Ekl august 2017

Editor’s Desk

The Agony of Acronyms Reading and listening are parts of the habit of the educated class. For students and learners, it is necessary to cultivate these habits. But what is the status of these habits? Many students do this as a necessary evil. A minority try to develop these habits. But they find it difficult to keep proper balance. The difficulty is with the way matter is presented. If one finds that the smooth flow is disturbed in reading or listening, there is sure a distraction in the process.

An observation that is commonly aired these days is that the habit of reading news papers, magazines, journals, books and other printed material is getting reduced. The reason projected for this in general is people’s engagement with new gadgets like television and mobile phone. To some extent, it may be true.

But there is another valid reason for people getting distracted from reading. This is the inadvertent use of shortened forms of words and acronyms. They become obstructions for smooth reading of printed matter.

Use of shortened words and acronyms in visuals in presentation in a seminar becomes a hindrance in understanding the content. Because of constraints on time, audience may not feel it convenient to interrupt the speaker every now and then to make things clear. Further, sometimes the speaker also may not be able to give correct interpretation.

There are specific rules and practices to be followed in written and oral communication, general or technical, in the use of shortened forms of words and acronyms. But they are hardly followed by many.

Short messaging ‘words’, if they can be called so, are sufficient to agonize those who are not regular practitioners. Unfortunately, surprisingly and interestingly, such words creep into answer books of students in examinations creating headache for examiners who value them. Examiners may not get sufficient time to interpret them properly, and consequently students may lose some credits.

Newspapers now-a-days carry titles with acronyms with multiple interpretations. Reader may not be patient enough to seek correct interpretation, even if it may be available in the body of the text below. Font size of the text also can be a distraction.

N T Nair, Trivandrum ntnair@gmail.com

1 August ’17 August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines3

Nature Line

Chayamansa

An Exotic Medicinal Vegetable Botanically known as Cnidoscolus aconitifolius and commonly known as chayamansa or tree spinach, is a large, fast-growing leafy perennial shrub that is believed to have originated in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. It has succulent stems which exude a milky sap when cut.

It can grow up to 6 meters tall, but is usually pruned to about 2 m for easier leaf harvest. It is a popular leaf vegetable in Mexican and Central American cuisines, similar to spinach. It is also known as Chaya mansa, Mayan cheera, Mexican cheera and Chaya in short. Chaya is really the king of all leafy vegetables because the quality and quantity of the leaves that could be harvested from it is much greater than all other spinach varieties. Cnidoscolus aconitifolius is found from northern Mexico to Guatemala and cultivated as far south as Peru.

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The species is divided into four cultivars based on leaf morphology: 'Chayamansa' (most common), 'Estrella', 'Picuda', and 'Redonda'.

Some varieties have stinging hairs and require gloves for harvesting.

Plants in the Chayamansa Group are the most widely cultivated, because they lack stinging hairs on the leaves, and is one of the most productive green vegetables. Chayamansa is easy to grow, and suffers little insect damage. It is tolerant to heavy rain and has some drought tolerance. Propagation is normally by woody stem cuttings of about 6-12Â inches long, as seeds are produced only rarely. Early growth is slow as roots are slow to develop on the cuttings, so leaves are not harvested until the second year. Chayamansa can be harvested continuously to the extent of up to 50% of the leaves, which guarantees healthy new plant growth.

Chaya is easy to grow and can be employed as an ornamental plant in home gardens. It is tolerant to high temperature and needs to be watered 2-3 times / week.

Use as Food The edible parts of chaya plant namely young chayamansa leaves and the thick, tender stem tips are cut and boiled, which taste like spinach when cooked, provide important nutritional sources of protein, vitamins (A, B and C), minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorus), niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, carotene and antioxidants. Raw chayamansa leaves are toxic as they contain a glycoside that can release toxic cyanide. Cooking is essential prior to consumption to inactivate the toxic components; in this chaya is similar to cassava, which also contains toxic hydrocyanic glycosides and must be cooked before being eaten. Cooking destroys the stinging hairs also, if present.

Traditionally leaves are immersed and simmered for 20 minutes and then served with oil or butter. Cooking for 20 minutes or more will render the leaves safe to eat as the cyanide is volatilized as hydrogen cyanide (HCN) during cooking. Cooking in aluminum cookware may result in a toxic broth, causing diarrhoea. Up to 5 raw leaves can be eaten a day.

August 2017 ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď Ž5

The leaves can be added to soups, casseroles, spaghetti sauces, salsas and salads without affecting the taste. The tiny, tender ones can go in omelets or salads or be used as garnish. Chaya leaves are also used to make tea, sometimes mixed with mint.

Medicinal Value Levels of chayamansa leaf nutrients are two-to-three-fold greater than any other land-based leafy green vegetable. Chaya leaves contain much greater amounts of nutrients than spinach leaves.

Chaya has great benefits for our body. Apparently, it helps regulate blood pressure, improves blood circulation, reduces weight, and increases calcium deposits. No negative side effects have been associated with chaya tea intake.

According to the National Institute of Nutrition in Mexico City, ingesting chaya will: improve blood circulation, help digestion, improve vision, disinflame veins and hemorrhoids, help lower cholesterol, help reduce weight, prevent coughs, augment calcium in the bones, decongest and disinfect the lungs, prevent anemia by replacing iron in the blood, improve memory and brain function and combat arthritis and diabetes.

A nutritional analysis has shown that chaya is richer in iron than spinach, and a powerful source of potassium and calcium.

Other medicinal properties of chaya include reduction of uric acid, and stimulation of milk production in lactating women. It has been used as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat lung diseases, allergies, asthma, and throat inflammations.

The hypoglycemic effects of chayamansa were assessed at the Instituto Nacional de NutriciĂłn in Mexico and they found that six hours after administering chaya tea to hyperglycemic rabbits, their levels of blood glucose dropped to 87-118 mg / dL, which were very similar to those levels of control rabbits.

Chaya traditionally has been recommended for a number of ailments including diabetes, obesity, kidney stones, hemorrhoids, acne, and eye problems. Chaya shoots and leaves have been taken as a laxative, diuretic, circulation stimulant, to improve digestion, to stimulate lactation, and to harden the fingernails.

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The potential of chayamansa for human food and health has a significant implication for the plant as a horticultural crop. Although demand for chaya, as a medicinal plant, has recently increased among the Hispanic population in the United States, the plant has the potential to make a significant nutritional contribution to the vegetable diet as well, because of its high nutrient content. The development of chaya as a new horticultural crop would transcend the ethnic popularity and create a worldwide market for the plant and its products, whether as a leafy green vegetable or as a therapeutic herbal tea.

[CGS]

Commemorative Days Most of the days in a calendar year are observed as commemorative days, may be throughout the world, or in some specific countries.

Below is a list of such days in August.

