Afronaut auteurs
The experimental edge of sinister pop is alive with new music right now. Tricky, the Bristol, England-born dark Magus responsible for some of the to the highest degree original sounds of the late '90s, makes a smashing comeback with the album "Knowle West Boy," out domestically Tuesday on the Domino label; he plays his first local date in five long time Friday at the Henry Fonda Theater. Big Boi, the earthier half of Atlanta rap duo OutKast, releases his first official solo debut, "Sir Luscious Left Foot . . . the Return of Chico Dusty," Oct. 28 on LaFace/Zomba Records. Also, deuce titans of plastic fantastic soul make long-overdue returns this fall: LaBelle, the trio of Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx, has enlisted producers Lenny Kravitz, Wyclef Jean and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for "Back to Now," its number 1 album since 1976, proscribed Oct. 21 on Verve. And the cyber-mother of us all -- Grace Jones -- reenters pop's orbit afterwards two decades with "Hurricane," out Oct. 27 on the Wall of Sound label.
FOR THE RECORD:
The guide to fall pop music in Sunday's Calendar section aforesaid that Dido's new album would be released Nov. 3 and that the lead single would be "Look No Further." In fact, the album testament come out Nov. 4; the first base single is titled "Don't Believe in Love."
Stars in our neighborhood
L.A. scarcely lacks for great john Rock bands or singer-songwriters; this preview could be devoted solely to their efforts. But deuce stand extinct this month. Jenny Lewis, whose songwriting just gets sharper and more adventurous with every album, releases "Acid Tongue," her second disc beyond the confines of her band, Rilo Kiley, Sept. 23 on Warner Bros. The same day, the flamboyantly gifted Long Beach combo Cold War Kids makes its sophomore bounce with "Loyalty to Loyalty," on Downtown Records. The band of late threw down at the Democratic Convention, and its latest single, "Something's Not Right With Me," is inspired insanity.
Four-night stands
Coheed and Cambria, the torch-bearer for sci-fi influenced progressive rock, presents "Neverender," the song cycle it's stretched out over little Joe albums, in its entirety at the Avalon Nov. 5-8. It's unclear whether visuals volition enhance the band's interpretation of leader Claudio Sanchez's space opera -- a series of graphic novels complements the recordings -- but the vibe will surely be heavy. A different kind of intensity characterizes the folk-pop of Tegan and Sara, the Canadian sister act with a rabid, mostly female following. Their fans stool shout forbidden requests and throw flowers during the pair's residency Oct. 16-19 at the Fonda.
AARP Adonises
In pop, it's never besides late to get ladies screaming. Just ask Neil Diamond -- on the heels of his bestselling, Rick-Rubin-produced CD "Home Before Dark," the man slow "I Am . . . I Said" is performing a high profile three-night L.A. stand. Two nights at the Hollywood Bowl weren't enough, so he's following those Oct. 1-2 dates with one Oct. 4 at Staples Center. Diamond isn't the only graying lion on the prowl. Tom Jones is finalizing tracks for his number one collection of all-new material in 15 years. The Welsh wailer is getting help from Bono and the Edge, as well as the English production team Future Cut, which has worked with Lily Allen, Natasha Bedingfield, Dizzee Rascal and other fashionable Brits. The as-yet-untitled effort should hit retail Oct. 21, and Jones will be on circuit, charming old fans and new pussycats, after that.
Hollywood forever
Many a legend has graced the stage of the Hollywood Palladium: Frank Sinatra, Led Zeppelin, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The glamorous spot was shuttered for renovation last class, but reopens in October under the auspices of concert promotion company Live Nation. Rap kingpin Jay-Z hosts the grand reopening, performing with a 12-piece band. Other artists appearing at the venue this fall include Gym Class Heroes and the Roots on Oct. 17; grass-roots bikers Rise Against for trey nights, Oct. 31-Nov. 2; metal band Dragonforce on Nov. 7; rock en Espa�ol queen Alejandra Guzman on Nov. 21 and indie-rock freakazoids Of Montreal on Nov. 22.
Enchanting anniversaries
Royce Hall, a gem on UCLA's campus, is an honored local landmark; it's always fun when its live performance schedule includes retrospective fetes for other treasured institutions. Perhaps the concert season's most warmhearted tribute volition fill the hall Oct. 2, when luminaries gather to reminisce about the Santa Monica musician's enclave McCabe's Guitar Shop. Performers paying homage to this unique gathering place and live venue include Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, Odetta, David Lindley, Jennifer Warnes, the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Bonnie " Prince" Billy, Ricky Jay and several unannounced guests. A construct, rather than a physical space, is honored Oct. 30 when Hal Willner resurrects his 20-year-old project "Stay Awake." One of many recorded tributes arranged by New York-based producer Willner, this one is especially suited for restaging in Los Angeles, since it focuses on the music of Walt Disney's classic films. The lineup for the Royce Hall show hasn't yet been announced, only original participants are promised. So go ahead and get your hopes up for stars like Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega, Bill Frisell and Los Lobos.
