MUMBAI: Underlining the growing infertility rate among Indian couples, a nine-city survey has found that 46% of the couples who landed up at infertility clinics belonged to the prime reproductive age group of 31 to 40. Of them, 49% had already undergone IVF or in vitro fertilization, a treatment for infertility.
When infertility experts were consulted in a parallel survey, they said 63% of couples seeking treatment were in the 31-40 age group. The survey by a pharmaceutical company interviewed 2,562 people who visited 100 clinics of doctors or attended patient camps . Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after two years of trying for a baby.
“It is believed that 10% of the general population suffers from some form of infertility . Given that India has a population of over 1.2 billion, the number of Indians suffering from infertility is huge,” said Dr Jaideep Malhotra, the president-elect of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction , while presenting the survey results on Thursday.
Stating statistics released by the World Bank in 2013, the doctors said the decline in fertility started a decade ago, with a 17% drop since 2000.
Infertility experts, who are part of the India Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) that has endorsed the survey, said lifestyle factors were contributing to the increase in infertility.
Among males, 41% infertility is due to problems concerning sperm (oligospermia or poor sperm count). In females , 40% is attributed to poly cystic ovarian disorder (PCOD), said ISAR presidentelect Dr Hrishikesh Pai.
He added that the increased levels of estrogen in the environment due to contaminated food had led to a drop in sperm count across the country . “Among younger women, we are seeing poor ovarian reserve (the capacity of the ovary to produce eggs).” There are no concrete reasons at present for this trend.
Moreover, Indians rarely sought treatment on time. “The problem is that couples would rather derive information from the internet and friends than go to a doctor,” said Dr Malhotra.
The doctors said they were disturbed with the survey’s finding that 64% of the people still believed that the birth of a child is God’s will and, hence, delayed treatment.
63% childless couples consulting them in prime reproductive age | Infertility experts
Ten Tips To Spend Less Time On Social Media & More Time With Humans
Too much social media may be costing you more than just time—it may be stealing your happiness. In fact, a recent study found that the more time people spent on Facebook, the more likely they were to feel unhappy and lonely.
Don’t let your smart phone or social media stop you from enjoying human interactions, and loving your life!
Here are 10 tips on how to slow down and jumpstart some good times!
1. Make a mindful tech assessment.
Start tracking how much you use social media/the internet/your phone. Spend a day noting your usage in a small notebook. You’ll be surprised as to how quickly the minutes add up! When you’ve realized that you spend a total of 3 hours on social media sites (like Facebook/Instagram), aim to cut the usage to 90 minutes … See if you can do it? If you can, then keep cutting back until you get to a number that makes you proud! If you can’t, negotiate a time limit that feels like a challenge but still feels like an achievable goal.
2. Ask human beings for directions, help, advice, etc.
Remember when we used to be more reliant upon other people? And no, Siri doesn’t count! Instead of looking on your phone, approach actual humans with your questions.
3. Make a “No Phones At The Table” rule.
No phones allowed at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table! Some restaurants have started to incentivize this idea. I read about a high-end restaurant here in Los Angeles that offers discounts on meals if everyone in a party decides to leave their cell phone at the front desk! Brilliant!
4. When someone texts you, call them back.
Yes, a real phone call, in which one person says “Hello.”
5. Buy an oldskool alarm clock.
Don’t use your cell phone as your alarm clock, don’t keep it on your nightstand, and (even worse) don’t sleep with it on your bed. Charge it in a different room when you sleep, or turn it off until you wake up!
6. Take a tech-ation.
Look at your calendar and schedule a weekend to go on a “tech holiday,” which includes only using your phone to make real phone calls. Try to do absolutely nothing else with your phone. (This means no social media, texting, internet searching, etc.)
7. Get moving with your friends.
Make a plan (by speaking in person or over the phone) to do something physical with friends. Hike, go for a walk, take a yoga class together … When you’re socializing and being physical, you’re less likely to multi-task with social media or be on your phone. And if you are, well then hopefully your friends tell you how rude you’re being!
