People with congestive heart failure are often treated with warfarin to prevent blood clots, but a large randomized double-blinded trial has found that aspirin works just as well.
Researchers recruited 2,305 patients with heart failure and normal heart rhythm. Half were given regimens of warfarin and dummy aspirin, the other half aspirin and dummy warfarin. The scientists followed them for up to six years, tracking incidents of stroke, hemorrhage and death. The study was published online last week in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Over all, there was no significant difference between the two drugs. Patients who took warfarin were significantly less likely to have a stroke, but that advantage was canceled out by an increased likelihood of gastrointestinal bleeding and other hemorrhages. There were no significant differences in heart attacks or hospitalizations for heart failure.
“The advantage is that aspirin is easier to take,” said Dr. Shunichi Homma, the lead author and a professor of medicine at Columbia University. “Warfarin requires a blood test every month, and because of its tendency to cause bleeding, it causes people to restrict activities.
“Now we are trying to figure out if there is a subset of patients for whom warfarin is better,” he added.
trisha.adnani@gmail.com
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Six Internet cafes closed over gambling
SIX Internet cafes were sealed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall in the first three months of the year for acting as fronts for gambling.
Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan said more than 100 computers were seized in the raids."This is part of our efforts to prevent vice activities such as prostitution, gambling and illegal massage parlours from mushrooming in the capital. The situation is under control."
He was replying to Senator Chiew Lian Keng who asked why vice activities had continued despite raids by the authorities.
Saravanan said one way of ensuring the operators did not resume their business was to organise more raids with better intelligence.
"We have identified hot spots where such activities flourished and we are focusing our raids there."
He said 123 premises were sealed last year and almost 3,000 computers used in Internet gambling were seized.
Saravanan said the main enforcement agency that tackled prostitution and gambling was the police.
"But City Hall frequently participates in these raids."
He said City Hall sometimes organised raids and invited the police, Immigration and Rela personnel to participate.
trisha.adnani@gmail.com
Lonely boy in Singapore turns to gay partner
A LONELY teenager in Singapore, not allowed to leave home without his mum's permission, invited another boy to his house one day and the two eventually became lovers, Nanyang Siang Pau reported.
The mother had restricted the movements of her 13-year-old son and always told him he had to stay home after returning from school.
She thought it was the safest way to keep him out of trouble or getting involved in vice activities. Only the maid was at home while both the boy's parents went to work.
The mother would call several times a day to ensure he was either at school or at home.
However, due to loneliness, the young teenager invited a classmate to his home and the two boys later became a “couple” and had gay sex at the house for the past three years.
The mother never realised her son had a gay partner as she thought there would not be any problem with the boy for as long as he stayed home.
The affair was only known when her son called a counselling centre for help after the other boy ditched him for another gay partner.
The mother had restricted the movements of her 13-year-old son and always told him he had to stay home after returning from school.
She thought it was the safest way to keep him out of trouble or getting involved in vice activities. Only the maid was at home while both the boy's parents went to work.
The mother would call several times a day to ensure he was either at school or at home.
However, due to loneliness, the young teenager invited a classmate to his home and the two boys later became a “couple” and had gay sex at the house for the past three years.
The mother never realised her son had a gay partner as she thought there would not be any problem with the boy for as long as he stayed home.
The affair was only known when her son called a counselling centre for help after the other boy ditched him for another gay partner.
Saturday 5 May 2012
Why Love Is a Choice, Not an Emotion
Why is love a choice and not an emotion? The emotional component of
love that we associate with feeling "loving" isn't consistent. For a
relationship to be solid, there has to be consistency. Choosing to love
means one will choose actions that demonstrate love regardless of the
emotion that is felt. Here are five things that you
choose to do when you love someone whether you are feeling angry,
disappointed, distant, hurt, upset, loving, irritated, happy, unhappy or
anything else:
1. You act in a way that is in the person's best interest. When you love someone, you have goodwill toward that person and act in a way that supports and cares. You do not purposefully bring harm or ill will toward them. You want to see the person happy, successful, secure, and fulfilled. Loving someone means you are invested fully in the person's well being. This is part of the commitment you make to the person when you enter the relationship
2. You take the person's needs into consideration. It doesn't mean you always have to do what the person wants or that it is wrong to put your own needs first. It just means you will consider what the other person wants and needs as much as you take your own needs into consideration. It is a balancing act that means you will sometimes sacrifice your own needs and wants for the other person and other times decide that you need to put yourself first
3. You work toward understanding the person's viewpoint. Your own viewpoint makes sense to you, because it is yours. However when you love someone, it is important that you work toward understanding how he/she thinks and sees things. That person's opinions and emotions, albeit often different than yours, are equally important and you need to put energy into getting what is going on with the person. Part of feeling loved is to be understood for who you are.
4. You treat the person respectively. No matter how you feel, you can control how you act. You don't have the right to mistreat someone just because you are emotionally upset. One of the worst things you can do in a relationship is to treat your partner with contempt and disrespect. When you respect your partner, you speak and act in a way that conveys that the person is valuable to you. God wants respect in relationships.
