Study Shows High Omega-3 Levels in Japanese Diet Cuts Heart Disease Rates

Japan's Heart-Healthy Diet: Fish Is Key.
It might be called the Japanese paradox.
Men in Japan have similar lifetime cholesterol, blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes rates as men in the U.S., and they are far more likely to smoke.

So why is it that the rate of heart disease among men living in Japan is less than half that of men living in the U.S. and that Japanese men tend to have less artherosclerosis -- the artery-clogging plaque that leads to heart attacks and strokes?
A new study suggests that the answer may be found in the sea.
High Omega-3 Levels
Because they ate more fish, men living in Japan who participated in the study had twice the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood as white men and Japanese men living in the U.S. They also had less severe degrees of atherosclerosis.

The finding lends support to the hypothesis that omega-3, which is found primarily in fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, protects against plaque buildup in the arteries.

Sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish oils, which contain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and plant sources. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is converted into omega-3 fatty acids in the body, is a plant-source omega-3 fatty acid.

Studies have generally used fish oils. While plant sources with ALA may have the same benefits, less is known about them.

"The extremely high intake of fish in Japan may explain the much lower rate of atherosclerosis and subsequent coronary heart disease," researcher Akira Sekikawa, MD, PhD, tells WebMD. "This study does not prove that omega-3 is protecting these men, but we showed that artery thickness decreased as omega-3 levels went up."

The Japanese diet has become increasingly westernized since the end of World War II, but fish consumption in Japan is still among the highest in the world.

People in Japan eat an average of 3 ounces of fish every day, while the average American finds it difficult to manage the two servings of fish a week recommended for heart health by the American Heart Association, omega-3 researcher William Harris, PhD, tells WebMD.

He adds that the average omega-3 intake in Japan of 1 gram a day is about eight times higher than the amount the typical American gets.

"We are not a nation that loves fish, and that isn't likely to change," he says. "But it is increasingly clear that we need to get more omega-3 into our diets."

Fish oil supplements are one way of doing this. Studies in individuals with heart disease have shown a benefit of supplemental omega-3 fatty acids. Based on these studies, the American Heart Association recommends that people with heart disease take 1 gram of EPA plus DHA daily
High Omega-3 Levels continued...
Other good sources of omega-3 include foods such as flaxseed and canola oils, soybean, tofu, and walnuts. Omega-3 fatty acids are often sold as capsules but can upset the stomach and should be taken with food.

Harris is working to develop a soybean-based omega-3-enriched oil through a grant from the company Monsanto.
He believes that many of the foods we eat will soon be fortified with omega-3 in the same way that they are now fortified with folic acid and other vitamins.

"Either we get people in the U.S. to start liking oily fish, which probably isn't going to happen, or we find another way of getting it into our food," he says.

Fish Eaters Had Less Plaque
The study by Sekikawa and colleagues included 281 Japanese men living in Japan, an equal number of Japanese men living in the U.S., and 306 white men who lived in the U.S.

All the men were in their 40s, and all underwent blood testing to determine serum levels of fatty acids, including omega-3. The men also had two tests for atherosclerosis -- one measuring the thickness of the artery wall in a major neck artery that sends blood to the brain and the other measuring plaque in arteries leading to the heart.

While total fatty acid levels were similar in the three groups, blood omega-3 levels in the Japanese men living in Japan were 45% higher and 80% higher, respectively, than in Japanese men and white men living in the U.S.

And both measures of artherosclerosis showed less plaque buildup in the arteries of the Japanese men living in Japan. Atherosclerosis levels were similar in both Japanese-Americans and in white Americans.

The study appears in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of theAmerican College of Cardiology.

"This indicates that much lower death rates from coronary heart disease in the Japanese in Japan is very unlikely due to genetic factors," Sekikawa says.

The 'Omega-3 Hypothesis'
In an editorial accompanying the study, Harris writes that what he calls the "omega-3 hypothesis" grew from research on the Inuit Eskimos of Greenland conducted almost four decades ago.

Despite eating a diet low in fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates and high in fat and cholesterol, the Eskimos had very low rates of heart disease. Researchers concluded that the reason was the incredibly high levels of omega-3 in their diets from the consumption of large amounts of fish, whale, and seal.

But recent studies suggest that heart disease rates among Alaskan Eskimos are now higher than among whites in the U.S., even though fish consumption in the population remains high.

"At least part of the problem in Alaska appears to be not a lack of omega-3 but the introduction of massive amounts of shortenings and other saturated fats into their Westernizing diet," Harris writes.
The 'Omega-3 Hypothesis' continued...
He concludes this and other research suggest that the "cardioprotective punch of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may be no match for diets high in fat, particularly saturated fat."

Cardiologist Robert Eckel, MD, who is a past president of the American Heart Association, says studies in heart attack patients treated with very high doses of omega-3 have generally proven disappointing.

Eckel is a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.

"We have known for some time that people who eat more fish seem to have less heart disease," Eckel tells WebMD. "This study supports that, but more research is needed."

water powers really have a memory?

The news that the number of prescriptions for homeopathic medicines written by GPs in England has nearly halved in just two years coincides with the 20th anniversary of a seminal scientific paper on the subject.

Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1988, the science world was rocked by one of the most controversial research papers ever published in the highly-respected journal Nature.

According to a charismatic French scientist named Jacques Benveniste, pure water could somehow remember what it had previously contained.

Benveniste had started with a substance that caused an allergic reaction, he diluted it over and over again until there was nothing left except water, and then he observed that the pure water still managed to trigger an allergic reaction when it was added to living cells.

If the experiment was correct then it would mean rewriting the laws of physics and chemistry.


Moreover, the research would have a major impact on the credibility of homeopathy, because it is a form of alternative medicine that relies on remedies made by diluting the key curative ingredient over and over again until that ingredient has disappeared.

Even Benveniste was shocked by the implications of his own work.

"It was like shaking your car keys in the Seine at Paris and then discovering that water taken from the mouth of the river would start your car!"

Supernatural powers

John Maddox, editor of Nature, realised that Benveniste's research would be controversial, so it was accompanied by a disclaimer similar to one that had been run when he published research about Uri Geller's supposed supernatural powers.

It said: "Editorial reservation: Readers of this article may share the incredulity of the many referees ... Nature has therefore arranged for independent investigators to observe repetitions of the experiments."

The investigation team was led by Maddox himself, and he was joined by chemist Walter Stewart and James Randi, a magician, who had a reputation for debunking extraordinary claims.

Homeopathy is still not understood, however his efforts started a new era of rigorous scientific investigation of the field

Alex Tournier, of the Homeopathy Research Institute

Unfortunately for Benveniste, the investigators soon discovered that the results in his laboratory were unreliable.

The three of them went on to publish a report explaining how Benveniste's assistants were being subconsciously selective in the way that they interpreted their data.

They said: "We believe that experimental data have been uncritically assessed and their imperfections inadequately reported."

Benvensiste gradually moved out of academia as a result of the Nature debacle, but right up to his death in 2004 he maintained that his research was valid and that he was being ignored by a blinkered scientific establishment.

Twenty years after his research was published, perhaps now is the ideal time to asses his long-term impact on the debate surrounding ultra-dilute solutions and homeopathy.

Was he an unrecognized genius who was ahead of his time or was he a deluded scientist who failed to see that his research deeply flawed?

First of all, it is worth noting that there have been many attempts to reproduce Benveniste's experiments - occasionally there are positive results, but they are neither consistent nor convincing, and in any case these are countered by several negative results.

For example, the BBC science series Horizon attempted to test Benveniste's claims in 2002, and the conclusion was announced by Professor Martin Bland, of St George's Hospital Medical School.


He said: "There's absolutely no evidence at all to say that there is any difference between the solution that started off as pure water and the solution that started off with the histamine [an allergen]."


Phenomenon

Similarly, Benveniste started a spin-off company called DigiBio, which claimed that water could not only have a memory, but that this memory could be digitized, transmitted via email and reintroduced into another sample of water, which in turn could have an impact on living cells.


The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) tested DigiBio's claim and came to the following conclusion: "Our team found no replicable effects from digital signals."

Nevertheless, Benveniste's research continues to be very influential among many homeopaths, such as Alex Tournier, the founding director of the Homeopathy Research Institute.


He said: "Benveniste was a very inspiring and dedicated scientist, who at the very apogee of his career at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, was ready to put his reputation on the line to report a phenomenon he didn't understand: homeopathic dilutions.

"Homeopathy is still not understood, however his efforts started a new era of rigorous scientific investigation of the field."

Other homeopaths are convinced by Benveniste's idea of digital homeopathy and are even willing to sell such remedies over the internet.

