It is then flowed through micro-channels in the device

Harvard scientists have developed a new `artificial spleen` to treat bloodstream infections - leading cause of death in critically ill patients and soldiers injured in combat.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University said that it was awarded a USD 9.25 million contract from the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance its blood-cleansing technology and help accelerate its translation to humans as a new type of sepsis therapy.

The "Spleen-on-a-chip" device will be used to treat bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in critically ill patients, researchers said.

To rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, the patient`s blood is mixed with magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood `opsonin` protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins.

It is then flowed through micro-channels in the device where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes - Home electricity monitor much like a human spleen does. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient.

"In just a few years we have been able to develop a suite of new technologies, and to integrate them to create a powerful new device that could potentially transform the way we treat sepsis," said Wyss founding director and project leader, Don Ingber.

"The continued support from DARPA enables us to advance our device manufacturing capabilities and to obtain validation in large animal models, which is precisely what is required to enable this technology to be moved towards testing in humans," Ingber said in a statement.

The team will work to develop manufacturing and integration strategies for its core pathogen-binding opsonin and Spleen-on-a-Chip fluidic separation technologies, as well as a novel coating technology called "SLIPS".

SLIPS is a super-hydrophobic coating inspired from the slippery surface of a pitcher plant that repels nearly any material it contacts, researchers said.

By coating the inner surface of the channels of the device with SLIPS, blood cleansing can be carried out without the need for anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting.

This is the most difficult city to decipher on Earth. That's not just us saying it. Try finding it on Google Maps. Home energy management For security reasons, high-resolution satellite pictures are not available, reducing the city to a fuzzy haze. The complexity continues at ground level.

Considering its significance in religious and world history, the area within the walls of the Old City is Lilliputian; covering less than a square half-mile, it's smaller than the University of Pennsylvania campus. Upon entering the Jaffa Gate, a visitor is confronted with an Escher-esque maze of narrow passageways, warrens, and arches, some of them more than 2,000 years old. Maps are of limited use, so we wandered along until we found what we were looking for - or got distracted and sought something else.

Cobblestone paths, worn smooth from centuries of foot traffic, lead up, down, and around corners, past a wide array of vendors selling the hijab - the head covering worn by Muslim women - alongside stands stacked with colorful yarmulkes. A few yards away, Christian prayer shawls were displayed, and, somewhat incongruously, a merchant offered Philadelphia Phillies and Dallas Cowboys T-shirts with the team names in Hebrew.

The public became aware of hydraulic fracturing

In my early career in the oilfield, when I was working on cement and frac crews, I breathed plenty of dust from cement, frac sand, and powdered guar used to make frac gel. Throw in a little xylene and hydrochloric acid, and I think my lungs have experienced plenty of challenges. This week, NPR broadcast a very interesting report about Eric Esswein, a researcher for the National Institute of Occupation Health and Safety, who has been studying health effects on workers on frac crews. Not familiar with hydraulic fracturing, he expected to find the workers exposed to toxics in drilling fluids when he want on location. What he found was very different.

First, a little about hydraulic fracturing, a process that makes oil and gas wells productive, but little understood by people outside of the industry. One of the misconceptions about hydraulic fracturing is that most of the public believe it's something new;In home display that is far from the case. Fracturing has been around for decades, and Halliburton and the old Western company started frac'ing in the 1940s. (BTW, no one in the industry spells it fracking, it's spelled fracing or frac'ing.)

The public became aware of hydraulic fracturing when the shale boom hit about six years ago when pressure pumping trucks began showing up in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. I've written quite a bit about frac'ing that you can read about here, here, and here, but essentially it is the process of pumping gelled water blended with frac sand or ceramic beads into hydrocarbon substrates. When the gel breaks, it is flowed back to the surface, leaving the sand behind. As the fracture in the rock closes, it is propped open by the sand, creating a pathway to the well for oil and gas to flow. If it were not for hydraulic fracturing, something like 90 percent of wells drilled in the U.S. would be unproductive. Hence the necessity and the controversy of frac'ing.

After that explanation, back to the NPR story. Esswein didn't find on location what he thought he would find. Rather than exposure to toxics in drilling fluids, he found excessive particulates in the air, primarily silica dust from the sand being moved from trucks to bins to the blender to be pumped downhole. As I mentioned above, frac jobs involve sand. A lot of sand. Moving that sand causes dust in the air.Home energy monitor Of the air samples Esswein collected, over 79 percent of those samples showed dust in excess of safety standards set by his agency.

The alert also recommended equipment changes such as enclosed cabs for workers, covering components where dust is generated, and others, including screw augers rather than conveyor belts. Improved respirators for workers are also part of the alert.

The industry is also making improvements to equipment to reduce handling, the associated dust, and other hazards. Up until a few years ago, most sand was stored and handled by huge truck pulled bins, called Mountain Movers. They were set on the ground, filled with frac sand, and using a self-contained conveyor, would move sand from the bin to another conveyor that then moved sand to the blender where it was mixed with gel, then pumped downhole.The new system is called a Sand Castle, powered by solar panels, that is brought on location, then raised to vertical, taking up much less space for the same amount of sand. Using sand castles reduces handling of sand and the associated dust.

