Undersecretary Beltran Debunked Heydarian's Opinion on the Philippine Economy

Heydarian’s opinions went overboard describing the Philippine economy as suffering from a “fallout” and “economic managers as grappling with erratic and populist policies”. His generalizations are erroneous and not backed up by accurate statistics.

First, he says that “During the first half of 2017, there was a 90% drop in new investment pledges”. Actual gross domestic investment in the economy based on the National Income Accounts (and these are not just pledges) rose in real terms, by 9.5% in the whole of 2017 and 12.5% in the first quarter of 2018. The investment pledges being referred to by Heydarian are those that are applying for fiscal incentives which are a small proportion of total investments.

These investment data are backed by actual foreign direct investment inflows recorded by the Central Bank --- US$10.05 billion in 2017, up by 21.4% over the previous year and US$2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up by 43.4% over the same period in 2017.

These investment data are also backed by bank-disbursed loans, almost 90% of which go to production, which rose by 17.9% in 2017 and 17.3% in the first quarter of 2018.

Second, he says that “the Philippine Central Bank xxx is also under criticism for its delayed adjustment of interest rates amid an upsurge in inflation as well as a historically weak peso.” Actually, the Bangko Sentral acted swiftly adjusting policy rates twice in May and June to correct elevated inflationary expectations. As of May 2018, the month-on-month inflation has dropped to zero, implying that prices were nailed to their average levels in April.

On his claims of a “historically weak peso”, Heydarian should look further back---the peso was at P55.57/US$1 in year-end 2013 and P56.27/US$1 in year-end 2004. Since inflation has risen since that period, the recent exchange rate adjustment is giving exporters and OFWs what is due them given that their foreign exchange earnings are now. being efficiently used through importation of equipment to beef up the country’s productive capacity.

Third, Heydarian quotes critics who say that “tax reform package xxx has raised the prices of basic goods and commodities”. Indeed, it raised prices, as tax reforms usually do, but the rise is only 0.4 percentage point which is below the 0.7 percentage point discussed in Congress during the tax reform hearings. Actually, the cut in individual income tax rate, which these critics conveniently forget, increased the disposable income of salaried workers by, an average of 15%, thus, the 4.1% average rise in prices from January to May was more than fully offset by this tax cut.

The “fallout” that Heydarian is imagining is debunked by the rapid growth of the economy---6.7% in 2017 and 6.8% in the first quarter of 2018. If Heydarian is looking for “erratic and populist policies”, his eyes are perhaps turned to the wrong country. The Philippine tax reform is certainly not “populist” and not “erratic” but it is necessary to fund that ambitious infrastructure program which is necessary to enhance the competitiveness of the economy.

By DOF Chief Economist USEC GIL BELTRAN, DOF Economic Bulletin, 25 June 2018

Techy Teacher Shares a Brilliant way of Taking School Attendance Using a Mobile App

Michael Angelo, A high school teacher at GEANHS(General Emilio Aguinaldo National High School), shows a cool way of checking attendance in the classroom. He devised a app called QR Attendance Control which let you take attendance using QR codes. These codes are consist of black patterns that contain information which can be interpreted by a digital camera and software.

Michael then assigned a unique QR code for each student that will be scan before his class. After scanning, the app will automatically make register of the date time and date of arrival and departure of each student and calculates the time they spent inside the classroom. This register can be exported to excel for records.

In his facebook post, he wrote a detailed steps on how his fellow teachers and students can easily use the app as shown below.

Steps in using the app
1. Install QR Attendance Control and Bar Code Scanner from the playstore.
2. Create QR Code for students using a Code generator
3. Choose TEXT and type their information. Start with last name so you could sort your data easily.
4. Open the QR App and scan their code.
5. To Export, click the tool button on the lower left. Click Export then change the file name you desire.
6. Before your next class, make sure to DELETE LIST so it doesnt mix up with your previous class. Do the same to your next class.
7. To access the list in: Go to My Files/ Internal Storage/ QR Attendance Control Folder

This app truly creates an easier and paper less way of taking attendance. This teacher deserves compliment and appreciation. Kudos to Michael and all teachers out there!

Epic Weight Loss Transformation

Need a little motivation? Take a look on these epic weight loss transformation.

Shandra Redwine

On the day that Shandra Redwine got married, she wore a size 22 wedding dress. Recently, she found the dress in her closet and couldn’t believe how far she’d come. Redwine credits her impressive 92 pound weight loss with a few things: Cutting out all processed food from her diet, slashing her calorie intake to 1,200 (at first), and lots of cardio. Clearly, it’s working.

