Nutritional value of chile pepper leaves- Capsicum frutescens (L.)

Proximate Composition, Antibacterial and Anthelmintic Activity of Capsicum frutescens (L.) Var. Longa (Solanaceae) Leaves


Title Proximate Composition, Antibacterial and Anthelmintic Activity of Capsicum frutescens (L.) Var. Longa (Solanaceae) Leaves

Publication Type Journal Article

Year of Publication 2010

Authors Vinayaka KS, Nandini KC, Rakshitha MN, Martis R, Shruthi J, Hegde SV, Kekuda TR, Raghavendra HL

Journal Phcog J

Volume 2

Issue 12

Pagination 486-491

Date Published 08/2010
Republished on Carlsvilleproject Health 3/28/11

Type of Article Research Article

Keywords Agar well diffusion, Anthelmintic, Capsicum frutescens, longum, Nutritive composition, Pheretima pasthuma.

Abstract Introduction: Capsicum frutescens (L.) var. longum (Solanaceae) is a well used tropical and subtropical medicinal plant. The present study was undertaken to investigate proximate composition, antibacterial and anthelmintic activity of C. frutescens leaves.

Methods: The leaf material was tested for proximate parameters namely carbohydrates, proteins, crude fibre, crude fat, ash and moisture. The powdered leaf material was extracted using methanol. Antibacterial activity of the methanolic extract was tested by agar well diffusion method. Anthelmintic activity of the methanolic extract was studied using Indian earthworm.

Results: The protein, ash, crude fat and crude fibre contents were not appreciably high. The carbohydrate content was comparatively higher. Among microelements, iron was found to be in high concentration. Potassium content was found to be high than phosphorus. The methanolic extract showed dose dependent antibacterial and anthelmintic activity. Among the bacteria studied, S. aureus was found to be more susceptible to the methanolic extract followed by K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. The anthelmintic effect of all concentrations was lesser when compared to standard. Phytochemical analysis revealed saponins, tannins, alkaloids, glycosides and steroids in methanol extract.

Conclusion: The leaves may be used as a good source of carbohydrates and other nutrients. The methanolic extract could be used in the treatment of bacterial and helmintic infections. The presence of various phytochemicals might be responsible for the biological potential of the extract. Further studies on isolation of constituents from the extract and their biological activities are under investigation.

Breaking Medical News -Hormone therapy aids prostate cancer survival ..

Prostate cancer is one of the most common male cancers

An Express report has informed us that a “new treatment for prostate cancer has cut the risk of dying by half”. It said that “six months of the hormone therapy……is all that is needed”, and the benefits continue for 10 years...

See "Men's Health" at the top of the page for the complete story.

Medical Breakthrough in BIOMEDICINE ~ A Genomic Blueprint for Cancer * THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011

The largest cancer genome sequencing project yet highlights molecular pathways at the heart of an aggressive blood cancer.

By comparing the genome sequence of healthy and cancerous cells in 38 people diagnosed with multiple myeloma—an aggressive blood cancer—scientists have created a molecular map of what goes awry in this disease.


The findings, published today in Nature, point to new targets for drug development, and also suggest that some patients will respond to drugs currently being tested for other types of cancers.


The study is also the first published analysis of multiple whole genomes of the same cancer, reflecting continuing advances in sequencing technologies and the ability to analyze whole-genome data.


Thanks to a steady decline in the cost of genome sequencing, scientists have analyzed a growing number of tumors in recent years. Searching for differences between the DNA sequence of patients' healthy and cancerous cells can highlight genetic mutations that may underlie the cancer cells' ability to grow and survive. But most studies have analyzed a single cancer sample in great detail, and then sequenced relevant genes in other cancers to confirm the role of candidate mutations.


"Simply sequencing a tumor genome doesn't get you the information you need," says Todd Golub, director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute and senior author of the study. "We need the ability to look across many cancer genomes and to discover mutations that are recurring at low frequencies, so that we can see patterns emerging from the data that are biologically meaningful."


Scientists already suspected that a protein called NF-Kappa Beta, which regulates cell division and cell death, plays a role in myeloma. In the new study, researchers found mutations in 11 genes that are part of the NF-Kappa Beta pathway that were altered in at least one multiple myeloma sample. "Now we have a detailed blueprint for how those pathways were aberrantly activated in disease," says Golub. "You can only see those kinds of pattern when you look at multiple genomes."