Pickup truck poetics
Lucinda Williams is the denim-clad doyenne of regionalist singer-songwriters, her eye for item and cool conversational voice producing songs that produce you feel the Southern dirt under your feet. Williams releases her love-drunk new saucer, "Little Honey," Oct. 14 on Lost Highway Records. Her younger competition from the Northeast, Ray LaMontagne, releases "Gossip in the Grain" on RCA Records on Oct. 14. The third album from the Maine-based troubadour heads toward a full-band sound and some unexpected turns, including the retro-soul single "You Are the Best Thing" and a rather obsessive ode to drum vixen Meg White. The week before, West Coast wanderer Jolie Holland releases "The Living and the Dead" (Anti- Records), which besides boasts a bigger sound than her previous work.
'American' made
"Idol" worship is a year-round activeness, what with former winners, contenders and also-rans producing a firm stream of product. This fall, though, three "Idol" discs have a chance of being more than chart bottom-feeders. The 2 Davids -- Archuleta and Cook -- extend their loving competition by cathartic their debuts on the same day, Nov. 11. Archie's is sure to overflow with breathy paeans to edward Young love like his stream hit, "Crush." Cook, who's working with renowned rock-dude producer Rob Cavallo toward that Green Day-meets-Our Lady Peace sound, can weigh on mall shoppers popping in to Best Buy. But both could be clobbered by the comeback of Kelly Clarkson, whose last freeing was the kind of iver, with as many tributaries. Two concerts presented by the L.A. Philharmonic high spot different slipway sound can buoy transport. "A Celebration of Rumi: The Sights & Sounds of Mystic Persia," on Sept. 27, will feature whirling dervishes, lute-playing bard Nour-Mohammad Dorpour, a live calligraphist and the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, among others. It's the first-class honours degree Persian-oriented programme to come to the Hollywood Bowl. If you prefer religious ecstasy of the torchy blues multifariousness, the androgynous, unclassifiable singer Antony makes a especial appearance with his band, the Johnsons, and a 20-piece orchestra conducted by James Holmes, Oct. 14. The show celebrates the October release of Antony's in style EP, "Another World."
The British invade -- again
Our rock star pals from across the pond bear their erodium cicutarium set back about a decade; '90s zeitgeist rulers the Verve, Spiritualized and Portishead all returned this year. Now the biggest rowdy boys of all, the brothers Gallagher, offer up the seventh Oasis studio album, "Dig Out Your Soul," Oct. 7 on Big Brother/Reprise. The two songs leaked: the grittily meditative "Falling Down" and the dance floor rocker "Shock of the Lightning." Both shove listeners back into the band's Britpop time machine, indicating that Liam and Noel are once again prepared to start throwing boasts and punches. Dido is a much quieter -- but perhaps more likely -- contender for a massive return. This skilled chronicler of life's private moments releases her third album, "Safe Trip Home," Nov. 3 on Sony/BMG. The lead single, "Look No Further," is an unadorned and potently direct assertion of domestic contentment. Jon Brion co-produced "Safe Trip Home" with Dido and her comrade, Rollo Armstrong. One strain is a co-write with Brian Eno, while a bevy of great drummers, including ?uestlove, Jim Keltner and Matt Chamberlain, took out their brushes to help Dido achieve utmost chill.
Fall festivals
L.A. hosts two notable fests this season: the Detour Festival, an alternative-music smorgasbord sponsored by the L.A. Weekly, which has Gogol Bordello and the Mars Volta headlining Oct. 4 on some closed-off streets downtown, and the dance music extravaganza Nocturnal, which takes over San Bernardino's NOS Events Center on Sept. 13 with six staging areas, more than one C DJs and plenty of promised "beautiful people."
Latin without borders
Two returning groundbreakers show the reach of contemporary Latin sounds this season. Lila Downs, the majestically voiced, border-crossing Oaxacan American singer, is touring in support of what could be her pop find: the strongly cosmopolitan album "Shake Away," just released on Manhattan Records. She plays the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 21, as part of KCRW's World Festival, which also features Nortec Collective, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Ozomatli. Puerto Rican hip-hop experimentalists Calle 13 likewise have a new record album ready; "Los de Atras Vienen Conmigo (The Ones Left Behind Are Coming With Me)" arrives Oct. 7 on Sony BMG. The comment is that the daring duo incorporate Argentine and Balkan influences into their Nuyorican stew this time. The duet, in the midst of a myopic U.S. circuit, comes to L.A. Live's Club Nokia on Nov. 15.
Diva-tude
It's a war among goddesses on L.A.'s biggest concert stages this fall. Janet Jackson is still trying to move beyond the outrage of her Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction"; expect mint of voluntarily exposed skin when she plays Staples Center on Sept. 17. Tina Turner is prepping new songs for her un-retirement party, which comes to Staples on Oct. 13 and the Honda Center in Anaheim on Oct. 14. Celine Dion brings her world spell to the Honda Center on Nov. 29 and to Staples on Dec. 2. And Sarah Brightman spreads her light-operatic love around with three year-end shows: Dec. 18 at the Nokia Theater, Dec. 19 at the Honda Center and Dec. 20 at the Forum. All that gold-plated feminine ability is still no meet for the hardest-working queen in read biz, Madonna, who dares to fulfill Dodger Stadium with her "Sticky and Sweet" term of enlistment Nov. 6.