Lexi Reed

On the first day Lexi walked into a gym, she committed herself to 30 minutes on the elliptical machine five times per week. She also learned to cook, cut calories, and cleaned up her diet. Best of all, she encouraged her husband, Danny, to join her on her journey to health. In less than two years, the couple has lost a whopping combined 362 pounds. They look like entirely different people, and their story is inspiring

Emma Pope

Emma Pop, who weighed 319 pounds at her heaviest, credits Instagram itself for keeping her motivated. She documented her journey on her account, treating it almost as a weight loss diary. Pope’s four year weight loss journey included working out at least four times a week for an hour and a half, eating a healthy diet, and checking in regularly on Instagram. Four years later, Pope weighs a healthy 175 pounds and has found a great balance between maintaining healthy habits and enjoying her life.

Jessica Beniquez

In the last year and a half, Jessica has dropped about 170 pounds. Although she is an avid exerciser, she credits her success mainly to one thing: Portion control. She has 290,000 Instagram followers, and she loves to motivate them with small challenges and amazing before and after shots.

Emily Furey

Emily Moore gained four stone at university by drinking and eating calorific foods. After she vowed to shed weight she cut all meat from her diet, and now follows a high protein, 95 per cent plant based diet for her lean physique. Through making cleaver swaps she swapped a heavier figure for svelte abs and slender limbs. Explaining her weight loss methods she said:“It’s all about swapping the high sugar and fat foods for alternatives.

5 Easy Exercises You Can Do at the Office

Ready to get to work—in more ways than one? With a little help from Tracy Anderson herself, we now know how to bring her method to the office. All you need is a chair and a few minutes to perform the workout routine she demonstrates in her video. Want more detail about each of the five moves? Scroll down for a breakdown of each exercise.

Standing Back Kick

Start standing behind a chair with your hands resting on the back of it, and your right foot on the seat. Lift your right foot up and with knee bent, rotate your leg to the right, then extend the leg behind you as your chest comes down toward the back of the chair.

Deep Bend and Side Kick

With your hands still on the back of the chair, step to the right of it. With your feet together, squat as low as you can go and stand up. Then step your right foot across your body, and standing on your right leg, extend your left leg in a side kick.

Side and Upside Down Kick

Lie across the seat of the chair on your right side, with your right hip and thigh resting on the seat, your right hand on the floor, and your left hand holding onto the back of the chair. Both knees should be bent. Lift your left leg into the air and extend it. Then place your left foot on the floor and bring your left hand down to the floor as well, so it’s shoulder distance from your right hand, and extend your right leg into the air.

Standing Knee Pull

To start, stand to the left side of the chair, rest your right forearm arm on its back, and place the fingertips of your left hand on the seat. With a flat back, lift your left knee to 90 degrees, keeping your knee bent. Now extend your left leg behind you and return it to the starting position—that’s one rep.

Ballet Stretch and Plié

Rest your right ankle on the back of the chair and lean forward to touch your toes with your right hand. Then bring your right leg down into a plié squat, with toes pointed out and both hands resting on the back of the chair.

Do 30 reps of each move, then repeat the series with the other leg.

source: www.health.com

22 year-old Virgin Conceived a Baby Girl

A 22-year-old girl who claimed to have not sexual relations got pregnant. In an exclusive interview with RMN Pagadian, the girl said that she had missed her menstruation for too long when she decided to consult a doctor. She was astonished when the doctor declared that she was pregnant. According to her story, her doctor suggest that she might acquired sperm cell in the water or swimming pool.

Exclusive interview sa RMN DXPR Pagadian sa 22 anyos nga si Joy nga usa matud pa ka virgin apan nagmabdos ug nanganak og batang babaye.
Posted by RMN - DXPR Pagadian 603 on Sunday, June 24, 2018

But is it possible to get pregnant in a swimming pool? According to an article in plannedparenthood.org, it is impossible to get pregnant from sperm in a swimming pool. Sperm can live outside the body for a short time under the right conditions, but those conditions aren’t found in water. There are a couple reasons why it’s hard for sperm to survive in water — not only are they all dispersed, but they’re also separated from the fluids that protect them. It’s also incredibly unlikely that any water containing live sperm would get inside the vagina.

