Dill Mill Gayye Pridictions - 19th Aug 2008

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PREDICTION

This prediction is for all my friends out here.All characters
are purely fictious and does not have resemblence to any
real persons.It may contain material which is inadequate
for person lesser then 15 Years of Age.Hence reader
descretion is suggested.
***********************************************************************
Ridhima has asked Armaan to make up with all friends and to ask forgiveness from each one of them.Armaan is now thinking ways to implement it.Next day Locker Room.

Armaan: arey champ..tu yahan ..itni subah wah..
Atul: (looked at him but didnt speak)
Armaan: arey yar..bol na..
Atul: tu na mujse baat mat kar armaan..
Armaan: kyun..
Atul: tu na purana armaan nahi raha.Vo to mera bhai hua karta tha.Meri madad karne ko humesha tyaar rehta tha.Tere jaisa nahi to baat baat pe chilata ho aur danttha rehta ho.
Armaan: champ..idhar dekh na..
Atul:(looked at him)
Armaan:(held his ears) dekh main tujse kaan pakadke maafi mangta hoon.100 baar uttak baithak lagane ko bhi tyaar hoon..par please maaf kar de..ek tu hi to hai mera..tere siwa kaun hai yar..bol na..kaun hai..
Atul:(looking at him) armaan..please..mujhe kaam hai..
Armaan: arey bhai..please ruk..mujhe pata tha tu mujse bahut naraaj hai...Isliye main tujhe manane ke liye yeh leke aaya hoon(shows a plant in his hands)..tere liye..
Atul:(sees it and is smiling) waos armaan..kitni pyari hai na..thx yar..main iska naam micheil rakhunga..theek hai na..
Armaan:(happy) bilkul theek champ..ab to tune mujhe maaf kiya na..bol na..
Atul: arey tu to mera bhai hai yar..tujse main naraaj kab tha..chal ab chalta hoon..lunch ko milte hain..OK..
Armaan: thanks champ..bye
(thinks..1 wicket down)

Canteen(Rahul and Muskaan are having lunch together but are not seeing each other.Armaan reaches there)

Rahul: Tu thoda alag hatke nahi kha sakthi..chipku kahin ki..
Muskaan: Oye kothe..yeh to meri majboori hai..varna main tere sath chipkoon..sakal dekhi hai kabhi..
Armaan: Hi Guys..
Rahul/Muskaan: yaar tum log ab to ladna band karo..ab to tum dono ki shaadi ho gayi hai na..
Muskaan: Armaan..tu to mujse bolna bhi mat...tu na..
Armaan: Oye meri punjaban..
Rahul: Armaan...vo meri biwi hai..theek se baat kar yar..
Armaan: oye hoye..abhi se possessive..
Muskaan: oye rahul ke bache..chup kar samjha..aur tu bhi armaan..yeh punjaban vanjaban kya laga rakha hai..
Armaan: arey yar sun to..
Muskaan:(Not looking at him)
Armaan: please muskaan..please
Muskaan: acha..jo bhi bolna hai jaldi jaldi bol..
Armaan: Thx yar..you are very sweet..Yar vo kal pata nahi mera dimag kharab ho gaya tha..isliye pata nahi gusse main main tujhe kya kya bol gaya..please..maaf kar de yar...please yar..
Muskaan: sirf ek shart pe..
Armaan: kuch bhi karwa le yar..kuch bhi..
Muskaan: kuch bhi..
Armaan: haan kuch bhi..
Muskaan: to chal idhar aa..ek jhappi de de..tujse bhi koi naraaj ho saktha hai pagal..
Armaan: oye meri soni punjaban..thx yar (and hugs her)
Rahul:(has his fingers in fist and full anger)
Muskaan: Oye tu kyun moon latka ke baitha hai..
Rahul: bataun..
Armaan: arey cool it yar.vo sirf meri dost hai..aur teri biwi..samjha kar..theek hai..
Rahul:(cooling down..) Ok Armaan..
Armaan: chalo guys..enjoy ur lunch..I will take ur leave..
Rahul/Muskaan: bye armaan

(Armaan thinks..2nd Wicket down)

Outside Operation Theatre.Dr Subhankar has just completed the operation and is coming out.Armaan runs towards him and just sleeps over his feet.

Dr Subhankar:Dr Armaan..yeh aap kya kar rahe ho..I mean Dr Keerti ne dekh liya to vo kya samjhegi..
Armaan: Sir..mujhe maaf kar do..mujhe maaf kar do..please
Dr Subhankar:maaf kar doon...par kisliye
Armaan: vo sir maine aapse is terah baat ki..
Dr Subhankar: kis terah.
Armaan: sir aapko kal ki baat yad nahi(smiling)..
Dr Subhankar: acha vo..haan Dr Armaan..that was really bad behavior.Main senior doctor hoon yar.meri bhi kuch izzat hai..
Armaan: tabhie to sorry mang raha hoon(again goes down to his feet)
Dr Subhankar:acha acha ..please uthiye..
Armaan: to maaf kiya..
Dr Subhankar: haan maaf kiya..but ek promise karo..
Armaan: promise..vo kya sir..
Dr Subhankar:ki aap humesha meri help karenge..Dr Keerti ke case main..
Armaan: humesha sir. always..
Dr Subhankar:Okay then(smiles)
Armaan: Thx Sir..Bye and Have a great day..
Dr Subhankar:Bye(thinks..good Boy)

(Armaan thinks..3rd wicket also down..Now ridhima and smiles)

End Of day.Locker Room

Armaan: ridhimaaa..meri ridhimaaa
Ridhima: armaan..shayad tumne suna nahi ki kal maine kya kaha tha..jab tak tum sabhi se maafu nahi maang lete..aur..
Armaan:(cutting in between) aur sab log mujhe maaf nahi kar dete..tab tak main tumse baat na karoon..yahi na..
Ridhima: haan..
Armaan: to unhone maaf kar diya..
Ridhima: kya...itni jaldi..armaan tum sach keh rahe ho na..
Armaan: main upni basket ko jhuth thodi bolunga..
Ridhima: armaan..(suspiciously)
Armaan: yar..seriously..un sabne maaf kar diya..chaho to sabse pooch lo..
Ridhima: Ok fine then..
Armaan: (shocked)..sirf fine...Oye..ab to mujse baat kar..pata hai kaisi halat hai tere bina..
Ridhima: armaan..I m still angry with you..tumne papa ko sach kyun nahi kaha.I mean why armaan..
Armaan: ridhima..tum..
Ridhima: nahi armaan..humhe sach keh dena chahiye tha..mujhe abhi bhi theek nahi lag raha..
Armaan: Oye meri sweety..please..(tries to hug her)
Ridhima: armaan..please..chodo mujhe..(goes away from locker room)

Armaan thinks and starts singing..

$Ghusthaaki maaf kar de..ab to dil saaf kar de..kehna to maan le..$
$Haan..jane bhi de..jo bhi hua..jane bhi de..$

Ridhima resisted initially but by the end of song she smiles.

Armaan: Oye..yeh hui na baat..
Ridhima: par..
Armaan: par. kya..!!
Ridhima: humhe papa ko sach batana hoga....aur vo bhi abhi..!!
Armaan: abhi..!! ( thinks a while and then..) OK

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PREDICTION
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Dill Mill Gayye Predictions - Armaan & Ridhima's First Date

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Armaan & Ridhima's First Date

This compilation is for all my friends out here.All characters
are purely fictious and does not have resemblance to any
real persons.It may contain material which is inadequate
for person lesser then 15 Years of Age.Hence reader
discretion is suggested.
***********************************************************************

Ridhima has accepted love for armaan and both are very happy about it.Armaan has now all the reasons in the world to be happy and relish all his life dreams which he can realise with Ridhima.

Its late at night.Moon is in its full glamor along with its darling moonlight.It gives ambience of a pure atmosphere with just love all over it.Armaan is in thoughts engraved only with Ridhima.He thinks of something and goes for it.Ridhima is bit amazed to get a call this late but then happy to find it from Armaan.

