UFO (Unidentified Flying Object)

UFO / noun (plural UFOs)

an object in the sky that you don’t recognize;

some people think it might be a space vehicle from another world;

a strange object that some people think they’ve seen in the sky and that may come from another planet.

UFO is the short for ‘unidentified flying object’.


In the Encyclopedia of Wikipedia has come that:

An unidentified flying object, or UFO, is any real or apparent flying object which cannot be identified by the observer and which remains unidentified after investigation. In popular culture, UFO is often used to refer to any hypothetical, or unproven, alien spacecraft. The term flying saucer is also sometimes used.

Reference:
1) Longman Basic Dictionary of American English
2)Oxford Elementary Learner’s Dictionary

RAK FTZ introduces the first and only TOEFL iBT centre in RAK

The Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone has announced that its 'Center for Business Excellence' offers TOFEL internet-Based Test as the first and only center in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

'The Center for Business Excellence, which is run by the RAK FTZ Training Section, offers a wide range of specialized training courses in different areas such as:
Customer Relations, Global Marketing & Sales, Secretarial skills and preparation for CEPA exams' said Oussama El Omari, the Zone's CEO.

'The Center, which is managed by professional, experienced staff, doesn't only offer its services to the RAK FTZ staff and companies, but the service is also designed to be available for the students & public" said El Omari. '"By offering these training courses to the public, the RAK FTZ is trying to diversify its services offered to the community and to its clients and raise the standard of education and business excellence" he added.

Feda Qasem, the Center's Supervisor said that 'As many government agencies, scholarship programs, and licensing/certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency, it is important to offer TOEFL® iBT in our Center in order to meet the public demand. In addition, the center organizes TOFEL preparation courses and practices for different levels, and excels in providing flexible timings for students & working professionals during the weekends with the aim of exceeding the clients' expectations.'

'The Center is equipped with all the required facilities to prepare and take the test' she added.

Reference : The ultimate Middle East business resource

Soft Drinks Linked To Heart Disease Via Metabolic Syndrome

A new US study has found that drinking more than one soft drink a day, whether regular or diet, may be linked to an increased risk of developing heart disease, via an increase in metabolic syndrome, a group of characteristics like excess girth, high blood pressure, and other factors that increase the chances of getting diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

Other studies have linked drinking soft drinks with risk factors for heart disease, but this study suggests that diet soft drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners are just as likely to be linked as high calorie drinks sweetened with sugar.

"Moderation in anything is the key.

If you are drinking one or more soft drinks a day, you may be increasing your risk of developing metabolic risk factors for heart disease."

Metabolic syndrome is a group of symptoms such as excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol) and high fasting glucose levels. Having three or more of the symptoms increases a person's risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The investigators also found that participants who drank one or more soft drinks a day, when compared to those that drank less, had a number of increased risk factors for metabolic syndrome, including:

• Thirty-one per cent greater risk of developing new-onset obesity (defined as a body mass index or BMI of 30 kilograms per meter squared or higher).

• Thirty percent higher risk of developing an increased waist circumference.

• Twenty-five percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high fasting blood glucose.

• Thirty-two percent increased risk of having low HDL ("good" cholesterol).

• A trend towards an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, but this was not statistically significant.

Speculating on their findings, perhaps the fructose corn syrup in regular soft drinks causes weight gain, or leads to insulin resistance and diabetes, but if that were the case you would expect to see the link with regular drinks and not with diet drinks. "Our findings suggest this is not the case,"

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that drinking more liquids during a meal tends to make you eat more solids at the next meal. Whereas if you had drunk less and eaten more at the first meal, at the next meal you tend to eat less solids. Drinking more liquids does not compensate to the same extent as eating solids; you feel full at the time, but you are hungrier next time.

Another possibility could be that being used to drinking sweet drinks makes a person more likely to eat sweet things.

And another theory is that the caramel in soft drinks could stimulate the development of complex sugars that result in insulin resistance and cause inflammation, as shown by some experimental studies.

The researchers said it was important to realize that these are just theories, and their study had only found a link between soft drinks and metabolic syndrome, it had not established that one causes the other. They suggested further studies be done to repeat the results and to find out what the underlying mechanisms could be, before recommendations are made about whether people should change their consumption of soft drinks.


Reference: Medical News Today

My faith with God doesn’t have the stopping point.

In the name of God, the merciful and kind
My faith with God doesn’t have the stopping point.
I don’t remember where I’ve seen this poem, but I’d like to put it as first post in this blog.

When you feel unlovable, unworthy and unclean,
When you think that no one can heal you,
Remember my dear Friend,
God Can.

When you think that you are unforgivable
for your guilt and your shame,
Remember my dear Friend,
God Can.

When you think that all is hidden
and no one can see within,
Remember my dear Friend,
God Can.

And when you have reached the bottom
And you think that no one can hear,
Remember my dear Friend,
God Can.