Lost and found
Bob Dylan is eight volumes into his ongoing "Bootleg Series," featuring great clobber he couldn't fit into his official releases -- does this guy ever take a break from being a genius? The latest set, "Tell Tale Signs," offers overlooked gems from a particularly fruitful time: his artistic revival of the past 2 decades. Live recordings, outtakes and rarities fill in the blanks on the epoch that gave us great late-period works such as "Time Out of Mind" and "Modern Times." The de luxe two-CD typeset comes out Oct. 7. Dylan's former pal and sometime quisling Johnny Cash is prestigious with a groundbreaking box set this fall likewise. "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: the Legacy Edition" delves rich into the circumstances circumferent two of the near famous concerts in pop history -- the land master's visits to the California lockup. Both concerts are represented in their entirety, including 31 previously unreleased tracks. A companion DVD takes viewers inner the prison house and includes interviews with Cash's friends and family, as well as inmates who attended the shows. The boxful is out Oct. 14 on Columbia/Legacy.
More info
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Overlooked Driving Dangers Take Toll On The Roads
�With more than 30
million Americans expected to hit the roads this Labor Day weekend, there's
much more for drivers to worry about than high gas prices and congested
highways, warns The Vision Council and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
The organizations are joining forces to educate the nation about two
under-recognized driving hazards, poor vision and drowsy driving, that are
just as deadly as poor road weather condition and drunk driving, specially at
night.
According to a recent survey, Shedding Light on Driving in the Dark,
respondents complained of asthenopia (38 per centum), dry or tired eyes (34
per centum), fatigue (25 percent) and an unfitness to focus (18 pct) while
driving at night. In addition, both the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council adduce the human death
rate at nighttime (6:00 P.M. - 6:00 A.M.) to be three multiplication higher than the
day rate.
More than 11 million Americans have undisciplined vision problems, which
lav significantly diminish their ability to ride safely. And, since 85
percent of the information needed for safe driving is visual, regular optic
exams are an authoritative part of driver safety.
"We trust on our eyes every time we step into a gondola, especially our
peripheral visual modality, depth perception and focalization skills," aforesaid Ed Greene,
CEO of the Vision Council. "This link between vision and driving makes it
essential for motorists to read steps to maintain healthy vision, but as
they take other safety precautions on the road."
In addition, the 2008 Sleep in America Poll establish that 64 percent of
drivers world Health Organization work at least 30 hours per week account they own driven a
vehicle spell feeling drowsy in the past year, and more than tierce, 36
per centum, have actually fallen benumbed at the wheel. Sleep-related crashes
are most common in young people, specially men, shift workers, commercial
drivers, and people with untreated sopor disorders. NHTSA conservatively
estimates that century,000 police-reported crashes ar the steer result of
driver tiredness each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000
injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losings each year.
"Most people are cognisant of the dangers of drinking and driving, but are
unaware that driving drowsy bathroom be just as fatal," said Darrel Drobnich,
chief program officer at NSF. "In fact, traffic safety and slumber experts
believe that yawning driving is much more common than even federal
statistics indicate."
Recent research finds that even a single night of quietus deprivation canful
negatively regard a driver's ability to coordinate eye movement with
steering a car. And, like intoxicant, sleepiness affects your vision, slows
reaction time, decreases awareness and increases your risk of crashing.
To improve driver safety during this holiday weekend, the National
Sleep Foundation and The Vision Council offer the following tips for
enhancing vision and preventing drowsy driving:
-- Get regular comprehensive eye exams from an eye doctor. Many serious
and progressive eye diseases do not have noticeable symptoms. An eye dr.
can too ensure that your prescription is stream.
-- Always wear your prescription eyewear and make sure that your
eyeglasses are clean. Cleaning lenses regularly helps to move out dirt and
fingerprints that can interfere with vision, especially at night.
-- Wear anti-reflective (AR) lenses to eliminate lens blaze. AR lenses
act to improve imagination by increasing the amount of light that reaches the
eye and by reducing harmful glare due to reflections off the back surfaces
of lenses.
-- Get adequate sleep. Most adults need seventy-nine hours to maintain proper
alertness during the day. Make sleep a antecedency before getting behind the
wheel.
-- Schedule proper breaks and arrange for a travel companion. Stop or
switch drivers approximately every hundred miles or two hours during foresighted
trips.
-- Watch for the warning signs of fatigue. Impaired reaction time and
legal opinion; decreased performance, vigilance and motivation; trouble
focusing, keeping your eyes open or your head up; revery and peregrine
thoughts; yawning or rubbing your eyes repeatedly; drifting from your lane;
tailgating and absent signs or exits; and feeling restless, irritable or
aggressive. If you observe yourself rolling down the window, turning up the
radio or experiencing one of these signs of fatigue, pull over at safe
topographic point immediately for a short nap or find a place to stay for the night.