Ridhima: haan armaan..
Armaan: ridhima..meri ek khawish hai...puri karogi..
Ridhima: khwaish..kya..!!
Armaan: tum kahan ho is waqt..
Ridhima: its 1 at clock armaan..obviously upne bed pe hi hoongi..
Armaan: zara kidki pe aana..
Ridhima: kidki pe..kyun..
Armaan: please aao na..tumhe kuch dikhana hai..
Ridhima goes closer to the window.She is mesmerized by the whole scenery.Such a beautiful night.Full moon is adding to its ecstasy.She gets engrossed in the whole view.After a while she realises that she was on a call and that too from Armaan.
Ridhima: armaan..u there..
Armaan: main yehi hoon meri princess..aur kahan jaunga..
Ridhima: Armaan..its just so beautiful..I mean..Its so beautiful...
Armaan: haan..aur specially jab koi red main ho to..kya baat hai..!
Ridhima: (shocked)..Armaan..tumhe kaise pata ki maine..
Armaan: agar aap apni nigahein zameen pe dalein to pata chal jaye shayad..
Ridhima: (looks down and finds armaan there..Oh God..he looks so cute in that white jacket of his.One day..you will kill me armaan...) armaan tum..is waqt..please jao..papa ne dekh liye na..to..
Armaan: hey princess..please yar..mera dil mat thodo.Tumse milne ka bahut dil kar raha hai..please neeche aa jao..please..
Ridhima: armaan..tumhara dimag to theek hai..is waqt..for god sake..please...
Armaan: (goes down on his knees and makes his hands in request postion)..bus thodi der ke liye..please..just 10 mins..
Ridhima: (refused a while...but then...she looks at armaan and...) Ok..but only for 10 mins..
Armaan: thanks my princess..please come soon..I m waiting..

Armaan is happy that he would be able to spent some moments with his love.Ridhima comes down wearing a red dress.She looks stunningly beautiful and elegant.She sees everywhere and is satisfied to find noone around.It were just 4-5 hours before when they were together in sanjeevani but it looked like a century to Armaan.He opens his arms for her.Ridhima looks at him and goes closer to him and hides herself in his embrace.It is a lovely feeling for both of them They feel complete..from heart..from soul and for each other.Only both of them realize the importance of this union as it has come after lot of struggle and pain in their life.But now its just armaan and ridhima..ridhima and armaan.Each one of them thank god for his goodness.

Armaan: ridhima ..(ridhima puts a finger on his lips)
Ridhima: please armaan..kuch na kaho..mujhe in lamho ko jee lene do..
Armaan: (tightens his grip over her..but then...) ridhima....tumhe kuch dikhana hai mujhe..
Ridhima: kya..armaan( seperating from him)
Armaan takes her to a corner and shows her a white carpet kept on ground.The carpet is sprinkled with rose petals and is looking beautiful.There is a small strand in middle of the carpet which has a red-white candle kept over it.

Ridhima: armaan..yeh sab..tum ..kaise..!
Armaan: ridhima..I always dreamt of these moments..Kya tum mere sath is candle light night main...mere life ke sabse special moments share karogi..
Ridhima: armaan..(huggs him..)..I would love to..I would really love to..

Both sits on the opposite sides over the carpet.Armaan kindles the candle.A pink flame comes out of it which makes the whole surrounding romantic by its presence.Both look into each other in that pink light.

Armaan: Tum bahut khusburat lag rahi ho ridhima.You are really looking like a princess.Thanks for coming into my life.
Ridhima: armaan..I just cant say ki(armaan in between)
Armaan: ridhima..please meri poori baat sun lo..main in sabdo ko...bahut der se upne under samet rakha hai..mujhe bayaan kar lene do..
Ridhima: acha..(looking at him)
Armaan: ridhima..tumne meri jindagi ko upni saadgi aur achai se sanwara hai.Mujhe malum nahi agar tum meri jindagi main na aati to mera kya hota.Main shayad bus aagey badta rehta aur upne se hi compete karta rehta.Tum meri jindagi main ek tehrav ki terah aayi ho jisne mere dil ko upne pyar se bhar diya hai.Mujhe lagta hai ki life kitni sweet hai..kitni achi hai..sirf tumhari vajah se ridhima..main upni khushi ka bayaan nahi kar sakta.Mera dil ab bus tumhare sath hai..tumhare paas hai aur humesha rahega.
Ridhima: armaan..(still looking at him..) How can you love me so much..How can anyone love someone so much.Touch wood..armaan..I cant tell how much happy I am.Pehle humhare ladhaiyon aur galatfehmiyon se mujhe laga tha ki hum ek doosre ke liye nahi bane.Par phir samajh main aaya ki vo sab tumhare karib aane ke tarike the.Maine dil se sirf tumhe chaha hai.I am really lucky to find you as my life partner..I really mean it.Bhagwan tumhe aur humhare pyar ko har buri najar se bachaye.
Armaan: ridhima..
Ridhima: haan armaan..
Armaan: kya main tumhare paas aake baith sakta hoon..
Ridhima: (before replying it..ridhima gets up and sits aside with armaan.She keeps her head over armaan shoulders and..)
Armaan: arey..meri ridhima to sudhar gayi..
Ridhima: tumhari ridhima bus ab sirf tumare paas rehna chahti hai armaan..
Armaan: I love u basket..
Ridhima: basket..ab abhi !
Armaan: acha baba..I love u ridhima..
Ridhima: I love you armaan..

They remain in that sweet postion for a long time till armaan speaks up.

Armaan: ridhima..shall we dance..
Ridhima: kya..! yahan..! I mean kaise armaan..
Armaan: Aise..(takes out a small sony walkman player. and plays "baahon ke darmiyaan".Armaan raises his hand as request for dance to ridhima.Ridhima is more than happy to accept his request)

The song starts

$baahon ke darmiyan$

Armaan takes right hand of ridhima in his left one.Ridhima puts her left arm over armaan's right shoulder.Armaan puts his right hand on ridhima's back.They dance.It was a lovely scene.It shows the enigma of two lovers dancing in rythm of their love.Song just acts as a true catalyst.

$do pyar mil rahe hain$

Both look into each other.They are deep into their souls wich showed love and just love for each other.

$jane kya$

Love which was just pious,pure and out of any elementary boundations.Just emotions.

$chahe man..bole sun..yeh badan.$

Armaan puts a bunch of hairs which are disturbing ridhima's face back into their position.He moves closer to her face.

$dhadkan bani jabaan$

Ridhima understands him and closes her eyes.

$baahon ke darmiyaan$

Armaan elegantly kisses her.

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Armaan & Ridhima's First Date
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Boys' And Girls' Brains Are Different

For the first time -- and in unambiguous findings -- researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks.

"Our findings -- which suggest that language processing is more sensory in boys and more abstract in girls -- could have major implications for teaching children and even provide support for advocates of single sex classrooms," said Douglas D. Burman, research associate in Northwestern's Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers measured brain activity in 31 boys and in 31 girls aged 9 to 15 as they performed spelling and writing language tasks.

The tasks were delivered in two sensory modalities -- visual and auditory. When visually presented, the children read certain words without hearing them. Presented in an auditory mode, they heard words aloud but did not see them.

Using a complex statistical model, the researchers accounted for differences associated with age, gender, type of linguistic judgment, performance accuracy and the method -- written or spoken -- in which words were presented.

The researchers found that girls still showed significantly greater activation in language areas of the brain than boys. The information in the tasks got through to girls' language areas of the brain -- areas associated with abstract thinking through language. And their performance accuracy correlated with the degree of activation in some of these language areas.

To their astonishment, however, this was not at all the case for boys. In boys, accurate performance depended -- when reading words -- on how hard visual areas of the brain worked. In hearing words, boys' performance depended on how hard auditory areas of the brain worked.

If that pattern extends to language processing that occurs in the classroom, it could inform teaching and testing methods.

Given boys' sensory approach, boys might be more effectively evaluated on knowledge gained from lectures via oral tests and on knowledge gained by reading via written tests. For girls, whose language processing appears more abstract in approach, these different testing methods would appear unnecessary.

"One possibility is that boys have some kind of bottleneck in their sensory processes that can hold up visual or auditory information and keep it from being fed into the language areas of the brain," Burman said. This could result simply from girls developing faster than boys, in which case the differences between the sexes might disappear by adulthood.

Or, an alternative explanation is that boys create visual and auditory associations such that meanings associated with a word are brought to mind simply from seeing or hearing the word.

While the second explanation puts males at a disadvantage in more abstract language function, those kinds of sensory associations may have provided an evolutionary advantage for primitive men whose survival required them to quickly recognize danger-associated sights and sounds.

If the pattern of females relying on an abstract language network and of males relying on sensory areas of the brain extends into adulthood -- a still unresolved question -- it could explain why women often provide more context and abstract representation than men.

