Sapphire - the blue sister of Ruby------

 S A P P H I R E-------------
Sapphire- the famous blue stone is also called the blue sister of Ruby. The reason?- its because they come from the same mineral, corundum. After diamond, corundum is the second hardest gemstone with the red corundum being called Ruby, and the other colors being called Sapphires.

Well the classic color is Blue, but the Sapphires are also found in Yellow, Green & Pink. It is no wonder why Diana choose Sapphire and Diamond as her engagement ring with Prince Charles.

The most famous and the finest blue sapphires are the prized Kashmir Sapphires which have a Blue color that is not only intense, but also velvety. As the name suggests, it originated from India's north western region of Kashmir, along the Pakistani/Indian border in the western Himalayas. The Kashmir region's Sapphire deposits were mined extensively during a brief decade long period in the late 1800's, after a earthquake induced landslide unearthed a large deposit, but the region was fully depleted by the early 1900's and Kashmir is no longer a significant source for Sapphire. So rare are these Sapphires that they are not often seen in the gemstone market.


Second only to Kashmir in quality and mystique is the Burmese Sapphires. However also depleting. Sapphire are now sourced from Srilanka and Australia, Tanzania and Madagascar.


Characters of sapphires:

Sapphires are stones that have inclusions of tiny, futile needles that give an optical property called asterism. These are commonly known a star sapphires. These are found in cabochon cuts. (shaped and polished as opposed to faceted).


These star sapphires usually have six ray stars; but there are also twelve ray stars. When sapphires are cut en cabochon, they can produce the cat’s eye effect; formed with a thin band of light in the center of the stone. The famous of the star sapphires is the Star of Bombay, currently lodged in the Smithsonian Institution. It is the inspiration for Bombay Sapphire gin sold by Bacardi.


Tips for choosing Sapphires:

It is possible to make colorless and very pale blue sapphires develop an intense blue color by heating them to high temperatures. With this, the clarity of the stone is also improved as it removes any tiny inclusions found in the gemstone.

Some rare varieties of sapphires, called color changing sapphires, exhibit different colors in different lights. These stones are naturally blue in color, but look violet in artificial light.

Choose sapphires for sapphire jewelry or sapphire rings based on their intensity. Stones with an intense and rich blue color are better than huge stones with a washed-out weak blue color.

The value of sapphires is dependent on their color, transparency and size. And in cases of very fine quality sapphires, the origin also has a major role - where genuine Kashmir gemstones are most expensive, followed by Burmese and then Ceylonese sapphires.

Sapphires and the Zodiac:

Those born in September should wear sapphires for their birthstone; and according to the zodiac, it is the birthstone of the Taurus. Sapphires have always said to bring peace, joy and wisdom to their owner and wearer.

In fact, it was also considered a talisman offering protection from evil spirits and other unwanted creatures of the night.

S.S.VENKATESHWAR

BATHUBASTHI

ANDAMAN

INDIA

BIO-DIVERSITY IN CRISIS--- IT IS A FACT--- DO YOU KNOW?

BIO-DIVERSITY IN CRISIS------
Why bio- diversity in crisis?

The escalating extinction crisis shows that the diversity of nature cannot support the current pressure that humanity is placing on the planet.

Every day species’ extinctions are continuing at up to 1,000 times or more the natural rate. The extinction of individual species, but also habitat destruction, land conversion for agriculture and development, climate change, pollution and the spread of invasive species are only some of the threats responsible for today's crisis.


Facts

■Coral reefs provide food, storm protection, jobs, recreation and other income sources for more than 500 million people worldwide yet 70% of coral reefs are threatened or destroyed.

■18,788 species out of 52,017 so far assessed are threatened with extinction.

■Of the world’s 5,490 mammals, 78 are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, with 188 Critically Endangered, 540 Endangered and 492 Vulnerable.

■1,895 of the planet’s 6,285 amphibians are in danger of extinction, making them the most threatened group of species known to date.



With the current biodiversity loss, we are witnessing the greatest extinction crisis since dinosaurs disappeared from our planet 65 million years ago. Not only are these extinctions irreversible, but they also pose a serious threat to our health and wellbeing.

What are the main threats to biodiversity?

Threats to biodiversity are numerous and human activity is responsible for most of them.

■Habitat loss and degradation affects 86% of all threatened birds, 86% of the threatened mammals assessed and 88% of the threatened amphibians.
■Introductions of Invasive Alien Species that establish and spread outside their normal distribution. Some of the most threatening invasive species include cats and rats, green crabs, zebra mussels, the African tulip tree and the brown tree snake. Introductions of alien species can happen deliberately or unintentionally, for example, by organisms “hitch-hiking” in containers, ships, cars or soil.
■Over-exploitation of natural resources. Resource extraction, hunting, and fishing for food, pets, and medicine.
■Pollution and diseases. For example, excessive fertilizer use leads to excessive levels of nutrients in soil and water.
■Human-induced climate change. For example, climate change is altering migratory species patterns, and increasing coral bleaching.
What about climate change?

Biodiversity and climate change are very closely related issues.

Biodiversity is strongly affected by climate change so we need to make additional efforts to minimize the negative influence of other factors, such as over-exploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, and the spread of invasive alien species. This way we can ensure that ecosystems are less vulnerable and more resilient to the increasing threat posed by climate change.

But climate change can also largely benefit from conserved biodiversity and particularly healthy ecosystems when these are placed at the very centre of the efforts to tackle climate change.

Through absorbing and storing carbon in a range of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, such as forests, peatlands and other wetlands, biodiversity contributes to climate change mitigation- by storing carbon dioxide.

Biodiversity also helps people to adapt to climate change through providing the ecosystem services which reduce their vulnerability and enhance their adaptive capacity to change. This includes the coastal protection provided by coastal mangrove forests from flooding and coastal erosion caused by sea-level rise and more powerful storms.


Facts

■Since 2000, 6 million hectares of primary forest have been lost each year.

■In the Caribbean region, hard coral cover has declined from 50% to 10% in the last three decades.

■35% of mangroves have been lost in just 20 years.



From time immemorial, nature has fed us, cured us, and protected us. But today the roles have switched. We need to feed nature, we need to cure it and protect it if we want to secure a healthy and prosperous future for our children.

S.S.VENKATESHWAR

BATHUBASTHI

ANDAMAN

NATURAL CURE FOR DENGUE DISEASES--------

NATURAL CURE FOR DENGUE DISEASES---------
I  am sharing this interesting discovery from a classmate's son who has just recovered  would like tfrom dengue fever. Apparently, his son was in the critical stage at the ICU when his blood platelet count drops to 15 after 15 liters of blood transfusion.

His father was so worried that he seeks another friend's recommendation and his son was saved. He confessed to me that he gave his son raw juice of the papaya leaves. From a platelet count of 45 after 20 liters of blood transfusion, and after drinking the raw papaya leaf juice, his platelet count jumps instantly to 135. Even the doctors and nurses were surprised. After the second day he was discharged. So he asked me to pass this good news around.

Accordingly it is raw papaya leaves, 2pcs just cleaned and pound and squeeze with filter cloth. You will only get one tablespoon per leaf.. So two tablespoon per serving once a day. Do not boil or cook or rinse with hot water, it will loose its strength. Only the leafy part and no stem or sap. It is very bitter and you have to swallow it like "Won Low Kat". But it works.

*Papaya Juice - Cure for Dengue*

You may have heard this elsewhere but if not I am glad to inform you that papaya juice is a natural cure for dengue fever. As dengue fever is rampant now, I think it's good to share this with all.