The reason that hydraulic fracturing has become so controversial is proximity. In traditional oilfields in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, fracs have been performed for decades, usually far away from populated areas, so no one noticed. Now, in areas like Pennsylvania and Ohio, wells are being drilled and frac'ed in backyards. People in these areas have taken a shocking wake-up call from the industry. As a normal response, the industry first dismissed the concerns; now it is responding with new practices and technology. A real advantage of this shale boom is that we are now importing less than 50 percent of our oil from other countries, most of which hate us. The disadvantage is that our drilling and completion technology has outpaced our ability to safely apply it. It's critical for the public and the industry that we keep making strides to make these technologies safer, protecting people and the environment.

Why did Apartheid lessons not inform police action?

On Wednesday, Phiyega’s marathon cross-examination continued, with Bizos for the Legal Resources Centre asking the questions. He was interested in the amount of control Home energy monitor that the commissioner claimed to have of the operation that led to the police killing 34 miners and wounding 78 others on 16 August 2012. It wasn’t just because the commissioner has been shifty about her role, but also that despite the police claiming that Marikana was unprecedented, incidents like it had happened before.

 It followed therefore that history should have informed the police. Bizos quoted Spanish philosopher George Santayana, who said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. He then reminded Phiyega of the Sharpeville Massacre that took place on 21 March 1960 when police opened fire on a crowd, killing 69 people. After that incident, the state president Hendrik Verwoerd praised the police, something which Phiyega did herself hours after the 16 August killings. However, Phiyega said that the Sharpeville victims were not armed, whereas the miners at Marikana were. “With regard to those injuries, and the lack of any injury to any police officer, would you say the action of the police was proportional?” Bizos asked. Phiyega replied: “We are on record as saying indeed police were acting in self-defence.

On the issue of proportionality (of the police's action) I'm hoping that the debates from the experts,Home energy management commanders and the outcome of this commission will give a judgment on that. I am not qualified and I am not comfortable to give an answer on the proportionality.” Bizos then tried to get Phiyega to commit to an opinion, something she had steadfastly refused to do, often to her reputation’s detriment. He said: "Don't the figures mean anything to you, Commissioner? There was not a single scratch on any one of the few hundred police officers and so many [injured protesters]. Do you say that is proportional? “How did they manage to have not a single scratch if there was a threat as they describe? Please come to terms with the question. Was it because of the intelligent hand of the police? Doesn't it sound strange to you?” Phiyega said: “I do want to say the police are trained. The police do their work professionally and I believe it is such elements which assist them to do their work in that manner.”

 Bizos mentioned the 1985 massacre in Uitenhage as well, where the police shot and killed 20 protesters. The minister of law and order at the time said that the police were acting in self-defence, and had no alternative but to shoot. These are words that Phiyega also used to defend the actions of the police at Marikana. “So was that the information you based your support plan on; the fact that there were 3,000 protesters who were armed,” Bizos asked. Phiyega agreed, and said that there were other factors as well. “Do you agree with the allegation made by counsel for the police that the problem was that there were 3,000 belligerent protesters who were armed, resisting any effort to disarm?" After getting an affirmative answer, Bizos continued: “The South African police and their witnesses couldn't make up their minds regarding how many people there were. We have been told that there were 3,000 people. Elsewhere [police advocate Ishmael] Semenya put it to a witness that there were 200 to 300 protesters who were armed. There were others who were peaceful, unarmed, and were left.

 Which of the two versions did you, as commissioner, operate... on?” Phiyega replied: “I would not speculate on those two versions because I have not seen alternative facts. As police, people who are armed are a concern to us. Any number of armed people, be it two or seven, concerns us. The Constitution does allow people to protest peacefully and unarmed.” Bizos then spoke about the impunity that Apartheid police enjoyed, and asked Phiyega if people could be killed with impunity in a democratic South Africa. No, came the reply. When he could not get an answer why the police had no apparent regard for history, he asked if the commissioner was using her lack of police experience as an excuse. Again, Phiyega answered with a denial.

 The advocate then asked Phiyega to clarify that the tactical response team, national intervention unit and special task force units outnumbered the public order police (properly trained in crowd control) by two to one at Marikana on the day of the fatal operation, which she did. “Are you declaring war on this crowd or do you want to control it? Why are all these 'war-like' units invited to Marikana?” Bizos asked. Despite protests from Semenya, Bizos was adamant that the special units brought to Marikana, plus a deputy provincial commissioner’s description of 16 August as ‘D-Day’, meant that the operation was meant to kill people, not arrest or disperse them.

who were bedecked in shiny beads

Last year when the anti-poverty agency, Community Teamwork, Inc., rolled out a new idea to raise funds for the families it serves, organizers took a gamble. Transforming Lowell Memorial Auditorium into an imaginary riverboat, complete with gaming tables, a floor show and roaring '20s theme, was no guaranteed royal flush. But luck be a lady -- or perhaps beginner's luck -- that wager paid off in spades. "People just loved it, especially being transported to another place," said Sharon Shelton, CTI's community relations director.

 "It's a fun adult evening for a critical cause, so I expect that everyone will come back this year with the same enthusiasm with which they left last year." This year's "Night Aboard the Mighty Merrimack Riverboat Queen" takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are $50 per person, which includes $1,000 of casino play money, food and entertainment. Organizers are hoping for another full house since proceeds benefit homelessness prevention programs.

