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Ethnicity, obesity and health pattern among Indian population
NK Mungreiphy1, Meenal Dhall1, Renu Tyagi2, Kiran Saluja1, Aniket Kumar1, Mary Grace Tungdim1, Rashmi Sinha3, KS Rongmei4, Kajri Tandon1, Shaila Bhardwaj1, Anup Kumar Kapoor1, Satwanti Kapoor1
1 Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
2 Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research, Drive-In Road, Thaltej, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
3 Faculty of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India
4 Manipur University, Canchipur Road, Imphal, Manipur, India
Date of Web Publication 9-May-2012
Satwanti Kapoor
Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi - 110 007
Objective: To study the relationship of ethnicity with overweight/obesity, variation in adiposity levels, regional distribution of fat and its impact on cardio-respiratory health among selected ethnic groups. Materials and methods : A cross-sectional study was carried out among 300 young adults of three ethnic groups from different geographical regions of India ranging in age from 20 to 30 years. Stature, weight, circumferences, body fat percentage, and skinfold thicknesses were measured. Obesity indices like body mass index (BMI), grand mean thickness (GMT), waist hip ratio (WHR), waist height ratio (WHtR), and conicity index (CI) were computed. Cardio-respiratory health indicators such as lung functions including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1.0 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory ratio (FER), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), breath holding time (BHT), and systolic and diastolic BP (blood pressure) were taken and associated with obesity indices. Results: General body fat deposition, assessed by BMI, GMT, and fat percentage, was found to be the highest among Delhi females and males. However, central adiposity as assessed from WHR, WHtR, and CI was found to be significantly higher among the Manipur subjects signifying a relatively more androidal pattern of fat deposition. Most of the inter-group differences for adiposity indices were significant; however, it was not so in the case of blood pressure among different ethnic groups. On the other hand, the respiratory efficiency varied significantly between different ethnic groups. Ethnicity, adiposity, and cardio-respiratory health were found to be interrelated. Conclusions: Subjects belonging to three ethnic groups showed marked differences in different body dimension, adiposity indices, and cardio-respiratory health. Central obesity has been found to be a better pointer for cardiovascular health risk. There were ethnic and gender differences with respect to adiposity measures and cardio-respiratory health indicators
Keywords: Cardio-respiratory health, ethnicity, obesity
Mungreiphy N K, Dhall M, Tyagi R, Saluja K, Kumar A, Tungdim MG, Sinha R, Rongmei K S, Tandon K, Bhardwaj S, Kapoor AK, Kapoor S. Ethnicity, obesity and health pattern among Indian population. J Nat Sc Biol Med 2012;3:52-9
Mungreiphy N K, Dhall M, Tyagi R, Saluja K, Kumar A, Tungdim MG, Sinha R, Rongmei K S, Tandon K, Bhardwaj S, Kapoor AK, Kapoor S. Ethnicity, obesity and health pattern among Indian population. J Nat Sc Biol Med [serial online] 2012 [cited 2020 Jan 19];3:52-9. Available from: http://www.jnsbm.org/text.asp?2012/3/1/52/95955
Obesity as a health risk needs no introduction in the present global scenario. What is much needed is finding the environmental trigger and its prevention. Ethnicity and socioeconomic status have been found to be two separate independent factors influencing BMI in men and women. [1] People with part ancestry in high-risk groups have an intermediate risk for obesity. [2]
Response to environmental triggers of obesity may vary among individuals, but the rise in obesity in both developed and developing countries, and the lower levels of obesity and related chronic diseases among African populations in West Africa than in the Caribbean and the US, suggest that environmental rather than genetic factors are the major drivers for ethnic differences in obesity. [3] An understanding of the prevalence of obesity and overweight in populations is important since some ethnic groups may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse health effects associated with obesity. [4]
The association of ethnicity and obesity has been documented in a number of studies mainly in the US and UK, with a higher risk of obesity being consistently reported among black women, compared with Whites. [5],[6] Asian-Americans in US were found to be having lower rates of obesity than other Americans, [7] whereas Pacific Islanders were found to have the highest rates. [8]
South Asians generally have a higher level of fat per unit of BMI compared to Whites. [9] Stephanie et al. [4] showed that the 'epidemic' of childhood obesity observed in UK involves adolescents from all ethnic groups, although there are some differences between ethnic groups in the prevalence of overweight. Indian males were at higher risk of being overweight than white British males. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was similar in white British and Bangladeshi males.
India is a multiethnic country, but ethnic differences in adiposity or the influence of lifestyle and ethnicity on obesity and cardio-respiratory health has been less explored in spite of India's diversity in terms of biological as well as socio-cultural backgrounds. The present research aims to study the relationship of ethnicity with overweight and obesity among different ethnic groups from different geographical regions of India. Variations in adiposity levels and regional distribution of fat and its effect on cardio respiratory health among three different ethnic groups were comprehended.
A cross-sectional study was carried out among 360 young adults of three different ethnic groups of India ranging in age from 20 to 30 years. Sixty subjects were excluded from the sample as they did not fit into the inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were: subjects not related by blood, product of inter-caste marriage, age between 20 and 30 years, no physical deformity. After exclusion, the subjects comprised of 50 males and 50 females each from Manipur, Delhi, and Kerala. The purpose of the study and techniques to be used were explained to each subject. Those who volunteered and gave written consent were studied.
Anthropometric and physiological measurements
Each subject was measured for stature, weight, circumferences at waist and hip, skinfold thickness at biceps, triceps, suprailiac, subscapular, and calf posterior sites. Anthropometric measurements were taken using standard protocols given by Weiner and Lourie. [10] Stature was taken with the help of anthropometer in the standard arm hanging position; body weight was measured by using spring balance with minimum clothing; minimum waist circumference and maximum hip circumference were measured with a flexible steel tape. Skin fold thicknesses were taken with Holtain's skinfold caliper which exerted a constant pressure of 10 g/mm 2 over the contact surface. Measurements were conducted by trained anthropologists.
Body fat percentage was measured using bioelectric impedance technique (Tanita body composition analyser). Lung functions including forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV 1.0 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory ratio (FER), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were recorded with single breath using a micro-spirometer. Breath holding time (BHT) was assessed using a stop watch. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures were taken with the help of sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. Body fat percentage and BHT were taken for Manipur and Delhi subjects only.
Obesity indices which include body mass index (BMI), grand mean thickness (GMT), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and conicity index (CI) were computed statistically. BMI was classified according to WHO, [11] BMI less than 18.5 as underweight and more than 24.9 as overweight/obese. WHR cut-off points followed for males was 0.95 and for females was 0.80. [12] WHtR cut-off points taken for both females and males was 0.50. [13] Conicity index (CI) was calculated as 'waist circumference (m)/[0.109 X√ {body weight (kg)/ height (m)}]'. Conicity index cut-off points taken for females was 1.18 and for males it was 1.25. [14]
The subjects were classified in different blood pressure group categories according to JNC VII. [15] In this study, subjects were divided into three categories: normotensive, prehypertensive (120-139 mmHg systolic; 80-89 mmHg diastolic), and hypertensive (≥140/90 mmHg). To determine lung efficiency, forced expiratory ratio (FER) was assessed with 80% as the cutoff point for normal value. [16]
The data was analyzed using SPSS 16.0 version. For group comparisons, one-way ANOVA and 't' test were applied. Pearson's correlation (two-tailed) was used to evaluate the strength and direction of linear relationship between obesity indices and cardio-respiratory health indicators for each of the populations.
Subjects and area
The studied groups comprise of males and females belonging to Khatri from Delhi, tribal population from Manipur and Ezhava from Kerala. The majority of the subjects were either in services or students. Delhi is situated between the Himalayas and Aravalis range in the heart of the Indian sub-continent. It is the plain area. The Khatris follow caste endogamy and clan exogamy. It is a patriarchal and patrilineal society. Females helped in household activities besides their own work. Males were mostly sedentary. The staple food is wheat and eating out habit is prevalent among them. They usually take fat-rich diet and lot of sweets.
Manipur ethnic groups racially and linguistically belong to the Tibeto-Burman group. Manipur, the easternmost part of India, is a mountainous region, isolated from the neighboring states by a chain of hill ranges. North East India in the context of India occupies a distinctive place due to its geographical, historical, social, cultural, and political features. The tribal populations follow endogamous, patriarchal, and patrilineal system. All the subjects were actively engaged in household chores and other physical activities besides their own work. Their staple food was rice and most of them were non-vegetarian, but they usually take less sweets, oily foods, and milk products.
The third group studied comprised of Ezhava of Amboori village of Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. Kerala is a state on the south-west tropical Malabar Coast of India. Ezhava is Other Backward Caste (OBC) group of Kerala. They do not own large areas of agricultural land, but quite a few were involved in agricultural practices mainly as laborers. Females in addition also helped in household activities. Most of them were non-vegetarian. Rice constituted the staple food and fish was taken regularly. The Ezhava followed community endogamy and clan exogamy, patrilineal, and patriarchael system.
[Table 1] shows mean, standard deviation, and F-value for various anthropometric and physiological measurements and different obesity indices of young Indian females and males belonging to three different ethnic groups. Delhi females were found to be tallest (156.5 ± 6.64) and heaviest (52.0 ± 9.51) whereas Manipur females were shortest (153.0 ± 5.62) and Kerala females were lightest (47.5 ± 8.16) of all. The inter-group differences were found to be significant (P < 0.001) for both stature and body weight. Manipur females had the maximum waist circumference, and Delhi females had the maximum hip circumference. The inter-ethnic group differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001) for both the circumferences.
Table 1: Basic characteristic of the female and male subjects
General obesity as assessed from BMI, GMT, and fat percentage was found to be highest among Delhi females. Whereas central obesity assessed from WHR, WHtR and CI were found to be maximum among Manipur females. Although WHtR was more among Delhi females as compared to Kerala females, the latter had a higher value of CI. With the exception of GMT and fat percentage, statistically significant differences were observed between different ethnic groups for other indices.
Although the differences for blood pressure were not statistically significant, Kerala females had a highest value of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure followed by Manipur females and Delhi females. Respiratory efficiency as assessed by FEV 1.0 , FER, and PEFR were found maximum among Manipur females followed by Delhi and Kerala females. Ethnic differences for FEV 1.0 , FVC, PEFR and BHT were found statistically significant.
Kerala males were found to be significantly taller (170.6 ± 5.95), and Manipur males were shortest (164.8 ± 5.72) while Delhi males were heaviest (61.5 ± 13.6), although the differences between different ethnic groups for body weight were statistically non-significant. Delhi males had largest waist and hip circumferences followed by Manipur and Kerala males. Inter-ethnic group differences for both the circumferences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The differences between groups were statistically significant with the exception of GMT. The central obesity was relatively higher among Delhi males followed by Manipur males and was lowest among Kerala males. The inter-group differences for all the regional adiposity indices were statistically significant.
