Messages

16

Clinical Nutrition / 12 facts you might not know about acute malnutrition

« on: August 11, 2018, 10:26:29 AM »

1. Hunger and malnutrition are NOT the same
2. Good nutrition could save 52 million children from life-threatening malnutrition
3. Every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies of acute malnutrition
4. Progress in tackling acute malnutrition has been dangerously slow
5. We know how to stop millions of children from becoming malnourished in the first place
6. It’s possible to identify and diagnose malnourished children with a tape that costs 6p!
7. Parents can safely treat their children at home
8. The treatment for severe acute malnutrition gets more effective every year
9. Since 2009 the number of children receiving treatment has tripled!
10. The treatment of acute malnutrition is the most cost-effective nutrition intervention
11. Nutrition is critical to achieving sustained economic growth
12. YOU CAN JOIN A GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE

17

Clinical Nutrition / Top 10 Facts About Malnutrition

« on: August 11, 2018, 10:23:41 AM »

1. Two Billion People Worldwide Suffer from Malnutrition
Although malnutrition is often discussed as a problem, it is generally discussed as a problem of the unlucky few. Yet, the reality shows just how widespread the problem truly is. Two billion people, or nearly a third of the global population, suffer from malnutrition.

2. Two-Thirds of Those Suffering from Malnutrition Live in Asia
Although Asia is not the continent with the highest rate of malnutrition, it is the continent with the largest number of malnourished citizens. There is some good news on the issue, however, as the percentage of the population suffering from malnutrition in South Asia has fallen in recent years.

3. Almost 14 Percent of the Population in Developing Countries is Malnourished
The fact that malnutrition primarily affects developing countries tends not to surprise people. However, it is still shocking how widespread the problem is in these countries. More than one in nine people in developing countries suffer from malnutrition.

4. Scaling Up Programs to Target Malnutrition Worldwide Would Cost Only 11.8 Billion Dollars Per Year, According to the World Bank.
For context, the United States spent 618.7 billion dollars on military expenditures in 2013. The need for action is great, and action on behalf of the United States has never been more possible in the fight against hunger.

5. One in Four of the World’s Children are Stunted.
Being “stunted” is defined as having one’s physical and mental growth and development stalled due to a lack of food. This problem mainly impacts developing countries where the number has the potential to rise to one in three.

6. One in Four People in Sub-Saharan Africa are Malnourished
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the greatest rate of malnutrition among its population. The global need to address malnutrition is a challenge, but with the unfair impact it has on regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, it is a challenge we must be willing to face.

7. Half of All Pregnant Women in Developing Countries are Anemic
Anemia, a possible result of malnutrition, causes 110,000 deaths each year during childbirth. Women as a whole also tend to suffer more from malnutrition due to often-sexist norms relating to the issue.

8. Underweight Children are 20 Times More Likely to Die Before the Age of Five
Malnutrition’s biggest victim of course, is children. Along with the one in four children who are stunted by malnutrition, underweight children are victims of malnutrition. Underweight children, particularly those born to malnourished mothers, are 20 times more likely to die before the age of five.

9. One Third of Child Deaths Prior to the Age of Five are Caused by Malnutrition
As mentioned, malnutrition particularly harms children. Perhaps that harm to children is the most inexcusable aspect of malnutrition. One-third of child deaths prior to the age of five are caused by malnutrition, something that could be addressed through a deeper global focus on improving access to food worldwide.

10. It’s Getting Better, but There is Progress to be Made
So, here’s a little bit of good news: since 2009, the number of children receiving treatment for the acute malnutrition they suffer from has tripled. There is still progress to be made, however. Although the number of children receiving treatment has tripled, the number of children receiving treatment still remains as low as 15 percent.

Through understanding the facts that surround malnutrition, a shift can be made toward addressing the issue. The challenge is great and the global community’s ability and need to face that challenge is even more so. Only through a willingness to take action, can meaningful action be made.

18

Clinical Nutrition / Re: Fast Facts About Malnutrition

« on: August 11, 2018, 10:22:55 AM »

Micronutrient deficiencies

 It is estimated half of anaemia cases are due to iron deficiency.  Almost half of children in low- and middle-income countries – 47% of under-fives – are affected by anaemia, impairing cognitive and physical development.  Iron is a key component of micronutrient blends which are used in large-scale and targeted fortification programs.

 Iodine deficiency is the greatest single cause of mental retardation and brain damage. It can easily be prevented by adding iodine to salt. Between 1990 and 2009, the number of households consuming iodized salt rose from 20% to 70%. Coincidently, the number of countries in which iodine-deficiency disorders were considered a public health concern reduced by 43% between 1993 and 2007.

 Vitamin A deficiency causes early childhood blindness and increases the severity of infections and anaemia. It affects an estimated 190 million pre-school aged children, and 19 million pregnant and breastfeeding women globally. Vitamin A can be added to cooking oil as well as wheat and maize flour. It is also included in micronutrient powders.

 Zinc deficiency affects children’s health and physical growth; it is also essential for mothers during pregnancy. It is estimated to cause 4% of deaths in pre-school aged children in lower-income countries.  Zinc supplementation improves growth in stunted children and can be included in wheat flour, maize flour or rice.

19

Clinical Nutrition / Re: Fast Facts About Malnutrition

« on: August 11, 2018, 10:21:11 AM »

Economic impact

Adults who were malnourished as children earn at least 20% less on average than those who weren’t.
Countries may lose two to three percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a result of iron, iodine, and zinc deficiencies.
Estimates show annual investments of US$ 347 million to provide micronutrients to 80 percent of the world’s malnourished would yield US$ 5 billion in improved earnings and healthcare spending. 
It is calculated that each dollar spent on nutrition delivers between US$ 8 and US$138 of benefits.

20

Clinical Nutrition / Fast Facts About Malnutrition

« on: August 11, 2018, 10:20:10 AM »

General information

Two billion people in the world suffer from various forms of malnutrition.
Malnutrition is an underlying cause of death of 2.6 million children each year – a third of child deaths globally.
1 in 4 of the world’s children are stunted
In developing countries this is as high as one in three.5  This means their bodies fail to develop fully as a result of malnutrition.
Undernutrition accounts for 11 per cent of the global burden of disease and is considered the number one risk to health worldwide.

21

Nutrition and Food Engineering / How to avoid getting chicken pox while helping an infected person

« on: April 04, 2017, 11:57:31 AM »

Understand how the Chickenpox virus spreads. The virus is highly contagious and spreads in the air through airborne particles that come from the lesions on the skin or from the upper respiratory tract. You can also contract the virus from contact with open lesions when you touch your face, nose, or mouth.

    The disease takes 10 to 21 days after exposure to develop.
    From studies of transmission across household members, approximately 90% of people with close contact with infected individuals will develop the disease.
    The person with varicella is contagious from one to two days before the rash breaks out on the skin and will continue to be contagious until ALL the lesions have crusted over.
    Some people who get vaccinated may suffer from breakthrough varicella, which is a mild form of the chickenpox that includes a rash of less than 50 lesions and a slight fever. These individuals are also contagious. However, those with breakthrough varicella are only one third as contagious as those who were not vaccinated.

Protect yourself from droplet transmission. Take precautions when caring for an individual with chickenpox to reduce the risk of droplet infection. The varicella zoster virus is spread through droplet transmission or from direct contact with the individual or touching objects or clothing that were in contact with the infected individual. Droplets may come from a sneeze, cough, speaking, nasal secretions, and saliva.

    Wear a facemask to prevent secretions from entering your mouth and nose. A facemask should always be worn before being in the same room with the patient and a new mask should be used each time you wear one.
    Wear gloves, a gown, and goggles or a face mask if the individual is sneezing, coughing, or producing a lot of nasal secretions. Droplets from a sneeze can travel through the air for up to 200 feet, so it is crucial to protect yourself

 Wash your hands before and after touching the patient. You should make sure that you wash your hands before and after touching the patient or after having any contact with the objects, materials, or secretions of the patient. Use soap and warm water to wash your hands.

    Lather your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
    Be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
    If you need a timer for 20 seconds then hum “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice.
    Rinse your hands well under warm water and pat dry with a clean towel or use hot air to dry them.

 Keep the patient confined to one room to reduce the chance that the virus will spread. The patient’s bedroom is often the best room. If possible, have the patient use only one of the bathrooms in the home and be sure that no other person in the home uses that bathroom.

    Have the patient put on a mask when he or she leaves the bedroom to go to the bathroom. Any sneezing or coughing while out of the room may also spread the virus.

 Use contact precautions for extra protection. Contact precautions include wearing a gown and gloves for any physical contact with the individual or other inanimate objects that may have had contact with the patient.

    When changing the bed sheets, entering the room, touching the patient, or handling any other objects, make sure that you are wearing goggles, gloves, and a gown.

22

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Re: Interesting Facts about Human Emotion

« on: April 02, 2017, 10:23:29 AM »

Most neuroscientists distinguish between the words “emotion” and “feeling.” They use “emotion” to describe the brain’s auto-programmed response to certain stimuli, and “feeling” to describe our conscious impression of that response.

Charles Darwin believed that emotions were beneficial for evolution because emotions improved chances of survival. For example, the brain uses emotion to keep us away from a dangerous animal (fear), away from rotting food and fecal matter (disgust), in control of our resources (anger), and in pursuit of a good meal or a good mate (pleasure and lust).

Types of triggers that humans are evolutionarily prepared to fear, such as caged snakes, evoke a visceral response even though humans know they are relatively harmless on a cognitive level. However, humans are less likely to react with fear to dangerous risks that evolution has not prepared them for, such as hamburgers, smoking, and unsafe sex, even though most people recognize the danger on a cognitive level.

Research has shown that the expression and experience of negative emotions (e.g., depression and anxiety) show higher activation in the right frontal cortex and in the deeper brain structures, such as the amygdala, while positive emotions are accompanied by more left frontal cortex activity.

Clothing both affects and reflects emotional states
A recent study suggests a strong correlation between wearing certain clothes and emotional states. For example, it revealed that women who are depressed or sad are more likely to wear baggy tops, sweatshirts, or jeans. Women who had more positive emotions were more likely to wear a favorite dress or jewelry and generally look nicer.

A 1980 study by Robert Plutchik proposed eight primary innate emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation. He suggests that complex emotions such as guilt and love are derived from combinations of primary emotions.[3]
Most scientists believe that basic emotions are innate rather than learned. For example, people who are born blind and have never seen faces still display the typical facial expressions of the basic emotions.

Colors can profoundly affect emotional responses. While not everyone experiences the same emotion in response to a particular color, most people find reds and oranges stimulating and blues and purples restful. In contrast, gray, brown, black, or white tend to be emotionally dulling. In fact, studies reveal that children playing in an orange room were friendlier, alert, creative, and less irritable than children in playrooms painted white, brown, and black.

Only humans are known to express the emotion astonishment with their mouth agape. However, there appear to be more similarities than differences in the way animals, especially primates, and humans express such basic emotions as anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. In fact, because animals and humans express similar kinds of emotions, Charles Darwin believed the emotional difference between animals and humans is largely one of complexity and not of kind.

Researchers note that when concealing a strong emotion, people tend to let out “micro-expressions,” or sudden leakages, of emotion unbeknownst to themselves very briefly, in as little as a 24th of a second.

Studies show that mothers are less tolerant of crying in boys than in girls, suggesting that the way emotions are expressed by adults are instilled by mothers during the child’s infancy.

Studies show that if people adjust their facial expression to reflect an emotion, they actually begin to feel that emotion.

23

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Interesting Facts about Human Emotion

« on: April 02, 2017, 10:21:42 AM »

Emotion is typically defined as a response to stimuli that involves physiological changes (increased pulse rate, increased body temperature, activity of certain glands, increased or decreased breathing rate), which motivate a person to act. Simply put, emotions are the feelings of the mind, the equivalent of what physical sensations are to the body.

Ancient doctors believed that different organs controlled certain moods. Happiness, for example, came from the heart, anger from the liver, and fear from the kidneys.

Studies show that connecting a brand to a consumer on an emotional level is one of the most powerful advertising techniques. For example, Nike’s pervasive theme of “success in sports” focuses on a key emotional trigger and that has built sponsorships, advertising, and business empires.

In the 17th century, René Descartes viewed the body’s emotional apparatus as largely hydraulic. He believed that when a person felt angry or sad it was because certain internal valves opened and released such fluids as bile and phlegm.

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research notes that people who think more abstractly respond better to ads that portray mixed emotions compared to those who think at a more concrete level.

Pandora only managed to keep Hope locked in the box
In Greek myth, many of the ills that plagued mankind were creatures of emotion, such as revenge, spite, and envy. Released by the goddess Pandora, they sought to torment the world.

The word “emotion” is from the Latin emovere, “to move out, remove, agitate: from ex-“out” + movere, “to move.”[3]
The word “instinct” is from the Latin instinctus meaning “instigation, impulse”—which is related to the Proto-Indo-European *steig-, “to prick, stick, or pierce.”

Some researchers fear that technology, particularly social networking, is creating emotional disconnection rather than connection.

Emotional abuse is similar to brainwashing in that it attempts to systematically wear away a person’s self-confidence, self-worth, and self-concept. Emotional abuse can take many forms, including using economic power to control, threatening to leave, degrading, belittling, continually criticizing, name calling, or shouting.

Any emotion has three components: 1) physiological changes (e.g., acceleration of heart rate) 2) behavioral response, such as a tendency to escape from or stay in contact with whatever is causing the emotion, and 3) a subjective experience, such as feeling angry, happy, or sad.

Historically, psychologists have disagreed as to whether emotions arise before an action, occur at the same time as an action, or are a response to automatic physiological process.

In the English language, there are more than 400 words assigned to emotions and sentiments.

24

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Interesting Facts About Human Behaviour

« on: April 02, 2017, 10:05:59 AM »

    94 per cent of professors at a large university believe that they are better than the average professor.

    Roughly speaking, losing something makes you twice as miserable as gaining the same thing makes you happy.

    If two people live together for a long time, they start to look like each other. They grow to look alike partly because of nutrition – shared diets and eating habits – but much of the effect is simple imitation of facial expressions. Couples who end up looking alike also tend to be happier!

    Obesity is contagious; you’re more likely to be overweight if you have a lot of overweight friends.

    On average, those who eat with one other person eat about 35 per cent more than they do when they are alone; members of a group of four eat about 75 per cent more; those in groups of seven or more eat 96 per cent more.


    50 per cent of your overall sense of happiness is genetically determined, and so cannot be altered. The better news is that another 10 per cent is attributable to general circumstances (educational level, income, whether you are married or single, etc.) that are difficult to change. However, the best news is that the remaining 40 per cent is derived from your day-to-day behaviour and the way you think about yourself and others.

    In terms of short and long term happiness, buying experiences make people feel better than buying products. Why? Our memory of experiences easily becomes distorted over time (you edit out the terrible trip on the airplane and just remember those blissful moments relaxing on the beach). Our goods, however, tend to lose their appeal by becoming old, worn-out, and out-dated. Also, experiences promote one of the most effective happiness-inducing behaviours – spending time with others.

    Those who sit upright are much happier than those who slouch.

    To increase happiness, try walking in a more relaxed way, swinging your arms slightly more and putting more of a spring in your step. Also, try making more expressive hand gestures during conversations, nod your head more when others are speaking, wear more colourful clothing, use positively charged emotional words more (especially ‘love’, ‘like’, and ‘fond’), use fewer self-references (‘me,’ ‘myself’ , and ‘I’), have a larger variation in the pitch of your voice, speak slightly faster, and have a significantly firmer handshake.

    If you want to increase your chances of making a good impression in a meeting, sit toward the middle of the table.

    People develop a special fondness for other people, objects and statements if they are introduced to them while eating a meal. The effect may be attributable to the fact that good food puts people in a happy mood and can cause them to make faster, and more impulsive, decisions. More recently, researchers discovered that people who have just consumed caffeinated drinks were more likely to be swayed by arguments about various controversial topics.

    The next time you are trying to be creative in a meeting, gently lean forward and pull against the table.

    If you want to get someone to help you out, try the briefest of touches on the upper arm.

    Long-term couples will feel more attracted to each other when they regularly engage in novel and exciting joint activities that involve working together to achieve a goal.

    Research suggests that telling children that they are bright and talented is a terrible thing to do. Telling children that they possess a certain trait, such as being bright or talented, is not good for their psychological health because it encourages them to avoid challenging situations, no to try so hard, and quickly to be become demotivated when the going gets tough. In contrast, praising effort encourages people to stretch themselves, work hard, and persist in the face of difficulties.

25

English / Rapunzel

« on: April 02, 2017, 09:56:43 AM »

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain
wished for a child.  At length the woman hoped that God
was about to grant her desire.  These people had a little
window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden
could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and
herbs.  It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one
dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had
great power and was dreaded by all the world.  One day the woman
was standing by this window and looking down into the garden,
when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful
rampion - rapunzel, and it looked so fresh and green that she
longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some.  This desire
increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get any
of it, she quite pined away, and began to look pale and miserable.
Then her husband was alarmed, and asked, what ails you, dear
wife.  Ah, she replied, if I can't eat some of the rampion, which
is in the garden behind our house, I shall die.  The man, who loved
her, thought, sooner than let your wife die, bring her some of
the rampion yourself, let it cost what it will.  At twilight, he
clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress,
hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife.  She
at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily.  It tasted
so good to her - so very good, that the next day she longed for it
three times as much as before.  If he was to have any rest, her
husband must once more descend into the garden.  In the gloom of
evening, therefore, he let himself down again.  But when he had
clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the
enchantress standing before him.  How can you dare, said she with
angry look, descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a
thief.  You shall suffer for it.  Ah, answered he, let mercy take
the place of justice, I only made up my mind to do it out of
necessity.  My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such
a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some
to eat.  Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and
said to him, if the case be as you say, I will allow you to take
away with you as much rampion as you will, only I make one
condition, you must give me the child which your wife will bring
into the world.  It shall be well treated, and I will care for it
like a mother.  The man in his terror consented to everything, and
when the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once,
gave the child the name of rapunzel, and took it away with her.
Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun.
When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a
tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but
quite at the top was a little window.  When the enchantress
wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath it and cried,
     rapunzel, rapunzel,
     let down your hair to me.
Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when
she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided
tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of the window above,
and then the hair fell twenty ells down, and the enchantress climbed
up by it.
After a year or two, it came to pass that the king's son rode
through the forest and passed by the tower.  Then he heard a song,
which was so charming that he stood still and listened.  This was
rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet
voice resound.  The king's son wanted to climb up to her, and
looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found.  He
rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that
every day he went out into the forest and listened to it.  Once when
he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress
came there, and he heard how she cried,
     rapunzel, rapunzel,
     let down your hair.
Then rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the
enchantress climbed up to her.  If that is the ladder by which one
mounts, I too will try my fortune, said he, and the next day when
it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried,
     rapunzel, rapunzel,
     let down your hair.
Immediately the hair fell down and the king's son climbed up.
At first rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as
her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her.  But the king's son
began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his
heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he
had been forced to see her.  Then rapunzel lost her fear, and when
he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that
he was young and handsome, she thought, he will love me more than
old dame gothel does.  And she said yes, and laid her hand in his.
She said, I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know
how to get down.  Bring with you a skein of silk every time that
you come, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready
I will descend, and you will take me on your horse.  They agreed
that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the
old woman came by day.  The enchantress remarked nothing of
this, until once rapunzel said to her, tell me, dame gothel, how
it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than
the young king's son - he is with me in a moment.  Ah. You
wicked child, cried the enchantress.  What do I hear you say.  I
thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have
deceived me.  In her anger she clutched rapunzel's beautiful
tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of
scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the
lovely braids lay on the ground.  And she was so pitiless that she
took poor rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great
grief and misery.
On the same day that she cast out rapunzel, however, the
enchantress fastened the braids of hair, which she had cut off, to
the hook of the window, and when the king's son came and cried,
     rapunzel, rapunzel,
     let down your hair,
she let the hair down.  The king's son ascended, but instead of
finding his dearest rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed
at him with wicked and venomous looks.  Aha, she cried mockingly,
you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits
no longer singing in the nest.  The cat has got it, and will scratch
out your eyes as well.  Rapunzel is lost to you.  You will never see
her again.  The king's son was beside himself with pain, and in
his despair he leapt down from the tower.  He escaped with his life,
but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes.  Then he
wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and
berries, and did naught but lament and weep over the loss of his
dearest wife.  Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at
length came to the desert where rapunzel, with the twins to which
she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness.  He
heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards
it, and when he approached, rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck
and wept.  Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear
again, and he could see with them as before.  He led her to his
kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long
time afterwards, happy and contented.

26

English / The White Snake

« on: April 02, 2017, 09:51:27 AM »

A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom
through all the land.  Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed
as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through
the air.  But he had a strange custom, every day after dinner,
when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty
servant had to bring him one more dish.  It was covered, however,
and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did
anyone know, for the king never took off the cover to eat of it
until he was quite alone.
This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who
took away the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he
could not help carrying the dish into his room.  When he had
carefully locked the door, he lifted up the cover, and saw a white
snake lying on the dish.  But when he saw it he could not deny
himself the pleasure of tasting it, so he cut off a little bit
and put it into his mouth.  No sooner had it touched his tongue
than he heard a strange whispering of little voices outside his
window.  He went and listened, and then noticed that it was
the sparrows who were chattering together, and telling one
another of all kinds of things which they had seen in the fields
and woods.  Eating the snake had given him power of understanding
the language of animals.
Now it so happened that on this very day the queen lost her most
beautiful ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell upon this
trusty servant, who was allowed to go everywhere.  The king
ordered the man to be brought before him, and threatened with
angry words that unless he could before the morrow point out
the thief, he himself should be looked upon as guilty and executed.
In vain he declared his innocence, he was dismissed with no better
answer.
In his trouble and fear he went down into the courtyard and took
thought how to help himself out of his trouble.  Now
some ducks were sitting together quietly by a brook and taking
their rest, and, whilst they were making their feathers smooth
with their bills, they were having a confidential conversation
together.  The servant stood by and listened.  They were telling
one another of all the places where they had been waddling
about all the morning, and what good food they had found, and one
said in a pitiful tone, something lies heavy on my stomach, as I
was eating in haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the
queen's window.  The servant at once seized her by the neck,
carried her to the kitchen, and said to the cook, here is a fine
duck, pray, kill her.  Yes, said the cook, and weighed her in
his hand, she has spared no trouble to fatten herself, and has
been waiting to be roasted long enough.  So he cut off her head,
and as she was being dressed for the spit, the queen's ring was
found inside her.
The servant could now easily prove his innocence, and the king,
to make amends for the wrong, allowed him to ask a favor, and
promised him the best place in the court that he could wish for.
The servant refused everything, and only asked for a horse and
some money for traveling, as he had a mind to see the world
and go about a little.  When his request was granted he
set out on his way, and one day came to a pond, where he saw
three fishes caught in the reeds and gasping for water.  Now,
though it is said that fishes are dumb, he heard them lamenting
that they must perish so miserably, and, as he had a kind heart,
he got off his horse and put the three prisoners back into the
water.  They leapt with delight, put out their heads, and cried
to him, we will remember you and repay you for saving us.
He rode on, and after a while it seemed to him that he heard a
voice in the sand at his feet.  He listened, and heard an ant-king
complain, why cannot folks, with their clumsy beasts, keep off
our bodies.  That stupid horse, with his heavy hoofs, has been
treading down my people without mercy.  So he turned on to a side
path and the ant-king cried out to him, we will remember you - one
good turn deserves another.
The path led him into a wood, and here he saw two old ravens
standing by their nest, and throwing out their young ones.
Out with you, you idle, good-for-nothing creatures, cried
they, we cannot find food for you any longer, you are big enough,
and can provide for yourselves.  But the poor young ravens lay
upon the ground, flapping their wings, and crying, oh, what
helpless chicks we are.  We must shift for ourselves, and yet we
cannot fly.  What can we do, but lie here and starve.  So the
good young fellow alighted and killed his horse with his sword,
and gave it to them for food.  Then they came hopping up to it,
satisfied their hunger, and cried, we will remember you - one good
turn deserves another.
And now he had to use his own legs, and when he had walked a
long way, he came to a large city.  There was a great noise and
crowd in the streets, and a man rode up on horseback, crying
aloud, the king's daughter wants a husband, but whoever seeks her
hand must perform a hard task, and if he does not succeed he
will forfeit his life.  Many had already made the attempt, but
in vain, nevertheless when the youth saw the king's daughter
he was so overcome by her great beauty that he forgot all
danger, went before the king, and declared himself a suitor.
So he was led out to the sea, and a gold ring was thrown into
it, before his eyes, then the king ordered him to fetch this
ring up from the bottom of the sea, and added, if you come up
again without it you will be thrown in again and again until you
perish amid the waves.  All the people grieved for the handsome
youth, then they went away, leaving him alone by the sea.
He stood on the shore and considered what he should do, when
suddenly he saw three fishes come swimming towards him, and they
were the very fishes whose lives he had saved.  The one in the
middle held a mussel in its mouth, which it laid on the shore
at the youth's feet, and when he had taken it up and opened it,
there lay the gold ring in the shell.  Full of joy he took it to
the king, and expected that he would grant him the promised reward.
But when the proud princess perceived that he was not her equal
in birth, she scorned him, and required him first to perform
another task.  She went down into the garden and strewed with her
own hands ten sacks-full of millet-seed on the grass, then she
said, tomorrow morning before sunrise these must be picked up,
and not a single grain be wanting.
The youth sat down in the garden and considered how it might
be possible to perform this task, but he could think of nothing,
and there he sat sorrowfully awaiting the break of day, when he
should be led to death.  But as soon as the first rays of the
sun shone into the garden he saw all the ten sacks standing side
by side, quite full, and not a single grain was missing.  The
ant-king had come in the night with thousands and thousands of
ants, and the grateful creatures had by great industry picked
up all the millet-seed and gathered them into the sacks.
Presently the king's daughter herself came down into the garden,
and was amazed to see that the young man had done the task she
had given him.  But she could not yet conquer her proud heart,
and said, although he has performed both the tasks, he shall not
be my husband until he has brought me an apple from the tree of
life.  The youth did not know where the tree of life stood, but
he set out, and would have gone on for ever, as long as his legs
would carry him, though he had no hope of finding it.  After he
had wandered through three kingdoms, he came one evening to a
wood, and lay down under a tree to sleep.  But he heard a
rustling in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand.
At the same time three ravens flew down to him, perched themselves
upon his knee, and said, we are the three young ravens whom
you saved from starving, when we had grown big, and heard that
you were seeking the golden apple, we flew over the sea to the
end of the world, where the tree of life stands, and have brought
you the apple.  The youth, full of joy, set out homewards, and
took the golden apple to the king's beautiful daughter, who had
no more excuses left to make.  They cut the apple of life in two
and ate it together, and then her heart became full of love for
him, and they lived in undisturbed happiness to a great age.

27

English / Iron Henry

« on: April 02, 2017, 09:50:01 AM »

In olden times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king
whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful
that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever
it shone in her face.  Close by the king's castle lay a great dark
forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when
the day was very warm, the king's child went out into the forest and
sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was bored she
took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this
ball was her favorite plaything.

Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden ball
did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it,
but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water.  The
king's daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the
well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen.  At this
she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be
comforted.  And as she thus lamented someone said to her, "What ails
you, king's daughter?  You weep so that even a stone would show pity."

She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a
frog stretching forth its big, ugly head from the water.  "Ah, old
water-splasher, is it you," she said, "I am weeping for my golden ball,
which has fallen into the well."  "Be quiet, and do not weep," answered
the frog, "I can help you, but what will you give me if I bring your
plaything up again?"  "Whatever you will have, dear frog," said she, "My
clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am
wearing."  The frog answered, "I do not care for your clothes, your
pearls and jewels, nor for your golden crown, but if you will love me
and let me be your companion and play-fellow, and sit by you at your
little table, and eat off your little golden plate, and drink out of
your little cup, and sleep in your little bed - if you will promise
me this I will go down below, and bring you your golden ball up
again."

"Oh yes," said she, "I promise you all you wish, if you will but bring
me my ball back again."  But she thought, "How the silly frog does
talk.  All he does is to sit in the water with the other frogs, and
croak.  He can be no companion to any human being."

But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the
water and sank down; and in a short while came swimmming up again
with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass.  The king's
daughter was delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and
picked it up, and ran away with it.  "Wait, wait," said the frog.  "Take
me with you.  I can't run as you can."  But what did it avail him to
scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could.  She did
not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was
forced to go back into his well again.

The next day when she had seated herself at table with the king and
all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate,
something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble
staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and
cried, "Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me."  She ran to
see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog
in front of it.  Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat
down to dinner again, and was quite frightened.  The king saw plainly
that her heart was beating violently, and said, "My child, what are
you so afraid of?  Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to
carry you away?"  "Ah, no," replied she.  "It is no giant but a disgusting
frog."

"What does a frog want with you?"  "Ah, dear father, yesterday as I was
in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into
the water.  And because I cried so, the frog brought it out again for
me, and because he so insisted, I promised him he should be my
companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his
water.  And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me."

In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried,  "Princess,
youngest princess,  open the door for me,  do you not know what you
said to me yesterday by the cool waters of the well.  Princess,
youngest princess,  open the door for me."

Then said the king, "That which you have promised must you perform.
Go and let him in."  She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped
in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and
cried, "Lift me up beside you."  She delayed, until at last the king
commanded her to do it.  Once the frog was on the chair he wanted to
be on the table, and when he was on the table he said, "Now, push your
little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together."  She did
this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly.  The
frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked
her.  At length he said, "I have eaten and am satisfied, now I am
tired, carry me into your little room and make your little silken bed
ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep."

The king's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog
which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her
pretty, clean little bed.  But the king grew angry and said, "He who
helped you when you were in trouble ought not afterwards to be
despised by you."  So she took hold of the frog with two fingers,
carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner, but when she was in
bed he crept to her and said, "I am tired, I want to sleep as well as
you, lift me up or I will tell your father."  At this she was terribly
angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the
wall.  "Now, will you be quiet, odious frog," said she.  But when he
fell down he was no frog but a king's son with kind and beautiful
eyes.  He by her father's will was now her dear companion and
husband.  Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked
witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but
herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom.

Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a
carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white
ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden
chains, and behind stood the young king's servant Faithful Henry.
Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a
frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart,
lest it should burst with grief and sadness.  The carriage was to
conduct the young king into his kingdom.  Faithful Henry helped them
both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because
of this deliverance.  And when they had driven a part of the way the
king's son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken.
So he turned round and cried, "Henry, the carriage is breaking."
"No, master, it is not the carriage.  It is a band from my heart,
which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and
imprisoned in the well."  Again and once again while they were on
their way something cracked, and each time the king's son thought the
carriage was breaking, but it was only the bands which were springing
from the heart of Faithful Henry because his master was set free and
was happy.

28

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Re: 20 Interesting Facts About Diabetes

« on: October 04, 2016, 10:39:03 AM »

In 1942, the first oral type 2 diabetes medication was identified, a sulfonylurea.

29

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Re: 20 Interesting Facts About Diabetes

« on: October 04, 2016, 10:38:35 AM »

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes were officially differentiated in 1936. However, the difference had been noted in the 1700's when a physician noted some people suffered from a more chronic condition than others who died in less than five weeks after onset of symptoms.

30

Nutrition and Food Engineering / Re: 20 Interesting Facts About Diabetes

« on: October 04, 2016, 10:38:12 AM »

In 1922, the pancreas was discovered to have a role in diabetes. Researchers studying digestion removed the pancreas from domestic dogs in a lab. An assistant noticed a large number of ants attracted to the dog's urine. The urine was tested and was found to have an extremely high level of sugar.