Researchers also found that about 4 percent of patients have mutations in a gene known as BRAF. This finding could be used to help select effective drugs. BRAF mutations have previously been shown to play a major role in melanoma and other cancers, and several BRAF inhibitors are now being tested in melanoma patients, some with excellent results. "It was completely unexpected that myeloma patients might benefit from similar targeted therapies," says Kenneth Anderson, chief of the division of hematologic neoplasias at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. "Perhaps we can take a drug off the shelf and help patients in the short term." No trials of these drugs in this subset of myeloma patients have yet been launched, but Golub says discussions are underway. The researchers also discovered novel mutations that haven't previously been linked to cancer, pointing to new avenues for research. "No one studying myeloma had even heard of these genes," says Golub. "We don't know what these mutations do or how they cause cancer, or even whether they will make good drug targets, but it tells you this is where the field should be looking in greater detail."


The project was the brainchild of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, a patient advocacy group that funded the research and provided cancer samples. About 20,000 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. The disease has a five-year survival rate of less than 40 percent. Kathy Giusti, the organization's founder, says the findings are already being used to direct funding decisions. The study identified mutations in enzymes involved in the way DNA is packaged, so the foundation has invested $5 million in this area of research and funded two biotech companies working in the field.


Scientists are now sequencing additional myeloma genomes and expect to have a few hundred completed in the next two years. "The field is barreling forward such that we expect many thousands of genomes to be sequenced across different cancer types in next several years," says Golub.


The next step is to figure out what role these mutations play in cancer. "Do they activate or inactivate growth and survival, drug resistance, or signaling pathways?" says Anderson. To do this, scientists study the effect of the mutations in cancer cell lines and animal models of the disease. "That will open the potential for development of novel targeted therapeutics directed at fundamental genetic abnormalities that are hallmarks of this disease," says Anderson.
* SINGER

A Battle Against Time At Fukushima Japan - What does It mean Worldwide? 3/19/11 @ 9:49 AM Eastern Standard Time

Complete stories at:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

Workers battle against time:


By KANAKO TAKAHARA and KAZUAKI NAGATA


Separate desperate battles rage to cool down a spent fuel pool and three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to keep highly toxic radiation from being released into the environment.


ハイクラス求人ならリクルートエージェント

Repairs to infrastructure start but relocation urged

Vital infrastructure is gradually being restored in devastated areas of Tohoku but the fate of tens of thousands of people remains unknown, and Miyagi's governor suggests survivors should relocate to other parts of Japan....

Exposure can lead to cancer - Symptoms of Exposure- 3/15 @ 6:45 AM Eastern Standard Time

Thank You BBC News

The Japanese authorities say radiation levels from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have started to climb to potentially harmful levels.


Residents living within 30km (18 miles) of the plant have been advised to leave the area, or to stay indoors, and try to make their homes airtight.


Experts have stressed that swift action should be able to minimize any impact on human health.


What are the immediate health effects of exposure to radiation?


Exposure to moderate levels can result in radiation sickness, which produces a range of symptoms.


Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhea, headaches and fever.


After the first round of symptoms, there may be a brief period with no apparent illness, but this may be followed within weeks by new, more serious symptoms.


At higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms may be immediately apparent, along with widespread - and potentially fatal - damage to internal organs.


Exposure to a radiation dose of four grays will typically kill about half of all healthy adults.


For comparison, radiation therapy for cancer typically involves several doses of between one and seven grays at a time - but these doses are highly controlled, and usually specifically targeted at small areas of the body.


How is radiation sickness treated?


The first thing to do is to try to minimize further contamination by removing clothes and shoes, and gently washing the skin with soap and water.


Drugs are available that increase white blood-cell production to counter any damage that may have occurred to the bone marrow, and to reduce the risk of further infections due to immune-system damage.


There are also specific drugs that can help to reduce the damage to internal organs caused by radioactive particles.


How does radiation have an impact on health?


Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionizing radiation, which has the capacity to cause significant damage to the body's internal chemistry, breaking the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our tissues.


The body responds by trying to repair this damage, but sometimes it is too severe or widespread to make repair possible. There is also a danger of mistakes in the natural repair process.


