Groom students for confidence before school starts
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/learn/article/593643--groom-students-for-confidence
04 August 2010 08:00

A new school year is fast approaching and once again children have a brand new slate. If we take time now, say education professionals, to stir up some excitement for learning, the usual back-to-school anxiety will not only be reduced, it will be replaced with a growing confidence.

Parents can lay the groundwork with these confidence-building tips from Kumon Math and Reading Centres:

• Develop a regular study time every day. Ask your child if he or she works best right after school, just before dinner, or immediately after dinner — and while flexibility is required, do ensure that the study time is a habit that occurs every day.

• Help your child to manage assignments and tests by spreading the work out. Remember, procrastination feeds anxiety. Encourage your child to be prepared and begin ass­ignments early.

• Take an interest in what your child is learning by asking questions and offering ideas. This gives your child an opportunity to review work and extend learning. Encourage your child to ask for help when needed.

• Review your child’s homework each day to ensure completion and to support the development of good study habits.

More information is available online at kumon.ca, or on Facebook at facebook.com/kumon.

News Canada

Larger Waist Associated With Greater Risk Of Death
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/Larger-Waist-Associated-With-Greater-Risk
Rose Hoban | Durham, North Carolina16 August 2010

Research shows weight doesn't matter, only waist size
New research suggests the size of your waist can predict your chance of death.
Photo: Photos.com
New research suggests the size of your waist can predict your chance of death.

As the rate of obesity in many countries continues to rise, health officials worry about the expanding waistlines of their citizens. And it turns out there's reason to worry. New research suggests the size of your waist can predict your chance of death.

Eric Jacobs and his colleagues from the American Cancer Society asked about a 100,000 older Americans - men and women, rich and poor, smokers and non-smokers - to measure their waistlines intermittently over a nine-year period.

Jacobs says there's something about the fat that gathers near the waist that makes it particularly harmful. "We know that deep abdominal fat has been linked with higher blood levels of cholesterol and insulin," he says. "Also inflammation-related proteins that have been linked to cardiovascular disease."

During the nine years they followed their subjects, 9,300 of the men and 5,300 of the women died. Jacobs and his colleagues reviewed the information they had about them: their weight, height and their waist size.

"And what we saw was that the bigger the waist size, the greater the risk of death," Jacobs says. "In fact, those with the very biggest waist sizes had about twice the risk of dying as those with the smallest waists."

Jacobs says the deaths were from all causes, not just cancer, or heart disease or lung disease. Simply having a larger waist made it more probable that someone would die sooner. And in Jacobs' analysis, it turns out it didn't matter how much people weighed, either, only their waist size mattered.

"For example, among women with weights that were considered normal for their height, the risk of dying increased about 25 percent for each additional 4 inches (10 cm) of waist size," Jacobs says.

He explains someone who's sedentary and someone who's active could weigh the same, but the person who didn't do much exercise would probably have more abdominal fat. The active person's weight might come more from muscle which is denser than fat - so, it adds weight without adding inches.

"So even if your weight is considered normal for your height, even if you haven't noticed a big weight gain, if your waist size is starting to increase, if you are having to move into a bigger pants size, that's a signal that you need to start eating better and exercising more," Jacobs says.

And he says there's really no short cut. There's no proven method to lose so-called 'belly fat.' Diet and exercise are really the only ways to shrink waist size.

His article is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Car insurance rules change in Ontario Sept. 1
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/local/article/609197--car-insurance-rules-change-in
23 August 2010 05:47

TORONTO - Millions of Ontario drivers will face an array of new choices when they renew their auto insurance policies because of new rules that kick in Sept. 1, but critics say the changes introduced by the Liberal government won't benefit consumers.

One key difference in the new standard auto insurance policy will be a 50 per cent cut in medical and rehabilitation benefits, from $100,000 to $50,000, and a corresponding drop in attendant care benefits, from $72,000 to $36,000.

Income replacement coverage will fall from 80 to 70 per cent of gross income, to a maximum of $400 a week. Housekeeping expenses and caregiver benefits currently available to all accident victims will be only for those with catastrophic injuries.