As declared by the United Nations: 3 August - International Friendship Day 6 August - Hiroshima Day 9 August - Nagasaki Day 9 August - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 12 August - International Youth Day 19 August - World Humanitarian Day 23 August - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition 29 August - International Day against Nuclear Tests 30 August - International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances Commemorative Days observed in India 1st Sunday in August - Friendship day 9 August - Quit India Day and Nagasaki Day 15 August - Independence Day 29 August - National Sports Day August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines7

Space Line

Just Wink At The Moon …

Neil’s There !

“… the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

(Armstrong family after his death) Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was mankind’s first envoy to visit the moon on July 21, 1969.

He is verily the “Space Columbus”.

During the final descent to the moon when Armstrong found that they were approaching an area he thought was unsafe, he took over The Apollo 11 crew.( L-R) Armstrong, manual control to find Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin a saferspot to land. This change in plan took longer than expected thus consuming more fuel than intended. Besides these were moments of great anxiety to the Mission Control personnel on the earth whose heartbeat regained normalcy only when they heard Neil Armstrong announce, “The Eagle has landed.” Eagle was the name of the capsule that landed on the moon at 01:47:40 (IST) on July 21, 1969. Contrary to the popular belief, these were actually the first words spoken by Armstrong from the moon and not the celebrated, “One small step for a man but a giant leap for mankind.” Only 6½ hours later did Armstrong utter these historic 8Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

Born on August 5, 1930, Armstrong was in the Boy Scouts of America. He fell in love with airplanes when he first flew in an airplane at the age of 6, and by the time he was 16, he had a Pilot’s Licence. He attended college for his BS in Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University. But he broke his studies to join the U.S. Navy and took part in the Korean War. Then he returned to resume his studies and went on to get his MS in Aerospace Engineering.

Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was in a group concerned with airplanes when he flew several types of aircraft including the rocket plane, X-15. Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962 and made his first space flight as the commander of Gemini 8 in March 1966. His second and last spaceflight was in Apollo 11 Mission of July 1969 as its commander.

After Apollo 11 Mission of 1969, he retired from NASA and worked as a Professor of Aerospace Engineering during 1971-79.

Later, he was engaged in an aviation-related business for a decade.

He always stayed connected with space and aeronautics.

Armstrong was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society, Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the International Astronautics Federation, Member of the National Academy of Engineering. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985-1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986), and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971-1973).

Besides numerous honorary doctorates from various universities, Armstrong was decorated by many countries. Countless special honors were conferred upon him– Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, Explorers Club Medal, Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines9

International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society's Gold Medal, Federation Aeronautique Internationale's Gold Space Medal, American Astronautical Society’s Flight Achievement Award – this list does not end…

Armstrong and his first wife, Janet were divorced in 1994 after 38 years of marriage. He spent the rest of his life with his second wife, Carol.

On August 25, 2012 Neil Armstrong died of complications following a heart surgery. He was 82. words just before stepping on the moon. He was accompanied by Edwin Aldrin on the moon while the third member of the crew of Apollo 11, Michael Collins was in control of the Command Module orbiting the moon at a height of 110 km.

Though Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 ½ hours on the moon they walked on the surface of the moon only for 2 ½ hours. During this period they traversed 250 meters and collected 50 kg of moon rock and dust samples, and installed a few scientific instruments on the moon.

They also left on the moon the US flag and a steel plaque carrying an inscription, “Here men from planet Earth first set foot upon the moon on July 29, 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind”. It was signed by President Richard Nixon besides the three astronauts.

The total mission from earth to the moon and back lasted 8 days. This fulfilled the wish of President John Kennedy who way back in 1961 galvanized the nation into full throttle towards the goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth before this decade is out”. Alas! Kennedy did not live to see his dream turn to reality for he was assassinated in 1963.

One of the most famous men in history, Neil Armstrong had always shied away from publicity. In a rare 60-minute interview in 2006, he said about the moon: “It’s a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The 10Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It’s an interesting place to be.

I recommend it.”

After Apollo 11, there were 6 more missions to moon.

Unfortunately, Apollo 13 developed a technical problem during flight but returned to the earth with the three astronauts safe. Thus, though there were 7 missions to the moon, Apollo 11 – 17, only 12 Americans walked on the moon; they brought 350 kg of moon samples in all. In the final Apollo 17 mission in 1972, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked on the moon. Cernan’s farewell words were, “I take man’s last steps from the surface of the moon for some time to come; but we believe not for too long into the future”.

Moon is still waiting !

[PR]

Never Casually Discuss Important Matters Take care not to casually discuss matters that are of great importance to you with people who are not important to you. Your affairs will become drained of preciousness. You undercut your own purpose when you do this. This is especially dangerous when you are in the early stages of an undertaking.

Other people feast like vultures on our ideas. They take it upon themselves to blithely interpret, judge and twist what matters most to you, and your heart sinks. Let your ideas and plans incubate before you parade them in front of the naysayers and trivializers.

Most people know only how to respond to an idea by pouncing on its shortfalls rather than identifying its potential merits. Practice self-containment so that your enthusiasm won't be frittered away.

[Art of Living, Epictetes] August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines11

Blog Line

Vlog The Web Television A video blog or video log, usually shortened to vlog, is a form of blog for which the medium is video and is a form of web television.

Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take or cut into multiple parts. The vlog category is popular on YouTube. A vlog particularly is a journalistic video documentation on the web of a person’s life, thoughts, opinions and interests.

The personal vlog is an online video which records an individual to deliver information that they intend to introduce to people.

The audience is not as varied as one's from corporation or organization.

On January 2, 2000, Adam Ko tras posted a video alongside a blog entry aimed at informing his friends and family of his cross-country move to Los Angeles in pursuit of show business, marking the first post on what would later become the longest-running video blog in history.

In November of that year, Adrian Miles posted a video of changing text on a still image, coining the term vlog to refer to his video blog. In 2004, Steve Garfield launched his own video blog and declared that year "the year of the video blog".

A vlog can be topical and timeless, instructional and entertaining.

The main thread is trying to communicate on a personal level with your audience.

Vlogging saw a strong increase in popularity beginning in 2005.

The Yahoo! Videoblogging Group saw its membership increase dramatically in 2005. The most popular video sharing site to date, 12ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď ŽAugust 2017

YouTube, was founded in February 2005. By July 2006, it had become the 5th most popular web destination, with 100 million videos viewed daily and 65,000 new uploads per day.

The video sharing platform, Youtube, have announced live broadcasting feature called YouTube Live on 2008. Through this feature, the popularity of vlog has significantly increased. This feature was also established by other social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

YouTube currently ranks among the top three most-visited sites on the web. As a high traffic area for video bloggers, or vloggers, YouTube has created a platform for these participants to present their personal videos, which often times are filmed using hand held point and shoot cameras. The popularity of vlogs in the YouTube community has risen exponentially in the past few years; out of the top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels, 17 provide vlogs as their primary style of footage.