Regions of the body that are most vulnerable to radiation damage include the cells lining the intestine and stomach, and the blood-cell producing cells in the bone marrow.


The extent of the damage caused is dependent on how long people are exposed to radiation, and at what level.


What are the most likely long-term health effects?


Cancer is the biggest long-term risk. Usually when the body's cells reach their "sell-by date" they commit suicide. Cancer results when cells lose this ability, and effectively become immortal, continuing to divide and divide in an uncontrolled fashion.


The body has various processes for ensuring that cells do not become cancerous, and for replacing damaged tissue.


But the damage caused by exposure to radiation can completely disrupt these control processes, making it much more likely that cancer will result.


Failure to repair the damage caused by radiation properly can also result in changes - or mutations - to the body's genetic material, which are not only associated with cancer, but may also be potentially passed down to offspring, leading to deformities in future generations. These can include smaller head or brain size, poorly formed eyes, slow growth and severe learning difficulties.


Are children at greater risk?


Potentially yes. Because they are growing more rapidly, more cells are dividing, and so the potential for things to go wrong is greater.


Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in 1986, the World Health Organization recorded a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among children in the vicinity.


This was because the radioactive materials released during the accident contained high levels of radioactive iodine, a material that accumulates in the thyroid.


How can the Japanese authorities minimize the cost to human health?


Professor Richard Wakeford, an expert in exposure to radiation from the University of Manchester, said provided the Japanese authorities acted quickly most of the general population should be spared significant health problems.


He said in those circumstances the only people likely to be at risk of serious health effects were nuclear workers at the plant or emergency workers exposed to high levels of radiation.


He said the top priority would be to evacuate people from the area and to make sure they did not eat contaminated food. The biggest risk was that radioactive iodine could get into their system, raising the risk of thyroid cancer.


To counter that risk people could be given tablets containing stable iodine which would prevent the body absorbing the radioactive version.


The Japanese already have a lot of iodine in their natural diet, so that should help too.


How does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl?


Professor Gerry Thomas, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, said: "It is very unlikely that this will turn into anything that resembles Chernobyl."


"In Chernobyl you had a steam explosion which exposed the reactor core, which meant you had a lot of radiation shooting up into the atmosphere."


Professor Thomas said although the Chernobyl disaster had led to a rise in thyroid cancer cases, the only people affected were those living in the immediate area of the explosion and who were young at the time

Tokyo~THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE-3/15 @ 6:27 Eastern Standard Time

TOKYO -- A Japanese nuclear safety official says the water inside the waste fuel storage pool for a damaged reactor at an atomic power plant may be boiling.

Hidehiko Nishiyama of the economy ministry that oversees nuclear safety told reporters Tuesday that "we cannot deny the possibility of water boiling" in the pool.


Nishiyama sought to avoid commenting on the potential risks from the rising temperatures caused by a failure of systems required to keep the spent fuel rods cool. He said the plant's operator is considering what to do about the problem.

Radiation danger after fire at Japan nuke plant

By ERIC TALMADGE and SHINO YUASA, Associated Press Eric Talmadge And Shino Yuasa, Associated Press –

13 mins ago Posted on Carlsvilleproject Health at 4:30 AM Eastern Standard time



SOMA, Japan – Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the 4-day-old crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami.


In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima state, one of the hardest-hit in Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that has killed more than 10,000 people, plunged millions into misery and pummeled the world's third-largest economy.


The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that Japanese officials told it that the reactor fire was in the storage pond — a pool where used nuclear fuel is kept cool — and that "radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere."


Though Kan and other officials urged calm, Tuesday's developments fueled a growing panic in Japan and around the world amid widespread uncertainty over what would happen next.


In the worst case scenario, the reactor's core would completely melt down, a disaster that would spew large amounts of radioactivity into the atmosphere.


Tokyo reported slightly elevated radiation levels, but officials said the increase was too small to threaten the 39 million people in and around the capital, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) away. Closer to the stricken nuclear complex, the streets in the coastal city of Soma were empty as the few residents who remained there heeded the government's warning to stay indoors.


Officials just south of Fukushima reported up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation Tuesday morning, Kyodo News agency reported. While those figures are worrying if there is prolonged exposure, they are far from fatal.


Kan and other officials warned there is danger of more leaks and told people living within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid exposure that could make people sick.


"Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told residents in the danger zone.


"These are figures that potentially affect health. There is no mistake about that," he said.


Weather forecasts for Fukushima were for snow and wind from the northeast Tuesday evening, blowing southwest toward Tokyo, then shifting and blowing west out to sea. That's important because it shows which direction a possible nuclear cloud might blow.


The nuclear crisis is the worst Japan has faced since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. It is also the first time that such a grave nuclear threat has been raised in the world since a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine exploded in 1986.


Some 70,000 people had already been evacuated from a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius from the Dai-ichi complex. About 140,000 remain in the new warning zone.


Workers were desperately trying to stabilize three reactors at the power plant that exploded in the wake of Friday's quake and tsunami, after losing their ability to cool down and releasing some radiation. Since the quake, engineers have been injecting seawater into the reactors as a last-ditch coolant.


A fourth reactor that had been shut down before the quake caught fire Tuesday and more radiation was released, Edano said.


The fire was put out. Even though the fourth reactor was shut down, the fire there was believed to be the source of the elevated radiation.


"It is likely that the level of radiation increased sharply due to a fire at Unit 4," Edano said. "Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower."


Edano said another reactor whose containment building exploded Monday had not contributed greatly to the increased radiation.


Officials said 50 workers, all of them wearing protective radiation gear, were still trying to pump water into the reactors to cool them. They say 800 other staff were evacuated. The fires and explosions at the reactors have injured 15 workers and military personnel and exposed up to 190 people to elevated radiation.


In Tokyo, slightly higher-than-normal radiation levels were detected Tuesday but officials insisted there are no health dangers.


"The amount is extremely small, and it does not raise health concerns. It will not affect us," Takayuki Fujiki, a Tokyo government official said.


Kyodo reported that radiation levels nine times higher than normal were briefly detected in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo and that the Tokyo metropolitan government said it had detected a small amount of radioactive materials in the air.


Japanese government officials are being rightly cautious, said Donald Olander, professor emeritus of nuclear engineering at University of California at Berkeley. He believed even the heavily elevated levels of radiation around Dai-ichi are "not a health hazard." But without knowing specific dose levels, he said it was hard to make judgments.


"Right now it's worse than Three Mile Island," Olander said. But it's nowhere near the levels released during Chernobyl.


On Three Mile Island, the radiation leak was held inside the containment shell — thick concrete armor around the reactor. The Chernobyl reactor had no shell and was also operational when the disaster struck. The Japanese reactors automatically shut down when the quake hit and are encased in containment shells.


Olander said encasing the reactors in a concrete sarcophagus — the last-ditch effort done in Chernobyl — is far too premature. Operators need to wait until they cool more, or risk making the situation even worse.


The death toll from last week's earthquake and tsunami jumped Tuesday as police confirmed the number killed had topped 2,400, though that grim news was overshadowed by a deepening nuclear crisis. Officials have said previously that at least 10,000 people may have died in Miyagi province alone.


Millions of people spent a fourth night with little food, water or heating in near-freezing temperatures as they dealt with the loss of homes and loved ones. Asia's richest country hasn't seen such hardship since World War II.


Hajime Sato, a government official in Iwate prefecture, one of the hardest-hit, said deliveries of supplies were only 10 percent of what is needed. Body bags and coffins were running so short that the government may turn to foreign funeral homes for help, he said.


Though Japanese officials have refused to speculate on the death toll, Indonesian geologist Hery Harjono, who dealt with the 2004 Asian tsunami, said it would be "a miracle really if it turns out to be less than 10,000" dead.


The 2004 tsunami killed 230,000 people — of which only 184,000 bodies were found.


The impact of the earthquake and tsunami dragged down stock markets. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged for a second day Tuesday, nose-diving more than 10 percent to close at 8,605.15 while the broader Topix lost more than 8 percent.


To lessen the damage, Japan's central bank made two cash injections totaling 8 trillion yen ($98 billion) Tuesday into the money markets after pumping in $184 billion on Monday.


Initial estimates put repair costs in the tens of billions of dollars, costs that would likely add to a massive public debt that, at 200 percent of gross domestic product, is the biggest among industrialized nations.


Yuta Tadano, a 20-year-old pump technician at the Fukushima plant, said he was in the complex when quake hit.