Ask a woman for directions and you may hear something like: "Turn left on Main Street, go one block past the drug store, and then turn right, where there's a flower shop on one corner and a cafe across the street."

Such information-laden directions may be helpful for women because all information is relevant to the abstract concept of where to turn; however, men may require only one cue and be distracted by additional information.

Are You What You Eat?

The study uses a branch of mathematics called dynamical systems theory to demonstrate that a class of model equations has an infinite number of body weight solutions, even if the food intake and energy expenditure rates are identical. However, the work also shows that another class of models directly refutes this, predicting that food intake and energy expenditure rates uniquely determine body weight. Existing data are insufficient to tell which is closer to reality, since both models can make the same predictions for a given alteration of food intake or energy expenditure.

Given the ongoing obesity epidemic, Drs. Chow and Hall are interested in what factors determine human body weight and its stability. Of particular importance is whether a treatment for obesity would have to be administered repeatedly over a lifetime or could be given only until a target body weight is reached. As a particular example, the study considers whether weight lost from a liposuction procedure is permanent. For the class of equations with an infinite number of body weight solutions, fat removal through liposuction could lead to permanent results. However, the opposing models predict that the body would eventually return to its original weight.

Chow and Hall note that neither class of models accounts for the many variables affecting how much a person tends to eat, an important factor determining bodyweight. Nevertheless, for any food intake rate this latest research suggests that an individual may have an infinite number of possible body weights. The study outlines the mathematical conditions underlying this possibility and suggests how future experiments could determine if it is true.

Early Living Together, Marriage, Parenting Benefits Some Young Adults

"In industrial countries, young people age 18 to 25 are expected to explore their identity, work and love by delaying marriage and parenthood," says lead author Alan Booth, distinguished professor of sociology, human development and demography. "It is believed that those individuals who fail to postpone these family transitions miss out on better career opportunities, make poor choices on partners, and may experience problems.

"However, our research has shown that early family choices may be a productive option for many young adults, especially those who are disadvantaged with respect to family income, parental education and structure, mother-child relationship, verbal ability, school attachment and delinquent behavior," he notes.

Booth, Elisa Rustenbach, graduate student in sociology, and Susan McHale, professor of human development and family studies, examined the family and personal characteristics of more than 8,000 young adults who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Half of the sample made an early family transition and half did not over a five-year period.

The researchers compared the depressive symptoms of those who made a transition with those who did not, and found very few differences in depressive symptoms between the two groups.

"The only exception was women who experienced a breakup of their live-in relationship. They were more likely to see an increase in depression compared to women who did not break up with the live-in partner or did not make a transition," Booth notes. Only 14 percent of those who made a transition were in this category.

The researchers selected depressive symptoms as a measure of wellbeing because they are associated with many types of adversity such as poor physical health, unemployment and harsh family relationships, and apply to males and females and people of all ages.

"The findings are even more remarkable when we take into account that young adults who transitioned into early families were more likely to come from low-income families, had parents with lower levels of education and likely lived in a household with one or no biological parents," Booth says.

In low-income families, teens may experience a divisive home environment and parents with poor parenting skills. Leaving to live together, marry or have children may provide an opportunity to escape from an unloving home and create a more positive family, according to the study.

The difference between men and women on early family transitions and protective family factors requires more study, however, he adds.

"Most research on emerging adulthood has been on college students," Booth notes. "Our study highlights the importance of study early family transitions in context, in light of the range of opportunities open to a person. Post-high school experiences of young adults are more diverse than popular belief, and early co-habitation or marriage and parenting may be productive for many young people, at least over the short haul."

The team's findings were published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family, and the research also will be presented April 17 at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.

The study received support from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Frenemies .... Friends Or Enemies

This thought crossed my mind while thinking of my friends.As like everyone i do have friends,some are very close and some are just reaching there.Recently i have started sharing a very different kind of relation with them.I m no more convinced by their thoughts and vision about different aspects of life and hence often run into arguments.That offcourse cause a timely bitterness in our relationships but in due time it gets faded away.The good part of it is now I m able to freely express my views and feelings without having to bother if I m hurting anyone.Is it correct !

Now it depends upon how one takes it.Arguments with your close ones,when happen in a controlled fashion can give a better prospect to any subject or matter of discussion.It also mean that we get various angles to view before reaching any decision and confirms that we are not unianimous.On the contrary,egoish and uncontrolled arguments can trully pit holes in a good relation.As friends are aware of our personal and internal fronts,on getting maniac on a heated discussion can bring heartburn.Thats I m really afraid off.Freedom and self dependence is guaranteed on better and non selfish arguments.Its also helps us to grow personally and think in a diverse and flat world.So we can also have friends which may dislike some or all(nah) of our aspects !

Good for us !

Liposuction

Liposuction is a popular operation in cosmetic surgery which removes fat from many site on the human body via a cannula and aspirator.Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty ("fat modeling"), liposculpture or suction lipectomy ("suction-assisted fat removal") is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body. Areas affected can range from the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, to the neck, backs of the arms and elsewhere. The fat is usually removed via a cannula (a hollow tube) and aspirator (a suction device).

Liposuction is not a low-effort alternative to exercise and diet. It is a form of body contouring with significant attendant risks[1] and is not a weight loss method. The amount of fat removed varies by doctor, method, and patient, but is typically less than 10 pounds (5 kg).

There are several factors that limit the amount of fat that can be safely removed in one session. Ultimately, the operating physician and the patient make the decision. There are negative aspects to removing too much fat. Unusual "lumpiness" and/or "dents" in the skin can be seen in those patients "over-suctioned". The more fat removed the higher the surgical risk.

While reports of people removing 50 pounds (22.7 kg) of fat are exaggerated, the contouring possible with liposuction may cause the appearance of weight loss to be greater than the actual amount of fat removed. The procedure may be performed under general or local ("tumescent") anesthesia. The safety of the technique relates not only to the amount of tissue removed, but to the choice of anesthetic and the patient's overall health. It is ideal for the patient to be as fit as possible before the procedure and to have given up smoking for several months.

One In Four Teenage Girls Has Sexually Transmitted Disease

A new CDC study estimates that one in four (26 percent) young women between the ages of 14 and 19 is infected with at least one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis). The study, presented today at the 2008 National STD Prevention Conference, is the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common STDs
among adolescent women provides the clearest picture to date of the overall STD burden in adolescent women.

the study also finds that African-American teenage girls were most severely affected. Nearly half of the young African-American women (48 percent) were infected with an STD, compared to 20 percent of young white women.

The two most common STDs overall were human papillomavirus, or HPV (18 percent), and chlamydia (4 percent). Data were based on an analysis of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

“Today’s data demonstrate the significant health risk STDs pose to millions of young women in this country every year,” said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “Given that the health effects of STDs for women – from infertility to cervical cancer – are particularly severe, STD screening, vaccination and other prevention strategies for sexually active women are among our highest public health priorities.”

“High STD infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,” said John M. Douglas, Jr., M.D., director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. “STD screening and early treatment can prevent some of the most devastating effects of untreated STDs.”

CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for sexually active women under the age of 25. CDC also recommends that girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated or who have not completed the full series of shots be fully vaccinated against HPV.

The study of STDs among teenage girls is one of several presented March 11 at the 2008 National STD Prevention Conference that highlights the significant burden of STDs among girls and women, and identifies creative prevention strategies for reducing the toll of STDs in the United States.

Two other studies featured at the conference point to missed opportunities for STD testing, and underscore that it is critical for STD screening to be included in comprehensive reproductive health services for young women.

A study by CDC’s Sherry L. Farr and colleagues found that while the majority of sexually active 15- to-24 year-old young women (82 percent) receive contraceptive or STD/HIV services, few receive both (39 percent). In addition, only 38 percent of a subset of young women who reported receiving contraceptive services associated with unprotected sex (e.g., pregnancy testing) also received STD/HIV counseling, testing or treatment, which indicates that many women at high risk are not receiving necessary prevention services.

A separate study, by CDC’s Shoshanna Handel and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, examined STD screening rates among young women seeking emergency contraception, which would suggest recent unprotected sex. The study found that just 27 percent were screened for chlamydia or gonorrhea. A significant proportion of those women (12 percent) had a positive test result, highlighting the need for routine chlamydia and gonorrhea screening at emergency contraception visits.

