Where is Blood Produced?

Bone marrow is a soft, spongy central section of bones. It contains a special type of cell called the pluripotential hematopoietic stem cell. Any stem cell has the unique quality to get converted into a particular cell with specific functions depending on the requirement of the body.

There are three types of blood cells. They are red blood cells (45 percent of blood), white blood cells (0.7 percent) and platelets (54.3 percent), all produced by the pluripotential hematopoietic stem cell. Along with plasma, these three cells types make up the component blood.

The red blood cells provide oxygen and nutrition to the cells and take away carbondioxide and other waste products away. The white blood cells provide protection to our body against foreign bodies and platelets help in clotting of the blood. Pumping of heart allows blood to reach every corner of the body, through tubes like structures or pathways known as blood vessels.

Top 10 Facts about Blood:

1. A molecule called hemoglobin provides blood its red color.
2. The pH value of blood is maintained to be between 7.35-7.45. As this value is slightly above 7, blood is alkaline by nature.
3. The density of blood is slightly higher than that of water, nearly 1060kg/m³.
4. All red blood cells can cover an area 2000 times greater than the external surface area of the body.
5. William Harvey in 1628 first described the circulation of blood in the body.
6. 55 percent of blood is its liquid part the plasma, and 92 percent of plasma is water, with the remaining 8 percent being essential proteins.
7. When 20 percent of blood is lost, an adult starts experiencing initial signs of complications like restlessness.
8. Dehydration causes fainting by reducing the water content and hence the volume of blood.
9. Blood transports heat to body organs and increase in blood flow to a particular organ makes it warmer. It is an important process in maintaining optimum temperature of the body.
10. Leukemia is the technical name for a group of blood cancers.

Top 10 Research Facts on Diabetes Foods:

Fenugreek: According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, intake of 25-50 grams of these seeds is useful. A component Pectin present in these seeds keeps the glucose level in check.

Spinach: A study was carried out by the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. The study found that one cup of boiled spinach has 156 mg of magnesium. Intake of this leafy vegetable has inverse effect on the blood sugar level.

Azadirachta Indica: The leaves of the tree, according to ayurveda, have the quality of stimulating the beta cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin.

Onion: A research study carried out way back in 1977 revealed that lower levels of chromium mineral increases insulin production. A cup of onion daily fulfils 20 percent of the requirement of this mineral.

Garlic: Research study carried out in November 2008 at the Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, found that garlic contains two substances Allixin and Vanadium. They are found to influence the genes in the diabetic patients in such a way that the pancreas starts producing insulin in high levels.

Rinds of Citrus Fruits: A component called d- Limonene present in 51.24 percent in rinds of citrus fruit. The research was carried out in October 2009 at the Institute of Biotechnology, Hungkuang University, Taiwan.

Carrots: This vegetable gets its natural color because of the component Carotenoid. This component is found to be a power antioxidant fighting with the complications of free radicals in diabetic people. Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of public health found that it reduces the risk of diabetes to half as well.

Apple: Research study has found that eating this fruit decreases the need of insulin hormone by 35 percent. A natural healing component of this fruit beneficial to the diabetic people is pectin. The Glycemic rating index of apple is 38. Its glycemic load for 120 gms of consumption is only 6.

Capsicum: A substance Capsaicin separated from this vegetable and given to diabetic people reduced the blood sugar level by 23 percent. Results of the findings were published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, in March 2004.

Drumsticks: Researchers at the Department of Nutritional Science, Faculty of Applied Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, have found that leaves of this vegetable contains a component Quercetin-3-glucoside which can bring down the blood sugar level under control gradually.

1. Using  headphones  for about an hour will lead to an increase of bacteria in the ear by about 700 times.
2. According to 2002 study conducted in Saudi Arabia  about 50% of car accidents within the country are on account of women. The only interesting fact to observe is that women are not allowed to drive there.
3. If one bangs one’s head against the wall one can lose 150 calories per hour. Surely there is a better way to lose weight.
4. If one sneezes hard one can lose a rib or rupture a blood vessel in either the neck or head and die.
5. In case you keep your eyes open by force they can pop out.
6. If one yelled continuously for about 8 years, 7 months as well as 6 days one is able to produce sufficient sound energy  to be able to heat a cup of coffee.
7. A hard working individual sweats about 4 gallons per day. Most of it gets evaporated before one realizes it is there.
8. The roar of lion can be heard about 5 miles away.
9. Ancient Egyptians to mourn the death of a cat would shave off their eyebrows.
10. Apples are more effective than caffeine in keeping a person awake in the morning.

Life has much to offer. Strange things happen and unusual situation exists. That’s what life is all about. We are surrounded by strange incidents and strange events.

Exciting facts about the world

1. We come across the longest wave when we surf in Brazil known as Pororoca. Between the time period of March and  February, the ocean here generates tide waves up to a height of 12 feet which can last over an half hour. Pororoca means in Tupi language “great destructive noise”. Any thing  in its path gets destroyed as it travels at a speed of 10 to 15 miles (about 16 to 24 km) per hour.
2. The pyramids as of now are brown colored stone piles  with contour which is rough. But when they were built, they were paper white and very smooth similar to glass. The Arabs, who invaded Egypt removed the smooth sandstone of the pyramids and used it to build many sections of Cairo. A large number of  palaces and mosques consist of these  ancient stones.
3. The highest mountain in  the world, Mount Everest grows at the rate of 4 milimeters a year. This so because of the collision of two tectonic plates million  years ago that helped in forming the Himalayas, continue to press against one another.
4. One fears the number 13 which is known as triskaidekaphobia. This has been derived from treiskaideka, which is Greek word for phobia and thirteen.
5. Kangaroos are unable to walk backwards
6. Most of the alcoholic beverages contain the all the necessary minerals that are required to sustain our life.
7. Venus happens to be the only planet  that rotates clockwise.
8. A vulture will not attack an animal or human being who is moving.
9. All polar bears happen to be left-handed.
10. Zero was invented by mathematician from India as early as the 5th century. It was widely used in astronomy, astrology and calculations.

