Monday, September 9, 2013

September 09, 2013

interest in teaching and research. I want to appear for CSIR-NET

I am a final year student of BTech (Biotech). I have a keen interest in teaching and research. I want to appear for CSIR-NET, but I don’t know whether I am eligible for the exam or not. Please advice. To broaden the scope of NET and attract meritorious students at an early stage of their career, CSIR has revised the eligibility criteria to include the following degrees in the relevant subjects i) chemical sciences, earth, atmospheric ocean & planetary sciences, ii) life sciences, iii) mathematical sciences, iv) physical sciences, v) engineering sciences): BSc (Hons), BS (four-yrs), BE/BTech, BPharm, MBBS, integrated BS-MS and MSc.
    To encourage engineering graduates like you to pursue PhD and lectureship, CSIR-NET has introduced a sixth paper in engineering sciences, which is common to all engineering disciplines. The sample paper and syllabus is uploaded on the CSIR website www.csirhrdg.res.in
    The minimum percentage remains the same i.e. 55% for general category (50% for SC/ST/PH). Fourth year students like you can also apply. However, Bachelor’s degree holders (in science or engineering will be eligible for JRF only upon enrolment for PhD /integrated PhD within two years.
    According to the revised UGC norms, you need to obtain the minimum marks in each of the three papers separately i.e. 40% in papers I and II and 50% in paper III (there’s 5% relaxation for OBC (non-creamy).
    Also, please note that henceforth only the top 15% candidates in the NET merit list for each subject and category (based on aggregate scores) will be declared qualified and eligible for lectureship.
    A separate list will be drawn up for JRFs from among the NET qualifiers in the merit list.
By - No comments:
September 09, 2013

VINEGAR FOR A LASTING MANICURE

VINEGAR FOR A LASTING MANICURE


    Do you know why we don’t see nail art more often? It’s because they hardly last. Most women are wary of dedicating their precious time to create nail art, only to have it chip or peel in a few days. At the rate which nail polish chips off, even a routine coat of colour becomes cumbersome. Here’s a guide to make your mani last long; right from the way you should apply polish to fixing chips.
USE VINEGAR If you are painting your talons at home, get that bottle of vinegar from the kitchen. Dip a Q-tip in it and run it across your nail bed. Paint your nails like you usually will, add a top coat to seal it and you are set for a few weeks at least.
BANISH OIL First, prepare your nails for polish. The massage oils or creams used in manicures (and pedicure) coat your nails as well. Applying varnish directly on the nails without cleaning the nail bed is going to end in disaster, as the oil coating will not let the polish set well. Dip a fibre-free cotton pad (you don’t want fibres sticking to the sides of your nail and spoiling your polish) in acetone and swipe over the nail bed to remove oil. Ensure that the nail technician does this every time she does your nails.
OVERLOAD ALERT You might be impatient and want to get done with your nails quickly, but loading your nails with polish ain’t gonna help. The under layers of thick polish do not dry at all. Piling on more coats means loading colour on a shaky base. It is going to smudge and ruin your entire look. The correct way is to hold the brush parallel to your nail bed and start application about a millimetre away from the cuticle. Apply thin coats and leave enough time to let each coat dry.
THE TOUCH-UP You must touch up your nails every three days with a fresh coat of top coat. It will freshen up your nails while adding a shine. Lighter shades of polish tend to last longer since mistakes are not obvious and chips too can be easily covered. Glittery nail varnishes are a pain to take off, which also means they last longer and do not chip as much. Neutrals and nude colours are durable and also trendy now.
FIXING CHIPS While all the above tips are helpful in making your manicure last longer than it usually does, chips are unavoidable. However, it’s nothing to fret over. While doing your mani, add an extra layer of colour only around the tips (make this a really thin coat) before sealing with a top coat. If you chip your nails later, buff out nicks by gently using a buffer over the nail. Apply a thin coat of the same polish and seal it with a top coat.
GET ARTSY You can only do so much to freshen up your look. If removing every bit of nail paint and starting all over again does not seem enticing, try doing some fun nail art instead. You can use guiding strips (used in French manicures) and paint the chipped nail tips with a nail polish in a contrasting colour. Same mani, different look! Go for the gradient or ombre look , which involves using a makeup sponge to blend two colours together. Use nail art like sequins and floral bits to take attention away from old polish. The world is indeed your oyster!



