The idea is that we all have energy gathered at the base of our spine and, through the practice of Kundalini, we bring that energy up our spine through the seven chakras, and out the crown of our head. “The process of Kundalinithroughgrowth Yoga is a natural unfolding of your own nature,” Yogi Bhajan has said. “Like a snake, you will need to shed old skins to be more of who you are.” (Continued On Page 16)
By Gulshan Singh Cricket continues to generate more excitement in the United States. After two successful cricket fes tivals in Pearland of the Greater Cricket With Colors Schoolmela is a non-profit orga nization registered under Internal Revenue Code 501 (c) (3), and dedicated to provide means for education to the underprivileged children in rural India and USA.
Kundalini Yoga
First introduced to the western world in the late 70s by Yogi Bha jan, Kundalini yoga is a combi nation of breath, movement, and sound. It derives from the Sanskrit word kundal, which translates to “coiled energy.”
We are like minded people, friends, and colleagues who started this or ganization in Central Texas (Aus tin), USA to extend our services in Rural Education in India, and USA.(Continued On Page 04) Houston area and Cedar Park of Greater Austin area, World Cricket Initiative, also known as WCI, or ganized ‘Cricket with Colors’ last Saturday. (Continued On Page 18)
by Shri Avadhoota Datta Peetham under the divine presence of Shri Ganpati Sachidanand Swami at the Allen Event Center. Swamiji is also the founder of “Karya Siddhi Ha numan Temple” in Frisco. He also established the Gita Mahayagna program which aims to teach and memorise (ContinuedSanskrit.OnPage 16)
Schoolmela
Monthly Community Paper | www.austinsouthasian.com | 512-828-6709 | Vol. 15 No. 09 September 2022 i nside Treatment For COPD.....02 Life-Saving COVID-19...03 About Heel Pain...........04 Future Of BestKidsAustinTuneFirstKid-FriendlyAirPetTeachingOverdraftPreschoolersSAIVA..........................08SupportArun’sBuyerTechnologyDrone...........05Can............05Beware..............06Scribblings.........06ALovedOne....07OnA........09Fees.............10Kids...............11Parents..................12Quality....................13Treat.........13VehicleOfStudent14TheBrain.............15PBS...................17Corner....18,19,22,23AndWorstFoods..20 Sleepless And Selfish....21 India Celebrated 75......24 NASA All Set To Create.25 Human Entertainment.........26,27Brain...............25 October 2022 Home 512-828-6709Special
On the 13th of August 2022, more than 1,500 people, including stu dents had chanted the Bhagavad Gita shlokas along with 700 fluent readers in the city of Dallas, (capi tal of Texas state) in United States of ThisAmerica.eventwas called “Gita Sahas ragala” by the mayor of the city. This grand event was organised Guinness Record Gita Chanting At Dallas
What are EBV’s benefits? While recovery will depend on factors like overall health and the sever ity of COPD, the goal of EBV is to breathe easier without the nec hyperinflation. EBV treatment is a safe, FDA-approved interventional therapy in which small, removable, one-way valves are implanted in strategic areas. They allow air to be breathed out of that area of the lung, preventing air-trapping that can result in shortness of breath.
Take time to learn about treatment options. Doing so is for many, the first step to breathing easier. (State Point)
Treatment For Severe COPD Helping Some Patients Breathe Better
Similar to how the ways we lis ten to music and watch movies have changed, cellular networks are evolving too. In fact, all major wireless providers plan to shut ter their 3G cellular networks this 3Gyear. networks are the wireless equivalent of being on dial-up internet access years ago. Built in the early 2000s, 3G networks are slower, less efficient, and not equipped to support the way we use smartphones today. Americans increasingly depend on their abil ity to connect to the internet for just about everything and the latest generation of wireless, 5G, is capa ble of delivering massively faster speeds, enabling and improving everything we rely on our smart phones to do. As wireless companies continue to invest in building out their 5G networks, 3G networks will be shut down to make room for this new technology and, ultimately, deliver a vastly superior wireless experience. That’s because there’s a limited supply of available spec trum -- the airwaves that wireless signals use. Wireless companies can take the airwaves once used for 3G and start using them to add more bandwidth to 5G. And more spectrum means better coverage and faster speeds for consumers.
It’s also a good time to take a look at your phone plan, especially if you’re on a limited data plan and want to stream music and videos –or just stop hunting for Wi-Fi.
Along with great coverage, find a plan with built-in benefits, such as free international data roaming, gas savings, and discounts on everyday items to make the most out of your mobile phone.
For more information on the future of 5G, visit Connectivityt-mobile.com/5G.ismoreessential to day than ever, underscoring the importance of the evolution to 5G. From entertainment and gaming to education, the latest wireless tech nology can connect you to every thing that matters, faster than ever before. (StatePoint)
Complications of the EBV treat ment can include but are not lim ited to pneumothorax, worsening of COPD symptoms, hemoptysis, pneumonia, dyspnea and, in rare cases, death. Talk with your physi cian about other contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse events. Only a trained physician can decide whether you’re an ap propriate candidate for EBV treat “Beforement. my treatment, I would take a few steps and then wait to catch my breath. Now, every day I find I can do something I couldn’t be fore,” says Susan Scott, an Ohio resident who was diagnosed with COPD years ago and was experi encing worsening symptoms be fore getting the procedure. “My boyfriend and I hope to travel. I have a son in California and we’re going to go visit him soon. Being able to do that is everything to me. I also can’t wait to start cooking and leash training my dog.” What to ask your healthcare pro vider. Because EBV treatments are relatively new, not all healthcare providers are knowledgeable about the procedure. Speak with your provider to see if it’s right for you. Keep in mind that you may have to advocate for yourself or seek a sec ond “Myopinion.pulmonary clinic didn’t have a lot of information regarding EBVs. If my doctor knew more about it, she might have recommended it to me. I was the one who kept push ing it,” says Scott. If you have emphysema or severe COPD, you can find resources as well as learn more about EBV by visiting lung.org/copd.
2 Austin South Asian | September 2022
More than 3 million Americans live with severe emphysema, a type of chronic obstructive pulmo nary disease (COPD) that makes breathing difficult. While there’s no cure, recent advances in treat ments are helping some patients breathe better. The American Lung Association’s Treating Severe COPD Education al Campaign encourages people with severe emphysema to speak to their healthcare provider about their options, which may include endobronchial valve (EBV) treat ment. As part of the campaign, they’re sharing these important Whatfacts: is EBV treatment? When someone has emphysema, their lungs stop working effectively and air gets trapped inside their lungs instead of leaving when they exhale. With no room for fresh, oxygenated air, the per son becomes short of breath. The trapped air causes that section of the lung to enlarge, putting pres sure on the healthier parts of the lung and diaphragm. This is called may stop controlling symptoms. If neither medication nor oxygen is controlling symptoms well, ma jor surgery like lung volume reduction or a lung transplant had tra ditionally been the next and last resort. With some individuals, EBV can fill the treatment gap between medica tion and surgery. You may be a candidate if you have advanced emphysema and are highly symptomatic despite receiving opti mal medical treatment. You also need to be non-smoking or will ing to quit. If you’re currently smoking, the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking program can help you quit.
If you have a phone that still relies on 3G, your wireless provider will contact you before their planned shutdown, and you’re most likely eligible for a free device upgrade.
Even if your phone isn’t from the 3G era, if you aren’t yet one of the millions who’ve upgraded to 5G, the end of 3G means it’s time to trade up for a new device that can take full advantage of faster 5G networks, according to industry experts. Keeping af fordability and con nectivity in mind, wireless providers are always offering deals. Research 5G cover age and speeds from the providers where you live and like to travel. The wireless industry has changed significantly since the 3G era, so you may be surprised to learn which network is deliver ing the fastest and most reliable coverage today. T-Mobile was the first wireless provider in the United States to launch nationwide 5G and, thanks to its merger with Sprint in 2020, it now has the larg est, fastest and most reliable 5G network, covering nearly everyone in the country.
3G Is Going Away – What It Means For You
When should I consider EBV? As emphysema progresses, some medications that worked well
essary recovery from a surgical treatment. EBV treatment may im prove lung function, increase your exercise capacity, and improve your quality of life. Most patients who’ve received the treatment re port feeling better and say they’re now able to be more active.
5 Fun Ways To Get Little Ones Active
It wasn’t until I told Mom, ‘This can kill him,’ that I got through to them and she called his pulmonologist for a second opin ion. Within four hours of having the infu sion, Dad felt himself getting better. Over the next couple days, he continued to im prove at home. Thankfully, he fully recov ered,” says Hein. For more information about treatment op tions, as well as COVID-19 care tips, visit Withlung.org/treating-covid.peopletakingfewer precautions as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, the virus is spreading at a high rate. The good news is that there are treatments available for the most vulnerable among us to help avoid se vere illness and hospitalization. (StatePoint)
4. Coordination fun: Provide children with opportunities to hone coordination, like with the Pop-a-Balls Push & Pop Bulldozer. Designed for ages 12-36 months, kids can push the handle to roll the bulldozer across the floor, watch balls pop out the chimney and into the bucket, then load it up and do it again. Press the buttons to learn colors, numbers, construction objects and to listen to music.
Life-Saving COVID-19 Treatments
steps to big steps: Seek out toys that adapt as children grow and gain new skills. The Sit-to-Stand Learn ing Walker from VTech, suited for ages 9-36 months, can be an essential part of the jour ney from crawler to walker. Start out with the easy-to-remove activity panel for inter active floor play, then once a child is ready, step it up with the walker. It teaches topics like shapes, colors, ani mals and music. Plus, the walker’s spinning gears, piano keys, rollers, telephone handset and light-up shape sorters and buttons can offer engaging fun, while helping develop motor skills and creativity.
The Treating COVID-19 Campaign, which was developed independently by the Ameri can Lung Association, with grant support from Regeneron and GSK, is sharing some important insights into outpatient treatment options:
Movement is an essential part of early childhood development. It encourages mo tor skills and helps kids grow to be healthy and strong. There are tons of fun ways to get little ones on the move! Here are some great activities, games and toys to try incorporat ing into children’s playtime: 1. Rhythm of the beat: Play all kinds of music at home to inspire little ones to find the beat and move in time to the music. Wrist bells, maracas and egg shakers are all simple percussion instru ments that are perfect for little hands. As kids get older, you can introduce musical games like “Freeze Dance” and “Hokey 2.Pokey.”Baby
Currently available treatments include anti virals or monoclonal antibody treatments (mAbs). Your healthcare provider can help you determine the best course of treatment for you, which needs to start as soon as pos sible to help prevent possible progression of severe illness.
While stopping the spread of COVID-19 is the goal, the reality is that every day, more people contract the disease. For this reason, it’s important to be aware of available treat ment options.
What You Need To Know About
• Know your risk. It’s important to know if you’re at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19, as this can determine what treat ments are available to you. There are many factors that may put you in the “high risk” category, including if you’re 65 and older, you smoke cigarettes, you have a chronic lung disease, are immunocompromised, or are living with certain medical conditions, including chronic lung disease, heart dis ease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Individuals who are overweight or pregnant also fall in the high-risk category. You can see a full list at Lung.org/covid-19.
Experiencing symptoms that may be CO VID-19? Get tested right away. If you test positive and are high risk, speak with your healthcare provider promptly about treat ment options that may help prevent severe illness and reduce the risk of hospitalization.
• Get informed. The Food and Drug Ad ministration has authorized certain antiviral medications and monoclonal antibodies. Antivirals and monoclonal antibodies can help your immune system fight off the coro navirus infection, with a goal ofrecognizetemmunehelpantibodiesmonoclonaling,replicatstopthepartsgetviralsill.seriouslybecomingyoupreventingfromAntitarcertainofvirustoitfromwhiletheimsysbetter
• Be your own advocate. Many patients have discovered firsthand that persistence can be necessary when it comes to getting treatment for COVID-19. When Jill Hein’s 83-year-old father tested positive, his pri mary care provider told him he wasn’t very sick and to go home and call if he got any “Whensicker. this information was relayed back to me, I objected and asked that Dad fol low up with his pulmonologist immediately. He didn’t want to, insisting that his primary care provider said he was doing okay.
3. Works of art: Finger painting is a chance for kids to move around, get messy and express themselves. Just be sure to use age-appropriate supplies. New, eco-friendly, organic paints made from fruit and vegetable extracts can help ensure that art time is safe for little ones.
and stop the infection. In both cases, medi cations need to be prescribed by a healthcare provider and started as soon as possible after diagnosis to be effective.
• Test, and then treat, at onset of symptoms.
5. Go for the gold: Playing sports teaches kiddos cooperation and teamwork, improves physical and men tal health, and is a great way to make friends. It’s never too early to pique their interest in traditional sports like basketball and soccer. Check out the Smart Shots Sports Center. This interactive sports center for ages 12-36 months features a soccer net and basketball hoop for a two-in-one play experience. Kids can toss the basketball into the hoop, then watch as the LED screen counts the number of baskets they make and cheers them on with animations. When little ones on the go kick the soccer ball into the goal, the sports center plays encouraging sounds and Asphrases.babies and toddlers grow, a healthy dose of movement is important. From forays into the world of music, art and sports, to interac tive learning toys, there are many avenues for getting children active during play. (State Point)
3 Austin South Asian | September 2022
(Continued From Page 01)
● Facilitate Skill/Talent developing work shops
● Complete 3rd Quiz Competition with 60+ schools
● Support underprivileged college graduates
• Shockwave Therapy: This in-office treat ment uses sound waves delivered over the skin to slightly damage the tissue and stimu late the body’s natural repair process. This helps the plantar fasciitis heal and relieves pain symptoms without making an incision. Patients can expect to be up and moving im mediately after treatment, but it may take three to six months to see results.
4 Austin South Asian | September 2022 of the foot and a probe directs ultrasonic en ergy at the fascia to break down bad tissue and help the healing process. A diagnostic ultrasound tool is used to create an image of the inside of the foot and guide the probe. Patients may need to wear a boot immedi ately after the procedure for up to two weeks and they can expect to see improvements anywhere from three to six months after the procedure.
