Egyptian Mummy shows Painful Disease

In a recent study the researchers have found about a new most painful disease, which was prevalent around 3000 years ago. They came to know about the same after examining an Egyptian male mummy.

Dr. Mislav Cavka, a medical doctor at the University of Zagreb and his colleagues examined the mummy using X-rays, a CT scan and a newly developed technique for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and found that around 2,900 years ago, the ancient Egyptian man (whose mummified body has been examined by the scientists in this study), passed away after suffering from a rare disease possibly in his twenties.

The researcher group has identified the ailment to be ‘Hand-Schuller-Christian’ disease, a mysterious illness, where Langerhans cells (a type of immune cell found in the skin) multiply rapidly.

According to them, this mummy is the third known case of the said disease from ancient Egypt. Hence it can be ascertained that the above mentioned disease was commonly prevalent among the ancient humans.

Dr. Cavka has described that the effects of the disease would have been very very painful and would have affected the man’s appearance, particularly during his last time. He opines the disease to be one sort of cancer.

But many modern scientists are doubtful about the prevalence of cancer in the ancient time as fewer pollutants were there at that time.

The researchers have also written on their papers that the mummy might have suffered from a diabetes insipidus. They are of the opinion that the condition would have made it difficult for his kidneys to conserve water, which would have worsened the man’s predicament ultimately leading to death.

But whatever may be the exact cause of the death it is certain that it was a lethal disease of the ancient time that had been affecting about one in 560,000 young adults.

The examined mummy is now at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia. The findings of the study were published in the journal Collegium Antropologicum.

LinkedIn Application available on iPad

The iPhone app of business-centric social networking site LinkedIn has been expanded to include iPad support. The app will be very much fertile for the mobile professionals using iPads to be in touch with their industry updates.

The app, which has also been made for the new iPad's Retina display, includes a new calendar feature that allow users see the LinkedIn profile information for people with whom they are meeting.

The app has three main sections: All Updates, You, and Inbox. The ‘All Updates’ sector will provide an image-rich information of their professional updates, news, and information such as who in their network has changed jobs or updated their profile.

In the ‘You’ section, we can view our own information, check who has viewed our profile and can know about others who may want to add to our LinkedIn network.

Lastly, in the ‘Inbox’ the user can send and receive LinkedIn invitations and messages. In other words, the app features access to one’s networking profile along with industry news and content sharing.

LinkedIn at present has more than 150 million members in more than 200 countries. The app can be downloaded in this link from the App Store for free.

INSPIRE YOUR TEAM

As a manager, one of your key responsibilities is to inspire your team members - to motivate them to give their best on the job, make difficult changes, and overcome major obstacles. Your communication skills can make or break your ability to provide inspiration.

To sharpen up, practice framing a call to action as a challenge; for example, 'We can turn our struggling business unit around.' This approach lets your people know that if they want a new and better team, they'll have to work for it. you'll lead the charge, but you need their support. As you present the challenge, communicate a sense of hope that will help your team push through the tough choices necessary to survive and succeed.

US says SORRY to SRK, Is it Enough?

The US authorities apologised to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan expressing the regret over his detention at the White Plains airport in New York on Friday. However, India reacted sharply saying it has become a habit these days.

Reacting to the actor's detention at a New York airport, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, who is currently in Moscow, talked tough on saying such incidents could not continue anymore. It has become a habit these days to first detain and then apologise.

Meanwhile, the Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao has been asked to take up the issue with the country.

After the detention of the actor for over two hours, the US Custom and Border Protection Department wrote a letter to the Indian Consulate expressing their regret over the matter.

King Khan was reportedly upset after he was detained by the US authorities at the White Plains airport in New York for over two hours. He described the incident saying it "always happens".

Shah Rukh had arrived in the US to attend a function at the Yale University where he was about to address the students. He had reportedly arrived at the airport in a private plane.

Sources told the PTI that Shah Rukh was stopped for over two hours while all were cleared by the immigration officials.

The episode of detention at airport in the US has been happening with him always. Earlier, the actor was detained at Newark airport in 2009 and was released after India's embassy in the US intervened.

Give Feedback to High Performers

Don't assume your high performer knows how good she is. Instead, use these three tips to give her the feedback she wants and deserves:

- Identify developmental areas. There may only be a few, and you may need to work hard to identify and articulate them, but help your star understand what she can improve.