Some might argue that, as there are over 200 clinical trials, but still no convincing evidence that homeopathy is effective for treating any condition, the idea that digitized homeopathy can help patients is fanciful.

But for $1,000 you could go online and buy yourself a digital homeopathy software kit and start treating yourself and others today.

Serious question marks remain over the Benveniste paper, but what is not in doubt is that its influence is still powerful and profound 20 years on.
Simon Singh is the co-author of 'Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial'.

Striking a balance with passion

Striking a balance with passion, poise
As student and teacher, Peabody woman sees life-changing lessons in tai chi
At first, it didn't take Lisa Kirshon 10 seconds before she started to fidget.

The local tai chi masters were telling her to "change your consciousness."

Be the tree.

Your feet don't hold you up, they said, the earth holds you up.

Your head is touching the clouds.

"You have to think a little bit beyond your physical space," explained Kirshon, who lives in Peabody. "That idea of expansive energy dropping through the earth and lifting upward toward the heavens. And then you have this conduit, which is your spine. So life force flows through."

All you're supposed to do is stand.

Like a tree.

"There's no greed for results," she said.

No rush for instant gratification, just a search for a feeling"the million-dollar secret," she called it - and the thought that you're building a foundation for something greater.

"You feel that connection," she said. "You start to sense that you are a tree. It's hard to explain. It's such a personal experience. You have to experience it."

People thought she was a flake. She admitted as much.

The only reason Kirshon looked into tai chi was because of the herniated disk in her back. Acupuncture worked only so much. Aerobics was too stressful, and yoga didn't make much sense either. She took to tai chi, a "soft" martial arts technique often praised for its health and longevity benefits. She went to the Oriental Culture Institute in Danvers, learning under Rick Wong and Tom Tam, who had been studying the form for ages.

Despite what people thought, she could feel herself becoming sharper, healthier, more confident, and more interested in the art itself.

"I really became very passionate about this type of mind-body exercise and needed to understand," she said. "How am I getting better? What is it? What's changed?"

When Kirshon started the sessions, she was a "domestic engineer," 21st-century language for stay-at-home mom. But when she and her husband divorced, leaving her with their two daughters, she needed to make a living. She needed to make a new Lisa.

Tam had already shown his faith, allowing her to teach a few classes in tai chi.

She took courses to become certified in tai chi, health, and fitness, so that she could be fully compensated.

"The more I read, the more I researched, I became very passionate about this because I've been on the other side," she said. "I know what it's like to be in pain, to have your body control your mind when it should be the other way around."

Now 49, Kirshon is the fitness specialist at Brooksby Village, a retirement community in Peabody, where she passes on the same lessons she learned some 17 years ago. She's also taught tai chi at the North Shore Cancer Institute.

"I just want to inspire and educate and motivate people for my passion," she said.

Last month, the United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation held its national championship and its third New England International Chinese Martial Arts Championships at Eastern Connecticut State University.

The crowd never rattled Kirshon.

She was a dancer as a young girl, and tai chi often reminded her of ballet.

"It teaches you poise," she said, comparing the two. "It teaches you focus. I drew on that experience."

She could still remember one huge performance with a full orchestra at the Hynes Center when she was a young girl. She just took her deep breaths and prepared for her ballet routine.

The orchestra played a jazz number instead.

By now, pressure, to Kirshon, was simply something you dealt with.

She trained for two months, squeezing in moments when she could - when she was brushing her teeth or at work when no one was looking. "Every day was a day of training," she said.

She returned to Massachusetts with five medals from national competition, taking gold in three events and silver in the others. "It's a very surreal experience. Sometimes I feel like, 'Wait a minute, I don't know how I got this.' "

When she thinks about it, though, she says she pictured it back when she was trying to be the tree.

She said she could see herself teaching, competing, becoming a different person.

"This is a whole new life," she said. "It's life-changing."

In a way, it's tree-like.

"Twenty years of training," she said. "Then you really identify with that."

Why Musicians Make Us Weep And Computers Don't

Music can soothe the savage breast much better if played by musicians rather than clever computers, according to a new University of Sussex-led study.
Neuroscientists looked at the brain's response to piano sonatas played either by a computer or a musician and found that, while the computerised music elicited an emotional response -- particularly to unexpected chord changes - it was not as strong as listening to the same piece played by a professional pianist.

Senior research fellow in psychology Dr Stefan Koelsch, who carried out the study with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, played excerpts from classical piano sonatas to twenty non-musicians and recorded electric brain responses and skin conductance responses (which vary with sweat production as a result of an emotional response).

Although the participants did not play instruments and considered themselves unmusical, their brains showed clear electric activity in response to musical changes (unexpected chords and changes in tonal key), which indicated that the brain was understanding the "musical grammar". This response was enhanced, however, when the sonatas were played by musicians rather than a computer.

Dr Koelsch said: "It was interesting for us that the emotional reactions to the unexpected chords were stronger when played with musical expression. This shows us how musicians can enhance the emotional response to particular chords due to their performance, and it shows us how our brains react to the performance of other individuals."

The study also revealed that the brain was more likely to look for musical meaning when the music was played by a pianist.

"This is similar to the response we see when the brain is responding to language and working out what the words mean," says Dr Koelsch. "Our results suggest that musicians actually tell us something when they play The brain responses show that when a pianist plays a piece with emotional expression, the piece is actually perceived as meaningful by listeners, even if they have not received any formal musical training."

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become a stylist

Becoming a stylist demands a broad interest in fashion and a real eye for style. If you have what it takes, training can help you understand more about the body, colour, clothing and fashion trends – and how to bring everything together. To succeed, you'll need to be extremely passionate, hardworking and enthusiastic, with a warm personality and tactful manner that enables you to provide constructive criticism without giving offence. Being a stylist can be glamorous and exciting, as you work with fascinating people and regularly travel abroad. But it’s also hard, involving long hours and carrying heavy bags, so it’s not for the fainthearted! You don't need a degree or diploma but it provides a good grounding and gives you a much better understanding of clothing and the industry. There are many fashion degrees and Higher National Diplomas currently available in the UK but I would recommend doing a course that combines design and business is a good option – the design to help you understand the fundamental make-up of clothing and the business element helps you to understand promotion and how to run a business. To start your search, try UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) at www.ucas.com. Try to also get as much work experience as possible. Contact magazines and offer your services as an intern in the fashion department or assist a freelance stylist – try The Fashion Monitor (£45) for contact numbers. You could also try work experience at a PR office to understand fashion from another perspective and even in a boutique or clothing shop to help your understanding of shapes and colours. It is also important to keep a watchful eye on the fashion world – stay up to date with catwalk shows, magazines and maintain a general interest in clothing, fashion and design. Inspiration for styles, colour and shape can come from many different sources outside of fashion – e.g. the arts, culture, nature, the movies and architecture – keep your eyes peeled. The most important attributes for someone wanting to go into styling is enthusiasm, determination and a strong desire to work with clothing, fashion and people. It’s very competitive so you need to really want it! Zoe has worked on the BBC's What Not To Wear and has styled celebrities such as Robbie Williams, Cat Deeley, Sara Cox and Ant & Dec as well as doing shoots for magazines and advertisers. She hosts an ‘Introduction to Personal Styling’ event that teaches all the basic skills of styling to people interested in improving their own image and those wanting a career in styling.

finding your signature style

1. Think 24-7 with key wardrobe choices. High mileage is important, so choose pieces that move easily from day to evening.

2. Determine your signature style. Pay attention to different looks you wear and take note of those times that you feel you look your best. Compose a few words that describe the look you like or want to achieve (mine is tailored classics with a fashionable twist). Keep that key description in mind when you are shopping, and always ask yourself if your potential new purchase meets your style mandate.

3. Pick a favourite colour family or combo and stick to it. Pass on the perfect on-sale blouse in turquoise if you never wear blues and greens. I feel my best in neutrals, so I keep my purchases to black, grey, white, cream, tan and brown.

Liis Windischmann, plus-size model4. Keep it simple; don't overaccessorize. Make one or two key pieces the focus of an outfit. If I am wearing a large spectacular necklace, I usually won't wear earrings or bracelets. Each component of my outfit should complement the other, not compete.
5. All women, not just plus-size women, should learn to love their bodies. If you have a body part you don't like, fine, but celebrate and accentuate parts of your body you love. Don't like your belly? Highlight your décolletage with a scoop- or V-neck. High waisted? Choose shirts that elongate your torso (try deep V-necks). Most importantly, just because a certain style is all the rage doesn't mean you can -- or should -- wear it. For instance, thank God that super-low-rise jeans are on their way out. That was the worst cut for me and for many others over the age of 18.
6. Firming undergarments are one of my biggest aids. Clothes don't look smooth all the time without a little help. Spanx are a gift from heaven and I wear them for work and socially, especially under dresses. A great undergarment gives you a trim look from head to toe, as well as confidence in your bulge-free womanly curves.