For more information about vision and safe drive, or to find an eye
doctor in your area, call in http://www.thevisioncouncil.org. To instruct more about
drowsy drive and Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, held in November, visit
http://www.drowsydriving.org.
About The Vision Council:
Dedicated to enhancing life through better vision, The Vision Council
represents the manufacturers and suppliers of the optical manufacture. We
provide a forum to exponent for better vision and to promote quality vision
care products and services in the global community.
About the National Sleep Foundation:
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent nonprofit
organisation dedicated to improving populace health and safety by achieving
greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. NSF furthers its
military mission through sleep-related education, research and advocacy initiatives.
To learn more than about yawning driving and sleep disorders visit:
hypertext transfer protocol://www.drowsydriving.org or http://www.sleepfoundation.org.
National Sleep Foundation
http://www.sleepfoundation.org
More info
million Americans expected to hit the roads this Labor Day weekend, there's
much more for drivers to worry about than high gas prices and congested
highways, warns The Vision Council and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
The organizations are joining forces to educate the nation about two
under-recognized driving hazards, poor vision and drowsy driving, that are
just as deadly as poor road weather condition and drunk driving, specially at
night.
According to a recent survey, Shedding Light on Driving in the Dark,
respondents complained of asthenopia (38 per centum), dry or tired eyes (34
per centum), fatigue (25 percent) and an unfitness to focus (18 pct) while
driving at night. In addition, both the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council adduce the human death
rate at nighttime (6:00 P.M. - 6:00 A.M.) to be three multiplication higher than the
day rate.
More than 11 million Americans have undisciplined vision problems, which
lav significantly diminish their ability to ride safely. And, since 85
percent of the information needed for safe driving is visual, regular optic
exams are an authoritative part of driver safety.
"We trust on our eyes every time we step into a gondola, especially our
peripheral visual modality, depth perception and focalization skills," aforesaid Ed Greene,
CEO of the Vision Council. "This link between vision and driving makes it
essential for motorists to read steps to maintain healthy vision, but as
they take other safety precautions on the road."
In addition, the 2008 Sleep in America Poll establish that 64 percent of
drivers world Health Organization work at least 30 hours per week account they own driven a
vehicle spell feeling drowsy in the past year, and more than tierce, 36
per centum, have actually fallen benumbed at the wheel. Sleep-related crashes
are most common in young people, specially men, shift workers, commercial
drivers, and people with untreated sopor disorders. NHTSA conservatively
estimates that century,000 police-reported crashes ar the steer result of
driver tiredness each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000
injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losings each year.
"Most people are cognisant of the dangers of drinking and driving, but are
unaware that driving drowsy bathroom be just as fatal," said Darrel Drobnich,
chief program officer at NSF. "In fact, traffic safety and slumber experts
believe that yawning driving is much more common than even federal
statistics indicate."
Recent research finds that even a single night of quietus deprivation canful
negatively regard a driver's ability to coordinate eye movement with
steering a car. And, like intoxicant, sleepiness affects your vision, slows
reaction time, decreases awareness and increases your risk of crashing.
To improve driver safety during this holiday weekend, the National
Sleep Foundation and The Vision Council offer the following tips for
enhancing vision and preventing drowsy driving:
-- Get regular comprehensive eye exams from an eye doctor. Many serious
and progressive eye diseases do not have noticeable symptoms. An eye dr.
can too ensure that your prescription is stream.
-- Always wear your prescription eyewear and make sure that your
eyeglasses are clean. Cleaning lenses regularly helps to move out dirt and
fingerprints that can interfere with vision, especially at night.
-- Wear anti-reflective (AR) lenses to eliminate lens blaze. AR lenses
act to improve imagination by increasing the amount of light that reaches the
eye and by reducing harmful glare due to reflections off the back surfaces
of lenses.
-- Get adequate sleep. Most adults need seventy-nine hours to maintain proper
alertness during the day. Make sleep a antecedency before getting behind the
wheel.
-- Schedule proper breaks and arrange for a travel companion. Stop or
switch drivers approximately every hundred miles or two hours during foresighted
trips.
-- Watch for the warning signs of fatigue. Impaired reaction time and
legal opinion; decreased performance, vigilance and motivation; trouble
focusing, keeping your eyes open or your head up; revery and peregrine
thoughts; yawning or rubbing your eyes repeatedly; drifting from your lane;
tailgating and absent signs or exits; and feeling restless, irritable or
aggressive. If you observe yourself rolling down the window, turning up the
radio or experiencing one of these signs of fatigue, pull over at safe
topographic point immediately for a short nap or find a place to stay for the night.
For more information about vision and safe drive, or to find an eye
doctor in your area, call in http://www.thevisioncouncil.org. To instruct more about
drowsy drive and Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, held in November, visit
http://www.drowsydriving.org.
