Watch Out For Tamiflu if you are a potential stroke patient

While Tamiflu is one of the most effective drugs in treating Influenza A(H1N1) or swine flu infection, a new report warns that the drug may increase the risk of stroke.Previously, researchers had urged parents to avoid using the drug in their offspring as its risks outweighed the benefits. Nausea and nightmares were among the most frequent side effects reported in children.

According to the report recently released by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Tamiflu may interact with the blood-thinning medication warfarin, placing the individual at an increased risk of uncontrolled bleeding (INR rate).

A significant increase in the INR rate could consequently lead to the development of a hemorrhagic stroke.

Despite the fact that such a complication was never reported in performed clinical testing, the MHRA has received 418 reports of suspected adverse reactions including two deaths because of Tamiflu.

Some 12 of these reactions were related to warfarin interactions.

Warfarin is known to interact with a wide range of drugs and even some foods and drinks. Many of the consumers, therefore, are hospitalized due to increased INR rates while many others die.

“We have seen indications that INR rates could possibly rise due to interactions between warfarin and Tamiflu. However, flu-like illnesses have also been known to cause this, so at this stage it is difficult to know whether it is the interaction with Tamiflu or the underlying flu,” said a MHRA spokesman.

The government watchdog therefore warned physicians of the high risk of stroke in Tamiflu users, adding that they should ask the patients regarding the use of the blood-thinning drug before prescribing the anti-swine flu medicine.

For Your Heart's Health-Drink Guinness !

You got to believe this!

It looks like this famous old Guinness slogan has some truth to it after all.

A new study from the University of Wisconsin has reported that a pint of Guinness could have the same heart health benefits as a low dose of aspirin. When tested on dogs, antioxidants in Guinness helped reduce blood clots and slow down deposits of cholesterol on the artery walls. Dogs were chosen not because they love to lap up beer, but because they have narrow blood vessels similar to those of humans who suffer from heart disease. Blood clots and clogged arteries are bad news because they increase a person's risk for a heart attack.

Let me point out that the benefits were found from drinking Guinness, not any other beers. This news doesn't mean you should go on a Guinness drinking binge for your heart's sake, because Guinness still contains alcohol, so limit yourself to one or fewer drinks a day.

CHEERS!

Imagine! Padifield Art!

These padi fields look fantastic from the sky if you are in an aeroplane.

This is crop art, found in Japan. Stunning, don't you think so?

Believe me, this is no alien creation - the designs have been cleverly planted. The farmers creating these huge displays use no ink or dye.





Instead, different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.

In Inakadate, a Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants, the colours created by using different varieties. The largest and finest work is grown in the Aomori village of Inakadate, 600 miles north of Toyko, where this tradition began in 1993. Each year hundreds of volunteers and villagers plant four different varieties of rice in late May across huge swathes of paddy fields.The village has now earned a reputation for its agricultural artistry.

In a pair of fields near the townhall in Inakadate town, the enormous pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior, both on horseback, are visible More than 150,000 vistors come to Inakadate (population:8,700 ), every summer to see these extraordinary murals. Created by precision planting and months of planning,the mural of Napolean on horseback can be seen brilliantly from the skies.

Another venue is becoming famous for padi art. This is Yonezawa town. This year the town showcased the fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife Osen from the hit television series Tenchijin.

Smaller works of crop art can also be seen in some other rice-farming areas. This include Doraemon and deer dancers.

How are the art pieces created? To begin with, farmers will plant little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice, along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety. This helps create the coloured patterns between planting and harvesting in September.The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square metres of paddy fields.

From ground level, the designs are invisible. So interested viewers have to climb on to the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work.

So, don't you think the Japanese are just wonderfully artistic people?

Phone Book Portraits, Anyone?

Alex Queral is unique. He draws portraits in used phone books.

They are very life-like. Seeing is believing.

Look at some of the samples below. They are of Obama,Jack Nicholson,Dalai Lama and Clint Eastwood and Freda Kaloh.

Another Great Nasi Lemak Outlet.

Eating is believing.

There I was at the Village Park this afternoon. It is beside the Bank Rakyat in Damansara Utama.This food joint served one mean nasi lemak. It is managed by a Chinese husband and wife couple who are Muslims.




I was told on week-ends, you just cannot find a place to sit, much less order. The ex-Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, was here a couple of days ago; the lady proprietor told me. She was an ex-accountant. People line up to buy the food, selecting the usual nasi lemak but adding side orders like spiced up cockles, fried chicken, prawns, fish, cuttle fish, squids, all assortment of eggs as well as bitter-gourd fried in cumin. The coconut milk rice was very light and tasty.The sambal was sweet and on the spicy side. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. No wonder, many Muslim Malays frequent this shop.


So if you are heading on your way to One Utama or Tesco Mutiara Damansara in the vicinity of Damansara Utama, do drop by at the Village Park. You would not regret it.

The Wonders of Silhouette Photography.

This is silhouette photography.






To photograph silhouettes,the contrast between the subject and the background has to bee extensive. So the light has to shine from behind of the subject.

Silhouettes are a wonderful way to convey drama, mystery, emotion and mood to the viewers of your photos. Objects silhouetted against the setting sun or a halo of light are breathtaking. Art silhouette pictures are a great way to make your photography portfolio stand out.

So, anyone for silhouette photography?

A RED LETTER DAY for the Family

By lunch time , my daughter phoned back.

She passed her CAT examination and is now formally attending Part Two of the ACCA professional course.

So we had a small celebrations in the evening after dinner. We cut some cup-cakes in celebration of this happy occasion. Its' not everyday that we can have a red letter day. This has been a great red letter day for us!