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Do mobiles ring in ill-health?

Nowadays, cellular phones have become an indispensable commodity. Several years back, cell phones were used mostly by men. But, today, women are using them on a grand scale. Due to the busy and tight lifestyles of todays women, it has become a big necessity to use a mobile phone. Moreover due to risk prevailing in the society, women usually own a cell phone.

Cell phones can be treated as two-way radios. That is because they get use of antennas which serve transmitters and receivers as the way radio communication does. A cell phone changes the voice into radio waves. Lots of everyday items such as radios, televisions, pagers and cordless phones use radio waves. Another term for radio waves is Radio Frequency energy (RF), a form of electromagnetic energy.

Large amounts of RF are said to be harmful to humans. Cell phones have made keeping in touch much easier, but how do they affect our health?


Is it a warning call ? Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

The amount of RF a person is exposed to with the use of a cell phone depends on a number of factors such as the distance from the base station, the duration and the frequency of use and the age of the phone.

The radiation from cell phones is so full of energy that they can be used to cook eggs. In an experiment, some researchers have placed one egg in a porcelain cup (as it conducts heat easily) and put one cell phone on one side and another cell phone on the other. Then a call was made from one cell phone to another and the cell phones were kept on after connecting. Results are given in the table and they show how scary cell phone radiation is.

An Italian research group has found that the electromagnetic fields produced with use of cell phones are not as innocuous as they seem but they may not be very harmful. Anyway, it has revealed that cell phones do change the brain's activity. According to them, activity in the cortical region (the outer layer of tissues) of the brain increases.

Not only that, it remains in the excited state for a certain time after the phone is turned off. Scientists also found that changes in cells that line blood vessels could weaken the functioning of the brain's protective shield against harmful substances. These changes damage the blood-brain barrier that stops harmful substances in the blood from entering the brain.

Due to this problem, brain cells may be attacked severely. It has been discovered that prolonged exposure to radiation emitted by mobile phones, can destroy brain cells responsible for memory, movement and learning. Studies show that anyone exposed to cell phone may experience "radical changes" in mood and behaviour. With every call you have on a cell phone dials your cells directly.

A Swedish study reveals that spending many hours with a cell phone (at least an hour per day) increases the risk of developing a brain tumour. Some researchers have found that even the location of the tumour, for extensive cell phone users tends to be on the side of the head where the phone is used. It has been also disclosed that people who had a malignant tumour were frequent cell phone users who used the phone more than a hour per day.

A group of German scientists found that exposure to electromagnetic fields during mobile phone use may increase resting blood pressure. Colorado University researchers have shown that frequent mobile users had significantly depressed melatonin-a vital cancer-preventing hormone.

Kids should be forbidden from using cell phones because their brains are still in the growing stage and are particularly vulnerable to radiation. It turns out that the blood-brain barrier can get destroyed in kids in the similar manner as adults.

A two-minutes cell phone exposure also disrupt the natural electrical activity of a child's brain. Even after very short-term use, kids may experience long-term brain damage. One report explained that the brain wave patterns of kids become abnormal and remain like that for a long period.

This could affect their mood and ability to concentrate as the memory result in problems to learn in the classroom. It has been found that there is a link between aggressive behaviour in children and their cell phone use. These effects may be even more pronounced in more susceptible adolescent children.

Some of the other health hazards are memory loss, sleep disorders, headaches and fatigue.

Even though all these effects are still being investigated, it is advisable to follow precautions as much as possible.

* Try to use a hands free kit

* Reduce the distance between the cell phone and the body when using

* Prevent kids from using cell phones

* Search for cell phones with higher safety levels

(The writer is a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Electronics, Wayamba University, Kuliyapitiya.)

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Think fashion in Indian style:

Surviving the Indian fashion storm

With the waves of time, Sri Lanka experiences numerous ripples in the fashion sea. But most of those have come ashore from its neighbour, India over centuries and will continue in the future too. The article is just a glance at the evolution of Indian fashion, changes and its many trendy, modern up beats.

In the Indian culture, body is invested with various meanings. This is reflected in its rich sculptural tradition where the language of poses as well as hand and leg positions developed to convey specific messages. Decorating the body was yet another popular method. Throughout history costumes and accessories worn to depict simplicity or opulence.

Apart from sculptures, a very few examples of costumes, textiles and jewellery have survived. In the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3000-1500 BC), clothing tended to be simple. Men wore loincloths while women were bare to the waist. Status was judged by the kind of jewellery worn: high-ranking women sometimes covered their bosoms with jewels. More complicated upper and lower garments were introduced to the Indian culture later.

The total range of costumes in India expanded considerably between the eighth and 12th centuries. With the arrival of the Mughals in the sixteenth century, new garments such as qaba, jama, piraban, lilucba, libas, and kasaba began to be in use. This is the origin of the today's Indian costume.

Indian costumes like the silk sari, brightly mirrored cholis, colourful lehangas and the traditional salwar-kameez have fascinated many a traveller over the centuries. Although sari is not the only one traditional garments of women, it has become the traditional dress of the Indian women.

The tightly fitted, short blouse worn under a sari is a choli. It evolved as a form of clothing in the 10th century AD. Apart from the choli, women in Rajasthan wear a form of pleated skirt known as ghagra or lehanga, which is also tremendously popular in Sri Lanka too.

Indian dress styles are marked by many variations. A plethora of colours, textures, and styles in garments are worn by Indians. Fashion is considered a young concept in India. The first Indian fashion show was held only in 1958. Jeannie Naoroji wins credit for initiating the first wave of fashion shows in India and for giving a degree of professionalism to such shows.

In the past one decade the fashion industry of India has moved from embryonic stage to a blossoming take-off. India can now boast of dozens of internationally recognised fashion designers like Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Ritu Kumar, Abraham and Thakore, Deepika Govind, and Pavan Aswani.

Fashion and dress-designing goes tandem with professional ramp modelling. In India ramp modelling has come of age with a rapidly growing genre of professional ramp models, both male and female, making a mark in local as well as international arenas.

Madhu Sapre, Helen Brodie, Bipasha Basu, Nayanika Chatterjee, Nina Manuel, Anupama Verma, Liza Ray, Malaika Arora and Namrata Barua are some of India's leading female models while Milind Soman, Andrew Piers, Arjun Rampal, Marc Robinson, Atul Wokulu, and Rahul Dev lead the male list.

As the Indian trends take over the world markets, we find that several designers concentrate in launching ranges that are easy on the pockets of ordinary people. Today the fashion designers of India have created a lasting impression around the globe and have won clients in the Middle East, UK, and USA.

In the Sri Lankan context today, Indian garments and accessories hold prominence, especially in occasions. Note how many women, young or old, wear the Indian style salwars and cholis to weddings, functions, and even as casual wear. More and more men too seem to be following these footsteps as the demand for Kurtas as popular trendy wear has increased.

There is nothing wrong with following the latest fashions of the era as long as it is suitable to your age, the occasion or the built. But think for a minute. Shouldn't we give a thought to what we claim as our own? Shouldn't we promote our own national garments by at least dressing in it on special occasions? Have you seen many Indians wearing Western or other forms of Eastern attires on important occasions? Spare a thought for this matter and decide for yourself. The choice is yours.

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Gamin Gamata - Presidential Community & Welfare Service
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