Crisis and Management

Educationists and parents alike often face the tricky question of keeping a child’s focus on learning, mainly because of the widespread myth that learning – as in school lessons – can be tedious.

One creative way to impart education – such as logical reasoning and analytical thinking – is by exposing children to creative and entertaining puzzles. The concept is not new – various wooden puzzles have been introduced in kindergarten to capture the imagination of kids and make them to think creatively.

Lately you can find an incredible variety of wooden puzzles, brightly colored and in all shapes and sizes, and with varying difficulty levels and for different age groups. You can even find puzzles targeted at improving certain educational areas such as numbers awareness, hand-eye skills and even learning about geography and animal life.

A top learning consultant based in Dubai opines otherwise – 80 percent of our thinking is done ‘unconsciously’, she says.

In fact, what you’re doing right now could have been triggered by the unconscious mind, according to Carol Talbot.

“We are wired to produce results based on our thoughts and what we focus on,” she said, suggesting that the conscious mind is the goal setter and the unconscious mind is the goal getter.

“But, as much as 80 per cent of your thoughts happen unconsciously. This means that if you want to learn something new, behave differently or change, it is the unconscious mind that does all that for you.”

She explained that becoming aware of our patterns of thinking, behavior and feeling gives us the ability to make swift and lasting changes.

“Thoughts can either help or sabotage. Indeed, research reveals that we have over 60,000 thoughts per day, most of which are repetitive. However, a whopping 77 per cent are negative, counterproductive or could work against us, as the unconscious mind responds to what we feed it.”

Talbot explained that to constructively control our unconscious mind we need to first be really clear on what we want, as our focus influences a greater reality.

“Pay attention to what you want and begin to erase the old, negative and counter-productive dream stoppers that can hinder your success. Replace them with healthy, new and positive beliefs about yourself and the world around you.

“Transformation happens within; success begins with what you choose to do inside your head. Winners tap into their internal fire, recognize patterns of success and are aware of their thoughts that bare results,” she concluded.

Thanks the mushrooming social media networks, everyone has something to say these days. And most of us have strong messages that we’d like to see get the maximum coverage – about climate change, for instance.

One fab way, that has always been in vogue, is to combine style, fashion, comfort and the message in one bundle. And what better way to do that than custom design T-shirts?

Thanks to some great interactive technologies, you could have your T-shirt and your message printed with your choice of material, designs, logo and photos. Search the Web for some inspiration as well as great deals!

The incidence of obesity is costing the economy $190 billion in annual medical costs, says a new study.

Obesity instances in the US have soared from 13 per cent to 34 per cent over the last 50 years, while the percentage of Americans who are extremely or “morbidly” obese has rocketed from 0.9 per cent to 6 per cent, said the report.

It costs $1,850 more per year in medical costs for an overweight person than for someone of healthy weight, among employees at the Mayo Clinic and their adult dependents.

Around $5 billion annually for additional jet fuel is needed to fly heavier Americans, compared to fuel needed at 1960 weights.

And $4 billion is needed annually for additional gasoline as cars carry heavier passengers.

If you’re a new parent, you’ll probably be exploring a whole new world of baby stuff, anything and everything from feeding and changing diapers to lullabies and taking your small one out with you.

A stroller is of the course the best option for carrying your baby with you, but it gets slightly tricky if you have to carry two of them. In which case, you’ll need one of those double baby strollers.

Well, it just doesn’t quite end there – which is better, the side-by-side or a tandem stroller? This depends to some extent on where you would carry the babies? If it’s going to be the supermarket aisles or crowded streets, a tandem design will probably suit you best, as they take less space, and make walking in tight spaces easier.

On the flip side, a side-by-side double stroller is simpler to handle, and with a lightweight steel frame, they’re lighter than the tandem style. You can also find them some great double jogger strollers with parent trays and adjustable canopies as well as pneumatic wheels and handbrakes.

One per cent of tested newborns were diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD) while 0.3-0.5 per cent of newborns were diagnosed with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in a UAE study.

The study, implemented in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, screened 98 per cent of eligible infants for Critical Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) born in 2011, using the non-invasive and cost-effective Pulse Oximetry method.

