Cosmetics – Do you know why many different chemical compounds found in creams, cosmetics, and other topical consumer products trigger allergic reactions in the skin? The way some chemicals displace natural fat-like molecules — called lipids — in skin cells may be the culprit, suggests new research.

This discovery, published in the journal Science Immunology, raises the possibility that allergic contact dermatitis could be stopped by applying competing lipids to the skin to displace those triggering the immune reaction.

Currently, the only way to stop allergic contact dermatitis is to identify and avoid contact with the offending chemical. Topical ointments can help sooth the rashes, which usually clear up in less than a month.

In severe cases, physicians may prescribe oral corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory agents that suppress the immune system, increasing the risk of infections and other side effects. An allergic reaction begins when the immune system’s T cells recognise a chemical as foreign. T cells do not directly recognise small chemicals, and research suggests that these compounds need to undergo a chemical reaction with larger proteins in order to make themselves visible to T cells.

“However, many small compounds in skincare products that trigger allergic contact dermatitis lack the chemical groups needed for this reaction to occur,” said study co-leader Annemieke de Jong, Assistant Professor of dermatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.

“These small chemicals should be invisible to T cells, but they’re not,” De Jong said.

De Jong and her colleagues suspected that CD1a, a molecule that is abundant on Langerhans cells (immune cells in the skin’s outer layer), might be responsible for making these chemicals visible to T cells.

In the current study, conducted with human cells in tissue culture, the researchers found that several common chemicals known to trigger allergic contact dermatitis were able to bind to CD1a molecules on the surface of Langerhans cells and activate T cells.

These chemicals included Balsam of Peru and farnesol, which are found in many personal care products, such as skin creams, toothpaste, and fragrances.

Within Balsam of Peru, the researchers identified benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate as the chemicals responsible for the reaction, and overall they identified more than a dozen small chemicals that activated T cells through CD1a.

Walking, cycling to work is associated with fewer heart attacks in adults, say researchers, adding that could provide important health benefits.

According to the study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, in areas where walking or cycling to work were more common in 2011, the incidence of heart attacks in UK decreased for both men and women across the following two years.

“Our study at the University of Leeds shows that exercise as a means of commuting to work is associated with lower levels of heart attack. The benefits of regular exercise are numerous and we support initiatives to help everyone become and stay active,” said study co-author and Olympic-medal winning triathlete Alistair Brownlee.

The study looked at the 2011 UK Census data, which included 43 million people aged 25-74 years employed in England, and found that 11.4 per cent were active commuters. Walking was more popular than cycling (8.6 per cent vs. 2.8 per cent).

Active commuting was defined as people who reported their main mode of transport to work as either ‘bicycle’ or ‘on foot’ in the UK Census.

Rates of active travel varied significantly between local authorities across England, with as few as five per cent of people walking or cycling to work in some authorities, compared to as many as 41.6 per cent in other areas.

There was also a sex difference for active travel in the 2011 Census data, with more men cycling to work than women (3.8 per cent vs. 1.7 per cent), but more women walking to work than men (11.7 per cent vs. 6.0 per cent).

The researchers acknowledged that the big risk factors for heart disease are a lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking and diabetes.

After adjusting for these, the researchers found that active commuting was linked with additional health benefits in some cases.

For women who walked to work there was an associated 1.7 per cent reduction in heart attacks the following year. For men who cycled to work there was also an associated 1.7 per cent reduction in heart attacks the following year, the study said.

“Whilst we cannot conclusively say that active travel to work lowers the risk of heart attack, the study is indicative of such a relationship,” said study lead author Chris Gale, Professor at the University of Leeds.

“The effect of active commuting is fairly modest when compared with the stronger determinants of cardiovascular health such as smoking, obesity, diabetes, and regular exercise. However, this study clearly suggests that exercising on the way to work has the potential to bring nationwide improvements to health and wellbeing,” Gale said.

Shakes Recipes  – There are no cooking pressure or extraordinary aptitudes required to make a helpful, convenient, and simple and useful shakes formula. Shakes are useful for competitors as well as everybody who want to stay in shape and dynamic. Rather than going to get some R&R or shakes that may contain a lot of sugars and calories from stores after an exercise, it will be smarter to make a shape that will keep you in a decent healthy condition. It is likewise bravo to get blenders for shakes with the goal that they become advantageous and simple to make.

The following are the top valuable shakes plans that can assist you with keeping up your fit.

Berry Super Shake

One of the manners in which you can stay in shape is going for helpful shakes formula. The Very Berry Super Shake won’t just furnish you with nourishment that will assist you with staying in shape yet it will make you remain sound and hyperactive. This shake is wealthy in protein, phytonutrients, probiotics, and sound sugars.