Many of these vloggers are a part of the YouTube Partner Program, which professionalizes the industry and allows for monetary gain from video production. This professionalization additionally helps increase exposure to various channels as well as creates a sense of stability within the field. Additionally, this professionalization allows content creators to be deemed a credible source by their viewers. Furthermore, many vloggers have been able to turn their channels into sustainable careers; in 2013, the highest paid vlogger brought in a minimum of $720,000 for the year. Hollywood is taking notice of this rising medium, and has placed its value ranked over other entertainment companies such as Marvel, which was recently bought out by Disney as well. Vlogs also often take advantage of web syndication to allow for the distribution of video over the Internet using either the RSS or Atom syndication formats, for automatic aggregation and playback on mobile devices and personal computers.

Many open source content management systems have enabled the inclusion of video content, allowing bloggers to host and administer their own video blogging sites. In addition, the convergence August 2017 ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď Ž13

of mobile phones with digital cameras allows publishing of video content to the Web almost as it is recorded. Radio and television stations may use video blogging as a way to help interact more with listeners and viewers.

Hosted in Los Angeles, California, VidCon is an annual convention that allows YouTube content creators and viewers to come together in order to share content ideas and business contacts. The first VidCon event was held on July 10 and 11, 2010, and has now become the largest in-person gathering of internet creators, viewers, and representatives.

This convention realizes that the ways in which society entertains, educates, shares, and communicates are being revolutionized, and chooses to highlight this fact via panels, meet and greets, and talks given to audiences at the convention.

Just like documentary there is “vlogumentary” that focuses on documenting the world of video blogging and centers on YouTube vloggers that have found success in using this medium. Starring YouTube personality Shay Carl and his family of ShayTards, follows a family whose lives have been drastically altered by vlogging, as their day-today lives are documented and uploaded for the world to see. Shay Carl is a co-founder of Maker Studios, a YouTube based video supplier bought out by The Walt Disney Company. The involvement of larger corporations outside of the Internet industries is a primary example of the ever increasing need for a strong front on the digital side of one’s company. This documentary is being created by a group with links to the YouTube community in hopes that it will spark interest and raise awareness of the impact that vlogging and the digital community are having on the entertainment industry.

A video log created while riding a motorcycle is known as a motovlog (abbreviation of motorcycle video blog).

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Some bloggers have included video content for years. However, vlogging is becoming more common as equipment becomes cheaper and supporting software and hosting and aggregation sites become more prevalent. Both Yahoo and Google feature video sections and many MP3 players, such as the hugely popular iPod, support video.

Anyone with access to a video-capable camera and a relatively recent computer with a high-speed connection can create a vlog and publish and distribute it online.

The vlogosphere is a very democratic arena. Unlike mainstream media, such as television or commercial Web sites, vlogs are not, for the most part, created to make money. As a result, vloggers are free to make their content about whatever they desire, no matter how controversial or esoteric the topic. Vlogging gives average citizens an audience and a chance to make their voices heard.

In a BBC News article called "The year of the digital citizen," Jo Twist discusses the potential of vlogging and podcasting to provide a venue for public discourse: "The changing nature of news offers a diversity of voices, sources, and choice... and lets anyone join in global and local conversations."

Vlogs are often distributed through RSS feeds. Video content distributed in this way is sometimes called a vodcast or a vidcast.

Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead and if you lose, you can guide others.

- Swami Vivekananda

August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines15

Story Line

A Letter From a Father Dear daughter, I am writing this to you because of 3 reasons 1. Life, fortune and mishaps are unpredictable, nobody knows how long he lives.

2. I am your father, and if I don't tell you these, no one else will.

3. Whatever written is my own personal bitter experiences that perhaps could save you a lot of unnecessary heartaches.

Remember the following as you go through life 1. Do not bear grudge towards those who are not good to you.

No one has the responsibility of treating you well, except your mother and I. To those who are good to you, you have to treasure it and be thankful, and also you have to be cautious, because, everyone has a motive for every move. When a person is good to you, it does not mean he really will be good to you. You have to be careful, don't hastily regard him as a real friend.

2. No one is indispensable, nothing is there in the world that you must possess.

Once you understand this idea, it would be easier for you to go through life when people around you don't want you anymore, or when you lose what you wanted the most.

3. Life is short. When you waste your life today, tomorrow life may be leaving you. The earlier you treasure your life, the better you enjoy life.

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4. Love is nothing but a transient feeling, and this feeling would fade with time and with one's mood. If your so called loved one leaves you, be patient, time will wash away your aches and sadness.

Don't over-exaggerate the beauty and sweetness of love, and don't over-exaggerate the sadness of falling out of love.

5. A lot of successful people did not receive a good education, that does not mean that you can be successful by not studying hard!

Whatever knowledge you gain is your weapon in life. One can go from rags to riches, but one has to start from some rags!

6. I do not expect you to financially support me when I am old, neither would I financially support your whole life. My responsibility as a supporter ends when you are grown up. After that, you decide whether you want to travel in a public transport or in your limousine, whether rich or poor.

7. You honour your words, but don't expect others to be so. You can be good to people, but don't expect people to be good to you. If you don't understand this, you would end up with unnecessary troubles.

8. I have bought lotteries for umpteen years, but could never strike any prize. That shows if you want to be rich, you have to work hard! There is no free lunch!

9. No matter how much time I have with you, let's treasure the time we have together. We do not know if we would meet again in our next life.

Lovingly Your Father Message The message reflected in this letter is actually applicable to all of us, young or old, children or parents! This applies to all sons and daughters too. All parents can use this in their teachings to their children.

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cholesterol levels.

Sometimes high triglycerides are a sign of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, low levels of Maths Line thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), liver or kidney disease, or rare genetic conditions that affect how your body converts fat to energy. High triglycerides could also be a side effect of taking medications such as beta blockers, birth control pills, diuretics or steroids.

[CGS]

Triangular Numbers Pascal Triangle

Triangular Numbers The Pascal Triangle is a mathematical structure formed of rows (Pascal Triangle) of numbers which are the coefficients of terms of powers in the

The Pascal Triangle is a mathematical structure formed of rows of numbers which are the n. expansion (a + b) The rows from bottom correspond to rows from top to bottom coefficients of terms ofofpowers in the expansion of (atop + b)n.toThe correspond to values the values of n: 3, etc. etc. The rows of the are as are follows: the of n: 0,0,1,1,2,2,3, Thetop topnine nine rows of triangle the triangle

as follows:

1

1

1 8

1 7

1 6 28

1 5 21

1 4 15 56

1 3 10 35

1 2 6 20 70

1 3 10 35

1 4 15 56

1 5 21

1 6 28

1 7

1 8

1

1

As the method of computing a row from its previous one is obvious, any number of rows can be added growing triangle downwards.

Asthethe method of computing a row from its previous one is

obvious,that anythenumber of rows can columns be added theright triangle It can be observed corresponding slanting fromgrowing the left and are identical.

All elements in the first slanting column on the left as well as right are equal to one. The second downwards. slanting column on the left and right is the natural number sequence. The third slanted column is It can be observed that the corresponding slanting columns from referred to as the Triangular Sequence, and its individual terms are called triangular numbers.

