Dengue-Prevention

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue.

Dengue-Prevention

 

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Vocabulary List (Basic Level)

     A great mastery of essential English words will no doubt be very helpful to you in achieving a satisfactory GMAT score and improving communication  skills. To better assist you in your GMAT preparation, Manhattan Review has  developed an exclusive Vocabulary List for your reference. 

Vocabulary List

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Multilingual Dictionaries (Links)

Multilingual Dictionaries (Links)

Here the few examples for what's inside in the pdf. You can get the below informative web links in that pdf 

IMF Terminology Database
MULTI eurodicautom
MULTI Shoes and leather Italian site.

International Labour Organization.

Institute of Translation and Interpreting University of Innsbruck

TERMITE, the ITU databaseMULTI Foreign Trade
Parliamentary Terms
Link to a variety of Glossaries
Trilingual "Dictionary of Health Finance" project
MULTI European Union reference texts
MULTI EU glossary & terminology
Bicycle, cycling, bike, biking, biker MULTI (EN, NL, DE, FR, ES, PT)Try LOGOS MULTILINGUAL PORTAL for more linksMultilanguage Glossary about Computer and Internet terms:
Abbreviations and acronyms:
Botany
Tourism
Regionalisms
MULTI Dictionary of nature
Etc.,

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10 Fascinating Facts about the Dead Sea!

The Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It’s a hypersaline lake that is truly one of Earth’s unique places. Not only is it the saltiest body of water in the world, but it is also the lowest place on the entire globe, and one of the only bodies of water you can freely float in!     10 Fascinating Facts about the Dead Sea!

1. The surface and shores of the Dead Sea are 423 metres (1,388 ft) below sea level, making it Earth’s lowest elevation on land.

2. The Dead Sea is 377 m (1,237 ft) deep, making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride or other mineral salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water.

3. With 33.7% salinity, the Dead Sea is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water. Although Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have reported higher salinities.

4. The Dead Sea’s unusually high salt concentration means that people can easily float in the Dead Sea due to natural buoyancy. In this respect the Dead Sea is similar to the Great Salt Lake in Utah in the United States.

5. The Dead Sea is roughly 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals cannot flourish (hence its name). The high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic organisms such as fish and aquatic plants from living in it, though minuscule quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi are present.

6. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

7. The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and treatment for several reasons. The mineral content of the water, the very low content of pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component of solar radiation, and the higher atmospheric pressure at this great depth each have specific health effects.

8. Biblically, the Dead Sea was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world’s first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers.

9. An unusual feature of the Dead Sea is its discharge of asphalt. From deep seeps, the Dead Sea constantly spits up small pebbles and blocks of the black substance. Asphalt coated figurines and bitumen coated Neolithic skulls from archaeological sites have been found. Egyptian mummification processes used asphalt imported from the Dead Sea region.

10. The world’s lowest road, Highway 90, runs along the Israeli and West Bank shores of the Dead Sea at 393 m (1,289 ft) below sea level.

How to Prevent Yourself from a Fall, Trip, or Slip

 

     One of the main health concerns of elderly people is falling, which is often related to poor balance. In fact, many studies show that people begin to have balance problems starting at the age of 40 years.   The older you get, the weaker your physical body and sensory abilities will be, which are all factors in having poor balance.

How to Prevent Yourself from a Fall, Trip, or Slip

In Japan, more than 7,000 people a year die from falling accidents, which already exceeds the number of traffic accidents.
In this article, we'll examine in more details the cause of falling and why you lose balance as you age.

## Test Your Balance by Standing on One Leg
You can determine how good your balance is by measuring the length of time that you can stand on one leg.

The following table shows the average balance time by age group in a study conducted at a Japanese health institute.

Average time with eyes open
20-39 years old: 110 seconds
40-49: 64 seconds
50-59: 36 seconds
60-69: 25 seconds

Average time with eyes closed
20-39 years old: 12 seconds
40-49: 7 seconds
50-59: 5 seconds
60-69: less than 3 seconds

If your balance time is below average, then you'll have higher risk of falls, or slipping and tripping accidents.
In the above study, women tend to lose their balance more than men but only by a small margin (1-2%).

From this study, it is also evident that there's a sudden significant decrease in the ability to maintain balance among middle-aged people (40 years and above).

Please take note that the numbers stated above are only average. There are people who were able to maintain balance much longer, and there are also those who were only able to maintain their balance at much shorter time regardless of age and gender. The reason why they vary is explained further below.