About The Vision Council:
Dedicated to enhancing life through better vision, The Vision Council
represents the manufacturers and suppliers of the optical manufacture. We
provide a forum to exponent for better vision and to promote quality vision
care products and services in the global community.
About the National Sleep Foundation:
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent nonprofit
organisation dedicated to improving populace health and safety by achieving
greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. NSF furthers its
military mission through sleep-related education, research and advocacy initiatives.
To learn more than about yawning driving and sleep disorders visit:
hypertext transfer protocol://www.drowsydriving.org or http://www.sleepfoundation.org.
National Sleep Foundation
http://www.sleepfoundation.org
More info
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Low Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat To Health
�Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reportage what is believed to be the most conclusive evidence to date that inadequate levels of vitamin D, obtained from milk, fortified cereals and exposure to sun, lead to substantially increased risk of death.
In a study coiffure to come out in the Archives of Internal Medicine online Aug. 11, the Johns Hopkins team analyzed a diverse sample of 13,000 initially salubrious men and women participating in an ongoing national health review and compared the peril of death between those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D to those with higher amounts. An unhealthy lack, experts say, is considered blood levels of 17.8 nanograms per cubic centimetre or lower.
Of the 1,800 study participants known to make died by Dec. 31, 2000, most 700 died from some form of heart disease, with four hundred of these being deficient in vitamin D. This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels.
Yet, researchers say it does highlight a trend, with other studies linking shortages of vitamin D to increased rates of bosom cancer and depression in the aged. And earlier published findings by the team, from the same national study, have naturalized a possible tie-in, display an 80 percent increased risk of peripheral artery disease from vitamin D deficits.
Researchers government note that other studies in the net year or so in animals and humans have identified a connection between low levels of vitamin D and heart disease. But these studies, they say, were weakened by small sample numbers, lack of diversity in the population studied and other factors that limited scientists' ability to generalize the findings to the public at large.
"Our results make it often more clear that all men and women concerned about their overall health should more than closely monitor their rake levels of vitamin D, and work sure they have sufficiency," says subject field co-lead investigator Erin Michos, M.D., M.H.S.
"We think we have extra evidence to consider adding vitamin D deficiency as a distinct and severalise risk factor for death from cardiovascular disease, putting it alongside much better known and understood risk factors, such as age, gender, family history, smoke, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, lack of usage, obesity and diabetes," says Michos.
Vitamin D is well known to play an essential character in cell growth, in boosting the body's immune system and in strengthening bones.
"Now that we know vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor, we can better assess how aggressively to treat people at risk of heart disease or those world Health Organization are already ill and undergoing discussion," says Michos, who adds that test screening for nutrient levels is comparatively simple. It can, she says, be made section of bit blood work and through while monitoring other known risk factors, including blood pressure, glucose and lipoid levels.
Heart disease remains the nation's stellar cause of death, kill more than a gazillion Americans each year. Nearly 10 pct of those with the condition have not one identifiable, traditional risk element, which the experts say is why a considerable extent of the disease goes unexplained.
Michos, an helper professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute, recommends that people boost their vitamin D levels by eating diets rich in such fish as sardines and mackerel, consuming fortified dairy products, taking cod-liver oil and vitamin supplements, and in warmer brave out briefly exposing skin to the sun's vitamin-D producing ultraviolet light.
Aware of the cancer risks linked to too much time worn out in the sun, she says as little as 10 to 15 proceedings of day-by-day exposure to the sun can produce sufficient amounts of vitamin D to sustain health. The hormone-like nutrient controls blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, essential chemicals in the body.
If vitamin supplements are used, Michos says thither is no evidence that more than 2,000 international units per clarence Shepard Day Jr. do any good. Study results establish that heart disease death rates planate out in participants with the highest vitamin D levels (higher up 50 nanograms per ml of blood), signaling a possible loss of the vitamin's protective effects at too-high doses.
The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that an decent daily uptake of vitamin D is between two hundred and four hundred international units (or blood levels nearing 30 nanograms per cubic centimeter). Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 per centum of women are technically deficient in the food, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter.
Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., study co-lead investigator wHO started the research as a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins, says no one knows yet why or how vitamin D's hormone-like properties may protect the heart, but she adds that there are plenty of leads in the better known golf links the vitamin has to problems with muscle giantism and high blood insistency, in addition to its control of inflammation, which scientists are showing plays a stronger role in all kinds of heart disease. But more research is required to decide the nutrient's precise biologic action.
Researchers state their side by side steps ar to test various high doses of vitamin D to discover out if the nutritional supplementation results in fewer deaths and lower incidence of pump disease, including heart plan of attack or moments of prolonged and severe chest pain.
The team too plans to investigate what biological triggers, such as obesity or hypertension, mightiness offset or worsen the action of vitamin D on ticker muscle, or whether vitamin D sets off some other reaction in the heart.
Melamed says that because vitamin D levels are known to fluctuate in direct proportion with day-to-day physical activity, the growing epidemic of obesity and indoor sedentary lifestyles lend more urgency to act on the vitamin D factor.
