Case study: Could Facebook trigger asthma?

Can virtual friends give you asthma? The question is put in an unusual case study reported on Friday by the medical journal The Lancet.

Italian doctors describe how a 18-year-old man with a history of asthma suddenly experienced bouts of breathlessness during the summer months, when he was normally free from these symptoms.
The teen`s worried mother learned that he was depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend, who had deleted him from her list of "friends" on Facebook while "friending" lots of new young men.
Using a new nickname on Facebook, the young man succeeding in becoming her "friend" once more and in finally gaining access to her picture on her Facebook profile.
Intrigued, the doctors asked the patient to wear an airflow mask, measuring respiratory flow, whenever he accessed Facebook.
Sure enough, his breathing volume dramatically plunged as soon as he logged in, sometimes by more than 20 percent. After getting help from a psychiatrist, the patient determined not to login to Facebook any more -- and the asthma attacks stopped.
The patient had no other physical problems or anything else untoward in his medical history, say the investigators.
They conclude it was the stress of Facebook login that triggered the asthma: the patient literally choked at the prospect of seeing and communicating with his ex.
The case is reported in a letter by five doctors, led by Gennaro D`Amato of the High Speciality Hospital in Naples.
The authors say the case could be a useful tip for doctors who want to explore mystery cases of wheezing and breathlessness among young patients, for whom social networking is fast taking the place of real-life relationships, with all their ups and downs.
"Facebook, and social networks in general, could be a new source of psychological stress, representing a triggering factor for exacerbations in depressed asthmatic individuals," says the letter.
"Considering the high prevalence of asthma, especially among young people, we suggest that this type of trigger be considered in the assessment of asthma exacerbations."
-Internet

Send SMS to complain to police

After e-ticket and health service through cellular network, citizens are now offered filing complaints with police by texting on mobile phone and general diaries online.

Under a joint initiative by the government's Access to Information (A2I) programme, mobile phone operators and police department, the arrangement comes into effect by the end of this month.
A2I started working on this project in mid-2009. It was delayed due to various technical glitches, officials concerned said.
KAM Morshed, assistant country director of UNDP in Bangladesh, said, "UNDP is working with the home ministry on various concerns. This A2I initiative is one of them."
"The move is aimed at ensuring that the ordinary people get easy access to law enforcement agencies in emergency," he said.
Once the scheme opens, people will be able to file complaints with the police control room or complain desk by sending SMS to 7373. Foreigners staying in Bangladesh can also send their particulars to the same number.
All the police stations in the country will send data related to First Information Report (FIR) to the central short message service (SMS) server of the police headquarters.
Police officials will send all their necessary information to the central server by sending SMS to 7374.
The information in this server could be accessed by texting 'FIR' to 7373 from any operator.
Anyone will be able to submit a general diary (GD) or collect a police clearance certificate online.
The online GD system is already being implemented experimentally, the officials said. A police clearance certificate website is also under construction.
People will also have the access to latest information on their passports through the service.
It would also be possible for law enforcers to report or track any lost or stolen vehicles by texting on mobile phone.
-The Daily Star

Siddikur going great guns

Siddikur Rahman's fine form at the UBS Hong Kong Open followed into third round when he leaped from 36th place to joint 19th (placed 26th) with a score of third round of 6 under par.

His aggregate score is now 8-under par 202 after three rounds with a third round 6-under par.
It remains to be seen whether Siddikur can finish this event on a high after commendably completing Barclays Singapore Open last week.
Meanwhile, Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter continued to dominate as he took a two-shot lead over Graeme McDowell in the 2.5-million-dollar event on Saturday, shooting a six-under-par 64 in the third round.
US Open champion McDowell sits on his own in second place on 17-under after his round of 63, while England's Simon Dyson is in third, one shot further back.
-Daily Star

Mixed day for Bangladesh

Bangladesh had a mixed day at the Asian Games in Guangzhou yesterday with some heartening results chipping in amid disappointing ones.

The most commendable performance of the day came in chess where the men's team completed a clean 4-0 sweep of South Korea while the women's lost 1.5-2.5 to leaders China.
In the men's board, GM Ziaur Rahman, FM Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagor, FM Abu Sufian Shakil and FM Mehedi Hasan Parag won over their respective opponents. The men's team is in the eighth position with four points from four rounds while China lead the table with 8 points.
In the women's section, WFM Sharmin Sultana beat China's WGM Zhao Xue while Shamima Akhter drew with another WGM Ju Wenjun. However, Nazrana Khan and Masuda Begum lost their respective boards. The women's team now have four points from four rounds and are in the sixth position as China lead the table with 7 points.
Bangladesh women's archery team gave North Korea a run for their money but ultimately conceded a 205-195 defeat in the pre-quarterfinals at the Aoti Archery Range. The final scores however do not fully reflect the performance as two out of the four rounds were won by the Bangladeshi trio of Mathui Prue, Beauty Roy and Najmin Khatun. However, the aggregate scores from Bangladesh over the four rounds weren't good enough to challenge their more established opponents.
There was good news from track and field too, where the country's fastest man Azharul Islam made it to the semifinals of the Games' showcase event 100m sprint. Azharul timed 11.19 seconds in heat No. 6 to finish fourth from the six-man heat. The semifinals of the event will be held today. However, Azhar's female compatriot Nazmun Nahar Beauty could not follow his footsteps as she finished 22nd among 26 participants to bow out from the heats. She finished her race with a timing of 12.72 seconds.
Erratic performance in the hockey field continued when Bangladesh lost their last group match against Pakistan by 6-1 goals.
Taposh Barmon scored a consolation goal seven minutes from time after conceding six goals against the former world champions.
Veterans Shakeel Abbasi and Sohail Abbas scored two goals apiece to give Pakistan a 4-0 first-half lead before Muhammad Imran converted two penalty corners in the second.
-Daily Star

Chanchal busy again after Eid

Actor Chanchal Chowdhury, of Monpura fame was very busy in shooting for Eid special TV plays for various television channels during the Eid holidays, had no time for the drama serials. After Eid schedule, He plans to pay most of his time on these serials.

‘The hectic schedule for Eid Special TV plays did not allow me to give schedule to the ongoing TV serials,’ said Chanchal.
One of the most busiest actors on the small screen, Chanchal has won hearts of many viewers of the country by playing roles of various TV plays within a short period of time.
He has also proved his talent in film-acting after the huge hit of his debut film, Monpura.
Chanchal is fond of playing roles, which are a bit rustic, as he finds it easy to relate to characters resembling his own roots. His favourite roles include the characters of Fiza Master in Bhober Haat, Japan Daktar in Sakin Shari Shuri and Shonai in Monpura.
The characters he plays in a number of TV plays bear some similarities of his own restlessness during his boyhood in Kamarhaat village in Pabna.