## The Soles of Your Feet Have Sensors
The skins all throughout your body have significant amount of tiny pressure sensors or mechanoreceptors. Some areas have few pressure sensors, while other areas have thousands, like on the soles of your feet.

The pressure sensors on the foot soles provide information to your brain to help balance your body.

As you get older, the sensors will get weaker and your foot sole lose sensitivity.

But there are also other factors that can lead to weaker pressure sensors.

## Poor Blood Circulation Can Disrupt the Pressure Sensors
In our study, people are almost twice as likely to be in a fall accident caused by poor blood circulation.
This can be simulated by soaking your feet into ice cold water for about 3 minutes.

Because of the cold temperature, the pressure sensors on the foot sole begin to lose sensitivity.

# Pay Attention to Your Forward-Moving Foot
If your forward-moving foot hit something, your body will be off-balance causing you to fall or trip.
Well, it's a matter of common sense to always have your eyes on path and watch where you are going.

Remember the old adages - "

Prevention is better than cure",

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure",

"Look before you leap", etc.?
But that's not the only problem.

Here are the other two major reasons why you stumble while walking.

1. Your forward-moving foot is pointed down.
If your foot is pointed down while making a step, then you are more prone to falling.

To avoid this, your forefoot or toes should be flexed upwards as shown on the image below.

2. You walk like a pendulum.
The height of your step can greatly increase your risk of falling.

To prevent this, your forward-moving foot must be higher off the ground (at least 5 cm) while the knee is raised high as shown on the image below.

Actually, all the mechanoreceptors located throughout your body as well as the soles of your feet are sending information to the brain that include muscle contractions and joint angles.  When this information is not transmitted well to your brain, which happens as you get older, then the movement will get weak or ineffective making it hard for you to maintain your foot higher off the ground.

## How to Prevent Yourself from a Fall, Trip, or Slip

1. Keep Your House Clean
There are a lot of things in your house that can contribute to clutters that can cause you to trip or fall. Always make sure to put away or store properly all personal belongings and other unnecessary things even if it is only a newspaper, remote control, and laundries scattered on the floor or carpet.

2. Stretch Your Feet and Ankles

   

You might think that your feet do not need exercise or stretching compared to other parts of your body, but in reality, feet stretching exercise can really help your feet maintain balance.

3. Keep Your House Warm and Ensure Adequate Lighting
Cold muscles and pressure sensors work less well and are less responsive to signals. A decreased temperature will also cause your muscles to have less strength and less flexible, which can lead to accidents. Always try to keep your house warm or wear proper clothes and footwear, especially during winter.  Since most falls occur indoors, make sure your house has adequate lighting.

About the author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in investigating the cause of many dreadful diseases.

In 1968, he invented PYRO-ENERGEN, the first electrostatic therapy device for electromedicine that effectively eradicates viral
diseases, cancer, etc.,

Autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 

About the Book:

An immortal book and a legacy for ages to come. This book is an autobiography of Gandhi.

It is a detailed account of Gandhi’s consisting of Gandhi’s self penned essays (105 essays in all) on his experiments and covers all aspects of the Mahatma’s spiritual life.

This Autobiography is divided in five parts starting from his childhood days, his experience in South Africa where he experimented with the powerful weapon of Satyagraha and his transformation from Mohan to Mahatma, his various experiments on fundamental principles of Truth and God, till the year 1921, after which his life was so public that he felt there was hardly anything to write about.

Gandhi’s Non-violent struggle in South Africa and India had already brought him to such a level of notoriety, adulation and controversy that when asked to write an autobiography mid way through his career, he took it as an opportunity to explain himself.

Accepting his status as a great innovator in the struggle against racism, violence and colonialism, Gandhi felt that his ideas needed deeper understanding. Gandhi explains that he was after truth rooted in devotion to God and attributed the turning point, success and challenges in his life to the will of God.

Gandhi says that his attempt to get closer to this divine power led him seek purity through simple living, dietary practices (he called himself a fruitarian), celibacy and ahimsa- a life without violence. It is in this sense that he calls his book “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”, offering it also as a reference for those who would follow his footsteps.

Gandhi’s Autobiography is one of the best sellers and is translated in nearly all languages of the world. Perhaps never before on so grand scale has any man succeeded in shaping the course of history while using the weapon of Peace – Ahimsa (Non-violence).