Funding for this cogitation was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the P.J. Schafer Cardiovascular Research Fund and the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Program. Michos has received previous consulting fees from vitamin D therapeutics manufacturer Abbott Pharmaceuticals. The terms of these arrangements are being managed by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
Besides Michos and Melamed, other Hopkins researchers involved in this survey, conducted entirely at Hopkins, were Wendy Post, M.D.; and Brad Astor, Ph.D. Melamed is now an assistant prof at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
901 S Bond St., Ste. 550
Baltimore, MD 21231
United States
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org
More information
In a study coiffure to come out in the Archives of Internal Medicine online Aug. 11, the Johns Hopkins team analyzed a diverse sample of 13,000 initially salubrious men and women participating in an ongoing national health review and compared the peril of death between those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D to those with higher amounts. An unhealthy lack, experts say, is considered blood levels of 17.8 nanograms per cubic centimetre or lower.
Of the 1,800 study participants known to make died by Dec. 31, 2000, most 700 died from some form of heart disease, with four hundred of these being deficient in vitamin D. This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels.
Yet, researchers say it does highlight a trend, with other studies linking shortages of vitamin D to increased rates of bosom cancer and depression in the aged. And earlier published findings by the team, from the same national study, have naturalized a possible tie-in, display an 80 percent increased risk of peripheral artery disease from vitamin D deficits.
Researchers government note that other studies in the net year or so in animals and humans have identified a connection between low levels of vitamin D and heart disease. But these studies, they say, were weakened by small sample numbers, lack of diversity in the population studied and other factors that limited scientists' ability to generalize the findings to the public at large.
"Our results make it often more clear that all men and women concerned about their overall health should more than closely monitor their rake levels of vitamin D, and work sure they have sufficiency," says subject field co-lead investigator Erin Michos, M.D., M.H.S.
"We think we have extra evidence to consider adding vitamin D deficiency as a distinct and severalise risk factor for death from cardiovascular disease, putting it alongside much better known and understood risk factors, such as age, gender, family history, smoke, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, lack of usage, obesity and diabetes," says Michos.
Vitamin D is well known to play an essential character in cell growth, in boosting the body's immune system and in strengthening bones.
"Now that we know vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor, we can better assess how aggressively to treat people at risk of heart disease or those world Health Organization are already ill and undergoing discussion," says Michos, who adds that test screening for nutrient levels is comparatively simple. It can, she says, be made section of bit blood work and through while monitoring other known risk factors, including blood pressure, glucose and lipoid levels.
Heart disease remains the nation's stellar cause of death, kill more than a gazillion Americans each year. Nearly 10 pct of those with the condition have not one identifiable, traditional risk element, which the experts say is why a considerable extent of the disease goes unexplained.
Michos, an helper professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute, recommends that people boost their vitamin D levels by eating diets rich in such fish as sardines and mackerel, consuming fortified dairy products, taking cod-liver oil and vitamin supplements, and in warmer brave out briefly exposing skin to the sun's vitamin-D producing ultraviolet light.
Aware of the cancer risks linked to too much time worn out in the sun, she says as little as 10 to 15 proceedings of day-by-day exposure to the sun can produce sufficient amounts of vitamin D to sustain health. The hormone-like nutrient controls blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, essential chemicals in the body.
If vitamin supplements are used, Michos says thither is no evidence that more than 2,000 international units per clarence Shepard Day Jr. do any good. Study results establish that heart disease death rates planate out in participants with the highest vitamin D levels (higher up 50 nanograms per ml of blood), signaling a possible loss of the vitamin's protective effects at too-high doses.
The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that an decent daily uptake of vitamin D is between two hundred and four hundred international units (or blood levels nearing 30 nanograms per cubic centimeter). Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 per centum of women are technically deficient in the food, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter.
Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., study co-lead investigator wHO started the research as a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins, says no one knows yet why or how vitamin D's hormone-like properties may protect the heart, but she adds that there are plenty of leads in the better known golf links the vitamin has to problems with muscle giantism and high blood insistency, in addition to its control of inflammation, which scientists are showing plays a stronger role in all kinds of heart disease. But more research is required to decide the nutrient's precise biologic action.
Researchers state their side by side steps ar to test various high doses of vitamin D to discover out if the nutritional supplementation results in fewer deaths and lower incidence of pump disease, including heart plan of attack or moments of prolonged and severe chest pain.
The team too plans to investigate what biological triggers, such as obesity or hypertension, mightiness offset or worsen the action of vitamin D on ticker muscle, or whether vitamin D sets off some other reaction in the heart.
Melamed says that because vitamin D levels are known to fluctuate in direct proportion with day-to-day physical activity, the growing epidemic of obesity and indoor sedentary lifestyles lend more urgency to act on the vitamin D factor.