Can a woman become pregnant even though she is still a virgin? The answer is Yes, according to some experts though it occurs very rarely. Some may have manage to deposit seminal fluid to the vagina without breaking the hymen.

Saudi Air Defenses Intercept Missile over Riyadh Launch by Yemen’s Houthi Militia

Saudi Arabia’s air defense forces intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia over Riyadh on Sunday, state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV said.

Moments earlier, at least six loud blasts were heard and bright flashes were seen in the sky over the capital Riyadh, and puffs of smoke were later visible above the city, a Reuters witness said

Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militia over Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s air defense forces intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia over Riyadh || https://bit.ly/2IoLM61
Posted by Arab News on Sunday, June 24, 2018

There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities or a Saudi-led coalition fighting in neighboring Yemen against the armed Houthi movement, which has targeted Riyadh with ballistic missiles several times in recent months.

A Moving Bump on This Woman's Face Turned Out to Be a Live Worm

 The New England Journal of Medicine published a story of a 32-year-old woman from Russia who successfully had a live worm remove from her face through surgery. The woman presented photos to an ophthalmologist showing a 2 week of history of moving bulge around her face.

She first spotted the moving bulge below her left eye(shown in image A), which then move above her eye(shown in image B) after five days. 10 days after, the bulge move to her upper lips(shown in image C). The bulge causes localized itching and burning sensation.

The bulge later on identified as Dirofilaria repens, a long, thin white worm(shown in image D) which typically use dogs and other carnivores as their host. This parasite is usually transmitted through mosquito bites. The woman was known to had traveled to a rural area outside Moscow and recalled being frequently bitten by mosquitoes.  The woman had full recovery after the removal of the worm.

10 Richest People on the Planet

1. Jeff Bezos (Total net worth $124B)

Jeff Bezos has become synonymous with his company, Amazon, the online book retailer turned global e-commerce juggernaut he founded in Seattle in 1994. Mr. Bezos still runs Amazon, ranked the world's fourth-largest information technology company by revenue. In addition to retail and tech, Amazon has also ventured into the streaming game, with a number of original shows in development.
When Amazon's stock price surges up, Bezos edges out Bill Gates and moves into the pole position on Bloomberg's Index. When Amazon's stock eases up, Bezos can slip into the second position. But Amazon's recent successes may soon put Bezos out of reach.

2. Bill Gates (Total net worth $91.6B)

It might come as a surprise that Bill Gates, who has dominated "world's richest" lists for well over a decade and usually tops the index at number one, is currently is second place. But note that he's neck-and-neck with Jeff Bezos, so depending on the day and the stock market, he still toggles between #1 and #2.

As co-founder of Microsoft, Mr. Gates still holds a 2.4 percent stake in the company, along with a portfolio of diversified assets through a number of publicly traded companies across multiple business sectors, including Canada's biggest railroad operator. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Giving Pledge, Mr. Gates has pledged a large portion of his fortune to help solve some of the world's most pressing public health problems.

3. Warren Buffett (Total net worth $86.3B)

Warren "the Oracle of Omaha" Buffett's origin story is as American as the proverbial apple pie. Known as one of the most successful and prolific investors of all time, Mr. Buffett famously began his professional career as a paperboy and rode an enviable work ethic all the way to the top of the finance world, culminating with his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Fun fact: Berkshire Hathaway was originally a textile manufacturer, which eventually came to be the umbrella for 60+ companies under management.

4. Mark Zuckerberg (Total net worth $73.6B)

Like most of the famous tech entrepreneurs on the list, Mark Zuckerberg needs no introduction. Like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg famously left Harvard early to work on the social network that would come to change the world and influence everything from politics and media to interpersonal communications. As co-founder and current Chairman and CEO of Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg is the youngest member of the list.

5. Amancio Ortega (Total net worth $72.2B)

The tech sector may account for the largest slice of the pie, but the third richest billionaire in the world and number one in Europe is the head of retail giant Inditex Ventures, most famous for the Zara fast-fashion clothing chain. A quintessential "rags-to-riches" success story, Amancio Ortega rose from a humble working class background in Spain to run a multinational retail empire, where he continues to work to this day at the age of 80.

6. Carlos Slim (Total net worth $67.5B)

Best known for his stake in Latin American telecom company America Movil, Carlos Slim also has holdings in a number of international companies across various sectors in Mexico, as well as recognizable American companies like The New York Times and Philip Morris.