8. Reward good behavior.
Reward yourself or others for every activity you do that is not tech related and IS interactive.
9. Find a tribe!
Get your partner or a friend (or a few friends) to take on this goal with you and check in/encourage each other. The more this becomes a group norm within your social circle, the easier this will be!
10. And, if you are really feeling gutsy, temporarily or permanently remove your Facebook App from your phone.
This way your usage will at least be limited to a computer.
Too much social media may be costing you more than just time—it may be stealing your happiness. In fact, a recent study found that the more time people spent on Facebook, the more likely they were to feel unhappy and lonely.
Don’t let your smart phone or social media stop you from enjoying human interactions, and loving your life!
Here are 10 tips on how to slow down and jumpstart some good times!
1. Make a mindful tech assessment.
Start tracking how much you use social media/the internet/your phone. Spend a day noting your usage in a small notebook. You’ll be surprised as to how quickly the minutes add up! When you’ve realized that you spend a total of 3 hours on social media sites (like Facebook/Instagram), aim to cut the usage to 90 minutes … See if you can do it? If you can, then keep cutting back until you get to a number that makes you proud! If you can’t, negotiate a time limit that feels like a challenge but still feels like an achievable goal.
2. Ask human beings for directions, help, advice, etc.
Remember when we used to be more reliant upon other people? And no, Siri doesn’t count! Instead of looking on your phone, approach actual humans with your questions.
3. Make a “No Phones At The Table” rule.
No phones allowed at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table! Some restaurants have started to incentivize this idea. I read about a high-end restaurant here in Los Angeles that offers discounts on meals if everyone in a party decides to leave their cell phone at the front desk! Brilliant!
4. When someone texts you, call them back.
Yes, a real phone call, in which one person says “Hello.”
5. Buy an oldskool alarm clock.
Don’t use your cell phone as your alarm clock, don’t keep it on your nightstand, and (even worse) don’t sleep with it on your bed. Charge it in a different room when you sleep, or turn it off until you wake up!
6. Take a tech-ation.
Look at your calendar and schedule a weekend to go on a “tech holiday,” which includes only using your phone to make real phone calls. Try to do absolutely nothing else with your phone. (This means no social media, texting, internet searching, etc.)
7. Get moving with your friends.
Make a plan (by speaking in person or over the phone) to do something physical with friends. Hike, go for a walk, take a yoga class together … When you’re socializing and being physical, you’re less likely to multi-task with social media or be on your phone. And if you are, well then hopefully your friends tell you how rude you’re being!
8. Reward good behavior.
Reward yourself or others for every activity you do that is not tech related and IS interactive.
9. Find a tribe!
Get your partner or a friend (or a few friends) to take on this goal with you and check in/encourage each other. The more this becomes a group norm within your social circle, the easier this will be!
10. And, if you are really feeling gutsy, temporarily or permanently remove your Facebook App from your phone.
This way your usage will at least be limited to a computer.
Too much time on social media may affect short-term memory
Social-MEdia-Time-Short term memory loss due to Social Media Research Says
Always online? Take a break! People who spend too much time browsing social media could be squandering their memories or losing important information, a new study has warned.
Contrary to common wisdom, an idle brain is in fact doing important work – and in the age of constantinformation overload, it’s a good idea to go offline on a regular basis, according to a researcher from Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Erik Fransen, whose research focuses on short-term memory and ways to treat diseased neurons, said that a brain exposed to a typical session of social media browsing can easily become hobbled by information overload.
The result is that less information gets filed away in your memory.
The problem begins in a system of the brain commonly known as the working memory, or what most people know as short-term memory. That’s the system of the brain that we need when we communicate, Fransen said.
“Working memory enables us to filter out information and find what we need in the communication. It enables us to work online and store what we find online, but it’s also a limited resource,” he said.
“At any given time, the working memory can carry up to three or four items. When we attempt to stuff more information in the working memory, our capacity for processing information begins to fail.”
“When you are on Facebook, you are making it harder to keep the things that are ‘online’ in your brain that you need.”
“In fact, when you try to process sensory information like speech or video, you are going to need partly the same system of working memory, so you are reducing your own working memory capacity.”
