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College students who go to sleep and wake up at different times during the week may be harming their academic performance, according to a US study.

Consistency — going to bed and waking up at about the same time every day, weekends included — was linked with a better grade point average (GPA) among the college students in the study, the researchers found. 

“College students who sleep starved themselves during the week and then binge slept on weekends had poorer grades than those whose schedules were more consistent,” senior author Dr Charles Czeisler, director of the Sleep Health Institute at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told Reuters Health by e-mail. 

Importantly, it didn’t matter how much sleep the students got overall. Sleep timing on its own could predict worse academic performance, even if students made up for lost night-time sleep with naps during the day, according to the results published in Scientific Reports.

Czeisler and colleagues studied 61 full-time undergraduates ages 18 to 24 for 30 days. Students completed sleep diaries and the researchers used the Sleep Regularity Index (SRI), a tool they developed, to evaluate the students’ sleep patterns. The index is scaled so that someone who sleeps and wakes at exactly the same time each day scores 100, and someone who sleeps and wakes at random times scores 0.

Those who scored in the top 20 per cent were classified as regular sleepers and those who scored in the bottom 20 per cent were irregular sleepers. 

Both groups averaged about seven hours of sleep daily, though irregular sleepers reported poorer sleep quality. 

Regular sleepers were asleep 55 per cent of the “clock night” — the hours between 10pm and 10am — and only 1 per cent of the clock day, whereas irregular sleepers slept for 42 per cent of the clock night and 11 per cent of the clock day.

As a result, irregular sleepers experienced significantly less daytime light and relatively more light at night, which triggered a delay in secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin in the body, according to the researchers.

These differences led to a body clock shift in irregular sleepers equivalent to traveling west for almost three hours, Czeisler said, which could explain their poorer academic performance. “For students whose sleep and wake times were inconsistent, classes and exams scheduled for 8am were occurring at 5am body time — a time when cognitive performance is impaired,” he said.

Greater sleep regularity was associated with better GPAs. Every 10-point increase on the sleep regularity index was associated with an average increase of 0.10 points in GPA. At the end of the study, irregular sleepers averaged GPAs of about 3.24 out of a possible 4.0, and regular sleepers averaged 3.72.

The study doesn’t prove that irregular sleep causes poorer academic performance, the researchers note, but it could be a sign of other daily habits that interfere with how well students do in college. 

Increasing exposure to daytime light and decreasing exposure to laptops and other light-emitting devices before bedtime might improve sleep regularity, they suggest.

Sleep specialist Dr Rafael Pelayo of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Centre in California told Reuters Health that while it’s possible some people handle sleep deprivation better than others, many students may be underperforming and not realise it.

“I compare it to having a race car,” Pelayo said. “The manufacturer may recommend high-octane gas, but you can put cheap gas in it and if you’re stuck in traffic, you won’t notice a difference. But if you put it on a race track, you will. The real question is, ‘Could you do better academically if you had better quality sleep?’”

Typically, students say when they go to bed or wake up depends on what day it is. When they’re on different schedules every other day and on the weekend, Pelayo noted: “The brain gets thrown off. It’s like always being jetlagged — you’re never quite at your best.”

Instead, he advises, pick the earliest time you have to wake up, and make that your default wakeup time for the whole week. Do the same for bedtimes. “Do that for several weeks to get into a rhythm, because making your sleep predictable is going to make you feel better and do better.”

LOS ANGELES — Long fiercely guarded video game industry terrain, the Electronic Entertainment Expo kicked off on Tuesday with YouTube, Twitch and Facebook turning gamers into online stars.

A hot trend of video game play streamed as spectator sport and “YouTubers” becoming famous for skills or pithy commentary pervaded the annual gathering, from unveilings of titles to major “eSports” matches staged for the first time on the show floor.

“There is a reality now that the influencers of the gaming industry are no longer the games, but the YouTube creators,” YouTube head of gaming Ryan Wyatt told AFP.

“It is smart to bring creators into the fold so the feedback is constructive, and not scathing reviews.”

Players who have risen to stardom by streaming play online took part in theatrical press conferences held by game and console makers in the days ahead of the formal opening of E3.