7. Bernard Arnault (Total net worth $65.1B)

The other European on the list also made his fortune in the retail sector. As chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault controls the world's biggest luxury goods house, which in addition to the beloved Louis Vuitton brand also includes high profile brands like Tag Heuer and Dom Perignon champagne.

8. Larry Ellison (Total net worth $55.3B)

Larry Ellison made his name (and fortune) as the founder of legendary database company Oracle. While his roughly 25 percent stake in Oracle may account for a large portion of his wealth, Mr. Ellison also holds a diversified portfolio with investments across a number of industries, namely real estate and professional sports (including a sailing team and the tennis tournament at Indian Wells in California).

9. Larry Page (Total net worth $55.3B

With his partner Sergey Brin (no. 10), Larry Page claimed his place in history and helped to change the world as the co-founder of Google. As CEO of Google's holding company (Alphabet), Larry Page controls the world's largest search engine operator.

10. Sergey Brin (Total net worth $53.3B)

As co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin is a member of the elite group of tech titans that got their start in a San Francisco area garage. President of Alphabet, Mr. Brin has also had a hand in Google's innovative offshoot Google X, where the company's many geniuses are hard at work on various "moon shots," working to find solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems. In addition to his role in inventions like Google Glass, Sergey Brin went a little off-brand in 2007 to executive produce the movie "Broken Arrow" with his co-founder Larry Page.

This Woman Took Two Different Photos in the Same Outfit to Prove How Deceptive Social Media Is

Nowadays, photos we see on social media do not really represents reality. Others pose in ways that could make them look better even make use of the technology just to look good than they really are. These were the matters pointed out by Rini Frey, a social media influencer, in her instagram post.

Frey posted two photos of herself in Instagram showing how your body can look very differently depending on the angle you shoot a photo as well as how you project. Both were taken on the same day while dressed in the same outfit. One photo shows(on the left) Frey flexing in her underwear marked “my body”. The second image(on the right) marked “also my body” shows Frey sitting in the same outfit.

The pictures of “perfect bodies” you see on Instagram... don’t let them get you down. Most of them don’t represent reality and if they do, it doesn’t mean that these bodies belong to a healthy and happy human. It’s just what we are made to believe, but it’s mostly not true. Our bodies are pretty incredible machines that never ever take a break. Day in day out, minute after minute, from birth to death, our bodies do the work without ever resting. Pumping blood through our veins, making our heart beat in our chest, allowing us to move, drive, walk, travel, see, smell, hear, taste and FEEL love, happiness and positive energy. So, why do we as a society put all our focus on how little fat needs to sit under our skin, how we can make our muscles pop, how we can shape our body in a way that isn’t natural or how we can hold back from feeding our body for as long as possible? 🤔 As I’m posting this, I am placing a hand on my heart and thanking my body for sticking with me through years of self-punishment, self-loathing, starvation, stuffing it with food, purging food, beating it down and destroying it with way too much exercise. Thank you, body, for never letting me down, even though I always used to think you did. I was wrong and I’m sorry. I don’t care what you look like as long as you are healthy and happy. . . . What are you thanking your body for today? . . . _______________________________________ Undies: @dearkates #healthtips #selflove #bodyacceptance #edrecovery #recoveryisworthit #prorecovery #bodypositive #bodyposipanda #buzzfeed #selfmagazine #womenempowerment #embracethesquish #bodytransformation #yycfitness #bodyimageissues #loveyourskin

A post shared by Rini Frey (@ownitbabe) on Jun 9, 2018 at 8:44am PDT

According to Frey, photos of "perfect bodies" we see in instagram don't represent reality and healthy happy human. "It’s just what we are made to believe, but it’s mostly not true.", she wrote. "Our bodies do the work without ever resting.Pumping blood through our veins, making our heart beat in our chest, allowing us to move, drive, walk, travel, see, smell, hear, taste and FEEL love, happiness and positive energy. So, why do we as a society put all our focus on how little fat needs to sit under our skin, how we can make our muscles pop, how we can shape our body in a way that isn’t natural or how we can hold back from feeding our body as long as possible?”

In an interview with Health Magazine, Frey said the she felt motivated to share this inspiring post after getting a massive outreach from her followers. "I get so many DMs from young girls saying that they hate their bodies and I believe a big part of it is comparing themselves to 'perfect bodies' they see on Instagram," she says. "Our bodies deserve our love and respect, instead of picking it apart every day."