7. Get bras that fit properly so that you have a smooth line under form-fitting T-shirts and tops. Buy at least one bra in a colour similar to your skin tone, for wearing under white or sheer clothing. A white bra is not neutral under a white shirt; the bra will show through.
8. Lycra is one of the world's greatest inventions. Even a very small percentage of Lycra (sometimes only one to two per cent) in a garment makes a big fit difference.
9. If you dislike trips to the dry cleaner's check labels and buy clothing you can wash at home. You know your habits. Don't buy something that will sit in your closet because you don't like to iron.
10. Never buy clothing a size too small hoping to lose weight to fit into it. That's psychologically traumatizing.

Stephen Epstein, sales director for Boss Black Label11. Build relationships with sales associates that you trust to steer you in the right direction.

12. Be flexible and open to new ideas such as colour and accessorizing.
13. Every man should own a classic white French cuff shirt.
Wendy Bannerman, retailer; owner of Bannerman's14. Never try to be what you are not. If you are larger and in your 50s, the miniskirt won't fly, but maybe a fun multicolour sweater will.
15. Buy to the top of your budget. On a small budget? Buy less so that you can buy better quality. A few high-quality garments will take you further than a closet full of cheap things.

Canadian Firm Bombardier Launches Green Planes Program

Canadian aircraft and rail manufacturer Bombardier is launching a new family of fuel-efficient, single-aisle commercial airliners.

Bombardier, based in Montreal, unveiled its program for the new CSeries family of aircraft on July 13 in England, on the eve of the industry's prestigious Farnborough International Airshow.

In announcing the launch of the 110- to 130-seat airliners that will seat five abreast, the firm signaled that it is positioning its new jets as challengers to the smallest aircraft in the 737 and A320 lines built by Boeing and Airbus.

"The CSeries family offers the greenest single-aisle aircraft in its class," said Gary Scott, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

"These game-changing aircraft emit up to 20 percent less CO2 and up to 50 percent less NOx, fly four times quieter, and deliver dramatic energy savings – up to 20 percent fuel burn advantage as well as up to 15 percent improved cash operating costs versus current in-production aircraft of similar size. The CSeries aircraft will set a new benchmark in the industry, consuming as little as two liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers in its more dense seating layouts."

Bombardier also said its CSeries family will feature increased use of composites and aluminum lithium, a next-generation engine — the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan — and other new systems technology, including fly-by-wire and fourth-generation aerodynamics.

The new jets, funded partly by the Canadian and British governments, have a list price of about $46.7 million U.S. and are scheduled to go into service in 2013.

Lufthansa has signed a letter of interest for as many as 60 jets, including 30 options, with Bombardier. Executives from the leading German airline said they were pleased to be launch customers and attended the Bombardier news conference, which was staged at the Canadian firm’s CSeries pavilion at the airshow.

"At Lufthansa, we are committed to a balance between commercial success, environment and business policies oriented toward sustainability," said Nico Buchholz, senior vice president for Lufthansa's corporate fleet. "Our initial evaluations of the CSeries family of aircraft and discussions with Bombardier over the last few months have evolved and made us believe that the CSeries family of aircraft clearly meets our stringent requirements for sustainable fleet development, both in terms of environmental and commercial requirements, and flexibility for the future. We are proud to be a part of its launch."

Bombardier said its new airliner family is intended to "meet the growing needs of the 100- to 149-seat commercial aircraft market category." The firm estimated that market at some 6,300 aircraft, which Bombardier said represents more than $250 billion US revenue in the next 20 years. The company also said it "expects to be able to capture up to half of this market."

Boeing and Airbus executives at the airshow later responded with "polite condescension" to Bombardier's plans, the Seattle Times reported. One suggested that the market Bombardier identified for its CSeries might not be as robust as the Canadian firm expects, and another noted that Bombardier is launching in a competitive field with a letter of interest, rather than firm orders, for new jets that would use an engine that has yet to be tested in flight, the Seattle Times said.

On July 15, Bombardier announced that it signed a contract with the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC I), to supply the center fuselage on CSeries aircraft.

According to Bombardier, final assembly of the airliners will occur at the firm's facility in Mirabel, Quebec. The aft fuselage and cockpit are to be manufactured at Bombardier's Saint-Laurent facility, also in Quebec. The wings will be designed and manufactured at the company's site in Belfast, Northern Ireland.




More
Bombardier Launches CSeries Aircraft Program
July 13, 2008 — Farnborough, U.K.
Aerospace

Letter of interest for up to 60 aircraft from Lufthansa; significant interest from airlines worldwide Mirabel selected as final assembly site, Bombardier’s Belfast facility for the development and manufacture of the wings; manufacture of aft fuselage and cockpit to take place at Bombardier’s Saint-Laurent site Repayable investments with the governments of Canada and Québec as well as Northern Ireland and British Government Departments Bombardier today announced that its Board of Directors has granted approval for the launch of the CSeries family of aircraft, a new game-changing five abreast commercial airliner family, with the economics, performance, environmental and passenger-oriented improvements demanded by airline customers for the next quarter century. Entry into service is scheduled for 2013.

Launch customer, Lufthansa, a leading German airline, has signed a letter of interest (LOI) for up to 60 aircraft, including 30 options. The approximate list price of each aircraft is $46.7 million US. Additionally, discussions with a number of established airlines worldwide are progressing well.

10 Essential Elements to present Good Party

Most really good parties have a few fundamental items in common: imagination, personality, and plenty of advance planning.
Some parties are hits. The lucky guests talk about them for weeks afterwards and you sit in envy, wondering why you weren't on that guest list. Other parties never quite get off the ground. You know the ones I am referring to -- you spend the whole evening looking at your watch, trying to make any excuse to go while silently cursing the $250 you spent on a new dress.
When you host a party, no matter whether it is at home or another venue, it is a piece of yourself that you are sharing with your guests. It should express your style and personality, it should be fun (obviously) and it should be memorable.

What makes a good party? While there is no magic recipe, most really good parties have a few fundamental items in common: imagination, personality, and plenty of advance planning. Here are ten essential elements to think about as you plan your next party.

1. Personalize your party
It is really important to put your own spin on your party. Add something to make it uniquely yours. Are you a greenie? Make your party eco-friendly by using sustainable products. Are you a music nut? Showcase your favorite artists or tunes by making different mixes and give copies as favors. Like cooking? Send guests home with a small potted herb along with a recipe using it. You get the picture.


2. Do something a little different
Go out on a limb and try something new instead of the same tired old cocktail party. Throw a new spin on your annual party and your friends will talk about it until next year. Need some ideas? Look at our party profiles to get some inspiration. How about a wine around the world party or a "Best Chef" competition where everyone makes their favorite dish?


3. Go get help!
One sure party killer is a frantic hostess. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and once the party starts, try to relax and enjoy the party. If you don't hire help, ask several reliable friends to help with essentials like ice, pouring drinks, and clearing dishes.



4. The invitation is information
In addition to letting your guests know when and where, your invitation should also give guests an idea of what will happen at the party and how they should dress, especially if the party is outside or if special clothing or costumes are required. Email invitations are fine, but a personal note, printed invitation, or phone call is still the best way to invite guests. Include a phone number for regrets or request an RSVP if you need an exact head count for food, beverages, favors, etc.



5. More, more, more
Invite more people than you want to attend. Typically three guests in twenty are no-shows. Have a diverse mix of people and always invite new people to keep things interesting. If you're inviting a group of people who have never met one another, it is essential to greet your guests at the door to make introductions. Have drinks or a bar close by to let people have a chance to settle in and feel comfortable as the festivities get underway.

6. Start and stop
Set an exact start and end time for your party to insure your guests don't straggle in or stay too late. Guests typically show up 30 minutes or more after your stated start time because nobody wants to be the first to arrive. Ask a few good friends to arrive early to help kick things off. Ask someone to corral those last remaining die-hard party guests and get them out the door when you're ready to call it a night.

7. Turn down the lights
If your budget doesn't allow for a lot of decorations, simply dim the lights and light candles. Replace some of the light bulbs in your lamps with soft pink bulbs which give the same effect as candlelight. You can get them at any home improvement chain store. Fresh flowers can be expensive but are totally worth it. Use whatever your florist has that is plentiful, fresh, and cheap. Use a variety of vases (short, tall, round, square- whatever you have) and use only one type or one color of flower. Cluster them in groups or use them individually. A bowl or vase of limes (or other fruit) makes a striking centerpiece and by using what you have on hand, it makes decorating easy, too. A large grouping of the same item looks modern and stylish. If you develop a good relationship with your local florist, you may be able to get a deal on gently used flowers that you can repurpose for your party like we did for our Mardi Gras party.