Thus: 1, 3,the 6, 10, 21, right 28, 36,are 45, identical.

55, 66, . . . are triangularin numbers.

Theslanting difference left15,and Allallelements the first between any two consecutive numbers in the sequence is one more than the difference between column on the left as well as right are equal to one. The second the smaller of the two and the just previous one. This relation helps us to compute the sequence slanting column on the left and right is the natural number sequence. to any extent.

The third slanted column is referred to as the Triangular Sequence, and its individual terms are called triangular numbers. Thus: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, 55, 66, . . . are all triangular numbers. The difference between any two consecutive numbers in the sequence is one more than the difference between the smaller of the two and the just previous one. This relation helps us to compute the sequence to any extent.

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o oo ooo oooo ooooo oooooo ooooooo oooooooo If we have spheres or balls in equal number as the terms of the natural number sequence forming the second slanted line, we can stack them as a pyramid, as shown in the picture.

We also observe that the sum of any two consecutive numbers in the triangular sequence is a square: (eg. (3+6 = 9 which is 3*3), (15+25 = 36 which is 6*6)).

It is also seen that one added to a multiple of a triangular number with eight is a square: (eg. 8*6 +1 = 49 which is 7*7, 8*15+1 = 121 which is 11*11).

[CGS]

Reason Is Supreme Our reason is the best faculty we have to safeguard our integrity.

People who lack the proper use of logical forms conduct themselves in a random, overly reactive or muddled fashion and are easily misled.

Clear thinking is not a bloodless art. Reason's job is to critically test our conjectures, both our interpretations and our method of arriving at them. Reason is not an end but an indispensable instrument.

Questions are the engines of reason. Thus one needs to learn how to frame questions sensibly, rather than emotionally. If your ability to think clearly is compromised, your moral life may become fuzzy and equivocal.

Reason can distinguish error from truth and a deep truth from a petty one. The marks of good reasoning are clarity, consistency, rigour, precision of definitions, and avoidance of ambiguity.

Hasten to your training in clear thinking, so you can confidently enter a complex argument and not be thrown by it.

[Art of Living, Epictetes] August 2017 ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď Ž19

Hotstar Hotstar is a digital and mobile entertainment platform, owned

by Star India. After the beta version of ‘hotstar.com’ went live in January 2015, Star India officially launched hotstar in February 2015, just before the 2015 Cricket World Cup. At the beginning, it was intended to serve as a mobile application that would support streaming of the Cricket World Cup with some entertainment content. However, hotstar expanded its offering with 35,000 hours of content, spread across 8 languages from the entertainment, movie and sports channels owned by Star India.

The app garnered 340 million views for all 49 matches during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and over 200 million views during the Indian Premier League Season 8, this year. With over 50 million downloads, hotstar has more than 100 advertisers on the platform. Since the content is available free of cost to the users, Star India aims at monetizing solely through advertising. Some cricket talk shows like Juicy Half Volley (A World Cup Weekly Wrap-up) has been put particularly on hotstar.

In addition to the website, Hotstar is available as an application across mobile devices which are on Android, iOS and Apple TV platforms. Hotstar Android application is currently available in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh. It is expected to go global in late June 2017.

EKL Sudoku 118 [Medium]

Improve your concentration.

Use reasoning and fill each row, column and 3 x 3 grid in bold borders with each of the digits from 1 to 9.

Solution on page 27

20Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

4

9 4

7 9 5 7 8 5 3 1

2 5 9 6

8 9 1 2

1 3 5 8 1 4 2 7 5 9

Health Line

Triglycerides

Siblings to Cholesterol Triglycerides are a form of dietary fat found in meats, dairy produce and cooking oils. The liver also makes triglycerides. They are important to life and are the main forms of fat. They are sometimes called lipids (lipoproteins) in the body. Triglycerides and cholesterol are separate types of lipids. Because triglycerides and cholesterol can't dissolve in blood, they circulate throughout your body with the help of proteins that transport the lipids. Triglycerides store unused calories and provide your body with energy, and cholesterol is used to build cells and certain hormones. Triglycerides are the end product of digesting and breaking down fats in food. Some are made in the body from other energy sources, such as carbohydrates. When you’re between meals and need more energy, your body’s hormones release them so you tap those unused calories. Whether they come from the digestion of foods or from the liver, triglycerides are used for one of two purposes. They may be taken up by cells and tissues and used for energy. Alternatively they may be stored as fat. When you think of fat developing and being stored in your hips or belly, you're thinking of triglycerides.

After eating a meal the blood is rich in triglycerides. It usually takes a few hours for triglyceride levels to return to normal. Some people have more difficulty in clearing triglycerides from the blood following a fatty meal. For a very small number of people this is because of a rare genetic condition called Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency (LPLD).

About 1 in 100 people have a condition called Familial Combined Hyperlipidaemia (FCH) where both cholesterol and triglyceride levels are raised. About 1 in 5000 people have a condition called Type 3 Hyperlipidaemia where both cholesterol and triglycerides are raised. Having raised triglycerides might be a symptom of pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

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Raised triglycerides often go hand in hand with low HDL (good cholesterol) levels. The higher the triglyceride level the lower the HDL level. This may be because, as the main triglyceride carrying particles give up their triglycerides they also transfer cholesterol to HDL. When triglycerides are cleared from the blood less quickly, less cholesterol is transferred to HDL particles meaning HDL cholesterol levels remain low. This is why it is important to have a full lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol) known to keep the numbers at their normal values.

How They are Measured Triglycerides are measured in a common test called a lipid panel or a lipid profile. It checks for different types of cholesterol, including the levels of the good kind and the bad kind. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone 21 years and older get a lipid panel at least every 5 years. The levels are checked after an overnight fast. You'll have to fast for nine to 12 hours before blood can be drawn for an accurate triglyceride measurement.

Fat from a recent meal can muddy the picture. These tests are important because you rarely have any symptoms when your triglycerides are high, unlike with many other conditions.

Normal and High Levels A simple blood test can reveal whether your triglycerides fall into a healthy range. The National Cholesterol Education Program sets guidelines for triglyceride levels: • Normal — Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or less than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) • Borderline high — 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.8 to 2.2 mmol/L) • High — 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3 to 5.6 mmol/L) • Very high — 500 mg/dL or above (5.7 mmol/L or above) Elevated levels may lead to heart disease, especially in people with low levels of good cholesterol and high levels of bad cholesterol. The same is true if you have type 2 diabetes. Experts once debated how important triglycerides are, but it now seems clear that higher levels are linked to problems such as heart disease.

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How to Control The main way to deal with high triglycerides is to eat better and get more exercise. Here are some guidelines which may help you manage your triglycerides level: • Remember that extra calories are converted to triglycerides and stored as fat. Reducing your calories will reduce triglycerides. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most or all days of the week. Regular exercise can lower triglycerides and boost good cholesterol. Take a brisk daily walk, swim laps or join an exercise group. If you don't have time to exercise for 30 minutes, try squeezing it in 10 minutes at a time. Take a short walk, climb the stairs at work, or try some situps or pushups as you watch television.