Systolic blood pressure was highest among Manipur males followed by Kerala and Delhi males although the differences between groups were not statistically significant. The inter-group differences for diastolic blood pressure were statistically significant with the highest value among Delhi males and minimum among Manipur males. Respiratory efficiency as assessed by FEV 1.0 , FVC, and PEFR was found to be highest among Manipur males followed by Delhi males. The differences for various respiratory functions were statistically significant among different ethnic groups with the exception of breath holding time.
Comparison of different populations for general and regional obesity and cardio-respiratory health indicators has been displayed in [Table 2]. The mean differences for BMI were statistically significant for Delhi-Kerala and Kerala-Manipur males (P < 0.001) and females (P < 0.01) whereas none of the differences were found to be statistically significant for GMT. Both Delhi-Manipur males and females were significantly different (P < 0.01) from each other for WHR along with Delhi-Kerala males (P < 0.001) and Kerala-Manipur females (P < 0.01). The females of all the three groups were significantly different from each other with respect to WHtR as also Delhi-Kerala and Kerala-Manipur males. The CI varied significantly between females of Delhi-Manipur, Delhi-Kerala, and Kerala-Manipur groups. The Delhi-Manipur and Delhi-Kerala males were also significantly different from each other.
Table 2: Comparison of different populations for general and regional obesity and cardio-respiratory health indicators
The differences for systolic and diastolic blood pressure and forced expiratory ratio were statistically nonsignificant for females in any of the population groups. The Delhi-Manipur, Kerala-Manipur males differ significantly (P < 0.001) from each other with reference to diastolic blood pressure whereas the Delhi-Manipur females, Delhi-Kerala males, and Kerala-Manipur males differ significantly with respect to FER.
Prevalence of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and FER risk groups among Delhi, Manipur, and Kerala females and males are given in [Table 3]. The prevalence of overweight/obesity as assessed from BMI was found to be maximum in Delhi subjects among both males and females. Kerala had a maximum number of underweight subjects in both males and females. Manipur males and females displayed a maximum number of normal weight subjects. On the basis of WHR, maximum numbers of Manipur females were in the risk category followed by Delhi and Kerala females but among males except for 4% of Delhi males none of them were in the risk category. On the other hand, WHtR gave a different picture with 20% Manipur females and 16% Delhi females to be in the risk category though all the Kerala females were in the normal category. Among males, 22% from Delhi, 16% from Manipur, and 2% Kerala were in the risk category.
Table 3: Prevalence of overweight, obesity, hypertension and forced expiratory ratio risk groups in the percentage among Delhi, Manipur and Kerala females and males
90% of Delhi females were in the normotensive category as against 42% among Delhi males. The 14% of both Manipur and Kerala females were in the prehypertensive category whereas none of the females in any of the three population groups were hypertensive with respect to SBP. However, 10% males from Manipur and 4% from Delhi were hypertensive on the basis of SBP. Maximum number of Delhi females (92%) had normal DBP. 20% Manipur females were prehypertensive followed by Kerala females, whereas 6% Kerala females and 2% Manipur females were hypertensive. Among males, maximum from Manipur (58%) were normotensive but from Kerala were prehypertensive (40%). Maximum males (36%) from Delhi were hypertensive followed by Kerala males (20%) with respect to diastolic BP. Maximum males from Delhi (22%) were found to be in the risk category followed by Delhi females (18%) with respect to PEFR.
[Table 4] displays correlation between regional and central obesity indices and cardio-respiratory health indicators among Delhi, Manipur, and Kerala females and males. Among Delhi females, SBP had significant (P < 0.01) positive correlation with BMI, GMT, WHR, and WHtR. Among Manipur females, systolic BP showed significant positive correlation with WHtR and WHR. DBP was significantly correlated with BMI (P < 0.01), GMT (P < 0.01), and WHtR (P < 0.05). Among Kerala females, none of the correlations between cardio-respiratory health indicators and adiposity indices were significant as was the case among Delhi and Manipur males. Among Kerala subjects, both systolic and diastolic BP showed significant correlation with BMI (P < 0.01), WHtR (P < 0.01), and GMT (P < 0.05). WHR showed statistically significant correlation only with diastolic BP (P < 0.05).
Table 4: Correlation between regional and central obesity indices and cardio-respiratory health indicators among females and males
General body fat deposition, assessed by BMI, GMT and fat percentage, was found to be highest among Delhi females and males. Overweight/obesity was most prevalent among Delhi subjects and underweight among Kerala subjects. However, central adiposity as assessed from WHR, WHtR, and CI was found to be significantly higher among the Manipur females signifying a relatively more androidal pattern of fat deposition, whereas among males Delhi subjects had higher central adiposity. More trunkal fat has been found to be independently related to cardio-vascular health problems [17] thereby indicating more cardiovascular health consequences among Manipur and Delhi subjects than Kerala subjects. Satwanti et al.[18] and Kapoor et al.[19] also observed an ethnic variation in the pattern of fat stored subcutaneously and internally. The ethnic differences in adiposity, and the intermediate values in admixed individuals, may stem from both genetic and environmental sources. [20] However, Luke et al.[3] suggested that environmental rather than genetic factors are the major drivers for ethnic differences in obesity.
The prevalence of prehypertension as assessed from SBP was highest among Manipur and Kerala females. On the basis of DBP, more Manipur females were prehypertensive followed by Kerala females, but prevalence of hypertension was highest among Kerala females. Prehypertension was maximum among Kerala males and hypertension among Delhi males. A relatively lesser number of females were found to be prehypertensive/hypertensive than their male counterparts in all the three groups. Although the central obesity was predominant among Manipur males and females despite them having less fat mass, the association between hypertension and pattern of fat deposition was clearer among Manipur females than males thus putting them to a greater risk of cardiovascular health problems.
All the lung functions were found to be more efficient among the Manipur males and females indicating a better respiratory efficiency and an adaptive role of higher physical activity at hilly terrains among Manipur males and females than their counterparts from plains.
Most of the inter-group differences for adiposity indices were significant, but not in the case of blood pressure in different ethnic groups. On the other hand, respiratory efficiency varied significantly between different ethnic groups. Respiratory efficiency is influenced by physical activity, blood pressure is a function of age and lifestyle, and body composition is due to differences in energy intake and physical activity, besides the differences in the genetic composition. These findings strengthen the association between the adiposity and physical activity level on one hand and that of respiratory efficiency and physical activity on the other. Prehypertension/hypertension was almost absent in a significant proportion in any of the groups, but the prevalence was relatively higher among Manipur males and females, which shows an independent relationship between central obesity and cardiovascular health risk. Body composition (i.e. fat vs. muscle, abdominal visceral fat vs. abdominal subcutaneous fat) may differ between ethnic groups due to genetic differences, or differences in energy intake and levels of physical activity. Due to this, the consequent risk of chronic diseases may not be the same in different ethnic groups. [21] Studies have demonstrated that social and economic factors are associated with CVD, [22] and because these factors are distributed unequally by sex and ethnicity, they may help to explain 'apparent' sex and ethnic differences in CVD distribution. [22]
In this study, WHtR has been found to be a better indicator for cardiovascular health among males and females as shown in the association between central obesity and blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure showed positive and significant association with most of the indices of adiposity among females of Delhi and Manipur. However, diastolic blood pressure showed positive and significant association among Kerala males only. Gender differences in the relationship of adiposity measures and blood pressure was also reported by Gerber et al. [23] Suman and Kapoor [24] reported a similar positive and significant association between BMI and blood pressure.
The North Indian (Delhi) subjects were found to be more obese, with highest general obesity and relatively poor lung functions, which can be attributed to their metropolitan city lifestyle, characterized by a relatively faster life, irregular food habits, more consumption of fast food, and lower physical activity. When macrostructural processes favor sedentarism and consumption of energy-dense food, [25] social disadvantage is associated with fewer resources for individuals opting for healthier lifestyles regarding dietary and physical activity patterns. [26] Ethnicity, an overlooked dimension of the obesity epidemic was related to different socioeconomic trajectories, thus representing one of the axes of social adversity associated with the weight change. [27]
Most subjects from Kerala were underweight according to BMI categories. Manipur subjects were characterized by higher central adiposity despite having lesser general obesity levels and best respiratory efficiency than rest of the subjects. Manipur subjects were more predisposed to prehypertension and hypertension along with having higher central adiposity, and also may be due to perpetual tension and questionable future because of insurgencies in the state. The remarkable variation in the prevalence of across populations suggests that social, economic and environmental factors have important influences on the epidemic, although it may be also true that genetic differences across populations play equally important role. [28]
Lifestyle indicators, socioeconomic status, and dietary habits influences the obesity level and health inference. It explains the existence of different levels of body mass index and other obesity indices in the same population. Obesity is more common among people of the higher socioeconomic status and those living in urban areas. Urbanization and economic development bring about improvement in the socio-economic status, nutritional transition, and sedentary lifestyle, which contributed to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated health problems especially in urban areas.
The three groups studied comprise of Indo-Aryan (North Indian), Mongoloid (North East Indian), and Dravidian (South Indian) populations which comprise most of the main ethnic groups of India. These ethnic groups are further subdivided into numerous subgroups, castes, and tribes in India. Although the populations studied here belonged to the three different ethnic groups, they do not represent all the regions and ethnic populations of India, which is the main limitation of the study.
Ethnicity is a complex construct of assured biology, but also cultural, language, religion, and importantly for epidemiologist, distinct health beliefs, and health behavior. The study of ethnic groups is of crucial value in determining the role of different exposures to disease risk, which could not be delivered by the sole study of a single ethnic group, and is an easy way of providing etiological clues. Further, the demonstration of variation in the ethnic group susceptibility to various diseases is of importance in directing public health interventions and health care resources. [29] Ethnic differences could be clearly seen in this study among the South Indians, North Indians, and North East Indians in general and regional obesity and its association with cardio-respiratory health. However, a larger sample size study would be of much help to make the ethnic specific cutoffs for indices of general and regional adiposity.
The authors are thankful to all the subjects for their cooperation and patience. The authors are grateful to University of Delhi, University Grants Commission and Department of Science and Technology, Delhi, India, for providing financial assistance.
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Mungreiphy N K
Dhall M
Tyagi R
Saluja K
Kumar A
Tungdim MG
Sinha R
Rongmei K S
Tandon K
Bhardwaj S
Kapoor AK
Kapoor S
Cardio-respiratory health