It very well may be taken as breakfast, lunch or supper previously or after an exercise. For you to get a smooth formula, you will require a blender that is made only for shakes.

You can get this shake formula by mixing 12 oz. water, ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt, 1 cup spinach, 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, 2 cups solidified blended berries, 1 tbsp. pecans, 1tbsp ground flaxseed together. 500 calories, 11g fat, 54g carbs, 14g fiber, and 57g protein will be all the source if the wellspring of liquid is water rather than milk or yogurt.

2. Strawberry Banana Shake

The Strawberry Banana Shake is a decent formula that will be gainful in causing you to keep up your wellness. This exemplary protein shake will give you an additional fiber and heart-solid omega-3 fats on the off chance that you add ground flax to it.

Getting a decent blender for shakes will facilitate your pressure and permit you to amass in working more beneficial fats into your eating regimen. The strawberry and banana purpose is a decent wellspring of Omega-3s.

You can get this by mixing together the accompanying: 12 oz. water, milk, or yogurt, 2 scoops vanilla or strawberry seasoned protein powder, 1 banana, 1 cup of spinach, 1 cup of solidified strawberries, 2tbsp of ground flax. 490 calories, 55g protein, 47g carbs, 9g fat, 11g fiber will be gotten if water is utilized as a wellspring of liquid rather than milk or yogurt.

3. Apple and Great Grains Shake

The flavor of this brilliant shake is like that of crusty fruit-filled treat in a glass. In spite of the fact that, its absolutely impossible you can get 58 grams of protein in a cut of celebrated sweet. Most blender for shakes will have the option to deal with beating an apple. The skin will be left to give all that anyone could need phytonutrients.

To get this superb shake, you should mix together 12oz water, milk, 1 apple (with evacuated center and cut into wedges), 2 scoop vanilla seasoned protein, 2tbsp of almonds, 1 cup of spinach, Cinnamon, and ¼ cup of uncooked oats.

4. Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Banana Shake

This is additionally a decent shake that keeps the body in that ideal and wanted fit. Its absolutely impossible you will realize that this delicious shake contains a cup of spinach. It likewise contains chocolate, nutty spread, and banana. What you have to get this shake are 12 oz. water, milk or yogurt, 1 banana, 1 cup of spinach, 2 scoops chocolate seasoned protein powder, 2 tbsp of normal nutty spread, 1tbsp cacao nibs or dull cocoa powder.

5. Dr. Mike’s Power Shake

The Walnuts and Flax right now will give you enough measure of omega-3 fats, which is useful for your cerebrum and heart. it tends to be taken after a careful exercise and it makes you sound, keep the body in an ideal shape and totally keep up your wellness.

To get the Dr. Mike’s Power Shake, mix the accompanying: ¼ cup low fat curds, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 cup blueberries (crisp or solidified), 1½ cups water, 2tbsp flaxseed supper, 2tbsp pecans, 3 ice 3D shapes.

6. Superfood Shake

The Superfood Shake will support athletic execution, muscle recuperation and help in looking after fit. It is a decent wellspring of supplements in profoundly hued foods grown from the ground like beets and fruits. In the event that you need to get make this extraordinary shake, at that point mix together 8oz water, ½ cup hacked crude beets, ½ cup solidified blueberries, ½ cup solidified fruits, ½ banana, ½ cup solidified strawberries, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein,1tbsp ground flaxseed.

7. Vanilla Pumpkin Pie Shake

This formula will give you something altogether not quite the same as the regular old formula you are utilized to. Going for shakes with a sample of pumpkin pie, has an extraordinary taste as well as supplement stuffed. Aside from the sweet taste, it is additionally an extraordinary wellspring of Vitamin, particularly Vitamin A, which is appropriate for acceptable sight, skin, and substitution of destroyed tissues.

You can accomplish this by relying upon a blender for shakes by mixing together 12oz water, milk, or yogurt, 1tbsp of pecans, 1tbsp of ground flax, ¾ cup of pureed pumpkin, ½ cup of uncooked oats, 2 scoops vanilla seasoned protein powder, Cinnamon and vanilla concentrate to taste Ice varying.

8. Tropical Power Shake

The Tropical Powder Shakes resembles a pina colada, yet it ought to be blended in with 58 grams of protein and a cup of spinach to get the correct shake. To get this, mix the accompanying together: 12oz water, milk, or yogurt, ½ banana, ½ cup plain yogurt or veggie lover elective, 1 cup of pineapple, 1tbsp of ground flax, 1 cup of spinach, 2 scoops vanilla enhanced protein powder, and 2tbsp of unsweetened coconut chips.

