Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, but nobody is equal either. People are simply unique, incomparable. You are you, I am I. —Osho
International
Usually, pain is picked up by specialised cells in your body, and impulses are sent through the nervous system to the brain. Drugs and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) are both ways to convince the brain to send new messages back to the body. Now new studies suggest that reading may also help people suffering from chronic pain. Shared Reading is used in a range of circumstances that have similarities with chronic pain, in that the conditions involved can often be chronic and unsolvable, as in the case of dementia, imprisonment, and severe mental illness. The model is based on small groups coming together weekly to read literature together aloud. “Our study indicated that shared reading could potentially be an alternative to CBT in bringing into conscious awareness areas of emotional pain otherwise passively suffered by chronic pain patients,” said Dr Josie Billington University of Liverpool in Britain.
Zimbabwe bans beating of children
The East African country of Zimbabwe has just ruled that the beating of children is unconstitutional and will now be punishable by law. Though corporal punishment at home and in school has been banned by the High Court, it still needs to be approved by the constitutional court as well. The pivotal decision comes as a result of parental outrage over evidence that their children were being beaten in school for minor academic offences.
Israeli doctors help deaf Palestinian kids
Thanks to a program that works to build healthier peaceful international relationship, 16 Palestinian children are now able to hear after being given cochlear implants by Israeli doctors. The Peres Centre for Peace coordinated 16 successful surgeries over the course of the last year at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. Six of the surgeries were performed last month in “marathon style” back-to-back operations. Though the surgery may be a fairly common operation in more advanced countries, it is not yet as
accessible in developing countries. “These children couldn’t speak prior to the surgery, they were bereft of any supporting environment, uncommunicative. The surgery opened up their world, the ability to communicate and spread their wings… We are happy to have been able to contribute to such a dramatic change in their lives.”
Birds make you happy
According to a new study, people living in neighbourhood of more birds, shrubs, and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. The study conducted at the University of Exeter, involving hundreds of people, found benefits for the mental health, of being able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or leafier suburban neighbourhood. The study, which surveyed mental health in over 270 people from different ages, incomes and ethnicities, also found that those who spent less time out of doors than usual in the previous week were more likely to report they were anxious or depressed. After conducting extensive surveys of the number of birds in the morning and afternoon in Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Luton, the study found that lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with the number of birds people could see in the afternoon.
National
Khalsa College offers alternative to pesticides
As part of a natural farming initiative, agricultural scientists from Khalsa College, Amritsar are breeding ‘friendly insects’ in their labs to control the growth of harmful insects and protect the crop. According to a report by The Times of India, in a research project taken up to discourage farmers from using poisonous insecticides and pesticides and to promote organic farming, the scientists have set up a Bio-Control Lab. The college agriculture department has adopted 50 acres of land, where crops are to be cultivated without using insecticides and pesticides. The insects being bred in the lab are Trichogramma Brasiliensis, Isotima Jevenesis, Coccinellide, Syrphid, Spider, Carabid, Dragon Fly, Predatory Pentatomids and Abnthrocoriddbugs, as informed by Rajinder Pal Singh, in charge
of the college Bio Control Lab.
Backward States progress in health
Several of India”s socio-economically backward, or Empowered Action Group (EAG) states have made great strides over the last decade with regard to some of the key health indicators. For instance, all EAG states (Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chhatisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, UP and Uttaranchal), and Assam have witnessed an increase of over 40 percentage points in institutional births, according to the National Family Health Survey. A rise in the number of institutional deliveries is crucial as it helps reduce maternal and infant mortality, besides ensuring better health for women and children in the long run. This is also evident in the 20 percentage point drop in the infant mortality rate in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Odisha.
Union Govt to hire more staff
The Union Govt in its Budget has provided for the recruitment of around 2.80 lakh more staff. According to a The Times of India report, the Income Tax Department, the agency involved in the drive against black money post-demonetisation, is set to expand from the existing strength of 46,000 to 80,000 by March 2018. Similarly, Customs and Excise Department, which will implement the ambitious Goods and Services tax regime, will get additional manpower of over 41,000. The current strength of 50,600 for Customs and Excise staff is to go up to 91,700. There is a significant jump in the strength of the Foreign Ministry and I&B Ministry too.
Chennai looks to tap new water bodies this summer
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to tap 12 water bodies in and around Chennai. Waking up to the challenge of water scarcity, the irrigation tanks would be desilted to hold 750 million cubic feet (0.75 TMC) of water, equivalent of three weeks” supply to the city, revenue administration commissioner K Satyagopal declared in a seminar on Tuesday. “The concept is that most of the local bodies have irrigation tanks that are not tapped after urbanisation. These tanks will be desilted below the sill level. We are also taking disaster mitigation measures in a big way to ensure that the state becomes drought-proof,” he said.
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