Horoscope 13 March

Aries

Today to business connected to money questions will be solved so easily that it would be possible to find them insignificant. However they are not those and it is not worth to neglect them.


Taurus

Try today to influence on the actions of the people, who are around you, in those ways, for they would be based on real knowledge, instead of hard demonstrable assumptions. It is in the interests of yours.

Gemini

Today somebody may afflict you very much. If you would be all fingers and thumbs because of frustration simply sit quietly and wait for good news.
Cancer

If your watch would become slow, check up, may be you would find a dead cockroach inside. Try to not enter the conflicts to home animals, otherwise you risk to be scratched.

Leo

Today an amusing mistake can happen - you will be taken for someone another. So it is not necessary to be perplexed, if the man, completely unfamiliar to you, would suddenly tap you on the shoulder and inquire about the health of your favorite dachshund.

Virgo

Today you should be more careful dealing with money. There is great probability of large, but stupid expenditure.

Libra

Today the questions of personal character will be priority for you everything else can wait. If someone would tell to you something in this occasion, that would be only the words of approval and support.

Scorpio

Today you will find recently slightly weakened reliance of yourselves again. The situation will begin to vary and, strangely enough, in the best way.

Sagittarius

Today, no less than following some days, it is better to devote to adaptation to circumstances, rather than to attempts to change them.

Capricorn

You, probably, make a mistake trying to constrict the area of your activity. Neither you, nor your imagination are able to enter so narrow frameworks.

Aquarius

The sole islet of calmness in this abnormal world today will be you in person. Somebody, probably, will even accuse you of inadequate perception of the reality.

Pisces

You are inclined to look for the justification to yourself, though nobody accuse you. Be cautious today, for you can take a great interest in this searches.

Arz Hai

Jab kabhi ghutne laga seene meiN dam, pee hai sharaab,
Zabt kii had se barhe jab ranj-o-gham, pee hai sharaab,
Mujh pe ilzaam-e-balanoshi sarasar hai ghalat,
Jis qadar aansoo piye haiN, usse kum pee hai sharaab.

[Author: Indrajit Jha]

Getting To The Roots Of Hair Loss

After six years of research they have succeeded in identifying a gene that is responsible for a rare hereditary form of hair loss known as Hypotrichosis simplex. The scientists are the first to identify a receptor that plays a role in hair growth. They now hope that their research findings will lead to new therapies that will work with various forms of hair loss.

"Although Hypotrichosis simplex is very uncommon, it may prove critical in our search for an understand of the mechanisms of hair growth," says project leader Dr. Regina Betz from Bonn's Institute of Human Genetics, summing up the research results. The disease is inherited and affects both men and women. Sufferers generally begin to go bald during childhood. The process of hair loss (alopecia) then advances with age, especially around the scalp.

The cause of Hypotrichosis simplex in the form examined in this project is a genetic defect. It prevents certain receptor structures on the surface of hair follicle cells from being correctly formed. It has been found that when messengers from outside bind to these receptors they trigger a chain reaction in the cell interior which is apparently needed for the hair follicle to function normally. Such a receptor that plays a specific role in hair growth was previously unknown to scientists.

Key to new drugs to combat hair loss.

As Professor Dr. Markus Nöthen, who holds the Chair of Genetic Medicine at Bonn University's Life & Brain Centre, explains, "The defective receptor structure falls into the category of what are known as G-protein-coupled receptors." This is good news, because, "they are particularly well suited as points of impact for drug treatments." The researchers have also been able to identify an endogenous messenger that binds in the hair follicle to the receptor.

This opens up opportunities for developing new active agents. Looking to the future, Professor Dr. Ivar von Kügelgen from Bonn's Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology says, "We can now search selectively for related substances that may be used in therapies for hair loss." The exciting possibility here is that such medicines will be able to benefit patients suffering from very different types of hair loss.

Another member of the project team has been the dermatologist Dr. Khalid Al Aboud from the King Faisal Hospital in Makkah, who was responsible for the clinical case studies. In 2002, he and his colleagues examined a Saudi-Arabian family with Hypotrichosis simplex. The medical scientists were able to analyse DNA samples from the parents and from nine of their ten children including four sufferers.

The family's genetic material gave the research project team the key to understanding some of the fundamental mechanisms of hair growth and hair loss. The researchers now hope that this individual genetic case will lead to developments that can benefit a far wider circle of patients in the future.

The study is due to appear in the March edition of "Nature Genetics".

Horoscope 4 March

Aries

Today special attention should be paid on fine technical details. Let others accept the global decisions.

Taurus

Try to avoid too expressive statements, especially with a bombastic shade. However it does not mean, that any your conversation should be adjusted with the help of an equalizer.

Gemini

Try today to treat yourself as careful as possible. Nobody but you can take care for your health, while thoughtlessness in this question can be too expensive.

Cancer

You need to improve your mood urgently. Undertake any task that does not require a lot of time and energy. Having ended it you would feel yourself more reliant.

Leo

Today everything around you will be a little foggy. Having no opportunity to make to a clear picture of occurring, it is better not to risk, daring on active actions. This day is better to spend in blissful idleness.

Virgo

Today you will solve questions of the financial kind unexpectedly easily. Look after your tongue - its excessive speed can draw large troubles upon you.

Libra

Today you may be under supervision. Try not to make anything that could compromise you.

Scorpio

Today your opportunities will be rather great, but you won't see them and won't be able to take advantage of them until you will manage to get rid of influence of the nearest environment. The best remedy in similar cases is the distance.

Sagittarius

Today the people having temperament of iceberg will feel themselves in the best way. Don't get excited. Try to pay smaller attention to the words and actions of environmental.

Capricorn

The today's events should be considered very seriously, even if they cause your uncontrollable laughter. You feel their consequences soon.

Aquarius

If you would only wish to you could pass through the walls, the only necessary condition is to see the purpose and to trust yourself. Today nothing can become a barrier between you and the object of your aspirations.

Pisces

You can not achieve support till you will force the people to believe in your abilities. Devote yourself to this purpose, this is rather bothersome work and you will spend all the day on it.

What Women Think During Their First Pregnancy

The study found that women who tend to deny negative experiences in early childhood relationships expected to experience a relationship with their future children characterized by less warmth compared to other women who participated in the study.


The research, which was conducted by Ora Gazit under the direction of Dr. Miri Scharf, examined 160 Jewish women in the last trimester of their first pregnancy who live with their husband or partner. The researchers examined the expectations, thoughts and emotions of the pregnant women regarding themselves as future mothers and their future relationships with their babies -- based on two approaches related to identity building.

The first focuses on the way people perceive their early childhood relationship with their parents and how this is reflected in their thoughts, perceptions and behavior during their lives. The second focuses on existing differences between people whose motivation is derived from an aspiration for success and those who are motivated by an aspiration to avoid failure.

The results of the study revealed that women whose early childhood relationships with their parents were characterized by rejection and unresolved conflicts, expected to experience a high measure of separation anxiety, thought their child would be more demanding of them and thought they would set a lot boundaries, compared to other women in the study.

Among women who described their early childhood relationships with their parents as being characterized by rejection but who had difficulty recalling many of the events representative of this relationship, the study found a majority had positive thoughts about their impending motherhood and towards their unborn child. However, in comparison to the remainder of the women in the study, they expected to develop a less warm and close relationship with their baby.

The women who had a balanced view of their early relationship with their parents had the most optimal expectations towards their impending motherhood. They expected to feel a low level of separation anxiety from their child, thought childrearing would be easy and that their relationship would be characterized by warmth.

In addition, the study found that women who were characterized by wanting to advance and reach set goals were positive and more optimistic, in comparison to women who were characterized by abstention and concern with self-defense, security and responsibility. According to the researchers, women in the first group thought they would be more fulfilled in parenthood, saw themselves and their child in a more positive light, thought they would be more productive and warm as mothers and expected to have good communication with their child.

"The results of the research show that there is great importance in evaluating thoughts, perceptions and feelings about parental identity during pregnancy. Such an evaluation will enable early identification of women who are concerned they will have difficulty contending with parental roles and offer them tools that will help them adapt better to the transition to motherhood," summarized the researchers.

Feminism And Romance Go Hand In Hand

It is generally perceived that feminism and romance are in direct conflict. Rudman and Phelan’s work challenges this perception. They carried out both a laboratory survey of 242 American undergraduates and an online survey including 289 older adults, more likely to have had longer relationships and greater life experience.