"It was terrible. The desks were thrown around and the tables too. The walls started to crumble around us and there was dust everywhere. The roof began to collapse.


"We got outside and confirmed everyone was safe . Then we got out of there. We had no time to be tested for radioactive exposure. I still haven't been tested," Tadano told The Associated Press at an evacuation center.


"I worry a lot about fallout. If we could see it we could escape, but we can't," said Tadano, cradling his 4-month-old baby, Shoma.


The Dai-ichi plant is the most severely affected of three nuclear complexes that were declared emergencies after suffering damage in Friday's quake and tsunami, raising questions about the safety of such plants in coastal areas near fault lines and adding to global jitters over the industry



http://www.world-nuclear.org/

All posts For The immediate Future Will be Focused On The Melting Of The Nuclear Reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan & The Radioactive Contamination Of all Of Asia & Of The World.

I will continue my search for accurate information and relay it as I am able On this site. Please extend your prayers to victims of this world crisis.

A heart wrenching quote from a victim inJapan follows:

“It’s ,” said 49-year-old Kyoko Nambu told the Associated Press as she stood on a hillside overlooking her ruined hometown of Soma, 40 kilometres from the plant. “Our house is gone and now they are telling us to stay indoors. I am so scared!”like a horror movie

2nd explosion at stricken Japan nuclear plant - Radiation will hit the Philippines

“BBC News: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plant.

Asian countries should take precautionary measures. Remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows.

Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, bc radiation hits thyroid first.

Radiation will hit the Philippines starting 4pm today [March 14].” 

2nd explosion at stricken Japan nuclear plant

SOMA, Japan – The second hydrogen explosion in three days rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant Monday, sending a massive column of smoke into the air and wounding 11 workers. Hours later, the U.S. said it had shifted its offshore forces away from the plant after detecting low-level radioactive contamination.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) offshore when it detected the radiation, which U.S. officials said was about the same as one month's normal exposure to natural background radiation.


It was not clear if the radiation had leaked during the Monday explosion. That blast was felt 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, but the plant's operator said radiation levels at the reactor were still within legal limits.

A technician in protective gear scans a child

for signs of radiation at a makeshift facility to screen, …

The explosion at the plant's Unit 3, which authorities have been frantically trying to cool after a system failure in the wake of Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, triggered an order for hundreds of people to stay indoors, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. The two disasters left at least 10,000 people dead.


Operators knew an explosion was a possibility as they struggled to reduce pressure inside the reactor containment vessel, but apparently felt they had no choice if they wanted to avoid a complete meltdown. In the end, the hydrogen in the released steam mixed with oxygen in the atmosphere and set off the blast.


Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, said radiation levels at Unit 3 were well under the levels where a nuclear operator must file a report to the government.


On Saturday, a similar explosion took place at the plant's Unit 1, injuring four workers and causing mass evacuations.


Shortly after the Monday explosion, Tokyo Electric warned it had lost the ability to cool Unit 2. Takako Kitajima, a company official, said plant workers were preparing to inject seawater into the unit to cool the reactor, a move that could lead to an explosion there as well.

Identify Prediabetes or Borderline Diabetes

If you have prediabetes, you're at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes

People with prediabetes have glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough yet to indicate diabetes. The condition used to be called borderline diabetes. Most people with prediabetes don't have symptoms, but they are considered to be at high risk of developing heart disease.


Normally, your body produces a hormone called insulin to help your cells use the energy (glucose) found in food. With diabetes, either your body doesn't make enough insulin or doesn't efficiently use the insulin it does produce. When glucose builds up in the blood, it can damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys, heart, eyes, and nervous system.


With prediabetes, the subtle balance between glucose and insulin has been thrown off. The pancreas may not be able to produce enough insulin after a meal to "clear" the incoming glucose from the blood. Or cells may be insulin resistant. When cells are insulin resistant, they won't allow the insulin to escort glucose from the bloodstream into them. Too much glucose in the blood is also called high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. A low blood sugar level is called hypoglycemia.


If you have prediabetes, you're at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as the serious medical problems associated with diabetes, including heart disease and stroke With prediabetes, you are at a 50% higher risk of heart disease and stroke than someone who does not have prediabetes.