By - No comments:

Sunday, September 8, 2013

September 08, 2013

UNLOCK AND BOOST YOUR CREATIVITY Get the ideas flowing with these quick but insightful reads


UNLOCK AND BOOST YOUR CREATIVITY

Get the ideas flowing with these quick but insightful reads




    Wish you could produce ideas on demand? Innovation and brilliance aren’t the forte of artists and people in ‘creative’ professions. Some of the world's most successful thinkers believe every person is creative to some degree. They have collated techniques and uncovered mental secrets in these practical guides. 

Lateral Thinking: Maltese physician and inventor Edward de Bono introduced the world to the power of thinking laterally through this groundbreaking tome in 1967. Since then, it has helped millions of people unleash their creativity for various purposes. It is considered a step-bystep practical textbook on creativity with formal techniques that can be applied anywhere, at any time, to come up with fresh ideas.  

The Book of Doing: Allison Arden wrote this book for those who simply don’t have time for the pursuit of creativity. She suggests ways to transform 94 everyday activities into joyful and inventive exercises.

Creative Confidence: Award-winning innovators Tom and David Kelley dispel the myth that creativity is the domain of a chosen few. They also outline strategies to tap into your creative potential for productive use. 

How to Get Ideas: Adman Jack Foster shows you how to condition your mind to become 'idea-prone,' 
utilise your sense of humour, visualise your goals, and conquer your fear of rejection. 

The Creative Habit: Twyla Tharp lays out over 30 simple exercises to get out of a mental block and make creativity a habit instead of a spark of divine inspiration. 

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be: Have ideas but lack the confidence to express them? Then this book is for you. This concise bestseller by advertising guru Paul Arden is a humorous guide to bringing out the best of your creative self. 

The Opposable Mind: Like the opposable thumb, the opposable mind — author Roger Martin’s term for the human brain’s ability to hold two conflicting ideas together — is used by the world’s most successful businessmen to create superior ideas. This book chronicles 50 such case studies. 

The Artist’s Way: This classic self-help bestseller by Julia Cameron provides a twelve-week course that guides you through the process of recovering your creative self. Its step-by-step approach enables you to transform your life, overcome artistic blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, sabotage, jealousy and guilt, and replace them with self confidence and higher productivity.

By - No comments:
September 08, 2013

Food activist Vani Hari tells Nona Walia how everyday food habits can make you live healthy and stay slim


Watch what you bite!

Food activist Vani Hari tells Nona Walia how everyday food habits can make you live healthy and stay slim


    Food activist and blogger Vani Hari wants to change the way the world eats as she takes on big food corporations to serve healthy food. She teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to travel healthy. Here are five everyday health tips for better living from her... 

Include more green and natural foods: Eat as close to mother nature as possible, avoid processed foods and consume the most nutrient dense plant-based foods on the planet like dark leafy greens, good fats like coconut oil, nuts, seeds and avocado. Limit alcohol, sweets and conventional industrial meat. Wheatgrass juice is one of the best sources of chlorophyll,which detoxes the body completely. 
 
Start your day with warm lemon water and cayenne pepper: Sprinkle some cayenne pepper (lal mirch) in warm lemon water first thing in the morning and have it on an empty stomach. This ritual provides a super stimulant to the liver, the main detoxing organ in the body. Your liver will release uric acid and create bile to safely eliminate environmental and lifestyle toxins that would otherwise be trapped longer in your digestive system. 

Discover the benefits of green juices: Consuming green drinks is the best way to get greens in your diet. They provide the body with a rich source of chlorophyll on a daily basis. 

