Marriage may aid recovery from heart surgery

Married people who have cardiac surgery may feel better after the operation than those who are divorced, separated or widowed, according to new research.

In the study, people who were not married — as opposed to never-married — had about a 40 percent greater risk of either dying or developing a new disability during the first two years after the surgery, the researchers found.

“People who were married had fewer decreases in functional status compared to people who were widowed, divorced or separated,” said lead study author Dr Mark Neuman. Neuman who is an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

While other research has linked better survival odds after cardiac surgery to marriage, few researchers have looked at any link between marital status and surgical recovery, Neuman said.

For this study, the investigators gathered data from more than 1,500 men and women enrolled in the University of Michigan Health and Retirement study, which has been ongoing since 1998. Every two years, participants answer questions about health, disabilities and family structure. The study focused on the participants who had undergone cardiac surgery. Neuman noted that no information was available on the types of cardiac surgery.

The researchers evaluated how well the patients could fend for themselves after the surgery, including performing activities of daily living, such as dressing, eating and taking showers without help.

Among the study patients, 65 percent were married, 12 percent were divorced or separated, 21 percent were widowed and two percent never married. The findings showed that marital status was significantly associated with the risk of death or a new functional disability within two years after surgery. Neuman cautioned, however, that the study only found an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.

He pointed out that those in the never-married group had results similar to the married group, but their numbers were so small that he hesitated to draw any firm conclusions about those patients.

So, why do married people seem to fare better? While Newman cannot say for sure, he suggested that married patients might receive more social support from spouses to get through recovery. The findings are consistent with other research on marital status and health, said Hiu (Cathy) Liu, an associate professor of sociology at Michigan State University, who has researched the topic.

“This adds to the general picture of the advantages of married people relative to the unmarried people, especially the divorced/separated and widowed, by extending to a more specific health outcome, a postoperative functional recovery,” Liu said.

Kareena Doesn't Take Stardom Seriously, Says Arjun Kapoor

"The first thing I learnt is being simple, she has not lost herself after being here for a long time. She has always been the same person. She is the same person on sets as she is off it. She doesn't take her stardom seriously. I think that is her biggest asset," said Arjun Kapoor of his Ki And Ka co-star
Actor Arjun Kapoor feels his Ki And Ka co-star Kareena Kapoor Khan is a simple person, who doesn't take her stardom seriously, and said that is her biggest asset.

Arjun found it quite easy to work with his childhood crush Kareena in the R Balki-directed film. "The first thing I learnt is being simple, she has not lost herself after being here for a long time. She has always been the same person. She is the same person on sets as she is off it. She doesn't take her stardom seriously. I think that is her biggest asset," Arjun told PTI. (Also Read: Why Arjun Kapoor 'Needed' Ki And Ka at This Point in His Career)

The 30-year-old actor, who is all praise for the Jab We Met actress, further said that she listens to her directors very patiently.

"She is a gifted actor, she listens to her directors. As an actor, she just patiently listens to what the director wants. A lot of people have their opinion or point of view, but Kareena doesn't do that, she still listens to her directors," Arjun said.

"That humility towards your craft is something I love. Films are as good as directors, actors are selfish people, directors see the bigger picture," he said. (Also Read: 'Arjuntina'-Bound Khatron Ke Khiladi Really Doesn't Like Ceiling Fans)

Arjun also said he did not feel intimidated by Kareena. "I have been a fan of hers as she is a fantastic actor. I have grown up in the industry. I know Kareena for years even before she became an actress. She has done four films with my father. She is not one of those actors who intimidates another person, we have fun on the sets," he said.

"We have now known each other for quite some time, its normal for us. We did not have to break the ice or create chemistry. We have a fantastic director, great actors and a great story. We finished the film in less than 50 days," he added.

Govt drafts rules to regulate Uber, other ride-hailing firms

The transport ministry has drafted guidelines to regulate ride-hailing companies, including US-based Uber and its domestic rival Ola, for the first time laying down federal rules that could end months of uncertainty on how they operate in the country.

The ministry has asked states to ensure companies operate with call centres and their taxis follow emission norms, according to a six-page advisory issued last week and reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

The guidelines also call for extensive background checks of drivers to ensure passenger safety. Any person who has in the past been convicted of any “cognizable offence” under India’s criminal laws should not be allowed to become a driver.