To help that along, CTI is dealing out much of what made last year's maiden voyage a jackpot of fun, according to Shelton. That includes the wooden plank that ushered guests, who were bedecked in shiny beads by the riverboat crew, into a whole new world that evoked a little bit of Las Vegas glitz and a lot of another era. Enthusiastically greeting them were Lowell City Councilor Rita Mercier and her granddaughter,Home electricity monitor Jacqueline, who were "all in" as Joan and Melissa Rivers. They're reprising their red carpet roles this year, Shelton said. Also on deck were roaring '20s music, a large array of hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, flappers and gangsters, shiny beads and feather boas, a card magician, the Gentleman Songsters, raffle baskets, silent auction, prizes, casino gaming tables and lots of happy faces. Some were new to gaming, others not so much. Some were in costume, which is optional; others in everyday attire. The gaming tables were such a hit with both new gamers and veterans that "we are adding more this year," Shelton said. "Prizes will be awarded throughout the night -- the more you play the more prizes you can win, plus everyone is eligible for the door prizes." This year's floor show is a Vegas-like Tom Jones tribute band, Shelton said, adding that Kay Ritter of Light Magic Entertainment will also be back. Her green screen photography allows guests to preserve their memories of the evening with photos in front of a riverboat, the Titanic, a saloon and other choices. Jack Malnati of Dracut traveled aboard with his wife, Linda, and some friends. "We had a fantastic time last year. All aspects of the event were great -- the food, the entertainment, the gaming and the silent auction," he said. "We also saw some people there that we had lost touch with several years before and were able to reconnect with them. We can't wait for this year."

 Among those who have been helped with the flexible funds generated from the riverboat and other fundraisers is Domingo Flores,Home energy management a native New Yorker who, shortly after a move to Massachusetts, became homeless, along with his son. "I didn't have any family around here, so I had no one to turn to," he said. He was doing per diem work at a hospital when he turned to CTI. While the state financed a hotel room, Flores participated in CTI programs that taught him interview skills, job search techniques and other vital elements toward self-sufficiency.

Within a couple of months, it paid off. He landed a security position at Lowell Community Health Center and has since been promoted. He earns twice what he made previously and, with CTI's guidance, is now living with his son in a two-bedroom apartment within walking distance of the health center. "There are a lot of families with no one to turn to. I was so lucky to have CTI, for their help and their support," he said. "I could never have accomplished this without them." Malnati and another guest, Ryan Coviello of Lowell, said that helping such families is an important bonus. "The most amazing thing is that all this fun is being accomplished while helping families who are struggling with everyday life in meeting mortgages and rents, putting food on the table for their families and paying for heat and gas," Malnati said.

white pottery have done to Steph

Take, for instance, their Pea and Bacon Barley risotto, which they insist is practical for students on a budget. They are aware that risotto by its lexical content is a rice dish, this is however an ancient idea which is most similar to its Italian counterpart. Slice an onion finely into cubes, this can be done very easily in a food processor, then slice into lardons a few good rashers of streaky bacon. Put a medium sized saucepan onto a brisk heat, then put in a little butter, and when it begins to foam, put in the bacon. When you have rendered some of the fat out, subject the onions to the heat of the pan. They should melt down relatively quickly. In home display When they have, add a splash of cider (Yorkshire as God’s own country has magnificent apples and therefore cider, make use of it) and scrape off all the baked on sediment wherein resides the flavour. Then put in two good handfuls of washed pearl barley. Which is dirt cheap. Cover with stock, or water, and leave on a low heat covered until it’s done in about ten to twenty minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick. When it’s done, which you will know by tasting the grains and if they are at a point where you would like to eat them, they're done, add a cup of pea puree and serve. This would produce a bright green and delicious dish, which is gorgeous. The pea puree could be last night’s soup rather happily. See here for that recipe or do without and just add a large amount of frozen peas when you add the stock. The news that some students would find the making of pea puree too arduous, shocked and appalled the entire kitchen brigade, needless to say, leading to the divulging of this advice. He says to simply “clean as you go”, which isn’t hard and will make you look as if you know what you’re doing, which eventually with practice will become truth. However, it is rather easier to say that when you have a pot washer to do the washing for you! It is sensible advice nonetheless. On the topic of presentation, I observe that it is obscene how edible their food looks. Hodkins just, with effortless nonchalance, says, it's “utilising the plate well.” Which is easier said than done, but if you do pay attention to height, colour and size (which sounds like the three things that could be a common theme found in the diary of many students) then you should end up with a plate or bowl of food which should look somehow edible. It is at this point that his sous-chef, now in his absence steady hand at the wheel, Steph Walker states, Home energy monitor “And don’t use Old Willow.” I have cleaned that statement up, a lot. I do not know what the manufacturers of that style of blue and white pottery have done to Steph, but evidently it is a great wrong. She does have a point, that clean, white plates best show off the brilliance of producer, chef and pot-washer. Pity the pot-washer. She along with some spirited opinions on crockery also gives a recipe for macaroni cauliflower cheese and bacon; boil salted water, put in four handfuls of macaroni, turn down to a simmer. When five minutes have elapsed add small florets of cauliflower. You can buy them already segmented if you are that lazy, otherwise you can very simply take a small cauliflower and cut it up into neat little flower heads. Remove the leaves first then cut into the stalk diagonally removing the core of the head. From there on you can easily cut out little florets. Perhaps it is because it has so many heads that Mark Twain called it a cabbage with a college education, perhaps because it has a more refined flavour, either way it is suitably cheap for student use. When the pasta and the cauliflower are cooked about seven minutes hence, but check with a fork yourself, drain. Dry the pan and put back on the hob, chop a little bacon into lardons, and fry in a little butter, when it's crisped to your desired brittleness or squididity, sprinkle over enough flour to absorb the fat- ideally you will cook the flour out carefully to pale beige- then add a little milk, stirring all the while to make a white sauce, about 250 ml will do but more or less is probable. When you have a viscous white fluid turn the heat down, add as much cheese as macaroni and stir until it is melted into the sauce. It goes without saying, use a good cheese.

