Hospitals see first bout of summer diseases as mercury fluctuates Express news service : Mumbai, Tue Feb 21 2012,

03:28 hrs While cases of cold, cough and respiratory ailments continue, hospitals have al so been observing a sharp rise in viral fever cases and the first cases of jaund ice, this season. It is important to differentiate between common cold and flu, the latter is alway s accompanied by fever. Apart from high body temperature, fatigue and body weakn ess are common signs of flu, which may last for up to two weeks if not attended, Skin Diseases during summer, we sweat a lot and the sweat beads on the skin lite rally block the sweat glands leading to infections. Main skin diseases seen duri ng summer are prickly heat, sun burn and Tinea Versicolor. Sun Burn is common in cities like Jaipur, which have turned in to concrete jungle. With very little s pace left for the suns rays to be absorbed by earth, the dangerous Ultra-Violet r ays fall on the human bodies and cause rashes on the skin. There are two types o f Ultra-violet rays, U-V A and U-V B. U-V A rays causes pigmentation on skin whi le U-V B causes skin burns. Parts of face, back of body, hands are more vulnerab le to sun burn. Continuous exposure to these rays will lead to blisters, which l ater peel off. Tinea Versicolor, which is also known as Sibba affects the face, neck, chest and b ack areas of body, where sweat retention takes place. These areas become wet due to sweat, which leads to fungal infection, causing white spots. How to prevent? In Jaipur, highest Ultra-Violet rays hit during 11 am-4pm. So, avoiding exposure to sun at this time is preferably the best thing to do. The work schedules coul d be rearrange according to this. Take regular bath, preferably in cold water. This will help the skin remain heal thy, opening the sweat pores and cleaning the glands and removing the dead cells . Wearing cotton cloths will help to have proper ventilation between body and out side environment. Wearing full sleeve shirts while riding two-wheelers will be helpful in avoidin g sunburn. Drinking lot of water is required to be healthy during summer. Sun protectants There are two types of sun protectants- sunscreens and sun blocks. Sun block com pletely blocks the sun rays. Calamine lotion, Zinc oxide etc. (using by cricket players) are some of the effective sun blockers. Sunscreens are those which absorb u-v rays and bounce it back. Sunscreens with m ore than 30 SPF (Sun Protection Factor) are good. It should be applied twice a d ay and 15 minutes prior to setting out of the house, say experts. Jaundice and Diarrhoea Summer typically sees a rise in jaundice and diarrhoea cases. Since both these d iseases are water borne, people should start exercising caution in the food and water they consume. Sun stroke claims one life in Jharkhand in Latehar district 31 May 2012 DNA JAIPUR One person died of sun stroke in Latehar district as heat wave swept across Jhar khand with most districts recording over 41 degree celsius on Wednesday. A labou rer, who had gone to cut wood at Jamuna village in Latehar district, collapsed a nd died after suffering sun stroke, police said. No let up in heat wave in Punjab and Haryana 30 May 2012 DNA JAIPUR There was no let up in the heat wave sweeping through Punjab, Haryana and Chandi garh with maximum temperatures on Wednesday hovering in the range of 42-46 degre es Celsius at many places. . Malaria This is the most dangerous disease in India with a very high number o f deaths credited to it. The disease is spread by Female Anopheles mosquito. A l arge number of cases are reported during the rainy season as water logging provi

des conducive conditions for mosquitoes to breed. Since this disease is spread by mosquitoes the best prevention is to keep the su rroundings clean and mosquito-free. Make sure that water does not stagnate in yo ur area as mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. Cholera Cholera is caused by contaminated food and water. Also poor hygienic conditions help the spread of the disease. It normally spreads in places with poor sanitati on facilities. Severe diarrhea with watery stools is the most common symptom of Cholera. There could also be vomiting with immediate water loss and muscle cramps. Keep the drinking water clean and boil it before using. Maintain personal hygien e and good sanitation. It is advisable to get vaccinated as it gives immunity fo r almost six months. Oral rehydration should be given immediately for patients suffering from Cholera . Typhoid Typhoid is another highly infectious disease that spreads during the summer seas on and it is also caused by contaminated food and water. The most common symptom of this disease is prolonged fever. Severe pain in abdom en and headache can also be the symptoms. This is a highly communicable disease so the patient should be isolated from the rest of the family. Advance vaccination may also help prevent it. High intake o f fluid is advised to patients to prevent dehydration. Since this disease has a tendency of relapsing precautions should continue even after apparent recovery. Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is generally caused by flies. It can also spread by coming in direct contact with the patient. The symptoms are similar to those of flu including high fever along with headach e, pain in joints and vomiting. The most important prevention of this disease is vaccination. This vaccine is av ailable at all the government and private hospitals. Complete bed rest and a hig h calorie diet is advised to the patient. Tips to keep summer ailments at bay Eat as many fibrous fruits as possible A handful of nuts are good for the heart Avoid deep fried foods, instead binge on oats and ragi. Eat greens, raw vegetabl e salad and sundal