- Show your appreciation. Failing to say thank you is a simple and common mistake. Your stars need feedback and praise just as much as everyone else.

- Give feedback often. Don't wait for review time. High performers thrive off feedback, and your job is to give it frequently.

Yuvraj Singh hopes to return to Game soon

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who underwent treatment for a rare form of cancer in the US, is hoping to return to the game soon. However, he made it clear that the comeback would not be so easy and his fans need to be patient.

Yuvi, who returned to India on Monday, appeared his first press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday with positive energy following treatment in the US. He said that he wants to come back soon to the game, but as of now his focus is entirely on his health.

He hopes to return to the game in a few months in fit mental and physical condition. Through press conference, he said his fans to be patient like they were during the last three months.

He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, called mediastinal seminoma. He spent a couple of weeks in London after undergoing treatment in the US.

"I am happy to be back. In a couple of months I should be in mental and physical health to be back on the field," Yuvraj told reporters. However, he said it would not be "easy to get back on the field soon".

"It will take time, my body will take time. At the moment, it is very important for me to take care of my health, be on a good diet and focus totally on my health", he said.

"To return to the field with all the pressure of playing for India will be a big achievement. My body has to recuperate. I am going to work hard towards it. I want to wear the Indian cap again. I am convinced I will be back playing for India", he added.

When asked about the treatment he underwent at a Boston hospital, he said, "Chemotherapy leads to hair loss, body ache, and depression. I knew about it and I felt if I had to recover then I would have to go through it".

Just getting up and doing something was a tough job. It was difficult to even get out of the house. After a couple of times, even going to the gym was difficult. I walked a bit, played video games, watched movies, learnt some cooking", he added.

The cricketer is missing playing for his IPL team, Pune Warriors, in the ongoing tournament. "I want to go out, wear a team T-shirt and watch a few IPL games. I don't know when I can go though", he said.

SRK to play Dhyan Chand's Role in Biopic!

According to latest Bollywood rumours, Shah Rukh Khan will play Dhyan Chand's role in a forthcoming biopic, which will be based on the hockey legend's life.

However, there is no confirmation from the actor about the report.

If the rumours are to be believed then Shah Rukh would be the perfect face for the character as he has already proved his talent by receiving much positive responses for his role of hockey coach Kabir Khan in 'Chak De India'.

The actor is quite familiar with the game as he was the captain of hockey team in his Delhi school St Columbus during study. He was also the captain of the school football team.

This is the trend of biopics as the movies like 'The Dirty Picture' and 'Paan Singh Tomar' have received good responses from the critics and the audiences. Shah Rukh could be the next figure in the industry to be best known for performing the role Dhyan Chand, who was the hockey captain of team India and made the country proud by achieving several Olympic gold medals.

Use Action Learning

One of your most crucial jobs as a manager is to help develop your direct reports' leadership capabilities. Action learning can help. through action learning, individuals work through actual business problems and apply lessons learned to new challenges. Here's how it works: 

- Assign: an employee a substantial, important project that is 'in plan' and for which failure would have visible consequences.

- Deliver some feedback that's relevant to the employee and the context in which she will be learning.

- Debrief her on the experience of tackling the project, reviewing with her the results she achieved and how.

- Articulate the results' business implications. 

- Help her transfer the lessons learned to future projects.

The more relevant the challenge and the higher the stakes, the more action learning stretches your employees and the more they learn.

Vijender Singh qualifies for London Olympics

Indian Boxer Vijender Singh, who had won a bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics, has qualified for the 2012 London Olympics by moving to the semifinals at the Asian Olympic qualifying event.

Vijender beat 2011 Asian Championship silver medalist Chuluuntumur Tumurkhyag of Mongolia in the quarterfinals in the 75 kgs category to move to the last four.

He is now assured of at least a bronze medal, but is expected to eye for the gold medal. Vijender will take on Nursahat Pazziyev of Turkmenistan in the semis.

Vijender became the fifth Indian Boxer to qualify for the London Olympics after Vikas Krishnan (69kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and rookie Devendro Singh (49kg).

Odisha Govt announces 7% DA Hike for Employees

In a significant development, the Odisha government has hiked the DA (Dearness Allowances) of state government employees by 7 per cent. The DA will now stand at 65%.

The DA hike will be effective from January 1, 2012. So, the employees will draw a big bonanza in terms of arrear.