Although it is not yet clear whether the guidelines will be binding on the states and much uncertainty still remains, Uber and Ola both welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.

Ola, backed by Japan’s Softbank, called the advisory a “progressive directive” that will help it work closely with different states. Uber said the guidelines were a “big leap” in recognising regulations for such companies.

In recent months, ride-hailing services have faced questions by authorities about their safety measures, especially in the capital Delhi, where an Uber driver was last December accused of raping a woman passenger.

Such services were banned in Delhi after the incident, but a court recently revoked the decision. It also led to widespread outrage against online taxi companies after it was found the accused driver had a past criminal record.

Game of Thrones Star Emilia Clarke Is the Sexiest Woman Alive

Call off the search! Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, called Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons on HBO’s fantasy mega-hit Game of Thrones, has been named Esquire magazine’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” for 2015.

That’s right. Of all the women alive, the 28-year-old, London-born beauty is the sexiest, based on Esquire’s extensive research. Working tirelessly since Penélope Cruz was named 2014’s sexiest woman, the brave explorers of Esquire have finally found a new, and perhaps even sexier, woman. Amazing that, of all the women on this lonely planet of ours, it just happened to be the dragon lady from TV.

Of course, they looked everywhere. They scoured the beaches of Mozambique, hacked through jungles in Ecuador, peered into the Forbidden City, helicoptered over Petra. They took bumpy boat rides to the Faroe Islands, surveyed the narrow streets of Vilnius. They rounded the Cape of Good Hope, binoculars pressed to their faces, searching, madly, for the ever elusive sexiest woman alive. And they saw many contenders. Would it be the lonely barmaid in faraway Rotorua? That red-haired hiker they saw scrambling around Tierra del Fuego? The beautiful woman one Esquire correspondent observed crying alone on the observation deck of the CN Tower?

No, it would be Emilia Clarke, bewigged teen princess of Meereen. Of all the lands they picked over—rattling in Land Cruisers across the Gobi, skirting along Bhutan’s edges in a skiff bobbing up the choppy Manas River, mushing on dogsleds through the deep snows outside Nuuk—they eventually went with a great beauty from a place that doesn’t really exist. Does that tell us something about our culture, that we prefer fantasy to reality? I don’t know! Maybe it does. Of course, Emilia Clarke is a real person, from a real place, but we mostly know her as a fake person from a very fake place. So who’s to say what ultimately swayed Esquire to Clarke. Obviously there is a science to it, but there is also a human element, some slight or bias that influenced this most monumental of decisions.

Beef ban: Petitions challenging ban to come up in Bombay HC tomorrow

The Bombay High Court has posted for final hearing on Tuesday a bunch of petitions challenging the beef ban legislation in Maharashtra.

The petitions would be heard by a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and VL Achilya for three days from October 14. In February 2015, the President had granted sanction to Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act. While the Act had banned slaughter of cows way back in 1976, the recent amendments prohibited slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

According to the amended Act, the sale of bulls and bullocks in the state is an offence punishable with five-year jail term and Rs 10,000 fine. Besides, possession of meat of a cow, bull or bullock is also an offence for which the punishment prescribed is one-year jail and Rs 2,000 fine.

While hearing the petition, the HC had in April refused to grant an interim stay on the law on the issue of possession of beef. Arif Kapadia, a city resident, and noted lawyer Harish Jagtiani, have challenged the provision of the law which says mere possession of beef in any place in the state is a crime.

According to Jagtiani, this provision of the law is arbitrary and hits upon the cosmopolitan nature of the city which houses people from all religions and communities. Kapadia, on the other hand, has described as "draconian" section 5(D) of the Act which makes possession of meat of any cow, bull or bullock slaughtered outside the state a cognizable and non-bailable offence with punishment upto one year in jail and Rs 2,000 fine.

Other petitions have been filed by Vishal Sheth, a lawyer, and Shaina Sen, a student. The duo said "we are Hindus who are consumers of beef which is now part of our diet and nutrition sources. The ban on beef and criminalising its sale and possession violates fundamental rights of citizens." On September 21, the HC had rejected the plea in a bunch of petitions seeking the relaxation of beef ban in Maharashtra during a three-day period for Eid festival, also known as Bakri-Eid.