The Pulse Oximetry method is applied by placing a sensor across the infants’ feet 24 hours after their birth. It monitors the level of oxygen in a patient’s blood and alerts the medical staff if oxygen levels drop below safe levels.

Dr Mohamed Hamdan, consultant and head of Pediatric Cardiology at Tawam Hospital, stressed that CHD is the most common congenital anomaly, occurring in about one per cent of newborns.

“Nearly half of the babies with CHD have ‘critical’ lesions which require medical or surgical intervention in the first week after they are born. If these lesions are not detected early, there is a significant risk of death or bad neuro-developmental outcome,” he said.

“We have applied the Pulse Oximetry method because other current methods of detection, including fetal echocardiography (heart ultrasound for babies in the womb), can miss up to 50 per cent of cases, resulting in diagnosis being missed before newborns are discharged from hospital,” he added.

What do Wayne Static, Tom Arraya, Will Adler and Frank Bello have in common, other than they’re some of greatest musicians of our time? They all use the ESP Bass guitars to produce some of most astounding notes ever heard.

The Japanese-owned ESP, short for Electric Sound Products, has evolved dramatically since its humble beginnings in Japan in 1975. Perhaps the most impactful of all their releases has been the LTD series, which are more like the lower-end of their line-up, and hence more affordable, while still being spew out some rich sounds.

Even a couple of hobbyists and amateurs who play rock and metal swear by ESP LTD guitars, vouching that the instruments are “awesome”.

ESP also makes custom guitars, which according to some, are even superior to ESP’s famous Signature (or Artist) series, which are mass produced. However, the LTD series features Standard and Deluxe editions, so if you’re planning to get a bass guitar, you should be able to find the exact right one for you, both in terms of bass quality and your budget.

Three-year-old Joe Skerratt is now in the pink of health, but an artificial heart kept him going for 251 days soon after birth. That’s a record for staying alive on artificial heart in the UK for a child.

Joe, who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) soon after birth, underwent a successful heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) last year.

He spent nine months in hospital attached to a device called the ‘Berlin heart’, a 15 kg machine the size of a small chest freezer, which supports the work of the heart while waiting for a transplant.

Rachel, Hoes’ mother, said: “We took things one day at a time, while we waited for a heart to become available. We tried to plan as many ‘everyday’ activities for Joe as we could.

“When Joe passed the 200 day mark on the Berlin heart we started to really question what else could be done if a heart wasn’t found, but we knew deep down there wouldn’t be much.

“On day 251 the call we had been waiting for came. We were offered a heart for Joe. The call came early in the morning and time seemed to stand still before he was taken down to theater.

“Thankfully, Joe’s operation was successful. After transplant he spent four days on cardiac intensive care before he could have his chest closed safely. Seeing his new heart – a normal size and thumping away in his chest, was incredible. None of it would have been possible without the selfless generosity of the donor family.

“In total we spent 322 days in hospital before returning home. Our first night back involved a celebratory pizza for dinner, which was Joe’s favorite of course.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, log onto the website organdonation.nhs.uk.

Testosterone is the underlying drug that empowers athletes or those undergoing a bout of stress. It has also been used to gain muscle weight so as to be able to endure the stresses of extreme demands on the body.

While cardio can play a major role in building muscles, formulations of testosterone can act as a supplement to diet. Some of them will even burn fat and aid in the muscle building process.

Which testosterone brand is right for you? While a lot may depend on your body chemistry, and a physical trainer could probably be a good consultant for advice, a certain fat burner named MyoRipped has been in the news. Check out some of MyoRipped reviews to discover its potential as a weight-loss pill as well as a testosterone supplement.

Only last week, officials found that a new batch of counterfeit Avastin discovered in the United States was shipped from Britain after being purchased from a Turkish wholesaler.

Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was looking into how the latest counterfeit batch entered Britain before being sold in the US market.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Kyne. “We’re helping the FDA with their investigation and doing all we can on our side.”

If that is the situation with internationally established agencies, then one just has to exercise more caution while buying any kind of formulations online. One way to fool-proof your purchase is to do some research into the website marketing the product.

While it must be original and certifies, further research into the history and promoters of the portal may also yield useful results.