A friend of mine had dengue last year.. It was a very serious situation for her as her platelet count had dropped to 28,000 after 3 days in hospital and water has started to fill up her lung. She had difficulty in breathing. She was only 32-year old. Doctor says there's no cure for dengue. We just have to wait for her body immune system to build up resistance against dengue and fight its own battle. She already had 2 blood transfusion and all of us were praying very hard as her platelet continued to drop since the first day she was admitted.

Fortunately her mother-in-law heard that papaya juice would help to reduce the fever and got some papaya leaves, pounded them and squeeze the juice out for her. The next day, her platelet count started to increase, her fever subside. We continued to feed her with papaya juice and she recovered after 3 days!!!

Amazing but it's true. It's believed one's body would be overheated when one is down with dengue and that also caused the patient to have fever papaya juice has cooling effect. Thus, it helps to reduce the level of heat in one's body, thus the fever will go away. I found that it's also good when one is having sore throat or suffering from heat.

Please spread the news about this as lately there are many dengue cases. It's great if such natural cure could help to ease the sufferings of dengue patients.

Furthermore it's so easily available.
Blend them and squeeze the juice! It's simple and miraculously effective!!  S.S.VENKATESHWAR , ANDAMAN, PORTBLAIR

An Eye Diseases------

TRACHOMA-AN  EYE DISEASES------------
TRACHOMA IS ONE OF THE OLDEST INFECTIOUS DISEASES KNOWN TO MANKIND. IT INVOLVES CONJUNCTIVA AND CORNEA. IT IS CAUSED BY CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS--- A MICROORGANISM WHICH SPREADS THROUGH CONTACT WITHEYE DISCHARGE FROM THE INFECTED PERSON( ON TOWELS,HANDKERCHIEFS,FINGERS,ETC.) AND THROUGH TRANSMISSION BYEYE- SEEKING FLIES. AFTER YEARS OF REPEATED INFECTION, THE INSIDE OF THE EYELID MAY BE SCARRED SO SEVERELY THAT THE EYELID TURNS INWARD AND THE LASHES RUB ON THE EYEBALL, SCARRING THE CORNEA.---------- IF UNTREATED, THIS CONDITION LEADS TO THE FORMATION OF IRREVERSIBLE CORNEAL OPACITIES AND BLINDNESS--------


IT IS FOUND IN CERTAIN POCKETS OF THE STATES OF INDIA LIKE HARYANA, PUNJAB,RAJASTHAN,UTTARPRADESH,UTTARANCHAL, GUJARAT AND IN U.T. ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS ESPECIALLY IN CAR-NICOBAR.


SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS-----------

*SANDY SENSATION IN THE EYES.

*RAISEDGRANULES ON THE CONJUNCTIVA.

*USUALLY BOTH EYES ARE INVOLVED.

*INTURNED EYE LASHES.

*DISCHARGE FROM EYES.

PREVENTION-------PERSONAL HYGIENE IS THE BEST PREVENTION AGAINST TRACHOMA,KEEP ENVIRONMENT CLEAN,REMOVE ALL FLY -BREEDINGSITUATIONS IN AND AROUND THE HOME,MAINTAIN PERSONAL AND FACIAL HYGIENE,KEEP SEPARATE TOWEL,LINENS ETC.WASH FACE WITH CLEAN WATER SEVERAL TIMES IN A DAY, AVOID PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE PERSON WHO HAS TRACHOMA------------- TRACHOMA IS CURABLE-------

ADOPT ( SAFE) STRATEGY-----------

S---------- SURGERY OF IN TURNED EYE LASHES.

A-----------ANTIBIOTIC ,ORAL , EYE DROPS .

F----------FREQUENT FACE WASH .

E------------ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION.


S.S.VENKATESHWAR
BATHUBASTHI
ANDAMAN
PORTBLAIR
INDIA

DO YOU KNOW THAT TWENTY PARTS OF OUR BODY NOT REQUIRED---

TWENTY PARTS OF THE BODY NOT REQURIED BY US ---------
20 Parts of Your Body You Don’t Need


1. VOMERONASAL ORGAN (VNO), or Jacobson’s organ: a tiny hole on each side of the nasal bridge that is considered to be connected to nonfunctional chemical receptors. Could be all that is left from our once great ability to detect pheromones.