5. You are committed to the relationship. If love were demonstrated only when one had loving feelings, then relationships would be roller coasters. Commitment is the additive that makes the road smooth and flat. Commitment means the relationship is bigger than either one of the partners. The good of the relationship becomes the goal. The marriage, relationship, or partnership is more important than either of the people in it. This helps both people rise above each person's sometimes competing views and needs. God views marriage and a committed sexual relationship as an entity. Two become one and the one is a union that is to be cherished and not broken, if at all possible.
Why is a love a choice and not an emotion? Because, it wouldn't be love if it depended on the ups and downs of the emotional feeling we associate with feeling "loving."
1. You act in a way that is in the person's best interest. When you love someone, you have goodwill toward that person and act in a way that supports and cares. You do not purposefully bring harm or ill will toward them. You want to see the person happy, successful, secure, and fulfilled. Loving someone means you are invested fully in the person's well being. This is part of the commitment you make to the person when you enter the relationship
2. You take the person's needs into consideration. It doesn't mean you always have to do what the person wants or that it is wrong to put your own needs first. It just means you will consider what the other person wants and needs as much as you take your own needs into consideration. It is a balancing act that means you will sometimes sacrifice your own needs and wants for the other person and other times decide that you need to put yourself first
3. You work toward understanding the person's viewpoint. Your own viewpoint makes sense to you, because it is yours. However when you love someone, it is important that you work toward understanding how he/she thinks and sees things. That person's opinions and emotions, albeit often different than yours, are equally important and you need to put energy into getting what is going on with the person. Part of feeling loved is to be understood for who you are.
4. You treat the person respectively. No matter how you feel, you can control how you act. You don't have the right to mistreat someone just because you are emotionally upset. One of the worst things you can do in a relationship is to treat your partner with contempt and disrespect. When you respect your partner, you speak and act in a way that conveys that the person is valuable to you. God wants respect in relationships.
5. You are committed to the relationship. If love were demonstrated only when one had loving feelings, then relationships would be roller coasters. Commitment is the additive that makes the road smooth and flat. Commitment means the relationship is bigger than either one of the partners. The good of the relationship becomes the goal. The marriage, relationship, or partnership is more important than either of the people in it. This helps both people rise above each person's sometimes competing views and needs. God views marriage and a committed sexual relationship as an entity. Two become one and the one is a union that is to be cherished and not broken, if at all possible.
Why is a love a choice and not an emotion? Because, it wouldn't be love if it depended on the ups and downs of the emotional feeling we associate with feeling "loving."
Bipolar Disorder
What Is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a
brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy,
and ability to function. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe --
much different than the normal ups and downs everyone goes through. They
can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance,
and even suicide. But there is good news: Bipolar disorder can be
treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive
lives.
More than 2 million American adults, or about 1 percent of the
population age 18 and older in any given year, have bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early
adulthood. However, some people experience their first symptoms during
childhood, while others develop them late in life. Bipolar disorder is
often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years
before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.
Bipolar disorder involves episodes, or cycles, of mania and depression.
Episodes of mania and depression typically recur throughout the
person's lifetime. Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder
are free of symptoms, but as many as one-third of people have some
residual symptoms. A small percentage of people experience chronic,
unremitting symptoms despite treatment for bipolar disorder.
Episodes of Depression
Depressive episodes of bipolar disorder include the following symptoms:
Manic Episodes
Manic episodes of bipolar disorder include abnormally and
persistently high mood or irritability and at least three of the
following symptoms:
In a mixed state of bipolar disorder, symptoms of mania and depression are present at the same time. These symptoms frequently include:
The episodes may be separated by periods of wellness during which a
person suffers few to no symptoms, especially early in the course of
bipolar disorder. When four or more episodes of illness occur within a
12-month period, the person is said to have bipolar disorder with rapid
cycling. Bipolar disorder is often complicated by co-occurring alcohol
or substance abuse.
Bipolar Disorder and Psychosis
Severe depression or mania may be accompanied by symptoms of psychosis. These symptoms include:
Psychotic symptoms associated with bipolar disorder typically reflect the extreme mood state at the time.
trisha.adnani@gmail.com
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How Does the Mind Work?
Yoga science is first and foremost a psychological subject. Yoga deals
with controlling the mind and therefore considers all the diseases of
the mind and the ways in which these can be cured. It examines all the
"impediments" of body and mind which hinder or stop a person from taking
up and progressing yoga practice. It sets out how these impediments can
be overcome. It also looks at the functioning of the mind: how it reacts
to experience and how these reactions in turn influence the mind. These
are the six constituents of psychology.
Firstly, we need to know what the mind is?
All that exists is God. He has a Soul and a body. His body is the universe, made up of Souls and matter.
All that exists is God. He has a Soul and a body. His body is the universe, made up of Souls and matter.
Souls include all the Gods and Goddesses which
mankind worships, and also your own Soul. The Soul has the power of
seeing. The self within experiences, but does not see, being of the form
of matter not Soul.