8. The music matters
Music plays a big role in the overall mood and ambience. Start with a mix of low-key tunes, increasing the volume and the beat as the night goes on and noise levels intensify. Give guests time to mix, mingle, and talk, then increase the tempo as the party progresses. Make playlists of your favorites that will play continuously for hours. If you have the budget and space for great live music or a quality DJ, hire them. They will take your party to the next level and take the worry of entertaining your guests off your list.



9. Good and plenty
Most people don't come to a party specifically for the food, but if the food is bad, or there isn't enough of it, there will be complaints. Make sure to plan for more ice, drinks, food, and utensils than you think you need. Some caterers recommend padding your order by ten percent. Many will automatically add ten percent because they look bad if you underestimate your guest list and run out of food. I am very cautious about having enough food so I always prepare or order up to twenty percent more than I think I will need and replenish dishes frequently to keep them fresh. If I have food left over, I send helpful friends home with a care package. For large events, take leftover food that has been properly stored to a local shelter.

10. The entertainment
It is always a good idea to play games or have activities planned to keep people engaged Do something simple that doesn't require a lot of explanation. For example, give each guest a printed card when they arrive with ten easy questions about other guests. They must go around the room and interact with one another to get the answers. Give prizes for the first three to complete their cards. There are lots of ways to entertain your guests depending on the theme or type of party you are having. Everything from contests and card games to karaoke and Wii can get people involved and interacting.

Get Into Hot Water in Cabarete

The Dominican Republic’s north coast is the Caribbean capital of edgy aqua sports and extreme partying.

1Where to Stay
Central Cabarete is flush with reasonably priced hotels — most under $150 a night, even during holiday season. Boisterous crowds cram the beach bars lining the central part of the bay, so move to the edges if you want some relaxation. Several hundred yards west of the bars, there’s beachfront suites with fully equipped kitchens at Palm Beach Condos (from $140) on a quiet section of the shoreline.


West of town at Natura Cabañas (from $60), there’s a cluster of eleven fan-cooled, palm-leaf-roofed huts on a stretch of usually deserted beach. Unplug (no TVs or phones) with spare bamboo-and-rattan furniture, a kitchenette, and a stone veranda with swinging hamacas.

Ditch the X Games scene altogether at Casa Colonial (from $350) a half-hour from Cabarete in Puerto Plata. The swankiest property on D.R.’s north coast (at least until Boykin Curry’s private resort, Playa Grande, opens a few miles away in 2008), the 50-suite hotel is filled with Donatella Versace types splashing around the rooftop infinity pool and dining at the high-demand restaurant, Lucia.


2. Where to Eat
Tie on a napkin and wrestle with a giant skillet of anise-infused, shell-on prawns at the waterfront Casita de Don Alfredo (Playa Cabarete; 809-986-3750). Show up just after 5 p.m. to score one of the tables on the outdoor porch—reservations aren’t accepted.


Hydrate with kite-boarders at the around-the-clock hangout, Eze Bar & Restaurant (Playa Cabarete; 809-880-8779). A friendly, sun-bleached staff keeps blenders whirling all day, making banana smoothies for breakfast, carrot and wheatgrass juices at lunch, and frozen cocktails at night.

Drive twenty minutes inland (south) to the town of Jamao del Norte, where the mountaintop Castle Club offers a rarity in these parts: breathtaking views and tablecloth dining. Ingredients from the property’s sweeping gardens and orchards find their way into hearty yet elegant dishes like ginger-carrot soup and chunky crab cakes with a pepper rémoulade. Book at least a week ahead and dress up a little; pack a sundress or linen suit just for this.

3. What to Do
The western part of Cabarete Bay, from Bozo to Kite Beach, is kite-surfing territory. Since this side of the bay is largely outside the “wind shadow” of the village, it gets big gusts, strong enough to send even novice boarders flying out of the shallows. Among the many kite-boarding schools along this stretch, Laurel Eastman Kiteboarding gets consistent raves from return visitors. While Eastman — a women's kite-boarding champion in 2002 — teaches advanced classes in jumps, board rotations, and aerial spins, her instructors also teach four-day beginner clinics (starting at $410) and two-hour crash courses ($110, $130 for a private lesson).

The offshore reef and Trade Winds along the eastern sweep of the bay make for choppy surf — great for windsurfing, especially after midday (mornings are calmer and better for beginners and kids). Carib Wind is the most respected windsurfing center here, offering all-inclusive, multiday instructional packages (starting at $60 per day, including equipment) and top-of-the line rental boards. (You can even hire out Bic Formula Racing rigs, provided you know how to handle them.)

Just north of Cabarete is Sosua Bay, a spectacular diving and snorkeling site where octopuses, lion fish, and even whale sharks are often seen. Advanced divers shouldn’t miss the Airport Wall — an underwater cliff pocked with explorable tunnels. Northern Coast Aqua Sports runs daily trips to the wall from their dive center in Sosua Village ($40 gets you a 45-minute dive, plus all equipment). Beginner dives on shallower reefs are also available.

4. Insider’s Tip

A string of lively, lantern-lit beach bars lines Playa Cabarete — and all of them serve variations on the locally brewed liquor called Mama Juana (a dark, heady concoction made from dark rum, red wine, honey, herbs, and tree bark). Bartender Rade Baunovic, who pours the stuff at the always-packed Bambu Bar (809-982-4549), says most tourists prefer their Mama Juana cut with something sweet, like Coke, 7-Up, grenadine, or even milk. Go ahead and ask for a shot. Just be prepared to sleep in the next morning.

To taste the Mama Juana of a real master brewer, look for Pedro Alcantara (grizzled, mid-40s, always wearing a white Panama hat), who sells his bottles on the beach. Pedro hand-gathers more than sixteen different herbs and roots for his Mama Juana, including one locally considered to be a potent aphrodisiac: paraquevito.


5. Oddball Day
If you want to a break from the sea, try canyoneering in the Cordillera Septentrional mountain range, about an hour inland from Cabarete. Iguana Mama runs trips from Cabarete (they’ll pick you up at your hotel at 8 a.m.) for tours with names like “the Magic Mushroom” and “the Big Bastard” ($79 half-day; $89–$109 full-day). Some require minimal climbing and offer lots of deep pools to swim in; others are utterly exhilarating, with scrambles up craggy cliffs and sudden, 60-foot plunges. Trips include transport to and from your hotel, all equipment, lunch, snacks, and drinks.

Dominican nightlife is high intensity, and you can sample it at La Barrica (Avenida Manolo Tavares Justo 106; no phone), just south of Puerto Plata town. A 35-minute taxi ride from Cabarete will run you between $25 and $40. Juicy dancing and aggressive flirting accompanies the raucous salsa and meringue music (sometimes spun, sometimes live). The club doesn’t bump till after 10 p.m., so there’s plenty of time for a pre-game nap.

6. Related Links

Debbie's Dominican Travel is the most comprehensive D.R. site online, with hundreds of user-submitted hotel and restaurant reviews and forums where travelers can post questions.

Go Dominican Republic, the site run by the island’s tourism board, has an interactive map and good basic information about north-coast beaches, activities, and tour operators.

Cabarete Kiteboarding and Cabarete Windsurfing are the online headquarters for these water-sports communities; they have maps of the bay’s best boarding spots, frequently updated wind and weather reports, and wave-jumping video galleries.

Research shows why less food means longer life for yeast

An MIT researcher has helped yeast live longer by putting it on a strict diet.
Professor of Biology Leonard Guarente's research team reported in the September 22 issue of Science that an enzyme co-factor and a gene join forces with the reduction in calories to slow down aging. This may help explain the long-known fact that restricting calories to 70 percent of normal levels helps mice and other creatures live longer, healthier lives.
The billion-dollar question is: What is the mechanism through which this works?
Guarente, who studies the silenced information regulator (SIR2) gene and its apparent ability to slow the aging process, showed that in yeast, calorie restriction leads to an increase in the activity of the Sir2 protein (made by the SIR2 gene) required for genomic silencing. If the SIR2 gene is deleted or the co-factor levels in cells are depressed, the benefits of calorie restriction on longevity are not realized.
In yeast, age is measured by the number of times a mother cell divides to produce daughter cells. An average yeast cell divides 20 times before it dies. In the current study, yeast cells that received one quarter the amount of glucose they normally ingest lived 30-40 percent longer than usual.
"This is yeast, and we all want to know about humans," Professor Guarente said. "But it is certainly conceivable that this is a conserved mechanism" -- meaning it works essentially the same way in all organisms that carry corresponding SIR2 genes. SIR2 gene homologs have been found in a range of organisms from bacteria to humans.
Professor Guarente is convinced that molecular tinkering can affect the aging process in all organisms. His latest research brings closer to reality the ability to "tweak" cells on a molecular level to significantly maintain their youth.
"A simple shift in cellular metabolism may favor longevity," he said.

