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Greater Number Of People Seek Jobs; Jobless Rate Holds Steady In California

Category: , By News Updater
California is a part of the United States, just like many others, whose job market is improving. California is adding better and higher paying work opportunities in its wealthy coastal areas. However, the construction sectors and government still remain a huge burden on the economy as inland communities and people residing in them are still struggling.

According to the California Employment Development Department, employers added a total number of 4,000 payroll jobs in the last month, which hinted low but continuous improvement in the country’s labor market. However, even though there were gains, the unemployment rate of California didn’t change and stood at a high rate of 10.9 percent as a greater number of workers took out their resumes and searched for employment. The unemployment rate in the state of California is more than the unemployment rate in United States, which is 8.3 percent.

According to an economist Stephen Levy, who works with the Center for the Continuing Study of the California economy, “People are more encouraged to find jobs”. “As people come into the workforce it’s going to take a while to get the unemployment rate down”, added Stephen.

The biggest job gains in the state last month were found in the industrial sector which pays better wages than other sectors. Moreover, the information sector, which comprises of motion pictures and software, added a total of 9,300 positions, which was followed by the manufacturing sector, which reported to have added 6,200 jobs. In the state of California, 6100 jobs were added by educational and health services, whereas 2,800 jobs were added by the professional and business services. The reason for the industrial sector adding more jobs was the fact that they were better paying jobs and the industrial sector targets a wider audience as compared to the business sector or telecom sector.
 

US researchers discover protein that may be cause of male baldness

Category: By News Updater

While some may say vanity is not a masculine trait at all, men would be very hard pressed not to be concerned about their hair or lack of it. Male pattern baldness is perhaps the singularly most divisive phenomenon the human body can throw up at you without actually making you sick, but, though it may appear to be overtly benign, male pattern baldness is still potent enough to keep men up at night, affecting, according to figures, nearly half of all men under 50 with nearly 80 percent of all men having some degrees of hair loss by the age of 80.

The exact causes for this natural phenomenon has often eluded scientists and researchers and while a multi-billion dollar industry may have sprouted to try, in whatever way to tackle this, hair piece or Rogaine have not been enough and all but a miracle cure is needed.
Well, according to a new study, published in the journal, Science Translational Medicine, scientists may have finally found the reason behind baldness that has so long eluded the scientific community.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania said that they had finally "pinpointed" the protein that triggers hair loss. It has been known for a while that testosterone plays an important role in hair loss and the decrease in this male sex hormone reduces the size of hair follicles to the point that they become almost invisible, completely inhibiting regrowth. But, now, according to the University of Pennsylvania team, it has been discovered that a protein is found to ‘trigger’ hair loss and that it is apparently entirely responsible for thinning of hair and hair loss.

The protein, prostaglandin D synthase, was noted to be present in high levels in hair follicles in bald patches but absent in areas of hair. The Pennsylvania team used mice for their experiments and in them, they saw that when bred to have high levels of the protein, the mice were completely bald and also experienced less growth of transplanted healthy human hair.

Speaking about this discovery, lead researcher Prof. George Cotsarelis, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Dermatology, said, "Essentially we showed that prostaglandin protein was elevated in the bald scalp of men and that it inhibited hair growth. So we identified a target for treating male-pattern baldness. The next step would be to screen for compounds that affect this receptor and to also find out whether blocking that receptor would reverse balding or just prevent balding - a question that would take a while to figure out."

With this discovery, it has come to the knowledge that several drugs, some under clinical trials, specifically target this protein and it is hoped that with it baldness may be prevented or cured.
 

Hundreds of houses damaged after strong earthquake hits Mexico

Category: , By News Updater

A 7.4 earthquake hit central and south Mexico today around noon, with its epicenter near Ometepec, Guerrero, but felt strongly in the capital and as far away as Guatemala. There are no reported deaths so far, and only limited damage has been described, although the tremor is said to have caused power-outages for some 1.5 million Mexicans.

The earthquake today was reminiscent in size of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico city, that topped in at 8.1 on the Richter scale, but not in aftermath. For one thing the infrastructure today is much better than in 1985, when 400 buildings were leveled, including hospitals, hotels, offices, apartment buildings, and schools. Due to this mass destruction and tragic loss of life (10,000 people were killed), officials began demanding and enforcing stricter building codes for Mexico City, presumably resulting in the more limited damage this time around.