Matter in respect of living beings includes the self
and the inner organ (antahkarana) (brain functioning) which has chitta
(consciousness), buddhi (intellect), ahamkara (ego) and manas (mind).
Chitta is individual and cosmic consciousness.
Individual consciousness, whereby the Self (atman) knows that it exists
because it is aware of itself, and cosmic consciousness, of objects held
in the mind. Chitta has five states: experienced knowledge,
misconception, imagination, deep or dreamless sleep and memory (pramana,
viparyaya, vikalpa, nidra, smrtayah).
Buddhi, the intelligence of the Self, has the power
of knowledge and has will power. It discriminates between right and
wrong, and decides what to do.
Manas, the sense-mind, perceives objects and reacts.
Mind is a servant, not a master of the self. If the self through its
buddhi determines that it would like a woman to think of a man, then
this is what the woman's mind will do. The contents of the mind are
thoughts, feelings, peace and bliss. In this age everyone is stressed.
What the mind most needs in the short run is relaxation (even more than
happiness). In the absence of this it gets stuck in a rut, the next best
thing. The mind also has inclinations, which are determined largely by
the history of its experiences in this life.
Matter, being made up of the three gunas of satwa,
rajas and tamas, is always in motion. Hence, so long as the mind is not
under control, chitta experiences fluctuations.
Diseases of the Mind. Klesa
There are five afflictions: worldly or erroneous knowledge (avidya), sense of 'I' ness (asmita), desire and attachment (raga), dislike (dvesa) and attachment to life and fear of death (abhinivesah).
Pain and sorrow (duhkha) result from the affliction (klesha) of dislike (dvesha)
There are five afflictions: worldly or erroneous knowledge (avidya), sense of 'I' ness (asmita), desire and attachment (raga), dislike (dvesa) and attachment to life and fear of death (abhinivesah).
Pain and sorrow (duhkha) result from the affliction (klesha) of dislike (dvesha)
Causes of the Afflictions or Diseases of the Mind
Afflictions are the end result (vipaka) of bad actions (bad karma). Karma gives rise to subtle tendencies and desires (known as asaya). The interaction of these tendencies (samskara) and desires with your life experiences gives rise to afflictions, if actions are not in accord with yama.
If asayah exists one is reborn with a specific type of birth (jati), span of life (ayuh) and set of prospective experiences of sensual joys (bhogah).
Afflictions are the end result (vipaka) of bad actions (bad karma). Karma gives rise to subtle tendencies and desires (known as asaya). The interaction of these tendencies (samskara) and desires with your life experiences gives rise to afflictions, if actions are not in accord with yama.
If asayah exists one is reborn with a specific type of birth (jati), span of life (ayuh) and set of prospective experiences of sensual joys (bhogah).
Free Choice
We all have free choice, to do good or bad actions, karma.
The balance of good and bad choices of actions that you have made in this and in your previous life is also called karma. Good or bad is defined in terms of whether they are consistent or not with the five ethical principles of Yama. Your karma determines whether your life experiences will be pleasurable or not, according to the law of karma. Karma is only overruled by God's mercy.
Impediments to Yoga Practice, Antarayah
Yoga practice is that which helps to still the fluctuations of the consciousness.
The impediments to yoga practice, that is which create fluctuations of the chitta or consciousness are: disease (vyadhi), sluggishness (styana), doubt (samsaya), carelessness (pramada), idleness (alasya), sense gratification (avirati), living in illusion (bhrantidarsana), lack of perseverance (alabdhabhumikatva) and inability to maintain one's achieved progress (anavasthitatvani).
We all have free choice, to do good or bad actions, karma.
The balance of good and bad choices of actions that you have made in this and in your previous life is also called karma. Good or bad is defined in terms of whether they are consistent or not with the five ethical principles of Yama. Your karma determines whether your life experiences will be pleasurable or not, according to the law of karma. Karma is only overruled by God's mercy.
Impediments to Yoga Practice, Antarayah
Yoga practice is that which helps to still the fluctuations of the consciousness.
The impediments to yoga practice, that is which create fluctuations of the chitta or consciousness are: disease (vyadhi), sluggishness (styana), doubt (samsaya), carelessness (pramada), idleness (alasya), sense gratification (avirati), living in illusion (bhrantidarsana), lack of perseverance (alabdhabhumikatva) and inability to maintain one's achieved progress (anavasthitatvani).
Overcoming the Impediments to Yoga Practice and the Diseases of the
Mind
The first chapter of the Yoga Sutra sets out the mental disciplines required to overcome the various impediments to having a yogic mind.
The second chapter sets out the physical disciplines required to cure the diseases of the mind, consisting of the Yoga of Action, Karma Yoga, namely Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana.
The first chapter of the Yoga Sutra sets out the mental disciplines required to overcome the various impediments to having a yogic mind.
The second chapter sets out the physical disciplines required to cure the diseases of the mind, consisting of the Yoga of Action, Karma Yoga, namely Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana.
trisha.adnani@gmail.com
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