Noties.matter what kind of treatment a patient undergoes, the underlying causes that led to the condition may remain. Preventive mea sures, such as wearing supportive shoes, stretching and using custom orthotic devices, are the mainstay of long-term treatment for plantar fasciitis.For more heel pain informa tion and to find a foot and ankle surgeon near you, visit FootHealthFacts.org, the patient education website for the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. (StatePoint)
wear and physical
• Injection Therapy: Growth factor injec tions and platelet rich plasma injections are used to boost the body’s healing response and help repair in jured tissue.
• Ultrasonic Treatment: In this newer proce dure, a small incision is made into the heel
So far we have encouraged around 1400 students to pursue their education, and ev
“We typically treat plantar fasciitis conser vatively, at first,” said Michael J. Corneli son, DPM, FACFAS, a foot and ankle sur geon and president of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. “This can in clude a combination of remedies, including rest, exercises that stretch the calf muscles, orthotics, icing the heel, over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen, supportive foot
How is it Treated?
Our SchoolmelaProgresswas started in 2009 at Cedar Park, Texas, to prevent rural students from dropping out of school because of economic difficulties. To fight this, we decided to col lect money to buy school supplies for needy students. We have been doing this for 13 years now.
• Surgery: Also called a plantar fasciotomy, this minimally invasive, minimally traumatic surgical treatment involves making a small incision through the heel into the damaged tendon to try to lengthen it and relieve ten sion. Patients tend to recover in six to 10 weeks, but it may take up to three months to resume exercise and more vigorous activi
What We Do We believe in “Manava Sevayee, Mad hava Seva” (Serving People is the same as Serving God) and “Vidhya Daanamu Maha Daaanam” (Helping childrens’ education is the greatest charity). We have a student scholarship program (serving all needs of students) in rural India to extend our help to rural families so they can send their children to schools without any difficulties and encourage bright and sincere students. As part of this program we take care of necessary items like clothes, notebooks, a dictionary, a geometry box, pens, pencils, markers, a backpack, an umbrella, masks, sanitizers, and a clipboard for povertystricken students. We also motivate and improve educational awareness in rural areas through career mentoring. Along with that, we also put on a quiz competition every year to nurture talent among students.
ery year we help about 150 more stu dents. We have forOurvillages.overchildrenimpactpositivecreatedand14adoptedalsoschoolshaveaonin300Goals2022-
2023
● Support 210 students that need our help to avoid dropping out ● 1 on 1 Students career mentoring
● Start mentoring students and providing school supplies at local schools in the rural areas of Austin. We are a small organization, and we are do ing a small service but if you have the same ideas as us, we request you to join us in our mission to help poor students get proper edu cation and encourage their careers and sup port their progress in life. You can enrich the life of a disadvantaged child with the gift of education! Remember, the long journey is made up of small steps. According to the latest statistics, there are 1.54 million non-profit organizations work ing for the communities. Schoolmela is a drop in the vast ocean, but we are still able to create an impact. You can reach us school Wemela@schoolmela.org.areopenforfeedback to improve our services. We sincerely thank all our volun teers and supporters for their contributions, without their support we couldn’t have come to this point.
Mosttherapy.”patients re spond well to con servative treatments. However, depending on the severity of the plantar fasciitis, additional therapies may be required, in cluding:
Very common in adults and on the rise in children, heel pain continues to be the num ber one reason patients seek care from foot and ankle surgeons. While experts say there are many reasons for heel pain, including bursitis, Achilles tendonitis, bone bruises, fractures, growth spurts and nerve pain, the most common cause is plantar fasciitis, a condition that one in 10 people will suf fer from in their lifetime. According to the American College of Foot and Ankle Sur geons (ACFAS), plantar fasciitis can have serious repercussions if left untreated. Here’s what to know: What is Plantar Fasciitis? Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the band of tissue (the plantar fascia) that ex tends from the heel to the toes in which the fascia becomes irritated and then inflamed. Symptoms include pain on the bottom of the heel, pain in the arch of the foot, and swell ing on the bottom of the heel. For many, the pain is worse upon arising and increases over a period of months. A telltale sign of mechanical issues in the foot, those with overly flat feet or higharched feet are more prone to developing plantar fasciitis. Lifestyle factors can also play a role. Wearing non-supportive foot wear on hard, flat surfaces puts abnormal strain on the plantar fascia. This is particu larly evident when one’s job requires long hours on the feet. Obesity and overuse may also contribute to plantar fasciitis.
Schoolmela
● Continue to support 14 adopted disadvan taged schools
What You Need To Know About Heel Pain
How The Future Of Drone Technology Is Already Here
There are significant efficiencies, ranging from reduced personnel and drastically re duced inspection time, that arise from the ability to inspect infrastructure, equipment, structures, land areas, and job sites using only a drone and a pilot that are hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. Another innovation? The possibility of op erating four drones on a single controller to provide actionable footage immediately. Red Cat Holdings’ four-drone “swarm” marks the first instance of a fully operational multidrone system coming to market. Red Cat’s 4-Ship product allows control of up to four of Red Cat subsidiary Teal’s Golden Eagle units, and an additional linked controller facilitates the handoff of control from one pilot to another. This new product offering potentially provides continuous 360-degree surveillance of a target facilitated by a single pilot in control of up to four drones. To learn more or preorder, visit redcatholdings.com. From municipal traffic monitoring to person al recreational use, drones are changing and improving lives. And, thanks to advance ments in their design, they are becoming better, faster and more useful tools across a growing number of applications and indus tries. (StatePoint)
How Technology Can Help You Age In Place
“Given the many critical uses of drone tech nology, we are working to ensure that drones offer speedier, more versatile, uninterrupted footage that can been acquired using safer, remotely operated technology,” says Jeff Thompson, CEO of Red Cat Holdings, a leading provider of drone-based products, services and solutions. Thompson identifies one of the latest inno vations in drone technology as the ability to pilot a drone from virtually anywhere in the world using only an internet connection via a mobile phone in the vicinity of the drone.
“While AI and ML have transformed other industries, adaptation has been slow in the care industry, but we’re working to change that,” explains Chia-Lin Simmons, chief ex ecutive officer of LogicMark, (NASDAQ: LGMK), which manufactures personal emergency response systems (PERS), health communications devices and remote care and activity monitoring technologies to cre ate a Connected Care Platform, and recently incorporated two-way voice communication technology into its medical alert pendant.
To help you live safely and comfortably in your home in the years to come, Simmons offers a few strategies for using the newest technology to your advantage:
• Automatic pill dispensers can help ensure you never miss a dose or take too much medication. Depending on your needs, you may need to look for a solution offering both visual and audio notifications, or one suited for those with limited dexterity.
Since their first use in the mid-1800s in the form of hot air balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles have been used for security, photog raphy, safety, and many other applications. Today, drones have a significant impact on the way we do business -- from warfare re connaissance and real estate marketing, to filmmaking and inventory tracking. For example, General Motors uses drones to inspect its facilities as a way to safely moni tor inventory on its production lots in two to three hours versus what might otherwise take eight to 12 hours with an on-ground, manual inspection. These inspections can also be performed without a complete shut down of the facilities and without the risk of hoisting personnel in the air or onto the rails. Additionally, on the military battlefield, drones are playing increasingly pivotal roles in providing crucial real-time intelligence and reconnaissance data that allow for tacti cal advantages. Pre-mission mapping, target surveillance, and battle damage assessment are just some of the benefits provided by drones on the battlefield without additional risk to human soldiers. More industries are catching on to the tech nology’s potential to speed up protocol, offer safer working conditions, and provide fewer disruptions. To meet this rising demand, there are 865,505 drones registered in the United States and counting and 280,418 cer tified remote pilots, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Wearable pendants – along with water-resis tant wall-mounted devices and mobile solu tions – can keep you protected in every room of your home by helping you instantly con nect with loved ones and emergency person nel. Those offered by LogicMark use AI and ML for pattern recognition and fall detec tion, for an added layer of security. To learn more, visit logicmark.com.
• PERS, also known as Medical Emergency Response Systems, allow you to call for help in an emergency by pushing a button.
5 Austin South Asian | September 2022
• Motion-sensing lighting can make noctur nal trips to the bathroom – common in one’s golden years – much safer, helping to reduce the risk of dangerous trips and falls. Many lighting options plug directly into outlets, while others are battery-operated and can be installed anywhere. Be sure to include these fixtures in bedrooms, hallways and bath
“Truerooms.independence must be accompanied by peace of mind for you, your family and your caregivers,” says Simmons. “By adopt ing new technologies, you can help create a virtual safety net, enabling you to stay at home while living in a safe environment and providing piece of mind to your loved ones.” (StatePoint)
In addition to a larger workforce and more financial resources, new technologies also have the potential to help solve the problems created by this seismic demographic shift.
According to experts, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are al ready among the key components of new technologies providing improved quality of life for those who want to continue living in dependently at home.
By 2030, almost a quarter of the American population will be over the age of 65, up from 16% in 2020, creating a situation that’s going to drive greater demand and greater pressure on the care industry.
• Easy ingestion. Look for infant and children’s products that actually taste good enough that they’ll take them. The pediatric drops and chew able tablets from NovaFerrum, for example, come in flavors like chocolate and raspberry grape. Also, when it comes to iron supplements, stick with formulations that reduce iron-related gastrointestinal side effects often experienced by people of all ages.
Buyer Beware: ‘Ironing Out’ The Facts On Vitamins And Supplements
• Truthful product claims. Don’t be fooled by product claims not backed by third parties. The “certified gluten-free” symbol on food pack aging means stringent steps were followed to prevent gluten cross-contamination and that the food has been independently tested by a third party. Similarly, many products are listed as vegan, kosher and halal, but smart consumers know to look for those that are vegan-verified and Etimad Halal or Kosher certified.
• Science-backed products. Don’t trust your family’s health to a formula cooked up in a kitchen sink. Seek scientifically proven solu tions based on years of pharmaceutical and health care experience and recommended by licensed medical professionals. Choose only supplements that have voluntarily undergone full-scale, multi-year clinical trials to prove that they’re safe, effective and well-tolerated.
6 Austin South Asian | September 2022 To 512-828-6709InAdvertiseASA
• Good sourcing. Where it comes from is almost as important as what’s in it. Manu facturers can cut corners by working with lower-quality global suppliers or operating in places that require little oversight. Look for products sourced and manufactured in the United States, such as NovaFerrum.
• The right ingredients. While organic is a good thing when you buy vegetables, when it comes to products that require a shelf-life, this might not be the best approach. Some popular “allnatural” supplements have been recalled due to bacterial contamination. Without some level of preservative, harmful bacteria can grow in liq uid supplements and make users seriously ill.
• Trustworthy brands. The supplement indus try has experienced a number of lawsuits and recalls for issues related to ineffectiveness and adverse reactions. Do your homework.
ing too high a dosage can be dangerous.
The supplement industry is booming, with more than four in five Americans taking vitamins or supplements, according to a recent Harris Poll on behalf of the Ameri can Osteopathic Association. Despite their popularity, the FDA doesn’t test the effec tiveness, safety or quality of supplements or their ingredients.
SCRIBBLINGS BY ARUN BRAIN WASHERS
Teachings and preachings that are dogmatic, If used to pollute the young and fresh minds, Pave way to hatred and kill kith or kin, They when express own varied opinion. Benefits or rights or freedom of speech, Never be made use for propagating, Nefarious concepts or disastrous acts, To fulfil designs of few bizarre gangs. Beware of hardcore toxic brain washers, Keep away from them, as far possible. Preachings shall promote, love, peace and kindness, Not to spread hatred, cruelty, chaos. (arunsunderraj@gmail.com)
Austin South Asian Editor: Bala Kumar Marketing: Jayachitra Vijay -512-828-6709 Production: Jyothi Mariswaran Admin: Sharada Dayanidhi Publisher: Vidya Kumar Circulation: Vasooda info@austinsouthasian.comKumar I ©All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof be published without the wirtten consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertisement and article is 20th of every month. 512-828-6709 info@austinsouthasian.comwww.austinsouthasian.com FREE CLASSIFIED - info@AustinSouthAsian.com
• Proper dosage. There is wide variation in the amount of active ingredients in each supplement. Some iron supplements, for ex ample, contain only slightly more iron than a glass of tap water. Make sure you get what you’re paying for. On the other hand, tak
To help you navigate this largely unregulat ed industry, NovaFerrum, a leading manu facturer of iron supplements for children and adults whose products have been clini cally proven safe, effective and well toler ated, offers the following primer:
• Doctor-approved solutions. What you put into your body impacts your health in myriad ways, so choosing a supplement is essentially making a medical decision. Don’t rely on slick advertis ing. Always get your doctor’s counsel. For more information on NovaFerrum, its iron supplements or its clinical trial, visit novafer “Whetherrum.com. you’re taking supplements for ath letic performance, to fill nutritional gaps or to boost wellness, it’s essential to make smart choices,” says Patrick Monsivais, CEO of No vaFerrum. “The good news is that with a little research, you can determine which are effective and made from high-quality ingredients, and which are a waste of money or, worse, poten tially harmful.” (StatePoint)
Know the Tolerable Upper Intake Level or UL (the maximum amount you can in gest without negative side effects) of each supplement you take.
• Prepare meals that comply with their prescribed diet.
• Lead them in breathing exercises when they’re anxious.
COPD affects more than 15 million Americans and is responsible for one death every 4 minutes nation wide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, experts say that with a solid understanding of the disease, you’ll be equipped to help your loved one control symptoms and breathe “Caregiversbetter.play an integral role in helping a patient manage COPD at home,” says Jennifer Sheets, presi dent and chief executive officer of Interim HealthCare Inc., the na tion’s leading franchise network of home care, senior care, care coor dination, home health, hospice and healthcare staffing services. According to Sheets, here are a few key ways you can help those living with COPD:
In the case of Interim HealthCare, its proprietary training programs enable home health clinicians and paraprofessionals to provide valu able education and assistance to clients and families in familiar sur roundings. Additionally, Interim’s care philosophy, HomeLife Enrich ment, is designed to engage the mind, body, spirit and family in a personalized plan of care. A key element of this initiative is a new caregiver’s guide, “Caring for a Loved One With COPD,” which provides caregivers with a deeper understanding of the disease and the care protocols to help man age it. To access this resource, visit informationcopd-caregivers-guide.info.interimhealthcare.com/FormoreortolocateanInterim HealthCare office, visit interim “Whilehealthcare.com.aCOPD diagnosis can feel like a loss of control, there are steps you can take to manage your health and ensure a good quality of life,” says Sheets. (StatePoint)
• Assist with daily tasks that de plete their energy and encourage them to rest. Sheets also suggests that families consider professional home-based care, which can serve as an exten sion of the doctor’s office and keep individuals living healthfully and comfortably at home. She points out that for the majority of peo ple, home is the preferred place for care: an Interim HealthCare survey found that 65% of Ameri cans would have considered home healthcare as an alternative to a hospital stay in the past if they had known it was an option.