“As I’m posting this, I am placing a hand on my heart and thanking my body for sticking with me through years of self-punishment, self-loathing, starvation, stuffing it with food, purging food, beating it down and destroying it with way too much exercise,” she continued. “Thank you, body, for never letting me down, even though I always used to think you did. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”

1-year-old Baby Beaten by Babysitter After Waving Goodbye to the Mother

A 1-year-old baby beaten by babysitter just after waving goodbye to the mother. This incident was caught by a CCTV camera in an apartment's elevator in China.

The beating started when babysitter failed to stop the baby from crying. She hits the baby in the belly, making the baby crying more and more. The more the baby cries, the stronger the beating.

Thanks to the elevator surveillance camera, this woman's cruel behavior was exposed.

After waving goodbye to mother , 1-year-old baby was attacked by babysitter, the more he cried , the cruel woman beat him more strongly 😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥
Posted by Md Mehedi Hasan on Sunday, June 10, 2018

Tanim Bala Hits Again at NAIA!

Kristine was checking in for her flight bound to Zamboanga when she was held by security officers at the NAIA terminal 3 for inspection upon passing through the x-ray. Kristine thought the security officers had found the black box she used for physical therapy, but she was surprised when they took out a small bullet from the front pocket of her bag.

This got Kristine furious and yelled "Mga tarantado kayo, hinde pa pala tapos tong palabas niyo. Ako pa nag timing niyo. Nagtratrabaho ako ng maayos at sa gobyerno tulad niyo. Putsa kayo kasama ko anak ko na ka discharge lang Hospital at ang nanay ko senior citizen."

A police officer then approached Ms. Kristine asking what had happened. She told the police officer that they just found a bullet in her bag. "Shit Kako Maam, hinde ako tanga wag nila ako gawing tanga!Hinde ko palalampasin etung katarantaduhan nila!" , she said.

A senior officer approach her and said,"Okay lang po yan Ma'am. Logbook lang namin itong incident. Wala naman po mangyayari sa inyo.". Then they asked for her ID, bus she gave her mother's senior citizen ID instead.

Kristine posted the incident on facebook and got viral even reach to Malacañang. "May natanggap kaming report na may tanim bala incident na naman daw sa NAIA. We reiterate - the Duterte Administration will never tolerate this "modus" operandi. We have ordered the concerned agencies to address this within 24 hours. We are expecting them to comply or face the consequences.", Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go said in a facebook post. Sinabi na ng Pangulong Duterte noon, na pag nangyari pa ito, ipapakain niya yung bala sa taong gumawa, and I assure everyone, he will really do it. Bukas ang tanggapan namin para tumanggap ng reklamo. Magtulungan po tayo para matigil ang ganitong klaseng panloloko." He added.

OFW Mercilessly Beaten by Fellow Filipina Friends in Taiwan

An OFW mercilessly beaten by her fellow Filipina friends in her own apartment in Taiwan. The incident boils down from the old ugly pictures of the assailants shared by the victim in their group chat.

The victim suffers multiple head injuries including bleeding in her right eye according to the medical result posted by the victim in her Facebook account.

The suspects also broke her personal belongings such as laptop and cellphones.

The victim angrily narrated how the incident came to be in her Facebook post which includes a graphic video of herself being beaten by the suspects.

The video was taken by one of the assailants as they continuously beats the victim while throwing trash talks all throughout. 

Suspects were unapologetic as confronted by victim's friend. Below are the screenshot of their exchange of messages.

Later on, suspects tried to fix the issue by apologizing even offer to pay NT$ 70,000 each but the victim is decided to pursue and file case against them. 

The assailants were identified as Richelle Villarino, Charina Carreon, and Jeronica Marasigan.

The victim hopes for fast recovery and justice. She also seek the help of Raffy Tulfo in action.

Posted by Char Lyn on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Man Arrested in UAE for Filming, Mocking Petrol Pump Employee

Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution ordered the arrest on of a man for verbally abusing a petrol pump employee after a video that was posted on social media gone viral. In the video, the suspect made a payment with coins and make fun of the petrol station’s employee.

Accroding to Abu Dhabi’s Public Prosecution, UAE do not tolerate such kind of behavior will take action on anyone who exhibits abusive and disrespectful manners that may harm or offend others. They also added that anyone who abuses technology on social media will also be liable for persecution under the law.