When travelling, pack these: Homemade, frozen, organic veggies, homemade hummus. Bring your first meal: hummus sandwiches or yogurt for breakfast. Carry an assortment of raw veggies (think carrots, celery, broccoli). Almonds and raisins can last forever in your suitcase. Carry some organic dates, prunes, unsalted walnuts and unsalted cashews and oats. 

Detox your body at regular intervals: You can actually detox all the time if you eat the right foods. Detoxing isn’t about eating healthy and then eating processed and sugar-filled foods – it’s about making sure your body is getting rid of the daily toxins. Eating and drinking an abundance of high liver stimulating raw vegetables like kale (curly greens), dandelion greens, spinach and beetroot is the best way to daily detox. Dandelion tea is a quick and easy way to stimulate the liver to remove toxins. 

Warning: Consult a specialist before making any changes in your diet 
 
THESE PRODUCTS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ORGANIC Dairy products: Studies have shown organic milk has more antioxidants. Says Vandana Shiva, “Dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc. should be consumed in their organic form because, they are free of growth hormones or antibiotics that are given to animals.”  

Meat: Says Ishi Khosla, nutritionist, “Organic animal products are better because the animals are raised in a healthy environment, and fed organic fodder with a wider range of nutrients than those raised in factory farms. The chickens aren’t artificially injected with hormones to fatten up.”  

Dirty dozen produce: Some vegetables and fruits, like apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers and peaches, are heavily sprayed with chemicals. Says Khosla, “Soak them in water for at least two hours, if you can’t buy organic.”
   
 Tea and coffee: They do not wash tea, so pesticides that cause disease can be brewed right into your cup. Adds Khosla, “Everyday, we consume four to five cups of tea. It’s wise to go organic with your tea and coffee, even if you find it expensive.”  

Dried herbs and spices: Non-organic herbs and spices are irradiated, reducing medicinal quality.  

Chocolate: Organic chocolates are made of cocoa beans that have not been treated with synthetic fertilizers. 

 DON’T MAKE THESE MISTAKES WHILE INCLUDING JUICES IN YOUR DAILY DIET
Drinking juice on a full stomach: Fresh juice should only be consumed on an empty stomach. Drinking juice on an empty stomach allows the vitamins and minerals in the juice to go straight to your bloodstream. A good general rule of thumb to follow is to wait at least two hours after a meal. Waiting too long to drink your green juice: As soon as your freshly made green juice gets exposed to air, its live enzymes begin to degrade, therefore decreasing the nutritional content. Using too many sweet fruits and vegetables in your green juice: Sweet fruits and vegetables like watermelon, apples, pears, and carrots are very nutritious when consumed whole, but if you consume too many of them juiced, the amount of sugar and fructose you are adding to your diet could be over the top. Too much natural sugar can affect insulin levels pretty dramatically. Treating green juice like a meal: Juice isn’t a meal replacement, rather it is a meal enhancer or snack.



By - No comments:
September 08, 2013

LAUREN GOTTLIEB,ACTRESS, DANCER, PARTICIPANT OF A TV DANCE SHOW


LAUREN GOTTLIEB,ACTRESS, DANCER, PARTICIPANT OF A TV DANCE SHOW


I enjoy eating homemade food I I remember having pizza at home when I was young. Years later, it’s still one of my favourite foods.  

My favourite recipe I I love lemon chicken pasta with capers. I’m half Italian, so it hits all the right spots.

Most of the time, I’m on the run I So I don’t have the time to prepare an elaborate meal. When I have the kitchen to myself, I make egg sandwiches. They are my speciality. No one makes them like I do. 
 
Staying away from home, I miss I Katsuya, a sushi place in Los Angeles. The food there is to die for! 

When I am on tour I I try to eat healthy, but I get excited about trying out authentic local food. 

My favourite cuisine is I Japanese. I love sushi. 