How To Support A Loved One With COPD
“A home healthcare team can educate your family on signs and symptoms of worsening COPD, when to notify the physician, and common triggers of COPD, along with how to manage them to reduce flare-ups and hospitalizations,” says Sheets. “Beyond helping you directly manage the condition, they can also assist with grooming, meals and housekeeping -- all the daily tasks that make living with COPD a little easier.”
• Organize their home for usedfrequentlyaccesseasiertoitems.
• Participate in approved exercises and encourage them in all aspects of COPD self-care.
It can be scary when a loved one is diagnosed with chronic obstruc tive pulmonary disease (COPD).
7 Austin South Asian | September 2022
• Support them in their effort to quit smoking. • Dust and vacuum regularly, change HVAC filters and take other steps to improve air quality in their home.
• Eliminate COPD triggers from their environment. This includes the car and other spaces your loved one spends time.
• Ensure prescriptions are refilled and remind them to take their med ication at scheduled times.
• Ensure they’re using their inhaler properly and assist with prescribed oxygen when needed.
• Keep theirditiontheirdocumentmentsappointdoctorscheduledandconforphy sician, always reporting early signs of flare-ups.
(StatePoint)
3.apps.Consider setting up a savings account for car-related expenses. Earmarking some of your income for automotive needs will help en sure you can cover expected and unexpected costs.
5 Ways To Save At A Time Of Higher Gas Prices And Rising Inflation
1. When shopping for a vehicle, compare prices at multiple dealer ships and research factors that will influence the cost of owning a par ticular model car, such as its fuel efficiency, along with the estimated cost of repairs and parts replace ments down the line.
4. Drive safely and more con sciously to conserve fuel. Accord ing to the U.S. Department of Energy, “obeying the speed limit, accelerating and braking gently and gradually, and reading the road ahead can improve the fuel econo my of your vehicle by 15%-30% at highway speeds and 10%-40% in stop-and-go traffic.”
season is in full swing with our core volunteers to our senior volunteers creating pieces to put in our Diwali in the Box. Everything from rangolis to cards to handcrafted jars. Countless hours thus far have been spent to ensure our older adults in the community can take a part in making this festival season special. Here Dhila aunty and Nirmal Aunty are posed with the volunteering they did to ensure you get a special card this Diwali. We couldn’t do it without our coordinators and volunteer drivers.
“We know that at a time of rising prices people are looking for ways to reduce the cost of car ownership, and insurance is one place to start,” said Bob Buckel, vice president, Personal Auto, Erie Insurance.
SAIVA By ThisMeghafestival
With higher gas prices and ris ing inflation putting pressure on finances, drivers are looking for ways to save on the cost of car
Onownership.average, it costs between $15,000- $24,000 to own a car over a five-year period, including fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs, fi nancing and state fees. While some of those costs are be yond your control, here are five things you can do to lower the cost of car ownership:
Other similar, impactful projects through SAIVA include therapy dolls and making pillows for cancer patients. Such projects help to stimulate the senior citizens’ mental and motor skills while simultaneously empowering them with the knowledge that they are making a difference in the community. Visit www.saiva.org to inquire to join our virtual weekly programs that include, cooking les sons, stories, yoga, meditation, music lessons, etc.
5. Talk to your insurance agent to make sure you are getting all the car insurance discounts you de serve. Erie Insurance offers a wide range of discounts and money-saving features, such as first accident for giveness, diminishing deductible, reduced usage, youthful driver and college student. They also offer a discount for bun dling policies and have an app called YourTurn that can reward you for safe driving. Drivers may earn up to $20 a month in gift cards. To learn more, visit erieinsurance.com.
Certain gas brands have rewards programs as well, many of which you can access via smartphone
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“Looking for a plan that gives you exactly what you need and nothing you don’t means you’ll be protect ed while not paying any more than you Thisshould.isagreat time to reach out to your independent insurance agent to review your policy and dis counts.”
While the future of inflation rates and gas prices is uncertain, the good news is there are creative ways to lower the cost of owning your car so you can enjoy the road.
2. Scan local gas stations for the best price and consider becoming a rewards member at grocery stores that offer fuel perks.
Bombay Express Indian Vegetarain Restaurant Vegan Friendly Monday - Sunday 11:00 am - 11:30 pm 13000 N IH35 Building 12, Unit 216 Austin - 78753, (Take-Away512-491-5055Texasispossibleonallitemsonthemenu)
9 Austin South Asian | September 2022
CHILDREN ARTICLES Children Email Us Your Articles
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Sticking to a daily routine offers endless social, emotional and physical develop mental benefits for preschoolers. Here’s how to make your schedule stick:
Tips To Get Preschoolers On A Schedule
• Sit down for dinner: Weeknights can be hectic, but try to make dinner a set time each evening where you can sit down to gether. Turning meal time into a family To It
• Try fun tech: Cool tech can help little ones get excited about following a routine while en couraging them to take on new responsibilities and care for themselves.Forexample, the My First Kidi Smartwatch from VTech, with its easy-to-use touch screen and variety of digital and analog clockfaces, teaches time-telling skills. But it’s more than a watch, it’s also a playful “pet pal” that lets out a friendly bark at the top of the Kidshour. can even name the dog gie, care for it and teach it tricks, or play interactive games featuring their puppy. What’s more, the smartwatch helps kids stay on track and learn healthy habits, with im portant reminders and chimes for brushing teeth, potty time and nap time.
• Create rituals: Keeping sleep schedules consistent can make falling asleep and waking up easier on kids, and little ritu als can make these times of the day more comforting.
Try singing a wake-up song each morning to get kids moving. At night, make it a daily habit to read a book together.
• Seek their input: Kids are more likely to feel engaged if they are involved in creat ing their schedule, so seek their input on certain details, such as the timing of their daily activities. For example, ask them if they would prefer to have quiet time or creative time before lunch. Once you’ve settled on the specifics, use a dry erase board or chalkboard to display their daily schedule. Be sure to hang it somewhere at their eye level, and consider including little icons for each activity to help young readers make the connection between the words and their meanings.
• Slow down: While routines are essential, it’s all too easy to become overly programmed. Be sure every single day includes free, unstruc tured time where kids can play, imagine and Acreate.regular schedule can make for happier kids and a calmer household. Using positive rein forcement and new tech tools, you can help kids enthusiastically take the reins of their own routine. (StatePoint)
activity offers everyone a chance to connect, bond and share the best parts of their day.
In Print
People can join a clinical trial as a healthy volunteer or patient with the disease being studied. Clinical trials often benefit patients because they can receive access to worldclass care and promising new treat ments or medicines that are not yet available to the public. Patients can always ask their doc tors for recommendations about clinical trials they may qualify for, but this is not required. People can also find clinical trials on their own through reputable online resources. Anyone interested in joining a clinical trial should gather as much information as possible about the study beforehand, such as what the study will entail, possible side ef fects and risks, and what type of time commitment is needed. Be fore taking part in a trial, talk with the treatment team about any con cerns to ensure you have the con fidence to make an informed deci sion about joining.
To
now of fers a solution that provides cus tomers with greater control in these circumstances. Low Cash Mode, a tool that offers transparency and choices to help customers avoid fees by managing low-cash mo ments or mistimed payments, is a feature available in the PNC Virtu al Wallet account through the PNC Bank Mobile app. The feature notifies you when your available balance is near or below zero and gives you at least 24 hours (and often more) to bring a nega tive balance to at least $0 through a deposit or funds transfer before incurring a fee. It also gives you the choice of whether to pay or return certain pending checks and electronic pay ments when your balance is near ing negative territory.
How To Get A Handle On Overdraft Fees
Why Diversity is Important in Clinical Trials
10 Austin South Asian | September 2022
This level of control has demon strated real results. PNC reports that 64% of customers who have a negative-balance event cure their account in time to avoid incurring a “Sometimesfee. people just need a little more time to cover important expenses,” says Overstrom. “And in these moments, they should have choices to make things right.” (StatePoint)
To ensure new treatments work well for all people, it is crucial for clinical trials to include volunteers from different backgrounds. Re search shows people may have dif ferent reactions to treatments based on their race, ethnicity, gender, age and other factors, which makes it important for clinical trials to in clude a diverse range of partici pants. However, most clinical tri als do not include participants that represent the diverse population of the United States.
“Removing the ability to overdraw an account doesn’t address the fact that many customers need to pay bills, even during temporary cash shortfalls,” says Alex Overstrom, head of Retail Banking at PNC Bank. “The key is that the consum er should be making the decision to incur or avoid fees, not just the bank.”
Without clinical trials, the medi cines millions of people rely on to treat or cure diseases would not have become available. Clinical trials examine the safety and effec tiveness of new treatments in peo ple, and this research plays a key role in developing ways to prevent, detect and treat diseases. Many people may not know they can volunteer to participate in clinical trials, an undertaking that may potentially advance scientific breakthroughs while helping peo ple around the world live healthier lives. Today, more than 425,000 such research studies are underway in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The ability to choose to overdraft can help consumers avoid bigger repercussions like credit impacts and loss of access to banking that unpaid bills or late payments can cause. Allowing customers to make their critical payments – albeit for a small fee – sometimes makes a difference that helps allow them to stay in the banking system.
The Value of Overdraft
When your bank account balance is low, life can be stressful. For ex ample, when it’s time to pay large expenses that can’t wait, like car loan payments or monthly rent, it’s all too easy to overdraft a bank ac Incount.fact, U.S. consumers pay bil lions of dollars a year in overdraft fees for covering all types of pur chases, both large and small. There is no doubt that overdraft fees serve as a pain point for many consumers, and as the issue of overdraft continues to be discussed and debated, several banks have taken different approaches in re Somesponse.have taken steps to address overdrafts, mostly by eliminating fees or eliminating the ability to overdraft Alternatively,completely.PNCBank
Control Pays Off
Help Discover The Next Breakthrough Medical Treatment
trials today have impor tant safeguards to not only ensure the safety and fair treatment of participants but also ensure they meet ethical standards,” said La Varne Burton, president and CEO of AKF. “These measures are criti cal toward achieving diversity and inclusion in clinical trials so ap proved treatments work well for those who so greatly need them.”
About 33% of people with kidney failure are Black, but only about 1 in 10 clinical trial participants are Black, according to the American Kidney Fund (AKF). The dispar ity also exists for Hispanic people, who are nearly 1.5 times more likely to have kidney failure than non-Hispanics. However, only 1 in 10 clinical trial participants are Hispanic.
Learn More About Participating in Clinical Trials
Research in kidney disease pro vides a prime example of why such representation is important.
If you are interested in clinical tri als related to kidney disease, you can find more resources about the clinical trial process and get matched with a clinical trial at kid neyfund.org/clinical-trials. (Fam ily PhotoFeatures)courtesy of Getty Images Advertise 512-828-6709
For example, if you opt to pay your rent or car payment – and avoid a penalty or a negative impact to your credit score by simply paying an overdraft fee – then the option to overdraft has provided a value.
Many complex barriers contribute to a lack of diversity in clinical tri als. Such barriers include mistrust among certain communities based on historical abuses, racial biases among health care providers, lan guage and cultural differences and a lack of access to information about clinical trials and their safety
Clinical trials have resulted in new treatments to slow damage to the kidneys and prevent kidney failure and death. However, despite hav ing a greater chance of developing kidney failure, people of color re main underrepresented in kidney disease clinical trials.
“Clinicalmeasures.
Connecting lessons about sustain ability to familiar aspects of your child’s daily life, like school, can makes it easy for him or her to understand and establish earthfriendly habits from a young age. Here are some ideas for promoting sustainable behaviors this school
Cost ThreeSavingstimes less expensive than electric buses, the cost of a propane school bus and its refueling infra structure is one of the most afford able options for school districts. School districts can save money throughout the lifetime of propane buses, which cost 30-50% less per mile to operate than diesel, accord ing to the Propane Education & Research Council.
The way kids ride to school today is very much the way children trav eled to school 25 years ago: in ag ing diesel school buses. However, diesel school buses are not only expensive to operate, but they pose risks to children’s health, the com munity and the climate. Today, there are two main options for clean student transportation: propane and electric. While both can reduce emissions, propane can do it at a fraction of the cost. Every day, 1.3 million American children ride to school in 22,000 propane-powered school buses. Propane buses are currently in 1,000 school districts in 48 states. That’s only about 5% of the na tion’s total buses, but the number is growing. These are some of the reasons more districts are moving to propane-powered transporta
Studenttion: Health and the Environ Thement cloud of black smoke that comes from the tailpipe of a die sel bus contains harmful emissions that are classified by the World Health Organization as a carcino gen and are known triggers for issues like asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems, accord ing to the Environmental Protec tion PropaneAgency.school buses lower those emissions to near-zero levels, which improves air quality and eliminates concerns about breath ing-related issues. In fact, accord ing to a study by Georgia State University, students who ride to school on a low-emissions bus, like propane, had higher test scores than those who rode on diesel bus
Beyear:smart about supplies. Before restocking your student’s supplies, take inventory of what you have left over from last year. Your stu dent probably had several items with plenty of life left, or things that were bought as backups, so you can avoid waste and save a little money while reducing your consumption of unnecessary Modelgoods. good habits. Kids learn by example, so know they’re watching and internalizing your behaviors. If you’re not already practicing these habits, make an intentional effort to turn lights off before you leave the house each morning, turn off the water while brushing teeth, use alternate energy sources around the house and encourage your school district to adopt sustainable prac tices, such as propane-powered Reducebuses. food-based waste. Con venient, single-serve packaging makes assembling school lunches a breeze, but all that extra wrap ping is waste that ends up in the landfill. Other options, like buying in bulk and send ing treats in re usable plastic bags, is a compartmentsboxesBento-styleapproach.earth-friendlymorewith for different foods are anoth er option to help make lunchtime more sustain able. Enjoygerms).herbackwastewaterwhichschoolwaterchildencourageSimilarly,yourtocarryabottleateachday,reducesfountain(andcutsonhisorexposuretonature
What’s more, a World LP Gas As sociation study found replacing diesel buses with propane buses would save enough money to hire 23,000 new teachers.