For indepth information about diabetes refer to dLife in the library at the top of the page. Early diagnoses is always the answer.


Always be well…

3D Mammogram ~ A break Through in Breast Cancer Diagnostic Technology

3D Mammogram

For the first time since the FDA approved the procedure, a patient in America has undergone a 3D mammogram, Dr. Max Gomez reports.


Laura Lang, 55, was being screened for breast cancer. She’s already survived it once. “I was diagnosed back in 2006 and had a regular mammogram which wasn’t actually strong enough to completely diagnose it and I had to be retested,” she said.


The 3D mammogram might have picked up her cancer the first time.


“What it means is now we have the ability to not only just look at the breast but actually look through and around structures we weren’t able to see before,” said Dr. Elizabeth Rafferty of Massachusetts General Hospital.


Doctors said that the new machine will help them find more cancers and decrease the number of women who need additional screening when the results are unclear.


The 3D technology was meant to be used in conjunction with 2D conventional mammography, which studies have shown helped doctors find more cancers than with 2D images alone.


Still, some breast health advocates have their concerns about the new screening tests.


“They haven’t been shown to find more breast cancer, find breast cancer earlier or most importantly save lives. They do however, double the rate of radiation that a woman is exposed to and add to health care costs,” said Fran Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.


Nearly 40 million mammograms are performed each year in the United States. The manufacturer believes the 3D version will lessen repeat mammograms because of poor or inconclusive images.


“Early diagnosis changes the outcome for most patients. It did for me,” Lang said.


Every year breast cancer claims the lives of 40,000 women. Doctors advise screenings every two years beginning at age 40 and then annually after age 50. I personally recommend every 2 years from 30-40 then annually. I suggest that you request a frequency that you are comfortable with given medical history and not leave it to the insurance companies to decide for you. Always be aware that early detection is the key to successful treatment and full recovery.

10 major causes of heart disease according to the American Heart Association

How to Wreck Your Heart

What not to do for your heart's health.

1. Keep smoking.


A major cause of heart disease, smoking raises blood pressure, causes blood clots, and makes it harder to exercise. And it’s the number one preventable cause of premature death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association.


Even though it may be one of the most difficult habits to quit, the rewards of stopping smoking are perhaps the greatest and most immediate.

When you toss the smokes, your heart risk goes down within just a few days of quitting. Within a year, your risk is cut by half. After 10 years of living smoke-free, it’s as if you never smoked at all, says Nieca Goldberg, MD, cardiologist and director of the New York University Women’s Heart Program.

2. Ignore that chest pain.


When your heart literally aches and you don’t know why, it’s time to get checked out.


If you have chest pains while exercising, that’s a red flag. But if it happens after a heavy meal, it’s more likely to be your stomach causing trouble, says Goldberg, who is an American Heart Association spokeswoman and author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg’s Complete Guide to Women’s Health.


If you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest and you’re breaking out in a sweat, that’s an urgent matter; call 911.


Regardless of what you’re feeling or when, even a doctor can’t tell if you’re in real trouble over the phone. So you have to seek medical attention in person to get a definitive answer for chest pain.


3. Just accept that it’s in your genes.


Having a family history of heart disease is a strong risk factor for predicting your own chances of heart trouble.


Having a parent who has had an early heart attack doubles the risk for men having one; in women the risk goes up by about 70%, according to an American Heart Association report from December 2010.


“But heart disease isn’t just what you inherit. It’s also what you do about it,” Goldberg tells WebMD. You can still beat the odds and dramatically lower your risks by doing other heart-friendly things.


For example, lowering your LDL (that’s the bad form of cholesterol) by 50% will cut your risks in half, Goldberg says.


And a 1998 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug can help people with a family history of heart disease lower their risk to less than someone with zero family history. That means in some cases, you could erase your risk.


Bottom line: There’s no need to let your family history determine your destiny.



4. Skip your checkup.


When you don’t get checked out regularly by a doctor, you might not realize if you have some of the silent heart risk factors that are harder to detect, says Fonarow, who directs the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.


Some of the most common, symptom-free cardiovascular issues are also some of the most easily treated, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.


If the cost of a checkup is holding you back, you may have more options than you think. Federally funded health centers allow patients to pay what they can. And local hospitals often offer information about clinics that accept sliding scale payments. Call your local health department for leads.