UNRULY CHROMOSOMES AND AGING
Aging -- and ultimately death -- in yeast cells seems to be caused by genetic material that gets into trouble.
Long sections of our genome are normally silent, or turned off. As cells age, genes that had been turned off sometimes get turned on. This can create inappropriate gene expression, causing problems that almost always lead to cell death.
For instance, Professor Guarente found that in older yeast cells, a circular piece of the cell's genetic material, in the process of recombining to form new proteins, sometimes pinches off from a chromosome. These superfluous coils accumulate in the cell, causing it to enlarge and eventually die.
By silencing sections of the genome, the Sir2 protein seems to reduce this phenomenon. Like a strict teacher watching over unruly children, Sir2 keeps the genetic material quiet and in place. The resulting closed, inaccessible, tightly packed structure doesn't invite interactions and doesn't get into as much trouble as its more loosely arranged counterparts.
"We have shown that calorie restriction extends life-span by reducing rDNA recombination and rDNA circles. This effect on recombination is likely due to increased silencing by Sir2..." wrote authors Professor Guarente and postdoctoral fellows Dr. Su-Ju Lin and Dr. Pierre-Antoine Defossez of the Department of Biology.

A BOOST FOR Sir2
There are certain enzyme co-factors that are important in the process through which cells metabolize food. One of them is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a ubiquitous molecule that plays an important role in metabolism.
NAD is typically used by enzymes as an oxidizing agent that traps energy-rich electrons obtained when glucose is broken down and helps convert the energy into a form the cell can use. The role of NAD as an activator of Sir2 is different and apparently unique.
When food intake goes down, NAD is less occupied in breaking down glucose and thus becomes more available to Sir2, resulting in increased gene silencing and extended life span.
"You might think you could activate Sir2 by giving an animal a lot of NAD, but it is too big a molecule to get into cells. If you could design a drug that had the same effect on Sir2 as NAD, you might think you could confer robust health and perhaps greater longevity," Professor Guarente said.
This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Seaver Institute, the Howard and Linda Stern Fund, a National Research Service Award and a Merck/MIT postdoctoral fellowship.

The Key to Stronger Friendships

What Should Be Kept Private?(Respecting Privacy)
I was having lunch with a friend some years back when she began to tell me about the new man she was dating.
"I like him," she said after enumerating his many fine qualities.
"He sounds wonderful," I agreed.
A worry line suddenly creased her forehead. "There's just this one thing." She dropped her voice. "It's his -- um."
"His...?" I waited, not getting it.
Then she lowered her eyes. "It's really, really small."

Oh. Now I got it. His um. I didn't quite know what to do with the expression on my face.
My friend looked up and sighed unhappily. "It's, like, miniature."
I took an extravagant interest in buttering a dinner roll, at which point the waiter came over to take our orders and the conversation moved on to other topics.
Time passed. Readers, my friend married him. We still see each other from time to time, and once in a while my husband and I enjoy their company as a couple over dinner.
There's just one little thing: I can't see this woman without wondering whether she feels mortified to have confided that intimate piece of information to me in the early days of her courtship. I know that I feel mortified to own it, particularly when chatting with her spouse. But there it is, destined always and forever to be the, um, elephant in the room.
It's tricky, figuring out what is appropriate to reveal about ourselves and our relationships (and when), and what we would be wiser to keep private and why. Where do we draw the line? How do we draw it? Since the same rules don't fit every situation and relationship, how do we determine where the privacy line should be drawn?
Exercising good judgment about privacy is really a matter of being willing to draw and redraw the privacy line to suit different relationships and specific moments, according to Seattle social psychologist Jane Adams, PhD, author of Boundary Issues: Using Boundary Intelligence to Get the Intimacy You Want and the Independence You Need in Life, Love, and Work. "Women tend to err on the side of sharing too much," Dr. Adams says. "They do it because they believe that self-disclosure is the road to intimacy."
Friendship and self-disclosure aren't necessarily linked concepts to Mischelle Blinsmon, 53, a retired contract administrator in Siler City, North Carolina. "If you're a real friend, you respect another person's right not to disclose her deepest secrets or most private thoughts and feelings," she says.
Since the spark that draws people to one another is often more emotional than verbal, how friendships develop after that first round of heart-to-hearts is as much about emotional health as it is about mutual self-disclosure. "If you're secure within yourself," Blinsmon believes, "you don't have to tell everything, or tell it all at once."
Just as some experts believe each of us has a "happiness set point," a basic mood that rises or falls depending on circumstances but always returns to its baseline, perhaps the same is true of personal boundaries. We all act according to a carefully tuned privacy metabolism, revealing intimate things about ourselves at different speeds. "Everyone has her own style," Dr. Adams says. "Often we have to adjust our expectations to take that into account."

Men, Women, and How Much They Share
Boundaries are personal, but they're also cultural. We live in a society tipped to an increasingly dizzying degree toward self-disclosure. Science and technology continue to muddy our sense of what's private and what's public. When the stranger on the cell phone makes everyone within earshot an involuntary party to his argument with his wife and anyone who can type can create a blog for anyone else to read, all personal information and subjective experience seem to shrink to the size of small talk.
Who says that genuine emotional intimacy requires a full download of one's personal history, biographical or emotional, anyway? We've all had the experience of waiting out a huge delay at the airport, talking away to a fellow passenger with whom we feel a real rapport but actually know little about in the way of biographical detail. And look at our spouses. Many of us have observed the privacy style of the men we're close to with a sense of anthropological wonder. My husband plays it much closer to the vest than I do when it comes to sharing details about himself with other people. Even when I first met him, he was more private than other men I'd dated. His privacy style has always had more to do with modesty than discretion. I respect his more reserved style, but there are times I am tempted to bash him over the head with my purse for being unwilling to respond to a harmlessly social, "And how was your week?" with more effusiveness than he would bring, say, to a mortgage application.
Georgina Smythe,* 50, a teacher in Rockland County, New York, is married to a similar privacy freak. "And all this time I thought it was because my husband was British," she said after I described mine. "If we're on public transportation and I say to him, 'You look nice,' he considers that too personal. He worries that someone could overhear me."
The assumption that women are more forthcoming than men is scientifically grounded. Women disclose more to friends, family members, and spouses than men do, concluded a study in the journal Psychological Bulletin involving close to 24,000 subjects. That held true whether the self-disclosure was measured by the women themselves or by the researchers. Men themselves reported a similar amount of self-disclosure when the target was a stranger. But when researchers did the measuring, it turned out men disclosed less to strangers than women did, too.
The difference between men's and women's privacy styles can be chalked up to language skills and brain chemistry. "Women have a greater facility for language than men do," says Marianne J. Legato, MD, author of Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget. "And when women are under stress or in difficulty, their brains secrete much higher levels of a chemical called oxytocin than men's brains do. Its effect is to drive women to the company of other people for intense discussion."

Disclosure in the Office
Disclosure can actually interfere with intimacy, however, if it's given in the wrong place or to the wrong person. "Let's say your friend tells you that she's having an affair, and you know her husband," says Dr. Adams. "You might feel awkward being with them as a couple." And knowing private information can also prove to be a burden. My dental hygienist tells me her male and female patients routinely confide personal details about their lives to her. "I don't mind it at all," she says, "but I know other dental hygienists who hate it. They don't want to know all that information about their patients."

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho's IPO survives court challenge from estranged sister

Winnie Ho, the sister of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, has filed a last minute petition in court to stop the initial public offering (IPO) of gambling company SJM Holdings. "I want everyone to know we will launch the initial public offering according to plan. We will not let anyone stop us," Stanley Ho said during a meeting with potential investors last week, when he announced the plans to take his company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings (SJM) public in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Stanley Ho was believed to raise $655 million from the shares (later scaled down to just $494 million), but according to Winnie Ho's petition, the IPO of the gambling company is "contrary to the public interest and the long-standing policy of the Hong Kong government not to promote gambling." Following the lawsuit, a Hong Kong court will decide on Wednesday whether a stock market listing of casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd can go ahead. According to reports, Winnie Ho has filed more than 30 lawsuits against her brother in recent years, most of them in Macau.

Macau casino IPO survives challenge
Billionaire casino magnate Stanley Ho plans to move ahead with his Macau gambling company's debut on the stock exchange next week after a court on Wednesday thwarted a legal challenge from his estranged sister.

The Hong Kong court refused to grant Winnie Ho an injunction to stop the listing of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, or SJM.