Warriors Sweep Cavaliers for Second Straight NBA Title

Golden State Warriors sweep Cavaliers in Game 4 with a score of 108-85. Warriors dominated in their four year straight NBA's championship match with Cavaliers winning 3 titles.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 37 points, and Kevin Durant added a triple-double: 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant earned Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight year.

Cleveland were done and the Cavaliers seemed to know it. They were powerless to stop the onslaught of Warriors players rotating into the game, hitting jump shots and driving for layups. When Golden State’s Draymond Green shoved James midway through the quarter, something seemed to go out of the Cavs. James’ mighty shoulders dropped. He quickly picked up his fourth foul, the Warriors went on a 11-2 run and Cleveland never came close again.

13-year-old Kid Solves Three Rubik's Cubes while Juggling!

Que Jianyu, a 13-year-old kid from China created a more challenging way of solving rubik's cube. The kid trained for two years before getting into new Guinness World Record of having the "Fastest Time to solve three Rubik's Cube while Juggling". He managed to achieve this very challenging record in 5 minutes 6.61 seconds on stage of Zhejiang TV's show, iDream.

During the show, Que and his master, Ye Jiaxi, also broke the title of Fastest time to solve a Rubik's Cube (3x3x3) by a team of two with a time of 25.63 seconds, nearly three seconds quicker than the previous record.

Que has been playing with Rubik's cubes since the age of six and has performed his skills in Germany, Italy, the US, and Australia.

Chinese Farm Breeds 6 Billion Cockroaches a Year for Medicine

Farm Facility

The world’s largest cockroach farm operated by pharmaceutical company Gooddoctor in Xichang city in southwestern China is breeding 6 billion cockroaches a year, a colony bigger than the world's entire population, using breeding facility operated by a “smart manufacturing” system powered by artificial intelligence(AI).

The system is located in a multi-storey building covering an area of about two sports fields filled with narrowly spaced rows of shelves lined with open containers of food and water. It constantly collects and analyses more than 80 categories of “big data”, including humidity, temperature, food supply and consumption. It also monitors changes such as genetic mutations and how these affect the growing rates of individual cockroaches.

There were very few people that has access in the facility and strict restrictions on visitors is being implemented. Authorized visitors must change into a sanitized working suit to avoid bringing in pollutants or pathogens in the area.

Medical Value

The farm's massive cockroach breeding is part of the production process for a “healing potion" used to cure ailments such as respiratory, gastric and other diseases. The potion has a slightly sweet tastes and fishy smell with tea like color as disclosed in product's packaging. Seemingly, people consuming this medicine may not be aware that it is actually made out of cockroaches since Gooddoctors list the ingredient as Periplaneta americana, the scientific name of the American cockroach.

Pulverized cockroach powder is patented as a Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredient and cosmetics companies use the insects as a cheap source of protein. In some rural areas in southern China, infants are still occasionally fed with cockroaches mixed with garlic to treat fever caused by an infection or upset stomach.

After more than two decades of nationwide studies on cockroaches, laboratory investigation and clinical trials had discovered or confirmed dozens of disease-fighting proteins and biochemical compounds. Chinese medical journals published thousands of pages which shows detailed findings suggesting cockroach potion's rejuvenating effect that could stimulate regrowth of damaged tissues such as skin and mucosa, the sticky membrane on the surface of internal organs that is difficult to heal and causes chronic pain.

Potential Environmental Risk
But while it’s all very good news on medicine production, scientist warns of possible catastrophe if these billions of cockroaches were accidentally released due to a natural disaster that may caused damage to the facility or through a failure of the AI or just simple human error. Cockroaches multiply rapidly in a suitable environment and could possibly infest and devastate the entire local areas. In 2013, about a million cockroaches escaped from a farm in southeastern China after someone sabotaged a nursery that was breeding the insects. Local authorities conducted a “large-scale disinfection” and urged residents to stay calm. Local authorities claimed (link in Chinese) that they properly handled the incident.

There are also concerns that the farm’s intensive reproduction and genetic screening would accelerate the insect’s evolution and produce “super-cockroaches”, of abnormal size and breeding capability. Professor Zhu Chaodong, the Institute of Zoology's lead scientist in insect evolution studies at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said this is unlikely to happen. Multiple lines of defense must be in place and work properly to prevent the disaster of accidental release, he added.