The artists and artisans who just love passing on their skills

Weaver Noni Mackenzie, from Ashburton, has had a studio at Seale Hayne for a year and loves the location and working with people with learning difficulties. "You can't help, but feel inspired when you are here," she said. "I like the ethos of the Dame Hannahs Trust and the fact it wants to integrate people with learning disabilities into the main stream. "I work with two people with disabilities and they really love weaving, it gives them a new skill and gives them something to be proud of. "It's not easy to set up a loom, but it is easy to weave and it gives them confidence." Noni, who works with wool, cotton, linen and hemp, enjoys making beautiful items from scarves to rugs and is particularly passionate about the colourful pattern the weave creates. "I've just become a grandmother so at the moment I love making cot blankets for my new grandson Alfie," she said with a big grin on her face. Nearby, blacksmith Robert Hills is working in his studio.

Linking up with a lighting designer, he's created lights and chandeliers for hotels all around the world and has made a funky centre piece display for fashion designer Ted Baker at his stores in Paris and Kuwait. "As a kid I always loved metal and started welding when I was 13 . I even got an angle grinder for Christmas when I was 15," he said. He enjoys being at his base, 'the forge' at Seale Hayne, and helping those who come to workshops arranged by the trust. "If I come into work and am having a bad day, they make me smile and it's really rewarding having them here," he said.

Harry Vincent, 18, who attends the workshops and is from a blind school in Exeter, said that since September he's created two items. "I've made an angel and an aircraft from the metal," he said. "The sessions are fabulous and we have some great teachers who guide us." In the main artist block, known as the souk, there are many artists all set up down an narrow alley. Home energy monitor maker Peter Reeves, from Plympton, who has his studio there has high hopes more and more people will come along and support the artists housed there. "It's a great opportunity for us all and what's great is all the small units have light, heating and water, which is perfect for us.

We've also got a gallery to show off our work, so it's a great resource," he said. Peter, who works in gold, silver and platinum, does a lot of bi-colour work, where he combines the metals into a piece. He also likes to use unusual stones. He feels as the trust is helping him promote his work it's important to give something back. "I'm currently helping a person who has a brain injury and has double vision. By focusing on something for short periods of time it helps her sight, so the Home energy management making is a way of helping her sight," said Peter.

Just a stones through away is Sara Gilbert's studio. The painter and printmaker from South Brent loves the welcoming atmosphere at Seale Hayne. "It's so nice to have like-minded people around you," she said. "I feel at home here." She's teaming up with another Seale Hayne-based artist, Sara Evans, for the exhibition Surfacing at the Chapel Gallery at the venue, running for two weeks from April 1. Sara Evans works in mixed media and lives in Ashburton. "I'm interested in exploring art forms and don't like to feel limited in my work," she said. Her ethos is shared by artist Vicky Jocher, from Starcross, who creates abstract works as well as jewellery. "I just love being creative and playing with materials and ideas," she said. Newton Abbot's Nicky Fraser has also set up a successful studio creating vintage-style teddy bears. She started the company at her home in 2007 and began writing a blog.

It got picked up by magazines in the UK and her creativity and success grew further. She now sells the bears, as well as plush elephants, rabbits and foxes, around the globe including America, Japan and Russia. "The bears are made with new materials, but I make them look old," she said. "They are filled with steel shots and most are filled with wood wool." Nicky, who won the vintage category in the British Bear Artist Awards in 2011, has turned her studio into a kitsch vintage haven. She says: "I feel focused on what I'm doing and everything I need is under one roof."

The top five bought items in the capital

India's leading e-commerce portal, eBay revealed that UP is eighth largest e-commerce state in the country while Lucknow ranks 18th among all cities according to the eBay India Census 2012. The company has been coming up with such annual reports on online buying patterns of Indian consumers since last four years. Last year too, UP ranked eighth in the eBay Census.

Interestingly, Lucknow has emerged as the only city in India which has a balanced shopping cart on e-commerce. Lifestyle and electronic products had the highest share of domestic transactions (around 42% each) whereas lifestyle products were most popular among imported items with 63% share.

Another highlight of the census was that there has been a surge in online shopping among rural belt with Andhra Pradesh taking the lead. In UP, rural areas like Rampur, Juhi, Machhalishahar, Sadar and Palia have emerged as top five e-commerce rural hubs in the survey.

The top five bought items in the capital were laptop accessories, designer pens, tablets, 3D effect collectibles, men's chronograph wrist watches while top five sold categories were compact digital cameras, winter jackets, hand-embroidered sarees, weight training equipment and digital photo frames. The top imported articles include 3D glasses, simulated gemstones, toy artifacts, golf gloves, dental imaging equipment.