Safer,shares.Smarter
11 Austin South Asian | September 2022
For many parents, their interest in sustainability and earth-friendly living is driven by a desire to cre ate a better world for their children. Taking personal action and respon sibility are part of the solution but teaching the next generation to be environmentally conscious is an important part of the equation, too.
A typical propane school bus can drive more than 2.5 times farther on a full tank than a comparable electric school bus can drive on a full charge. Find more information about clean school bus operation at BetterOurBuses.com. (Family Features)
Comparedes. to electric, propane bus es provide a lower lifetime carbon option. That includes emissions that take place before the wheels start turning on the road, like charging a bus using the electric grid versus refueling it with pro pane. Coal and natural gas are still America’s primary sources of en ergy for electricity generation and drive up emissions.
WhileReliabilityelectric vehicles make sense for several uses, propane has the fuel range and performance needed for large vehicles that drive long distances without stopping to re charge or refuel.
Tips For Teaching Kids Earth-Friendly Habits
together. As temperatures cool, it’s a terrific opportunity to spend quality time outdoors as a family. Showing your child reasons to ap preciate nature can make it easier for him or her to understand and provide motivation to make choic es that protect the earth. Reinforce with reading. Multiple studies reinforce the benefits of reading with and to young students. Selecting books with earth-positive messaging helps them explore new ideas for sustainable living and see how beloved characters embrace values similar to those your family
Bus Transportation
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tions. If they find it easier to com municate their feelings through writing, you can go to the store together to pick out a journal. Chil dren who are not yet proficient writers may prefer to draw pictures about their feelings. No matter the method, be sure to make time to check in with your children. Teach Emotional Literacy and Re placement Skill Behavior. You can help your children move beyond comprehension of basic emotions – happy, sad, mad – and toward an understanding of more nuanced emotions. When children can iden tify their feelings, they’re closer to developing healthy responses.
3 Tips To Boost Your Children’s Self-Esteem This School Year
All of the recipes are produced with the planet in mind as waste is reused, recycled or transformed into energy. The kitchens in which the food is made and the refrigerators where customers find it use electricity generated by renewable wind or solar Swapenergy.OutSingle-Use
Products
If you’re not yet a pet parent but would like to become one, consider turning to local shelters. Adopting versus buying helps control over population and its environmental Anotherimpact. way you can contribute to local shelters is donating gen tly used blankets, towels, water dishes, leashes, collars, grooming tools and beds. This gives items a second life and helps reduce land fill waste.
Pet parents can be sure the docu ments are always on-hand if they have their smartphones and can recycle the paper documents once they’ve been saved digitally or reuse the documents as scratch paper. Find more environmentally friend ly advice for pet parents at Fresh Photopet.com/NaturesFresh.courtesyofGetty Images (Family Features)
Tips For Pet Parents To Be Environmentally Friendly
12 Austin South Asian | September 2022
While packing bags and backpacks for school, there’s one essential that may be overlooked: Children’s self-esteem. Although many chil dren may feel confident and selfassured at home, they can feel dif ferently in the classroom. When children have high self-esteem, they’re less likely to reflect nega tive feelings toward others. “If children can treat themselves kindly, they’ll treat others that way,” said Carter Peters from KinderCare Learning Centers’ edu cation team. “When children feel encouraged, supported and loved, they are able to give those feelings to Considerothers.”these three tips to boost your children’s self-esteem. Be Your Children’s Cheerleader. When praising or complimenting children for their achievements, be specific and include affirmation for positive character traits, such as “You were so kind to help Ms. Delmar take her recycling out” or “I’m proud of you for seeing she needed help and offering it.” Being specific with your compliments re inforces the idea that your children are kind and helpful. Eventually, they’ll offer others the same posi tive affirmations and be less likely to look to outside influences to de fine their sense of self.
Give Children Space to Safely Ex press Their Emotions. While it’s important to intentionally connect with your children one-on-one, it’s equally important to give them space to come to you for help. Let them know you notice when they don’t seem like themselves but try not to push them to share before they’re Youready. can talk with your chil dren about the ways they onefromwithcommunicatecanyou,asideone-on-conversa
When you’re out for a walk with your pet, bring Earth-friendly products like a reusable water bot tle rather than a single-use plastic bottle that may one day become a pollutant in waterways or food Forsources.your furry friend, a water bowl that collapses completely makes the item easy to store when not in use while also minimizing waste.
Use Compostable Pet Waste Bags
Picking up after your pet doesn’t have to create additional waste. Use compostable bags to avoid adding single-use baggies to land fills. Made from natural plant starch without toxic ma terials, composta ble bags are an eco-friendly op tion for disposing pet waste. If you have a com post pile used for plants you don’t plan on eating, simply toss the bag in that Alternately,pile. if your compost pile is used for fruits and veggies in a garden, be sure to bury the waste bags elsewhere –pet excrement can contain patho gens that are harmful to humans. Go Digital with Pet Health Records Many veterinarians still utilize pa per records, but these records are easily lost and can be harmful to the Considerenvironment.creating a digital record of all your pet’s health documents via the cloud so you and your fam ily can access it anywhere.
For many people, “going green” means walking rather than driving, ditching single-use plastics and conserving energy.
Explore Locally An easy way to reduce your carbon footprint is to visit dog parks and other pet-friendly locations within walking distance rather than driv It’sing.
a perfect opportunity to ex plore new hiking or walking trails, contribute to pet-friendly estab lishments and get a little exercise for both you and your furry friend.
“When children have high selfesteem and self-worth, they know when someone’s opinion of them is untrue,” Peters said. “Children with high self-esteem become adults ca pable of believing in themselves.”
Opt for Eco-Friendly Foods
To go above and beyond, pet par ents can follow additional mea sures that aid the planet while also supporting their furry friends.
Consider these eco-friendly ideas from Freshpet’s Nature’s Fresh line to support your pets and those in your community while also be ing environmentally friendly.
There are planet-friendly food choices available for pets, like Freshpet’s Nature’s Fresh, which sustainably sources ingredients with regenerative farming meth ods and offers certified humanely raised proteins.
Commonly labeled “bad behav iors” are often young children’s way of communicating something is wrong, so they may need help identifying the emotion driving their actions. It’s important for children to understand that while their feelings are acceptable, their behavior may not be. That’s where replacement skills – acceptable ways to express emotions – come in. For example, try saying “It’s OK to be mad. It’s not OK to hit other people. When you’re mad, you can hit a pillow.”
For more tips to help boost chil dren’s self-esteem, visit kinder care.com. (Family Features)512-828-6709
To Advertise In ASA Call
Support Local Shelters
Telehealth or telemedicine is typi cally done online through a com puter or cell phone, allowing pa tients to receive care from a health care provider without an in-person office visit. Telehealth options can help increase access to care by en abling patients to choose where they receive it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians began to expand access to care using telehealth. Congress made this increased use of telehealth possible and now has the opportunity to make permanent telehealth reforms, so every health care provider in America is permit ted to deliver safe, high-quality care using telehealth technology.
As intently as ever, Americans may choose to weigh their options, read online reviews and shop around to ensure they are choosing the best product or service at the best price. Health care should not be any different. People want options for their health care, receiving per sonalized care at a reasonable price and at a location that is convenient and comfortable.
that is not properly ven tilated can cause mildew and mold formation, which can potentially lead to structural problems and health issues. For most homes, the op timal humidity bal ance is 40-60%, but those levels can be hard to maintain in high-humidity spac es like erfulbinedtechnologyAntimicrobialbathrooms.lightcomwithpowventilation offers effective protection against bacteria, mold and fungi growth in your home. An op tion like the Broan SurfaceShield LED Exhaust Fan kills viruses and prevents mold, bacteria and fungi growth on surfaces in your bathroom or other humidity-prone environments. Featuring two light ing modes, an everyday white
3 Tips For Seeking Health Care
2. Consider independent Anpracticesindependent medical practice is owned by health care providers who enjoy a greater level of control than physicians working for large health care systems. Physicianowned practices allow patients more choices for where they seek care, including specialty care. In dependent practices are worth con sidering when shopping for care because these practices typically have a lower average cost per pa “Independenttient. physicians work for
light perfect for task lighting and a continuous antimicrobial mode, the cover is also designed to stay cleaner longer with less louvers in which dust and dirt can get trapped.
13 Austin South Asian | September 2022
(Family Features) The COVID-19 pandemic continues to change the way people spend time in their homes. From work to working out, more out-of-the-house activities have moved to the home. In fact, according to the 2021 American Time Use Survey, 38% of employed people did some or all of their work from home. That means better indoor air quality at home is as important as ever. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air qual ity can be up to five times worse than outdoor air quality. With the average person taking about 22,000 breaths per day, installing smarter indoor air quality technol ogy is key to healthier living yearImprovinground. your home’s air quality begins with recognizing what con tributes to poor indoor air quality, the potentially harmful effects and how to address these problems.
Cooking effluents Cooking effluents from food prep aration can infiltrate the whole house in minutes. Grease, oils and aromas settle permanently into car pet, furniture, clothing and other surfaces. Kitchen ventilation solu tions can help eliminate cooking effluents for a cleaner, more com fortable and healthier environment. For example, the Broan Elite 21Inch Custom Range Hood Power Pack offers a custom appearance while protecting cabinetry with stainless steel liners. Bright LED lighting enhances your cooking experience while the four-speed, back-lit, soft touch control and WiFi connectivity enabling voice control makes operating the hood easy. Automatic infrared sensing allows your range hood to adjust the speed of your fan based on your cooking StemmingPollutantsstyle.from sources like space heaters, gas stoves, woodstoves, indoor furnaces, dryers and fire places, combustion pollutants are gases or particles that come from burning materials. Examples in clude carbon monoxide – causing headaches, dizziness, disorienta tion, nausea and fatigue – and ni trogen dioxide – causing eye, nose and throat irritation; impaired lung function; and increased respiratory Wheninfections.possible use appliances that vent to the outside, ventilate rooms where fuel-burning appliances are in use and ensure these appliances are properly installed, used, adjust ed and Exploremaintained.moreideas for improving air quality in your home at broanPhotonutone.com.courtesy of Getty Images (couple on couch)
from LUG PA, the largest urology trade as sociation in the United States, nearly one-third of older Ameri cans worry they won’t get the care they need at a location they choose for a price they can afford. Their concern comes as no surprise since hospitals are usually more expen sive than independent practices. Hospitals are increasingly com bining into large hospital systems, which creates fewer choices where patients in a community can seek health care. This decrease in com petition can often drive up the cost of care.
According to the survey, 65% of Americans trust independent phy sicians and associate them with more individualized and patientfocused care compared to phy sicians employed by hospitals. Physician-owned practices also provide a greater level of person alization and responsiveness, have fewer preventable hospital admis sions and have lower readmission rates than larger, hospital-owned 3.practices.Ask if telehealth options are Patientsavailableshould ensure they receive the highest quality care possible and at the location of their choice.
1. Shop around for health Whencare people are not in an emer gency situation, it is beneficial to shop around for the best price for health care services. Americans have a right to price transparency in health care, meaning they know the cost of services before receiv ing them. Hospitals operating in the United States are required to provide clear, accessible pricing information online about the items and services they provide, so do not be afraid to ask for pricing in formation Accordingupfront.toasurvey
Improve Your Home’s Air Quality
Americans can let their elected representatives know they back policies that give them the tools they need to choose the best health care for them. To learn more about policies that increase options and price transparency for health care, visit
Off-gassingOff-gassing from construction materials, carpeting, adhesives and synthetic materials, as well as solvents from common household cleaners, can accumulate in even well-constructed homes. Continu ous ventilation solutions can help reduce the harmful effects of offgassing, such as headaches, nausea and irritation in your eyes, nose and Simplethroat.smart ventilation fans and good ventilation can help control off-gassing in your home. Other options for reducing the impact of off-gassing include shopping for products designed for low or no volatile organic compound emis sion and adding houseplants that naturally help filter and purify the air, though houseplants only offer a small amount of help. patients,” said Jonathan Hender son, MD, president of LUGPA. “We often have patients we’ve known for decades, which estab lishes a relationship of trust. We discuss health decisions with pa tients based on what is in their best interests. We have no obligations to a hospital system. When needed, we can freely refer patients to other physicians who we expect to take the best care of our patients based on their individual needs.”
Photo(Familylugpa.org/BetterCareNow.Features)courtesyofGettyImages
MoistureMoisture
A student’s car is the first own ve hicle for many. The independent, adult life, often connected with moving to a new, larger city, is a perfect time to buy one. However, not every car will make life easier in the long run. We pro vide advice on what car to choose to ensure that the students’ idyll does not change into an expensive Aproblem.student’s car should have several basic properties to ensure that us ing it will make life in the city eas ier and not more difficult. It needs not be impressive, expensive or extra fast. It must fulfill its major function, i.e. go from the students’ dormitory to the university and enable them to return home for the weekend Whatsafely.is more, it cannot be expen sive in terms of its purchase price and maintenance costs. Although this may sound strange, it should not be perfect so that we are not sorry if there is any collision or ac cident. Below, please see some tips on how to choose a student’s car.
14 Austin South Asian | September 2022 The First Vehicle For A Student — What Should You Pay Attention To?
over the phone, but also child care when her or his guardians suffer in the acci Thirddent. party liability insurance — it will ensure protection if any loss is caused to any third party or their property as a result of what we do. The guaranteed sum of the third par ty liability insurance should be at least EUR 100,000.
How to safeguard from unforeseen expenses?
The first car, particularly the one to be driven by young people, may be exposed to many hazards. Colli sions and accidents happen even to experienced drivers, but those who start their driving adventure stand a higher chance of causing or par ticipating in some incident.
The researchers found that child behavior problems predicted high er levels of maternal depression down the road, regardless of ASD status. They didn’t see the inverse effect, however; prior maternal depression didn’t predict child be havior problems later.
However, the consequences of such incidents can be not only problematic, but also very expen sive. Even if you ignore the ex penses connected with repairing the damage emerging during the collision, the accident participants may be encumbered with liability for losses suffered by third parties and their property.