To many it will have the value of a new Bible or a new Gita; for here are words that have come out from the depth of truth, here is tireless striving that stretches its arms towards perfection. “Autobiography” in a way is a “confession of Gandhi’s faith, a very basic document for the study of his thought”

About Author
"An Autobiography  Or The Story of my experiments with truth  by M.K. Gandhi". 
This book translated from the Gujarathi by Mahadev Desai
Printed & Published by : Navajian Publishing House, Ahmedabad
Official Website www.mkgandhi.org.

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Amazing Castles Built For Love

Amazing Castles Built For Love

     Castle Boldt resides on the beautiful Heart Island and remains a monument of love to this day, the love of George C. Boldt for his wife, Louise.

     According to Boldt Castle history, “Beginning in 1900, the Boldt family spent summers in the 1000 Islands at the Boldt Families Wellesley House near Mr. Boldt’s Wellesley Island Farms while 300 workers including stonemasons, carpenters, and artists fashioned the six story, 120 room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, alster tower (children's playhouse) and a dove cote. Not a single detail or expense was spared.”

       Boldt Castle was planned to have eleven buildings, the most grand and luxurious castle in the Thousand Islands. But tragedy struck a year before it was completed, when Louise died. George, his heart broken, ordered the construction to stop, and never again returned to this island.

     The castle and its buildings stood alone, abandoned, for 73 years, abused by weather and vandals. In 1977, the castle returned to real ownership when it was bought by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority for staggering price of.... $1. Since then, loving hands have restored it.

On the left: The staircase. Upper right: Main gate and Alister tower.
Middle right: Yacht house. Bottom right: Sunset reflecting off the Boldt castle powerhouse.

      Boldt Castle is an amazing architectural achievement, and includes a yacht house, the Alster tower, the power house and legendary castle with 120 rooms. It has all you dream about in a romantic castle, and to this day lucky couples get married there.

2. Casa Loma

    
      Casa Loma (Spanish for: "House on the hill") was built by Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt who promised his wife Mary a 'sprawling castle'. The castle was built in 1911 and no expenses were spared by Sir Henry. It was considered very modern at the time and cost over $5 million to build and furnish. Just so you understand, that amount today would be the equal of $65 million.

     Despite the expense and beauty of the castle, the couple lived in it for only 10 years, until they lost their fortune in the depression that following world war I. Sir Henry was forced to auction $1.5 million in art items and the furnishings for only $250,000.

     300 workers constructed this love castle, which boasts 98 rooms spread over 3 stories. It used to hold the title of largest private residence in Canada. Inside was “an elevator, an oven large enough to cook an ox, two vertical passages for pipe organs, central vacuum, two secret passages in Sir Henry’s ground-floor office and three bowling alleys."

     After the couple left the castle it became a hotel for a short while in the 1920s, then a night spot.

     Today, Casa Loma is a museum and a popular landmark destination for tourists. The exterior of the castle has been through restoration, and the castle is surrounded by 5 acres of beautiful gardens.

3. The Taj Mahal

     We all know the beautiful Taj Mahal in Agra Uttar Pradesh, India. While it was definitely built for love, it was the memory of love that it was really built for, as the 'favorite wife' of Emperor Shah Jahan, who had this mausoleum built in her honor.

     A side view of the Taj Mahal. The dome and 4 standing minarets were all built out of pure white marble. The emperor wanted this to be the most glorious monument ever built for a woman by a man. We can't really say he failed.

     The inside of the Taj Mahal, as well as the outlying buildings, were mostly built out of red sandstone. In building it, the architects combined different architectural styles, including Indian, Persian and Islamic. But the heart of the 'castle' remains the tomb and the memory of lost true love.

4. Kellie's Castle

   
     The oldest castle in Malaysia, Kellie's castle was built for the love Scottish planter William Kellie Smith held for his Scottish wife Agnes. In 1903, William brought Agnes to Malaysia and into the castle. But Agnes was not happy there, for she missed her homeland terribly. In 1915, she gave birth to a baby boy, which is when Kellie made the mistake of expanding the castle, a move that turned a beautiful castle into a sad story.

     During this further construction and in celebration of his new son, William decided to combine 3 different architectural styles: Indian, Greco-Roman and Moorish. Almost immediately after construction on this huge venture began, the Spanish flu erupted in the area, killing the lion share of the 70 construction workers he hired, while scaring off many of the survivors. To please his Indian workers, William had a Hindu temple built near the castle, and so the workers were mollified and restarted construction.