This oration will take you on a journey that saw the elevation of dentistry from a humble vocation to a respectable profession and then back again to an unwanted career.
Let me begin with a small story. In 1952 a young school teacher from a small village in the South of India travelled to several cities across the country in search of an opportunity to do a post graduation in botany. Unsuccessful, he was returning home via Bombay (now Mumbai), when he accidentally bumped into an old classmate from his village in the YMCA. The teacher was amazed to learn that his friend was doing a four year course in 'dentistry' in Bombay. It was at a time when Dentist or Dentistry was unheard of in the small towns and villages of India. The only dentist that the teacher knew of was a dubious gentleman who wore a black robe and pulled teeth at the weekly market. The teacher accompanied his friend on a visit to the Nair Hospital Dental College. After being surprised that dentistry was taught in a college for 4 years, he was further taken aback by the 5 storey buildings and the well dressed people going about in bow ties and white coats. On a whim, he joined the college. It was possible because there were vacant seats. Obviously, it was not a difficult task to gain admission into a dental institution. Certainly easier than an Msc in botany!! Four years later, the young school teacher became a qualified dentist.
This newly minted dentist was my father!
The story of my father Dr G Paulose, who passed away in 2008 after practicing dentistry for more than 50 years is more or less the story of modern dentistry. In his fifty years of practice he saw the establishment of dentistry as a specialty of medical science. It had grown into a sought after profession. As a Dentist he was recognized in society as an important health professional. He even saw the establishment of a dental college in his small city.
By the time of his death in 2008 he also witnessed the first signs of decadence and the dark side of the profession. Proliferation of colleges, cheap advertisements, unemployment, ethical misconduct and several ills had begun to creep into the once respected profession which he accidentally stepped into 50 years before. Dentistry had come a full circle. The period can be described best in the words of Charles Dickens "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times" Opening lines of Charles Dickens 'A Tale of Two cities" (Opening lines of Dickens 'tale of Two Cities).
From being a lucrative profession in the 1980s and 90s, dentistry is today crowded by mediocrity. As a profession it is losing its glamour. Hundreds of seats in Government Universities are going vacant. Dental education has moved back into the hands of the private sector where admissions are open to candidates with moderate scholastic ability. Thousands are jobless.
The number of dental colleges stagnated in the first 50 years of the twentieth century. There were just two colleges for a population of 350 million population in 1947 when India became independent. Forty years later in 1985 there were 21 dental colleges for a population of 750 million(2). This was a 10 fold increase in 40 years.( Figure 1) however, it was a necessary increase to meet the increasing demand for dental care. Over the next 20 years the increase became more dramatic. The number of college rose sharply to approximately 240 dental colleges by 2005.( Figure 2) This was an increase by 1200% in 20 years. A Government of India and WHO collaborative workshop on manpower resources in Delhi in 2006 concluded that the increase in the number of dentists had no impact on the dental health care in the country. Yet in the period from 2006 to 2010 the number of dental colleges went up to 291(3). This was due to the indiscriminate use of 'need' as a justification for issuing no objection certificates by the State governments and the DCI acquiescing to the increase. The amazing aspect of the increase in dental institutions was based on absolutely faulty data and projections. A significant data by Ahuja NK et al (4) shows a table which is equivocal. Titled as Growth in number of dental graduates from Indian Dental Schools, it shows a projection that there will be 30,000 by 2010. .( Figure 3) It is not clear whether this is per year or the existing dental graduates. We need to assume that it represents the total dental graduates as the number shown as 20,000 for 1990 is more or less the actual total number of dental surgeons in the country. Other reports showed that the number of dentists in relation to population may go down as expressed by S. Tandon (2004) that " in the near future there may be a reduced number of people entering these colleges as the rapid growth in the number of dentists might tend to discourage some prospective candidates who may feel that the increased competition would limit their future earnings" (5). This clearly has not happened because by most conservative estimates there were more than 200,000 dental graduates by 2010. The fact of the matter is that nobody including the Dental Council of India actually knows how many dentists there are in the country. On what basis the planning commission reiterated that India needs 200,000 more dentists is a fact nobody can answer. Is it ignorance or turning a blind eye to unplanned growth?
The Times of India has reported in 2011(6) that "as per a Planning Commission study, the country is short of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons." In fact Montek Singh Ahluvalia was repeatedly quoted in the past repeating that India needs 200,000 more dentists! Are we confirming George Bernard Shaw's cynical comment that there are "lies; damned lies and statistics!" Is the planning commission ignorant of the fact that the number of dentists increased from 20,000 (approx) in 1990 to nearly 200,000 in 2011.(Figure 4) Are they not aware that there has been a phenomenal growth in Dental colleges in the period of 2002 to 2012 because the State governments have been issuing essentiality certificates for anyone wanting to start a dental college?
I have analyzed the existing and validated statistics of Kerala to indicate how badly manpower resources are determined in India. Kerala had only 2 dental colleges graduating less than 100 students till 2003. It went up to 8 dental colleges in 2005 students and the number stands at 23 dental colleges in 2010.( Figure 5) The number of graduating dentists is 1300 per year. ( Figure 6A &B)The dentist to population ratio in Kerala stands at 1:3380 because there are approximately 10,000 registered dentists (7)for a population of 33.8 million. The ratio is about 1:4500 in Tamilnadu and less than 1:3000 in Karnataka. This is significant, because the WHO requirement is just 1:7500 (4) &(8).
Growth of dental institutions and graduating dentists can be likened to cancer. A College once started cannot be closed down when it fulfills its need. They will continue to churn out students year after year, long after the requirements are met. It is a kind of Cancer and the carcinogen is money. Like cancer it continues to grow long after the removal of the triggering cause or need. Like cancer, the sheer weight of numbers will cripple the profession and eventually kill it. Since the population growth is several times slower than the rate of the growing number of dentists this end is inevitable.
Coming back to the example of Kerala, let us assume that no more dental colleges will be sanctioned. It is necessary to understand that the decadal population growth (10 years) in Kerala is only 4.8% ( Pop increased from 33 million to 36 million in the last decade)(9). Today several of these colleges have applied for increase in seats. Even if we did not count these increased seats, by 2020 the dentist population ratio will be 1:1500 (approx). By 2030 the ratio will become 1:733. ( Figure 7)The last figure is ten times better than that recommended by the WHO. With increase in seats or increase in colleges it may end up as one dentist for every street or even worse. Can a Dentist actually survive as a professional??? Will the Government be able to close down dental colleges started by businessmen who would like to squeeze out the last paisa before abandoning the dental college project and move on to something else? NO! Apocalypse for dentistry in Kerala will therefore happen sooner than 2030. Maybe in five years from now! This will be replicated in every state in India. The next on the chopping block is my own state of Tamilnadu. Dentist Population Ration 1: 4500. Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra will all be in the same boat very soon. The other states including UP, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, MP etc will follow suit.