Half of Moms of Kids With Autism Have High Depressive Symptoms
“Being the parent of a child with special needs is inherently chal lenging every day,” noted Elissa Epel, Ph.D., UCSF professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Be havioral Science, and senior author of the study.
Summary: 50% of mothers who have children on the autism spec trum report symptoms of depres sion over an 18-month period, a new study reports.
“We found mothers’ higher symp toms of depression did NOT pre dict increases in children’s behav ior problems over time, including among families with a child with autism who experience a lot of stress,” said Danielle Roubinov, Ph.D., UCSF assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and first author of the study. “That was sur prising and good news.”
If you want to choose the appropri ate insurance for you, use the car insurance calculator on rankomat. Thanks to that, you will compare different policies and choose the appropriate one for you and best matching your needs, and then you will easily buy it online in several simple steps, without leaving your home. (Courtesy: https://neurosci encenews.com/)
— This is a per fect solution though more expen sive and thus less affordable for a wider group of drivers. In the long run, however, it is much more eco nomical and, which is also impor tant, eco-friendly.
Car maintenance — The parts for the student’s car should be inex pensive and easily available. This will help to avoid high costs in the case of failure which may happen in older cars. This criterion is important for one more reason — inexperienced drivers are more prone to have col lisions. Some scratching or broken bumpers are parts which are easier to repair at some lower cost.
The car size — The vehicle should be compact. Most universities are situated in larger cities with heavy traffic and limited space. A small, compact car will make it easier to drive in the streets and to find some place to park.
Source: UCSF About 50% of all mothers of chil dren with autism spectrum dis order (ASD) had elevated levels of depressive symptoms over 18 months, while rates were much lower (6% to 13.6%) for mothers with neurotypical children in the same period, UCSF researchers re port in a new study published Au gust 26 in Family Process.
This is why, in particular when the driver is a student with a limited budget, before going on a road ev eryone should buy an appropriate car policy which will minimize the risk of unforeseen expenses and painful consequences. The most important components of the pol
A One-Way Street
important also during for eign trips as it provides coverage icy Assistanceinclude: — it will ensure the first, basic assistance and support at the time of any fortuitous event. This is not only related to provid ing the most important informa tion, including emergency phone numbers or assistance facilities,
“We already know from this sam ple that mothers with more depres sion tend to have signs of faster biological aging, such as lower levels of the anti-aging hormone klotho and older immune cells, on average,” added Epel. Here, we wanted to understand the impact of their depression on their child, and vice versa.”
Economical — A student’s car should have low fuel consump tion. The optimum consumption in the city is ca. 5–6 liters. Small cars do not consume much fuel which makes driving them more Electricaleconomical.vehicle
The car price — As most of us know students who enter adult life often have a limited budget. This means the car they choose must not cost too much. Today, you can find many older, second-hand cars for an affordable price.
for the accident-related treatment or rehabilitation. What is more, the accident insurance guarantees compensation if the insured person
Self-blame and guilt among par ents of ASD children is common and predicts worsening depres sion and lower life satisfaction over time, the team’s past research shows. (Continued On Page 15)
Comprehensivedies. cover — this poli cy will ensure disbursement of the relevant compensation if the car is damaged due to the injured party’s fault. It also covers theft of the ve hicle, the act of the forces of nature and the so-called vandalism acts (or more general third party acts).
“The finding that maternal depres sion does not lead to worsened child symptoms is especially im portant for mothers of children with ASD to help alleviate guilt many mothers feel about their children’s diagnosis and behavior problems,” said Roubinov.
“We hope these findings will re assure mothers that it’s both com mon to struggle with some depres sion in this high-stress situation of chronic caregiving, and that their depression likely isn’t making their child’s behavioral issues worse.”
“It is a prototypical example of chronic stress, which is why we have been focusing on caregiving moms in our studies that examine effects of stress on health.”
Accident insurance — it guaran tees covering the costs and any benefit disbursement if our health suffers as a result of the fortuitous Thisevent.is
In addition, while past studies sug gest having a parent with depres sion increases the risk that children will have mental health and be havior problems, this study found something different.
“But the reverse is also true: when trying to remember something al ready learned during the exam itself, a familiar and expected en vironment could be helpful, and support retrieving information from Experiencingmemory.”Surprise:
The second study in the MRI scanner gave exactly the same behavioral results, and showed activation in the brain’s hippocam pus—the memory center, midbrain regions—which release dopamine, and occipital cortex—the vision center. In contrast, a sequence of two unexpected similar events also triggered visual areas in the brain, but did not enhance memory per Leadformance.author Dr. Darya Frank, a cog nitive neuroscientist from the Uni versity of Manchester, said, “We already know that if expectation is violated before or during learning, it triggers an adaptive mechanism resulting in better memory for un expected events. This experiment shows how the mechanism is also affected when we are trying to re trieve information.”
To efficiently process information, the brain shifts between encoding and retrieval states, prioritizing bottom-up or top-down processing
In the current study, the research ers repeatedly measured maternal depression and children’s behavior problems in 86 mother-child dy ads across 18 months. Half of the mothers had children with ASD and half had neurotypical children. The age range of children in the study was two to 16 years old, though the majority (75%) of the children were elementary age or Maternalyounger.
autism tend to expe rience more marital conflict, lower relationship satisfaction, and many other challenges, said Roubinov.
A study by University of Manches ter neuroscientists into the effect of surprise on our memory has in advertently discovered a method which might help us to perform better in exams. In the study, published in the Jour nal of Neuroscience, 26 people were shown pictures of objects that were either natural, such as fruit, trees and flowers, or man-made, such as a computer mouse and tele phone.
Potential Way To Tune The Brain Into Learning Mode
Using fMRI, we explored (1) whether this encoding mechanism is also triggered during retrieval, and if so, (2) what the temporal dynamics of its mnemonic conse quences are.
Source: University of Manchester
Have High Depressive Symptoms
Although the study acknowledged that families with a child with ASD experience high levels of stress, the authors were cautious to note that stress is not their only defining
“These are important experiences that supportive programs can build Followingupon.” the study, the research ers offered mindfulness classes to all parents to help manage parent ing “Thestress.parents were grateful to share common challenges and learn in ner strategies to cope,” Epel said.
Few studies on maternal depres sion, child behavior in ASD con text Bidirectional associations between maternal depression and child be havior problems have been report ed in prior research.
Summary: Study reveals how the element of surprise helps facilitate learning and memory retrieval.
We found interactions between pre vious and current similar events’ expectation, such that when an ex pected event followed a similar but unexpected event, its performance was boosted, underpinned by ac tivation in the hippocampus, mid brain, and occipital cortex. In con trast, a sequence of two unexpected similar events also triggered occip ital engagement; however, this did not enhance memory performance.
The Tem poral Dynamics of Its Impact on Memory
violation before or during learning has been shown to trigger an adaptive encoding mech anism, resulting in better memory for unexpected events.
The hippocampus encodes—or creates—memories, but also re trieves memories. With only a fi nite amount of resource to allocate to either, the two mechanisms are in conflict. So when something un expected happens, our brain focus es on the outside environment so it can learn something new, some thing it did not initially expect. Scientists already know that sur prise turns on the brain’s learning mode, add link however, the cur rent study is the first to investigate how the brain uses the mechanism when we are trying to retrieve in Dr.formation.Frank added, “Though our study did not assess the impact of these findings on exam revision and performance, it is logical to see its “Soimplications.whenthegoal is to retrieve in formation—encountering surpris ing events like revising in a café or other unfamiliar surroundings would engage an encoding mecha nism that may enhance memory for a future exam. ed with another 24 people having a functional MRI scan to reveal which regions of the brain were used to learn and retrieve the infor mation.
We wanted to see whether the link between maternal and child mental health was different in the context of a high-stress family system, such as when a child has autism.”
(Continued From Page 14)
“Many studies have shown that mindfulness training can help with parenting stress, and we also found our parents showed improved men tal health.”
Half of Moms of Kids With Autism
Male and female participants stud ied object images, then, with new objects, they learned a contingency between a cue and a semantic cat egory. Rule-abiding (expected) and violating (unexpected) targets and similar foils were used at test.
(Courtesy: https://neuroscience news.com/)
“Manycharacteristic.mothers of children with autism also report high levels of emotional closeness and positive interactions with their children,” Roubinov said.
It is important to experience and notice positive emotions and joy, despite having a more challenging life situation, said Epel.
15 Austin South Asian | September 2022
“Given the effects of chronic stress on health and mood, caregiving parents need extraordinary emo tional support in addition to the special services for their child,” she “It’ssaid.asvital to provide support for parents’ mental health as it is for children’s mental health.” (Cour tesy: https://neurosciencenews. com/)
Expectationaccordingly.
depression was measured using the Inventory of Depres sive Symptoms, a self-report scale completed by mothers. Child behavior was measured through maternal report on the Child’s Challenging Behavior Scale, which focuses on external izing behaviors such as tantrums, aggression and defiance. The researchers said future stud ies should also look at associations between maternal depression and children’s internalizing symptoms (e.g., withdrawal, anxiety, emo tional reactivity).
However, few studies have exam ined these relationships in families with Familiesautism.with
In the study, the scientists trained the participants to expect manmade or natural objects using cues such as a triangle or a square. The whole experiment was then repeat
When an expected event—such as a triangle preceding a man-made object—followed a similar but un expected event—a triangle preced ing a natural object—the partici pants’ memory was boosted.
“A stressful family environment may spill over onto family mem bers and could change the ways mothers and children relate to each other,” she said.
Taken together, our findings sug gest that when the goal is to retrieve, encountering surpris ing events engages an encoding mechanism, supported by bottomup processing, that may enhance memory for future related events.
Mantra, which means “I bow to the subtle di vine wisdom, the divine teacher within.” Another common chant you’ll hear in a Kundalini class is Sat Nam, which means “I am Youtruth.”canalso expect a meditation-heavy class. Each set during Kundalini yoga has differ ent poses that involve movement, breathing techniques, mindfulness, and a mantra.
1.Builds strength Because you hold each posture for an ex tended period of time (sometimes up to five minutes!), Kundalini yoga is a great way to strengthen and tone your muscles. Some of the more intense breathing tech niques—like Breath of Fire—can also build core strength, as you have to en gage your abdominal muscles with each 2.exhale.Improves your mood That “high” you get after a sweaty yoga class is a real thing—research has found that regularly practicing Kundalini yoga increases the production of serotonin (the happy hormone) in your brain.
A typical Kundalini yoga class is comprised of three parts: an opening chant (known as “tuning in”) followed by a brief warm-up for your spine, a kriya (which is a sequence of postures paired with breathing techniques), and a closing meditation or song. Each kri ya—which is Sanskrit for “action”—pairs a physical pose with a breath or meditation. These poses can be anything you choose based on the part of your body that you want to focus on, like cobra pose for your spine or warrior for your legs and glutes. While different kriyas use different breaths, one of the most popular breathing techniques is Breath of Fire, which consists of short, quick breaths (almost like a dog panting). To do Breath of Fire, seal your lips and breathe in and out of your nose at a rate of about two to three breaths per second. As you breathe, expel the air in powerful spurts to engage your core.
The “Bhagavad Gita” is the most sacred and holy scripture in Sanatana Dharma (Hindu ism). It is the primary holy book in “Vaish navism” denomination of Hinduism along with the Shrimad Bhagavatam.
5. Boosts your metabolism and digestive sys Throughtem the combination of breath and pos tures, Kundalini yoga is focused on strength ening your core and diaphragm. This in turn improves your digestion and has been shown by researchers to speed up metabolism (meaning your body processes energy more efficiently). How to practice.
It is said that Lord Krishna instructed a de jected Arjuna who was not ready to take arms and fight his own kinsmen (Kauravas).
The Bhagavad Gita has been translated into many languages and published by various publishing houses. The Gita Press of Go rakhpur is the leading publisher of Hindu Scriptures including the Bhagavad Gita.
Guinee’s Record Gita Chanting At Dallas
“The practice of kundalini is filled with really challenging breath exercises cou pled with asanas and meditation,” says yoga instructor Caley Alyssa in our 28 Days To Yoga Bliss class. “These are often practiced in repetition for a pretty lengthy period of time and move a lot of energy around in your body.” There’s a reason why the practice has gained popularity only recently: The an cient teachings of Kundalini yoga were kept secret for a very long time, only taught to royalty and nobility for thou sands of years until Bhajan brought it to the West in the late 1960s and began to teach it publicly.
16 Austin South Asian | September 2022
The present day Kurukshetra in Haryana is the place where the Gita was preached to Ar juna. It is believed that the departure of Lord Krishna to his abode “Vaikuntha” marks the start of CalculationsKaliyuga.bymany astronomers have pro vided us a tentative date (12th February 3102 BC) which was 5000 years ago at Bhalka Tirth in Somnath.
It is a part of the larger Indian Epic “Mahab harata” written by Maharishi Vyasa. There are many sub sections of the Vaishnava Tra dition such as: Nimbarka, Pushti Marg etc. However, the credit for expansion of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita has been popularised by Gaudiya Vaishnavism (origi nated in Bengal) and ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).
Kundalini Yoga
(Continued From Page 01)
The ultimate goal of Kundalini is to in crease your self-awareness by silencing your mind and unblocking your chakras so that your vital energy can flow freely.
This sacred event and the mass chanting, a representative of the Guinee’s Book of World Records, presented Shri Ganpati Sachidan and Swami with a record of “largest and simultaneous Hindu text recital” The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has sent a letter of appreciation to Avadhoota Datta Peetham and he extended his wishes for this remarkable event. According to some reports, the practise process for this record was conducted over a year span.
4.Enhances your memory and focus According to research, Kundalini yoga can impact cognitive functioning, boosting both your concentration and memory. Even the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foun dation recommends a Kundalini kriya for im proving memory retention.
Below are some of the most popular health benefits of Kundalini, including a faster metabolism, better mood, and low ered stress levels.
Bonus: While you don’t have to wear headto-toe white, it is common in Kundalini. That’s because the color white is thought to ward off negative energy and extend your own Teachersaura.will often also wear a white head covering, such as a hat, scarf, or turban, to contain the energy within the body. (Cour tesy: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/)
(Continued From Page 01)
Lord Krishna describes himself as “Sway am Bhagwan” and causes of all causes. He gives shelter to any one be it a beast, man or someone belonging to different social status. (poor/rich etc.). The most oft quoted verses from the Gita are: “Whenever there is a decline in the Dharma, (righteousness) and increase in Adharma (un righteousness) I take avatar age after age to restore Dharma.”