2. EXTRINSIC EAR MUSCLES: These three muscles most likely made it possible for our ancestors to move their ears independently of their heads, as rabbits and dogs do. We still have them, which is why most people can learn to wiggle their ears.

3. WISDOM TEETH: Early humans had to chew a lot of plants to get enough calories to survive, making another row of molars helpful, but unless you chew a lot of branches, these will eventually come out in a painful procedure. Only about 5 percent of the population has a healthy set of these third molars.

4. NECK RIB: A set of cervical ribs—possibly leftovers from the age of reptiles, still appear in less than 1 percent of the population. They often cause nerve and artery problems.

5. THIRD EYELID: A common ancestor of birds and mammals may have had a membrane for protecting the eye and sweeping out debris. Humans retain only a tiny fold in the inner corner of the eye, exactly there where you always catch a spec of dust or debris.


6. DARWIN’S POINT: A small folded point of skin toward the top of each ear is occasionally found in modern humans. It may be a remnant of a larger shape that helped focus distant sounds.

7. SUBCLAVIUS MUSCLE: This small muscle stretching under the shoulder from the first rib to the collarbone would be useful if humans still walked on all fours. Some people have one, some have none, and a few have two.

8. PALMARIS MUSCLE: This long, narrow muscle runs from the elbow to the wrist and is missing in 11 percent of modern humans. It may once have been important for hanging and climbing. Surgeons harvest it for reconstructive surgery.

9. MALE NIPPLES: Lactiferous ducts form well before testosterone causes sex differentiation in a fetus. Men have mammary tissue that can be stimulated to produce milk. This just makes me angry; I’ve been spending a fortune on milk all these years! I’ll have to test this tomorrow with my Special K.

10. ERECTOR PILI: Bundles of smooth muscle fibers allow animals to puff up their fur for insulation or to intimidate others. Humans retain this ability (goose bumps are the indicator) but have obviously lost most of the fur.

11. APPENDIX: This narrow, muscular tube attached to the large intestine served as a special area to digest cellulose when the human diet consisted more of plant matter than animal protein. It also produces some white blood cells. Annually, more than 300,000 Americans have an appendectomy.

12. BODY HAIR: Brows help keep sweat from the eyes, and male facial hair may play a role in sexual selection, but apparently most of the hair left on the human body serves no function.

13. THIRTEENTH RIB: Our closest cousins, chimpanzees and gorillas, have an extra set of ribs. Most of us have 12, but 8 percent of adults have the extras.

14. PLANTARIS MUSCLE: Often mistaken for a nerve by freshman medical students, the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet. It has disappeared altogether in 9 percent of the population.

15. MALE UTERUS: A remnant of an undeveloped female reproductive organ hangs off the male prostate gland.

16. FIFTH TOE: Lesser apes use all their toes for grasping or clinging to branches. Humans need mainly the big toe for balance while walking upright, the other four are for holding when you slam them on a coffee table at night!

17. FEMALE VAS DEFERENS: What might become sperm ducts in males become the epoophoron in females, a cluster of useless dead-end tubules near the ovaries.

18. PYRAMIDALIS MUSCLE: More than 20 percent of us lack this tiny, triangular pouch-like muscle that attaches to the pubic bone. It may be a relic from pouched marsupials.

19. COCCYX: These fused vertebrae are all that’s left of the tail that most mammals still use for balance and communication. Our hominid ancestors lost the need for a tail before they began walking upright. All they’re good for now is give us painful falls on the butt.