They looked at men’s and women’s perception of their own feminism and its link to relationship health, measured by a combination of overall relationship quality, agreement about gender equality, relationship stability and sexual satisfaction.

They found that having a feminist partner was linked to healthier heterosexual relationships for women. Men with feminist partners also reported both more stable relationships and greater sexual satisfaction. According to these results, feminism does not predict poor romantic relationships, in fact quite the opposite.

The authors also tested the validity of feminist stereotypical beliefs amongst their two samples, based on the hypothesis that if feminist stereotypes are accurate, then feminist women should be more likely to report themselves as being single, lesbian, or sexually unattractive, compared with non-feminist women.

Rudman and Phelan found no support for this hypothesis amongst their study participants. In fact, feminist women were more likely to be in a heterosexual romantic relationship than non-feminist women. The authors conclude that feminist stereotypes appear to be inaccurate, and therefore their unfavorable implications for relationships are also likely to be unfounded.

Sex In The Morning Or In The Evening !

In the animal kingdom, males more often than females can increase their reproductive success by being promiscuous. This in turn can result in males imposing high numbers of copulation attempts and sexual harassment on females.

In the promiscuous feral chicken, males initiate more than 90 per cents of all copulation attempts; most of them in the evening after hens have laid their eggs and are most fertile. In female-dominated groups hens are also interested in sex in evenings. However, as shown in a new study published in American Naturalist, in male-dominated groups hens rather initiate sex in mornings.

‘Sexual harassment in evenings in male-dominated groups may just be too much for the hens’, says Hanne Løvlie from Stockholm University, one of the researchers of the study. ‘Hens were exposed to more intense sexual harassment in male-dominated group. By initiating sex in mornings when the cockerels are less amorous and the free-ranging chickens also are more spread out foraging, hens may avoid the intense sexual harassment in evenings.’

The study shows that changes in the intensity of sexual harassment trigger a plasticity in the hens’ sexual behaviour not before shown. A plasticity that in turn may enable hens to mate without suffering sexual harassment.

‘The sexes therefore not only fall out on how much sex they want, but also when at day to have it’

Why Do People Have Sex?

After conducting one of the most comprehensive studies on why people have sex, psychology researchers David Buss and Cindy Meston uncovered 237 motivations, which appear in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior.


People's motivations ranged from the mundane ("I was bored") to the spiritual ("I wanted to feel closer to God") and from the altruistic ("I wanted the person to feel good about himself/herself") to the manipulative ("I wanted to get a promotion").

Some said they had sex to feel powerful, others to debase themselves. Some wanted to impress their friends, others to harm their enemies ("I wanted to break up a rival's relationship").

Buss and Meston conducted two studies. In the first, they asked more than 400 men and women to identify reasons people have sex. In the second, the researchers asked more than 1,500 undergraduate students about their experiences and attitudes.

The Texas psychologists identified four major factors and 13 sub-factors for why people have sex:

• Physical reasons such as to reduce stress ("It seemed like good exercise"), feel pleasure ("It's exciting"), improve or expand experiences ("I was curious about sex"), and the physical desirability of their partner ("The person was a good dancer").
• Goal-based reasons, including utilitarian or practical considerations ("I wanted to have a baby"), social status ("I wanted to be popular") and revenge ("I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease").
• Emotional reasons such as love and commitment ("I wanted to feel connected") and expression ("I wanted to say 'thank you'").
• Insecurity-based reasons, including self-esteem ("I wanted the attention"), a feeling of duty or pressure ("My partner kept insisting") and to guard a mate ("I wanted to keep my partner from straying").

"Why people have sex is extremely important, but rarely studied," Buss said. "Surprisingly, many scientists assume the answer is obvious, but people have different reasons for having sex, some of which are rather complex."

Sex Education Linked To Delayed Teen Intercourse

Male teens who received sex education in school were 71 percent less likely — and similarly educated female teens were 59 percent less likely — to have sexual intercourse before age 15. Males who attended school, meanwhile, were 2.77 times more likely to rely upon birth control the first time they had intercourse if they had been in sex-education classes.

“Sex education seems to be working,” said study lead author Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It seems to be especially effective for populations that are usually at high risk.”

The researchers found that sex education reduced by 91 percent the risk that African-American females in school would have sex before age 15. In general, however, sex education appeared to have no effect on whether female teens used birth control.

According to Mueller, earlier large-scale research into the effectiveness of sex education relied on data from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Those studies suggested that sex education was not very effective at delaying sex, she said.

The new study looked at a sample of 2,019 teenagers ages 15 to 19 years, who responded to a survey during a 2002 national study.

The researchers analyzed the possible effects that sex education had on the sex lives of teens and adjusted the results to account for the effects of factors like the wealth of their families.

The study did not explore the hottest debate in sex education: whether classes should teach about contraception or focus entirely on abstinence. Students received sex education if they had either or both types of instruction, according to the study.

While the study suggests a link between sex education and sexual behavior, researchers did not design it to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the two definitively.

Claire Brindis, interim director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California at San Francisco, said sex education remains important because kids still harbor “mythology” about sex. “Some still believe you can’t get pregnant if you’re standing up or doing it for the first time or if your boyfriend is drinking a lot of Mountain Dew.

“A lot of sex education is about the plumbing — teaching them about anatomy and physiology, what a condom looks like,” Brindis said. “What they really need help on is: ‘I’m in the back seat or I’m at a party, and there aren’t adults around and there’s pressure to do more than make out.’ They need help with ‘What do I do in that setting?’”

About One-quarter Of Women With HIV Want To Become Pregnant

A woman’s age at the time she learns of her HIV status appears to influence this decision. Women in an Ohio State University study who learned of their HIV infection when they were under age 30 were almost four times more likely to say they wanted to become pregnant than were women who were over 30 when they learned they had HIV.

Researchers say the findings point to a need for clinicians to be aware that women with HIV might be struggling with decisions about motherhood – a relatively new phenomenon accompanying the increase in HIV-positive women of childbearing age and the longer survival rates among patients who receive treatment.

“We shouldn’t assume that women aren’t going to become pregnant or don’t want to become pregnant now that they have HIV. That’s an erroneous assumption,” said study co-author Julianne Serovich, professor and chair of human development and family science at Ohio State. “Clinicians should be routinely discussing pregnancy with HIV-positive women of childbearing age.”

In 2005, 29.5 percent of all new reported HIV infections and 27 percent of new AIDS cases in the United States were among women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Twenty years earlier, only 5 percent of new AIDS cases were reported in women. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

The researchers collected questionnaires about pregnancy decisions from 74 women who were participants in a larger, long-term study led by Serovich that explored women’s HIV disclosure decisions and mental health. This particular line of research emerged from interviewers’ observations that participants were talking about pregnancy and, in some cases, becoming pregnant. Simultaneously, health care professionals were sharing stories with researchers about the women’s success in avoiding transmission of the HIV virus to their babies.

“It became obvious that this is a disease that is manageable for women,” said lead study* author Shonda Craft, who completed the research while she was a doctoral candidate at Ohio State.

“If a woman is 19 years old and diagnosed with HIV, she can still assume she has her whole life ahead of her. Deciding whether to have a family is part of the development process for young women, including these young women,” said Craft, now an assistant professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota. “This study is about living with a chronic disease, and not just the physiological piece of that, but also the psychological and sociological factors, as well.”

Women in the study were asked to quantify how influential several factors were on their decision about whether or not to become pregnant after their HIV diagnosis.

Aside from external influences, age emerged as a major factor in the choice. Nearly 40 percent of women age 30 and younger chose to become pregnant while 11 percent of the women over 30 opted for pregnancy.

The most influential external factors on women’s choices against pregnancy, regardless of age, were fear of transmitting HIV to a child or other concerns about preserving their own health. Conversely, a powerful personal desire to have children was associated with a woman’s choice to become pregnant.

Within the women’s social network, medical personnel had the strongest influence on their decisions about pregnancy – either for or against having a baby.

Though there are no guarantees of safely conceiving and delivering a healthy baby for women with HIV, the medical community has found ways to reduce health risks for both mother and child, said Michael Brady, professor and chair of pediatrics at Ohio State and a co-investigator on the study’s funding grant. Women who are HIV-positive should receive antiretroviral medications throughout their pregnancy and during labor, and their newborns should receive antiretroviral medication for the first six weeks of life. Delivery by Caesarean section also can reduce risk of transmission of the virus to the infant, but should be performed if required for the mother’s health or if the mother’s level of virus in the blood is high. With optimal care, the risk of transmission can be as low as 1 percent, Brady said.