Unveilings of eagerly-awaited titles and new franchises were streamed live on platforms including Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube — drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers.

YouTube billed itself as the biggest gaming platform, and said that broadcasters from E3 racked up record-sized audiences.

“Before publishers caught on to the power of the creator, I think creators felt alienated,” Wyatt said, referring to players who stream game action and comment online.

“All of that has changed now. They are integrated into the show and their feedback goes into the design, marketing and promotion of games.

Outshining real-world sports

Video game competition as spectator sport is driving the industry in many ways, according to Craig Levine, chief of leading eSports company ESL.

Developers are building games with features to be attractive online spectator events, offerings at E3 showed.

“There are more people watching these games than playing them; it has more than crept into the design cycle,” Levine told AFP.

As competitive performance climbs as a priority, hardware makers push to field better computer chips, screens, controllers and more.

This week, for the first time at E3, there was an eSports zone powered by ESL where video game battles were fought and streamed online.

“eSports has one of the fastest growing audiences in not just video games but all of entertainment,” said Rich Taylor, senior vice president of communications at the Electronic Software Association behind E3.

The eSports industry will accelerate from roughly $200 million in revenue in 2015 to $1 billion by 2018, according to Baird Equity Research estimates cited by E3 organisers.

In the coming three years, the global audience for eSports was predicted to grow to a half-billion viewers, eclipsing the numbers watching traditional real-world sports, according to Levine.

And, while the focus at E3 was on games for consoles or Windows-powered computers, mobile game play is consistently in top ranks when it comes to viewing, according to YouTube.

More women gamers

The gaming community is huge at Facebook, which returned to E3 this year with an area for live-streamed chats with developers and personalities, and where visitors could share thoughts about the show at the social network and capture memories with 3-D or augment reality technology that put them into game scenes.

During the past month, 43 million people have made some 115 million posts, “likes”, and comments related to E3 and major titles. 

More than a third of that sharing came from women, who are a growing part of the gaming community, according to Facebook.

“We’ve seen this community of gamers continue to grow and evolve each year — with women now taking a growing share of the conversation around E3,” said Facebook head of global console and online gaming Franco DeCesare.

About 800 million members of the social network play at least one Facebook game monthly, director of global games partnerships Leo Olebe told AFP.

Facebook worked with ESL, video game giant Activision and others at E3 to create content for the social network.

“The fact that the player really is at the centre of everything is really powerful,” Olebe told AFP.

“As the player takes a larger role in what’s happening inside our industry, Facebook is perfectly positioned to facilitate that process.”

People who wear activity trackers to count the calories they’re burning are probably not getting accurate estimates, suggests a new study.

Researchers who tested seven popular activity trackers found that while heart rate measurements were generally accurate, none of the devices provided a reliable calorie count.

“At this point with this level of error, I would be wary of using that estimate to alter a calorie-controlled diet,” said senior author Dr Euan Ashley, of Stanford University in California.

Patients “have been bringing data from these devices to us and some of us were using these devices ourselves”, Ashley told Reuters Health. 

Because so little is known about the data’s accuracy, “We realised that we had to do our own study,” he said.

Ashley’s team recruited 60 healthy adults to test seven popular wrist-worn activity trackers: the Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, MIO Alpha 2, PulseOn and Samsung Gear S2.

Participants wore up to four devices at a time, and they also wore laboratory devices to measure heart rate and calories burned while sitting, walking, running and cycling.

All of the devices but one had an average heart rate error rate below 5 per cent. The exception was the Samsung Gear S2, which had an error rate of 5.1 per cent.

But for calculating energy expenditure — or calories burned — all of the devices had error rates above 25 per cent. The Fitbit Surge had the lowest average error rate for calories burned at about 27 per cent. The PulseOn had the highest at about 93 per cent, according to a report in the Journal of Personalised Medicine.

Overall, the Apple Watch had the lowest error rates while the Samsung Gear S2 had the highest.

The researchers were surprised at the unreliability of the calorie counts.

The devices “were literally all over the map with error rates”, Ashley said.

Data tended to be less accurate for men, people with higher body weights and darker skin tones, and while walking.