• If you’re overweight, losing 5% to 10% of your weight can lower triglycerides. People with a healthy weight are more likely to have normal levels. Belly fat is associated with higher level of triglycerides. Motivate yourself by focusing on the benefits of losing weight, such as more energy and improved health.

• Try to lower the saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in your diet.

Simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and foods made with white flour, can increase triglycerides. Cutting back on carbohydrates will help.

• Alcohol is high in calories and sugar and has a particularly potent effect on triglycerides. Even small amounts of alcohol can raise triglyceride levels. Beer, wine, and liquor can raise levels. Some studies show that more than 1 drink a day for women or 2 for men can increase levels a lot.

• Substitute saturated fat found in meats with healthier monounsaturated fat found in plants, such as olive, peanut and canola oils. Substitute fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, a fat that’s good for you, for red meat.

• Eat more fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon which are high in omega-3. It may be hard to get enough omega-3 from food.

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Medicine Triglycerides are an important measure of the health of your heart.

For some people, good habits may not be enough to control their levels.

Medication might be needed. The decision for you and your doctor can be complicated because other health conditions are usually involved.

Several types of medicine can improve levels. They have to be selected appropriately because you may feel side effects from these drugs. However, if your doctor prescribes medication to lower your triglycerides, take the medication as prescribed. And remember the significance of the healthy lifestyle changes you've made. Medications can help, but lifestyle matters, too.

Having a high level of triglycerides can increase your risk of heart disease. However, the same lifestyle choices that promote overall health can help you lower your triglycerides, too. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need to use right away into triglycerides.

The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, particularly easy calories like carbohydrates and fats, you may have high triglycerides (a condition called hypertriglyceridemia).

Although it is unclear how, high triglycerides may contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls (atherosclerosis) — which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.

Extremely high levels of triglycerides — for example, levels above 1000 mg/dL (11.29 mmol/L) — can cause acute pancreatitis.

High triglycerides are often a sign of other conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke as well, including obesity and metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that includes too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels.

Sometimes high triglycerides are a sign of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, low levels of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), liver or kidney disease, or rare genetic conditions that affect how your body converts fat to energy. High triglycerides could also be a side effect of taking medications such as beta blockers, birth control pills, diuretics or steroids.

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History Line

The History of the Alphabet Evolution of Writing

It is indeed difficult to trace the starting period of writing. The basic components required for writing are ideas in human mind, shapes into which ideas could be transformed (pictures, symbols), surface onto which the shapes could be marked or drawn (surface of rock, metal, wood, earth, materials like leather, and now paper), object for marking the shapes (soft stone, stick, now pencil, pen) and a material that leaves the impression of the mark (hard marks on the surface itself like carving, juice of raw stick, now ink, paint) visible on the surface. Thus evolution of writing involves evolution of all the five components.

Writing is required for communication of ideas among people at distances. Early men created images of their ideas and translated them into pictures of objects in the real world to script them down onto surfaces using primitive tools. Thus early scripts were developed as pictures on surfaces of earth and rocks. Gradually from such pictures, alphabets of languages were developed to correspond to sounds and sound groups leading to the development of natural languages and their alphabets.

Writing using symbols or alphabets is believed to have its starting in ancient Egypt. The first pure alphabets mapping single symbols to single phonemes, but not necessarily each phoneme to a symbol, emerged around 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt, as a representation of language developed by Semitic workers in Egypt, but by then alphabetic principles had already been inculcated into Egyptian hieroglyphs for a millennium through Middle Bronze Age alphabets. Most other alphabets in the world today either descended from this one discovery, or were directly inspired by its design, including the Phoenician alphabet and the Greek alphabet.

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The Rosetta Stone shows the co-existence of Hieroglyphics, Hieratic script and the Greek Alphabet in Egypt in the third century B.C. The Proto-Canaanite alphabet, like its Egyptian prototype, represented only consonants, a system called an abjad. From it can be traced nearly all the alphabets ever used, most of which descend from the younger Phoenician version of the script. The Aramaic alphabet, which evolved from the Phoenician in the 7th century BC as the official script of the Persian Empire, appears to be the ancestor of nearly all the modern alphabets of Asia.

The Phaistos Disk The Phaistos Disc with marks of symbolic scripts is a curious archaeological find, likely dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age. Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology. No object directly comparable to the Phaistos Disc has been found so far. There is, however, a small number of comparable symbols known from other Cretan inscriptions, known summarily as Cretan hieroglyphs. This unique object is now on display at the archaeological museum of Herakleion in Crete, Greece.

There are a total of 241 tokens on the disc, comprising 45 unique signs. Many of these 45 signs represent easily identifiable every-day things. In addition to these, there is a small diagonal line that occurs underneath the final sign in a group 18 times. The disc shows traces of corrections made by the scribe in several places. A great deal of speculation developed around the disc during the 20th century. The Phaistos Disc captured the imagination of amateur archeologists.

Many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs. Historically, almost anything has been proposed, including prayers, a narrative or an adventure story, a "psalterion", a call to arms, a board game, and a geometric theorem. Some of the more fanciful interpretations of its meaning are classic examples of pseudoarchaeology.

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While enthusiasts still believe the mystery can be solved, scholarly attempts at decipherment are thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs turn up somewhere, as it is generally thought that there isn't enough context available for meaningful analysis. Any decipherment without external confirmation, such as successful comparison to other inscriptions, is unlikely to be accepted as conclusive.

The Phoenician alphabet seamlessly continues the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention called Phoenician from the mid 11th century. The Phoenicians are the descendants of the Bronze Age Canaanites who, protected by the Lebanon mountains and the sea, did not succumb to the Israelites or the 'Sea Peoples'. When they first appeared in western historiography, in the eighth and seventh century BCE, the Phoenicians already possessed scores of colonies all around the Mediterranean, and have extensive trade networks, extending as far as the Atlantic coast of Africa and the Black Sea, from which they challenged the Greeks, and later the Romans, for supremacy of the seas. According to Biblical accounts, already at an earlier period, the tenth century BCE, their artisans and artists were unparalleled, and they were sponsoring, together with king Solomon, ambitious naval undertakings.

The Phoenician alphabet was based on the principle that one sign represents one spoken sound.

Besides Aramaic, the Phoenician alphabet gave rise to the Greek and Berber alphabets. Whereas separate letters for vowels would have

EKL Sudoku 118 Solution

4 6 8 1 3 7 9 5 2

2 5 7 9 4 8 6 3 1

9 3 1 5 2 6 7 4 8

1 4 6 7 5 9 8 2 3

7 8 5 3 6 2 1 9 4

3 2 9 4 8 1 5 7 6

6 7 4 8 9 3 2 1 5

8 9 3 2 1 5 4 6 7

5 1 2 6 7 4 3 8 9

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actually hindered the legibility of Egyptian, Berber, or Semitic, their absence was problematic for Greek, which had a very different morphological structure. However, there was a simple solution. All of the names of the letters of the Phoenician alphabet started with consonants, and these consonants were what the letters represented. However, several of them were rather soft and unpronounceable by the Greeks, and thus several letter names came to be pronounced with initial vowels. By the acrophonic principle that was the basis of the system, the letters now stood for those vowels. For example, the Greeks had no glottal stop or h, so the Phoenician letter ’alep' became the Greek 'alpha' and e (later renamed epsilon). As this fortunate development provided for only six of the twelve Greek vowels, the Greeks eventually created digraphs and other modifications, such as ei, ou, and o (which became omega), or in some cases simply ignored the deficiency, as in long a, i, u.