Funding for this cogitation was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the P.J. Schafer Cardiovascular Research Fund and the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Program. Michos has received previous consulting fees from vitamin D therapeutics manufacturer Abbott Pharmaceuticals. The terms of these arrangements are being managed by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
Besides Michos and Melamed, other Hopkins researchers involved in this survey, conducted entirely at Hopkins, were Wendy Post, M.D.; and Brad Astor, Ph.D. Melamed is now an assistant prof at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
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http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org
More information
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Dizzee Rascal not expecting another No.1
Dizzee Rascal has insisted that he does not expect his future singles to top the charts.
Following the succeeder of his recent 'Dance Wiv Me' track, which was number one in the UK for four-spot weeks, the R&B star has vowed to stick with his new pop sound.
However, as he prepares to return to the studio and record new material, Rascal has admitted that he won't experience his hopes up for another reign at the top.
"I'm non thinking of it as well much like 'I want another number one', because it don't really work like that, the charts are in truth unpredictable," Dizzee told BBC Radio 6 Music. "All you canful hope for is to have a hit that grabs the attention of everyone, like that song does."
Asked about his future plans, he confirmed: "We're doing a small tour of Australia. Then I just want to get back in the studio and make music again. I've put lashings of demos down."
More information
Following the succeeder of his recent 'Dance Wiv Me' track, which was number one in the UK for four-spot weeks, the R&B star has vowed to stick with his new pop sound.
However, as he prepares to return to the studio and record new material, Rascal has admitted that he won't experience his hopes up for another reign at the top.
"I'm non thinking of it as well much like 'I want another number one', because it don't really work like that, the charts are in truth unpredictable," Dizzee told BBC Radio 6 Music. "All you canful hope for is to have a hit that grabs the attention of everyone, like that song does."
Asked about his future plans, he confirmed: "We're doing a small tour of Australia. Then I just want to get back in the studio and make music again. I've put lashings of demos down."
More information
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
New CDs: Earlimart and Los Lonely Boys
Earlimart "Hymn and Her" (Majordomo)
* * * 1/2
The kind of emotion-drenched indie-pop that fills "Hymn and Her" is nothing new for Earlimart -- the group delivered a fine album of confessional lyrics and inventive, engaging music last year with "Mentor Tormentor," a major step in its steady rise toward the top tier of L.A. bands.
Releasing another full-length effort less than a year later is unusual, but the accelerated pace might account for the infusion of freshness that makes "Hymn and Her" so arresting.
The music crackles and trembles with a restless bravado that might have been muted with more time and deliberation, and in the process Earlimart brings its intimate conversations out of the confession booth and into the cathedral itself, where they expand to fill the vast space.
The group, now down to the duo of Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, returns to its trusted tools -- rich melody, a tone of taut urgency, clapping percussion, a strong sense of atmosphere and space, weird little things squirming in the far corners -- but on this sixth album everything seems enhanced, raised to a new level.
"Face Down in the Right Town" embodies the album's spirit of freedom and surprise. It's a gently throbbing caress with something faintly sinister in its touch, and it rolls along and thickens with accumulating layers of piano and swirling voices.
But instead of fading when you'd expect after four minutes, it suddenly introduces a melancholy trumpet line -- a sound and a daring that recall a free-flying Los Angeles band of another generation, Love.
Such touches animate the entire album and create a sonic terrain for the lyrics' allusive landscape of longing and anomie.
"Hanging by a string you lose the feeling in your feet," Espinoza sings in the hushed "Great Heron Gates"; the title references one of the Los Angeles River parks near their Silver Lake base.
He sings most of the songs in a deadpan but determined voice that's usually cloaked with a ghostly aura. Murray steps out for two ballads whose luminosity balances his dry urgency, but you can't just stop at the surface. In "Before It Gets Better," her comforting tone serves a discomfiting warning: "It's a deathtrap, it's a bloodbath, and it's gonna get worse before it gets better."
Mentors, collaborators and peers such as Elliott Smith, Grandaddy and Eels linger in the fiber of "Hymn and Her," but Espinoza and Murray (who headline at Spaceland on July 18) are clearly charting a course of their own now, heading for a place of saturated emotion and sanctified spirit.
--Richard Cromelin
Los Lonely Boys "Forgiven" (Epic)
* *
In 2004, this Texas trio broke out of the no-name roadhouse circuit when its song "Heaven" captured the hearts of a few million tailgate partyers. Since then, Los Lonely Boys -- guitarist Henry Garza, bassist JoJo Garza and drummer Ringo Garza, sons of a musician father who once hired the brothers to sing backup vocals -- have established themselves as one of America's most dependable live acts; no summer music festival is complete without their laid-back blend of blues-rock riffs, soul-pop melodies and Tex-Mex trimmings.
In an attempt to capture the Garzas' onstage energy on "Forgiven," their third album, producer Steve Jordan opted out of the traditional studio setup and instead recorded the band playing live on a soundstage in Austin, Texas.
The gambit was a wise one: Material-wise, Los Lonely Boys probably won't ever come up with anything as memorable as "Heaven," so better to accentuate their uncommon chemistry than their lack of hooks. (Better still to stack the deck with covers of classic-rock evergreens like "I'm a Man," by the Spencer Davis Group.)