5. Be a couch potato.


“Being sedentary increases heart risks. Physical activity simply translates to living longer,” Fonarow says.


Exercise helps lower blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, encourages weight loss, benefits blood vessel function, and cuts stress, among other things.


Even if you haven’t been active for the last 20 years, it’s never too late to make an impact with exercise. Just be sure to talk to a doctor before you start a new fitness regimen. Tell your doctor exactly what you plan to do, or ask his advice, if you're looking for suggestions.


6. Stop taking your medications.


If you stop taking your heart medications, you may not feel better or worse afterward. But you could still be heading for a cardiac catastrophe.


“It’s only when you’re struck with a heart attack or stroke that many people think, ‘Oh, I should really keep taking my statin drug to lower my cholesterol,’” Fonarow says. He advises looking at heart medications as “insurance” against heart attack and stroke


7. Forget your growing waistline -- just buy some bigger pants.


If your belt size is slowly getting bigger, that’s something to worry about.


Excess fat tissue in the midsection -- giving you an apple-shaped figure -- could mean metabolic syndrome.


Metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk factors that can lead to heart disease, stroke, or diabetes, through hardening of the arteries, insulin resistance, and inflammation.


A hefty waistline is linked to doubling your risk of heart disease, Goldberg says. That’s good reason to redouble your efforts to get in shape through a healthy lifestyle. It's not just about your clothes size.


8. Never mind when your heart flutters.


A fluttering feeling in your heart that causes chest discomfort, shortness of breath, the feeling you could faint, or actual fainting could be a sign of a heart arrhythmia. That’s an electrical problem with your heart, causing it to beat either too fast, too slow, or just irregularly.


If you feel a flutter for a second and it goes away, that’s no big deal, Goldberg tells WebMD. You can probably chalk that up to caffeine, chocolate, asthma, or maybe some cold medications you took. But if it happens frequently or is associated with other symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.


9. Let your blood pressure run amok.


“A good way to wreck your heart is to leave your blood pressure elevated and untreated,” Fonarow says. Only about half of American adults with high blood pressure keep it under control, he says.


Allowing blood pressure to get out of hand makes the heart work harder and enlarge, leading to heart failure. It can also cause hardened arteries, raising your risks for heart attack, stroke, and other problems.


Even though symptoms of high blood pressure are rare, it’s relatively easy to diagnose. You can even check it yourself with a home blood pressure monitor. Diet, exercise, and medications (if needed) can treat high blood pressure.


10. Eat with abandon.


Being overweight or obese contributes to heart disease, heart failure, and a shorter lifespan, Fonarow says.


No doubt, lasting weight loss is tough to accomplish. But the good news is, even moderate weight loss can improve heart risk factors.


Aim for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and nuts; low in saturated fat and cholesterol; and with almost no trans fats. This does not mean you need to avoid fat altogether. Fats found in fish, olives and olive oil, nuts, and avocados are heart-healthy and should be eaten in moderation.

Stop the stress is the battle cry of teachers across the nation- Union calls for action over unruly children

“Stop the stress” could be the slogan for the first Easter union conference, reported by Nicolas Barnard in an article published 4/14/2000.

"Stop the stress" continues to be  the battle cry of teachers across the nation in 2011!

Teachers look to their principals for support to combat rudeness and disrespectful or aggressive behavior to no avail.. As you can see this article above was published 11 years ago and to date little or nothing has been done in the national or state systems. Children are readily passed from grade to grade with little or no consequences for unacceptable behavior. Quality teachers are looking to retirement not with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment for years of contribution but look with a desperate eye to escape the developing hell within our schools.

Principals are in large part no support as they are more concerned with the stats that with quality education and providing support for the teachers under his/her supervision. SCHOOLS need cash and support for teachers not slogans to deal with disruptive pupils and protect the education of other children.


Stress caused both by dealing with aggressive and unruly pupils, and by the growing workload and bureaucracy creates unhealthy teachers and an unhealthily learning environment.


Teachers / Administrators are asked to tackle as a matter of urgency,  teaching seriously disruptive pupils at the same time are being expected to produce better examination results.


Threatening situations should be dealt with swiftly and harshly in the schools of today. No teacher should have to enter the classroom afraid of her/his students. No exceptions should be made.


