Taking Care of Young Teeth

Healthy teeth and a healthy mouth give children more than just a beautiful smile. A healthy mouth supports overall health, and it can help children perform better in school. But far too many children have preventable oral health problems far too young. 

Tooth decay affects more than 25 percent of American children 2 to 5 years old, and half of children 12 to 15 years old -- that's more than any other chronic infectious disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Left untreated, tooth decay causes pain and infection, which can lead to problems in eating, speaking, playing, and even learning. 

There is plenty that parents and caregivers can do to help prevent tooth decay and other oral diseases.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) says that children should have their first visit to a pediatric dentist no later than their first birthday. The first tooth usually comes in between 6 and 12 months of age -- schedule an appointment and get started on good oral health care from the beginning. The AAPD says that, in one study, children that saw a dentist before their first birthday had dental costs that were 40 percent lower in the first five years than costs for children who had not seen a dentist by their first birthday. 

Establish Good Habits - Kids need help establishing good dental care habits. Make sure they brush twice a day, floss every day, follow a healthy diet and visit the dentist every six months for checkups and cleanings.

   

• Using a soft-bristled brush, kids should brush for at least two minutes. Some power toothbrushes have a built-in timer. Before teeth appear, clean baby's gums twice a day with a soft cloth or baby toothbrush and water.

•  Parents should floss young children's teeth once a day, until they can do a good job themselves, at least until age 7 or 8.

• Make sure they eat foods with vitamin C, which helps gum tissue stay

          healthy and calcium, for strong teeth.

       

   

Be Alert - Watch for signs of oral health problems. Talk to your dentist if you see warning signs such as:

   

• Changes in performance at school -- listening, concentrating and

           learning.

• n  Sucking on cheeks or lips.

• Reluctance to smile

• Problems chewing foods.

• Problems sleeping.

• Aching teeth or gums.

Now, kill the weeds without pesticides

London: Good news for gardeners and environmentalists alike. Scientists have unveiled a gadget that could kill weeds in a jiffy without requiring noxious pesticides.

But the darker side is it require a 2,500-volt charge. The concentrated energy penetrates weed's vascular systems, boiling the water in the plant cells and breaking down the cell walls.

Weeds wilt immediately in a cloud of steam like overcooked vegetables, then dry out and within days disintegrate into the soil.

The device can annihilate garden invaders such as nettles, bindweed and dandelions, and even obliterate the dreaded Japanese knot-weed. But if used on a human, the current would stop the heart by raising the body temperature to 284F (140C), the Daily Mail reports.

Electrical engineer Mike Diprose, who invented the zapper, believes it will revolutionise gardening and curb the use of potentially dangerous chemical sprays.

'It could clear overgrown plots in hours and tackle weeds more than six feet high,' says Diprose, 64. He has been testing it at his house in Calver, Derbyshire, with a warning: Danger of Death: High Voltage.

The zapper is a square blue box, similar in size to a vacuum cleaner mounted on a trolley. Leading from the box is a cable attached to a long plastic probe with a handle and a 3in metal spike on the end.

However, the apparatus is so dangerous that use by amateur gardeners has been ruled out. Instead, he proposes a scheme to license and train operators who could be called out by householders to exterminate weeds. "It would be lethal in the wrong hands, like a shotgun," said Diprose.

Salt-resistant rice to hit the market soon

London: If the efforts put in by the agricultural scientists in Japan bear fruits, farmers across the globe can sow rice on the less futile and salty fields. Efforts are on to develop salt-resistant rice variety after a huge tsunami last year hit paddy fields in Japan leaving behind a salty sludge.

Farmlands that accumulate salt have lower crop yields, which can threaten food supply, as rice happens to be the staple of billions of people worldwide.

'The beauty of the new method (called MutMap) is its simplicity,' said Sophien Kamoun, professor and head of the Sainsbury Lab on Norwich Reserch Park, who co-authored the study which was reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

'By working with cultivars favoured by farmers and already adapted to local conditions, the MutMap method will enable plant scientists and breeders to develop new crop varieties in nearer a year rather than five to 10 years,' added Kamoun.

The new method can also improve rice productivity worldwide. Even otherwise, much of the crop is often grown on land that is prone to high levels of salinity.

The new technique also takes advantage of the speed at which sequencing can now be done to screen plant mutants for valuable traits, according to a Norwich and Iwate Research Centre statement.

'Until now, plant breeding has not been able to take advantage of the genomics revolution,' said Ryohei Terauchi, professor at Iwate Biotechnology Research Centre, Japan, who led the study.

'MutMap overcomes one of the greatest limitations, which has been the time it takes to identify genetic markers for desirable traits,' Terauchi added. 

Tablet computers cause postural problems

London: The use of tablet computers such as the Apple iPad cause postural problems, which can be improved by placing them higher to avoid low gaze angles.

'Compared to typical desktop computing scenarios, the use of media tablet computers may be more of a concern for the development of neck and shoulder discomfort,' said lead investigator Jack T. Dennerlein, from Harvard School of Public Health, and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

A group of experienced tablet users completed a set of simulated tasks with two media tablets, an Apple iPad2 and a Motorola Xoom. Each tablet had a proprietary case that could be adjusted to prop up or tilt the tablet computer, reports the 'Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation'.