A favourite from my mom’s kitchen I Is her Italian sausage and peppers recipe. It’s delicious. 

My most romantic meal I Consisted of chocolate fondue. It was fun and intimate. 

One country that serves heavenly food I America. It has a little bit of everything.  

Lemon Chicken Pasta With Capers 
 
INGREDIENTS Extra virgin olive oil: 2 tbsp I Chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces (boneless, skinless): 6 I Butter: 2 tbsp I Garlic (chopped): 2 tbsp I Spring onions (chopped): 1/4 cup I All-purpose flour: 2 tbsp I White wine: 1/2 cup I Fresh lemon juice: 2 to 4 tbsp I Chicken stock: 1 cup I Capers: 2 tbsp I Parsley (chopped): 1/2 cup I Penne rigate pasta (cooked to al dente): 340 gm I Salt and pepper to taste 

METHOD Heat a deep non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and the chicken into a pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown it for about five minutes, until lightly golden all over. Remove chicken from pan. Set aside. Return skillet to heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and one tablespoon butter, garlic and spring onions to skillet. Saute garlic and spring onions for three minutes. Add flour and cook for another two minutes. Whisk in the wine and reduce for a minute. Whisk lemon juice and stock into this sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the mixture comes to a bubble, add remaining butter to sauce to give it a little shine. Return chicken to pan and heat through, for two minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Add salt and pepper, to your taste.



By - No comments:
September 08, 2013

Inversion therapy is the latest solution to stress, back pain, depression and bad posture,


Hang upside down for good health!

Inversion therapy is the latest solution to stress, back pain, depression and bad posture,



    The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown uses an inversion table every day to maintain mental acuity and overcome writer’s block. Hollywood actress Eva Mendes routinely inverts herself for 20 minutes to keep her complexion radiant. American comedienne Rosie O’Donnell has revealed on a talk show that when everything failed, inversion therapy got her through depression. In the West, physiotherapists and chiropractors have been using inversion tables for decades to aid the healing process.
    With inversion tables finally making their way onto Indian shores, we got the expert take on how this practice improves a person’s overall health. 

What it means: Inversion therapy involves hanging upside down or at an angle for a variety of therapeutic purposes. Inversion is actually a 3,000-year-old concept. Yogis have long preached the value of inverted asanas like headstands and handstands to re-balance the body, help increase circulation, stimulate the brain, enhance glandular system functioning, and relieve pressure on the abd o m i n a l o r ga n s . Hippocrates — known as the father of medicine — would hoist patients on a ladder with ropes and pulleys in an effort to stretch them and relieve their ailments. A book published in the 1970s by US-based Dr Robert Martin Jr. increased the spread of inversion through a programme that used special tables. By the 1980s, multiple companies were creating inversion tables to cater to the craze for clinical and at-home therapy. 

How it works: An inversion table is like a flexible bed that twists and stretches with you. Leg clasps are provided so you don’t fall off. It uses the earth’s gravity and your body’s weight to stretch the muscles and the spine. Gravity pulls the blood from your lower body, and sends it
    through the cardiovascular system to improve circulation. Inversion tables are a safer alternative to inverted yoga poses since your entire body weight is not borne by the head or hands, and there are fewer chances of injury. Apart from treating back pain, there are a variety of benefits of this therapy. 

For back pain: Inversion increases the amount of space between each vertebra, relieving the pressure on the ligaments, nerve roots and discs. With less pressure, there is less pain in your back. 

For depression: Just as exercise produces endorphins (opiumlike compounds in the brain), inversion therapy has a similar effect. Circulatory and lymphatic stimulation, and oxygenation of the brain have a positive effect on a person’s outlook. 

For posture c o r re c - tion: When the body is inverted, it remains in alignment with gravity. The spine is then more prone to return to its natural form, which resembles a soft ‘S’ curve. 
 
