THE CAUSES OF BACK PAIN

                           THE CAUSES OF BACK PAIN

There are many risk factors for back pain, including aging, genetics, occupational hazards, lifestyle, weight, posture, pregnancy and smoking. With that said, back pain is so prevalent that it can strike even if you have no risk factors at all.

Aging. Over time, wear and tear on the spine that may result in conditions (e.g., disc degeneration, spinal stenosis) that produce neck and back pain. This means that people over age 30 or 40 are more at risk for back pain than younger individuals. People age 30 to 60 are more likely to have disc-related disorders, while people over age 60 are more likely to have pain related to osteoarthritis.

Genetics. There is some evidence that certain types of spinal disorders have a genetic component. For example, degenerative disc disease seems to have an inherited component.

Occupational hazards. Any job that requires repetitive bending and lifting has a high incidence of back injury (e.g., construction worker, nurse). Jobs that require long hours of standing without a break (e.g., barber) or sitting in a chair (e.g., software developer) that does not support the back well also puts the person at greater risk.

Sedentary lifestyle. Lack of regular exercise increases risks for occurrence of lower back pain, and increases the likely severity of the pain.

Excess weight. Being overweight increases stress on the lower back, as well as other joints (e.g. knees) and is a risk factor for certain types of back pain symptoms.

Poor posture. Any type of prolonged poor posture will, over time, substantially increase the risk of developing back pain. Examples include slouching over a computer keyboard, driving hunched over the steering wheel, lifting improperly.

Pregnancy. Pregnant women are more likely to develop back pain due carrying excess body weight in the front, and the loosening of ligaments in the pelvic area as the body prepares for delivery. Learn more about Back Pain in Pregnancy.

Smoking. People who smoke are more likely to develop back pain than those who don’t smoke. Understand the relationship between smoking and back pain.

HOW TO HANDLE STRESS

                                    5 Tips to HANDLE  STRESS

Stress occurs when you perceive that demands placed on you — such as work, school or relationships — exceed your ability to cope. Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health consequences, affecting the immune, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine and central nervous systems, and take a severe emotional toll.

Untreated chronic stress can result in serious health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research shows that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity.

But by finding positive, healthy ways to manage stress as it occurs, many of these negative health consequences can be reduced. Everyone is different, and so are the ways they choose to manage their stress. Some people prefer pursuing hobbies such as gardening, playing music and creating art, while others find relief in more solitary activities: meditation, yoga and walking.

Here are five healthy techniques that psychological research has shown to help reduce stress in the short- and long-term.

Take a break from the stressor. It may seem difficult to get away from a big work project, a crying baby or a growing credit card bill. But when you give yourself permission to step away from it, you let yourself have time to do something else, which can help you have a new perspective or practice techniques to feel less overwhelmed. It’s important to not avoid your stress (those bills have to be paid sometime), but even just 20-minutes to take care of yourself is helpful.

Exercise. The research keeps growing — exercise benefits your mind just as well as your body. We keep hearing about the long-term benefits of a regular exercise routine. But even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.

Smile and laugh. Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. When people are stressed, they often hold a lot of the stress in their face. So laughs or smiles can help relieve some of that tension and improve the situation.

Get social support. Call a friend, send an email. When you share your concerns or feelings with another person, it does help relieve stress. But it’s important that the person whom you talk to is someone whom you trust and whom you feel can understand and validate you. If your family is a stressor, for example, it may not alleviate your stress if you share your works woes with one of them.

Meditate. Meditation and mindful prayer help the mind and body to relax and focus. Mindfulness can help people see new perspectives, develop self-compassion and forgiveness. When practicing a form of mindfulness, people can release emotions that may have been causing the body physical stress. Much like exercise, research has shown that even meditating briefly can reap immediate benefits.

HOW to USE MICROSCOPE

HOW to USE MICROSCOPE

Labeled microscope image

 When moving your microscope, always carry it with both hands (Figure

 1). Grasp the arm with one hand and place the other hand under the base for support.

(Figure 1)

 Turn the revolving nosepiece so that the lowest power objective lens is "clicked" into position.

 Place the microscope slide on the stage and fasten it with the stage clips.  You can push down on the back end of the stage clip to open it. Using the coarse adjustment, lower the objective lens down as far as it will go without touching the slide! Note: Look at the slide and lens from the side when doing this .Look through the eyepiece and adjust the illuminator (or mirror) and diaphragm  for the greatest amount of light.Slowly turn the coarse adjustment so that the objective lens goes up (away from the slide). Continue until the image comes into focus. Use the fine adjustment, if available, for fine focusing. Move the microscope slide around so that the image is in the center of the field of view and readjust the mirror, illuminator or diaphragm for the clearest image. You should be able to change to the next objective lenses with only slight focusing adjustment. Use the fine adjustment, if available. If you cannot focus on your specimen, repeat steps 4 through 7 with the higher power objective lens in place. DO NOT ALLOW THE LENS TO TOUCH THE SLIDE!The proper way to use a monocular microscope is to look through the eyepiece with one eye and keep the other eye open (this helps avoid eye strain). If you have to close one eye when looking into the microscope, it's ok.  Remember, everything is upside down and backwards. When you move the slide to the right, the image goes to the left! Do not touch the glass part of the lenses with your fingers. Use only special lens paper to clean the lenses.  (read the page on keeping your microscope clean) When finished, raise the tube, click the low power lens into position and remove the slide.Remember, microscopes are expensive scientific instruments. Handle them properly and carefully and they will last for many years!

