The Great Wall

he Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987, just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles) from east to west of  China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the section of the Great Wall are now in ruins or entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

HISTORY OF THE WALL: Excitement abounds in the origin, vicissitude and nature of the Great Wall of the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties. The Great Wall was originally built in the spring, autumn and Warring States Periods as a defensive fortification by the three states: Yan, Zhao and Qin. The Great Wall went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. In fact, it began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the “Great” wall until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuage succeeded in his efforts to have the walls joined together to fend off the invitations from the Huns in the North after the unification of China. Since then, the Great Wall has served as a monument of the Chinese nation throughout history. A visit to the Great Wall is like a tour through the history; it brings tourists great excitement in each step of the wall.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALL: The mystery of the construction of the wall is amazing. It was drew heavily on the local resources for construction materials, was carried out the line with the local conditions under the management of contract and responsibility systems. A great army of manpower, composed of soldiers, prisoners and local people, built the wall. The construction results demonstrate the manifestation of the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people.

Inventions

  EARLIEST  TELESCOPE

In 1608 three      Dutch eyeglass- makers claimed that they had each invented a telescope and actually produced refracted telescope. Credits given to Hans Lippershey, but Galileo Lailiei brought the invention to the notice of some scientific world in 1609. however recent evidence suggests that Leonard Digges invented a refractor 50 years earlier.

EARLIEST USE OF WHEEL

The earliest documented use of wheel as a means of transport dates back 5,500 years to Mesopotamia. Previously, humans had moved heavy objects by rolling them over logs.

EARLIEST GRAMOPHONE

The gramophone or phonograph was first convinced by Charles Cros, who described his idea in paper deposited in the French Academy of Sciences on April 30 1877. Thomas Edison achieved the first practical device.

EARLIEST COLOUR TELEVISION TRANSMISSION

On July 3 1928 John Logie Baird demonstrated color television transmission for the first time at his studio in London, UK. The picture on right shows an early portable television.

EARLIEST COMPACT DISK

The standard for the compact disk was first proposed by Philips and Sony in 1980, and agreed upon in 1981 by the Compact disc Standard Digital audio Disc Committee. The first Cds became available to the public in Europe and Japan in the autumn of 1982, and the USA in 1983 – where 80,000 discs were in the first year alone.

EARLIEST LAPTOP

Regarded as the first ‘true’ laptop, the GRiD Compass was designed in 1979 by William Moggridge for GRiD Systems Corporation. It was introduced in 1982 with a RAM of 152K.

LIFE LINE – RED ALERT

LOOD is a fluid tissue that circulates in the arteries, veins and capillaries of the body as a result of muscular contraction and relaxation of the heart. Each cell and tissue of the blood owes its life to the regular flow of blood. It is a special gift of nature which never gets exhausted even if donated regularly, since it is recouped and replenished soon afterwards. Perhaps this is the most convincing evidence in favor of blood donation.

            Blood is a life-saving medicine with no alternative. Only 30 per cent of those who need blood get an adequate supply of it in our part of the world. The trend of blood donation is highly unsatisfactory in developing countries due to higher level of malnutrition, infectious diseases, blood disorders, poverty and poor health systems. It is therefore of utmost importance to promote the trend of voluntary blood donation in our society, particularly amongst the youth……..To know more about blood and its donation visit www.sciandtechworld.blogspot.com

Hue & Cry: RED with anger, GREEN with envy

urning a jealous green or apart from blushing pink, colors say a lot about your health.

      Red cheeks may mean you have to see your cardiologist, and a brown nose may suggest that you need to visit your urologist. Competent doctors can diagnose a problem by merely looking at your face skin. Different hues of the face skin relates different illness present internally, if the face was a palette and reflected different colors, this is how the diagnosis would be:

RED

     If both cheeks are red, you can suspect heart trouble.

BLUE

     A bluish forehead, cheeks and lips could mean chronic ailment of lungs, most often – emphysema of lungs and bronchial asthma.

WHITE SPOTS

     If there are white spots on the cheeks, and the skin itself is straw-colored, you may have asthenoneurotic syndrome (exhaustion plus neurosis) or otherwise it is vascular dystonia. You should see a neuropathologist.

PALENES

     It is a sign of anemia. Not only is the skin pale but also the inside of eyelids and lips (observe it yourself). In this case treatment by a doctor-hematologist is inevitable.

BROWN

     It can be judged by spots on the cheekbones and on the root of the nose. It could be an indication of kidney diseases in the initial stage or infection of the urinary bladder. Consult your urologist.

GREEN

     It could be cholelithic disorder or in the worst case – liver cirrhosis. Take an appointment with a gastroenterologist.

YELLOW

          Yellow color and yellow spots on the face indicate hepatitis or gall-bladder diseases. In this case the best will be to consult a hepatologist.

Chipped in

hat is so irresistible about a hot salted French Fries fry that makes you pop it so fast that you nearly burn your mouth? What is it about potatoes that make them so popular? Is it the infinite number of ways you can cook them? Is it that they are so workable - easy to peel, chop and grate; no thorns, no leaves and no messy or slimy bits to deal with. Apart from Arabian and Far Eastern cuisine, potatoes from an integral part of the diet of people all over the world.

           Potatoes have been making news from years. The Inca Indians first cultivated them in Peru some 6,000 years ago and incredibly enough, the Peruvian Quechua Inguage records more than a 1,000 words that were used to describe potatoes and its varieties.