The most well read and recommended book on Bhagavad Gita is that of Srila Prabhupada. (The Bhagavad Gita as it is). Gita Jayanti is celebrated annually every December. (Cour tesy: https://organiser.org/)
What are the health benefits?
There are a lot of reasons why people choose to practice Kundalini—like its effect on both your physical and psycho logical well-being.
Between postures, you’ll have a minute or two to relax and focus inward. After the en tire set, there’s a relaxation followed by a meditation, then a mantra before class closes.
3.Lowers your blood pressure and heart Studiesrate have repeatedly shown that Kundalini yoga—specifically the deep breathing techniques used during it—can de crease the risk of hypertension. Long, slow breaths calm your autonomic ner vous system and reduce stress, thus lowering both your blood pressure and pulse rate.
Chanting and singing are also keythestartclassesbutpracticeingcitecanthatandmantrasendlessThereiniKundalnentscompoofyoga.aresongsyoureduryourmostwithAdi
Overheard with Evan Smith host Evan Smith, storytime with special guests including Luci Baines John son and host of The Daytripper, Chet Garner, and performances by Zilker Summer Musical, DJ Cho rizo Funk, School of Rock, Deezie Brown, Briscoe and Darkbird. For additional information about Austin PBS, visit: www.austinpbs.
AUSTIN PBS
Health Tips From Sadhguru To Face These Challenging Times
The coronavirus pandemic has brought into sharp focus the impor tance of staying healthy. The robustness of our immune sys tem could literally mean the differ ence between life and death. Here is a selection of articles where Sadhguru explains how managing one’s immunity, food, sleep and the five elements can lead to a much healthier life. These tips are not a panacea or a cure for the coronavirus, but they will definitely improve the body’s ability to tackle any infection.
Since 1962, Austin PBS has been a part of Central Texas, delivering programs that educate, entertain, and inspire. As the only locally-owned and op erated nonprofit public television station in Central Texas, Austin PBS uses its unique position to serve as a bridge to the community and provide essential services to 3 million potential viewers in more than 20 counties across the region.
Editor’s Note: Inner Engineering Online is available free of cost for COVID Warriors and at half the cost for everyone else. (Courtesy: https://isha.sadhguru. org/)
The college believes deeply in eq uity, diversity and inclusion.
Fundamentals of Good Health
The Austin Media Center, located on the ACC Highland campus, is a 45,000-square-foot, state-ofthe art facility that features three TV studios, including the 6,600 sq. ft. Pfluger Keller Community Soundstage, an advanced studio for ACC’s public access channel, ACCTV, and a shared studio space. With over 100 miles of cabling to support broadcast functional ity, the Austin Media Center is the largest 12G facility in the United States.
Patiño and Board Chair Ryan Nix on will be joined by Mayor Steve Adler, Austin City Council Mem ber for District 4, José ‘Chito’ Vela, State Representative Sheryl Cole, Austin Community College Chan cellor Dr. Richard Rhodes and ACC Board of Trustees Vice Chair, Dr. Nora DeHoyos Comstock for a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday August 27.
Like Austin PBS, ACC places the community as its primary focus, making the partnership a natural fit,” said Dr. Rhodes.
ABOUTorg
“We are looking forward to invit ing the community in, collaborat ing with local creators and sharing stories from our diverse and fas cinating city–not just locally, but also nationally and globally.”
Austin South Asian ContributionsInvites From Readers And Community
“This partnership also creates op portunities for ACC students to gain real-world experience work ing with both ACCTV and Austin PBS to build a highly-skilled and homegrown workforce.”
Austin PBS
Achieving good health is not an overnight endeavor, but there are some effective ways to start mak ing an improvement. In these two articles, Sadhguru helps us understand the fundamen tals of good health: Boost ResearchersImmunityagree that the best de fense against any viral infection is having a strong immune sys tem. Be better prepared to face the COVID-19 challenge by boosting your immunity. Food and Diet Food is the basic building block of the human body and what we eat has a huge impact on how robust and healthful we are.
Here are twelve comprehensive articles by Sadhguru that can help you craft the best diet plan for Sleepyourself:and Rest A good night’s sleep does wonders for both the body and the mind. Get the deepest sleep with these practical tips from Sadhguru: Cleansing the Five Elements for a Healthy Life In Yoga, Bhuta Shuddhi (cleansing the five elements in the system) is a very fundamental process and is considered as the basis of health and wellbeing. Sadhguru sheds light on this seemingly esoteric practice, making it more accessible to
The ribbon cutting begins a Grand Opening Community Day that is free and open to the public, taking place between 10 a.m and 6 p.m. on ProgrammingSaturday. includes appearanc es by PBS KIDS characters, a live interview with Mayor Adler from Austin PBS is celebrating the of ficial opening of the Austin Media Center, the station’s new HQ and Togetherstudios. with partners, Austin Community College, Austin PBS strives to connect a diverse and changing Central Texas commu nity through meaningful commu nication and engagement.
PRESS VictoriaCONTACTMcLemore vmclemore@ klru.org
Sadhguru:all:
17 Austin South Asian | September 2022
“ACC is leading the nation in transforming how students learn.
“If you are exuberant, joyful and wonderful, your im mune system will function much better than when you are worried and distressed. One fundamental thing is to keep this life exuberant and alive, not depressive. It may find expression in the form of joy, love, meditation or ultimate Westillness.donot know if we will be able to prevent this virus from entering our homes and our bodies. We are making an attempt. But we can do this much: we can remain as dynamic as the virus. It is very dynamic and is doing its job really well. We must do ours very well as human beings.”
“This amazing facility allows Aus tin PBS to be more accessible, fa cilitating purposeful engagement around educational, social, civic and cultural content in a flexible environment,” said Luis Patiño, President and CEO of Austin PBS.
Cricket With Colors
(Continued From Page 01)
The Mayor of Cedar Park City, Corbin Van Arsdale along with his wife Stephanie Van Arsdale joined in to celebrate Holi. In his talk, he appreciated the spirit of the festival and acknowledged the emotions attached to cultural events of the home Mayorcountry.VanArsdale also appreci ated the efforts to develop youth cricket in the city’s growing com munities. He offered his help to build cricket infrastructure in the greater Austin area. With such cricket events for broad er communities, WCI continues to drive the “Cricket for All” ini tiative to expand the footprint of youth cricket in the USA.
VaradarajanVasundharaAnnoji
Abhiveer
18 Austin South Asian | September 2022 Kids Corner
WCI’s founder Alok Singh and his team shared their optimism for many more community events, world class coaching, and profes sional games in 2022. They all are looking forward to 2024 ICC World Cup games to be played in Texas and cricket to be included in 2028 Summer Olym pics in LA.
‘Cricket with Colors’ combined the celebrations of cricket and colors during the Holi weekend in the Williamson County Park of the greater Austin area. In this day-long event, people of all age groups from broader communities Throughparticipated.the day multiple youth, men and women games were played. In the midst of cricket games, the festival of colors, Holi was celebrated in the pavilion.
All these cricket events have also been part of the Indian govern ment’s initiative Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence worldwide.
“Did you look for it under your pil low?” asked Raman.
period. A Tibetan monastery, mu seum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha’s eyes and eyebrows painted on. Be tween them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two ac cess points: a long staircase lead ing directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south lead ing to the south-west entrance.
“ I have never met with failure. But this time I failed. Now that we are parting company, please tell me where did you hide the money in the night?” pleaded the thief. “Un less I know your secret, I may not be able to sleep,” he confessed.
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Theappointed.next day, the two travelers reached the holy city of Tirupati, and they had to part company. The companion con fessed that he was a thief.
Raman smiled, “I knew you were a thief the moment I saw you. I took care to hide money where you would never find it.”
Swayambhunath Stupa Aka “Monkey Temple”
“I looked for it under your pillow and found nothing. Why should I look for your money under my pil low?” asked the bewildered thief.
19 Austin South Asian | September 2022
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“But where? I looked for it every where,” cried out the thief.
Raman Outsmarts A Cheat
The first sight on reaching the top of the stairway is the Vajra. Tsul trim Allione describes the experi Weence:were breathless and sweating as we stumbled up the last steep steps and practically fell upon the Swayambhu is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kath mandu Valley, west of Kathmandu Thecity. Tibetan name for the site means ‘Sublime Trees, for the many varieties of trees found on the However,hill. Shing.kun may be of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Swayambhu, meaning For‘self-sprung’.theBuddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day reli gious practice Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Ti betan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha. Swayambhunath is the Hindu name. The complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi biggest vajra (thunderbolt scepter) that I have ever Behindseen. this Vajra was the vast, round, white dome of the stupa, like a full solid skirt, at the top of which were two giant Buddha eyes wisely looking out over the peaceful valley which was just beginning to come alive. Much of Swayambhu nath’s iconography comes from the Vajrayana tradi tion of Newar Buddhism. However, the complex is an important site for Buddhists of many schools, and is also revered by SwayambhuHindus. is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. According to the Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī, it was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE), King Vṛsadeva, about the begin ning of the 5th century CE. This seems to be confirmed by a damaged stone inscription found at the site, which indicates that King Vrsadeva ordered work done in 640 However,CE. Emperor Ashoka is said to have visited the site in the third century BCE and built a temple on the hill which was later destroyed. Although the site is considered Buddhist, the place is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. Nu merous Hindu monarch followers are known to have paid their hom age to the temple, including Pratap Malla, the powerful king of Kath mandu, who is responsible for the construction of the eastern stair way in the 17th century. The stupa was completely reno vated in May 2010, its first major renovation since 1921 and its 15th in the nearly 1,500 years since it was built. The Swayambhu Shrine was re-gilded using 20 kg of gold. The renovation was funded by the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Cen ter of California, and began in June 2008.
Once upon a time, Raman set out on a long journey. In those days, one had to walk through the jungle to get to another city. On the way, another traveler joined Raman. “This place is infested with thieves. I am afraid they will rob me. Can I travel with you?” the man asked Raman. Raman readily agreed. That night, the two of them stopped at some place to rest. Ra man was tired and fell asleep soon. His companion was waiting for this moment. In fact, he was a thief who used to rob travelers. He got up and looked under Raman’s pil low without disturbing him. He found nothing. He carefully searched Raman’s pockets looking for money. To his disappointment, he did not find even a paisa! Then he opened the bundle Raman was carrying. Again, he found nothing. The next morning, the two resumed their journey. They halted for the night. Raman had a sound sleep. His compan ion searched Ra man’s belongings, looking for money and valuables. Again, he was dis
“Because I hid the money under your pillow,” said Raman, “I was confident it was the one place you would never look for my money.”
20 Austin South Asian | September 2022
First, let’s focus on the positive — the foods you should load up on if you want to improve our heart health. They include: Leafy green vegetables We know, we know: The idea that you should eat leafy green veg etables is hardly a novel or excit ing one. But most of us don’t get enough of them, and they’re cru cial for heart health.
So there you have it: You can in dulge in hot dogs and cookies this summer, just don’t go crazy. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to load up on the salmon and leafy green veggies! This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
It’s not only rich in protein, but also rich in potassium and fiber — both of which help people maintain a healthy blood pressure and lower
A Word About Moderation
“Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choy and collard greens are a key com ponent for a heart-healthy diet, and something that most of us do not get enough of,” explained Dr. Sanjeev Aggarwal, a former chief of cardiac surgery who currently serves as medical adviser at Hello Heart.“Several studies have shown a re duced incidence of heart disease with increased green vegetable in take. Foods like spinach are hearthealthy superfoods as they’re high in potassium, folate and magne Folatesium.” is a key vitamin for a healthy heart, he notes. “It helps break down homocysteine, an ami no acid in our blood that can lead to a higher risk of heart disease.”
IfDietcholesterol.”sodayouthinkdiet soda is the answer to your health woes, think again — these beverages may be caloriefree, but they aren’t doing amaz ing things for your
super Ifsaltyyou’re consum ing a lot of super-salty foods, be ware. “A diet rich in sodium has harmful effects on blood pressure, kidney function and physiologic fluid regulation,” explained Dr. Vicken Zeitjian, a cardiologist. “Most processed foods and com mercialized foods have high so dium content, so limited consump tion is advised to help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.”
AnotherAvocadosreason to eat avocados? Yes, please! “Avocados contain monounsaturated fats that can im prove cholesterol and reduce in flammation,” Aggarwal said. “Sev eral studies have demonstrated the positive effects of avocados in low ering the bad form of cholesterol (LDL) that leads to plaque build-up in the arteries and an increased risk of heart (Continueddisease.OnPage 21)
Beans, cauliflower and lentils Foods high in double fiber, like beans, cauliflower and lentils, can benefit the heart. “These foods have been shown to lower choles terol,” Areces said. These foods also contain plant ste rols and stanols, which are natu rally occurring compounds that look similar to cholesterol, and which studies have found can re duce cholesterol. Plant sterols and stanols can also be found in fruits like blueberries and apples.
The Best And Worst Foods For Heart Health, According To Doctors
fatty acids have been shown by research to have antiinflammatory effects, decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and have a positive effect in obe sity and diabetes mellitus Type 2.”
Quinoa, oats and barley
Whole grains like quinoa, whole wheat, oats and barley are healthy carbohydrates that lower the risk of heart disease, Aggarwal said. “Qui noa is an excellent heart-healthy food option and is a great substitute for white rice.
“Whileheart. many turn to diet soda to im prove their health, quite the opposite can be true with chronic consump tion,” Bogden said. “Not only are artificial sweeten ers more sweet than table sugar, causing you to crave and ingest more sugar, which can lead to chronic inflammation, but studies are starting to emerge suggest ing that artificial sweeteners can harm our gastro intestinal balance, thus promoting inflammation and increasing our risk for Anythingdisease.”
As the saying goes, “everything in moderation.” But does this apply to foods that are flat-out bad for heart “Ahealth?healthy diet is all about mod eration, and maintaining your heart health goes beyond your diet,” Ag garwal said. “People need to evalu ate their lifestyle choices, exercise habits, stress levels and more to properly manage their heart health.