Over four lakh employees in Odisha will be benefitted from the DA hike, while four lakh pensioners will also get the benefits.

Assess Behaviors, Not Just Results

When star employees churn out great results, you might be tempted to pat them on the back and ask them to keep doing whatever it is they're doing. However your job as a manager is to understand the behaviors that drive those results and ensure they are in line with your company's values. Here are two ways to do that: 

1. Give Separate ratings for behavior and results: When you combine the two, you can easily give employees a pass for bad behavior when they're producing positive outcomes. Assessing them separately ensures that you can give fair behavior ratings without obscuring the business results.

2. Use 360-degree assessments: These are better at assessing behaviors and their impact on other employees. Use the findings to set behavioral goals that each employee can work toward, such as "treat my team with respect".

Yoga can cure Cancer!

A Delhi-based Yoga therapist has claimed that Yoga can cure all diseases including Cancer. However he is not in favor of mass teaching of yoga - including popular ‘pranayams’ like ‘kapalbhati’ and ‘anulom vilom’.

Subhash Sharma said that the rules of yoga should be different for people with different physique. It should not be universal. Performing yoga even with instructions from a book is not free from faults. It may drag to odd situations.

Recounting a particular case, he said that one of his clients had lost the sensation of the nerves to the anus, which shows practicing some yoga therapy without proper guidance.

In ‘bhastrika pranayam’ one need to send air with pressure to the lungs. But improper process of pumping the air can lead to development of asthma.

For the simple pranayam of Anulom vilom, in which one needs to breathe in through one nostril and breathe out though the other, is also not advisable for all, Sharma claims.

On the other hand it seems that like many other yoga therapist, Mr. Sharma is also slightly of the opinion that only Baba Ramdev should not take all the credit of being the yoga teacher. There are others too. Baba Ramdev is the well known yoga Therapist who used to teach yoga on TV channels. It is also true that so many patients depict their success stories of recovering with yoga prescribed by Baba.

Whatever it may be, one thing is true that yoga is a solution to all the diseases and it can even cure cancer.

Resolve Conflicts

Working with teams can be a frustrating experience, especially when seemingly straight forward conflict devolves into personal or protracted disputes. Next time your team members start throwing proverbial punches, take these three steps to get them to stop fighting and start working;

- Intervene Early: the sooner you step in, the better. A simple disagreement can turn into a serious conflict within seconds when emotions are running high.

- Focus on team norms: Refer back to something the parties can agree on or, hopefully, already have agreed on. Use team norms to guide behavior and help the parties identify common ground.

- Create shared agreement: To reach an accord, have the team members talk it through. With all parties cards on the table, facilitate an outcome that is amenable to all. Avoid a lowest common denominator solution. Instead, find one that integrates all parties' interest.

China set to replace Books with iPads in Schools

China is all set to replace books with Apple iPads in schools. A Chinese school has already implemented the concept of ‘learning through gadget’ for some students which would be applicable to all soon.

Since long, the world community of educationists were quiet worried for the students as the tender kids needed to carry a heavy school bag for study. But bringing a big relief in this context, iPad is now replacing books. Now the students will enjoy multiple apps on the Tablet PC.

The introduction of iPad has already been adopted in the schools of China. The Jinling High School in Nanjing city has allowed three students to bring iPads to their classrooms on a trial basis once their new term begins in September. The rule will soon be applied to all the students.

Introduction of this gadget will solve multiple problems. Firstly, the iPads can set students free from the burden of carrying school bags. Secondly, the teacher student interaction process will be highly comfortable, furnished and fast through iPads. Thirdly, this will provide the student an access to foreign educational resources, which will equip them for the international standard tests. And finally it can also help save up to 90 per cent of the expenditures on teaching materials.

The concept of learning through iPad has got a wide reception. However, some people have said that children, who lack self-discipline, may waste time in playing games.

Avoid the Unilateral Thinking Gap

Your employees want to see you take action. But to make smart decisions, you need input. If you're like most managers, you probably seek input from people you know best. That can lead you to gather ideas only from those who share your viewpoints. 

Result ? Unilateral thinking: everyone adopting the same point of view.

Unilateral thinking is good for cheerleading squads, but it'll get your unit into trouble. To avoid this trap, make certain your people feel free to voice opinions and ideas contrary to the prevailing thought in your group. Go out of your way to seek alternate approaches to problems - from maverick thinkers and those you don't know as well.