9. Prepared Apple Shake

Prepared Apple shake will give you the basic supplement you require after an exercise as the sesame seeds right now include unforeseen flavor, in addition to an aiding of magnesium and selenium.

,p>To get the formula you can make a blend of 12oz water, milk, or yogurt, 1 apple, center expelled, and cut into wedges, 2 scoops vanilla enhanced protein powder, 1 cup of spinach, 1tbsp of ground flax, 1tbsp of sesame seeds, 1tbsp of almonds, Cinnamon to taste Ice varying. 

10. Chocolate Cherry Awesomeness Shake

As indicated by disclosures by late research, Cherries can help in facilitating irritation after a careful exercise. This shake is an ideal recuperation shake to assist you with keeping up your wellness. Mix the accompanying: 12 oz. water, 1 cups of spinach, 1tbsp of pecans, milk, or yogurt, 2 cups of sweet dull fruits (the pits ought to be removed),2 scoops chocolate seasoned protein powder, 1 tbsp. cacao nibs or dim cocoa powder, 1 tbsp. ground flax.

Social media  – India as a country has been making definitive changes in the way it works. Drastic laws are being planned and huge protests are being launched. As it seems, some vital and long overdue changes are being put in place. There are those who approve and there are the ones who don’t.

Earlier, as it happens in most democracies, these debates and oppositions were limited to Parliament. Yes, some protests did come out in the streets, but then the reasons were often justified.

Now, all sorts of opinions, accusations and oppositions, have started coming up on the outlets of social media, especially Twitter. And most vocal on social media seem to be some film personalities. It is not as if they take a stand against all the wrongdoings that happens around us or in India in general. None of the things they opine affects them directly or indirectly. In fact, when a matter affects the film industry, or one of them personally, they have nothing to say, for or against. A recent example is that of actor Payal Rohtagi. She was arrested and put in jail for nine days because she posted something against erstwhile Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. There was no protest from the social media coterie against this. Nobody raised the intolerance issue!

They are too busy worrying about national issues to spare time for fellow actors. In my column last week, I wrote about filmstars endorsing brands, and the idea was to convey that they don’t really help sell a product. Same is the case on social media. At times, it is also television where these film people get to air their views. But, television does not care to indulge smalltimers who raise issues, while the print media gives them space as and when. What happens is that, two sides take positions and that finally leads to mudslinging and name-calling.

Protesting is a way of life in a democratic country. However, this is about the film folk airing their opinions they can well avoid.

Suddenly, they become experts on just about everything that happens in the country, though what they demonstrate through their arguments is a total lack of knowledge as well as low IQ level. They always seem to be in a great hurry to react to everything that happens around them, especially what governments do. Never care to verify the details.

What has been observed from the posts of the self-styled experts on all the issues is that, their careers in filmdom are in the doldrums or are limited to an insignificant level. Only social media keeps them in the public eye — not that it amounts to much. Because, whatever little following they enjoy on Twitter never reflects on their box-office draw. Twitter following does not materialise in ticket sales at a cinema.

Talking of ‘following’ on social media, it does not actually reflect popularity. People follow to check on you, to counter you, abuse you or just as a pastime. Talking of ‘following’, can any of these create a following in real life and lead a crusade? The other day, Farhan Akhtar went and joined a protest meet at Mumbai’s August Kranti ground. Now, that is like boarding a running train, a photo-op.

Looks like Twitter has become the hotbed for venting frustrations as well as drawing attention. The print and the electronic media being what they are now, amplify the views posted on social media and takes them further to a larger audience. They plan their evening debates on Twitter posts! The problem with TV and print media is that they have slots to fill and, for that, anything goes.

There were occasions like demonetisation, GST, Article 370 and, now the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). And, soon as the Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament, the coterie got busy on Twitter. No matter what it was, no matter the details. They had to oppose it! The only place where their posts were acknowledged was on TV debates.

Major stars who matter — like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone — are among the most followed twitterati in the country from the film field. Why are none of these crusaders rated among the top? And, the most followed don’t get involved in petty social media posts. They know they can’t indulge in arguments with nonentities who seek attention. They also know there is nothing to defend from these crusaders.

However, there is one person, Kangana Ranaut, who always takes up the cudgels on social media for issues against the biggest of bosses of the film world. According to her, those who don’t react are cowards. That is not really true, every dignified and successful film personality cannot get into an argument with somebody on the basis of his or her posts on social media.