In a written decision, a justice rebuffed her argument that regulators and the exchange should never have allowed the listing because of her pending litigation over SJM's parent company.

It was the latest turn in a bitter public feud between the two sibling tycoons, who fell out in 2001. She has since gone out of her way to stop his company from listing in Hong Kong, and has filed dozens of lawsuits over the years.

Among her many accusations, Winnie Ho says she's owed dividends from SJM. The listing has been delayed repeatedly.

On Wednesday, SJM praised the courts' decision and said its debut on the stock exchange would go ahead on July 16. Its original debut was scheduled for Thursday but postponed by the legal challenge.

The company was "delighted" by the decision, its chief executive, Ambrose So, said at a news conference.

Stanley Ho "of course welcomed the decision," So said. "He said he's very happy to have this decision and support of all regulators."

A spokesman for Winnie Ho's legal case, Donna Yau, said Ho's lawyers were reviewing their options.

SJM sold a 25 percent stake, about 1.25 billion shares, raising about $494 million, most of which the company says it plans to spend on new casino projects.

Stanley Ho, worth more than $9 billion according to Forbes magazine, lost his monopoly in Macau several years ago. Now his 18 casinos must compete with American newcomers like Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp.

IMPROVEMENT YOUR LIFESTYLE..................

Teaching Social Responsibility
Every child's first community is home. And what children see and hear greatly influences how they interact with one another in the broader communities of neighborhood, school, country and ultimately the world. Parents should lead by example. If children observe a spirit of volunteerism in the home, they learn to think outside themselves. The old adage that charity begins at home applies in this situation.

Schools often play a role in teaching children social responsibility. They run fundraisers around the holidays as a measure of teaching children to donate food and clothing to those less fortunate. In many neighborhoods, local charities hang plastic bags on doors and ask for donations. There are small cups on the counters in grocery stores requesting spare change to aid the homeless, the infirm, and victims of natural disasters like the tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004. These situations, while unfortunate, provide an opportunity to teach children how to volunteer their time, effort and creativity.

For example, in the aftermath of the tsunami, there have been countless ways that parents and their children could volunteer their time and resources. Whether through the Red Cross, UNICEF or the local church charity, there were and are many fundraisers that continue. Take the loose change from shopping and have a child drop it into one of the donor boxes. When donating the money, explain to your children how each penny and dime might contribute to water purification, purchasing of medicine and efforts to rebuild. One dime might buy only one nail, but combined with nine other dimes, it might buy enough nails to put up one wall and then another and another. Gather together discarded clothing and donate it to the Red Cross or Salvation Army drive centers. Donate and allow your children to witness and be a part of the process. Go on a recycling drive; sell the cans and bottles to a redemption center and allow your children to use the proceeds to make a donation. Teaching children that every act of compassion counts, no matter how slight it seems on the surface, can have far reaching consequences. We want our children to be successful, not only in a materialistic sense, but also in terms of becoming socially conscious and compassionate individuals.

A Gradual Approach
Between work, carpools, schooling, after school activities and housework, it might seem like too much to teach these broad based ideas to your children. The answer lies simply in starting small. True, the world outside the front door is a large one. But beginning with the porch or the front yard, you can gradually expand you children's awareness of how individual action, well coordinated can have a wider impact.

When natural disasters like a tsunami or an earth quake strikes, especially in a different part of the world, use the opportunity to educate and remind your children that ours is a global community, with people from all walks of life and cultures who are rich in their own flavor and history. Through focusing on the uniqueness of people unlike themselves, through appreciation of their history and culture, children can develop compassion for these strangers who are far away and need a helping hand.

The Basic Idea
Be prepared for your children to ask lots of questions, as they begin to learn that there is a world of need beyond their front door. Don't be afraid to discuss their questions with them. Volunteerism involves a process of growing, learning, questioning, and developing personal convictions. If it's correct that we get out of this world what we offer to it, then volunteerism is the self-fulfilling offering. Because in learning to value and give to others, our children learn to value and give to themselves.

Some additional suggestions to encourage volunteerism at home:
* Identify at least one cause or need in your community and volunteer to help. Be sure to let your child know why you think it is important and how you are trying to help with it.

* Find and share success stories with your child. It is easy to be overwhelmed by problems. But even kids can make a difference. Talk about the importance of joining forces. Encourage your child to involve other kids in tackling big projects such as creek or playground clean up.
* responsible behavior from being involved in the community to turning off the lights and appliances when not in use. Recycle.

* Reduce consumption of goods. Do not buy items in excess.

* Volunteer to help a group at your child's school to beautify the grounds.

* Be aware of government officials at the local, state and national levels. Encourage your children to write them of their concerns and at the same time, write your own notes to them.

* Most importantly, remember to choose activities not randomly but ones that you feel involved with; parental emotion is something children pick up on.

* Vote! Take your children with you so they can see you participating.

Getting Away at Home
Whether she's a working Mom or stay-at-home Mom, the average Mom is chief operating officer of household affairs. In practice, this means that a mother's workday may never end if she has not mastered the essential art of creating an in-home haven away from the rough and tumble of her family.

Creating the Spa Environment

Your bathroom should be heated so that it feels warm and comfortable to the naked body by the time you are ready to draw and prepare your bath with oils and/or salts. Now would be a good time to start the music you've picked out for listening pleasure and light the candles ringing the bathtub. If you have any houseplants you can bring in to keep you company, or fresh roses, gardenias, or flowers of any kind, they will do wonderfully for the serenity of the setting. Before climbing into your bathtub/spa, make sure your drink of choice is within reach. Shed your clothes and climb in, relaxing your head on the pillow with eyes closed, as the sensations from the scented candles, soothing music, and warm water envelope you.

Take slow, deep breaths and try to empty your mind of everything except your immediate sensations. After a few minutes of utter relaxation, you may want to try tensing and releasing the muscles in your legs, arms, and shoulders. Start from your feet and work your way up to your head, trying to isolate each muscle. You should feel more relaxed once you complete this process. Don't forget to add more hot water if your bath starts to cool.

Next, you may want to apply a scrub or cleanser to your face and cover with a warm, damp towel. The wet cloth becomes a hydrating steam facial. Enjoy the soothing warmth on your face and neck for a while before wiping off.

10 Essentials for the Home
We all have our favorites when it comes to items we consider must-haves for our home. However, those fundamentals vary from person to person, depending upon personal taste and lifestyle. While one person's top ten list may include accessories and items for a great kitchen, another person's essentials may include only outdoor types of home accessories.

Unlike renting, home ownership presents concerns for both indoors and outdoors. When you buy a house, you get all that goes with it ... from the yard to the heating/cooling system ... from the driveway to the attic. It is all yours to both enjoy and to maintain.

Since it is all yours, you want to be practical here. These ten essentials help you make the most of your home for you and your family. Not only will they make maintaining your home efficient and convenient, they will also ensure that you enjoy it for years to come.

Indoor Essentials

Indoor Essentials

Carbon Monoxide Detectors/Alarms

Smoke detectors have long been a requirement in homes, but carbon monoxide detectors are seldom required. Each year preventable s occur from carbon monoxide poisoning. Although we often associate carbon monoxide emissions with motor vehicles, this odorless gas can enter our homes through ill working oil furnaces, gas-burning stoves, clothes dryers and hot water heaters. Something as simple as a bird's nest in a chimney or snow covering a vent can expose your family to the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning. Children, pregnant women, elderly people and those with respiratory ailments are particularly susceptible when exposed to carbon monoxide.

A quality carbon monoxide detector is one of the least expensive investments you can make. It will provide you and your family the added sense of security that you deserve. Spend a few extra dollars here and invest in a that features a backup battery for extra safety.

Programmable Digital Thermostat

Traditional thermostats for controlling your heating/cooling system require manual adjustment and lose their accuracy over a period of time. However, digital thermostats operate on batteries and feature electronic sensors that measure temperature with incredible accuracy. You simply program your preferred settings and the digital thermostat adjusts the temperature of your home automatically around the clock.

Not only is a digital thermostat more convenient, it is much more cost effective too. You can actually save up to 1/3 of your annual energy cost simply by installing a digital thermostat. That puts money back into your budget that you can spend on your family.

Central Vacuum Cleaner

Do you vacuum your floors and carpets only to see dust floating everywhere? Regardless of the brand and you own, your traditional canister or upright vacuum cleaner is probably re-circulating the dust and allergens in your home instead of eliminating them.

A central vacuum cleaning system does not come with the expensive price tag you might imagine. In fact, quality brands are often less costly than traditional s. They operate more quietly than regular vacuum cleaners and normally last longer. There is no more back strain from lugging your vacuum cleaner from room to room. You simply attach the hose to the outlet in each room with your preferred attachment. It allows you to create a much healthier environment for your family.