India today has the most number of dental colleges graduating more students than any other country. Compare India with the USA and China. China with a population slightly more than India has only 106 dental colleges compared to our very own 290 plus.( Figure 8) Has this made dental health in India better than China? No!
Ahuja et al actually conclude that though the national average Dentist Population ratio is about 1:10,000 the real picture is bleak. By some complicated mathematics (statistics again) they say that in rural areas a single dentist services 250,000 persons (4). On the other hand in a dense city like Delhi the Dentist to population ratio might be close to 1:1000. This may be true. But the solution lies not in increasing dentists but in redistributing them sensibly. There are large tracts of rural India that has never heard of a Dentist. The dentists are rushing to the rich who have greater visibility due to their conspicuous consumption. This brings us to the next question.
So why don't dentists start practices in rural India? There are two important factors. One is the cost of private dental education and the other is the inability of the poor to pay for advanced dental treatment. We will first need to understand and assimilate the fact that dentistry is expensive business and they can find a meaningful market for their skills only in the pockets of affluence in our country. Most Dentists today are the products of dental institutions that cost an arm and a leg to study in. 250 of the 291 colleges are in the private sector. Admissions to many of these colleges are invariably on the basis of capitation fees and/or exorbitant tuition fees. Students spend their family's life time earnings to study in these colleges. How can you expect them to go out and practice in rural India, especially the remote inaccessible regions of Northern India where even basic health care is not available? 'Go practice in rural India' is an easy instruction to give. Most of these dental graduates pile into the cities creating glut and unemployment.
It is just another example of unplanned growth. However we also need to ask why so many dental colleges were sanctioned? After all it is not the crying need of this country because millions die for want of basic medical care including preventable diseases like diarrhea, Tuberculosis, AIDS and even starvation and malnourishment. India needs only a fraction of the dentists who are in circulation. They can effectively fulfill the needs of a growing middle class that has expendable incomes to support high end dentistry. Why then have so many dental colleges been sanctioned?
We also need to ask why dentistry was handpicked for expansion when India needs so many more doctors, nurses, village health workers. The answer is simple. In fact it has nothing to do with fulfilling manpower requirements. There are four fundamental reasons.
Government apathy to the plight of protests from dentists.
Corrupt Government agencies, including regulators.
Dentistry was carefully chosen by business people venturing out into the business of education. They needed to make a quick buck and move on. The unscrupulous business people saw potential of better returns on investment in Dentistry. Better than medicine. Better than nursing. India is perhaps the only country in the world which has more dental colleges than medical colleges! It is an anachronism!.
The story of funding for dental education has an interesting and ironic twist to it. Dr R Ahmed (10) returned to India in the early 1900's as a qualified dentist from USA, bent on starting formal training in dentistry. R Ahmed went ahead and started the first Dental College in 1920. Nobody would fund it. In a flash of ingenuity he started a Soda Fountain (Ice cream parlour) which was a novelty in Calcutta. It was called the New York Soda Fountain. The business did very well and he used the profits of the ice cream parlour to procure equipment and pay the staff of the new dental college. He donated the Dental College to the Government of West Bengal in 1949.
Today, it is a complete reversal of roles from the time when the likes of R Ahmed funded education through his own business to the present when dental education funds the wealthy life styles of business entrepreneurs in collusion with willing regulators and Government agencies. Inadvertent or purposeful reliance on skewed statistics and apathy to the plight of dentists is another reason. George Santyana (11)the philosopher once said " Those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it" . It is emblazoned at the memorial for the genocide of Jews in Auschwitz. It is a lesson we can do with. The fact that in 2012, the Kerala government is planning to have more dental colleges is an indication that we may never learn from our past.
Adlai Stevenson the philosopher/ statesman once said "It is easier to fight for principles rather than abide by them". I do not claim any great moral authority to prescribe for a better tomorrow. In fact many of us have knowingly or unknowingly been a part of the problem. That how ever does not exclude us from being part of the solution. I shall lay down my humble observances in the full knowledge that it needs more than verbal support for change.
A major restructuring of the regulatory bodies. The NCHRH is already on the anvil. The checks and balances seem adequate. I do not believe that a bureaucracy will be necessarily above board. It is however the best we have. Graduating dentists have every right to make a decent living. However a non meritorious student who has obtained admission through money power is unlikely to uphold the values of a health care provider- which is a little more than just making money. It does not matter whether it is merit in Government Colleges or Private institutions. Admissions should be on the basis of merit. The classic case of the bar being lowered to allow mediocrity can be found in the 2007 BDS regulation of the DCI(12). Most people are unaware that the minimum marks required to gain entry into dentistry has been lowered to 40% for backward communities. It was previously only for Scheduled Castes. This was done insidiously to allow the children of the rich and powerful with low marks. Today Dentistry is the only professional course where backward communities can gain entry with 40%. Nursing, Pharmacy, Homeopathy and every other professional admission requires 50% in the qualifying examination for even backward communities. This is the same regulation that sought to scrap internship and which was thankfully restored in 2011. These nefarious regulations to suit some persons need to be corrected if dentistry is to be seen as a profession for achievers. Lowered standards of entry requirement and the role of 'seats for cash' has made dentistry the course for the intellectually challenged. It has become a profession for mediocre abilities. A body like the NCHRH is more likely to provide checks and balances at entry and exit level. It is at least accountable.
There has to be a rationalization of the number of dentists in the country. While calling for a moratorium on new colleges, I am also forced to recommend the closing or merging of several defunct dental colleges. Many believe that this is impossible. In that case the survival of dentistry will also be impossible beyond 3 decades. Here I would invoke the Flexner report prepared by Dr Abraham Flexner.
In 1900 a gentleman called Abraham Flexner was faced with a similar situation in the USA. There were too many Medical Schools and the standards were appalling. There was no uniformity or a level playing field. Abraham Flexner was appointed by the Federal Government with a grant from the Carnegie Foundation to study the matter in detail. In 1910 he recommended that 50% of the colleges/ schools did not deserve to exist.(13) The Government acted on this recommendation and closed down or merged colleges. It also imposed restrictions on seats and several measures including exit examinations to rationalize medical education.
Only Tamilnadu and Kerala have come forward through their IDA to counter some of these issues.
We must rise as one and stand up against injustice. It is our profession. It is our future. If we do not speak up now it may be too late.
Proceedings of the WHO/GOI workshop on manpower resources in Dentistry, New Delhi 2006.