Ashley’s team hopes the devices’ calorie counting technology will improve. “I think we’re all hopeful that as we move forward they will get better,” he said.

In a statement to Reuters Health, Fitbit said its trackers show an estimated total number of calories. “Fitbit uses a scientifically validated estimate of [basal metabolic rate] based on height, weight, age, and gender information that users provide when setting up their Fitbit account,” said the statement, which added that the measure also takes into account people’s heart rates.

“While the Mio ALPHA 2 was designed for the individuals focused on heart rate zone training, and not for all-day activity tracking, we agree that more accurate calorie estimation is important for the industry as a whole, since most individuals are monitoring calorie deficits for weight loss,” said Mark Gorelick, chief science officer at Mio Global, in a statement.

Markku Lankinen, who is head of operations for PulseOn Oy, said in an e-mail that the researchers may not have adjusted the device specifically for each participant. “With PulseOn device, you would need to apply these user parameters in the application before exercising, and this seems not to have been done,” said Lankinen. “This causes the [energy expenditure] estimates to be badly off.”

Apple, Microsoft and Samsung did not provide comments for publication. All Basis Peak watches were recalled in 2016 due to overheating, according to its website.

Ashley’s team is currently conducting a study to test the accuracy of devices in the real world.

Sofia Boutella had a nightmare day shooting scenes for “The Mummy” in which her Princess Ahmanet is dealt tough justice, ancient Egypt-style, for killing her pharaoh dad and baby brother. She’s entombed alive in a sarcophagus.

Boutella’s eyes popped wide through holes in the head-to-toe mummification bandages as she was placed into the stone coffin.

“There was a lot of fear, I didn’t need much acting to look frightened,” recalls Boutella, whose first language is French, speaking by phone. “It was weird, I felt really dispowered. I don’t know if that word exists, did I just make that up?”

“Dispower” is not a concept the 35-year-old Algerian-born actress dwells on as the title star of “The Mummy”. Boutella’s Ahmanet is the force putting fear into London and Tom Cruise’s soldier of fortune Nick Morton when he accidentally awakens her after 5,000 years.

Ahmanet’s impressive arrival thrusts Boutella’s “Mummy” into a mighty woman weekend at the box office along with Gal Gadot’s blockbuster “Wonder Woman”, which dominated with $100 million-plus last weekend. Both characters follow wildly different screen paths, but are owned entirely by powerful female performances.

Just having the mummy cast as a woman in Universal’s new “Dark Universe” signals a major change from the original 1932 movie, which starred Boris Karloff.

“I love that they gave this to a woman,” Boutella says. “Ahmanet is the definition of a feminist: strong, powerful and opinionated.”

Boutella has already shown the commanding screen cred as alien warrior Jaylah in last summer’s “Star Trek Beyond”. Her standout moment came as Jaylah reclined in Kirk’s (Chris Pine) captain chair — a scene inspired by Boutella resting during rehearsals.

“Mummy” director Alex Kurtzman had locked in on Boutella before “Star Trek”, when she played stealthy assassin Gazelle in 2015’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. A former backup dancer for Madonna, Boutella had the control to move slowly and powerfully like Egyptian royalty (not to mention execute the acrobatic stunts). Further, Gazelle’s eyes projected the kind of empathy [or anger] Kurtzman wanted Ahmanet to have, despite bandages, decay and face tattoos.

“I knew that whatever I did to her face, as long as you saw Ahmanet’s eyes and connected with them, you would feel for her,” says Kurtzman. “That’s really important for the movie.”

It’s these eyes, digitally enhanced for the freaky double iris, that peer from billboards nationwide promoting “The Mummy”. It’s part of a promising movie summer for Boutella, who next stars as a French spy and lover to Charlize Theron’s assassin in “Atomic Blonde” (July 28).

In “The Mummy,” Boutella goes from chained captive on her knees (“I used it to my advantage to be in pain”) to the unusual position of sitting on top of Cruise during a fight scene. That led to the actress tickling Cruise’s stomach during rehearsals, a spontaneous moment that stayed in the film.

Another bizarre, last-minute dominant move was Kurtzman’s idea. He suggested that Boutella give Cruise a power lick during their battle. Boutella and Cruise stifled giggles when cameras rolled, and it worked.