    
     Although the construction continued, many of the workers spread stories about the castle being 'cursed' and 'haunted'. When William left for England to buy a crane for the castle tower, he caught pneumonia and died shortly after. Following his death, the workers fled the site and the building was left uncompleted. Many claim this spot is haunted and it attracts paranormal groups every year.

5. Thornewood Castle

     Thornewood Castle was indeed built for love. It resides in Tacoma, Washington. This castle was not built for a new bride or a dead one, but by Chester Thorne for his wife of 20 years. For its beautiful interior, it has been used in the film 'Rose Red', based on a Stephen King story.

Top photo: Construction of 'rose red', 1910. Lower left: Interior living room.
Lower right: Interior fireplace in living room.

     The gardens of Thornwood are stunning, and were originally built for Anna, the wife. She used to call the sunken English garden her "secret garden". This chess set remains from those days as a silent testament to the true love between this man and wife. This is one castle of love that did NOT suffer a tragic ending, for which we are grateful.

6. Taj Lake Palace

     Some castles are built for romantic love, while others were built for a more... amorous type of love. Take for example the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur. The construction of the palace began as a rebellious act by a stubborn prince.

     According to the palace history, it had "Glowing moonlight. Gentle lakeside breezes. A whole entourage of courtesans. What young prince could resist? Certainly not Maharana Jagat Singh II. Legend has it that the young prince indulged in moonlight picnics with the ladies of the Zenana on the lake island palace of Jag Mandir. A pleasurable pastime – until his father found out. With that option closed to him, there was only one solution. He built his own pleasure palace on a different island in Lake Pichola."

    The Lily Pond from an exterior view point of the Taj Lake Palace. Construction began in 1743 and finished in 1746. So this amazing lover's nest was indeed built for love, but some would just call it passion instead. Today it is one of the most romantic hotels in the world.

7. Torrechiara Castle

     This huge solid stone castle was built in Northern Italy, 1448 to 1460. It was built by a count, Pier Maria II Rossi, who built it out of love for Bianca Pellegrini. It was called Torrechiara. In 1985, scenes from the movie Ladyhawk were filmed there.

        Out of the four towers of the castle, one is called the 'Lily Tower' (Torre Del Giglio) and bears the coat of arms of the count's lover Bianca. This was an amazing love nest, and is famous for its 'Golden Chamber', a known erotic chamber in Italy, decorated with paintings of women looking for their lover, entwined hearts marked with the lovers' initials and joined by a ribbon on which is written 'Nunc Et Semper', or in English - Now and forever.

    

8. Layton Castle

     Layton Castle in Utah was built for SPURNED love instead of romantic love. The story goes that :"A man and his wife lived somewhere else before the castle was built, but the wife "e was always being told by her mother that her husband would never amount to anything and that she should leave him and marry someone richer. After a time she did just that and her new husband never amounted to much."

     She moved to Utah and built herself a lovely home. But soon after she was remarried, the first, spurned husband came into a great deal of wealth and became very successful. Out of pure spite, he built this castle up on the East...almost in her backyard! This way, he could look out and see all the houses on the way to the Great Salt Lake, including hers.

     Every time she stood at the kitchen window, she saw her ex-husband's beautiful castle.

        But there is also a love story behind this castle built for spurned love. Gary Willey was a man who one day met a beautiful dark haired lady named Lynda Roundy, and it was 'life at first sight'. The couple met, courted and traveled the globe, falling more and more in love. Filled with soft feelings, Gary vowed he would build her the most amazing home, including pools, tennis courts and a stable.

     However, soon after construction began, Lynda lost her life to cancer. Despite this, the castle was completed and Gary dedicated the home to his love. In this sad alternative story, Layton Castle was built for love rather than spite.

9. Craigdarroch Castle

     Craigdarroch Castle was built in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was built by Scottish immigrant Robert Dunsmuir, who promised to build a new home for his wife Joan. He hired to architects to build it in 1887. Four months into the project, one of them died but the other carried on and finished building the castle. Robert himself died, unfortunately, in 1889, one year before the massive home was actually completed. The interior woodwork of the castle alone filled 5 railway cars from Chicago.

     The original grounds of the castle encompassed 28 acres. It takes 87 steps to reach the tower on the top level, but once you’ve reached it, the view is impressive: Victoria Harbor to the west, the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the south, the Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands to the east, as well as the city of Victoria itself. The castle is over 20,000 square feet, spread throughout 39 rooms on 4½ floors. It has 17 fireplaces.