But more than physical infrastructure, the 1985 earthquake highlighted the worst of the non-democratic political regime. President Miguel de la Madrid was virtually absent in the initial days, and when he did engage the media, he spent more time downplaying the damage than addressing the situation. Perhaps worse, few police, army, or governmental officials came to help dig out survivors, hand out supplies, or shepherd the nearly 200,000 homeless to shelter. In fact, the ineffectual response of the federal and capital governments to the 1985 earthquake helped spur Mexico's long transition to democracy.

Already today, the government's response has also been one of immediate communication and action. Felipe Calderón began live tweeting updates on the damage and the status of Mexico's social services within hours of the quake, and the governor of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué Monteagudo, told media that he had called the mayors of the most affected towns.

While the earthquake today may have brought back memories from 1985, Mexico has reaffirmed through its response that it is a not the same country it was before. The response today across all levels of government (and regardless of party) shows how much Mexico has changed.

This article originally appeared at CFR.org, an Atlantic partner site.

 

Living alone 'are more depressed'

Category: , By News Updater

People of working age who live alone increase their risk of depression by up to 80% compared with people living in families, says a Finnish study. Similarly, research teams on top psychology schools also found out that elderly people living alone are more at risk for depression and mental health problems.

It says the main factors are poor housing conditions for women and a lack of social support for men, who are both equally affected.


The study tracked the use of anti-depressants in 3,500 Finnish people.


A mental health charity said people who lived alone must be given outlets to talk about their problems.


The study authors highlight the fact that the proportion of one-person households in Western countries has increased during the past three decades, with one in every three people in the US and the UK living alone.


The participants in the study, published in BioMed Central's public health journal, were working-age Finns; 1,695 were men and 1,776 were women, and they had an average age of 44.6 years.
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Loneliness and isolation results in people having fewer outlets to talk about how they are feeling, which is something that we know can really help.”


Beth Murphy Mind


They were surveyed in 2000 and asked whether they lived alone or with other people.


Other information about their lifestyle was gathered, such as social support, work climate, education, income, employment status and housing conditions, in addition to details on smoking habits, alcohol use and activity levels.


Researchers found that people living alone bought 80% more anti-depressants during the follow-up period, between 2000 and 2008, than those who did not live alone.


Dr Laura Pulkki-Raback, who led the research at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said the real risk of mental health problems in people living alone could be much higher.


"This kind of study usually underestimates risk because the people who are at the most risk tend to be the people who are least likely to complete the follow up. We were also not able to judge how common untreated depression was."
Isolation


Researchers said that living with other people could offer emotional support and feelings of social integration, as well as other factors that protect against mental health problems.


Living alone, the study said, could be linked with feelings of isolation and a lack of social integration and trust, which are risk factors for mental health.


The study said all the factors involved needed to be addressed in order to understand and reduce depression in working-age people.


Beth Murphy, head of information at mental health charity Mind, said the rise in the number of people living alone had had a clear impact on the nation's mental health.


"Loneliness and isolation results in people having fewer outlets to talk about how they are feeling, which is something that we know can really help to manage and recover from a mental health problem.


"It is therefore essential that people who live alone are given the most appropriate treatment such as talking therapies, which provide safe, supportive environments to discuss and work through problems, rather than simply being left to rely solely on antidepressants."

Read more: BBC.com
 

Egypt helps ease Gaza oil crisis

Category: , By News Updater
Egypt has agreed to start supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip, to help ease a lengthy fuel crisis.

Cairo agreed to send diesel to be used at a power station, which shut down in mid-February.
This caused big reductions in Gaza's ambulance service, medical operations and taxi services, and power cuts of up to eighteen hours a day.
Officials in Gaza said enough fuel to run the power station for a day had arrived in nine trucks.
Israel is allowing the fuel supplies to go through the Karam Abu Salim border crossing.
The crisis stems from a dispute between Egypt and the Hamas government in Gaza over whether Gaza can trade with Egypt openly, or only via Israel.
At the same time Egypt cracked down on fuel being smuggled through tunnels, leading to petrol pumps running dry.