“It’s destabilising. It comes out of nowhere,” Boutella says. “That’s how Ahmanet treats things. She owns stuff. She owns people. We did it maybe eight times, all on his cheek. And I’d try to drag it as long as possible.”

At a casual and distant glance one could be forgiven for mistaking the Kia Niro for a compact crossover SUV (CUV), perhaps a somewhat more assertive looking derivative of the Kia Sportage, to which bears strong familial resemblance. A purpose built petrol-electric hybrid that shares much with its Hyundai Ioniq saloon cousin, the Niro is instead a practical segment-bending vehicle. Expected to be popular in the fuel consumption-sensitive Jordanian market, the Niro is somewhere between CUV and MPV, yet is based on and competes with hybrid cars like the aforementioned Ioniq and the ubiquitous Toyota Prius, among others.

Aggressive aesthetic

A far cry from the dramatic, tense and urgently pouncing CUV-coupe Niro concept unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show with up-tilting ‘‘butterfly’’ doors, the production version — launched as a 2017 model — is a much more sensible and practical family vehicle.

Retaining much of the concept’s styling cues, the production Niro features a similarly slim and moody ‘‘tiger’’ grille flanked by swept back diamond-like headlights and sitting atop an aggressive bumper assembly with big intakes. A rising waistline and rakishly descending roofline converge towards high-set rear lights, similar to the Niro concept, while black lower cladding lends a rugged SUV flavour.

Not one to wear its hybrid credentials overtly on its sleeve in terms of aesthetic, the Niro’s design approach is contrary to its Ioniq cousin, and is instead designed to be more aggressive and to have a certain visceral appeal to a wider audience and more mainstream audience.

Not to be pigeonholed into a strict segment, the Niro is for the most part a CUV with its raised ride and aggressive body style, albeit one that is exclusively front-wheel-drive, and without much off-road aspiration. Alternatively, the Niro also has disguised hints of a versatile and spacious MPV, not too unlike the larger Kia Carens.

Efficient and flexible

Designed from ground up — rather than converted — for hybrid application, the Niro’s electric motors, hybrid components are well-integrated, positioned for better weight distribution. Its efficiently charging lithium-ion batteries are 20 per cent lighter than competitors, while increased use of lightweight and high strength components in construction offsets the hybrid system’s weight and aids efficiency, safety ride and handling.

Under the bonnet, the Niro’s thermally efficient but somewhat low-revving Atkinson cycle direct injection 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine produces 103BHP at 5700rpm and 108lb/ft at 4000rpm, Mated to an electric motor developing 43BHP and 125lb/ft, the Niro’s maximum combined system output is 139BHP and 195lb/ft.

Driving the front wheels through petrol and electric motors working in unison or individually, depending on conditions, throttle input and battery charge, the Niro is quicker than power figures suggest, with its electric motor’s ample torque allowing for confident flexibility at any engine speed.

Responsive from standstill and particularly versatile at city and highway cruising speeds, the Niro is capable of 0-100km/h acceleration in 11.5-seconds and returns frugal 4.4l/100km combined fuel efficiency. Slightly down on the more aerodynamic Ionic’s official efficiency figures, one, however, expects real world efficiency figures, even on demanding Jordanian roads, to be similar to Kia’s official figures.

Smooth and integrated

Smoother and better integrated than some predecessors, especially on throttle lift-off response when driven hard, it is only at very low speed that one occasionally notices a slight nudge from the two motors integrating. Capable of a conservatively quoted 162km/h top speed (estimated to be 170-180km/h) the Niro drives briefly on electric-only mode at around 120km/h, while battery charge and discharge times impressed, even on inclines. However, when battery charge depletes on sustained steep inclines, the otherwise refined petrol engine is left to its own devices, and feels somewhat strained at high revs, while acceleration drops somewhat until batteries recharge again from the combustion engine and regenerative braking system.

Riding on MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension, the Niro felt refined and mostly forgiving on Jordanian roads, even with low profile 225/45R18 tyres. Slightly firm over rougher and more sudden road imperfections, the Niro was smooth, stable and refined on highway, with rigid construction evident.