However, consumers will be able to purchase additional levels of coverage in the same way they've been able to pay higher premiums to lower deductible levels. Giving consumers a choice is always the best way to go, especially if it can keep premiums down, said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. "This will enable people to decide what’s in their best interests, what they want to pay, and I just think choice is a good thing whenever you're shopping," said Duncan.

"I think when you give people choice in the coverage they get they will respond well."

Queen's University law professor Erik Knutsen, who specializes in insurance law, said the changes will make a bad system even worse by making it far too complex.

"No regular person can sort out what their coverage is and more importantly what it means to them," Knutsen said in an interview.

"How does the average consuming public understand what these different ramifications of coverage mean to them?"

The changes are designed to keep a lid on rising premiums, but the opposition parties warned consumers will end up with less coverage and won't see any real drop in their auto insurance rates.

"What I'm hearing is people are paying more and getting less in return," said Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

"The new product the government is putting out actually reduces coverage for Ontario families, and in some cases they're paying the same price or more for a lesser product."

The New Democrats also warn that premiums will keep rising despite the latest changes, and said the insurance industry keeps coming back to government for rate increases, and keeps getting them.

"The insurance industry in Ontario keeps going back to the well and now they're arguing fraud is pushing rates up, but that's absurd," said NDP critic Peter Kormos. "They argued that five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, but at the end of the day they're simply looking for higher premiums and lower benefits."

The no-fault auto insurance system in Ontario has been changed so many times at the industry's request that it has become too confusing for government and consumers, said Knutsen. "My biggest concern is we've got a very slow automobile insurance system that is so complicated that we're having to reform reforms that were reformed by previous reforms," he said.

"You'd think it would make things simpler but it's not; by adding multiple options within multiple options it's just making it more complicated."

Duncan stifled a laugh when asked if people would be too confused by the new choices on auto insurance.

"It'll help them manage their own premiums, and I have great confidence people can do that," he said.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said private insurance companies lost $1.2 billion in Ontario's auto sector in the last two years and the losses keep mounting, putting more upward pressure on premiums.

The new packages giving consumers more choice will help keep rates down, and will not be difficult for the average motorist to figure out, especially if they take the basic package, said IBC vice-president of policy development Barb Sulzenko-Laurie.

"For the average person, and I consider myself as such, it's a no brainer," said Sulzenko-Laurie.

"I think the standard package is a very good package that would serve all of the needs that I could possibly anticipate."

The Insurance Bureau said even with the reductions in coverage on basic policies, Ontario will still have the most generous auto insurance coverage in Canada.

The Canadian Press

3 years old ‘Indian’ superbug not as horrible as feared: Expert
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/3-years-old-indian-superbug-not-as-horrible
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

New Delhi, August (ANI): An expert has said that the NDM-1 bacteria, which are resistant to almost all antibiotics, is already three years old and may not be as horrible as feared.

“Our first isolate was on Jan. 9, 2008 … Other isolates are from 2007,” English.news.cn quoted Dr. Mark Toleman, a co-author of a paper as saying.

The paper immediately caught worldwide attention since some of the isolates are proved to be resistant to all existent antibiotics. “Isolate” is a term used by scientists that means sample. Toleman told that their first paper about the NDM-1 bacteria was published in 2009, but that was “nearly two years after the isolate started to be investigated” because the research work and publication took time, he said.

Dr. David Livermore, director of antibiotic resistance monitoring at the British Health Protection Agency (HPA), also confirmed this by telling: “the first cases of infections with bacteria with NDM-1 enzyme in the UK and Europe occurred in 2008,” and “there is evidence that this type of resistance was circulating in India in 2007.”

The paper has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases last week. (ANI)

3 years old ‘Indian’ superbug not as horrible as feared Expert read more

Plant growth declines as warming causes drought
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/world/article/607497--plant-growth-declines-as-warming
Randolph E. Schmid, The Associated Press | 19 August 2010 04:43

WASHINGTON - A new U.S. study finds that drought related to global warming is causing a decline in the world's plant productivity.

Previously, warmer temperatures had led to more plant growth.

The reversal is reported in Friday's issue of the journal Science by University of Montana researchers, who worry that the result could affect growth of plants for food and fuels.

Plus, they say, if there are fewer plants, they will take up less carbon dioxide from the air, and more CO2 in the air could worsen global warming.