When I was younger i used to love sitting alone by the water just listening to music for hours on my crappy walkman. Sometimes it was so quite my mind would wander.
I remember once thinking about. If you were the spirit of someone that had passed what would you do with all your time ( i was super emo i know)? Then I thought… sitting looking out to the water… probably this… but just for longer.
And as always if you wanna check out what i am doing.
I have a new store!


SO SO excited to announce the MOST epic after party!!! Grab your fellow teamies and join us for an OPEN BAR with call brand cocktails, a DJ and an entire upstairs area closed off for JUST US!!!
The leaders have gotten together and chipped in to make this event less money per ticket!!! Please tell them thank you!!! Be sure and snag the early bird pricing!!
No, but you will need to show a screen shot or ID matching your ticket you will not get in without showing proof of ticket purchase.
I can't or won't drink can I come and not pay for a ticket?
Unfortunately, no. In order to secure a private space in such a high demand area we must pay a premium. We will have an entire upstairs area + a DJ.


text:
Amazing video premiere by an amazing songwriter. Check it out! http://t.co/hwVaJWQG5g 09:19:55 AM March 27, 2013 from Facebook ReplyRetweetFavorite
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@GrlGuideCollege
Original Edition
Updated Edition
Dorm Decoration
The Inside Scoop on College Campuses
Surviving Classes
The Summer Before College
College Health and Wellness
Alcohol and Drugs on Campus
Sex, Hooking Up, and Relationships
The updated edition of A Girl's Guide to College not only reflects how much has changed on college campuses since I was a college student myself, but also a change in perspective, now that I've been in the "real world" for several years now and look back at my college years with a different pair of eyes. What has made the book so successful, however, is that the advice always comes straight from college girls as they are living the college life. As such, while writing this new edition, I enlisted a wonderfully wise and intelligent team of college girls from all over the country—my "college life consultants"—whose personal stories and insights into college life not only helped make this updated edition accessible to a new generation, but also provided unique perspectives to complement my own. I'm so grateful to all of them—taking the time out of their valuable summer, no less—for their contributions to the book!
Excerpt from the Preface to the Updated Edition
When I wrote the first edition of A Girl's Guide to College as a senior in college in 2003, I didn't own a mobile phone (nor did most of my friends), and social-networking websites didn't exist. The idea of attending class "online" was a completely foreign concept, and for the most part, academic research required the Dewey decimal system and a long hunt through rows of dusty books in the physical space of a library. A great deal has changed in the past eight years. College social and academic life is dominated by technology, as students make weekend plans by checking their friends' social-networking profiles and fulfill course requirements by logging on to virtual learning environments.
This new edition has been updated to account for this major shift in the lifestyle of college students. While doing research for this update, however, I found that when it comes to college life, some things will forever remain the same. As such, much of the book's content remains unchanged from the original edition. After all, college life for any generation will invariably be a time of exploration and discovery, personal growth and its accompanying growing pains, and a setting for unparalleled and life-changing relationships and experiences.
Preface to the Updated Edition
Introduction—Well, it's about time, isn't it?
Chapter One—The Summer Before College: What to Do
Chapter Two—Your New Home: Turning a Shoebox into a Palace
Chapter Three—Friend or Enemy: Getting Along with Your Roommate
Chapter Four—Why You Are Here: The Skinny on Classes
Chapter Five—Health and Wellness: Taking Care of Yourself
Chapter Six—Getting Social: Meeting People and Having Fun
Chapter Seven—Sex and the "Dating" Scene: Hookups, Relationships, and Everything In Between
Chapter Eight—Being Independent: Laundry, Money, and Other Grown-Up Stuff
Conclusion—Looking back at four irreplaceable years
© 2021 Traci Maynigo. All rights reserved. | Site Terms of Use

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
February 7, 2023 | Leave a Comment
University of Adelaide's Professor Shizhang Qiao and Associate Professor Yao Zheng from the School of Chemical Engineering led an international team that successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen. Professor Qiao said, "We have split natural seawater into oxygen and hydrogen with nearly 100 per cent efficiency, to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis, […]
A City University of Hong Kong research team has successfully mediated poor charge carrier transport at low voltage by adding phosphorus to a metal oxide catalyst. Metal oxides are a promising catalyst for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to produce hydrogen as an alternative fuel. However, their effectiveness is restricted at low voltage. Adding phosphorus reduced […]
Solar Power Drives Plastic and CO2 Into Fuel Products
Open Image…Save ImageOpen Image (using #TmpD/ia)… University of Cambridge researchers have developed a solar energy powered system that can transform plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels and other valuable products. The system can convert two waste streams into two chemical products at the same time. Its likely to be the first time this has been achieved in a […]
Explaining How Biomass Could Replace All Of Aviation Fuel
January 5, 2023 | Leave a Comment
Arizona State University research shows a pathway toward full decarbonization of U.S. aviation fuel use by substituting conventional jet fuel with sustainably produced biofuels. The study found that planting the grass miscanthus on 23.2 million hectares of existing marginal agricultural lands – land that often lays fallow or is poor in soil quality – across […]
New Microbe Fixes Nitrogen To Make Methane And Fertilizer
Open Image…Save ImageOpen Image (using #TmpD/ia)… Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology scientists have successfully enhanced cultivation of a microorganism that can fix nitrogen (N2) while producing methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) and investigated exciting details of its metabolism. Carbon and nitrogen are essential elements of life. Some organisms take up key positions for the cycling of both of them […]


Note: This recipes for Xiao Long Bao is very complex, basically an article—10 pages—rather than a post. Jan and daughter Miriam suggest that blog readers generally do not like such long posts. This recipe is actually four recipes in one, so I will post three of these as separate posts with an introductory and concluding post. For my readers who do not mind reading a long post, I will also post the entire article separately.
Note: Of particular interest—to anyone wishing to make Chinese dumplings—will be the discussion of the science of dumpling dough.
Xiao long bao (小笼包, literally "little-basket bun") is the hot new food in San Jose this year—several restaurants have opened or recently started specializing in these Asian delights. XLBs—for short—is a kind of dim sum that falls somewhere between a steamed bun (baozi) and a dumpling (jiaozi). Both of these are usually filled with meat and/or vegetables. Boazi tend to be dry both inside and out. Jiaozi may be moister inside, but are frequently put into a soup. With xiao long bao the hot savory soup is actually already inside the bun with the filling. Son-in-law Chris has challenged me to learn to make this uniquely Shanghai dish.
Note: Although the Taiwanese claim it as their own.
This turned out to be a very complicated and time consuming recipe. It is not for the faint of heart, but the payoff is well worth it—it produces a spectacularly tasty treat. One way of making the production of them more enjoyable is to prepare all of the ingredients up to the point where you are ready to roll out and fill the wrappers. You then invite a group of friends to help you roll, fill, and eat the dumplings. A couple of glasses of wine, some good conversation, and you have a party.
I examined a lot of recipes online for clues to both ingredients and techniques for this dish. there was very little agreement on any aspect of making them. The basic recipe has four major parts—the soup, the filling, the wrappers, and the dipping sauce.
There are wrong ways and a right way to eat XLBs. Do not simply bite in to the bun. If it has been served properly—i.e. straight from the steamer—it will flood your mouth with scalding soup. You are also not supposed to put it in a bowl and pop it open to let the soup drain out. The correct way is to hold it in your Chinese spoon and nibble a hole in the wrapper. You then sip out the soup. You may then add some of the dipping sauce and—after the dumpling has cooled slightly—gobble it down.
Note: I made a napa cabbage and carrot salad as a side dish to this meal.
After Dinner Note: I made about nine dumplings per person. None of them survived to be leftovers.


Civil War divides a nation, yet nothing will stop Grayson Drake from breaking Corporal Marx Wellbourne out of a Union prison. Assigned to bring Wellbourne to Richmond, Grayson soon discovers not only is the Corporal courting death, but he's also the same man he coveted from afar four years ago in a Charleston brothel.
Pursued by the villainous warden of the prison, Major Britton Darkmore, nothing is as it seems when intrigue, danger and passion collide on the Long, Hard Ride back to Richmond.
The title and the Civil War genre first attracted my attention to Long Hard Ride by Keta Diablo [Decadent Publishing, 2010] and as an in-the-saddle story it delivers quite well. However, it is more of a period story, as apposed to historical fiction, for the American Civil War is merely a backdrop. Nonetheless, I will quickly add there is nothing wrong with this except the tag.
The crux of the story is that Marx Wellbourne is being held in a hellhole of a Union prison, known by its pejorative, "Helmira," and is in dire straights. But inside his head are battle secrets that the South is desperate to know, and so Grayson Drake is sent to spring him from this maximum security institution.
The warden, Major Britton Darkmore, is a stereotypical villain who psycho-pathetically guards his 'no-escape' record, and so when Wellbourne is sprung the pursuit is on from New York State, to Richmond, Virginia.
Along the way Grayson and Wellbourne have a rather tempestuous relationship, with neither one trusting the other, but they nonetheless manage to get it on both hot and heavy—such, that an uneasy love bond is formed.
Critically speaking, the writing is both strong and mature. The sentence and paragraph structures are smooth, such that the reader isn't stubbing a toe over rough patches, and the dialogue is effective and believable.
As I have also alluded above, the characters are well developed but somewhat stereotypical—villainous warden, macho and omni-capable hero, and a reluctant lover. Nevertheless, they are consistent and made to play their parts well.
The plot is also clever, but being a bit 'fantastic' it could have benefited from more development. For instance, the secretive agency for which Drake worked could have done with more expansion to make it credible, and the happenstance surrounding Wellbourne's escape from Elmia Prison—as well the old boy's lodge that just happened to be there when it was needed—could have used some further thought.
Nonetheless, overall it was an entertaining read that had some top-rate moments. Recommended. Three and one-half stars.
This past week I entered into a deal with Maple Creek Media to format Two Irish Lads in eBook format. This will be a stand-alone publication with a new cover design by Alex Beecroft and a separate ISBN number. Therefore, this old scribe is entering (slowly) into the 21st-century.
The manuscript for Nor All Thy Tears: Journey to Big Sky is now in the hands of the publisher, and so it is on schedule for a July, 2011, release.


Q: Does Forever Young buy and trade CDs, Music DVDs, and cassette tapes?
A: Yes. The times to bring these items in the store are during any business hours except during the first half hour and during the last half hour of the day. We must have the time and the cash to take care of buys for the items you would want to sell. A half hour is usually enough for both. If you have a high volume collection to sell please come during weekdays after 12 noon and before 8pm. You may not leave the items you are selling and come back later to pick them up unless authorized by the manager or employee on duty.
Q: Does Forever Young buy records or collectible memorabilia?
We do not buy Autographs on a regular basis. That is not our business and isn't easy to verify the authenticity. If you do have an autograph you want to try to sell then bring the best proof of authenticity you have and we will evaluate whether that is enough for us to buy or not. We are not usually interested in classical albums or Readers Digest collections.
Q: Does Forever Young have an online store?
A: Yes - you're looking at it!
Q: Do you ship items in the USA and or overseas?
A: Yes. We will ship any items in stock around the globe. Shipping & Handling fees apply and are determined by item, weight, and destination.
Q: How do I place a mail order item?
A: We prefer to process all mail order by phone using a credit card (Visa/Mastercard only). This will guarantee your item. If you wish to send a payment to us through the mail then let the person filling out the mail order form know this. Personal check and US Postal money orders are accepted.