Through winding country roads the Niro performed well for its CUV segment, and was happy to be hustled along briskly but not pushed right to the limits of its power and dynamic abilities. Turning in tidily with just little understeer if pushed too hard, one, however, needs to dial in throttle input smoothly to prevent torque steer owing to its generous output.

Spacious and smooth

Quick and direct if not especially textured or nuanced for road feel, the Niro’s electric-assisted steering felt positive with good self-centring through corners, while body lean was controlled well when the Niro settles into a corner. Through corners grip was good, with slippage caught easily by electronic stability controls when mechanical road-holding limits were exceeded. Well concealing its hybrid system’s weighting, the Niro’s handling felt easily adjustable on torque steer with slight lift-off and through corners with a slight weigh pivot. Meanwhile its slick 6-speed automated dual clutch gearbox provided more driver control than some competitor’s elastic-feeling continuously variable transmissions.

Well thought out and executed, the Niro builds on Kia’s previous hybrid experience, and with handsome CUV design, almost MPV-like practicality and roominess, fuel efficiency and pricing would be expected to do well in Jordan once the nameplate catches on. 

Reasonably priced, the Niro features a spacious cabin with more soft textures and equipment than some rivals. Well-equipped and with uncluttered and user-friendly layouts, the Niro’s wide swinging doors allow easy access. Cabin space is very good, with rear headroom especially generous compared to rivals. Seating is comfortable and well adjustable and with lumbar support, visibility is good and aided by a rearview camera, while luggage room is generous and expandable.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: petrol/electric hybrid, 1.6-litre, transverse, 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 72 x 97mm

Compression ratio: 13:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC

Gearbox: 6-speed automated dual clutch, front-wheel-drive

Gear ratios: 1st 3.867; 2nd 2.217; 3rd 1.371; 4th 0.93; 5th 0.956; 6th 0.767; R 5.351

Final drive, gears 1-4

/5-6, R: 4.438/3.227/ 

Power – petrol engine, BHP (PS) [kW]: 103.5 (105) [77.2] @5700rpm

Power – electric motor, BHP (PS) [kW]: 42.9 (43.5) [32]

Power – combined, BHP (PS) [kW]: 139 (141) [104] @5700rpm

Torque – petrol engine, lb/ft (Nm): 108 (147) @4000rpm

Torque – electric motor, lb/ft (Nm): 125 (170)

Torque – combined, lb/ft (Nm): 195 (265) @4000rpm

Battery type, capacity, voltage: Lithium-ion polymer, 1.56kwh, 240v

0-100km/h: 11.5-seconds

Top speed: 162km/h

Fuel consumption, city/highway/combined: 4.5-/4.4-/4.4-litres/100km

CO2 emissions: 101g/km

Fuel capacity: 45-litres

Length: 4355mm

Width: 1805mm

Height: 1535mm

Wheelbase: 2700mm

Track, F/R: 1555/1569mm

Overhang, F/R; 870/785mm

Headroom, F/R: 1049/993mm

Legroom, F/R: 1117/950mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1423/1402mm

Cargo volume, min/max: 427/1425-litres

Approach/departure angles: 17.3°/29.2°

Unladen weight: 1425kg

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/multi-link, anti roll bars

Steering: Electric-assisted, rack and pinion

Lock-to-lock: 2.66-turns

Turning circle: 10.6-metres

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs, regenerative braking

Tyres: 225/45R18

Price, as tested: JD23,500 (on-the-road, comprehensive insurance)

Cairo Inside Out

Trevor Naylor

Photos by Doriana Dimitrova

Cairo-New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2016

Pp. 146

This book is not a travel guide but an exploration in text and photos of what makes Cairo such an alluring city despite its fully deserved reputation for being overcrowded, noisy and polluted. The author, Trevor Naylor, a frequent visitor and sometime resident of the city, hit upon the idea of producing such a book while sitting in the legendary Café Riche in downtown Cairo. Savouring the late-afternoon atmosphere, he wondered if it was possible to write a book that captured the mood and light so unique to Cairo. 