During the experiment, users completed simple computer tasks such as Internet browsing and reading, game playing, email reading and responding, and movie watching.

Head and neck postures and gaze angle and distance were measured using an infrared three-dimensional motion analysis system, according to Harvard statement.

The findings suggest that tablet users should place the tablet higher, on a table rather than the lap, to avoid low gaze angles, and use a case that provides steeper viewing angles.

'Our results will be useful for updating ergonomic computing standards and guidelines for tablet computers,' said Dennerlein.

Source: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/tablet-computers-cause-postural-problems_news_1395634.htm

For healthier heart, eat fried food!

Foodies can  rejoice now as a new study by the researchers of  Autonomous University of Madrid suggests that consuming foods fried in olive or sunflower oils will not increase the  risk of heart disease or premature death.


The finding seems counter-intuitive since risk factors for heart disease like obesity and high blood pressure and cholesterol have been associated with diets high in fried foods. But the research linking fried food directly with heart disease has been inconsistent to date, so researchers from the University looked more closely at the connection.

The study’s authors surveyed nearly 41,000 adults between the ages of 29 to 69, asking about their health and eating habits. None of the participants had heart disease at the beginning of the study. Participants were split into four groups according to how much fried food they ate and then monitored for heart disease for 11 years.

People in the lowest consumption group ate about 1.6 ounces of fried food a day. Those in the highest intake group ate 8.8 ounces a day. On average, people consumed just under 5 ounces of fried food a day, which accounted for about 7% of all the food they ate. The participants reported eating foods that were fried in various ways, including deep-fried, pan, battered, crumbed or sautéed.

According to the study published in the BMJ on Tuesday, there were 606 heart-related events and 1,134 deaths during the study follow-up period. When the researchers compared heart disease and death rates to the participants’ diets, they found no link regardless of how much fried food people ate.

This doesn’t mean you should up your French fry consumption. The study was conducted in Spain, where people mostly use heart-healthy olive and sunflower oils in their cooking, both at home and at restaurants. Unlike in the U.S., the study participants were eating fried foods in the context of a healthier Mediterranean diet. And as the study authors noted further, “consumption of fried foods in Spain is not a proxy for fast food intake.” While the Spanish tend not to eat fried snacks that are high in salt and trans fats, in the U.S, these foods make up a significant part of our diet.

 “Frying with mainly olive oil or sunflower oil is not associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease,” the authors concluded, but “frying with other types of fats may still be harmful.”

US law makes 'condom' must for shooting porn stars

London: A new law requiring porn stars to wear condoms during film shoots in Los Angeles is all set to become effective in the US city in the next few weeks, a media report here said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday signed an ordinance into law requiring male actors in pornographic videos to wear condoms. The ordinance was passed by the City Council last week.

Having been approved by the city's mayor, the law will be effective in the next six weeks, the Daily Mail reported.

According to officials with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which lobbied for years for such a law, they would now turn their attention to getting a similar condom requirement adopted elsewhere.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which had pursued for the measure for six years, said: "The city of Los Angeles has done the right thing. They've done the right thing for the performers."

Its adoption is crucial in protecting adult film actors from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, said Weinstein, adding that his group's next move will be to get Los Angeles county to adopt a similar measure for its unincorporated areas.

But critics claim the regulation jeopardises the industry's long-term future in the nation's porn capital as many firms have threatened to abandon the area.

Now cure for diabetes and heart ailment in cow's milk

Palampur (Himachal Pradesh): Indian scientists have claimed to have found a protein in cow's milk that can battle an array of diseases like  heart ailment, diabetes and autism.

'The milk of the 'Pahari' cow breed in India's Himachal Pradesh state in North India contains A2 Beta-casein protein in good quantity and it is good for health,' Mandeep Sharma, head of the Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology Department of the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University here. 

Milky medicine: A cow from Himachal Pradesh

Sharma said that in 97 percent cases, it was seen that the cows produced A2 Beta-casein that plays a protective role against heart diseases, autism and diabetes.

He said the milk of the exotic Holstein and Jersey breeds do not contain this component and instead have an alternative A1 allele that has been associated with these diseases.

'A1 allele is not at all present or negligible in the milk of the local cows,' he told IANS. The department has conducted a study on 43 hill cows.

The project, sanctioned by the National Agriculture Development Scheme, is studying immunological and immunogenetic profiling of hill cattle for their disease-resistance potential.

Studies revealed that hill cattle are highly adaptogenic and have better innate and adaptive immune responses to fight infectious diseases like tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth and brucellosis.

Sharma said studies have also established that native cow urine has antimicrobial properties.

'When urine was processed and added in very minute quantities to an antimicrobial agent, it was able to enhance the antimicrobial activity of that agent by 20-25 percent,' the scientist said.

According to him, the farmers in the state were preferring domesticated hybrid varieties rather than the native ones due to high milk yields.

'Now, in certain pockets in the interiors of the state, people are domesticating the 'Pahari' cows,' he said.

The short statured 'Pahari' cattle are highly adaptable to the hilly terrain, are disease resistant and thrive on even poor pastures.

Source: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/hill-cow-s-milk-can-prevent-heart-disease_news_1394631.htm