20. PARANASAL SINUSES: The nasal sinuses of our early ancestors may have been lined with odor receptors that gave a heightened sense of smell, which aided survival. No one knows why we retain these perhaps troublesome mucus-lined cavities, except to make the head lighter and to warm and moisten the air we breathe. S. S. VENKATESHWAR, ANDAMAN, PORTBLAIR

REMOVING GALLSTONES NATURALLY ----------------

 REMOVING GALLSTONES NATURALLY-----------



It has worked for many. If it works for you please pass on so we should make it free for everyone. Your reward is when someone, through your word of mouth, benefits from the regime. Gallstones may not be everyone's concern. But they should be because we all have them. Moreover, gallstones may lead to cancer. "Cancer is never the first illness points out. "Usually, there are a lot of other problems leading to cancer.

In my research in China,DR.CHIU NAN SAID- I came across some materials which say that people with cancer usually have stones. We all have gallstones. It's a matter of big or small, many or few.

One of the symptoms of gallstones is a feeling of bloatedness after a heavy meal. You feel like you can't digest the food. If it gets more serious, you feel pain in the liver area." So if you think you have gallstones, Chiu Nan offers the following method to remove them naturally.

The treatment is also good for those with a weak liver, because the liver and gallbladder are closely linked.

Regimen:
1. For the first five days, take four glasses of apple juice every day. Or eat four or five apples, whichever you prefer. Apple juice softens the gallstones. During the five days, eat normally.
2. On the sixth day, take no dinner.
3. At 6 PM, take a teaspoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) with a glass of warm water.
4. At 8 PM, repeat the same. Magnesium sulphate opens the gallbladder ducts..
5. At 10 PM, take half cup olive oil (or sesame oil) with half cup fresh lemon juice. Mix it well and drink it. The oil lubricates the stones to ease their passage.
PS. 1cup=250ml, ½ cup lemon juice=3 lemons (aprox.)

The next morning, you will find green stones in your stools. "Usually they float," Chiu Nan notes. "You might want to count them. I have had people who passes 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. Very many."

"Even if you don't have any symptoms of gallstones, you still might have some. It's always good to give your gall bladder a clean-up now and then.

PASS THIS AND YOU MAY HELP OTHERS! S.S.VENKATESHWAR, BATHUBASTHI, ANDAMAN, PORTBLAIR, 744105-- INDIA

Ten tips and techics for better eyes-----------

10 Tips and Technics for Better Eyes----------
Most computer users suffer from the problem of tired eyes, dark circles and headaches. Follow the ten tips to avoid them

Studies have shown that stress, active nightlife and above all, the fact that most of us spend maximum time in front of the computer lead to dark circles, puffed and tired eyes. Timely treatment is essential for such difficulties.

Specifically with computer users, physical and visual discomfort is experienced by many after just a few hours in front of computers. It appears that PC users suffer from repetitive stress of their eyes and want an immediate solution to revive the tired eyes.
Studies show that most computer users start to feel eye-muscle stress after two or more hours at the computer. This usually starts with tired eyes. With more time at the computer, discomfort frequently spreads to the head resulting in headaches, burning of the eyes, blurred vision, loss of focus, double vision, and neck and shoulder pains. Before it is too late, your stressed out eyes need to be relaxed and revitalised so that you feel fresh later in the day.

Tips to reduce eyestrain

-Modify your workstation. Adjust your workstation and chair to the correct height.
Use proper lighting.

-Match the computer screen to the brightness of the environment. The contrast between the background and on-screen characters should be high.

-Minimise the glare. Use window shades, blinds or drapes to block excessive sunlight or install an anti-glare screen to minimise reflections.

-Take frequent breaks. Full-time computer users should take a 10 minute break every hour.

-Blink more often. Tears in the eye evaporate more rapidly during long non-blinking phases and cause dry eyes.

-Get an eye examination done.

-Re-focus your eyes. Look away from your computer screen every 10-15 minutes and focus for 5-10 seconds on a distant object.

-Exercise even when sitting. Move about or exercise frequently.

-Get sufficient sleep. Fatigue promotes eyestrain.