There is also a risk associated with conception of the child, Brady noted. Though transmission of HIV from an infected woman to an uninfected male partner is not universal during unprotected sex, it can happen. Even if both partners are already infected with HIV, an infected male partner might transmit a new strain of HIV to his infected female partner, which can cause problems for the mother and fetus as well.

“We don’t understand all of the factors that affect the risk of transmitting HIV with an individual sex act. Taking medications and lowering the viral load reduces but doesn’t eliminate the risk. Some people interested in having a child may be willing to accept this risk. But there is a risk,” Brady said.

One finding of the study surprised the researchers. Women who had the most negative self-image associated with their HIV status were also the most likely to want to become pregnant.

“We would have predicted that the lower the stigma, the more likely women would choose to become pregnant. We saw the exact opposite – that those with high stigma were making more choices in favor of pregnancy,” Serovich said.

For some women who feel highly stigmatized by their disease, the rewards of pregnancy might offer therapeutic benefits, the researchers suggest.

“When you’re pregnant, you get lots of attention, people come up to you and touch your belly. You get a shower, people do things for you. There are certainly a lot of very positive repercussions of pregnancy that may help women feel better,” Serovich said.

Though much of Serovich’s earlier research focused on HIV-positive men, she sees a need for a deeper examination of issues facing women who are infected.

“There hasn’t been a lot of work done in this area and as women live longer and stay healthier, we need to know even more,” she said. “What is clear is that women can live with this and have many options.”

*The study is published in a recent issue of the journal AIDS and Behavior. Additional co-authors were Robin Delaney of human development and family science and Dianne Bautista of statistics, both at Ohio State. This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

16 crushed to death by train in Surat

SURAT: At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were crushed to death by a train in Udhna town of Gujarat's Surat district, railway officials said.



The accident occurred at South Kankrakhadi in Udhna, about three kilometres from Surat, at about 11 pm on Wednesday. Bodies of victims were spotted besides the track by a driver of another train. Those dead were reportedly labourers and their family members, who had come to Udhana in the Taptiganga Express that runs from Varanasi to Surat, officials said.

After getting off the train at Udhana station, the people were walking on the railway track when they were run over by a train.

The driver of train 'Flying Rani', which runs between Surat and Mumbai, immediately informed the authorities of the incident, Railway Police Inspector H M Patel said. Investigations were on to determine the circumstances under which the accident took place, he added.

Horoscope 28 Feb

Gemini

It is certainly necessary to trust people, however it is not necessary to undertake serious actions, not having taken care about your rear. Nobody is going to deceive you, but everything may happen.

Cancer

Today you will be the owner of rather high creative potential, of that would be silly not to take advantage. However it is necessary to remember that this work will cost you a great strain.

Leo

Today you without any pangs of conscience can go with the stream. Whichever current would catch you up (it is recommended to choose the warm one), it will bring you there, where it is necessary in any case.

Virgo

Today the people around you will be marvelously loyal in relation to your actions and attentive to your words. Take advantage of this successful moment.

Libra

Today getting up will be the most hard work for you. The vain attempts to suppress yawning will irritate you and amuse environmental till the evenings. Other problems are not expected.

Scorpio

Now is the improper moment to discuss the feelings with the not too interested man. It is better to stay alone.

Sagittarius

Today everything will be wrong. Whom you would like to show attention, will push you away and, on the contrary, wishing to be in loneliness, you will appear in an environment of noisy crowd of the people, sticking to you.

Capricorn

Today you will be the invaluable assistant for those people, who cannot understand the situation. You will be able to take any decisions for others without effort, though as to your personal businesses, you can appear as helpless as others are.

Aquarius

Today you need to know precisely, who should be ignored, and when it is necessary to remove yourself from situation occurring. The accuracy will help you to avoid the large conflict, probability of which will be rather great.

Pisces

Today you can act in a role of the great temper with success. It is unimportant what, actually, becomes a subject of your interest, - you will achieve the desirable.

Satisfied With Yourself !

I always thought what i want in life.Off course a dream job,dream car,sea facing house and to be ahead of times.We all are efficient enough to achieve this if we really want it.But then why we are still restless and asking for more.It feels like we are racing for something which we dont know.Recently a thought clinched me."I want to be happy".Thats what makes me satisfied and elated at the end of the day.Just think of the memorable times of your life.All the fantastic memories of being with friends and family will start revolving our mind.I know some of us will add some more things(buying the first bike,car,house,ipod etc) to the list.But do you think these things give consistent happiness to you.They are materialistic entities and their shine slowly but surely gets faded along with time and gets eroded.But the memorable time spent with near and dear ones keeps us happy always.We just have to remember them.Right !

So does happiness is just limited to enjoying with friends and family.I think there is one more entity which we always avoid but is the sure key to happiness.Its our innerself.I always love to talk with myself which gives me immense satisfication.In this fast world we have really little time left after spending it for our job,better half,family and friends.But the true friend lies within us.It always tell us the truth and remind us to do good things in life.It understands us the best and gives us the strength to cope in difficult times.It is always there for us but i m afraid the reverse is not true.We should love ourself and then can only love others.Believe me, you will live in a better and satisfied world once you know yourself.So talk to yourself today and let the surprise satisfication take you to a different and colourfull world where everyone is happy and true to himself !

Understand Her...

We always want the best in our life. Be it be a pair of jeans or our girl friend. I would like to focus on later this time. So what actually we need in a girl. She should be sweet, cute and off course in the best of shape. She should be understanding and at the same time could be taken for granted. She should be this, should be that and blah..blah..blah...


But have we ever thought her as a different individual who has got her own feelings and emotions. Have we ever understood her nature and her likings. Have we ever tried to imagine what she wants from us.Instead,we often end up burdening our wishes and likings on her totally ignoring her views.Off course we are men and why should we think about that. Right...? Absolutely Wrong!

Understand your girl, listen to her heart and you will live in a better life and world. Always ask her what she thinks about your decisions and take suggestions. Things always come out better when we discuss and mutual decisions are brought into frame. Girls are very delicate and emotional human beings. Do really take care of them. Always be at their side in decisions and make them believe that we are always there for them. Life is incomplete without them and lets face it even we are incomplete without them. Love them with a pure heart and make life great.

Horoscope 20 Feb

Aries
Someone uses you. If it arranges you, continue in the same spirit, but if you are not too glad to this, today is just that day, when you can state to exploiter everything what you think with the minimal losses for yourself.

Taurus
If you are asked a question, it does not follow from this that you are obliged on to answer it. Especially at the absence of your lawyer. Protect you own interests more zealously.

Gemini
Today you will be extremely nervous, whether there will be sufficient reason for this purpose or not. The risk fall out with everyone, who will be near you, will be very great? Be careful.

Cancer
Today stars will be favorable to that one, who can act resolutely, managing not to lose the hope for best. Try, it must turn out.

Leo
You have created some idealized picture in your imagination, which should reflect the real essence of your partner, but obviously does not cope with this task. Open your eyes.

Virgo
Probably, the changes are unnecessary to you, but they would occur anyway. Today you may expect one of them.

Libra
Today you will have to make concessions, someone will demand it in such form, as if you have run into debt to this man. It will be better to concede, for it will be too hard to explain him why you don't want to do it...

Scorpio
You can easily forget everything that you have planned for today. The situation will develop in different way, but it does not mean, that this day would be bad. On the contrary, you will remember it with pleasure.

Sagittarius
Changes are very pleasant thing, certainly, if they are to best. However, today in your life there will happen only such ones.

Capricorn
Today something important and, probably, for a long time expected by you will happen just in that moment, when you will be far off. Try not to overshadow the pleasure of others by badly hidden disappointment.

Aquarius
Support cleanliness and order in public places, do not litter, do not smoke, and do not drink strong alcohol. Do not forget to make morning exercises. Also try to keep calmness, it will become necessary to you.

Pisces
Today you will miss your friends, whether you will be in loneliness or in the noisy company. Probably, it is better to disturb with a call those people whom you really wish to see?

India set to see highest salary increase this year

NEW DELHI: It's good time for salaried persons in the country. With economic growth in the range of 8-9%, India is likely to enjoy the highest salary hike in the world, of around 15.2% in 2008 as against 15.1% in the previous year, revealed a survey conducted by global human resource service firm Hewitt Associates on Tuesday.