Despite a recent movement to ward body positivity and neutral ity, when we talk about “good” and “bad” foods as a society, we still tend to focus on whether they’ll make us gain weight or help us lose it. But there’s a lot more to the con versation than how many calories a specific food has, and when it comes to heart health, one thing is very clear: Not all foods are cre ated Someequal.foods are really good for your heart, some aren’t great (but not terrible either), and others are just flat-out bad. So, which foods should you be eating for better heart health, and which ones should you avoid? We chatted with cardiologists and nu tritionists — here’s what to keep in Themind.Best
In terms of your diet, you can cer tainly indulge in ‘bad’ foods occa sionally, if it’s in moderation and balanced with other healthy life style choices. Make indulgence the rare exception, not the rule.”
Foods For Heart Health
SalmonSalmon is an excellent food for heart health, too. “Salmon is a popular source of omega-3 fatty acids,” saidDr. Marianela Areces, a cardiologist with Pritikin Longev ity “Omega-3Center.
Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad — and sadly, there are some really delicious foods out there that aren’t great for your heart. They include: Processed meats
The study, led by UC Berkeley re search scientist Eti Ben Simon and Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology, adds to a growing body of evidence demon strating that inadequate sleep not only harms the mental and physi cal well-being of an individual, but also compromises the bonds between individuals—and even the altruistic sentiment of an entire na “Overtion.
Sleeplessness dampens theory of mind network
“When we think about other peo ple, this network engages and al lows us to comprehend what other person’s needs are: What are they thinking about? Are they in pain? Do they need help?” Ben Simon said. (Continued On Page 23)
Study participants who consumed larger amounts of fried food had higher risk for death from coronary artery disease, as reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nu trition.”
All of these are well-known risk factors for the development of heart disease.” Fried foods You may want to limit these treats on the cautious side of modera tion. “Frying foods adds unhealthy trans fats and salt,” Aggarwal said. “Trans fats worsen a person’s cho lesterol profile by raising the bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowering good cholesterol (HDL).
How we operate as a social species—and we are a social species—seems profoundly dependent on how much sleep we are getting.”
The new report describes three separate studies that assessed the impact of sleep loss on people’s willingness to help others. In the first study, the scientists placed 24 healthy volunteers in a functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI) to scan their brains after eight hours of sleep and after a night of no Theysleep.found that areas of the brain that form the theory of mind net work, which is engaged when peo ple empathize with others or try to understand other people’s wants and needs, were less active after a sleepless night.
the past 20 years, we have discovered a very intimate link between our sleep health and our mental health. Indeed, we’ve not been able to discover a single ma jor psychiatric condition in which sleep is normal,” Walker said. “But this new work demonstrates that a lack of sleep not only dam ages the health of an individual, but degrades social interactions between individuals and, further more, degrades the very fabric of human society itself.
TheBogden.Worst
Ben Simon, Walker and colleagues Raphael Vallat and Aubrey Rossi will publish their results August 23 in the open access journal PLOS WalkerBiology.is the director of the Cen ter for Human Sleep Science. He and Ben Simon are members of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley.
(Continued From Page 20)
Processed meats can be really tasty (who doesn’t love a hot dog?) but they’re not very good for your “Consumingheart. even small amounts can increase the risk of cardio vascular disease,” Aggarwal said. “Processed meats are often high in unhealthy saturated fats. Even low-fat options tend to have high sodium levels, which can lead to high blood pressure.” Cake, pies, cookies Sorry, but all that sugar isn’t great for heart health. “These items are loaded with sugars as well as satu rated and trans-fats,” Areces said. “A high-sugar diet is detrimental for our health in many different ways including elevating triglyc erides, insulin levels and contribut ing to being overweight or obesity, which in turn can lead to pre-diabe tes or diabetes.
Foods For Heart Health
Sleepless And Selfish: Lack Of Sleep Makes Us Less Generous
“We’re starting to see more and more studies, including this one, where the effects of sleep loss don’t just stop at the individual, but propa gate to those around us,” said Ben Simon. “If you’re not getting enough sleep, it doesn’t just hurt your own well-being, it hurts the well-being of your entire social circle, includ ing strangers.”
Foods labeled as reduced-fat or noSoundsfat counter-intuitive, right? But according to Aggarwal, these types of foods aren’t great for heart “Foodshealth. labeled as low or no-fat give the illusion of being healthy, but it may be just the opposite,” he said. “To maintain taste, as fat is taken out, more sugar is pumped in. Read food labels to see how many grams of sugar may have been added as a fat Manysubstitute.types of natural fats are healthy so no-fat is not necessarily healthier! Refined sugars and car bohydrates raise the risk of heart disease.” (Courtesy: https://www. yahoo.com/)
The Best And Worst Foods For Heart Health, According To Doctors
We Welcome Articles From Readers And The Info@AustinSouthCommunity.Asian.Com
Humans help each other—it’s one of the foundations of civilized so ciety. But a new study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, reveals that a lack of sleep blunts this fundamental hu man attribute, with real-world con Lacksequences.ofsleep is known to be as sociated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, hypertension and overall However,mortality. these new discoveries show that a lack of sleep also im pairs our basic social conscience, making us withdraw our desire and willingness to help other people. In one portion of the new study, the scientists showed that chari table giving in the week after the beginning of Daylight Sav ing Time, when residents of most states “spring forward” and lose one hour of their day, dropped by 10%—a decrease not seen in states that do not change their clocks or when states return to standard time in the fall.
21 Austin South Asian | September 2022
Like quinoa, they can be effective when managing blood pressure and blood sugar levels due to their high amounts of fiber and potassium.” LookingWalnuts for something superspecific that will benefit the heart? Load up on walnuts. “Studies have shown that regular consumption of walnuts can decrease our LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol,” explained reg istered dietitian nutritionistKylene
22 Austin South Asian | September 2022 THEME: AWARD-WINNING DRAMAS 1.ACROSSRadiant light 5. Ceiling prop 8. Sweatshirt attachment 12. Auricular 13. Lightly colored 14. Like a certain lass 15. Rotterdam or Singapore, e.g. 16. Greek god of love 17. Event host 18. *1960 Golden-Globe winner with Kirk Doug 20.las The Bee ____ 21. Rowed 22. Costa del ____ 23. *1922 Pulitzer-winning “Long Day’s Journey into Night” author 26. *James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winner 30. Steal 31. “Killers of the Flower Moon” tribal members 34. All’s opposite 35. *2021 “royal” Emmy winner 37. “One Fish Two Fish ____ Fish...” 38. More eccentric 39. Assistant 40. Expels 42. Before, old-fashioned 43. Consummate professional, in music 45. Mid-body narrowing, pl. 47. Feather glue 48. Library offerings 50. Cry like a baby 52. *”The ____”, 1972 mafia Oscar winner 56. Jeopardy, not the game 57. Type of molding 58. This location 59. Full of blood vessels 60. Christian of haute-couture 61. Suite cleaner 62. Mountain goat terrain 63. D.C. bigwig 64. Middle of March 1.DOWNBrewer’s perennials 2. Perching place 3. Italian money 4. Type of local tax 5. Travesty 6. Not silently 7. Loch ____ 8. *2012 Emmy-winning espionage thriller 9. Fairy tale opener 10. Half of binary code, pl. 11. Yellow #5, e.g. 13. Bits of wisdom 14. Fathered 19. Bird of prey’s weapon 22. Female sib 23. ____’s razor 24. Waterwheel 25. Horace’s poem 26. Danson and Kennedy 27. Lymph “containers” 28. Lacking vigor 29. Roman counterpart of Greek Demeter 32. *Ben Affleck’s 2012 Golden Globe best drama winner 33. Wow 36. *2000-2003 White House Emmy winner, with The 38. Port city in Japan 40. Get it wrong 41. BOGO offer 44. Total amount 46. Isthmus, pl. 48. Railroad car undercarriage 49. Theater, to Socrates 50. Samuel Adams, e.g. 51. Operatic solo 52. Hermes and Apollo 53. Cabbage amount 54. Great Lake 55. *Best Director Oscar-winner Warren Beatty’s 1981 film 56. Rubber substitute, acr.Please email your sudoku answers to info@austinsouthasian.com. Name and photo of the inviduvidu al with correct answer will be pub lished in October 2022 issue. Sudoku To InAdvertiseASA 512-828-6709Call
“Theloneliness.”realization that the quantity and quality of sleep affects an en tire society, caused by an impair ment in prosocial behavior, may provide insights into our societal state of affairs in the present day,” Walker added.
Sleepless And Selfish: Lack Of Sleep Makes Us Less Generous
we found that a decrease in the quality of someone’s sleep from one night to the next predict ed a significant decrease in the de sire to help other people from one subsequent day to the next,” Ben Simon “Thosesaid.with poor sleep the night prior were the ones that reported being less willing and keen to help others the following day.”
“Promoting sleep, rather than shaming people for sleeping enough, could very palpably help shape the social bonds we all expe rience every day,” Ben Simon said.
23 Austin South Asian | September 2022 August 2022 Sudoku AnswerMs.PrathyushaThatiparthy
This finding also offers a novel ap proach to improving these specific aspects of our society.
“Sleep, it turns out, is an incredible lubricant to prosocial, connected, empathic, kind and generous hu man behavior. In these divisive times, if there was ever a need for a strong, prosocial lubricant to en able the very best version of our selves within society, now seems to be it,” said Walker, author of the international bestseller, Why We Sleep. “Sleep may be a wonderful ingredient that enables the alacrity of helping between human beings.”
Anneed.”earlier study by Walker and Ben Simon showed that sleep de privation forced people to socially withdraw and become more so cially isolated. A lack of sleep also increased their feelings of loneli ness. Worse still, when those sleepdeprived individuals interacted with other people, they spread their loneliness to those other individu als, almost like a virus, Walker “Lookingsaid. at the big picture, we’re starting to see that a lack of sleep results in a quite asocial and, from a helping per spective, antisocial indi vidual, which has lessempathetic,peoplesleep“Acies,”atogethertoconsequencesmanifoldhowweliveassocialspehesaid.lackofmakeslessgenerous, more socially withdrawn, and it’s infectious—there is contagion of
The third part of the study involved mining a database of 3 million charitable donations in the United States between 2001 and 2016. Did the number of donations change af ter the transition to Daylight Saving Time and the potential loss of an hour of sleep? They found a 10% drop in donations. This same dent in compassionate gift-giving was not seen in regions of the country that did not change their clocks. “Even a very modest ‘dose’ of sleep deprivation—here, just the loss of one single hour of sleep opportunity linked to daylight sav ing time—has a very measurable and very real impact on people’s generosity and, therefore, how we function as a connected society,” Walker said. “When people lose one hour of sleep, there’s a clear hit on our in nate human kindness and our mo
(Continued From Page 21)
“Itweek.istime as a society to abandon the idea that sleep is unnecessary or a waste and, without feeling em barrassed, start getting the sleep that we need,” she added. “It is the best form of kindness we can of fer ourselves, as well as the people around (Courtesy:us.” https://neuroscience news.com/)
Inbasis.”developed countries, more than half of all people report getting insufficient sleep during the work
tivation to help other people in
“Sleep is essential for all aspects of our physical, mental and emotional lives,” Ben Simon said. “When sleep is undervalued in society, not only do we get sleep-deprived doc tors, nurses and students, but we also suffer from unkind and less empathic interactions on a daily
“However, this network was mark edly impaired when individuals were sleep deprived. It’s as though these parts of the brain fail to re spond when we are trying to inter act with other people after not get ting enough sleep.” In a second study, they tracked more than 100 people online over three or four nights. During this time, the researchers measured the quality of their sleep—how long they slept, how many times they woke up—and then assessed their desire to help others, such as holding an elevator door open for someone else, volunteering or helping an injured stranger on the “Here,street.
24 Austin South Asian | September 2022 To Advertise 512-828-6709
“Thesion.”
United States joins the peo ple of India to honor its demo cratic journey, guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s enduring message of truth and non-violence,” President Biden said in a statement. The U.S. president called for Washington and New Delhi to “continue to stand together to defend the rulesbased order; foster greater peace, prosperity and security for our people; advance a free and open Indo-Pacific; and together address the challenges we face around the Britishworld.”Prime Minister Boris John son, who visited India in April, congratulated “the people of India on 75 years of independence” from his own country. “During my recent visit to Gujarat and New Delhi I saw for myself the thriving Living Bridge between our countries,” Johnson said. “I look forward to seeing these bonds go from strength to strength in the next 75 years.” French President Emmanuel Ma cron, addressing Modi and the peo ple of India, said, “As you proudly celebrate India’s stunning achieve ments in the past 75 years, you can count on France to always stand by your (Courtesy:side.” tonpost.com/)https://www.washing nance,” Kanwisher adds. For this research, a publicly available data base of human brain responses to a set of 10,000 images was analysed. Neuroscien tists are perplexed about the development of
MIT News says that the researchers also hope to study when and how this region becomes specialized during early child hood, and what other parts of the brain it interacts with. They will further try to find an answer to whether this food-selective population is unique to humans or is also found in other animals such as monkeys, who do not add the cultural relevance to food that humans (Courtesy:do. https://www.hindustantimes. com/)
India Celebrated 75 Years Since Independence
The new study published in the journal Cur rent Biology is significant because it reveals the special influence food have on our hu man culture. Ever marvelled why restaurants emphasise on the dressing and presentation of food served, at times much more than its taste?
By Annabelle Timsit India celebrated 75 years since its independence from British colonial rule. Cities across the country held parades and events Monday featur ing soldiers, elephants and dancers. Buildings lit up in the saffron, white and green of India’s national flag, and a government campaign urged families to fly the flag at home. And that was just what was hap pening on Earth. American astro naut Raja Chari, whose father im migrated to the United States from Hyderabad in southern India, post ed photos of Indian and American flags from the International Space Station, from which he returned a few months ago.
Speaking from the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, the capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would work to turn India into a developed nation by the time it celebrates 100 years of indepen dence. Modi criticized corruption and the mistreatment of women in India but said the country is enter ing a new phase of global impor tance and has “a lot to offer to the Theworld.”celebrations both masked and highlighted the deep political and religious tensions that plague modern-day India, whose status as the world’s largest democracy is increasingly under threat amid a rise in far-right, Hindu nationalism Modi,there. in his Independence Day speech, said he was committed to fulfilling Gandhi’s “vision of inclu
What Happens To Our Brain When It Sees Images Of Food?