HOW TO GROW CHILLIES

HOW TO GROW CHILLIES

Growing Chillies requires a warm growing environment and so unless you live in a warm climate your Chillie plants will spend a considerable amount of time indoors or in the greenhouse.Chillies are most often grown in pots or grow-bags and are a good source of vitamin C. They also stimulate the circulation and boost metabolism so give a feeling of energy.Chillies are very similar to sweet bell peppers (Capsicum) but they have a hot fiery flavour instead of the sweet flavour associated with bell peppers.

SOWING

To sow indoors sow 3 seeds in each 1 inch cell of a seedling tray.After germination and when the seedling has reached 4cm in height you should transplant your plants into either a 4 inch pot or into their final position. An 8 to10 inch pot is ideal. Make sure your pot has good drainage - try lining the pot with a few cm of coarse gravel and make sure the drainage hole is not blocked.If using grow bags then space the plants around 25cm apart.You can give the plant a feed at time of transplanting to help them over the 'ordeal'.Chillies should be watered regularly to avoid 'flooding' them at wide intervals. Watering 2 or 3 times a week so that the soil is damp (not soaked).Overwatering on a regular basis will cause the roots to rot.You will see flowers developing on the plant, leave them on and they will die after a few weeks and chillies will form.Once the plant is producing fruit you can help it along by giving it a small amount of organic liquid fertiliser every few weeks.When the plant is around 6 inches tall you can remove the growing tip, this will encourage the form of the plant to become more bush like.Chillies can reach around 60cm in height and can be supported with a garden cane or other suitable stake. This may be necessary when the plant is fruiting heavily.The Chillies should take a few weeks to develop and will take a further couple of weeks to change from green to red. You can harvest them when they are Green or Red. They will start to shrivel after they have been on the plant for a while but they can still be harvested and used at this stage.
The longer you leave the chillies on the plant, the hotter in flavour they will become. Leaving the chillie on the plant after it is ready for harvest will result in a decline in further yields.If you have a large amount of chillies ready for harvest at the same time and can't use them up fast enough then harvest and freeze any excess fruits.









 

how to breed arowana fish

HOW TO BREED AROWANA FISH

Arowana is one of the most popular and expensive ornamental fish in Malaysia. Effort to breed the fish in tank by FFRC Batu Berendam was started in 1990. Samples from Alor Pongsu, Perak were acquired and reared in 5m x 5m concrete.The fish attain first maturity from the 4th year onwards and measure between 45-60cm. The fish spawn throughout the year with the peak season occurring between July and December. In nature the male incubates the fertilised eggs in its’ bucca cavity until the fry is free swimming at about 2 months. Sexual differences are indiscernible in juvenile stage and become apparent after maturity is reached in about 3-4 years. Male posses slimmer and shallower body depth, bigger mouth and more intense colour then the females. The reasons for having wider mouth and deeper lower jaw in males are for eggs incubating purposes. The size of the males’ head is relatively bigger. Male is more aggressive and leading in competition for food. A brooding male can be recognised by its remarkable brood pouch underside its mouth.The fish shows unique courtship behaviour. The courting chase takes place from several days to weeks before the pair starts to mate. They will swim in circles with male chasing the female. About 1-2 weeks before spawning takes place, the fish swims side by side and perform body contact between pair. After the courtship behaviour takes place, the female will lay the eggs and then promptly fertilised by the male. After fertilisation, the male picks up the eggs and incubates them until the fry can swim and survive independently. The eggs are large in size about 8-10mm and yolk rich, hatched about one week after fertilisation. After hatching, the young larvae continue to live in the male’s mouth for further 7-8 weeks until the yolk sac was totally absorbed. The size of the fry was 45-50mm before they are move out of the males’ buccal cavity.

AROWANA FISH EGG

In the study, the fertilised eggs were forced extruded from males’ mouth at the 30th day after spawning. The average number of the eggs produced in a single brood was 21 larvae with the maximum number recorded 29.The eggs are orange-red in colour and are large in size with diameter 16-20 mm. Once removed from the parents’ mouth, the half-developed larvae were incubated in glass aquarium tanks, measuring 90x45x45cm. Water temperature is kept around 27-29 degree C using a thermostat heater and dissolved oxygen is maintained at about 5 ppm (mg/l) through continuous aeration of the water. During the first few weeks when the larvae are still having large yolk sac, they tend to remain at the bottom of the tank most of the time. The fry start to swim upward periodically when the yolk sac becomes smaller.Using the in vitro hatching technique, the survival rate to free swimming stage achieved is 90-100%. The fry will swim freely on the 7th week. Supplementary external live feed (young guppy) was given at the early free-swimming stage to avoid the fry from attacking each other. At the age of the 6th month the fingerlings were reared individually in 75x45x45cm re-circulating water system tank. At this age the fry measured about 20-25cm length and were ready for market