“And when you try to store many things in your working memory, you get less good at processing information,” he said.
You’re also robbing the brain of time it needs to do some necessary housekeeping. The brain is designed for both activity and relaxation, Fransen said.
“The brain is made to go into a less active state, which we might think is wasteful; but probably memory consolidation, and transferring information into memory takes place in this state. Theories of how memory works explain why these two different states are needed.”
“When we max out our active states with technology equipment, just because we can, we remove from the brain part of the processing, and it can’t work,” Fransen said.
Teenage boys who sleep less have more body fat, but the same isn’t true for adolescent girls, a new study has found.
Researchers in human nutrition at the University of Otago in New Zealand found that teenage boys who sleep less have
more body fat but sleep deprivation in girls has no
discernible effect on their body fat ratios.
The study looked at the sleeping habits and height/weight/fat ratios in 386 boys and 299 girls aged between 15 and 18-years drawn from 11 secondary schools around Otago.
Lead researcher Dr Paula Skidmore said significant results between sleep duration and body composition were found in boys, but not in girls.
An average-sized 16-year-old boy weighing 69.5 kg and measuring 176 cm in height, who slept for eight hours a day, would have a waist circumference that is 1.8 cm bigger, and would have 1.6 kg (9 per cent) more body fat, compared to the same average-sized boy who slept 10 hours a day, the study found.
“The boys who slept eight hours a day would also have 1.8 kg more lean (bone and muscle) mass compared to the boys who slept ten hours, but that’s only a 1.4 per cent increase, compared to the 9 per cent increase seen in body fat,” Skidmore said.
“Our results suggest that for older teenage boys, making sure that they get adequate sleep may help to maintain a healthier body. It seems to be that, within reason, the more (sleep) the better for boys.
“It was unexpected that we did not find the same result in girls, who may actually be more aware of their diet and more in tune with a healthier lifestyle,” she said.
In a world where digestive problems run amok, it’s little wonder that people are desperately looking for remedies that will help fix their gut issues. Although it is not simple, these five superfoods can help clean up the ‘internal trash’, balance your bacteria, and heal any damage that has been done, so you can get your gut back to normal.
Garlic
Garlic is an amazing superfood that can dramatically alter your inner ecology with its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Quite simply, it helps safely remove all those little critters that are destroying your digestive system.
In fact, Washington State University has confirmed that garlic is far more effective than pharmaceutical antibiotics in fighting a common bacteria known as campylobacter bacterium, which currently infects 2.4 million Americans per year.
Keeping your gut clear of these harmful bacteria will go a long ways to healing your digestive system.
Coconut kefir
Coconut kefir is somewhat of a lesser-known superfood, but is powerful nonetheless.
Coconut kefir is the simple process of using young coconut water and fermenting it to a state that leaves it teeming with billions of beneficial microorganisms. These friendly bacteria help balance your inner ecosystem, which in turn facilitates digestion, nutrient absorption, and toxin removal.
Bottom line, if you want to clean up your gut, repopulating it with beneficial bacteria is a requirement. Taking an ounce of kefir in the morning, at meals, and before bed is a great way to start.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is essentially fermented cabbage, which contains a vast array of nutrients and a hardy strain of probiotics, and does an exceptional job of cleaning and ‘furnishing’ your gut with beneficial bacteria so that it can heal and work efficiently again.
Add it as a side to any meal, or get creative and incorporate it into dishes where you would normally add vegetables.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera is a highly medicinal plant, and most of the benefits seem to come from the gel.
Aloe gel contains active compounds that help temper inflammation and block bacteria from infecting various areas of our body, including our digestive tract. They are also believed to help regenerate cells for faster healing times, which is vitally important in healing your gut after significant damage has occurred.
Aloe gel has also showed promise in healing gastric ulcers. According to a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology in April 2006, when given internally, aloe gel reduced gastric inflammation and generated ulcer healing in mice.
Sangre de drago
Sangre de Drago is a latex-like red sap that comes from the Croton species of tree in the Amazon rainforests. This medicinal sap has been used for a variety of ailments, including ulcers in the stomach and intestines.
The two main phytochemicals responsible for its healing properties are an alkaloid known as Taspine (documented as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumorous, and antiviral) and a lignan known as Dimethylcedrusine, which plays a central role in sangre de drago’s wound healing capabilities.
When smeared onto a sterile plate and allowed to dry, then doused with E. colibacteria, it was found that the bacteria promptly died in the presence of the sangre de drago.
A clean gut can create a clean bill of health
Eighty percent of our immunity, and conversely, where 80 percent of things go wrong, starts in the gut. It is perhaps the most important factor to consider when deciding to clean up your health.
Start with these five superfoods, and continue to add to your arsenal in order to keep your gut free of damaging pathogens, and full of beneficial bacteria.
Save Quick Draining of Battery IO7 Device – BrainStrom
Save the battery on the IO7 Device
1)Go to…
Setting>General>Background App Refresh
turn off all the apps off that you don’t need.
See the apple instructions in the below pic
pictures to Navigate to the Setting
Setting>General>Background App Refresh
Save Battery on the IO7 Device
2)Turn Off Motion And Parallax
It may be one of the more striking parts of the iOS Lock and Home screen experiences, but the faux-3D experience that iOS 7 provides can, and no doubt does come at the expense of battery life. Making everything look like it’s moving around in 3D space isn’t something that comes cheap when it comes to clock cycles, and that means battery life is going to be affected. If you’re really serious about getting close to iOS 6 levels of battery longevity then you’ll want to get this turned off pronto.
You can disable this feature by going to Settings—->General—>Accessibility—> Reduce Motion and flip down the button to turn it off…
3) Turn Off Auto App Updates
One of the features that exist in iOS 7 is the auto app update, as long as this feature is on, there will be a huge activity on your iPhone, as it will be taking a lot of battery usage from your iPhone and I think you don’t need it…
You can turn this off in Settings > iTunes & App Store > Automatic Downloads.
4) Disable Location Service
Location Services have always been battery hogs, so this is nothing unique to iOS 7. The solution is to disable as many location services as you can put up with:
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Toggle everything OFF that you don’t use
I generally leave locations enabled for things like maps, weather, and Siri, but not much else needs to know your location.
5) Don’t Use Dynamic Wallpapers
iOS 7 comes with a number of dynamic wallpapers that Apple added in the “Wallpapers and Brightness” Section… If you want my advice, I would recommend removing any Dynamic wallpapers (Don’t use this type of wallpapers) and use the normal stills wallpapers.. This will make the battery life more stable…
To do so, go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness > Choose Wallpaper > Stills.
6) Kill All Apps Running At The Multitasking
When you close any app on your iPhone, the app will stay working in the multitasking and that’s mean you only closed the app for awhile but you didn’t kill it.. Apps running in the multitasking will reduce the battery in iOS 7 very quickly, so in order to kill apps in iOS 7, just follow these steps:
Double tap on your iPhone’s home button.
Now swipe up to quite any app you want
Focus on closing out mapping, GPS, directions, fitness trackers, etc – things that are designed to follow you around or follow your movements all hog battery.
Finally here’s a general and normal tips any iPhone user should follow it either he was on iOS 7 or else:
Disable Bluetooth
Turn off unnecessary Notifications, and don’t allow Push
Use Fetch for Mail rather than Push
Lock the iPhone when not in use to reduce the time the screen is on
Disable keyboard clicks
Disable LTE and use a slower data network
Reset to factory defaults and restore from backup – extreme but can work in some scenarios
So guys what do you think after following these tips ? Do you feel a big difference in your iPhone’s battery ?
Delve into the cutting edge field of tissue engineering to see how scientists are attempting to harness the body’s natural healing powers to grow skin, muscle, body parts and even hearts.
Science may be on the verge of producing a limitless supply of replacement parts by regenerating damaged or aging body parts grown from our own cells.
Imagine the implications if we could custom make body parts genetically indistinguishable from our own.