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found out that not only the taste of food sways our taste buds, but the visual appearance too elicits response in a particular part of our brain, reports MIT TheNews.new study published in the journal Cur rent Biology finds that when we look at foods, a specialised part of our visual cor tex lights up because of food sensitive nerve Thecells.ventral visual stream, where the visual information is processed for visual percep tion, spots these food-responsive neurons. They lie near other neuron groups that re spond specifically to faces, bodies, places, and words. The researchers believe that this unantici pated discovery may reveal the special in fluence of food on human culture. Nancy Kanwisher, a professor at MIT, told MIT News that food is core to so many elements of human activity. It has a major influence on our cultural identity, religious practice, and social interactions. “Food is central to human social interactions and cultural practices. It’s not just suste this neural population. They further hope to study how people’s feedback to certain foods might vary depending on their likes and dislikes, or their closeness with certain types of Therefood. are still many unanswered ques tions looming ahead for the researchers.
What Makes The Human Brain Different?
The SLS is the largest new vertical launch system NASA has created since the Saturn V rockets used in the 1960s and 1970s for the Apollo lunar programme. The SLS-Orion spacecraft has so far cost NASA at least $37 billion, which includes design, construction, testing, and ground fa cilities. Its development has taken more than ten years and has been plagued by years of delays and billion-dollar cost overruns.
The four primary SLS engines and its solid rocket boosters are scheduled to fire at 8:33 a.m. EDT (12:33 GMT) on Monday, barring last-minute technical issues or unfavourable Shouldweather.the countdown take longer than the two-hour window targeted for liftoff, NASA has set Sept. 2 and Sept. 5 as alternative launch dates. (with inputs from agencies) (Courtesy: https://www.wionews.com/)
25 Austin South Asian | September 2022
With the debut launch of its next-genera tion megarocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), and the Orion crew capsule it is de signed to carry, scheduled for next Monday, August 29, in Florida, the National Aeronau tics and Space Administration hopes to make a significant advancement in its revived lu nar Theambitions.unmanned capsule will go around the Moon on a six-week test voyage called Arte mis I when the combined SLS-Orion space craft lifts off from Cape Canaveral’s Ken nedy Space Center. Before it is certified suitable to carry pas sengers, the journey aims to put the SLS vehicle—which is thought to be the most complicated and potent rocketship in the world—through a rigorous stress test of its systems during an actual flight. “This new deep space exploration system is going to take us back to the moon and to new scientific discoveries that we can’t even imagine yet,” said Randy Lycans, Vice President and General Manager of NASA’s Enterprise Solutions.
The Artemis programme of NASA seeks to send astronauts back to the moon as early as 2025 and to build a permanent lunar colony as a stepping stone to even more ambitious future missions transporting people to Mars. Artemis is named after the goddess who in Greek mythology was Apollo’s twin sister.
“We humans live in a very different environ ment with a unique lifestyle compared to other primate species; and glia cells, includ ing microglia, are very sensitive to these dif ferences,” Sestan said. “The type of microg lia found in the human brain might represent an immune response to the environment.”
If Artemis I is successful, it could lead to the first crewed SLS-Orion mission, an out-andback orbital voyage around the moon called Artemis II, as early as 2024, and then an Ar temis III excursion to the lunar surface a year or more later.
25 in the journal Science. And they found that what makes us human may also makes us susceptible to neuropsy chiatric diseases.
NASA All Set To ‘Create History’ With Artemis Moon Mission, Precursor To First Crewed Orion Mission
In an analysis of cell types in the prefrontal cortex of four primate species, Yale research ers identified human-specific—features,species-specific—particularlytheyreportAug.
For the study, the researchers looked spe cifically at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), a brain region that is unique to pri mates and essential for higher-order cogni tion. Using a single cell RNA-sequencing technique, they profiled expression levels of genes in hundreds of thousands of cells collected from the dlPFC of adult humans, chimpanzees, macaque, and marmoset mon “Today,keys.
“Now we have more clues.”
surprise—the presence of the gene FOXP2. This discovery raised great interest because variants of FOXP2 have been linked to verbal dyspraxia, a condition in which pa tients have difficulty producing language or Otherspeech.studies have also shown that FOXP2 is associated with other neuropsychiatric diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia, and Sestanepilepsy.and colleagues found that this gene exhibits primate-specific expression in a subset of excitatory neurons and human-spe cific expression in microglia.
An analysis of gene expression in the mi croglia revealed another human-specific
we view the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as the core component of human iden tity, but still we don’t know what makes this unique in humans and distinguishes us from other primate species.” said Nenad Sestan, the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neuroscience at Yale, professor of compara tive medicine, of genetics. and of psychia try, and the lead senior author of the paper.
“FOXP2 has intrigued many scientists for decades, but still we had no idea of what makes it unique in humans versus other pri mate species,” said Shaojie Ma, a postdoc toral associate in Sestan’s lab and co-lead “Weauthor.are extremely excited about the FOXP2 findings because they open new directions in the study of language and diseases.” Molecular and cellular evolution of the pri mate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
To answer this, the researchers first asked whether there are there any cell types unique ly present in humans or other analyzed nonhuman primate species. After grouping cells with similar expression profiles they revealed 109 shared primate cell types but also five that were not common to all spe cies. These included a type of microglia, or brain-specific immune cell, that was present only in humans and a second type shared by only humans and chimpanzees. The human-specific microglia type exists throughout development and adulthood, the researchers found, suggesting the cells play a role in maintenance of the brain upkeep rather than combatting disease.
The granular dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is an evolutionary specialization of primates that is centrally involved in cogni tion. Here, we assessed over 600,000 singlenucleus transcriptomes from adult human, chimpanzee, macaque, and marmoset dlPFC.
While most transcriptomically-defined cell subtypes are conserved, we detected several only in some species and substantial spe cies-specific molecular differences across homologous neuronal, glial and non-neural subtypes. The latter are exemplified by human-specific switching between expression of the neu ropeptide somatostatin (SST) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine production, in certain interneu rons, and also by expression of the neuropsy chiatric risk gene FOXP2, which is humanspecific in microglia and primate-specific in layer-4 granular neurons. We generated a comprehensive survey of dlPFC cellular repertoire and its shared and divergent features in anthropoid primates. (Courtesy: https://neurosciencenews.com/)
The first ‘Krrish’ movie released in 2006 while the second film in the series, titled ‘Krrish 3’ hit the screens in 2013. Both the films featured Priyanka Chopra opposite Hrithik. The anti-hero of ‘Krrish’ was Naseeruddin Shah while Vi vek Oberoi played the antagonist in ‘Krrish’ 3. All these films were helmed by Hrithik’s father Rakesh Roshan. In 2021, on the occasion of the 15 years of ‘Krrish’, Hrithik had taken to Instagram to officially an nounce the expansion of ‘Krrish’ world with the fourth part. “The past is done. Let’s see what the future brings. Krrish 4. #15year sofKrrish,” he had written, adding a small clip of his animated look from Apart‘Krrish’.from talking about the ‘Krrish’ franchise, Hrithik also expressed his excitement about watching the new ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series. “I am super excited to watch it. This is the kind of stuff that I aspire for,” he said. The upcoming series, which brings to screens the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of MiddleEarth’s history, is all set to be out on September 2. The cast includes Cynthia AddaiRobinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, and Lloyd Owen among others. (Courtesy: https:// www.mid-day.com/)
Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ First Part Run Time Revealed
Heincredible.waslike, why can’t we do that? And that was the birth of Krrish. So if there was no Lord of the Rings, there wouldn’t have been any Krrish.”
26 Austin South Asian | September 2022
Hrithik Roshan: ‘Lord of the Rings’ inspired my father to make ‘Krrish’ As ‘Krrish 4’ is in the works, ac tor Hrithik Roshan took a stroll down memory lane and shared that it’s actually the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy that inspired his fa ther and director Rakesh Roshan to turn his 2003 film ‘Koi.. Mil Gaya’ into a “Therefranchise.isalittle connection be tween me and the ‘The Lord of the Rings’. One random day back in 2004, my dad put on the ‘Lord of the Rings’ part 1...he saw the film..he enjoyed it so much that he watched one film after another. After finishing all the parts, he gave me a call and started talking about the trilogy,” Hrithik said dur ing a promotional event of Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ in Mumbai on Thursday. He added,” My father (Rakesh Ro shan) talked about the way they (Lord of the Rings makers) use this one great, incredible idea and then had this progression, which was so
Disney’s 20th Century Studios has released a new trailer for the upcom ing film, “Brahmāstra”, which is coming to cinemas around the world on September 9th 2022. “Brahmāstra” – the Trilogy, is a 3-part film franchise and the beginning of India’s first original universe The Astraverse. It is a new original cin ematic universe inspired by deeply rooted concepts and tales from Indian history but set in the modern world, with epic storytelling of fantasy, adventure, good vs evil, love and hope; all told using cutting edge tech nology and never-seen-before visual spectacles. (Continued On Page 27)
“Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva”
Director Mani Ratnam has taken an important subject on his hand for his next, and he is set to deliver the historical drama ‘Ponniyin Sel van’, which is based on the novel written by Kalki. After several stars failed to make the film, Mani Ratnam made the film based on the popular novel which explains the history of Cho las, and the film is to be released in two Now,parts.Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ first part run time is re vealed. The first part of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is slated to release on Sep tember 30th in five languages, and the film is set for a grand takeoff. The final work for the film is on, and the director is said to have made the final copy of the film. The runtime of the film is said to be 2 hours and andahasRatnamlikeSeemsthisearlierleasedthatbiggiesseverallesswhichminutes,50isthanreyear.Manimadeshortcrispy first part to get the deeperfans into the film’s second part. However, fans are eagerly wait ing for the film’s release, and they hope to see the history of Cholas on big ‘Ponniyinscreens.Selvan’ audio and trailer are planned to be launched grandly in Chennai in September, while Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are expected to be the chief guests for the Theevent.lead stars of ‘Ponniyin Sel van’, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bach chan, Trisha, Vikram Prabhu, and Prakash Raj among others will be traveling across the globe post the audio launch to promote the histor ic film among fans across regions. (Courtesy: https://timesofindia.in diatimes.com/)
Hrithik Roshan: ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Inspired My Father To Make ‘Krrish’
An expert at pulling the heart strings, in a way, Aanand has re turned to the Tanu Weds Manu zone which lends Akshay the platform to flex his irrev erent funny bone. It has been a while since the ac tor gave such a free-flowing diamatched.ityalandcomicwhereperformancehistimingemotionvulnerabilareevenlySaKhateeb,
https://www.thehindu.com/)(Courtesy:
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The film’s engaging powerful antidowry sentiments, along with Ak shay’s brilliant comic timing, en sures that there is enough to keep the audience tied for two hours When players are out of form, they are advised to spend some time on the home turf. It seems director Aanand L. Rai and Akshay Kumar have listened to the advice and have conjured up a festival crowdpleaser that celebrates the brothersister bond, and makes a stinging comment on dowry. If judged through the trailer, the film might appear like a regressive idea wrapped in an outdated pack age. It has been three decades since the Hindi film industry asked Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi (1991). Dowry deaths continue to happen de spite stringent laws, but they have stopped making headlines or in spiring filmmakers. Set in Old Delhi, in the week of gol gappas, Akshay plays Lala Kedar nath, who runs a chaat shop where his speciality is water pancakes for pregnant women who want a male child. A brother to four sisters, his principal aim in life is to arrange dowry for their weddings, even if it means selling his kidney. It is hard to believe that the idea of finan cial independence for girls hasn’t gained ground in the national capital, but the writers, Himanshu Sharma and Kanika Dhillon, have woven in a bouquet of emotions. Raksha Bandhan has enough ma terial to keep the audience tied for
27 Austin South Asian | September 2022
While addressing the media, the actor was asked about his opin ion on the North vs South debate which has been in the lime light more often these Respondingdays. to it, Anupam Kher said that South makes films giving more significance to the story while Hindi filmmakers are con centrating on the stars rather than the basic plot. This is such a big and shocking state ment from a great actor like Anu pam Kher who has been in the in dustry for about four decades.
There are times when it feels that, in the name of creating an atmo sphere of everyday toxic patriar chy, the writers begin to enjoy fatshaming and colour-shaming the sisters. But eventually, Himanshu and Kanika return to 2022 and re deem Raksha Bandhan.
some of the creaking nuts and bolts in the narrative are very apparent. Kedarnath is so worried about the wedding of his sisters that he de lays his own marriage with his love interest Sapna (Bhumi Ped nekar). Why can’t his sisters find love or why can’t Sapna pick up a job? Why the girls are so focused on finding a groom at an age where they should be keen on finding their feet is left without a discus sion. If the brother is out of tune with the times, the sisters could voice their concerns. It seems the sisters have little agency... because the brother is being played by Ak shay. Education doesn’t seem to be on the priority list of the for midable wedding planner (Seema Pahwa) either.
Anupam Kher is one of the fin est actors Indian cinema has ever produced. He did a key role in The Kashmir Files which sent shock waves across the nation with his content. The veteran actor did a small cameo in the recent block buster Karthikeya 2.
“Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva”
Deepika Khanna, Smriti Shrikant and Sahejameen Kaur provide good support as doting sisters. Despite having a well-oiled heart,
The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna Akkineni. It’s been directed by Ayan Mukerji.
His short scene where he explains the greatness of Lord Krishna is one of the most intriguing scenes in the film which gives goosebumps. two hours, and the pace and pitch of the narrative are such that it doesn’t allow you to easily gauge the Thegaps.politically-incorrect Dilli hu mour of the first half seamlessly flows into the equally powerful an ti-dowry sentiments of the second. In between, backed by Himesh Reshmmaiyya’s Punjabi tunes, ‘Raksha Bandhan’ Movie Review: Akshay Kumar Shines In This Festival Crowd-Pleaser
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“Brahmāstra: Part One” is the story of SHIVA – a young man and our protagonist, who is on the brink of an epic love, with a girl named… Isha. But their world is turned upside down, because Shiva learns that he has a mysterious connection to the Brahmāstra… and a great power within him that he doesn’t understand just yet – the power of Fire. In this movie, we experience Shiva’s adventures as he journeys into the world of Astras and in turn, discovers his destiny as the DIVINE HERO of the universe.
Aanand evokes the traditional brother-sister love that has gone missing from Hindi cinema.
28 Austin South Asian | September 2022
