taking an unnecessary pause between lines because he did not learn the lines properly and is trying to find his own ease in between. For me, had is 22 years' experience of producing top-quality content which appeals to a demographic that actually consumes a lot of content on digital platforms as well. "So, whether it is Kapil Sharma's show or a 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'... they appeal to viewers on the TV screen as well as the smaller screen (phones/iPads). "We are backing movies like 'Piku' and 'Mubarakan', which have a very wide appeal. They work on television, they work on digital. So, our objective is to create top-quality content, which has a wide appeal and can be consumed wherever people want," Singh said. As for the television space, Singh said their latest offering is "Porus", a show which pays homage to the era when India was called 'Sone Ki Chidiya' for its richness. Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary, the entertainer is said to be one of the most expensive ever made for Indian television. Without delving into the numbers, Singh told IANS: "'Porus' has been mounted at a level that the youth has gotten used to watching courtesy digital platforms. that is not the right thing to do. "For a performer in a film, how the director is setting our frame of mind also matters," said the actor, who has enjoyed working with Vishal Bhardwaj, Shoojit Sircar and Tigmanshu Dhulia. The year 2017 has been eventful for Irrfan. He got commercial success with "Hindi Medium", acclaimed movies like "Doob: No Bed of Roses" and "The Song of Scorpions" and had another commercial release "Qarib Qarib Singlle". Asked if he is saying "yes" to more scripts these days instead of being too choosy like earlier, Irrfan said: "My criterion of a good script as the deciding factor has not changed. But scriptwriters are coming up with some brilliant stories and that is bringing all the changes in our cinema." Tough time for Indian show-biz, but it shall pass: Sony's N.P. Singh Even the characters and story itself, even though it is set in 350 BC, it will intrigue people curious about the golden era of India. It's something that will appeal universally." He said the need to bring out such breakthrough content is being felt more than ever due to the rapidly changing dynamics of the industry. "They (the dynamics) are certainly changing very rapidly and they should, because they have stayed constant for a very long time. It's about time that we started to leap forward, and that's what the industry is doing," Singh asserted. On their part, they have scored an industry first by letting the 100 per cent Intellectual Property Rights of "Porus" to be with the producer. Could this be a trendsetter? "It could be, but we have to wait and see how many people have the risk appetite to invest in a concept that they have conviction in. If more people come to us with that conviction and want us to back it, we will be happy," said Singh, adding that "all the risks have been taken by broadcasters till now".
Page 1 and 2: www.luxurylights.ca 905-856-9999 La
Page 3 and 4: The International News Weekly Decem
Page 5 and 6: The International News Weekly CANAD
Page 7 and 8: The International News Weekly REGIO
Page 9 and 10: The International News Weekly INTER
Page 11 and 12: The International News Weekly INDIA
Page 13 and 14: The International News Weekly India
Page 15: The International News Weekly WORLD
Page 19 and 20: www.luxurylights.ca Chandeliers &
Page 21 and 22: The International News Weekly Sport
Page 23 and 24: The International News Weekly Decem

The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 23

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?