          Best known for its carbohydrate content because of which it is greatly maligned by weight-conscious people who avoid potatoes. It also has medical qualities and is rubbed on the skin of sick patients as a remedy.

          The good news for potato lovers is that potato became the first vegetable to be known in space in October 1995. NASA has developed super-nutritious and versatile spuds for astronauts on lengthy space voyages. 

Huff and Puff

he World Health Organization has estimated that the world comprises approximately 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 to 24, with more than 85 per cent of them living in developing countries. These young people are generally healthy but they are the targeted population for the tobacco use and sale promotion.

   Tobacco is the world’s single most avoidable cause of death and illness as stayed by a WHO Report published in 2003. According to the World Bank Report of 1999, tobacco is expected to take the lives of nearly one-half of the world’s 1.1billion smokers. A structured questionnaire was used for the research and around 196 from a local medical university belonging to the second and final year were surveyed.

    The overall smoking prevalence among the students from both classes was 14.5 per cent, out of which 32 per cent were males and only one per cent females. The average age for smoking initiation was 18.8 years. Half of them caught the habit after joining medical college and most of them identified the student’s hostel to be the most vulnerable place. About 80 per cent of the students living in the hostel were smokers.

    Majority of the students considered doctors to be role models for people. They were of the view that doctors should not smoke to set an example for patients visiting them. Although the university where the survey was conducted was considered a ‘No Smoking University’ but strict anti-tobacco measures were not implemented.

Tasty and Healthy

ango (Mangifera indica) is globally popular fruit, with production exceeding 23 million tones a year according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 1,000 varieties of mangoes exist which differ in their chemical composition, color, size, shape and taste.

Known popularly as the king of fruits, mangoes are not only delicious in their natural state but also from the base for a number of delicious pickles and chutney (sweet and sour). Mangoes also have many myths associated with them; one of the most peculiar ones is displaying mango leaves during weddings in order to bring good luck to the newly wed couple.

MANGOE HEALTH BENEFITS:

1.     A medium sized mango provides about 50% of daily requirements of those dietary fibers that have the ability to lower cholesterol. Those fibers also help heal piles, spastic colon and other digestive disorders.

2.     The fruit is an excellent source of carbohydrate dietary fiber and minerals and helps in smooth functioning of digestive tract.

3.     The peel and pulp provide sufficient phytonutients, particularly B-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A during metabolism.

4.     Mangoes supply omega 3 and 6 fatty acids generously; these are known to prevent the hardening of arteries. They protect against coronary heart diseases, strokes, mental disorders etc.

5.     A substance called lupeol found in mangoes helps to inhibit prostrate and skin cancer.

6.     Mangoes are rich in potassium and help maintain the body’s electrolyte balance. This is especially helpful during hot summer days when the body tends to lose a lot of minerals through sweat.

7.     Mango juice is a nutritional punch and is anti-arthritic, anti-malarial and anti-lipidemia.

8.     Mango extract neutralizes free radicals (toxins which induce cellular damage through a number of ways) and prevents injuries to cell.

9.     The mango tree also has curative properties. Chewing on sticks taken from the tree has an antimicrobial effect and prevents a variety of oral diseases including bad odor.    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Caged birds

he employment of children for work at an age when they should be playing and learning is termed as ‘child labor’.

Child labor is a common concept all over the world with Africa and Asia contributing to 90 per cent of the children’s work force.

       These children face a high risk of psychological damage. A study conducted on 335 working children, of whom 94 per cent were males, with their ages ranging between 11 and 16 years, revealed that most children worked in shops. A small percentage worked with mechanics, did labor work as waiters, in factories or as domestic servants. Nearly half the children worked for over 10 hours a day with an average earning of Rs.2000 per month. One-fourth of the children were not paid at all. Half of the children did not go to school.

      Emotional problems were found more in children working as house-helps or domestic servants. Nearly 10 per cent children had behavioral problems. The reason for working at an early age was determined as poverty, illiteracy and financial support required by the family. Parents make use of children to earn money. Research has revealed that these working children are at a risk for developing depression, low self-esteem and occasionally severe psychological disorders.

       Childhood is a formative period of life. The environment for children should be improved and psychological stress prevented. Education should be promoted and literacy reduced. All this could be achieved in a brand term by alleviating poverty. Children are the wealth of a nation and protecting them from all adversities is the responsibility of every individual. 

Finding the Way...

TUDENTS nowadays find themselves facing the biggest challenge of all – choosing the right path. Being unsure of what to do with your life can be quite a scary thing for some people. That is why a lot of youngsters these days find themselves mesmerized by the thought of having to choose a career when they don’t even have any goals. Questions such as which subjects to choose, what to major in and which college and university to apply to float before their eyes bringing on sudden waves of anxiety.

          This is when speaking to an expert is advisable – you need to seek career counseling. Career counseling can prove helpful in clearing up you vision, enough to bring the faraway objects, in this case your goal, into focus or perspective.

           This swift and spirited age warrants the careful looking into the pros and cons of a profession which a student may want to go in for. And while doing so, one must also not overlook the factor of aptitude, ability and aspiration to achieve something in the fields chosen.

            Career counseling can provide a confused mind can provide a confused mind with multiple options with the much-needed guidance to zero in on a career. It also provides confidentially in matters concerning stress and anxiety and other career transition issues.

          There had been no such concept of hiring career counselors in various schools or colleges up until now but all that is changing along with people’s opinion regarding the seeking of professional guidance.