Could it eliminate the death sentence for profound birth defects, the need for prosthetics and any shortage of transplant organs?
National Geographic delves into the science of tissue engineering and tracks how scientists are beginning to harness the body’s natural powers to grow skin, muscle, body parts and vital organs, even hearts.
Splenda goes from safe to caution after leukemia found in mice
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is urging caution in the use of the artificial sweetener Splenda.
A food safety advocacy group has downgraded its rating for sucralose, the artificial sweetener better known as Splenda, from “safe” to “caution” in its chemical guide to food additives.
The Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest announced Wednesday that it had long rated sucralose as “safe” but is now categorizing it with a “caution,” pending peer review of an unpublished study by an independent Italian lab that found the sweetener caused leukemia in mice.
Previously, the only long-term animal-feeding studies were done by sucralose’s manufacturers, the CSPI said.
Rebiana, a natural high-potency sweetener obtained from the plant stevia, is considered “safe” by the CSPI, though it says the sweetener needs better testing.
“Sucralose may prove to be safer than saccharin, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium, but the forthcoming Italian study warrants careful scrutiny before we can be confident that the sweetener is safe for use in food,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson.
Despite concerns about artificial sweeteners, the CSPI says that drinking diet soda is better than sugar-carbonated soda, which it says “poses greater risks such as obesity, diabetes heart disease, gout and tooth decay.”
In order to avoid the risks of both sugars and non-caloric sweeteners, the CSPI is encouraging people to switch to water, seltzer water, flavored unsweetened waters, seltzer mixed with some fruit juice or unsweetened iced tea.
Electronic Data Capture (EDC) is admittedly a fairly generic sounding term, but in the clinical trials field it actually means something fairly specific: using systems to collect clinical trial data in electronic form as opposed to paper form.
At OpenClinica, we are immersed in EDC all day, every day. However it’s important to recognize that many participants in the field of clinical trials are still just getting their feet wet with EDC. So, here’s a primer on the fundamentals of EDC:
What is Electronic Data Capture (EDC)?
Modern electronic data capture software is typically web-based and utilizes a thin client. Web-based means that the software runs entirely on a Web server (think Google.com), and thin client means that the only tool you need is an ordinary web browser (without any cumbersome plug-ins) connected to the internet in order to access and utilize the EDC software (again, think Google.com).
Clinical trial data may be captured electronically at its source (called e-source), or in paper form and later transcribed into the EDC system.
Fundamentals of Electronic Data Capture,ehr
Who uses EDC software?
Today, the majority of clinical trials being initiated use electronic data capture software. There are three primary categories of EDC software users: sites, sponsors, and CROs:
Sites – A site refers to the entity that coordinates and collects data from the clinical trial patients, or subjects; usually a hospital or clinic. Nurses or other designated study “coordinators” employed by the site will typically be tasked with entering data into the study’s EDC system. The site’s Investigator—the physician in charge of the patient’s care and patient’s data–is responsible for reviewing and electronically signing the data.
Sponsor – The sponsor of a clinical trial is the organization that “owns” the trial. Biopharma, device, and other life sciences companies must sponsor clinical trials in order to get their medical innovations approved by regulatory authorities (like the FDA) before they can go to market with their product. Sponsors may employ a variety of people who use the EDC system in various roles. Monitors working on behalf of the sponsor may visit the client sites to review data source documents and verify the accuracy of corresponding data in the EDC system (with EDC software this “visit” is often virtual). Biostatisticians help plan for and analyze data collected. Typically heavy users of EDC software, data managers have the responsibility is to ensure the trial data is clean and usable. Among other tasks, they may submit requests for information (called “queries”) to the sites to clarify and resolve data issues.
CRO – A CRO, or contract research organization, is an entity that contracts with Sponsors to facilitate the planning and conduct of a clinical trial. In some trials, the CROs may effectively operate the trial on behalf of the sponsor. In other trials, they will take on only some of the key roles (data management, monitoring, analysis). In this regard, CROs may have many of the same types of EDC system users as sponsors. In academia, CROs are often called AROs (Academic Research Organizations), Clinical Trials Units, or Data Coordinating Centers. Their coordinating and management functions are much the same as their commercial counterparts.