Turning the pages of “Cairo Inside Out”, one can only answer Naylor’s question with a resounding yes, but only because his engaging narrative is counterpoised to Doriana Dimitrova’s striking photos. No page of text is without a picture that literally/graphically illustrates the interplay of light and shadow that is at the heart of the mood that the book seeks to convey. Both Naylor and Dimitrova are experts in their field, but it is the combination of their crafts that creates the book’s aesthetic impact which is often breathtaking.

The book title is a play on words, but it does not so much reference the idea of turning something inside out in order to exhaust all possibilities — remember, this is not a comprehensive guidebook. Rather, “inside out” is a key concept in Naylor’s idea of how to fully enjoy Cairo. Sitting in the Café Riche, “it came to me that in the many hours I have spent sitting or wandering around Cairo, most of it is spent inside, looking at the world outside and observing the streets and people as though on a screen… feeling the soul of Cairo is generally an indoor experience”. (p. 11)

Looking out from an interior space has many advantages: Inside it is cooler, quieter and protected from jostling crowds, traffic and overly persistent sellers. Naylor compares many of the places covered in the book to sanctuaries, optimal places for recovering from the exhaustion of navigating the city, but also for observing the street life and shifting light and colours of the city, which appear most astonishing at dawn or dusk. 

There is another reason that this documentation of selected places is important, for Cairo is changing. “The Cairo you see here may well be coming to the end of its time… Cairo, like all cities, is about people… it is they, as much as the place itself, who make a certain business or a particular place so special to visit.” (p. 12)

Naylor expresses doubt as to whether coming generations will pursue the same trades and way of life as their parents. 

Not being a guide book, “Cairo Inside Out” does not cover the main monuments usually visited by tourists, but there are a few notable exceptions, such as the pyramids at Giza, which the book recommends viewing from a different angle in accordance with the “inside-out” approach. Also, a few tourist traps are billed as “worth falling into”.

Most of the book, however, suggests ways of exploring the city, often by foot, to discover charming off-the-beaten-track venues. It is organised in chapters by area: Nile and Zamalek, downtown Cairo, City Gates to the Muqattam Hills, Khan Al Khalili, old Cairo to Maadi, and Pyramids and Pharaohs. Moving from quarter to quarter, the type of places highlighted also changes from houseboats, mansions, hotels, café and bookshops, to markets, mosques, churches and mausoleums. 

Regardless of the venue, many of the photos show elegant staircases of different styles, some of them enhanced by light filtering in from a window. Another recurring theme is viewing a garden or other green area through the windows of a cafe or restaurant. In many pictures, the juxtaposition of past and present, ancient and modern, in a single site, is astonishing. 

There are many surprises even for those who have visited Cairo repeatedly. Some of the most beautiful pictures are of the inside of the Nilometer’s cone, views from the Sofitel Hotel, the Ibn Tulun and Blue Mosques, and the Manial Palace — “one of Cairo’s greatest yet least visited treasures”. (p. 114)

“Cairo Inside Out” is not a book to be read once only. One will want to return to it again and again. For those who have visited Cairo once or even many times, there are scenes that invite to a new visit. For first time visitors, it is inspiration to embark on a more personal and meaningful tour by adding lesser-known places to the usual tourist itinerary.

MIAMI — When children live through a contentious divorce or separation by their parents, the fallout appears to harm their health for decades, even into adulthood, researchers said on Monday.

The study involved 201 healthy adults who agreed to be quarantined, exposed to a virus that causes the common cold and monitored for five days.

Those whose parents had separated and had not spoken to each other for years were three times as likely to get sick, compared to those whose parents had separated but had stayed in touch as the children grew.

Previous research has shown that adults whose parents separated during childhood have an increased risk for poorer health. 

The latest study showed that this higher risk of illness is due, at least in part, to heightened inflammation in response to a viral infection, the report said.

“Early life stressful experiences do something to our physiology and inflammatory processes that increase risk for poorer health and chronic illness,” said Michael Murphy, a psychology postdoctoral research associate at Carnegie Mellon University. 

“This work is a step forward in our understanding of how family stress during childhood may influence a child’s susceptibility to disease 20-40 years later.”

The study also showed that the adult children of parents who had separated but stayed in touch were no more likely to get sick than the adult children of intact families.