This challenge is so great that the Dept. Of Education has stated that they have mounting reservations about whether it is possible for mainstream schools to deal with these very disruptive pupils.

Support your teachers and demand change from your local system now! We must always remember that behavioral problems often begin at home. As such, parents must become very involved to shape and guide our young people in positive constructive ways. Limit setting and structure is both needed in the home as well as in the schools. See the article below addressing unruly children in our nation today.

Are we becoming a nation of unruly children?

Behavioral problems are rising among the children. More pre-schoolers are being sent home for disobedience and disruptive or aggressive behaviors.


Psychologist Lawrence Shapiro, a national child expert says that hardly a week goes by that he is not consulted regarding a pre-schooler expelled for a serious behavioral problem. Pre-school boys and girls have been expelled because their behavior was unmanageable! Yes, girls too. Just a few years ago, expulsion of a girl child was totally unheard of.


Perhaps politically incorrect, but worthy of attention, is a recent study which shows that children from homes which have greater family structure with set rules do better. So, the question we all need to ask ourselves is this: What type of structure and rules might be good for a child's optimal growth?


The words such as the "structure" and "rules" often evoke images of a rigid, inflexible system that might destroy such good things as a child's creativity, initiative and happiness. It doesn't have to be so.


A structure can be highly positive. When a child's problem behavior gets all the negative attention but acts of good behavior go unnoticed, that actually shows either a lack of structure or a breakdown of it.


Consider the following example: "Johnny" obeys his father nine out of ten times. But the compliance does not elicit any praise or recognition by the father because he thinks that children are supposed to obey the parents anyway. Therefore, the time when Johnny does not listen to his father, the latter gets mighty upset. Father's undue response should not cause a problem because a lot of other good things are in place at Johnny's home.


However, if other conditions at Johnny's home were already causing a high level of stress and resentment, compliance that was not recognized or explicitly appreciated could become an issue, especially if Johnny is a grade school child.


Other examples of positive structure include "catching" a child being good, parent and child spending one-on-one time every day and family meals at least once a day.


Some child experts recommend that a parent should spend at least fifteen minutes with his or her child to talk, play or engage in some activity together. All a parent is to do is to do in those fifteen minutes is to praise every single positive behavior he or she witnesses and most of the behavioral problems would automatically cease.


The structure and the rules are not just for children they are for parents, too. Children are good in detecting when parents don't practice what they preach. They may be afraid of speaking out about the disparity they see, but the gap between the preaching and practicing might still influence their behavior.


Some parents give incongruent messages. They may be saying one thing, but the tone of their voice and their body language may be giving a different message. There are fourteen different kinds of smile. Your emotional brain can differentiate one from the other.


When a waitress in a restaurant draws a smiley face on the checks, her tips increase by seventeen percent. "Smilies" have power. Smile at children and use the smilies for rewarding good behaviors.


When we want to see more of a desired response from another, we do more of what we already do more of. For example, the mother nags "Johnny" because he does not do what she asked him to do. So, what does she do? She nags harder and longer. In response, Johnny becomes even more resistant and stubborn. If your technique isn't working, it's time to quit.


Some rules are necessary for proper and balanced development. For example, half an hour of aerobic exercise or physical activity every day is good for physical and emotional health as well as for attention and concentration.


One hour a day of entertainment television is manageable. It allows time for other important activities such as sports, homework and household chores.


Harris Cooper, an expert on homework, recommends 10 minutes increase of time in homework for each grade level for an average student. For example, 10 minutes for a 1st grader or 60 minutes for a 6th grader.


As regards curfew and driving at night, governments are making such rules because too many parents simply don't or if they do, they don't try hard to enforce them.


No harm shall come from sensible rules and a benign but firm authority.

• The ED Organizational Directory lists phone numbers, managers, and other information for ED offices. PDF (461K)
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/or/org_directory.pdf

The Department is headquartered in Washington, D.C., where about 3,600 staff work in several buildings:


Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ)

Department of Education Building

400 Maryland Ave, SW

Washington, DC 20202

Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)

550 12th Street, SW

Washington, DC 20202

Capitol Place

555 New Jersey Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20208

1990 K Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Union Center Plaza (UCP)

830 1st Street, NE

Washington, DC 20202

L'Enfant Plaza

490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Room 2100A

Washington, DC 20202