In addition to the above types of EDC users, study patients may also contribute data to the EDC system, either directly through a specialized role in the software, or via a separate device and/or application that transmits data to the EDC system. The practice of patients entering data is called ePRO (electronic patient reported outcomes).
Why use EDC software?
Today, the majority of new clinical trials use electronic data capture software. Some of the common motivations for using EDC include:
Cleaner Data – EDC software is particularly good at enforcing certain aspects of data quality. Edit checks programmed into the software can make sure data meets certain required formats, ranges, etc. before the data is accepted into the trial database.
More Efficient Processes – EDC software can help guide the site through the series of study events, requesting only the data needed for the particular patient’s circumstance at a particular time. It faculties the process of clarifying data discrepancies with tools for identifying and resolving data issues with sites, and can help reduce the number of in-person site visits required during a trial.
Faster Access to Data – Web-based EDC systems can provide near real-time access to data in a clinical trial. This insight enables faster decision making, and can support adaptive trial designs.
Each of the above reasons for using EDC addresses issues of efficiency and productivity, and can therefore also reduce the cost of clinical trials.
Trends in EDC
In the 1990s electronic data capture was referred to “remote data capture” (RDC). Compared to today’s technologies, these systems were quite archaic, often built an a client-server architecture involving a thick that sometimes took the form of a specialized device, as opposed to an every-day PC. These systems were essentially data “silos” that had no easily ability to interchange their data with other systems.
Today, the integration of EDC software with other types of software in the eClinical spectrum (randomization, supply management, adverse event reporting, coding, submissions, etc.) systems is increasingly feasible and beneficial. The ability to quickly and reliably import electronic data from other sources (such as lab reports, imaging data sources, and electronic health records) is also becoming commonplace. The rise of open source EDC software and independent standards for characterizing and sharing data (like CDISC) are key enablers towards accelerating the productivity and decreasing the cost and burden associated with clinical trials.
1. To get Clear Skin Wash your face at least twice each day, using a
pure soap such as Ivory, and clean water. Hot
water opens pores, so wash with hot water. Cold
water closes pores, so splash your face with cold
water after washing to ensure that your pores are
protected from the environment. Splash with cold water before applying makeup as well.
2. Reduce the use of cosmetics as much as possible.
These clog pores. If you must wear makeup, make
sure that you are using hypoallergenic products, or
products for sensitive skin. Splash your face with
cold water before applying, and make sure you
wash all the makeup away before going to bed.
3. Keep you hair and hands off your face. Hair and
hands contain oils that can cause acne breakouts.
When applying creams or makeup to the face, use
applicators – not your hands. Don’t lean with your
hands on your face either. Keep your hair pulled
back off your face.
4. Hydrate the body – and the skin – with water.
Hydrated skin is healthy skin. Water helps to
detoxify our bodies, and our skin, ridding us of
elements that make us ill, as well as elements that
can cause acne.
5. Eat a well balanced diet, and make sure that you
include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits
and vegetables contain quite a bit of natural
vitamin A and vitamin E, which is essential to good
skin care.
6. Don’t avoid the sun altogether, because that isn’t
healthy, but limit your time in the sun, and use a
good sunscreen. Overexposure to the sun, or
ultraviolet rays, can not only cause acne, but it can
cause skin to age quickly. It can also cause skin
cancer. Make sure you wash the sunscreen off when you come in from the sun to avoid getting
clogged pores.
7. Don’t squeeze pimples, or pick at any sores. This
can cause the spread of acne, and it can leave scars
as well. Instead, treat the pimples and sores with
topical ointments and creams, keeping your hands
off of them. Use cotton balls or q-tips to apply
ointments and creams.
8.Stress is bad for the skin. Just as good hormones
and chemicals are produced and released when
we sleep, bad hormones and chemicals are
produced when we are stressed. Avoid stress as
much as possible, and learn to do deep breathing
exercises, or other stress reducing techniques, for those times when you are stressed.