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Q: jquery .live on load function I need a way to use the jquery .live() function to act on a elements that is loaded via ajax.
For eg. a div is loaded via ajax .load()
Normally we use .live() with a  event to handle ajax loaded data, but I need to handle this div on every time the ajax data is loaded with load event.
following is my code that doesn't work, but I want to do something like this:
    $('#hidden').live('load',function(){
        hiddenInfo = $('#hidden').text();
    });

A: A more general approach is to broadcast a custom event, inside the Ajax success event, using trigger  so you can use on (in preference to live, please);
success: function(data) {
    $("#hidden").html(data);
    $("#hidden").trigger("panelloaded");   // Just pick a name not already used
}

Then you can have
$('#hidden').on('panelloaded',function(){
    hiddenInfo = $('#hidden').text();
});

or a delegated version if the element itself can change:
$(document).on('panelloaded', '#hidden', function(){
    hiddenInfo = $('#hidden').text();
});

In theory, you could use "load" as the event name (and not change your code at all), but I am not sure what other clashes you might have as load is such a common term.

A: Just do something in the AJAX callback once it's loaded, eg:
success: function(data) {
    $("#hidden").html(data);
    hiddenInfo = data.text; //or whatever
}

Or hook into the global AJAX complete event to do something everytime an AJAX event finishes.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Modify variable using a sub/function I am trying to add a + sign in front of certain variables if they are positive.
ex:
Sub mySub()
    Dim cash As Variant
End Sub

It works well if I do:
Dim plus As String
plus = "+"

If cash > 0 Then
  cash = plus & cash
  Else
  cash= cash
End If

But I was looking for a sub or function that would take all my variables and add a + sign in front of them if they are positive.
sub NewSub(i As Variant)
    If i > 0 Then
       i = plus & i
       Else
       i = i
    End If
End sub

But it doesn't seem to work as it doesn't show me anything (I then display my variables in a cell in excel). And a function doesn't work either.
Any ideas on how to create a sub/function to do that? Can I loop through my variables in any way ?

A: First off, start using Option Explicit which forces you to explicitly declare every variable and will catch mismatch errors in the VBA editor and not at runtime.
Next, if you are going to change a numerical variable to a string by prefacing a 'plus' sign onto the left end then the original variable will have to be a variant type. If you want to pass a parameter into a sub procedure and have the sub change it then the parameter must be ByRef.
Alternately, you could push the variable into a function and return the new value.
Option Explicit

Sub main()
    Dim cash As Variant, cash2 As Variant

    cash = 10
    Debug.Print cash    '10 (as number)

    AddPlus cash
    Debug.Print cash    '+10 (as string)

    cash = 10
    Debug.Print cash    '10 (as number)

    cash = udfAddPlus(cash)
    Debug.Print cash    '+10 (as string)

End Sub

Sub AddPlus(ByRef i As Variant)
    If i > 0 Then
       i = "+" & i
    Else
       i = i
    End If
End Sub

Function udfAddPlus(i As Variant)
    If i > 0 Then
       udfAddPlus = "+" & i
    Else
       udfAddPlus = i
    End If
End Function

The Debug.Print command sends output to the VBE's Immediate window.


Just My Apps is a website that showing our mobile Apps/Games for iOS/Android platform . These Apps Currently live in Apple Apps Store & Google Play Store . The Apps & Games Published by Developer : Hussain Barakat .
Hussain Barakat is an iOS Apps Developer & Mobile Apps Publisher Since the beginning of 2012 . Since that date had successfully Published Multiple Apps & Games for iOS Platform . In 2019 , we started publish games for Android Platform also . We Focus on Mobile Platform to Provide a best experience to the users .
Video Editor : Easy Cut videos !


Who doesn't love riddles? Growing up, riddles would often be passed around the playground. The person who got the most riddles would be considered the brightest one, while the one who couldn't answer any riddles would be the dunce. But growing up, we realize that sometimes, riddles aren't a test of intelligence, but more of a test of how well you pay attention to a simple question while also giving a simple answer!
Even as adults, we can still enjoy them. Because not only do they tease your brain, but they're also great for a laugh and maybe a bit of discussion afterwards. They can also be used as quick ice breakers for group activities or for getting to know new acquaintances a little better. Below are some brainteasers you might want to ask your friends.
1. Question: A is the father of B. But B is not the son of A. How's that possible?
2. Question: You have a match and you enter a wagon with a candle, a lamp and a fireplace. Which one do you light first?
3. Question: There was an airplane crash, every single person on board died, but yet two people survived. How is this possible?
4. Question: How can a man go eight days without sleep?
5. Question: If there are 6 apples and you take away 4, how many do you have?
6. Question: If Mr. Smith's peacock lays an egg in Mr. Jones' yard, who owns the egg?
7. Question: A 10-foot rope ladder hangs over the side of a boat with the bottom rung on the surface of the water. The rungs are one foot apart, and the tide goes up at the rate of 6 inches per hour. How long will it be until three rungs are covered?
8. Question: A farmer had 752 sheep and took one shot that got them all. How did he do it?
Answer: He took a panoramic view!
9. Question: Which letter of the English alphabet flies, sings, and stings?
10. Question: Name all the numbers from 1 – 100, which have the letter 'A' in their spellings?
Answer: Neither. Penguins don't fly.
13. Question: You have 20 apples in a basket. 20 children come to you and each one of them ask for an apple. You want to give all the apples to each one of them, but still keep one inside the basket? How will you do it?
Answer: Give all the 19 apples to each one of them and give the basket to the last child with the apple still inside it.
14. Question: Bob's father has 4 children. Momo, Meme, and Mumu are three of them. Who's the fourth?
15. Question: It was a Sunday morning. Father was getting the mail, mother was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, little brother was playing Nintendo, big brother was playing the guitar, little sister was playing with dolls, and big sister was listening to music. Then everyone went into big sisters room and she was murdered! Who murdered her?
Answer: The father because it was a Sunday and no one gets mail on Sunday!
16. Question: What breaks and never falls and what falls and never breaks?
17. Question: You are a cyclist in a cross-country race. Just before the crossing finish line, you overtake the person in second place. In what place did you finish?
Answer: Second Place. If you pass the person in second, you take second place, and they become third.
18. Question: A family lived in a round hut. The father came back from work and found the mother dead. The first said he was watching television, the second said he was drawing, the third one said he was reading in a corner. Who did it?
Answer: The youngest, because it's a ROUND hut, no corners!
19. Question: Why is it against the law for a man living in North Carolina to be buried in South Carolina?
Answer: Because he's not dead yet.
20. Question: A girl kicks a soccer ball. It goes 10 feet and comes back to her. How is this possible?
Answer: She kicked it up.
21. Question: How many sides does a circle have?
22. Question: A man went outside in the pouring rain with no protection, but not a hair on his head got wet. How come?
23. Question: An electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10mph. Which way does the smoke blow?
24. Question: A man and his son were in an automobile accident. The man died on the way to the hospital, but the boy was rushed into surgery. The emergency room surgeon said "I can't operate, that's my son!" How is this possible?
25. Question: What has 4 wheels & flies?
26. Question: What two words, when combined hold the most letters?
27. Question: What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is every night?
28. Question: How many legs does an elephant have if you count his trunk as a leg?
Answer: Four. Because calling the trunk a leg doesn't make it a leg.
29. Question: If a plane crashes on the border between the US and Mexico, where do they bury the survivors?
Answer: Survivors generally are never buried.
30. Question: How much dirt is there in a hole 3 feet deep, 6 feet long and 4 feet wide?
Answer: None, or it wouldn't be a hole.
31. Question: A rooster laid an egg on top of the barn roof. Which way did it roll?
Answer: It didn't roll – roosters don't lay eggs.
32. Question: A man dressed in all black is walking down a country lane. Suddenly, a large black car without any lights on comes round the corner and screeches to a halt. How did the car know he was there?
33. Question: If a doctor gives you 3 pills and tells you to take one pill every half hour, how long would it take before all the pills had been taken?
Answer: 1 hour. Take the 1st pill right away, half an hour later take the 2nd and half an hour after that the 3rd. Total time spent: 1 hour.
34. Question: Is it legal for a man to marry his widow's sister?
Answer: No, because he would be dead.
35. Question: Larry's father has five sons named Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty. What is the name of the 5th?
36. Question: What goes up and down, but still remains in the same place?
37. Question: What has a head and a tail but no body?
38. Question: Imagine you are in a sinking row boat surrounded by sharks. How would you survive?
39. Question: How many times can you subtract 10 from 100?
40. Question: You have a cup placed on a table. You are pointing towards the North and the cup is facing towards the South. On which side is the cup's handle?
Answer: No matter in which position the cup is, its handle will always be on the outside!
41. Question: When a Monkey, bird and squirrel race up a coconut tree. Which one gets the banana first?
Answer: None of them because coconuts do not grow on bananas.
42. Question: Tom had 3 big fish and 3 small fish in an aquarium. Due to negligence, 1 big fish and 2 small fish died. How many remain in the water?
Answer: 2 big fish and 1 small fish would remain in the water, and the other three would float on the surface of the water.
43. Question: Clark Kent does 5 sets of pushup, 6 sets of sit-up, 7 sets of squat, and 8 sets of bench dip in a day. So, which organ in his body would be the largest?
45. Question: Why is it a felony to bury a giant bear who lives in a rainforest, in a desert?
46. Question: Which two days of the week begins with letter T other than Tuesday and Thursday?
47. Question: My neighbor Bob is a blacksmith. He is 45 years old, 7 ft. tall, and eats all the time. Guess what he weighs.
48. Question: When you jump off from the roof third-floor building, where would you land?
49. Question: What is it that each person possesses and when they give it to someone, that person will give it right back to them?
50. Question: Who will become the president if the vice president dies?
51. Question: Always people need me most every day but they give me away still. Who am I?
52. Question: If we had 10 birds on a tree then a hunter shoots 1. How many were left?
Answer: 0 as the rest of the birds will be scared and fly away.
53. Question: What begins with an 'e' ends with an 'e' and it only has one letter?
54. Question: A man walks into a restaurant and the waiter says, "Good day, Admiral." Why did the waiter call the man an Admiral?
Answer: Because he was wearing his uniform!
55. Question: I have no voice, yet I speak to you. I tell of all things in the world that people do. I have leaves, but I am not a tree. I have pages, but I am not a bride. I have a spine, but I am not a man. I have hinges, but I am not a door. I have told you all. I cannot tell you more. What am I?
56. Question: A large wooden box was built with one door. The door was locked from the inside, and then nailed shut from the inside. The police break into the room. In the middle of the room there is a dead man hanging from the ceiling, with his shoes 3 feet off the ground. The only other thing in the room is a hammer lying in a puddle of water. Can you explain what happened?
Answer: He committed suicide by hanging himself when the ice melted.
57. Question: A man is looking at a photograph of someone. His friend asks who it is. The man replies, "Brothers and sisters, I have none. But that man's father is my father's son." Who was in the photograph?
59. Question: What is heavier, a ton of metal or a ton feathers?
Answer: Both are the same.
60. Question: What is the most poisonous snake in the world?
Answer: No poisonous snakes but only venomous ones.
61. Question: When there was a blackout, how did the bus driver see a dog on the road?
Answer: It was during the day.
62. Question: What is a 10 letter word that has thousands of words in it?
63. Question: When does 1+1 not equal to 2?
Answer: When you make a mistake.
64. Question: Which three letters changes a girl to a woman?
65. Question: In which way can you draw a square with three lines?
Answer: You draw a square with three lines at the center.
66. Question: What has a head at night but none during the day?
67. Question: What gets bigger the more you take it out?
68. Question: Where was a declaration of independence signed?
69. Which month has 28 days?
Answer: They all have 28 days; some just have a little more.
70. Heavy it is, but reverse it is not.
Now don't you feel just a tad bit smarter because of these brain teasers? Let us know below which of these quick riddles you like best and which ones left you even more puzzled than before!
Next articleWhat Does It Mean When A Guy Stares At You But Doesn't Smile?