“Our results target the immune system as an important carrier of the long-term negative impact of early family conflict,” said Sheldon Cohen, a co-author and professor of psychology. 

“They also suggest that all divorces are not equal, with continued communication between parents buffering deleterious effects of separation on the health trajectories of the children.”

The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

So many aspects of our life, so many tasks, operations and activities are being or have already been automated that analysts now predict the end of countless jobs and professions in the near future.

If computers can translate languages, generate clear speech, instantly look for information, provide medical diagnosis, and so forth, if cars and airplanes are going to operate unmanned soon, who then needs human beings? Or, to put the question in a more relevant manner, what type of human beings, what jobs will still be required?

Automation nowadays implies digitisation and connectivity, and consequently computer programming. It would then be reasonable to conclude that programmers are what the world needs and will still depend on for a very long time.

Many years ago one of our college teachers told us “if you take computer programming and are good at it, you can be sure always to find a job, for as long and as far as I can see”.

Programming has dramatically evolved over the last few years, not only in terms of languages used and syntax but also in terms of structure. Provided you learn and get to know the new languages, HTML5 for example, you can develop applications much faster than say 30 or 40 years ago.

The logic and the reasoning behind remain the same and are based on the same principles: statements, handling input-output, storage, loops, comparisons, Boolean algebra and control of external devices. It is like learning the basics of mathematics, you can then evolve and move upwards to any level you like, and keep learning new tricks.

It goes without saying that the overwhelming part of programming today goes into web and cloud applications. Still, “local” databases such as Microsoft Access and VBA (Visual Basic for Access Application) are much in demand and do not require web programming. Actually some businesses prefer this type of programming, adding to it SQL (Structured Query Language) to achieve wide compatibility and superior efficient. Such programming ensures higher safety of data, doing away with the “online” option.

All colleges and schools in Jordan teach the new ways of programming and the country remains one of the leaders when it comes to providing the entire region with programming know-how for businesses and governments.

If the technical part of modern programming is understood, the business part of it is trickier. You still have to write programmes and make money selling them, supporting them. It is not as easy as it sounds, for unless you do it on a large scale like the industry’s giants like Microsoft to name the biggest, the operation may prove not to be feasible.

Jordan has several great companies that have proved to be very successful with their software applications that are used every day not only in Jordan but also in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, mainly. To name a few of these Jordanian successful stories from the private sector: Sky Software, Blue Ray Web Solutions, IrisGuard, Progressoft…

Those who want to embrace computer programming but do not plan to do it on a big commercial scale can still develop and write small applications for Android or iOS mobile devices and sell them on the specific market for each: Google Play and App Store, respectively. The only investment they would need is their brain and essential programming skills.

What then makes the difference between a programme that just works and one that shines is where art, taste and extra grey cells come. It is a challenge, it is a game and it is often very rewarding, intellectually and financially. It is definitely the future.

Eating more red meat is associated with an increased risk of dying from eight common diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease, as well as “all other causes” of death, according to a recent US study. 

Researchers examined data on almost 537,000 adults aged 50 to 71 and found the people who consumed the most red meat had 26 per cent higher odds than those who ate the least of dying from a variety of causes.

But people who ate the most white meat, including poultry and fish, were 25 per cent less likely to die of all causes during the study period than people who consumed the least, researchers report in The BMJ. 

“Our findings confirm previous reports on the associations between red meat and premature death, and it is also large enough to show similar associations across nine different causes of death,” said lead study author Arash Etemadi of the National Cancer Institute.

“We also found that for the same total meat intake, people who reported a diet with a higher proportion of white meat had lower premature mortality rates,” Etemadi said by e-mail. 

For the study, researchers followed the health and eating habits of people from six US states and two metropolitan areas over about 16 years. They analysed survey data on total meat intake as well as consumption of processed and unprocessed red meat and white meat. Red meat included beef, lamb and pork, while white meat included chicken, turkey and fish. 

Then, researchers sorted people into five groups from lowest to highest intake of red and white meat to see how this influenced their odds of death during the study period. 