The world is a nice place to live. It consists of interesting features that surprise us in many ways. We need to explore it to find out how interesting it is.

Hakin Abul Fath invented the hookah to counteract the bad effects of smoking. It consists of a water jar that is made of glass and is connected by a tube to a bowl on top. Tobacco is put in the bowl and is covered with burning charcoal. One inhales smoke with the help of a hose that is leading from the water jar. The air that is hot gets drawn through tobacco. The resulting smoke is filtered through water before it is inhaled by the smoker.

Sisha is the name given to the tobacco mix that is used for smoking with the help of the pipe. It is available in several flavors. The most popular flavor is fruit.

A hookah session generally last for 45 minutes and can be shared by more than one person. Traditionally, it is meant for men. Women are frowned upon if they smoke a hookah. Of course, one comes across female tourists in the Middle East like, Egypt smoking the hookah.

Benefits of Hookah

• One relaxes by smoking the hookah.
• People have several get-together centered on the hookah. It is popular in social gatherings.
• It is less harmful than cigarettes.
• It has a very good taste. It is sweetened by molasses, fruit, honey and aromatic oils.

Of course, some claim that more carbon dioxide as well as tar is inhaled by hookah smoking as compared to cigarettes. Yet, conclusive studies have to be carried out to this effect.

Note:
1 km = 0.6214 miles
1kg = 2.2 lbs

The chart above gives values for calories burnt by a person of average weight i.e 60kg. People with higher or lower weight will burn calories in proportion to their weight. A person with 80kg weight will burn 80/60 * values in the right column above.

Now let’s have a look at daily calories requirements:

Calories requirements however depend mainly upon age, body weight and occupation of the person. Above chart shows average calories required for a medium weight person.

For older people calories requirements are reduced by:
40-49 – 5%
50-59 – 10%
60-69 – 20%
Over 70 – 30%

The above chart does not show calories requirements for expected or lactating mothers. For expected mother 300 calories are required per day as extra where as lactating mothers require 700 calories extra per day.

Important Notes:
The calories which are not utilized by the body as a fuel, is stored in the body in the form of fat. It is important to note that storage of 3500 calories in the body would increase the weight of the body by 1 pound.

There are 3 sources of calories in the body i.e. carbohydrates, fats and proteins. 1 gm of carbohydrates release 4 calories, 1 gm of protein also releases 4 calories whereas 1 gm of fat (like butter) releases 9 calories. It is recommended that 60% of calories required by of body should be obtained from carbohydrates, 30% via fats and remaining 10% through proteins.

• Human Feet contain a quarter of all the bones in the body i.e. about 52
• Largest muscle in the body is buttock muscle ‘Gluteus Maxims’
• A Man’s lungs holds about 4 litre of air.
• Brain uses one fifth of all the energy produced in the body.
• An average brain has about 150, 000, 000 Neurons (Nerve Cells)
• We Lose 1-2 litre of water daily just through breathing and about 1.5 litre in Urine
• During a span of one month from the conception, the fetus inside the womb increases by 50 times in length and 8000 times in weight.
• There are about 100,000 kms lengthy blood vessels inside our body which is 2.5 times the periphery of the earth.
• Nerve cells don’t divide or reproduce. Once they destroy, they are destroyed for ever.
• Surface area of the air sacs of our lungs (from where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange takes place in the blood) is 40 times greater then the area covered by skin.

These mirrors have a reflective coating applied in a thin sparse layer due to which it is called as half-silvered surface. The name, half-silvered is due to its reflective molecules coat on the glass that is done so sparsely that only about half the molecules needed to make the glass an opaque mirror are applied. The half-silvered surface will reflect about half the light that strikes its surface, while letting the other half go straight through.

The effect happens primarily due to the lighting of the two rooms. The room in which the glass looks like a mirror has a bright light, so that there is plenty of light to reflect back from the mirror’s surface. The other room, in which the glass looks like a window, is kept dark, so there is very little light to transmit through the glass.

The Problem: 2 way mirrors are great but it could cause serious concerns especially on privacy if installed in hotels or other public places. How to determine if a mirror is 2 way and avoid problems (may be). This is not to scare you, but to make sure that you are aware.

Many of the hotels and textile showrooms in the present times cheat the customers this way & watch privately. It could be just to know more about their products (who knows).

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, r actually a 2-way mirror i.e., they can see you, but you can’t see them). There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms or bathroom or bedrooms. It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?

This simple test will help:

Position the tip of your fingernail touching the reflective plane and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, It is a 2-way mirror! (There is someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the “fingernail test.” It doesn’t cost you anything. It is simple to do. This is a really good thing to do.

The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass, whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the Surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms. May be someone is making a film on you.

Other way to verify the presence of transparent mirror is by rapping at it lightly. A mirror generally has a back support and thus will produce a dull thud sound. If the mirror is 2 – way i.e. transparent, it will create a hollow sound.