In UP, important trends have been export of men's skin care products including shaving creams, lotions, sprays and also men's formal shoes. The state also shopped for the highest number of designer pens. Lucknow exported most contemporary rug material, mostly purchased 3D collectible items and scientific toys. It also saw many men importing most designer ties from across the world.

The top five articles bough in UP were home theatre accessories, men's wallets, memory card readers, men's fragrances and designer pens while Meena Home energy monitor, laptop sleeves, men's casual shoes, metal frame sunglasses and men's socks were top sold products in the Census. Rings, dresses, men's jackets, natural diamonds, scarves were top exports whereas lamp work, bracelets, sarees, rugs and eyeliners were key exports during the year.

Wealthy women are increasingly likely to be the family's main earner and marketers need to react to this societal shift, a new survey has suggested.

The Luxury Institute polled 800 wealthy women from US households earning at least $150,000 a year, asking about their economic situation, personal aspirations, family responsibilities and companies and industries successfully marketing to them.

It found that 41% earn more than half of their family's total income, a figure marking a substantial rise over the past five years. In 2008 the equivalent proportion was 27%.

Some two-thirds of respondents were working or running their own business and the median salary of those working was $181,000. In all, 20% earned $300,000 or more.

The results of the survey have significant implications for the future activity of luxury marketers,In home display the survey suggested.

"We predict that the Millennial women will achieve parity or surpass the achievements of their male counterparts in managerial, entrepreneurial, income and net worth levels in the next two decades," added Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza.

"Shifting gender roles require brands in traditionally male dominated industries to connect with strong, successful women, but new marketing campaigns are not enough. Companies must drive engagement through channels like social media and one-to-one communication with empowered sales professionals who serve as brand ambassadors."

Why it makes sense to invest in gold

A man has been arrested, along with two others, for duping over 70 people - mostly jewellers - from south Delhi, police said. The prime accused has been identified as Amit Kumar Sharma (26) while his accomplices, Jasvir (26) and Mohammad Arshad (25), used to buy stolen items from him.

Sharma would pose as a director of a private company, Ansals, and would ask the jewellers to deliver consignment to his house in south Delhi and collect payment.

The Ansal Plaza building in Defence Colony has two sets of staircases on either side. When the executives from the jewellery company came to deliver the consignment, the accused would take the jewellery from one side and flee from the other staircase.

Also, he stopped random people outside the building and asked for their phones pretending to call his sister who was not opening the door. While talking he gave the phone owner the slip in the same manner.

During investigations, it was revealed that Sharma was using SIM card from a stolen mobile phone which he had cheated from a rickshaw puller. He would keep his cellphone switched off and only switch it on for 2-3 hours in the evening to call his victims.

"The accused had been using the same SIM card and was continuously using the same to cheat other people. Sharma had gone to Gold Souk Mall in Gurgaon and had cheated jewellers of 15 gold bracelets worth Rs 15 lakh. He had represented himself as one Kunal Kapoor from Ansals Group and had called someone by the name of Tomar Ji. CCTV cameras installed in the mall had recorded his activities. It was also found that the accused had used the building in Defence Colony, which had more than one staircase, to reach top," said DCP South Chhaya Sharma.

"Sharma also told police that he has cheated around 70 people of their belongings, including expensive mobile phones, since he came out of jail. The one carrying expensive mobile phones like Apple I-phone 5, Apple I-phone 4s, Sony Experia, Samsung Note Pad, Samsung Galaxy Note, HTC, Blackberry Bold etc were his main targets.

Gold and women complement each other very well. But the metal can do a lot more than simply enhancing a woman's looks. It can also boost your portfolio. Many consider investing in gold as a winning investment strategy. But when purchased in the form of jewellery, gold tends to wear because of regular usage and is prone to damage. In addition to this, the making charges and exchange charges will have an effect on the final price at which you buy or sell the jewellery. If there are any gems or stones attached to them, it further depreciates in value over time. Gold in the form of jewellery is more of consumption in nature rather than investment.

Buying physical gold is another traditional way in which most of the investments related to gold are made. One can buy gold in the coin or bar form from a bank or a jeweller. Available in different weights, these bars and coins can be used at any later stage to make jewellery. The advantage of such form of investing is that you generally only pay the market price, and there's no additional charge in the form of making or wastage charges. However, the downside comes with liquidating these bars or coins. Purity of the gold bars is also a concern. The banks only sell gold coins, they don't buy them back. One is always dependent on a jeweller to liquidate them. Aware of this fact, most of the jewellers charge a premium while buying gold coins or bars. The other issue with holding gold in jewllery or other physical form is fear of theft. One needs to have a safe locker at bank to store them safe.

The best way of investing in gold is through paper or electronic form of gold i.e. ETFs or FOFs. Investing through these modes is similar to investing in stocks. It can counter the disadvantages of holding gold in its physical form. There is no worry about impurities, storage and safety. They can also be bought is in quantities as small as 0.5 grams. This form in investment is also most liquid in nature. You can realize your proceedings within two days of passing the sell order. Gold serves as a safe haven against volatile markets. Historically gold has exhibited negative correlation with equities. That is if the price of equities fall, gold prices rises and vice-versa. This is in fact the basics of diversification. So it is always advisable to hold gold as a part of the portfolio to counter the eventual market volatilities.

They are so strong that if even two or three are swallowed

A six-year-old girl is recovering from emergency surgery at McMaster Children’s Hospital after swallowing 19 ball-like magnets that were part of what many parents view as a harmless toy.