They looked at deaths from nine conditions, including cancer, heart diseases, stroke and cerebrovascular disease, respiratory diseases, diabetes, infections, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease and chronic liver disease, as well as all other causes. 

Overall, 128,524 people died, with cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease and stroke as the leading causes of death. Only Alzheimer’s disease risk was not linked to red meat consumption.

Certain ingredients in red meat, including compounds known as nitrates and a type of iron called heme iron, may help explain why it is linked to higher mortality rates for the other causes of death, the authors argue. 

The highest intake of heme iron was associated with 15 per cent higher odds of premature death than the lowest intake, the study found. 

Nitrates in processed meat were associated with a 15 per cent increased risk of death from all causes, while with unprocessed meat nitrates were linked to a 16 per cent greater mortality risk, the study also found. 

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove how the amount or type of certain meats might directly influence mortality. 

Other limitations include the reliance on survey participants to accurately recall and report on their eating habits and the lack of data on any changes in people’s diets over time, the authors note. 

Even so, the findings should reinforce the need for many adults to cut back on meat consumption, said Dr John Potter of the Centre for Public Health Research at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand. 

Processed meat can produce cancer-causing chemicals, while saturated fats in meats can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, Potter, author of an accompanying editorial, said by e-mail. Choosing organic meat may not change the risk of premature death, Potter added.

“Mortality is higher with higher meat intake for every major cause of death except Alzheimer’s,” Potter said.

“The really key issue in all this is that the current level of meat consumption, in most of the developed world and increasingly in low- and middle-income countries, is unprecedented in human history,” Potter said. “We need to reduce meat consumption back to about one-tenth of our current level.”

Bruce Lee knew a thing or two about black belts. He was a world-renowned martial artist who understood how the human mind could influence behaviour and famously said: “As you think, so shall you become”.

Being very enthusiastic about training the mind as well as the body, the black belt model of thinking originated from his beliefs and focused on learning the importance of living life from the inside out. It put strong emphasis on internal strength to develop a clear vision of the person one intended to become, very much like the “law of attraction” which stated that whether we realised it or not, we were responsible for bringing both positive and negative influences into our lives. It took the form of internal thoughts or spoken words, but could also be represented visually.

Regardless of how we chose to use our thoughts, we could mentally design them to reflect our vision of how we wanted your life to change. For example, when Jim Carrey was nineteen he headed to Hollywood but like many young actors trying to make it big, he found that success was elusive. In 1985, a broke and depressed Carrey daydreamed of fame and to make himself feel better, he wrote out a cheque for $10 million for “acting services rendered”. He then post-dated it, and kept it in his wallet. The cheque remained there until it deteriorated but Carrey eventually made it and earned millions for movies like Ace Ventura, and Dumb and Dumber. When his father passed away in 1994, he slipped the cheque in to the casket.

Speaking on the Oprah Winfrey Show later, he explained that there was more effort that goes into positive visualisation than simply spending a few minutes picturing our goals. The entire creation process manifests our desires and we have to consciously take action towards it. He had concluded by reiterating that we cannot just visualise and go eat a sandwich.

So, thoughts became action and actions became outcomes? Was it as simple as that said the voice in my head? Should I start thinking outside the box? Even though I was incapable of getting a black belt in karate at this late stage in my life, I could at least train my brain to think like a black belter, right?

To begin with, I decided to let go of all fear, including fear of failure. I mean, if I was not harming anyone, what was wrong in trying out new things? There was nothing that stopped me from becoming an accomplished singer, poet or a marathon runner if I put my mind to it. Or even a stand up comic! Were there any slots open for fifty plus non-resident Indian women in that field I wondered?

Experimentally, I visualised myself in an auditorium full of lively people while I was waiting behind the stage for my comic act to begin. In my imagination I could also feel the knot in my stomach and the trembling in my feet but I focused on the witty anecdotes I had prepared for the show.

“I am new to black belt thinking,” I started.

My audience in the amphitheatre kept on talking.

“It is different from thinking about a designer black belt,” I continued.

Spontaneous laughter erupted around me.

“Sorry?” my husband asked and I realised I had spoken aloud. 

“If you carry on like this, we will progress to tighten-our-belts thinking,” he predicted.