Wireless Security System

Your home is your castle, but even a castle has a moat. You have worked hard to give your family the comforts of a nice home. Those comforts must also include a sense of security and well-being that will allow your family to know that they are safe and protected from harm.

Having a home security system no longer means having to hire a security expert to come in and perform extensive wiring throughout your house. For far less than the expert would charge, you can purchase a wireless security system and easily install it yourself. You simply plug in the main unit, place the sensors throughout your home and program the system. Backup batteries power the system in the case of lost power.

Most wireless security systems automatically call you with a prerecorded message alert if an alarm is activated. Other options include 24-hour monitoring to a dispatch system for a minimal monthly charge that can contact police, fire department and/or EMS in the event of an emergency.

Water/Flood Sensors

Every year the insurance industry sees countless claims for water damage filed by homeowners. Surprisingly, the majority of these claims are not associated with natural occurrences, but rather with leaks occurring inside the home itself. Common sources of such leaks include dishwashers, hot water heaters, icemakers, sinks, toilets and washing machines.

Quite often, the damage has already occurred before we even know we have a leak. Simply by placing water sensors in the areas where leaks are most likely to occur, you will know earlier rather than later. Check with your homeowner's insurance carrier, you may even qualify for a discount if you install water sensors in your home.

Outdoor Essentials

Programmable Sprinklers

You do not have to invest in an expensive in-ground irrigation system for watering your lawn. Now, you can have the convenience of an in-ground system by using multiple sprinklers that you can program yourself.

When you work with only one sprinkler moving it around to various parts of your lawn and/or garden, you lose valuable time that you could spend on other things. Quite often, you over water some areas while not providing enough irrigation to other areas. Simply place several programmable sprinkler heads that include sensors that will detect the amount of irrigation you need. Your lawn and/or garden will look fantastic and you will conserve water at the same time.

Riding Lawnmower

Unless you hire a lawn care service, which can be very expensive, you will save much on your time and labor with a riding lawnmower. Your lawn should be a source of pleasure and enjoyment for you and your family, not a dreaded chore.

Why spend your summers pushing a mower when you can maintain a well-manicured lawn much quicker with a riding lawn mower? The deck size is much wider on most riding mowers, which also reduces the amount of time it takes to maintain your lawn. Invest in a bagger as well that will collect the grass and leaves as you mow so that you do not have to spend even more time raking afterwards.

Weeding Tool/Edger

There will always be areas of your lawn where mowing is not possible ... unless you do not mind butchering your flowers and shrubs. It can also be very difficult to maintain areas around walkways and/or sidewalks.

For less than $50, you can maintain these areas, including the area around your patio or deck easily by purchasing a weeding tool or edger. You will save your back as well as give your lawn a highly manicured appearance.

Lighting

Outdoor lighting is not just about decorative effects. It is not practical to leave the exterior of your home and/or your lawn literally in the dark all night. Unlighted walkways and entrances invite s and total darkness invites criminals.

Use solar lighting and/or outdoor lanterns to keep the exterior of your property well lit. Not only does it make your home safer for your family and guests, but it also deters crime. There are many affordable exterior lighting solutions available that will give you peace of mind.

Snow Blower

If you live in an area with a cold winter climate, then you have probably shoveled your share of snow. Statistics indicate that shoveling snow can be detrimental to your health, not to mention how much time it takes to clear your driveway.

Each year while shoveling snow, people suffer back injuries such as herniated discs and heart attacks from high pressure incurred due to over-exertion in extreme weather. The money you save by using a shovel will not be enough to cover the costs of your medical expenses.

Make the most of your home by making it a place of not only comfort and convenience, but also one of safety and security for you and your entire family. Each of these items not only improves the quality of your lifestyle, but also the quality of your life.

Fisher responds at European Open

England’s Ross Fisher goes into the fourth and final day of the European Open at Ash in Kent with a three-shot lead over Graeme McDowell.

Fisher shot a 69, 16-under for the tournament, whilst McDowell hit a 71 to end the penultimate day three shots off the pace.

McDowell had started the better of the two, making birdies on the fifth, seventh and eighth to be out in 34 and move to 14-under-par overall.

Fisher was three behind at one point, after struggling with winds of 50 kms.
The big-hitting Englishman hit bogeys at the second and seventh before birdies at the eighth and ninth took him to the turn in 36 to move back to 13-under.

It was a different story for the pair on the back nine, however.

An eagle on 15 and a birdie on 18 gave Fisher a score of 69 for the day, whilst, though McDowell also eagled 15, he bogeyed 11, 16 and 18 to end the day on 71.

Fisher's birdie on the 18th was the first at the hole on the day, and he admitted that his aggressive attitude helped him.

"It's a great finishing hole from a spectator's point of view, but a bit of a pain from a player's point of view," said Fisher.

"When I hit my drive I was just thinking 'please carry the water, carry the water' and you could probably see the huge relief. I think mine may have caused Graeme to take a more aggressive line."

South African David Frost is in third place on 10-under following a 69. His bogey at the last prevented his recording the only blemish free round of the day.

Joint fourth on eight under are Ireland's Paul McGinley, Dane Soren Hansen and Swede Michael Jonzon.

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Ross Fisher responded to the gauntlet thrown down by Graeme McDowell to draw level with the Ulsterman in the second round of the European Open.

McDowell carded a 67 with six birdies and a bogey to reach 12-under at halfway.

But the overnight leader, Fisher, who began his second round on nine-under, picked up birdies at the third, fifth and eighth holes to draw level with fellow Ryder Cup hopeful McDowell.

"My job was to keep the foot on the pedal and keep it going," McDowell said.

"I'll take 12-under at halfway every week, whether it leads or not, and I fully expect to be in the mix come Sunday afternoon."

Sergio Garcia, in the same group as McDowell, made up for a modest opening round of 71 with a scintillating 64 to reach nine-under and hold third place.

The highlight of the Spaniard’s round was an eagle-three at the eighth to compliment six birdies and a bogey at the London Golf Club.

Paul McGinley [68] trailed the leaders by five shots after recovering from a bad start to keep his hopes alive of qualifying for the Open.

The Irishman, who dropped three strokes in the last two holes on Thursday, three-putted the 11th but retrieved the situation with five birdies.

48-year-old David Frost [72] dropped a shot at the last as the South African also reached seven-under.

Things were not so bright though for Justin Rose [73] who double-bogeyed the 18th to sit a distant 10 shots off the pace.

Fountain of youth? Compound in Red Wine Fights Ravages of Age

Fountain of youth? Red wine gives up secrets
A compound in red wine may ward off a variety of medical conditions related to aging, providing heart benefits, stronger bones and preventing eye cataracts, researchers said on Thursday.

The study, involving mice fed a diet supplemented with resveratrol starting in their equivalent of middle age, is the latest to raise hope that the compound or drugs based on it may improve the health of people.

Most of mice given resveratrol did not live longer than other mice but were far more healthy in several important measures, according to the study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

"The good news is we can increase health. I think that's more important than increasing life span," David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, who led the study along with Rafael de Cabo of the U.S. government's National Institute on Aging, said in a telephone interview.

The mice in the study that were fed a high-calorie diet supplemented with resveratrol outlived those getting a high-calorie diet without the compound, the researchers said.

"Resveratrol wiped out the negative effect of the high fat," de Cabo said in a telephone interview.

Resveratrol, found in abundance in grapes and in red wine, has drawn a lot of interest from scientists and some companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, which this year paid $720 million to buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc, a company developing drugs that mimic the effects of resveratrol.

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A key compound in red wine known as resveratrol appears to protect against many of the health ravages associated with growing old, new animal research reveals.

"It's very hard to extrapolate from this finding to comment on the benefits of red wine directly, because red wine has many other compounds besides resveratrol, including ethanol, which have very active biological effects," noted study author Rafael de Cabo, unit chief of the laboratory of experimental gerontology at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore.

"But red wine is a good source of resveratrol," he added. "And, in this mouse study, we have shown that this particular compound has very strong positive effects on preventing cardiovascular disease, reducing heart inflammation, keeping bone health in terms of structure and function, and maintaining loco-motor and balance activity. So, if these effects translate into humans, it will have a very good impact on the standard of human health."

De Cabo conducted the research with David A. Sinclair, of Harvard Medical School. Their team is publishing its findings in the July 3 online issue ofCell Metabolism.

Daily consumption of the compound -- also found in the skin of grapes and the crust of peanuts and walnuts -- broadly improved the long-term quality of life of middle-aged mice, although most mice did not end up living longer.

Nevertheless, the age-defying health benefits of resveratrol closely mimicked those previously associated with rigorous calorie-restricted diets -- raising hopes for simpler and easier means by which to help fight off age-related decline.

