Thursday 20 September 2012
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Tuesday 11 September 2012
2012 Hari Raya Gathering
The 2012/13 PETESIS will be hosting a Hari Raya Gathering on September 13, 2012 for all the Form Six teachers and students at the School's Canteen. it will start at 1.25 p.m. which is during the R&D periods.
Also will be present is our guest of honour, our beloved principal, Tuan Haji Zolkaply bin Yunos.
Also will be present is our guest of honour, our beloved principal, Tuan Haji Zolkaply bin Yunos.
The Diet Detective: Calories in Coffee Drinks and Other Beverages
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is now in the coffee
and drink business—in a big way.
You would think that the
Premium Roast Iced Coffee would be served the same way as regular hot Premium
Roast Coffee—plain, unless you ask for sugar, milk, etc. But that’s not how
McD’s does it. It’s served with light cream and your choice of liquid sugar or
flavored (hazelnut, vanilla or caramel) syrups. A small with liquid sugar (and
cream) is 140 calories. A medium is 200 calories and a large is 280. McD’s big
summer drink is the McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip made with a mocha coffee base,
chocolate chips and whipped cream plus a double drizzle of chocolate and
caramel. Small is 450 calories, medium is 560 calories, and the large is a
whopping 680 calories.
They’ve also added a line of
smoothies made with real fruit, but that doesn’t mean that the smoothies don’t
also have other ingredients such as added sugar. Smoothies and McDonald’s other
flavored drinks (Chillers, lemonade, etc.) range from approximately 200 to 330
calories, depending on size.
Best
Bet: Order
the Premium Iced Coffee plain and add your own cream and sugar (go light). Or
you can have the McCafé Iced Latte, but ask for nonfat milk. A small is only 50
calories.
Oh, and you can always order a
bottle of water or ask for a cup of water.
Burger King
Burger King also has jumped
into the drink and coffee game. They’re offering frozen lemonade and frozen
strawberry lemonade, which range in calories from 80 to 200 (the frozen
strawberry has almost twice as many calories). They also have several coffee drinks,
including Iced Seattle's Best Coffee, ranging from 80 calories for a small to
140 for a large. Iced Seattle's Best Coffee Mocha is 180 (small) to 340
(large). You should probably avoid the Coke Icee, which can have as many as 170
calories, as well as their line of smoothies (from 200 to 450) and the Caramel
and Mocha Frappé (410 to 600). Apparently, the BK smoothies are hand-blended to
order and include a serving of fruit blended with juice and low-fat yogurt—but
they’re still high in calories.
Best Bet: Nestea or Gold Peak Unsweetened (Plain)
Iced Tea or the Iced Seattle's Best Coffee without milk or sugar.
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Internet Addiction Linked To White Matter Differences In Teen Brains
Researchers in China who compared the brain scans of 18 teenagers diagnosed with Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) with those of 18 non-addicted teenagers found differences in white matter density in over 20 brain regions. A report on their findings was published online in the 11 January issue of PLoS ONE.
All the participants had a brain scan from which the researchers assessed the density and structure of the white matter. White matter contains fibers that carry the signals various parts of the brain use to communicate with each another.
The researchers, who came from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other research centers in China, also assessed a range of behavioral features such as addiction, anxiety, emotional disorder, social relationships, family functioning and time management and compared the results from the group diagnosed with IAD with the non-IAD group.
They found the participants in the IAD group performed less well in some of the behavioral assessments, including an additional measure of addiction, a questionnaire that assesses emotional conduct and problems in relationships, and a measure that screens for anxiety-related emotional disorders.
Also, when the researchers compared brain regions they observed to be different between the groups with the results of their behavioral assessments, they found that worse (ie less "healthy") scores on two of the behavioral measures were linked to lower white matter density in two specific brain regions.
The researchers conclude that their findings show IAD is "characterised by impairment of white matter fibres connecting brain regions involved in emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision making and cognitive control".
At this point we might mistakenly assume that because the researchers found a link between IAD and brain changes, that it was the former that led to the latter.
However, we should bear in mind that this is a a cross-sectional study: the researchers took a "snapshot" at one point in time. They did not follow the participants over a period and they did not establish what their brain structures were like before they became "addicted" to the internet. So we don't know if the brain changes were already present beforehand and so we can't rule out whether they led to or contributed to the addiction.
There are two other reasons to be cautious about interpreting these results:
Firstly, the number of participants is small, and while the results may show "statistical significance", we should probably regard them as tentative.
Secondly, internet addiction is a relatively new disorder, and while more studies are appearing using the term, it is not clearly defined and universally recognized. For instance it is not included in the current edition of the "bible" of psychological disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
However, judging from the reactions of other experts interviewed by the media this week, it appears the findings are intriguing enough to warrant further research, using larger groups, and comparing for example, participants with IAD with everyday internet users who do not have IAD.
In this study, participants were assessed as having IAD if they answered yes to the first five of the following questions and also one of the remaining three questions (there were other items in the questionnaire):
All the participants had a brain scan from which the researchers assessed the density and structure of the white matter. White matter contains fibers that carry the signals various parts of the brain use to communicate with each another.
The researchers, who came from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other research centers in China, also assessed a range of behavioral features such as addiction, anxiety, emotional disorder, social relationships, family functioning and time management and compared the results from the group diagnosed with IAD with the non-IAD group.
They found the participants in the IAD group performed less well in some of the behavioral assessments, including an additional measure of addiction, a questionnaire that assesses emotional conduct and problems in relationships, and a measure that screens for anxiety-related emotional disorders.
Also, when the researchers compared brain regions they observed to be different between the groups with the results of their behavioral assessments, they found that worse (ie less "healthy") scores on two of the behavioral measures were linked to lower white matter density in two specific brain regions.
The researchers conclude that their findings show IAD is "characterised by impairment of white matter fibres connecting brain regions involved in emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision making and cognitive control".
At this point we might mistakenly assume that because the researchers found a link between IAD and brain changes, that it was the former that led to the latter.
However, we should bear in mind that this is a a cross-sectional study: the researchers took a "snapshot" at one point in time. They did not follow the participants over a period and they did not establish what their brain structures were like before they became "addicted" to the internet. So we don't know if the brain changes were already present beforehand and so we can't rule out whether they led to or contributed to the addiction.
There are two other reasons to be cautious about interpreting these results:
Firstly, the number of participants is small, and while the results may show "statistical significance", we should probably regard them as tentative.
Secondly, internet addiction is a relatively new disorder, and while more studies are appearing using the term, it is not clearly defined and universally recognized. For instance it is not included in the current edition of the "bible" of psychological disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
However, judging from the reactions of other experts interviewed by the media this week, it appears the findings are intriguing enough to warrant further research, using larger groups, and comparing for example, participants with IAD with everyday internet users who do not have IAD.
In this study, participants were assessed as having IAD if they answered yes to the first five of the following questions and also one of the remaining three questions (there were other items in the questionnaire):
- Do you feel preoccupied with the internet (that is, think about previous online activity or anticipate your next online session)?
- Do you feel the need to use the internet for increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?
- Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop internet use?
- Do you feel restless, moody, depressed or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop internet use?
- Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
- Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the internet?
- Have you lied to family members, a therapist or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the internet?
- Do you use the internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a distressed mood (for example, feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety and depression)?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)