Megan Van Wyk and her brother had been playing with Buckyballs at their Oakville home March 4 when she announced to her mom that she’d accidentally swallowed them.

Like most six-year-olds, her mom said, the curious girl has a tendency to stick things in her mouth.

Kelly Van Wyk immediately took her daughter to Oakville Trafalgar Hospital, and from there she was transferred to McMaster Children’s Hospital.

At the Hamilton hospital, they “watched her like a hawk,” her mom said. “They said, ‘Look, we know how serious this is.’”

Buckyballs are a set of 125 tiny ball-like, superstrong magnets that stick together to make different shapes.

They are so strong that if even two or three are swallowed, they can find each other in the body and pull together, through organs, causing life-threatening gastrointestinal problems such as a perforated bowel.

After three days of supervision with no movement, doctors performed emergency surgery and discovered the magnets had perforated the girl’s small intestine, causing ulcerations in the stomach and leaving two small holes in her bowel.

Dr. Anna Shawyer, a pediatric surgery fellow at Mac, said Megan “was very lucky.”

In her 18 months at the hospital, Shawyer has seen three similar cases of magnet ingestion. One child had swallowed more than 100.

A 2012 survey of members of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition reported 480 cases of high-powered magnet ingestions in the previous decade, 204 of them in the previous 12 months.

Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children has treated 19 cases in the past four years.

While magnets are most commonly ingested by small children or those with developmental delays, Shawyer said doctors have also encountered teens who have accidentally swallowed the magnets after using them as mock tongue studs.

From pea- to marble-sized, the magnets are common in desktop toys and jewellery and can be up to 20 times more powerful than traditional magnets.

“They look like candy, like cake decorations … and they go down real easy,” Shawyer said.

And because they come in sets of more than 100 small parts, it is difficult for parents to keep track if any go missing.

The ball-like magnets have been banned in Australia and the United States, and Shawyer is personally hoping increased awareness about the “toys” will lead to a similar ban here.

“There’s always a concern with choking, with ingesting foreign bodies … but the main worry about the magnets is you could have them in two areas of the bowel and have them stick together,” Shawyer said.

“I thought nothing of it,” she said, adding that they had received the Buckyballs as a gift for the children.

“I’m throwing them all away. Oh my gosh, I’ll never have those anywhere near my kids again. I don’t think they should be available for children,” she said.

“If we can save one other family by telling this story, I will be (happy).”

On Tuesday, Megan was still in hospital recovering from surgery. It was the first day since her surgery last Thursday that she was up walking. She was also sipping juice and taking a few bites of pudding.

Owon SmartLife aims at deploying state-of-the-art technologies to propel

I had been living in Australia for the better part of a year, which seemed — on the front end of the trip — to be more time than I would want, but after enduring the 20-hour plane ride, it turned out to be the minimum amount of time I would need before I could face it again in reverse.

I had chosen Australia as my place of study on a lark. Seated in my academic adviser’s office, surrounded by glossy magazines with crisp images of the Great Wall, Stonehenge and the Colosseum splashed across the covers, I murmured, “What do you think about Australia?” He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping at his face, as he mentally escaped to a memory Australia had once handed him. A smile played upon his lips before he said, “Well, if you can’t have fun in Australia, you’re not capable.”

That was the word that I needed to hear. Fun. I had spent the last three years in a ruthless pre-med program, struggling to keep pace with foreign exchange students who possessed more intellect in their earlobe than I did in my frontal lobe. Things crystallized inside of that shabby office, and the loftier concepts of history, art and foreign language felt suddenly shortsighted as compared to the more elemental idea of fun.

Moving somewhere for the pursuit of fun proved complicated for someone who had fallen out of practice with it. What does one pack for a year of fun? How much money do I need to have for fun? What level of SPF is fun? Is living without antiperspirant fun?

It hadn’t taken long for the Aussies and other study abroad students I had made acquaintances with to realize that I was a struggling student of fun. My existence within my new university became startlingly similar to the one I had been living in the United States. I could be counted on to attend class and provide notes to those who had slept through it. I would stay sober and drive the revelers home at the end of the night.In home display Let’s just say that everyone knew whose door to knock on when they needed an extra international phone card or some aspirin. They knocked on a different door when the situation demanded condoms or cigarettes.

When the university announced that there would be a week-long break in classes to allow the students time to prepare for finals, I breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know I’d have ample time to collaborate with my study groups. That was until I learned that all of my study groups were going to be collaborating with the Great Barrier Reef. Everyone was heading north to take in the sights and sounds of the famed Gold Coast. Room after room in my apartment complex was evacuating as though the place had caught fire. Hastily packed duffle bags were thrown into the hallways as students frantically called out to no one, “Have you seen my passport?”

I, of course, knew just where my passport was stored. I hadn’t used it since arriving in the country. I pulled open the center drawer of my desk and saw my passport lying across my biology syllabus and my return ticket to the United States. I fingered the small booklet distractedly, mentally tabulating how few weeks remained before I would be exiled home. I flipped open the passport, staring at the imprints collected from trips already taken, the memories of each already yellowed and folding up at the corners in the drawers of my mind. A voice from the hallway pierced my silent musings.

The landing gear slammed against the pavement and the plane shuddered down the runway just as I had finished thumbing through a guidebook of Darwin. I hadn’t learned anything of import other than that absolutely everything in the Australian city of Darwin will murder you. Be it lightning or spiders or snakes, each one a ubiquitous and lethal foe. While the plane taxied toward its jetway, I glanced at the accommodations section of the book once more and scrawled the address of the first hostel listed across the back of my hand. I was fast depleting my bank account, already taxed before I had spontaneously decided to travel to the land where everything kills. A cheap room bursting with bunkbeds of Danes and Swedes was the only way to keep my ship sailing.

The taxi deposited me at the mouth of a bustling swath of roadway. I trudged along the sidewalk, passing restaurants and nightclubs I couldn’t indulge in, toward the screaming red building that I knew — by smell alone — had to be my hostel. I entered the lobby through a doorway strung with wooden beads. The beat of an American dance song — probably one that had failed to become popular in the U.S.Home energy monitor — assaulted my eardrums as I peered over the check-in desk at the top of a head that had not yet swung up to notice me. I cleared my throat. She didn’t budge. I reached over the counter and touched her shoulder. She flew back in her chair, startled, and stared at me as though I was the first tourist to ever check in there.

Before I could inquire about vacancies, she scurried around the side of the desk and scooped up my bag in her wispy arms before turning heel. I worried momentarily that someone might steal my valuables, which were pitiably limited to a bottle of American antiperspirant and a tube top. She dashed back into the room, arms emptied of my bag, and began scooting me toward the door.

We were welcomed by a religious figure

I had gone on a holiday to a neighbouring country with a friend. Although both of us had been there before, there were other things that we had not done or seen. For instance, we heard that the floating market was quite an interesting place to visit.

But our tour guide, who spoke staccato English, was not keen on the idea and insisted that we go somewhere else.

“I take you to nice place,” was all he said when we asked him where he was taking us. After a 30-minute ride in his beat-up vehicle, we arrived at a religious place.

Now, I have nothing against places of worship. However, I had seen enough so I wasn’t excited about the idea. But we were already there.

We were welcomed by a religious figure who gave my friend, Shem, a glass of water to drink. Strangely enough, he didn’t give me any. Throughout the meeting, he also didn’t talk to me and only addressed my friend. It was as though I was invisible although I was standing right next to Shem.

Perhaps, Shem’s Chinese-Caucasian features were more interesting to look at, I thought.

After a short visit, we left. We told the guide to take us to other places of interest. Again he flatly refused.

“I take you to nice jewellery shop,” he said and drove on.

Jewellery shop? Why would he think we were interested in jewellery? I protested loudly. I told him that we were not girls and we were not interested in jewellery. It was to no avail as everything seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Another 20-minutes or so later, we arrived at a deserted place where there was nothing but a single bungalow. We received a warm welcome from the shopkeepers as though we were their long-lost relatives. The guide whispered to us to “just go inside and see. No need to buy anything”.

We walked into the shop. There were no customers. It was very awkward for us to pretend that we liked jewellery. We looked at all the display quickly and were ready to leave when the shop owner insisted that we go upstairs.
“Nice jewellery upstairs,” he said and signalled with his hand for us to go up. I think we must have been in a trance as we followed him.

Upstairs, he showed us several sets of diamond and blue sapphire ear rings, necklaces and rings. With the cheapest set selling at RM4,000, there was no way we were going to buy anything there. I was confident of that.

The shop owner was adamant. He told us blue sapphire was easily obtained in his country and, therefore, the prices of blue sapphire and diamonds were cheaper there than in Malaysia.

We politely acknowledged the fact and told him we didn’t have that kind of money for that kind of indulgence.

“You pay by credit card,” he stubbornly insisted.

Just as Shem and I were discussing ways to get ourselves out of there, a man came out of a room upstairs, holding something in his hand.

He looked at us and flashed a big smile. He asked where we were from.

“Oh, I’m from Malaysia too! I come here once or twice a month to buy a set of blue sapphire and diamond jewellery. Then I go back to Malaysia and sell it to local jewellers,” he told us, showing a box of jewellery he was holding.

Although the set I bought today cost RM9,000, I can easily sell it for RM12,000 and make some quick money. This is how I’ve been surviving,” he said, showing us his certificate of purchase.

I didn’t buy his story ... at first. But he stayed a while longer and before we knew it, Shem and I were sold! After all, he was from Malaysia too.

Plus, we could also be making some money. By this time, Shem began to show interest in buying a set. He invited me to share the “business” with him. He wanted to get the identical RM9,000 set but truth be told, I didn’t have RM4,500 with me at that time. All I had was a credit card, which was also in danger zone.

After some persuasion, I agreed on the RM6,000 set, which meant that I would bear half the cost. I took out my credit card and secretly hoped that the bank would reject it. It didn’t.

We walked out of the bungalow with jewellery worth RM6,000. Back home, I took it to a jeweller in Ampang. He looked at it and told me it’s worth RM1,500, at the most!

Another goldsmith also valued it at around the same price. But none were interested to buy it. We kept it for several months before finally letting it go for a pittance.

This was one of the most harrowing and embarrassing experiences for me. I hope my misfortune will give you some food for thought and act as a useful reminder.

Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Kelsey Fry and her court

The Florida Strawberry Festival's Grand Parade was still two hours away Monday when the Kidd family staked claim to their favorite viewing spot at Reynolds and Franklin streets.

No one is sure exactly how long the family has viewed the parade from that corner, but James Kidd said it probably has been 50 years. His parents lived down the street, and the family discovered the shady spot was an ideal vantage point.

They just have to get there early to beat the crowds.

"This is our corner. It's the best place to see the parade and, as a family, we always know to meet here," said one of Kidd's daughters, 30-year-old Victoria Stalvey.

Kidd and other family members including daughter Jennifer Kidd, 27, J.W. Kidd, 4, and Donnie Courtney, 8, were among thousands who lined streets from the downtown historic district to the festival grounds for what may be the city's largest parade of the year.

The nearly 100 entries included marching bands, Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Kelsey Fry and her court, a John Deere tractor pulling a wagon load of FFA students and a stagecoach with four horses.

Mulberry residents Megan Beck, 14, her 7-year-old sister, Amber, and a family friend sat near the parade start. Amber didn't hesitate when asked her favorite part of the pageantry. "I love the dresses because they are so pretty."

All along the route, children – and sometimes adults – screamed for goodies that were handed out or tossed from floats.

"They love the beads and the candy," said Patty Foster, a VPK teacher who helped chaperone 39 students from Linda's Little People, a Plant City day care. The children, who were dressed in blue T-shirts, managed to get their share of treats as they stood behind a barricade in the front row of the route.

Nearby, Ronald Hamilton, 5, and his cousin Michelle Swain, 8, had quite a collection of beads as the 80-minute parade progressed. Children love bead necklaces when they are being thrown out, but soon lose interest, said Ronald's mother, Barbara Hamilton of Valrico.

"They become a nuisance to mom when we get home, actually," she laughed.

About 80 friends of Hugh and Amy Gramling watched the parade from the front yard of the couple's home on Reynolds Street. Amy said the couple has been throwing a parade party for about 25 years, serving a belt-busting menu with such foods as fried turkey, gumbo and strawberries.

Guest David Miller said the couple's cooking is the best.

"I don't care what the parade is like, the food always makes it better," said Miller, who staked out a corner of the yard with his wife Emma.

The parade, always held on the Monday following the opening of the 11-day festival, was blessed with sunny weather and temperatures around 70 degrees.

"It was probably the biggest crowd I've ever seen," said Gail Lyons, who heads the organization that stages the parade, although she didn't have an estimate.

There were no mishaps, although the parade had to stop twice for trains. Both trains slowed to a crawl as they passed by the procession.

Trains are part of the daily life in downtown Plant City, which is crisscrossed with railroad tracks.

Sometimes a change is the best thing for you

The player Des Hasler signed an hour before the June 30 deadline last year now looms as a key figure in the two-time premiership-winning coach's bid to avenge Canterbury's grand final heartache.

His name is Drury Low - not that he'll be referred to by name much this season as he adopts the tag of Ben Barba's replacement.

There's no doubt Hasler will play mind games with his team selection right up until kick-off against North Queensland on Saturday, but he's expected to use Low as his No.1 to start the year with Barba suspended indefinitely.

A week ago Low would have been preparing to play in the club's NSW Cup season opener, but he's learnt to expect the unexpected when it comes to the Bulldogs.
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At 4pm on June 30 last year, Low's manager Paul Sutton tried to resurrect his ailing career with a desperate plea to Hasler. By the end of the afternoon, the former Raider had been officially made a Bulldog.

"It was all done within an hour," Sutton said. "I spoke to Des that afternoon and he spoke to [Bulldogs recruitment manager Noel Cleal]. I got a call back a bit later from Des telling me he wanted him.

"It was a lucky phone call. I was going to do the ring-around and see if anyone was interested and I picked Des first. I was thinking, 'Where can I put him where someone can work with him and get the best out of him.' I didn't have to ring any other club. Drury was just going through the motions at Canberra but since leaving, Des has done a great job with him."

Raiders development manager David Hamilton brought the 22-year-old to the club in 2008, when they won the under-20s premiership with Josh Dugan at fullback and Low on the wing.

The Junior Kiwi was raised in Griffith before moving to Melbourne, where he played alongside Storm five-eighth Gareth Widdop coming through the ranks.

It didn't take much viewing to convince Hamilton he had the goods. ''I first saw him when the Raiders were playing Melbourne's academy team in Queensland," he said. "When I saw what he did as a 15-year-old to our 18-year-olds, you can't help but to sit back and say, 'Wow, that's special.' He destroyed us and made us look a bit silly that day."

Low scored two tries in his NRL debut for the Raiders in round eight of 2010 and played his second and most recent game in the top grade three months later.

With Dugan and Reece Robinson at the club, as well as a host of talented backs, he found it hard to crack the big time and as a result lost his drive and let his application to training dwindle, say those at the club. Given Canberra's depth in the back line, they told him he was unwanted beyond the end of his 2012 contract, but he didn't even see out the season.

"We had to make some tough decisions, especially with Josh and Reece and the outside backs we have at the club," Hamilton said.

"Drury had a taste and missed out on another real opportunity. Sometimes a player has to leave a club because if you're not playing regular first grade you get disheartened. His training ethic wasn't where it should've been. He's a quiet kid but you could tell he wasn't turning up to training with the same mindset he once did.

"Sometimes a change is the best thing for you. There's a hell of a lot of competition for spots here, but he saw an opportunity elsewhere and I'm sure he's going to make it work. He's a good kid with a lot of talent."