Medicinal Cockroach Farm
This farm breeds 6 billion cockroaches every year... for medicine!
Posted by Weird Wild World on Thursday, May 3, 2018

Surgical Glue Seals Wounds in Seconds

A team of Biomedical engineers from the University of Sydney and the United States have developed an elastic, adhesive biocompatible surgical glue that quickly seals wounds without the need for common staples or sutures. The glue is referred to as MeTro (methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin), a protein derived from the elastic fibers that make up human tissue. It is made from a highly elastic hydrogel sealant derived from a human protein which has been configured to react to ultraviolet (UV) light. These proteins were inspired by tropoelastin, the protein that allows human body tissue to resume shape after contracting or stretching.

The glue works not only on external wounds but even on internal tissues including heart and lungs. It is designed to be used on wounds that has risk of reopening due to constant expanding and contraction. It has a built-in degrading enzyme that can be modified to last for a certain amount of time depending on the severity of the injury which allow adequate time for wounds to heal. It's this enzyme that helps separate the glue from other 'wound hacks' like using superglue on cuts. Also, this glue is made for wounds significantly larger (and internal) than what the Mayo Clinic says superglue can fix.

MeTro successfully seals cuts in the arteries and lungs of rodents and pigs. The researchers also found that that the MeTro sealant was not toxic to the animals in which it was tested, and was naturally absorbed as its components were degraded. They also noted that the sealant was stronger and was more ressistant to wound separation or breakdown. MeTro gel also represents a solution for not only tissue regeneration but repair, effectively healing and sealing incisions at the same time.

The researchers hope to begin testing the surgical glue in human clinical trial in the near future, while investigating other applications in more newly developed, but untested versions of the compound.

New Fast-Sealing Surgical Glue Closes Wounds in a Minute
An international team of researchers developed a surgical glue that can seal up even the largest wounds in a short amount of time. The glue is designed to expand and contract even with internal tissue like heart and lung. #Innovation #Technology #Engineering #InterestingEngineering #Research #Health #Medical #WellBeing #Bahrain #GuideMeBahrain
Posted by Guide Me Bahrain on Monday, October 9, 2017

Skeletons in your Hardrive

Many are not aware from the risk from discarded drives where you have all kinds of data being stored. When you delete something on the computer, it doesn't really ever get deleted completely. Most of us think that reformatting a drive gets rid of the data, and that's just not true. Wiping up your private and sensitive files from you computer doesn't actually work. When you delete a file, all it really does is mark the space on your hard drive that your file occupies as free space. The file is still there but your computer can now write new data on top of it.

In the investigative documentary conducted by Channel NewsAsia entitled "The Trash Trail", several sensitive and confidential files were discovered including compromising nude pictures, bank and credit card information, passport details and even blueprints of a marine engineering company recovered from reformatted secondhand hard drives using a data recovery software.

This documentary shows that it can be tougher to clean data off a discarded hard drive than many people realize. Simple deletion and reformatting wouldn't spare your personal data from other people that would potentially collect and share it without the your knowledge or consent.

In the past, many had been caught in compromising situations including celebrities when they have turn their computer for repairs or upgrades, or even if you wanted to simply sell it. Before doing so, make sure you don't have anything in it that you don't want others to see.

The IT market continues to hunger for everything from operating system software that somehow allows end users to completely delete their information, to more powerful wiping tools that do a better job in less time than the current products on the market. In the meantime, you will be forced to consider your best alternatives when faced with the decision to save, sell or recycle old hardware.

There are a number of options for cleansing the drives of unwanted computers, from special wiping software to destruction services to manufacturers' recycling programs. But what many PC owners don't realize, experts say, is that these methods are often not enough unless you do it correctly. The difference between people who use wiping software correctly to erase their hard drives and those who do not is most often a matter of attentiveness

For those who wants to be get rid of a disk, give away or pass it along, you have to overwrite it for several times. On the other hand, a fast wipe is pretty insufficient. The need to keep at it means those people who go into employing outside technology to erase their sensitive data could still be not enough. In general, experts agreed, the best approach in trying to completely erase information is to use a combination of data removal software and material destruction.

Skeletons In Your Hard Drive |
We bought 9 formatted used HDDs at Sim Lim Square (but not from the shops interviewed in this clip.) It's disturbing what we recovered from them. This is how easy it is for someone to retrieve private data you thought you'd wiped from your old hard drive. #TrashTrail on your virtual trash, Monday, 8pm. (UPDATE: The full episode http://bit.ly/2m6DCoW )
Posted by CNA Insider on Saturday, February 18, 2017