Inputs by inversion therapy practitioner Arvind Agarwal, and physical therapists Dr Rajveer Singh and Dr KS Bhawish

(Above) How the inversion table works; (left) Hollywood star Eva Mendes regularly uses an inversion table to retain her glowing complexion



By - No comments:
September 08, 2013

Don’t be misled by the name. Save-cation has nothing to do with saving money. It’s about taking a vacation to save your marriage

TRAVEL

REKINDLE YOUR ROMANCE WITH A ‘SAVE-CATION’

Don’t be misled by the name. Save-cation has nothing to do with saving money. It’s about taking a vacation to save your marriage



    For most of us, a leisurely vacation or road trip is a great getaway from our high-pressure lifestyles. After all, if you want a breather, what better way to relax and rejuvenate, in a faraway land, away from all the worries of a mundane routine? Now, joining the ranks of theme vacations, a new travel trend — save-cation — is taking centre stage. But unlike other holidays, this one endeavours to save a failing marriage or relationship.
‘Hail Mary Honeymoons’ Also known as ‘Hail Mary Honeymoons’ (like Hail Mary prayers that are an act of desperation with the hope to succeed, but with a low probability), save-cations are being recommended by counsellors to couples who are ready to call it quits. Radhika Basu, whose marriage was going through a rough patch, decided to take a vacation with her husband as a last-ditch attempt. “Initially, I was reluctant to give him another chance, but I realised that we needed some time alone to evaluate our relationship. So we took off on a leisurely, three-week vacation to Thailand, Malaysia and The Philippines. We had ample time to address our issues. It was a revelation. We didn’t sweep our problems under the carpet like we usually did back home. I think the change in our surroundings and a break from our daily routine made us to think of each other in a positive way.” The vacation didn’t sort out all their problems, Basu decided not to file for divorce. She is giving her marriage more time.
Leave the blame-game at home Psychologist Harriet Lerner, who has written the book, Marriage Rules: A Manual for the Married and the Coupled Up, believes, “It’s worth a try, if both partners are committed to behaving well and being their best selves on the holiday, even if their partner is behaving badly. This means, there is no criticism, complaining, blaming, fighting, and bringing up of old grievances. Couples should leave the ‘to-do’ list behind as well. Going on a save-cation is a worthwhile venture, if the couple has genuine motivation to have a better marriage, and takes responsibility to manage their own behaviour, and not react to their partner in the old ways.”
    It’s not as if all conflicts between couples will disappear after a savecation, but they may be able to learn of ways to resolve their conflict. Left on their own, with a chance to enjoy great views, good food and some pampering, couples often rediscover the reason why they got together in the first place!
    Relationship counsellor Rajan Bhonsle says, “The common complaint of most couples is that their relationship suffers because they don’t get adequate time and privacy, due to work pressure or extended family responsibilities. And their sex life is practically non-existent. On a save-cation, couples connect sexually and get a chance to talk their heart out. In fact, many people have started taking compulsory periodic holidays with just their spouse, to better their marriage.”
    These vacations only work when couples are open to resolving conflict in the marriage. If people have decided to call it quits, no matter what, a save-cation cannot help. But it’s worth giving it a shot anyway. You know why? Because an expensive vacation is still cheaper than a divorce.
3 SIGNS YOU NEED TO GO ON A SAVE-CATION Constantly stressed: Because of your responsibilities at work and home, you get irritable and less patient with your better half, thus leading to frequent arguments and fights.
Marriage isn’t a priority: If your work, kids, extended family, friends and hobbies, all take priority over your relationship with your spouse, you’re obviously not giving it enough attention and your marriage may suffer in the long run. Less quality time: If you aren’t investing time with your spouse, by engaging in activities you enjoy together, and are starting to get bored in the marriage, you are not spending quality time.



By - No comments:

AI Training and the Destruction of Rare Books: Is Technology Creating a New Information Monopoly?

  AI Training and the Destruction of Rare Books: Is Technology Creating a New Information Monopoly? Introduction Artificial intelligence is ...