The authors noted that prior research has touted the healthy benefits associated with daily caloric restriction of between 30 percent and 50 percent below average, as well as with fasting every other day. Such diets have been linked to a reduction in the risk for age-associated disease and stress, alongside a slowing of age-related functional decline.

Interior Lifestyle 2008, that took place from 11 – 13 June 2008 in Tokyo,{Lifestyle Awards}

Interior Lifestyle closes with record breaking visitors
Interior Lifestyle 2008, that took place from 11 – 13 June 2008 in Tokyo, attracted the highest number of visitors ever in its history. The halls were packed and bustling, especially on the last day when over 9,200 buyers crowded into the fair, bringing the overall total to a record-breaking 27,390. The atmosphere was lively and feedback from participants was generally excellent.

With 652 exhibitors (419 domestic, 233 overseas) from 31 countries and regions filled four halls of West Hall at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre. The fair delivered a wide-ranging selection of high-quality products for cooking, living, furnishing and decorating as well as kitchen/tablewares, home accessories and home textiles.

Positive feedback from exhibitors:
For the 652 exhibitors, the fair was a great opportunity to start up business or to strengthen existing business in the high-end consumer goods sector. Many of the exhibitors gave positive feedback. Mr. Marco Fontao, sales manager of Dicame, S.A. said, “The purpose of our participation in the fair was to introduce the collection of our brand to the Japanese market and to find a distributor in Japan.

Among the visitors were importers and buyers from trading and commercial companies. It was the first time that we exhibited at a Japanese trade fair. Our products are known for their high-quality and are made of the finest raw materials. I believe that our products are suitable for the Japanese market, where high-quality is required.

After three days exhibiting at Interior Lifestyle, I am even more confident about our success in the Japanese market. Japanese buyers seemed to accept our products. Interior Lifestyle was very lively with many visitors over the three days. From the moment the doors opened in the morning until they closed in the evening, there was a lot of visitor traffic. It was nice to take part in such a growing fair.”

Special presentation for the latest interior trends:
One of the distinctive features of Interior Lifestyle is its series of special showcases and presentations highlighting international products and trends in design. With new attractions “NORDIC LIFESTYLE”, two Trend Cafes and the young designer presentation area, “neON”, the 2008 fair was more informative and inspiring than ever before.

Mr. Toji Sakamoto, sales manager of Product Marketing Service Co Ltd, Remarked with a positive statement, “Just on the first day, we had more than 400 contacts and more than 700 packages of promotional material were taken by visitors. We met many retailer. The first encounter with Interior Lifestyle was last year when I came as a visitor to the fair. Before that I was sceptical about the benefits of trade fairs from a cost-effectiveness point of view.

But after having visited the previous Interior Lifestyle, I made up my mind to take part in the fair. Interior Lifestyle is known for its high-sense exhibition style, so exhibiting at the fair seemed to be a big advantage for our branding strategy. I am very happy about being able to exhibit in the special exhibition zone, “NORDIC LIFESTYLE”.

As an agent that promotes the Norwegian furniture, “Rybo”, we were very lucky to make our first debut at the fair in the
very year when the Nordic lifestyle was being highlighted. I would like to come back in 2009!”

Interior Lifestyle Awards:
The Interior Lifestyle Awards are given to products that deserve special recognition for design innovation or their popularity. Products at the 2008 fair were judged by a panel of opinion leaders, including representatives from the Japan Interior Designers Association (JID), the Japan Design Consultants Association (JDCA), the chief editor of Mono Magazine, the chief editor of Nikkei Design, and Mr. Kohei Takata, a concept planning director of the fair. As there were many exhibitors with well designed products, competition for the awards was intense. Five exhibitors won awards and a presentation ceremony was held on the evening of the first day. The winning companies were:

• JID Design Award: IOTC Inc.
• JDCA Design Management Award: YOnoBI
• Mono Magazine Award: foodesign guzzini
• NIKKEI DESIGN Award: Onao Co., Ltd.
• Interior Lifestyle Young Designer Award: sora design works

A furniture designer of sora design works, a winner of the Interior Lifestyle Young Designer Award was delighted at the news that she had been nominated to take part in the ‘talents’ showcase at the Ambiente 2009 – the world’s largest and most prestigious consumer goods fair held annually in Frankfurt am Main.

“When I visited a friend’s booth at the fair in 2007, I thought that I would like to participate in the fair. neon is a brilliant project to give our young designers a chance to promote ourselves to business enterprises! I met all kinds of visitors from many different industries and got some offers for collaborative work with several companies. In the beginning, I was worried not to be chosen as one of the designers to take part in this project. So, I was very happy to be able to exhibit at neon. I never expected to be honoured with such a special award. I cannot wait to go to Frankfurt next February!

The next Interior Lifestyle is scheduled to take place from 3 - 5 June 2009 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre. Please also check out the new trade fair showcasing a wide-range of interior products; IFFT/interiorlifestyle living” which will be held from 19 – 22 November 2008 for the first time.

Earn from Home program In Bangladesh -Hybrid Resources.

hybrid resources (Pvt) Ltd Has lounged a course named Hybrid Tutorial for earn from Home. In is tutorial Hybrid is introducing Google Adsense and blogs for their beginner. lllll

Precious Cargo on Your Back (Physical Culture | Gear Test, Backpack Carriers)

When You Carry Precious Cargo on Your Back

HIKING with backpacking gear is a matter of balancing weight and necessity. Add a baby and the equation gets complicated.

“You want a pack that will allow you to also pack in other items besides the child, or your hiking partner will get stuck with a very heavy load,” said Tim Hauserman, the author of “Monsters in the Woods: Backpacking With Children.”
The latest backpack carriers promise a greater variety of storage, including diaper bags. A few can now carry 60 to 70 pounds of baby and gear; older designs held only 40 to 45 pounds.
The weight of carriers has been reduced using technical fabrics over aluminum frames, and five-point safety harnesses are added.

Cole Kelly, the associate director of Camp Winadu in Pittsfield, Mass., took turns hiking in the Berkshires with his sons, Jack, 2 years old, and Luke, 10 months, in 4 new carriers. He also tested a more economical four-year-old carrier that has remained popular despite not having been updated.

All of the featured carriers adjust as children grow. For safety, babies should be at least 6 months old and able to hold up their heads.

Magic" mushrooms('Spiritual' psilocybin satisfies scientists )

Magic" mushrooms
mushrooms containing the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin – could help treat mental disorders, according to a study by Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University.

Researchers claim they've shown that the spiritual and emotional experience resulting from ingesting the fungus can have positive effects on the psyche even a year after the “trip.” According to Reuters, “More than a year later, most still said the experience increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction, Griffiths and colleagues report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.”

Does this mean people should go out and start munching on shrooms? Definitely not. After all, the researchers themselves even stressed that supervision is critical in administration of such drugs in any possible psychiatric setting, due to the fear and anxiety that is a common side effect of any psychadelic experience.

What this study means is that we must not be afraid to research consciousness-altering drugs and their possible benefits (and shortcomings) in psychiatric treatment.

Warm glow from magic mushrooms lasts and lasts: study



The feelings of well-being and life satisfaction brought on by the hallucinogen psilocybin, found in "magic" mushrooms, can last for months, a new study revealed.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland found that the majority of 36 volunteers who took psilocybin in controlled conditions continued to feel the beneficial effects for more than a year afterwards, the study, published Monday, showed.

"Most of the volunteers looked back on their experience up to 14 months later and rated it as the most, or one of the five most, personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives," said Roland Griffiths, a professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neuroscience.

The first results of the clinical trial, aimed at uncovering the secrets of the "magic" mushrooms that have been used for religious or healing purposes in some cultures for centuries, were published in 2006.

Fourteen months after the trial, the 36 volunteers -- all in good physical and mental health -- were given the same questionnaire as well as some follow-up questions.

Results show that about the same proportion ranked their experience in the trial as one of the most personally meangingful or spiritually significant events of their lives.

"This is a truly remarkable finding," said Griffiths, lead author of the study which appeared in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

"Rarely in psychological research do we see such persistently positive reports from a single event in the laboratory."

He said the results gave credence to claims that the mystical-type experiences some people had during hallucinogen sessions may help patients suffering from cancer-related anxiety or depression.

Psilocybin could also be used as a possible treatment for drug dependance, the professor said.

He said his team was "eager" to continue their research, adding that although some of the volunteers had reported fear and anxiety immediately after receiving psilocybin, "none reported any lingering harmful effects."

However, the team warned against giving hallucinogens to people at risk of psychosis or other serious mental disorders, and said it was important that it be administered under controlled conditions.

Psilocybin is a plant alkaloid that affects some of the same brain receptors as serotonin, a neurotransmitter.