September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 Kausus11 Comments on The WakuWafu Award!
So, with the sea of awards floating out their, the team at WakuWafu have stirred up some ingredients and made us a very special soup to taste! The soup being a brand, spanking new award! We were lucky to be chosen as on the firts round of award recipients and we are totally humbled and honored by this! If you haven't seen their site, do feel free to click that hyper linked text to get straight to their website. Tell them Kausus sent ya and they will take care of you! So, let's move to the rules!
Pretty simple and straight forward. Not a lot of fluff or stuff to mess with and that is what I like! Now we shall cut into this delicious cake… wait, this was a soup wasn't it? Okay, let's just say we froze the soup and lightly thawed it, then we shall cut into and continue on! Good save. Here are our three random, trivial things to tell you all about us i.e. Kausus.
I hated writing in high school. I felt it was lackluster and a complete waste of time.
I love to talk to fans of my site and fellow authors. You will find, I don't really mind you sending random messages or emails. I love engaging and talking with you all!
I have a YouTube channel that is no longer active. I wanted to do let's plays and other things. Try and find it if you are all curious.
Post edit… we may have forgotten the piece of advice to give to fellow and perspective followers… SO here is this. Do it. Not a just do it but, pursue that goal, passion, dream. Don't let yourself feel like what you do will be weighed against you. Because the truth of the matter is that no matter what we do or write, it will always be judged by one person or the next. The sooner one can learn to look past those hard moments, those pressures, the easier it is to do what you are passionate about. I went into this knowing full well my website might fade off into a dark corner, but I was persistent in pushing myself each and everyday. No matter the pad rep I may get, it is only the opinion of a few weighted against the opinion of yourself. You will always come out on top over what they say but, never turn a blind eye to that criticism. Continue to read it and study it, learn from it to better yourself in the long run.
Now time for three, harmless questions to ask you all that get nominated! Since no limit was mentioned I will be doing three nominations for three website I feel need some love! These are a few blogs I felt deserved better attention than we did and you all should give these three a look at! All of them are super fun the chat with! Matthew is a pretty awesome fellow! He has a great love for anime and all topics. Wanimu, is the best. She put's it out there like it is and her articles have such flavor in them! Takuto, is a new face to us but his enthusiasm is outstanding and his blog is cafe themed. Honestly, it is freaking amazing how he managed to set that blog up.
That will do it for this award post! We look forward to seeing more of these award posts going out from the awesome duo at WakuWafu. It takes a lot to come up with a brand new award just off the bat but, I am fairly sure this is something the two of them have been working on for sometime now. They are also looking for authors and bloggers to help them with some stuff! If you are interested in their content, then follow this link and leave them both a comment or be sure to follow them on Twitter and let them know!.This has been Kausus, hope you all have an amazing wonderful day!
Sounds like Pizza! Or Spaghetti. Or both. : 3 Either way, we are humbled and looking forward to it!
Doesn't like writing – Writes in a blog 😉 funny how things turn out, right?
And thank you very much! I humbly accept this award, and I'm glad to hear that you like my set up (it honestly wasn't too hard to come up with, but perhaps I should start putting up real pictures of food or something so folks don't get even more confused >.<)! I will get to following through with this sometime after I finish the 30 day song challenge. Sometime, it will be up, I hope!
Hehe, and if you were with me in person, I'd be more than happy to serve you up some! I think the rest of my comment was cut off for something, that or it's just not showing up. What the rest of it said was that I'll get to posting as soon as I can once I finish the 30 day song challenge. Thanks again!
Yup, keep up the awesome work!


The bier pours a clear very dark deep ruby color with an off white head. This bier is also highly carbonated with tons of tiny bubbles rising up from the bottom of the glass. There is an interesting effect with the head. The head started out fairly rich and almost creamy looking.
The head gradually changed to a very soapy head and then collapsed to just about nothing. I suspect that this was caused by the tremendous amount of carbonation rising up from the bier. I seemed that all of this extra gas created the larger bubbles and then collapsed the head. Just an interesting observation I thought was worth noting.
The nose has sweet caramel malts, some spicy notes, maybe some of those dark fruit esters, all with that wonderful Belgian yeasty/bready/earthy background.
Wow, this is so carbonated I really didn't taste much. The taste started out with sweet caramel malts but from mid sip on the high effervescence took over and literally washed away any flavors. You regain some use of the taste buds on the finish when the only thing to sense is lingering yeasty notes.
This is so carbonated I am actually getting a bloated feeling. It is also extremely yeasty. Now I drink a fair amount of Belgians and I love their yeasty characteristic but this is very unusual. I don't remember this bier having this taste and high carbonation last year. I'm starting to think that this particular bottle may be over carbonated.
The bier is still highly carbonated. As it warms the yeasty character now has almost a bitter quality to it. This is strange even for a Belgian; I can't help but think something went wrong with this bottle.
The high carbonation and the yeast are masking any other flavors this bier may have.
I'm going to stop this review here. This is just not getting any better and I know this cannot be a fair representation of this ale; there is definitely something wrong with this bottle. I don't know enough to know what it is but I suspect that it was released too early and was not properly conditioned.
This was the second Belgian dud I had this season. Just the other night I opened another bottle of Delirium Noel and it was flat.
I'll update this post if I purchase another bottle or get a better explanation for this.
I'm hoping you just had a bad bottle.
Hi William, Thanks for the comment.
I also hope you have a better experience. This was a year ago so hopefully it was just still young and need to age.
Please let me know how it was.