With double-digit growth in the service sector, there is strong demand for talent in the country, said Sandeep Chaudhary, leader of Hewitt's Rewards Consulting practice. ‘‘Struggle for finding talent to sustain the high growth is growing in the country," he said.

The high economic growth rate has provided employees great career opportunities. Therefore, employers are using compensation as a strategic lever in attracting, retaining and motivating the talent pool.

However, over a period of time, the rate of annual increase in salary might come down and stabilize in a range of 9-10% by 2012 as against the present level of 15%, according to the survey. Choudhary said hike in the entry-level salary in the next four years would lead to stabilization of the annual increase at a lower level.

In 2008, employees in China are likely to get an average hike of 8.7%, in Philippines 8.4%, in Korea 6.7% and in Singapore 5%. Salary hike in India was 15.1% in 2007, 14.4% in 2006, 14.1% in 2005, 13.7% in 2004, 11.5% in 2003 and 9.7% in 2002. As inflation in the last six years, except in 2006 and 2007, remained in the range of 3% to 4%, the double digit salary hike resulted into substantial increase in the purchasing power of Indian employees. In 2006 and 2007, inflation hovered around 6%.

Domestic companies gave higher salary jump at 15.5% in 2007 as against 14.7% by MNCs. In 2008 also, domestic companies will give beter increment at 15.5% as against 14.9% by foreign companies. In 2008, sectors like real estate, energy, retail, telecom, banking/finance and accounting/consulting/legal are likely to receive maximum salary jump. Real estate will witness the maximum hike at 25% in 2008 as against 25.2% in 2007. Telecom is likely to get an average salary hike of 17.6% as against 17.2% in 2007.

With growing competition, attrition has also gone up. According to the suvey, insurance sector has reported the highest attrition rate at 35.2%, followed by IT-enabled services at 28.9% and hospitality and restaurant industry at 27.1%.

The study says use of variable pay as a strategic lever continues to be an important means of retaining talent.

Reliance Power plans bonus share issue for shareholders

MUMBAI: Reliance Power Ltd plans to issue bonus shares to all equity holders other than the founders, hoping to cheer retail investors after the firm's shares tumbled following a record $3 billion IPO.

Its board is scheduled to meet on February 24 to consider issuing bonus shares and/or other measures which it said would effectively reduce the cost of the company's shares.

"This will include a proposal for issuing free bonus shares to all categories of shareholders excluding the promoter group, thereby protecting investors from even short-term losses on their shareholdings," it said. Reliance Power's shares, which listed on the stock exchange on February 11, had fallen by a quarter but recovered to close 15 percent below the IPO price of 450 rupees a share on Friday, helped by three-day market rally which saw the benchmark index climb 9 percent.

The slump in Reliance Power, a unit of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, infuriated investors, many of whom complained they were lured to invest in the company because of promises from the firm, which has no operating power plants and is unlikely to report strong profits for five years.

Reliance's supporters say the Ambani family has a strong track record of executing projects on schedule and delivering strong returns to investors, attracting millions of investors to bid for its shares offered in India's biggest IPO ever.

The company said its shares were hit by weak market sentiment and blamed rivals, who were not identified, for hammering shares of companies in the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It also reminded investors that there were risks attached to equity investments.

"Equity shares, by their very nature, are risk-bearing instruments and there is no obligation on behalf of any issuer to insure investors against possible losses," it said. However, the company's board would consider a bonus issue and other steps as the group had a "fundamental and over-riding philosophy of creating value for genuine long term investors".

The fall in Reliance Power's shares followed market turbulence that knocked out a few IPOs, including the $1.6 billion issue from Emaar MGF Land, the Indian unit of Dubai's Emaar Properties. Reliance Communications, another Anil Ambani firm, is planning an IPO for its telecom towers unit, Reliance Infratel Ltd, which media reports and bankers say aims to raise $1-1.5 billion.

Founded by Dhirubhai Ambani, the Reliance companies were divided between the late Ambani's sons in 2005. Anil has interests in telecoms, financials, media and power while elder brother Mukesh controls India's top listed firm, oil and petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries Ltd.

Polling begins in Pak

NEW DELHI: Amid fears of large-scale violence, shrill political statements, spiralling food inflation and strong demands for a change in the country’s leadership, voting began in Pakistan on Monday.

The government has deployed 500,000 troops for the vote and the aftermath, including 81,000 soldiers -- one for every 1,000 members of the 81-million-strong electorate.

The parliamentary polls come after a year of political turmoil and bloodshed in the nuclear-armed Islamic republic, capped by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in a suicide attack in December.

On Sunday, which was a peaceful day, President Pervez Musharraf vowed to go ahead with the elections despite two suicide attacks on Saturday that left some 50 people dead and 100 injured, while PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari warned that Pakistan could break up if the polls were rigged.

"Any effort to derail the democratic process or the holding of elections will be foiled," Musharraf told a team of international observers here.

At the same time, he expressed doubt whether his so-called "King’s Party" or the Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid) would be able to form a government even if it won a majority.

He was speaking to cricketer-turned-politican Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Khan, who is writing for a UK paper, and Musharraf agreed with her when she said, "It would be the saddest day for Pakistan if Benazir’s crooked widower is in power by Monday".

Zardari, who has become the face of PPP since Benazir’s killing, fired his strongest warning to the establishment, saying the party will take to the streets if election results were manipulated in favour of PML(Q).

While election commission officials on Sunday repeated Musharraf’s claim that the polls would be "free and fair", the man on the street is a bit sceptical. Though a large number of people, particularly in the rural areas and small towns, are unhappy with the current regime, commentators here are not sure if people will turn out to vote in large numbers. "People are scared," says Asma Jehangir, lawyer and pro-democracy activist.

But, not everyone is so sceptical about the polls because the voting percentage has always been very low in Pakistan. It was only 41 per cent in 2002.

Horoscope 18th Feb

Aries
The influence of the Moon, probably, has forced you to be running around last time. Now you, at last, can sit quietly. Today nothing would happen, and even if it would happen, your active participation wouldn't be required.

Taurus
Overcoming a stripe of the obstacles, try not to work by force, but to use your mind. Otherwise your chances of successful overcoming of a distance would be near to zero.

Gemini
If someone accuses you in something, it is a serious occasion to reflect. Especially if the accusations are completely deprived of any basis.

Cancer
Today you can permit yourself to change the decision continually, unscrupulously to let down people having imprudence to rely on you etc. etc. Charm of your smile would expiate the weight of any fault.

Leo
Try to change something. Not strongly, only slightly. Step back a little and look what has turned out. May be it will is please you.

Virgo
Today it costs to be kind and to give away dazzling smiles to the right and on the left. Try, may be it will turn out.

Libra
Avoid spontaneous actions, they will bring to you nothing but troubles. It would be better to be considered irresolute, than silly.

Scorpio
Today your main feeling will be the boredom. To cope with it will hardly be possible, so try to find somebody in the same mood. Together you will have a tedious time with greater pleasure.

Sagittarius
You today will be in very good form. People around you will wait impatiently for your following step. You may act to the fullest, today you will cope with any problem.

Capricorn
Do not spend the forces for something that seems senseless. It is unimportant what the man, who asked you to do this work, will tell you about it. Your time is more expensive than his foolish ideas.

Aquarius
Do not linger over today, trying something to complete, it will be useless. Better come home earlier and take out your family to the theatre, cinema or simply to go for a walk.

Pisces
Today, concluding any bargain, you have quite a good chance to win a little bit more, than is stipulated by conditions. It is necessary to be cold-blooded as much as it is possible.

Is your love true? Your phone knows

Valentines Day in South Korea means chocolates, romantic dinners and a high-tech mobile phone device that can secretly check the passion in the voice of a lover.
The “Love Detector” service from mobile operator KTF uses technology that is supposed to analyse voice patterns to see if a lover is speaking honestly and with affection.

“We created this service because we thought people would want to know what others were feeling about them,” said Ahn Hee-jung, a KTF official.

Users who speak by pointing their mobile phones at themselves for video conferences can see a “love meter” bar on the screen of their handset during a conversation.

They later receive an analysis of the conversation delivered through text message that breaks down the amount of affection, surprise, concentration and honesty of the other speaker.

The service costs subscribers a flat fee of 1,500 won ($1.59) a month for unlimited use or can be accessed at 300 won for each call, KTF said.

“The caller is paying the money, so the information is provided only to him or her,” said Ahn.

The Six Secrets of Attaining Romance

Men and women are positioned against one another in the battle for more fulfilling relationships; today they are being urged to consider that romantically they are setting themselves up for failure. By holding unrealistic expectations and believing fabrications told to them by pop culture, men and women are paralyzed in their pursuit for romance. At Authentic Messages, a message in a bottle company, we are continually searching for new ways to mobilize people towards a more romantic life.

Women are deceived by the unattainable dream of the romantic man (soon she comes to believe that every man is romantic except the man in her life…despite the fact that all her female friends are experiencing the same dilemma); men are overwhelmed because they bear sole responsibility for the romantic shape of their relationship and they are immobilized by this burden. Unfortunately both end up unsatisfied. Let me tell you a secret – most people aren’t romantic. There is no such thing as the ‘naturally romantic’ person – like most things, romance is learned, practiced and perfected.

From the time they are children, men and women are exposed to innumerable fairy tales where prince charming sweeps the princess off her feet with his romantic tendencies – the last time I checked there weren’t too many prince charming types out there. Okay so there are a handful of ‘prince charmings’ that give all other men a bad reputation – but the only difference between the romantic man and the unromantic man is the amount of time devoted to something they deem to be important. Romantic men have already figured out the 2nd secret (which we believe in at Authentic Messages) – romance really is important.

Women aren’t left blameless in this quest for romance (even though they typically try to absolve themselves of responsibility) – how many women are willing to take responsibility for the lack of romance in their relationships? It’s the 21st century ladies - be accountable! We want to be equal but our ‘rants’ about equality haven’t yet crossed over into the romantic realm. You’ve heard it said time and time again: “Men just aren’t interested in being romanced”. The elusive “being romanced” is really about being appreciated and loved. Who doesn’t like to be appreciated…which leads me to secret number 3 (I like to call #3 the ‘no-brainer’): regardless of gender, people want to feel they are special to another person; they want to be valued for who they are.

When we think about romance, we tend to have tunnel vision. We don’t realize that romance isn’t definable – it can be anything to anyone. What is romantic to Person A may not be the least bit romantic to Person B – why can’t romance be defined? The answer to that is simple – romance is, as secret 3 revealed, about making someone feel loved and appreciated. Ultimately romance is incredible personal. Different things are going to make different people feel loved, so don’t get caught up in the idea that it’s a waste of time to be romantic because your partner doesn’t like, and may even dislike, the mushy romance of movies. Of course this brings us to secret 4 – you need to find the romance that is right for your relationship. Having no definition is what makes romance so accessible to everyone – it has a constantly changing nature that can be manipulated.

Let’s face it – men and women need a little help and not the kind of help that pop psychologist ‘gurus’ talk about in their infamous (and equally ineffective) relationship books. Men and women need practical help – real life solutions for a real life problem. Men and women need to be inspired. I count myself an unofficial expert in the field of romance because I see it everyday in my line of work at the romantically themed store Authentic Messages – people are coming to the website looking for ways to be more romantic. These people have learned secret #5 – being romantic doesn’t necessarily mean ‘going it alone’. You can acquire help from outside sources to add a little romance in your life.

Unexpectedly military personnel have learned this secret better than any other group of people. Military men and women who are stationed overseas are seeking out realistic solutions to keep the romance alive from thousands of miles away and the internet is helping them in ways not imaginable a decade ago. With the click of a button (and five minutes of their time) those stationed abroad are able to set in motion a process that enables them to communicate and remain connected in meaningful and romantic ways with the partners they have left behind. I’ve never thought much of the old adage that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’, however in the case of military men and women ‘absence seems to make the heart grow more romantic’. Leading me to secret #6 – it doesn’t take a lot of time, effort or money to be romantic. Even those in the most remote locations are able to achieve the magic that makes a relationship more special (with the help of outside sources…taking us back to secret #5).

In order for relationships to be the most fulfilling they can be, both men and women need to take an active interest in the pursuit of romance. Arguably communication, trust and commitment are the foundations of any successful relationship; however a building isn’t much with only its foundation. Romance, you might say, is the architectural detailing that makes a building more distinct and similarly a relationship more fulfilling. The basis of romance is encapsulated in the six secrets revealed above and summarized below.

1: There is no such thing as natural romance.
2: Romance is important.
3: Everyone likes to be ‘romanced’.
4: You need to find the romance that is right for your relationship.
5: Being romantic doesn’t mean ‘going it alone’.
6: It doesn’t take a lot of time, effort and money to be romantic.

Women Love Valentine's Day, Men Are From Mars

It’s Valentine’s Day, and just as New Year’s Eve makes us think about our past accomplishments and future goals, and Easter makes us wonder what the hell rabbits are doing sneaking around during the middle of the night hiding multi-colored hard boiled chicken eggs, February 14th conjures up thoughts of romance, dreamy candlelight gazes, and “Is it 5:30 already? I sure hope the drug store still has a 25-lb. heart-shaped box of chocolates without a dent in it!”

Yes, men and women see Valentine’s Day very differently. Right, like they don’t see just about everything differently. Only the stakes are much higher on Valentine’s Day. It’s like the final exam for a relationship except there’s no book you can study, no CliffsNotes to memorize, not even a Classics Illustrated to read in five minutes. There are movies which would give a guy a good idea of what the day is all about but there’s just no way he’s going to sit through it since The Rock isn’t in it. Thus, we’re on our own.

A woman’s idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day is to wake up to breakfast in bed with a dozen red roses in a vase on the nightstand. When she goes out to the car there’s a bouquet of red balloons tied to the antenna that all say “I Love You.” At work there’s another floral arrangement — the largest in the tri-state area — sitting on her desk. Dinner is at the most romantic restaurant in town where a strolling violinist plays her favorite song tableside, the night ending with a glass of champagne in front of a roaring fire.

A man’s idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day is to wake up and find out it’s been cancelled.

Men, having an inexhaustible ability to rationalize, love to say, “I don’t need to set aside a special day to show you how I feel. It’s the same every day.” This is true, since as a species we’re incapable of showing our feelings 365 days a year. You have to admit, if nothing else we’re consistent. Woman, on the other hand, enjoy the trappings of Valentine’s Day — the flowers that die in two days, the candy that makes them feel fat and ugly for weeks, and the big stuffed heart filled with sneeze-inducing ragweed pollen. Small gestures, but ones that make them very happy.

How did all this get started, anyway? It turns out that Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine who, according to which story you want to believe, was one of two different third century Christian martyrs, each supposedly executed on February 14th. Now there’s a reason to celebrate.

Over the years Valentine’s Day has metamorphosed from a wake to the second largest card-sending day of the year, the first of course being Election Day, when every person who’s been dead since the 14th century somehow mails in an absentee ballot. Well, in Chicago anyway. Experts estimate that over a billion Valentine’s Day cards will be exchanged this year, which is 3-1/2 cards for every man, woman, and child in this country. That’s an awful lot of trees being chopped down just so men don’t have to sleep on the couch for a week.

While flowers are highly prized by women as a gesture of love, men are more prone to buy Sweethearts. These, in case you haven’t been in the seasonal aisle of a drug or grocery store since the day after Christmas, are the tiny tasteless candy hearts that have such romantic sayings stamped on them as “Be Mine”, “Kiss Me”, and “Get My Drift.” At least they do when they’re readable. And yes, I said “Get My Drift.”

Each year the New England Confectionery Company (better known as Necco) puts new slogans on their candy hearts. That’s because there’s nothing like giving a loved one a great big bag of chalky hearts with outdated messages to say, “Hey, they were cheaper than usual because they’re last year’s.” In the past the company has added such heart-melting sentiments as “IM Me,” “What’s Up,” and "Diva." This year’s 8 billion hearts — which comes to 26 for every person in the country — will feature weather and nature-related sayings such as "In A Fog," "Nature Lover," and "Do Good." I don’t know about you, but I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve won the heart of a woman by leaning over a romantic dinner table, taking her hands in mine, gazing deep into her eyes, and saying, “My darling.....do good.”

So you see, contrary to what die-hard romantics like Jane Seymour and Camille Paglia say, love really has changed over the years. What hasn’t changed is the fact that if you don’t get your butt out and buy your wife, girlfriend, or any woman you ever hope to speak to again in your life a present, you might as well disconnect your phone, change your email address, and join a monastery. And don’t bother IM’ing them from there to tell them to do good. It will be too late.