The ho-hum tunes on "Forgiven" won't flip your wig, but the playing -- particularly in the three cuts featuring Dr. John on the keys -- oozes bone-deep feeling throughout.
--Mikael Wood
* * * 1/2
The kind of emotion-drenched indie-pop that fills "Hymn and Her" is nothing new for Earlimart -- the group delivered a fine album of confessional lyrics and inventive, engaging music last year with "Mentor Tormentor," a major step in its steady rise toward the top tier of L.A. bands.
Releasing another full-length effort less than a year later is unusual, but the accelerated pace might account for the infusion of freshness that makes "Hymn and Her" so arresting.
The music crackles and trembles with a restless bravado that might have been muted with more time and deliberation, and in the process Earlimart brings its intimate conversations out of the confession booth and into the cathedral itself, where they expand to fill the vast space.
The group, now down to the duo of Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, returns to its trusted tools -- rich melody, a tone of taut urgency, clapping percussion, a strong sense of atmosphere and space, weird little things squirming in the far corners -- but on this sixth album everything seems enhanced, raised to a new level.
"Face Down in the Right Town" embodies the album's spirit of freedom and surprise. It's a gently throbbing caress with something faintly sinister in its touch, and it rolls along and thickens with accumulating layers of piano and swirling voices.
But instead of fading when you'd expect after four minutes, it suddenly introduces a melancholy trumpet line -- a sound and a daring that recall a free-flying Los Angeles band of another generation, Love.
Such touches animate the entire album and create a sonic terrain for the lyrics' allusive landscape of longing and anomie.
"Hanging by a string you lose the feeling in your feet," Espinoza sings in the hushed "Great Heron Gates"; the title references one of the Los Angeles River parks near their Silver Lake base.
He sings most of the songs in a deadpan but determined voice that's usually cloaked with a ghostly aura. Murray steps out for two ballads whose luminosity balances his dry urgency, but you can't just stop at the surface. In "Before It Gets Better," her comforting tone serves a discomfiting warning: "It's a deathtrap, it's a bloodbath, and it's gonna get worse before it gets better."
Mentors, collaborators and peers such as Elliott Smith, Grandaddy and Eels linger in the fiber of "Hymn and Her," but Espinoza and Murray (who headline at Spaceland on July 18) are clearly charting a course of their own now, heading for a place of saturated emotion and sanctified spirit.
--Richard Cromelin
Los Lonely Boys "Forgiven" (Epic)
* *
In 2004, this Texas trio broke out of the no-name roadhouse circuit when its song "Heaven" captured the hearts of a few million tailgate partyers. Since then, Los Lonely Boys -- guitarist Henry Garza, bassist JoJo Garza and drummer Ringo Garza, sons of a musician father who once hired the brothers to sing backup vocals -- have established themselves as one of America's most dependable live acts; no summer music festival is complete without their laid-back blend of blues-rock riffs, soul-pop melodies and Tex-Mex trimmings.
In an attempt to capture the Garzas' onstage energy on "Forgiven," their third album, producer Steve Jordan opted out of the traditional studio setup and instead recorded the band playing live on a soundstage in Austin, Texas.
The gambit was a wise one: Material-wise, Los Lonely Boys probably won't ever come up with anything as memorable as "Heaven," so better to accentuate their uncommon chemistry than their lack of hooks. (Better still to stack the deck with covers of classic-rock evergreens like "I'm a Man," by the Spencer Davis Group.)
The ho-hum tunes on "Forgiven" won't flip your wig, but the playing -- particularly in the three cuts featuring Dr. John on the keys -- oozes bone-deep feeling throughout.
--Mikael Wood
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Agyness Deyn 'Would Never Say Never To Music Career'
Supermodel Agyness Deyn has told Gigwise that she won’t rule out the possibility of launching a full time music career.
Deyn, who makes a special guest appearance on ‘Who’, the new single by Five O’Clock Heroes, said that she intended to “go with the flow”.
“You know, never say never – I’m just enjoying it,” she told Gigwise.
The singer’s collaboration with the band, with whom she is a long term friend, sparked a wave of publicity last week.
In addition to a number of television appearances, Deyn also joined the band for her first live public appearances at two venues in London.
On Tuesday she sang at a party held by the designer Henry Holland and last Friday she joined the band for four songs at Industry in East London.
In an interview with Gigwise, Five O’Clock Heroes frontman Anthony Ellis refuted claims from critics who said that the band were using the supermodel to gain publicity.
"No, it’s a song. They’re always gonna do that. There’s always gonna be someone.
“The music business is in a fucked up state at the moment, labels don’t’ do well at all and I think that, personally speaking, it’s always better to do collaboration, no matter happens, because you’ve got people from different creative fields,” Ellis said.
You can read Gigwise’s full and frank interview with Deyn and Five O’Clock Heroes HERE.
You can see pictures of their performance last Friday below.
See Also
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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