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Arabian Gulf's fitness to be severely tested by hectic timetable
Dubai: The Arabian Gulf under-19 squad flew to Taiwan for the Asian Championships, determined to win all three of their games and secure promotion from Division B. Skipper David Knight has set his side the challenging target of a hat-trick of wins in the southern most city of Kaohsiung. And he believes the Gulf, sponsored by Standard Chartered and First Direct, have the talent and potential to return home with a prestigious place in the top tier as a reward for their efforts. He said: "I'm convinced that this squad has the pace and skills to do very well. We want to get the Gulf in the top division where we think we belong." The 17-year-old flanker, who was born in the UAE and has lived here his entire life, is set to earn his first Gulf cap after recovering from a broken foot.
Bio-drains to reduce pollutants
DRAINS ARE usually designed to carry different type of wastewater — from rainfall runoff to spent water generated from residential and commercial centres. At times sewage too finds their way into these water carriage units through unauthorised openings made. An appropriate method to keep the drains less loaded with decaying matter has become inevitable. An attempt have been made by our team to develop a `bio-drain' which consist of a conduit embedded with fibrous materials capable of retaining microbial population needed to undertake the removal of organics and nutrients from flowing water has been developed. Bio-drain technology The fibrous materials have been identified as better media for supporting the microbial population in wastewater treatment operations due to their higher specific area.
Lesson in governance from private equity firms
The more successful it becomes, the more private equity is coming under scrutiny. This month, Britain's Financial Services Authority warned of the growing riskiness of the industry as private equity firms set their sights on ever bigger targets and take on ever higher debt in the process. Some firms may well discover they have bitten off more than they can chew. But there are no signs that the challenge posed by private equity firms to the public equity model is about to ease. The top 25 per cent of private equity firms outperform the relevant stock market index over time. Moreover, they do so by some distance and, unlike in other areas of finance, the same group of firms manages to do so persistently. .
Message: I Listen
Bush 43 has not, so far, whether by accident or design, actually said the words, "Message: I listen." But that is the true meaning behind this sham "listening tour." I wonder what it will take for the press to actually say so. Maybe he needs to get to zero in the polls? .
Alcohol: good in small doses
At last good news about alcohol. A meta-analysis – a compilation of statistics from several scientific studies – confirms the health benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol, and not just in cardio-vascular terms. Augusto Di Castelnuovo and his colleagues at the Catholic University of Campobasso in Italy examined the results of 34 studies carried out in recent years. They reached the conclusion that three to four glasses of wine each day is beneficial for men, in relation to a large number of physiological parameters. “Drinking small amounts of alcohol reduces mortality by 18%", says Castelnuovo. However, once this ceiling of four glasses per day is exceeded, “the consumer starts taking health risks", continues the author. As for women, the risks seem to emerge after two glasses.
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