Sixth Sense connecting with the digital world SixthSense is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world a round us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to inter act with that information.The SixthSense prototype comprises a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera contained in a pendant like, wearable device. Both the pr ojector and the camera are connected to a mobile computing device in the users po cket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and phy sical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes an d tracks users hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based t echniques.Sixth Sense technology is a sense that would give us meta-information

or easy and seem less access to information that may exist somewhere. The system track the 4 fingers and recognizes any gesture that we are making. For example: You can get video annotations of any event that you are reading on your newspaper or magazines. On your way to the Airport, if you p ick up your boarding pass, it can tell you that your flight is delayed and can also show the time by ho much it is delayed. And the proud genius behind this is Pranav Mistry, an Indian, who is phd. in the fluid interfaces group at MITs media lab, has also worked with Microsoft as a U X Researcher and is graduate of IIT. PlayStation Vita PlayStation Vita will be Sony s return to the handheld space in an attemp t to fend off the continual rise of the smartphone and the tablet. But will a de dicated 5-inch handheld gaming console be enough to tackle the Samsung Galaxy de vices and Apple iPads of this world? Sony certainly hopes so and we get to find out in a month s time. iPhone 5 iPhone gossip dominated 2011 and there is nothing to suggest that it won t domin ate proceedings until Apple reveals an iPhone 5, possibly in September 2012 - th e rumours have already started. If the fanboys felt cheated out of the new device with the reveal of the iPhone 4S, imagine how they will feel if Apple skips 2012 altogether. Remember there wa s a 16-month launch cycle between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Ouch

iPad 3 The iPad 2 was launched at the start of 2011 and the year before saw the launch of the iPad in 2010. Taking that launch pattern as gospel, we should see an iPad 3 launched and in shops in the first couple of months of 2012. In reality Apple has, of course, said nothing, confirmed nothing, and acknowledg ed nothing. Still, that hasn t stopped rumours flowing out of "those familiar with the matte r" and "sources close to the product" as if it was champagne at a New Year s Eve party. If you are to believe all the gossip, Apple will launch a third iPad, called the iPad 3, that will have a faster processor and higher resolution. If you really believe everything you read, and we recommend you don t, there will also be a 7inch version too. Samsung Galaxy S III The Samsung Galaxy S II was one of the biggest phones of 2011 winning numerous a wards, including Phone of the Year in the 8th Pocket-lint Gadget Awards, and end ing up in many people s pockets. Since then Samsung has launched the more powerful Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Goog le. That combined with the launch of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, means that the Samsung Galaxy S II is now looking old. Rumours have it that the SGS II I will be faster, quicker, and more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Expect a February Mobile World Congress 2012 reveal. Ultrabooks Intel is throwing a lot of weight behind the MacBook Air challenger and with ple nty of support from Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo and others like LG and HP. Expec t there to be plenty of Ultrabook announcements over the next 12 months. Your ne xt laptop is going to be thin.

Apple TV Not that Apple TV, but the other one, currently dubbed iTV. If that doesn t make it even more confusing then here is the lowdown. Apple is, if rumours become true, expected to launch a television that has the p ower of its Apple TV set top box within, which should revolutionise the televisi on industry the same way it changed the mobile phone market. The bonus, however, is that Apple already has an army of users with devices (iPhones and iPads) eag er to connect via AirPlay. The TVs, currently rumoured to be 32 or 37 inches in size, might also have Siri support so you can talk to your TV, with it possibly moving into your kitchen be fore gunning for your living room in 2013. Nintendo Wii U Shown off at the E3 gaming trade show in LA in June 2011, The Wii U is the follo w-up to the hugely successful Wii console and hopes to revitalise Nintendo s for tunes in 2012. The console promises to be more powerful than the current Xbox 360 and PS3 as we ll as include a tablet-like controller. Nintendo has said that the Wii U will be launched some time in 2012.

Windows 8 Expected at the tail end of 2012, Windows 8 will promise a wrath of new features and excitement for Windows users on their PC. From the early public preview, that has already been made available, expect a tw o-pronged computer and tablet attack. 2012 is the year Microsoft tries to crack the tablet market once again. Windows Phone 8 (Apollo) We ve already started to hear rumblings of Windows Phone 8 and the new features it will add. If, like other product life-cycles, Microsoft follows suit with upd ates to its mobile phone operating system, we will see an announcement in Februa ry with a roll out of the new features to the general public in October 2012. Even better, with a new OS will come new phones from the likes of Nokia, Samsung , LG, and HTC hopefully. Kindle Fire in the UK The Kindle Fire has already launched in the US, but could 2012 see the launch of the colour tablet from Amazon in the UK? Rumours suggest so, but it is also wor th bearing in mind that Amazon took over 2 years to get the Kindle from the US t o the UK. Sadly, Amazon hasn t officially said when or if it will be launching the Kindle Fire internationally.

Novels The Adventures of Oliver Twist (Monthly serial in Bentley s Miscellany, February 1837 to April 1839) The Christmas books: A Christmas Carol (1843) The Chimes (1844) The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) The Battle of Life (1846)

The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (Monthly serial, January 1843 to Ju ly David Copperfield (Monthly serial, May 1849 to November 1850) Bleak House (Monthly serial, March 1852 to September 1853) Hard Times: For These Times (Weekly serial in Household Words, 1 April 1854, to 12 August 1854) Little Dorrit (Monthly serial, December 1855 to June 1857) A Tale of Two Cities (Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1859) Great Expectations (Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1860 to 1861) Our Mutual Friend (Monthly serial, May 1864 to November 1865) Short story collections Sketches by Boz (1836)