There have been a few dissenting voices from some actors like Aamir Khan and Naseeruddin Shah. Not on Twitter but in public. Shah, who played a man blowing up terrorists in “A Wednesday” in 2008, thought his family was not safe in India. If you read his biography, he is not even a first-generation Indian! Then there was Aamir Khan whose wife feared for her family in India! He lost some ad-assignments as a result. Earlier, he had joined forces with social activist Medha Patkar, suggesting the blocking of Sardar Sarovar Dam. His film, “Fanaa”, and the film’s producer (YRF) paid the price, since the film could not be released in Gujarat. I’m not sure if Aamir even knew the background of the project!

Eventually, he ended up making a fool of himself. He was anchoring a TV serial, “Satyamev Jayate”, based on social issues or injustice done to a common man. May be, he expected his standing up against Sardar Sarovar would further his image as a crusader for the deprived! At times, stars use such public platforms to promote their films. At most times, such ideas backfire.

Amitabh Bachchan was among the first to take to the Internet when he started writing a blog which he still continues. Writing a blog needs content and a valid topic. Not many who do the rabble-rousing on Twitter will do so because that would need elaborating on what they want to convey. On Twitter, it is easy because there is a limit on characters one needs to use, so no need to use brains.

The irony is those who cry about democracy being in danger and complain about freedom of expression enjoy all the benefits of both — democracy as well as freedom of all kinds. Save for a few, no wonder, filmstars turned crusaders are not taken seriously.

@The Box Office

* Salman Khan’s “Dabaang 3” releases this week to take advantage of the Christmas holidays. Might as well, for the film stretches the “Dabaang” exploits further and has nothing new to offer that one has not seen in previous instalments. Salman Khan’s draw and the holidays will help.

* The week past saw four releases. “Mardaani 2”, “The Body”, “Mudda 370 J&K” and “Unfriends”. The last two remained nonstarters.

* “Mardaani 2” performed okay, resting wholly on the shoulders of Rani Mukerji, with no known faces to support. The film has closed its first week with a total of around Rs 28 crore.

* “The Body”, though an interesting film, suffered from total lack of promotion. It just about survived with collections on the lower side, with about Rs 3 crore to show for its first week.

* “Pati Patni Aur Woh” has added about Rs 19 crore in its second week, to take its two-week tally to about Rs 70 crore.

* “Panipat” has proved to be a major disaster, collecting about Rs 30 crore in two weeks.

Children  – A nine-year old amateur detective and his young team try to solve the mystery of children going missing from their sprawling basti in Deepa Anappara’s debut book, “Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line”. Anappara has crafted an engrossing story seen through the eyes of Jai, the young protagonist that focuses on the disappearance of young children in India. Anappara is an engaging writer, her language is coloured with vivid imagery, and she uses banter and humour to leaven the darkness of the subject and its setting.

She intertwines the ghastly crimes with tales of ‘bhoots’ (ghosts) and supernatural happenings, involving a female ghost who protects young girls from assault and a decrepit palace haunted by djinns who act as healers. Jai clings to the belief that the missing children have been abducted by a djinn because to accept the option is too horrific to think of.

A former journalist, Anappara won much acclaim for her debut novel, winning several prestigious work-in-progress awards for her early chapters. The debut book was published internationally in early February, hailed as the best find of the year and backed with laudatory endorsements by world renowned writers like Anne Enright and Ian McEwan.

According to Anappara, as many as 180 children go missing every day in India. Having worked as a journalist in Delhi and Mumbai, she is familiar with the conditions in Indian slums. She writes: “The idea for this novel was sparked by my anger and disappointment at a system that had failed the very people it was supposed to protect.”

Her story brings in shades of the Nithari killings in Noida, where children from the basti went missing while local police brushed aside complaints, labelling the children as runaways.

The infamous Nithari crimes came to light in 2006 after a number of children and young women disappeared from the Nithari urban village in Noida. Faced with police inaction, villagers filed cases in court. A court appointed investigation led to the arrest of the owner of a bungalow and his domestic servant after body parts wrapped in plastic bags were found in a drain adjoining the house.

Jai lives in a one-roomed makeshift hut with a corrugated metal sheet for a roof with his parents and elder sister, Runu didi. Addicted to crime shows on television like “Crime Patrol”, he decides to investigate the crime when a school friend goes missing. He takes the help of two friends, the bright and clever Pari and not so enthusiastic, Faiz.

Their basti lies next to a towering block of luxury apartments where ‘hi-fi’ people live and where their mothers go to work as maids and nannies for exacting mistresses. The gleaming, brightly lit towers are separated from the sprawling slum by a large garbage dump, and the lives in the two areas seem to exist on different planets.

