The work-life -balance to prevent work-family conflict.

The work-life-balance. Every individual must strive to have a balance in their work-life as many health challenges have been linked to repeatedly thinking about work-family conflict. The first step will be doing what you love with perfect time management skills and building your relationships round it, thus creating a win-win situation. Planning ahead and having a backup plan and having a network to support can make you better able to reduce work-family conflict. The role of the organization is also important as policies that foster growth, job satisfaction, job flexibility and job security will provide a platform for employees to build a better work-life-balance. Health related issues such as depression,anxiety,mood swings, and binge eating has been linked to an in balance in work-life experiences,where employees are in constant repetitive thoughts about work ,home,remuneration. The work-life -balance to prevent work-family conflict, according to a new study shows that thinking over and over again about conflicts between your job and personal life is likely to damage both your mental and physical health. The study published in the journal Stress & Health recently shows that thinking repeatedly and attentively about the parts of your job and your personal life that clash with each other such as a late-afternoon meeting that prevents you from attending your child's career day affects mental and physical health. Repetitive thought is related to two other types of cognition that also can have adverse effects on health,these are rumination and worry. Rumination is persistent, redundant thinking that usually looks backward and is associated with depression while worry is also persistent, redundant thinking but tends to look forward and is typically more associated with anxious apprehension. One method that can help is mindfulness, intentionally paying attention to the present-moment experience, such as physical sensations, perceptions, thoughts and imagery, in a nonjudgmental way. Creating a better atmosphere at home and at work,and a review of the WHY of your job and How To will be another method to stay focused.

Male farmers at highest risk of contracting 'monkey malaria' in Malaysia.

Male farmers at highest risk of contracting 'monkey malaria' in Malaysia. A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health,shows that adult male farmers in Malaysia are more than twice as likely to contract Plasmodium knowlesi malaria, an infection usually found only in monkeys than other people in their communities. The research team found that farmers in the country's Sabah region who work on plantations, clearing vegetation and taking part in forestry work were most at risk. Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite which is common in forest-dwelling macaque monkeys and transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes. It has a rapid growth rate in the blood that can lead to high levels of parasites in a short time and can cause severe and fatal disease. Recent deforestation in the Sabah region has brought humans into closer contact with the forest. P. knowlesi is now the most common form of human malaria in many areas of Malaysia, and has also been reported across South East Asia. The findings suggest that humans working on the fringes of the forest are at risk of contracting P. knowlesi, as well as in the forest itself when they carry out activities such as hunting. more

Drinking coffee cuts risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.(HCC)

Drinking coffee cuts risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.(HCC) .A new study has shown that drinking cups of coffee a day reduces risk of liver cancer. A large meta-analysis of more than 2 million adults found that drinking one cup of coffee a day was associated with a 20 percent reduced risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer. Drinking two cups of caffeinated coffee per day was linked to a 35 percent reduced HCC risk; in fact, the more coffee people drink, the lower their HCC risk Neurological diseases, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver and endometrial, cutaneous melanoma skin cancer and liver cancer are some of the diseases that are suppressed by coffee consumption. continue

New veterinary diagnostic networks to aid poultry, livestock production in Sub-Sahara.

New veterinary diagnostic networks to aid poultry, livestock production in Sub-Sahara. With the help of a US$14.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation over the next 3 years, Zoetis announced plans to develop veterinary and outreach services to aid the growth of poultry and livestock production in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda. The animal health company said the grant would enable the development of veterinary laboratory networks, increase the availability of local veterinary medicines and services, implement sustainable diagnostics programs and strengthen local veterinary expertise. “Access to medicines and technology will help farmers raise healthier animals and secure more sustainable revenue, which is critical to the economic development of the region and well-being of its population,” said Juan Ramón Alaix, chief executive officer for Zoetis. As one of the most rapidly developing regions in the world, Sub-Saharan Africa is also home to some of the largest food-animal populations in the world – and the highest density of impoverished farmers.1 According to Zoetis, food animals are essential assets to rural communities and maintaining their health is critical to achieving food security in areas of exceptionally high animal and human disease incidence. This program, funded by the foundation, will be called the African Livestock Productivity and Health Advancement (ALPHA) initiative. Zoetis said it would collaborate with governmental authorities, local veterinary associations, national and international NGOs, farmer associations and the private sector to “maximize its ability to positively impact the region.” Over the course of 3 years, the company said it would “use the progress made and key learnings to work toward a longer-term sustainable business model and animal health infrastructure” for food-animal production in the region. source

Sanderson Farms vet drawing new battle lines against ILT.

Sanderson Farms vet drawing new battle lines against ILT. Sanderson Farms growers have been asked to stop driving their farm trucks off the farm to help prevent outbreaks of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT), according to Phil Stayer, DVM, head veterinarian of the company. He described the most recent ILT outbreak in North Carolina as a “community” disease. “If your neighbor gets it, you can get it,” He noted that there’s so much ILT virus in the environment it’s now found on farm lanes. If growers drive on local roads, their vehicles are exposed. That’s why Sanderson Farms has asked growers to restrict use of their farm trucks. Growers have also been asked to keep their private vehicles off the farms, he said. Stayer’s investigation into the causes of the outbreak showed that farmers were parking their trucks in front of the broiler house air inlets. Virus on the truck then got inside the chicken house via air. ILT usually gets tracked into the poultry house on a person’s feet, Stayer said, but not in this case. The veterinarian noted that feed trucks delivering to farms are another potential source of viral contamination. However, they’re disinfected as they come onto farms and they don’t remain for long. Farmers, on the other hand, tend to park their trucks by the broiler house for long periods of time, which they’ve now been asked not to do. As an extra precautionary measure, Sanderson Farms is also limiting the number of people who can go into broiler houses until the outbreak ends, Stayer noted. source

IAEA and FAO go mobile to tackle food fraud

IAEA and FAO go mobile to tackle food fraud: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are to look at mobile tools to combat food fraud and contamination.

Mars recalls chocolate over salmonella fears

Mars recalls chocolate over salmonella fears: Mars Chocolate UK and Mars Ireland are recalling some Galaxy, Maltesers Teasers and Minstrels chocolate products, after routine testing revealed the presence of salmonella.