The Greeks The Greek alphabet is the source for all the modern scripts of Europe. The History of the Greek alphabet starts with the adoption of Phoenician letter forms and continues to the present day. The Phoenician alphabet was strictly speaking an abjad. In other words it represented only consonants. This arrangement is much less suitable for Greek than for Semitic languages and several of the Phoenician consonants, representing sounds or distinctions not present in Greek, were adapted to represent vowels; consequently the Greek alphabet can be considered to be the world's first true alphabet.

The alphabet of the early western Greek dialects, where the letter "eta" remained an "h", gave rise to the Old Italic and Roman alphabets.

In the eastern Greek dialects, which did not have an "h", "eta" stood for a vowel, and remains a vowel in modern Greek and all other alphabets derived from the eastern variants: Glagolitic, Cyrillic, Armenian, Gothic (which used both Greek and Roman letters), and perhaps Georgian.

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The Romans Several hundred years later, the Romans used the Greek alphabet as the basis for the uppercase alphabet that we know today. They refined the art of handwriting, fashioning several distinctive styles of lettering which they used for different purposes. They scribed a rigid, formal script for important manuscripts and official documents and a quicker, more informal style for letters and routine types of writing. However the Romans made further important contributions to type design: In the Roman alphabet, serifs originated with the carving of words into stone in ancient Italy: Roman stonemasons started adding little hooks to the tips of letters to prevent the chisel from slipping, which turned out to be the very aesthetic as well as legibility increasing addition to type that we use to this day.

Serif chiselings Yet another Roman innovation is the institution of the baseline: In typography and penmanship, the baseline is the line upon which most letters "sit" and under which descenders extend. By these additions Romans ensured that type, in opposition to the higgeldy piggedly writing of the Greeks, was perfectly aligned in rows, thus greatly contributing to type aesthetics.

By A.D. 100, the Romans had developed a flourishing book industry and, as Roman handwriting continued to evolve, lower case letters and rough forms of punctuation were gradually added. Yet another Roman innovation was the invention of the Codex. A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a handwritten book, in general, one produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. The codex was a vast improvement upon the scroll, which it gradually replaced as the written medium. In Western culture the codex gradually replaced the scroll. From the fourth century, when the codex gained wide acceptance, to the Carolingian Renaissance in the eighth century, many August 2017 ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď Ž29

works that were not converted from scroll to codex were lost to posterity. The codex was an improvement over the scroll in several ways.

It could be opened flat at any page, allowing easier reading; the pages could be written on both recto and verso; and the codex, protected within its durable covers, was more compact and easier to transport.

The codex also made it easier to organize documents in a library because it had a stable spine on which the title of the book could be written. The spine could be used for the incipit, before the concept of a proper title was developed, during medieval times. Although most early codices were made of papyrus, papyrus was fragile and supplies from Egypt, the only place where papyrus grew, became scanty; the more durable parchment and vellum gained favor, despite the cost. From the point of view of Graphic Design the codex completely revolutionised the field in that codices brought about the gridded page layout system, which we still use today.

The alphabet used by the Romans consisted only of capital (upper case or majuscule) letters. The lower case (minuscule) letters developed in the Middle Ages from cursive writing, first as the uncial script, and later as minuscule script. The old Roman letters were retained for formal inscriptions and for emphasis in written documents. The languages that use the Latin alphabet generally use capital letters to begin paragraphs and sentences and for proper nouns.

Be courageous, care for others, a hero lives in you.

- Allison Crowther

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History of Paper

Revolutionising Knowledge Transfer In the history of writing, the development of paper is an important milestone. The word paper comes from the ancient Egyptian writing material called papyrus, which was woven from papyrus plants. Papyrus was produced as early as 3000 BCE in Egypt, and in ancient Greece and Rome. Further north where papyrus was not grown due to climatic conditions, parchment or vellum, made of processed sheepskin or calfskin, replaced papyrus.

In China, documents were ordinarily written on bamboo, making them very heavy and awkward to transport. Silk was sometimes used, but was normally too expensive to consider. Indeed, most of the above materials were rare and costly.

The Chinese court official Ts’ai Lun described the modern method of papermaking in AD 105. He was the first person to describe how to make paper from cotton rags. However, some sources trace the invention of this type of papermaking to China in 150 BCE. Instructions on the manufacturing process were not available, and the Chinese were reluctant to share their secrets. So the method could spread slowly only outside of China. Other East Asian cultures, even after seeing paper, could not figure out how to make it themselves. The technology was first transferred to Korea in 600 AD and then imported to Japan around 610 AD by a Buddhist priest, Dam Jing from Goguryeo, where fibres (called bast) from the mulberry tree were used.

After further commercial trading and the defeat of the Chinese in the Battle of Talas, the invention spread to the Middle East where it was adopted, and in India and subsequently in Italy in about the 13th century. They used hemp and linen rags as a source of fiber. The oldest known paper document in the West is the Missal of Silos from the 11th century.

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Some historians speculate that paper was the key element in global cultural advancement. According to this theory, Chinese culture was less developed than the West in ancient times because bamboo, while abundant, was a clumsier writing material than papyrus. Chinese culture advanced during the Han Dynasty and preceding centuries due to the invention of paper; and Europe advanced during the Renaissance due to the introduction of paper and the printing press.

Development of the Modern Papermaking Process Paper remained a luxury item through the centuries, until the advent of steam-driven papermaking machines in the 19th century, which could make paper with fibres from wood pulp. Although older machines predated it, the Fourdrinier machine became the basis for most modern papermaking.

In 1807, the Fourdrinier paper making machine was patented in France. This machine worked by a continuous process: pulp was fed onto a belt of wire cloth that was continually moving, so that the sheet was left on the surface while the water drained through the wire. The paper was smoothed on rotating heated cylinders, or calendars, and on to the reel. This was cut up into the appropriate length of sheets, which were then traditionally counted into reams. The Fourdrinier brothers were able to increase their production of paper ten-fold, from 60 to 100 lbs. per day by hand, to 1,000 lbs. per day using their new machine.

Fifty years after the mechanization of the process, the price of paper had dropped by almost one half.

Together with the invention of the practical fountain pen and the mass-produced pencil of the same period, and in conjunction with the advent of the steam-driven rotary printing press, wood-based paper caused a major transformation of the 19th-century economy and society in industrialized countries.

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Before this era, a book or a newspaper was a rare luxury object, and illiteracy was the norm. With the gradual introduction of cheap paper, school books, fiction, nonfiction, and newspapers became slowly available to nearly all members of society. Cheap wood-based paper also meant that keeping personal diaries or writing letters ceased to be reserved to a privileged few. The office worker or the white-collar worker was slowly born of this transformation, which can be considered as a part of the industrial revolution.

Can the paper be avoided? In this age of computers we speak of paperless activities, but is it fully acceptable and practicable? Scripts on paper remains for acceptably long periods of time for access, though with many limitations. This property may not be applicable for computer media. Computer tapes and disks of yester years are not usable now because of outdation. Of course, their contents could be transferred to timely suitable media, if done appropriately. But a lot might be lost for various reasons. Further, computer usage is dependent on several technologies which are subject to failure. In such a scenario, traditional scripting on paper has a permanent value.

The Seven Days The seven days of a week are associated with the seven heavenly bodies: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. For this reason, some believe, marking rituals every seventh-day became important. A seven-day week based on these same celestial bodies was adopted in Japan and ancient China.

Who made up the days of the week?

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Health Line

Virgin Coconut Oil Healthy Superfood

Coconut oil is often described as the healthiest oil on earth. This wasn’t always so. For years it had a reputation of being unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content. Saturated fat-containing oils were believed to raise blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. A specific study conducted 40 years ago seemed to verify this concern. But, what no one at the time seemed to take into account was that this study was done on hydrogenated coconut. The problems with hydrogenated oils are well documented by numerous studies. Even the general theory of saturated fats is now suspect.

We now know coconut oil is different from most fats and is actually good for us. Coconut oil has been used throughout Asia and the Pacific for thousands of years as both a food and a medicine. In tropical climates like in Polynesia, Sri Lanka, and the Yucatan where people have a diet high in coconut oil, the people are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, and colon problems than unsaturated fat eaters. It is now accepted that there is good cholesterol and there are good saturated fats. To quote Dr. Mary Enig: “The research over four decades concerning coconut oil in diet and heart disease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial.” The truth about organic coconut oil is obvious to anyone who has observed those who live in traditional tropical cultures, where coconut has been a nutritious diet staple for thousands of years.

Research shows that coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids that accelerate and stimulate metabolism, and give you more energy. Coconut oil has a good quantity of caprylic acid in it which is well known to kill off excess candida by targeting harmful bacteria. It is rich in lauric acid which protects your heart by reducing total cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol. There is an interesting fact about 34Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

coconut oil. Even though it is a fat, it actually helps with weight loss!

The healthy medium chain fatty acids do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats; they are sent directly to the liver and are converted into energy. Thus the body does not store the fat in coconut oil as fat; it uses it to produce energy instead. Coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. Instead it helps control blood sugar by improving the secretion of insulin.

Studies on people in the Pacific Islands found that their total caloric intake included thirty to sixty percent from fully saturated coconut oil.

These Pacific Islanders have nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease. Combining Vitamin E supplements with coconut oil through the skin proved to be a good alternative for those with gastrointestinal malabsorption diseases. Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, a nutrient that supports the body’s immune system. When applied externally on the body it forms a protective antibacterial layer protecting the infected body part. Also, coconut oil speeds up the healing process of bruises by helping to repair damaged tissue. Studies show that it improves cognitive function, and stalls, or even reverses, neurodegenerative diseases in their early stages. Coconut oil has been part of Ayurvedic medicine for 5,000 years in India. People in Panama drink a glass of coconut oil to protect themselves from illness as it is also believed to speed recovery from sickness.

The natives of Hawaii anointed Captain Cook with coconut oil during their Makahiki festival in 1778, similar to the offering to the gods during the time of spiritual cleansing. Captain Cook and his sailors were struck by the health and beauty of the people on Polynesian islands.

Back in the 1930s, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines35

those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet.

Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups.

The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found no evidence that the high saturated fat intake had a harmful effect in these populations.

According to research by Dr. Mary Enig, approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the anti-viral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria.

So, now organic coconut oil is geting recovery from its fall from grace.Organic coconut oil is finally beginning to get the respect it deserves as a smart alternative to other oils.

Almost all tropical countries grow coconut. The Philippines is the top Coconut producing country in the world.

Coconut Oil Nutrition: Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of lauric acid which protects your heart by reducing total cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol. It has a small amount of vitamins and minerals. Choline is one of the most abundant nutrients (0.3 mg per 100 g) of coconut oil. Vitamin E (0.9 mg) and vitamin K (0.5 mcg) per 100 g of oil are important for cardiovascular health. It contains a small amount of iron (0.04 mg per 100 g of oil).

Coconut oil is a fat. One tablespoon contains 120 calories so do not take too much. Include just enough to get the health benefits without the extra gained fat on your body. A therapeutic dosage is 3 to 4 tablespoons a day to provide enough lauric acid to build the immune system.

Once fresh unsaturated fats are inside the body, they oxidize (turn rancid). Coconut oil does not go rancid even after one year at room 36ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď ŽAugust 2017

temperature. Most of the saturated fat in coconut oil is easy to digest and converted into quick energy so people are less likely to become obese by consuming coconut oil as the fat is not stored.

Polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetables oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of all the double bonds they have. Most people believe that frying creates trans fats. That is not the major problem. Although some are created, they are relatively minor. There are far more toxic chemicals produced by frying omega-6 oils than trans fats. They contribute to the overabundance of omega-6 fats in your diet, and the imbalance of the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

Frying destroys the antioxidants in oils and as such oxidizes the oils.

This causes cross-linking, cyclization, double-bond shifts, fragmentation, and polymerization of oils that cause far more damage than trans fats.

Curiously, organic coconut oil contains the most saturated fat of all edible oils. We continue to be inundated by media portrayals of saturated fats as dangerous. Despite the propaganda, the truth is that, it is the unsaturated fats that are primarily involved in heart disease, not the saturated fats, as you have been led to believe.

But now you know, you should have more peace of mind, knowing that you're making the right choice by using great-tasting Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. The U.S. Department of Health and the FDA estimate that artificially hydrogenated trans-fats -- the type found in fast food, processed foods, and your favorite pastries -- are ultimately responsible for a huge number of fatal heart attacks every year. These dangerous unsaturated fats are the ones you should ban from your diet, not naturally pure organic coconut oil, which is a better alternative because it contains very few fats with highly perishable double bonds – and has no transfats.

The terms fats and oils are often used interchangeably, but fat is more correctly considered solid at room temperature, while oils are liquid.

But what's really important is the structure.

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Uses and Health Benefits of Coconut Oil Coconut oil is an immediate source of energy when taken as food that isn’t stored as fat in the body.