Jai is a cheerful, sometimes naive and often cheeky fellow. As he watches people and mulls over different facets of life in the crowded slum, his narrative brings to life the chaotic living in the basti with its oppression and hardships without turning morbid. He has an observant eye and inventive turn of phrase as when he describes chewing a twig to fool his body into thinking that more food is on the way. The three young detectives wander the narrow alleys where goats and hens are clothed hand-me-down sweaters that are in better shape than Jai’s own and the smog “keeps its coat zipped up and doesn’t let out even a sliver of light”.

The trio search the smog-ridden lanes of the Bhoot Bazaar (Ghost Market), and ride the Purple Line Metro to its last stop on the other side of the town. They sift through the large rubbish dumps and question the little army of garbage collectors and appeal to their gang leader, Mental who remains a protector for the small boys and girls even after his death.

Children continue to disappear and the police are unresponsive to complaints and bribes, and instead threaten to bring the bulldozers to demolish the basti if they were pestered too much. Suspicion turns within and tensions rise between Hindu and Muslim basti-dwellers. There is threat of violence as Muslim residents are accused of kidnapping the children, and the young detectives have to find ways to protect their friend, Faiz. More children are abducted, one of them a Muslim child and then, suddenly the abductions come closer home when Jai’s sprinter sister, Runu didi, does not return home. And it is no longer a game as the story moves swiftly towards a conclusion.

Happiness  – The philosopher Aristotle’s homily, “happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”, might seem a tall order given the complexities of everyday life but a new book aims to “teach the principles of happiness from a holistic perspective”, says its author, who draws much inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita and Buddhism.

Aristotle’s ideals “seem far off in the distance as we face complexities (like) bills to pay, a family to raise, health problems to endure, a job we don’t like, and on and on it goes, seemingly without end. Obviously, there needs to be a solution for cultivating peace, love, and joy for the modern age without having to sit in a cave meditating for the rest of our lives,” entrepreneur and a philanthropist Joseph Rodarick Law writes in “Authentic Power and Greatness” (Orient Publishing).

“Through a sequence of what seemed like coincidental events, I was inspired to write this book…a book that could break down complex, timeless spiritual principles and truths into understandable and practical applications for our modern times…(and) teach the principles of happiness from a holistic perspective, one that includes family, career, spiritual growth, and one’s purpose in life,” told IANS in an email ahead of his visit to New Delhi and Mumbai for the release of his book later this week.

Written in a question-and-answer format through a series insightful interviews, Law hoped the book “will give readers private access to the ideas, thoughts, and advice of some of the world’s top thinkers in diverse fields”.

Among those whose brains Law picked for the book are corporate trainer and bestselling author Jack Canfield, philosopher and behavioural expert Dr. John Demartini, quantum physicist Fred Alan Wolf, leading thinker and inventor Dr. Edward de Bono (who invented the term ‘lateral thinking’), psychiatrist and expert in the science of human happiness Howard Cutler and the late financial advisor, Bill Bartmann, once listed in Forbes magazine as one of the 400 richest people in the US.

The book has been two years in the making as the author embarked “on a journey of intense inner and outer discovery, through deep meditation, travelling to sacred places in India, learning from many wise teachers, and studying many of the world’s traditions (Eastern and Western) in spirituality and wisdom”.

“I began asking myself the same questions that have been asked by philosophers for as long as recorded human history: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What legacy do I want to leave the world when I depart from this life? Such deep pondering led me through a process of redefining the true nature of success; I no longer thought of it merely as material success,” Law explained.

He hoped the book can serve “as a pathway to help you live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. This is your birthright, and it is possible for you to attain such a life”.

Admitting that the book will not give you all the answers you need, he said “it will open you to new questions. Through the application of the many principles in this book, you will feel happier, achieve more with less effort, and find deep inner peace without losing your effectiveness in the real world. You will wake up one day to realize you are no longer haunted by a sense of dread but are living a life inspired by purpose”.

What of the future?

“I still have a few more books in development, one is a short fiction and another one on ancient Eastern philosophy for the modern times. As I delved deeply into my studies, I came across sacred texts of ancient Eastern wisdom, mostly from India and China. I discovered they offer many solutions we desperately need in the world today, and there is significant merit and benefit in the revival of these for constructive use today.

“Many ancient books inspire me deeply, but I am particularly drawn to the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of Buddha. These works are dedicated to reaching our highest human potential and attaining peace of mind. The transcendent wisdom in these texts dates back thousands of years. It goes beyond knowledge, a function of the mind, and delves into the domain of the heart,” Law concluded.