     The exterior is constructed of marble, granite, sandstone, terra cotta, and Vermont slate in the Romanesque/Chateauesque style. It is now a historical museum that attracted 150,000 yearly visitors, and has seen its share of Hollywood fame, supplying a set for movies such as Little Women (1994), Spooky House (2000) and Cats & Dogs (2001).

10. Leeds Castle

     And of course, there is the famous Leeds Castle, built near Kent, England. According to 'InfoBritain': “Leeds Castle was originally a Norman fortification,” but the castle has a “stronger association with love than war. One of the most romantic kings in history, Richard II, gave Leeds Castle as a gift to his adored wife Anne of Bohemia. Richard was a sensitive man, who aspired to peace in a warlike age. To escape constant power struggles waged by aggressive nobles, he would spend fleeting dreamy hours at Leeds Castle with Anne."

     The chronicler Jean Froissart describes how he presented a richly illustrated book to Richard at Leeds Castle in 1395. The king, Froissart wrote, was delighted when told that the book was ‘about love.’ A first edition of Froissart’s Chronicles remains at the castle. It is heartening that a building originally created for war should have slowly turned into a extravagant gift for the ladies.”

     Leeds is a feminine castle, after Anne of Bohemia, it was owned by Queen Eleanor, Isabella of France (Kind Edward II's wife) and Margaret of France (King Edward III's wife). Years later, kind Henry V gave the castle as a gift to his wife Catherine de Valois.

     The chapel shot on the left was built by King Edward I for the purpose of a daily Mass to be sung for his beloved wife Eleanor who died in 1290. Edward was a ruthless king, but he clearly loved Eleanor. It is fitting that evidence of this affection should be linked with Leeds Castle.

Life in the Year 2070

 Life in the Year 2070 

     "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans" - Jacques Cousteau

     What do you think is the most important thing in your life? Much like the air we breathe every day, many people take clean water for granted and never think about how much we all depend on it for drinking, agriculture, sanitation, and hygiene.

     According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), more than 1 billion people – about one in six people in this world – have no access to clean and safe drinking water while over 2 billion lack access to adequate sanitation. The effects of unclean water often lead to an endless cycle of poverty, conflict, disease and death.

     If we continue to follow the current trend, by the year 2025 two thirds of the people in this world will not have sufficient access to clean water

Download - Life in the Year 2070 (English Version)

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Download - Internet Trends 2013

Download - Internet Trends 2013

     The latest edition of the annual Internet Trends report finds continued robust online growth. There are now 2.4 billion Internet users around the world, and the total continues to grow apace. Mobile usage is expanding rapidly, while the mobile advertising opportunity remains largely untapped. The report reviews the shifting online landscape, which has become more social and content rich, with expanded use of photos, video and audio. Looking ahead, the report finds early signs of growth for wearable computing devices, like glasses, connected wrist bands and watches – and the emergence of connected cars, drones and other new platforms.

 

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First Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest

  

First Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest

     Arunima "Sonu" Sinha (born 1988) is the first Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest. She was a national volleyball player, who was pushed out of a running train by criminals in 2011 while resisting them and one of her legs had to be amputated below her knees as a result.

     Sinha, a former national level volleyball and football player was pushed out of a general coach of the Padmavati Express train by criminals wanting to snatch her bag and gold chain on April 11, 2011. She had boarded the train at Lucknow for Delhi to take an examination to join the CISF and was accosted by robbers on the train who tried to snatch her gold chain.

     Recounting the incident, she said   “ I resisted and they pushed me out of the train. I could not move. I remember seeing a train coming towards me. I tried getting up. By then, the train had run over my leg. I don't remember anything after that ” Immediately, as she fell on the railway track, another train on a parallel track crushed her leg below the knee was crushed. She was rushed to the hospital with serious leg and pelvic injuries and lost her leg after doctors amputated it to save her life.

     She was offered a compensation of 25000 (US$460) by the Indian Sports ministry. After a national outrage, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken announced an additional Rs. 200000 (US$3,700) compensation as medical relief and a recommendation for a job in the CISF. The Indian Railways also offered her a job

     On April 18, 2011 she was brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for further treatment where she spent four months. However, an inquiry by the police into the incident doubted her version of the accident. According to them she was either attempting suicide or met with an accident while crossing the railway tracks. Sinha claimed that the police was agonizing her.

     Sinha reached the Mount Everest at 10.55 am on 21 May 2013, as part of the Tata Group sponsored Eco Everest Expedition. She was trained by Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest at the Uttarkashi camp of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) 2012. She was inspired by cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who had successfully battled cancer to do something with her life