• In cooking, coconut oil makes an amazing taste maker • It has been shown to increase absorption of calcium and magnesium in the body • It can help speed weight loss when consumed daily • It can help improve sleep when taken daily • When used in food, it may support healthy thyroid function • Some studies show that it can help improve insulin levels when consumed regularly • Topically, it helps skin heal faster after injury or infection because of its beneficial fats • Some evidence shows that the beneficial fats in coconut oil can help control depression and anxiety • When taken regularly, it can boost hormone production • Can relieve the pain of hemorrhoids when used topically • Some studies show it can boost circulation and help those who often feel cold • Taken internally during pregnancy, it can help provide baby necessary fats for development (especially when taken with Fermented Cod Liver Oil) • Saturated fats in coconut oil help avoid Alzheimer’s • Rubbed on the inside of your nose it may help alleviate allergy symptoms • The antimicrobial and antibacterial properties make it helpful topically to kill yeast or yeast infections 38Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

• The antimicrobial properties and beneficial fats make coconut oil a powerhouse in Remineralizing Toothpaste • Can help sooth psoriasis or eczema • Oil pulling with coconut oil and a drop of oregano oil helps improve gum and oral health • Can help improve cholesterol ratios • Can help reduce appearance of varicose veins when used topically • After initial heat is gone, can help speed healing of sunburn • Blend a tablespoon into hot tea to help speed recovery from cold or flu • It’s anti-inflammatory properties can help lessen arthritis • Can reduce the itch of mosquito bites • Can help resolve acne when used regularly • A tablespoon melted into a cup of warm tea can help sooth a sore throat • Can be used internally and externally to speed recovery from UTIs • Used as a salve for cracked heels • Coconut oil is used to treat yeast infection.

• Ingesting coconut oil daily can help fight allergy symptoms • According to many people, ingesting coconut oil daily can increase mental alertness • Coconut oil is used as a safe cloth diaper cream (just rub on baby’s bottom) • It is also used as ear drops for kids to help speed ear infection healing • It is used in place of cream on nursing nipples to sooth irritation August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines39

• Nursing moms use to take a couple tablespoons a day (and Vitamin D) to increase milk supply and nutrients to baby • This oil may be used to help sooth the itch of chicken pox or poison ivy • Use it on skin to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy • It is used directly on the perineum to help healing after birth of baby • To get rid of cradle cap on baby, this oil is just massaged into head, left on for a few minutes and gently rinsed with a warm wash cloth • With apple cider vinegar as a natural treatment for lice that actually works • Coconut oil makes an excellent eye-makeup remover on its own • It may help lighten age spots when rubbed directly on the skin • It may help increase sun tolerance and avoid burning when used internally • It can be used as a natural personal lubricant that won’t disturb vaginal flora • Mixed with sea salt it is useful to remove dry skin on feet • By itself or with baking soda it can be used as a naturally whitening toothpaste • Rub it on cuticles to help nails grow • Rub it into elbows daily to help alleviate dry, flaky elbows • Rubbed on the body it can help avoid chlorine exposure when swimming • It can be used s a completely natural baby lotion • Its natural antibacterial properties make it a helpful homemade deodorant in fighting odor.

• It is used in homemade laundrysoap 40Executive Knowledge LinesAugust 2017

• It is used to make natural Homemade Sunscreen recipes with other protective ingredients • It can be usedalone as a great tanning oil • Use it alone or with baking soda as a natural deodorant • It is applied to remove sticky juice of vegetables and plants • It is used in homemade natural bug off lotion bars • Rubbing a small amount into real leather softens and conditions it (shiny leather only) • For pets struggling with skin issues it can be used externally • It can be applied on hands after washing dishes to avoid dry skin • Mixed with catnip, rosemary, or mint essential oils, it is a natural bug repellent

Caretake This Moment Immerse yourself in this moment and in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble.

It is really time to live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now. You are not some disinterested bystander. Participate.

Exert yourself.

Respect your partnership with providence. Ask yourself often: How may I perform this particular deed such that it would be consistent with and acceptable to the divine will? Heed the answer and get to work.

When your doors are shut and your room is dark, you are not alone. The will of nature is within you as your natural genius is within. Listen to its importunes. Follow its directives.

No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time. Give your best and always be kind.

[Art of Living, Epictetes] August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines41

MCFA vs LCFA in Coconut Oil Organic coconut oil's uniqueness is directly related to its chemical structure, or more precisely, the length of its fatty acid chains.

Organic coconut oil is comprised of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. Organic coconut oil is nature's richest source of these MCFAs. By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs. The MCFAs in organic coconut oil are good for the body because: • MCFAs are smaller compared to LCFAs. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require lipoproteins or special enzymes to be utilized effectively for absorption by your body.

• MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.

• MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.

Organic coconut oil has often been compared to carbohydrates in its ability to be burned for energy. However, since insulin is not involved in the process of digesting the MCFAs in organic coconut oil, you won't get notable variation in your blood sugar level. This is especially good news for those of you concerned about maintaining blood sugar levels already in the normal range.

There are several reasons to explain why long-chain fatty acids are not good for you as the MCFAs in organic coconut oil: • LCFAs are difficult for the body to break down -- they must be packaged with lipoproteins or carrier proteins and require special enzymes for digestion.

• LCFAs put more strain on the pancreas, the liver, and the entire digestive system.

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• LCFAs are predominantly stored in the body as fat. (That's why most people believe into the myth that fats are automatically fattening.)

• LCFAs can be deposited within arteries in lipid forms such as cholesterol.

Research Findings on Coconut Oil Currently a rapid widespread popularity of coconut oil has been noticed. Once ostracized by the medical community for it’s saturated fat content, it seems that coconut oil might finally be making a comeback in the mainstream health community. For years, health advice has warned against consuming saturated fats, and coconut oil has gotten thrown out with the rest without good reason! Many research studies have linked coconut oil to the following health benefits: • High lauric acid content can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It doesn’t increase LDL (bad cholesterol) and helps keep arteries flexible and prevent atherosclerosis.

• Studies show that coconut oil may help increase thyroid health because of its unique combination of nourishing properties and the fact that it travels directly to the liver without the need for hormones or enzymes in digestion.

• Coconut oil can help boost metabolism. Since it travels directly to the liver, it is used for energy and not stored as fat. It also helps a feeling of satiety and can assist in weight loss.

• Can increase bone strength by allowing better absorption of calcium, vitamin D, and other minerals.

• It’s antifungal properties have been shown to help reduce candida and yeast in the body and fight yeast infections.

• Can help fight infection and flu due to its antibacterial, antiviral and antimicrobial properties.

August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines43

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August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines45

Volume 13 Issue 1 August 2017 Chief Editor N T Nair

Authentication Editors Dr C G Sukumaran Nair (CGS) Simon Zachariah

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There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

- Nelson Mandela

46ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď ŽAugust 2017

Owned, Edited, Printed, and Published by N T Nair, 186, PTP Nagar, Trivandrum 695 038 Printed by Akshara Offset, TC 25/ 3230(1), Vanchiyoor, Trivandrum 695 035 Published at Trivandrum. Editor: N T Nair August 2017 Executive Knowledge Lines47

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