text:
Vanquish Worldwide | Maryville-based Vanquish Worldwide marks eighth anniversary - Vanquish Worldwide
Maryville-based Vanquish Worldwide marks eighth anniversary
May 28, 2015	Commercial Trucking, Company Growth, Contracts, Contracts, Delivering Excellence, News Feed, Transportation, Vanquish Staff
By The Daily Times staff —
Maryville-based Vanquish Worldwide, a once grass-roots business which has become an international multimillion-dollar company, is celebrating its eighth anniversary.
In a news release, Vanquish Worldwide founder, President and CEO Eric W. Barton attributed the company's success to continuous strategic moves.
With specialties in transportation, logistics, security services, facility support, vehicle maintenance, manpower and project management services, Vanquish continues to expand its client base, bringing significant revenue growth year after year.
The daily focus on quality work and "delivering excellence" differentiates Vanquish as a top-rated contracting firm, Barton said. Positive reviews from current clients are well documented and continue to lead to the company's coast-to-coast growth in both the government and commercial sectors, he said.
"As we enter our eighth year supporting the government overseas and across the U.S., our commitment to providing unparalleled service and reliability is steadfast, and it shows since we continue to not only win contracts but work past the base years into option periods on our contracts," Barton said.
Second contract for Army
In May, Vanquish completed a second contract for the U.S. Army Strategic Command's 1st Space Brigade and recently began its third year on two other government contacts in the U.S.:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 Warehouse Equipment Services contract in Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and Anchorage, Alaska.
United States Marine Corps (USMC) Flight Line Vehicle Maintenance contract in Beaufort, S.C., Cherry Point and New River, N.C.
Additionally, Vanquish Worldwide has been providing support base services to the U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii (USAG-HI) at installations across Oahu since September 2012.
'Focus time'
Slow periods in government spending over the last few years translated to "focus time" for Vanquish's business development and transportation teams; hence the birth of Vanquish Logistics, an addition of its transportation division, in 2013. Vanquish now supports over 50 commercial clients providing superior ground carrier services to all 50 states and Canada.
"Our diversification into the commercial transportation sector has allowed us to achieve steady growth and fine-tune our transportation and logistics expertise," Barton said. "Even as government shutdowns and sequestration nearly paralyzed the government contracting industry, we were able to stay our course and expand our services."
Find the story online at: http://www.thedailytimes.com/news/maryville-based-vanquish-worldwide-marks-eighth-anniversary/article_b1767b5c-8b13-588d-86f0-a5335dac0d8d.html#.VWb0iKoFWx4.facebook


Malibu has reached a $6.6-million legal settlement with environmental groups that both sides say will protect beachgoers by reducing the amount of polluted storm runoff that reaches the ocean.
The settlement of a 2008 federal Clean Water Act lawsuit against the city by Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council was approved Friday by a unanimous vote of the Malibu City Council during a special closed-session meeting.
The agreement requires Malibu to build rain-water harvesting, infiltration or treatment devices to catch storm water before it is released from 17 storm drains throughout the city. In all, the work will cost about $5.6 million, said City Atty. Christi Hogin, who noted that Malibu is already undertaking 11 of those projects.
The city also agreed to pay the environmental groups $750,000 in legal fees and set aside $250,000 to fund an ocean health assessment of Santa Monica Bay in collaboration with scientists at Cal State Northridge.
Water quality experts have long identified storm runoff -- the toxic soup that flows toward the ocean when it rains -- as the top source of water pollution at Southern California beaches and a key cause of swimmer illnesses.
"By curbing the biggest sources of pollution in the Santa Monica Bay, we can keep trips to Malibu beaches carefree, and prevent people from getting sick when they go in the ocean," Steve Fleischli, the Natural Resources Defense Council's senior attorney, said in a statement.
Malibu's 21 miles of coastline draw about 13 million visitors a year.


text:
Facebook launches new suicide prevention features
by Dean Van Nguyen
Facebook is rolling out a number of new features in the US that will provide support to people who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts.
The updates will allow users to report any content they see to Facebook that would lead them to believe a friend is at risk of harming themselves.
The social network will then review the reports, prioritise those deemed the most serious, and send help and resources to those in distress, including connected the person with a mental health expert at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, giving them the option of reaching out to a friend, and providing advice on how they can work through these feelings.
Additional options for those concerned about friends will also be provided, such as the ability to connect with trained professional at a suicide hotline for support.
The updates have been developed with input from a number of mental health organisations, including Forefront, Now Matters Now, Save.org and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
"If someone on Facebook sees a direct threat of suicide, we ask that they contact their local emergency services immediately," said Rob Boyle, Facebook product manager, and Nicole Staubli, Facebook Community Operations Safety Specialist, in a post via the site's Facebook Safety page.
These updates will be rolled out in the US over the next couple of months, but Facebook says its also working to improve tools for those outside the US.
Depression image via Shutterstock
Related: social media, Facebook
Dean is a freelance journalist and editor covering media.
Facebook claims hate speech amounts to around 0.1pc of content viewed
Facebook sued by UK group over Cambridge Analytica breach
Facebook Dating rolled out in Europe after Valentine's Day no-show
Instagram being investigated by DPC over concerns for children's privacy


Fathers Day, like so many of our modern celebration days, was originally conceived in the USA as a compliment to the popular Mothers Day celebration (which has its origins in the church). See our Mothers Day BLOG for details.
It is traditionally a day to recognize fathers and a way of saying thank you for all the lovely things they do for their children over the year. However, it has become the norm to give gifts on Fathers Day, which is lovely in itself, but here at Sue Ryder we thought we would mix it up a bit and give some ideas for Fathers Day that go beyond the traditional gift - in to the realms of the more thoughtful!!!
So here is a list of 15 ways to spoil your dad this Fathers day that will earn you serious brownie points for months to come!
How about an early Fathers Day treat by giving him full rein of the remote control on Saturday night! The 14th is the England vs Italy game in the World Cup and kick off is at 11.00pm.... Provide a few of his favorite drinks and snacks and you will be his number one daughter for a looooong time!
For those of you brave enough to offer your services for the whole day, this vintage service bell would make a great novelty gift! Just give it to dad in the morning and he can ring whenever he needs something!
*WARNING* Not for the faint hearted.... This product may result in desire to dispose of it in creative ways if dad dings it too much!
The ultimate retro desk accessory.... apparently the the pendulum sound in motion helps to aid creativity, focus and relaxation... just what every hardworking dad needs!
If all else fails, it might send him to sleep and give you a break from the service bell above!
They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach... so what better way to show you care than taking dad out for a nice pub lunch! He gets a nice pub dinner, and you don't have cook or wash up! Happy days for everybody!
Choose one of your favorite pictures of you and your dad (or your children and their dad) for a special, personal gift that he will love!
In these days of digital photography, many pictures get lots in the depths of the computer and never get to see the light of day. A great picture, already framed is one of the best presents (in our opinion)... just make sure its a good one of you both because its bound to take pride of place in the house!
8: Cook his favorite dinner, pudding or both!
If the pub option above is out for one reason or another... how about cooking his favorite dinner? Sundays are not just for roast dinners so it could literally be anything! Steak and chips, a big plate of spaghetti bolognaise, sausage and mash, treacle sponge and custard, banana split or even a pile of chips and dips with a beer! Anything goes as long as its his favorite.
There is literally nothing more fun than siting down with a Ukulele and having a a little strum.
Choose a colour (maybe a bag too) and watch dad turn in to a big kid as he tries to play his favorite tune on it!
Top Tip... If he channels his inner 'embarrassing dad' and tries to play a rock tune or something, be sure to film it to share at your next gathering, or even better - on social media to ensure everyone gets to share in his special talents!
Who can resist the lure of delicious sweets from their childhood? Think Fizzer rolls, Parma Violets, Love Hearts, Fruity Pops, Drumsticks, Double Lollies and Refresher Chews.... the perfect gift for dads who like sweeties... yummy!
*WARNING - may produce 'Kid in a Candy Shop Syndrome'. If he refuses to share and eats them all in one go and gets a sugar high, send him to his room to think about moderation and sharing with others.... especially you!
The ultimate boys toy.... stand back whilst dad reverts to childhood to build this mini masterpiece. Concentration will be at an all time high and a seriousness atmosphere will fill the room during the building phase of this important project.
*Warning - dad will probably want this displayed prominently somewhere after to showcase his master engineering skills. If you don't fancy this taking pride of place on your mantelpiece for years to come, you may need to identify an alternative 'special place' for it to live.
It's not unusual for dads to request 'me time' on Fathers Day, which is fine for a little bit ... BUT.... Fathers Day is a celebration of Fatherhood so we think that this means spending quality time with your little people!
If you're stuck for inspiration, we have a great range of arts and crafts kits from just 99 pence!
If none of the above is possible for one reason or another, then nothing beats a nice phone call with your dad.
Remember that old BT advert where the daughter calls and her dad goes to put her on to her mum and she says no, she wants to speak to him? That's a really happy face he has there and sometimes its easy to speak to mum on the phone (women like to chat - funny that) and forget about poor old dad!
We're sure a phone call will make his day and yours too!
Conversations about him, funny stories, happy memories, a visit to his resting place, a toast with his favorite drink or something else personal to you and your family... are all lovely ways to celebrate your dads life.
However you choose to remember him, we hope a little moment of remembering your dad brings not just a few tears, but also some smiles and laughter as you remember the happy times.
And to everyone celebrating Fathers Day this year, try and remember ... they might drive you bonkers, and they might still treat you like a child... but everyone deserves spoiling once in a while, and what better excuse than Fathers Day?
Have a fabulous day from all of us at the Sue Ryder Online Shop Team!
Tell us why your dad is / was the best dad in the world!
Whatever you choose to do, we wish all the lovely dads a Happy Fathers days!


text:
package com.getbeamapp.transit.android.prompt;

import android.os.ConditionVariable;

class TransitPollCompleteAction extends TransitAction {

    private ConditionVariable lock = new ConditionVariable(false);

    @Override
    public String getJSRepresentation() {
        return "null";
    }

    public void block() {
        lock.block();
    }

    public void open() {
        lock.open();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub