The scientists from Onergon have discovered reusable grocery bags as the notorious culprits for norovirus outbreak that affected the Beaverton’s girls’ soccer team in the year 2010.

The girls’ team had 13 players and 4 chaperones travelling to Seatle for a soccer tournament.

One of the girls fell ill with norovirus and was immediately isolated. Probably the girl was pre-infected by the norovirus infection.

After some time nine girls became infected with same infection and depicted the symptoms of stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.

The Investigation:

After discussing with the team members it was found that they had taken some cookies from a reusable grocery bag.

The bags used by them were placed in the bathroom. The sick girl touched the bag. The experts believed that the infection-causing pathogens got accumulated on the bag from her bathroom.

Even after two weeks, the reusable bags tested positive.

Dr. Kimberly K. Repp of the Oregon Health and Science University and Dr. William E. Keene of the Oregon Public Health Division reported in the journal of Infectious Diseases, “While we certainly recommend not storing food in bathrooms. It is more important to recommend that areas where aerosol exposures may have occurred should be thoroughly disinfected; this includes not only exposed surfaces, but objects in the environment.”

About Norovirus:

Norovirus causes acute gastroenteritis and the common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In some cases the disease is characterized by the loss of taste. The infected person often complaints of following symptoms: headaches, muscular pain and generalized weakness.

The mode of spread is direct contact with the infected person.

The above soccer incident however revealed that the infection can spread without the direct contact with the infected person.

Aron Hall, an epidemiologist with the Division of Viral Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “What this report does is, it helps raise awareness of the complex and indirect way that norovirus can spread.”

It is through hand-washing and cleaning the infected surfaces with bleach solution, that safety against the virus can be attained.

KID: - Why some of your hair are

white dad?

DAD: – Every time a son make his dad

unhappy,

One of his father’s hair turns white…..

… … KID: - Now  I understand why

Grandpa’s hairs are all white..

A 12-year-old boy risked his life to rescue his four younger siblings from a burning home near Pensacola, Fla.

Justin Jackson says he was watching over his three brothers and one sister when a fire broke out inside their home in Milton, Fla., on Sunday evening, NBC station WPMI-TV in Mobile, Ala., reported. His mom was working the night shift at a nursing home and his father had been away on business, according to local media reports.

“If he wasn’t here, we would not be alive,” Justin’s 9-year-old brother, Emilio Jackson, told WPMI-TV. “I love him all the way to the universe and back.”

A storm knocked out power to the neighborhood and the children had used a few candles to light up the house, according to WPMI-TV.

Justin said he was awakened by thunder and lightning, and then saw smoke. He leaped into action, grabbing his three brothers, including Diego, 6, and William, 5, WPMI-TV reported.

“I just picked them up and took them outside and I was knocking on neighbor’s doors but none of them came out,” Jackson told WPMI-TV.

Jackson said he ran back into the fire and kicked down the door to get his 3-year-old sister, Brooklynn.

“I was worried that I was not going to get my little sister out of there,” Justin told WPMI-TV. “I had to pick her up and she was real stiff, I was just real scared at that point.”

After saving his sister, Justin said he dashed back into the burning home a third time to call 911.

“Smoke was in my eye. I couldn’t see anything,” WPMI-TV quoted Justin as saying.

Jackson’s mother, Tiffanie Jackson, said she was working when she received a telephone call concerning her children.

“When I saw the flames I was, like my house is on fire, I didn’t know what to do. My life is burning up. My babies were in that,” the children’s mother, Tiffanie Jackson, told WPMI-TV. “There aren’t enough words to describe how proud I am of Justin. He’s my hero.”

Said Justin: “I was just helping my family.”

Petrol and diesel prices may increase by Rs. 5 per litre and Rs. 3 per litre respectively post the Parliament’s budget session that ends on May 22, 2012.

“Petroleum prices are increasing by leaps and bounds. We cannot keep them under any carpet.

If we do not take corrective measures, we will have to face disastrous consequences,” Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister was quoted as saying by the TOI

“The common man may once again have to bear the burden of rising fuel prices”

He mentioned that he cannot entirely pass on the extra burden to the consumers but apart from the consumer’s suffering individually, it will have its inflationary impact. He added that inflation is also an issue which the government has to address.

This comes as no surprise because Everybody Knows reported that petrol and diesel prices may go up by a small margin in June 2012 as in the last two years, government has hiked the prices of fuel in June irrespective of whether the oil companies reported a loss or not.

There are other factors that indicate a possible price hike in the coming months. Last week, the Finance Minister mentioned that it was impossible for the government to maintain the fuel subsidies and that it has to address the under recoveries of oil marketing companies (IOC, HP and BP).

In April 2012, R S Butola, Chairman, IOC stated that IOC has been very patient by not hiking petrol prices since December despite its cost of production spiraling. That means, the oil companies may be allowed (by the government) to hike the fuel prices by a small margin.

Also, the government has agreed in ‘principle’ to regulate the prices of diesel as per the crude oil prices in the international market. Hence, the government may not have direct control over diesel prices in the future.Even diesel may not be spared from a price hike in the future.

Summing up, once again, the common man will have to face the additional burden of fuel expenses due to the imminent price hike expected within the next couple of weeks.

Constant binging on junk food can result in serious health problems.  Obesity among children is rising as kids are adopting faulty eating habits.  Lack of proper exercise is also a contributory factor for childhood obesity.

Important Tips:

Fast food binging is the main cause of obesity in kids.

Here are the tips to help your child shed the extra weight gained due to unhealthy eating habits and inactive lifestyle.

Let your Child Loose:

Involve your child in outdoor activities. Encourage him to do indulge in exercises and sports.

Teach him about Food:

Impart knowledge about the healthy foods and their significance. If your child learns about the types of foods and their importance, he will definitely shun junk food.

Make Food Colorful:

Color the food as it is appealing. Add vegetables and fruits of different colors to make your plate attractive and mouth-watering. Your child will love colorful and healthy food and will not step towards fast foods.

Avoid Eating Outside:

Avoid eating out at the food parlors as you are at the risk of consuming unwanted calories. Your children will emulate your example. So set good standard for them to follow.

Go to Parks:

Take your kids to nearby park or garden for a stroll or a relaxing walk. Breathe in the fresh air and at the same time get rid of the accumulated calories.

Keep in mind these useful tips and be sure to keep your kids healthy and fit. Improvise your lifestyle and stay fit!

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1. Always speak the truth, no matter how bitter harsh it is ..

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2. Run immediately after saying it..

Yangoon, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s president has confirmed that his country bought weapons from North Korea during the past 20 years and assured his South Korean counterpart that it will no longer do so.

In a meeting with visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Myanmar President Thein Sein said his country never had nuclear cooperation with North Korea but did have deals for conventional weapons, Lee’s presidential Blue House said in an announcement Tuesday.

Thein Sein told Lee that Myanmar will no longer buy weapons from North Korea, honoring a U.N. ban, South Korean presidential official Kim Tae-hyo told reporters traveling with Lee, according to Blue House officials in Seoul.

Lee is on an official visit to Myanmar, the first by a South Korean president since North Korean commandos staged a bloody 1983 attack on visiting South Korean dignitaries.

Myanmar cut off diplomatic relations with North Korea after the attack, but restored them in 2007 as it sought allies in the face of international sanctions over its human rights record and failure to install a democratic government. Myanmar also began buying weapons from North Korea, and was suspected of obtaining nuclear weapons technology as well.

Myanmar is taking steps to emerge from international isolation after decades of military rule ended last year. Those changes were highlighted Tuesday when Lee met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was held for years under house arrest but is now a member of Parliament.

Suu Kyi said after the 45-minute meeting that South Korea and Myanmar have much in common in having had to ‘take the hard road to democratic leadership.’

Lee, speaking through an interpreter, said he and Suu Kyi had agreed that ‘democracy, human rights and freedom must never be sacrificed because of development.’

He said he had praised Thein Sein’s contribution to democratization when he met the Myanmar president on Monday.

He also said he told Thein Sein that he hoped his government ‘will refrain from any activities’ with North Korea that could be considered in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. He described this as a formal request.

A U.N. resolution bars countries from obtaining all but small arms and light weapons from North Korea.

Lee on Tuesday made a brief visit to the site of the 1983 bombing, Martyr’s Mausoleum, a monument to Suu Kyi’s father, Myanmar independence hero Gen. Aung San. The attack left 21 dead, 17 of them South Korean, but failed to kill its target, then-President Chun Doo-hwan, who arrived late and was not harmed.

A statement from Lee’s office said he also agreed to expand South Korean financial assistance to Myanmar.

It said South Kororea agreed to help Myanmar develop human resources, build a think tank and invite Myanmar students to South Korea in an effort to share its successful experience in economic development.

Eating fish can protect you from developing colorectal cancer, reveals a recent study.  Tal Cancer

The study showed that people who consume fish are protected against cancer of rectal and colon.

The Study:

The scientists from University of Medicine and Dentistry at the New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School pooled data from 41 past studies published between 1990 and 2011.  Fish intake was evaluated and continuous tracking of the cancer prognosis was done.

It was found that those who ate fish regularly stayed protected against rectal and colon cancer. The rate of developing rectal cancer was 21 percent less than non-fish eaters while 4 percent less risk was reported for colon cancer.

The experts said that the overall fish intake was related to 12 percent reduction of the cancer threat.

Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, mentioned, “People who rarely eat fish may experience health benefits in a variety of areas — heart disease, reproductive and now colon cancer — by increasing their fish consumption somewhat.”

The researchers believed that omega-3 fatty acids present in some fishes like sardines and salmon are responsible for the cancer protective properties.

Dr. Gochfeld commented, “If you eat fish very frequently, it’s not clear whether your benefit continues to go up (by eating even more).”

The study was published in the Journal of American Medicine.