short treasuries (tnx)

For the sake of simplicity, taxes, commissions and other trading costs have been omitted from the discussions and strategies in this discussion; these should be taken into account when making your investment decisions. The strategies are based on hypothetical situations and should only be considered as examples of potential trading approaches.

Holder of T-bills Expects Rising Short-term Rates, Falling Long-term Rates

Strategy - Sell T-bills, buy TNX puts to profit from interest rate expectations.
Forecast: Investor owns Treasury bills and expects short-term rates will rise, long-term rates will decline.
Objective: To profit from a reshaping of the yield curve.
Strategy: Sell Treasury bills. Deposit cash in Money Market and purchase puts on the l0-year Treasury yield (TNX).
Having analyzed the latest market developments and the U.S. government's package of proposed fiscal and monetary measures, an investor has come to a conclusion that short-term rates may rise from 3% to 4% and intermediate-term rates will decline from 6.25% to 5.75%. Currently, the investor has $20,000 in U.S. Treasury bills and if his projection is correct his Treasury bills will go down in value.
Example:
An investor has $20,000 in U.S. Treasury bills and is concerned that short-term rates will rise therefore causing a decline in the value of his bills. This investor anticipates a drop in intermediate-term rates and would like to profit from his projection for the move in interest rates. The investor will sell his T-bills and will deposit $18,000 in a money market account and $2,000 will be used to buy puts. Suppose that a three-month, at-the-money TNX put cost 1 point or $100 (1 x $100 multiplier x 1 put). The investor would buy 20 puts at 1 costing $2,000. The breakeven level for the put position is 61.50 (62.50 strike price - 1 cost of put).
TNX Settlement Value Below Breakeven (61.50):
If the investor is right and 10-year Treasury yields do decline to 5.75%, a settlement value for TNX at 57.50 , the TNX 62.50 put option would be exercised. The holder of the puts would receive the amount by which the closing yield has declined below the strike price. The investor would also be earning interest on his $18,000 in his money market.
If short-term interest rates did rise as anticipated, then he would be better off having sold the T-bills and having deposited the money in a money market. If short-term rates declined, the T-bills that were sold would have risen in value and the investor would be earning less interest on his money market. In this case he would have been better off having held onto the T-bills.

• Strike Price: 62.50
• Less Settlement Value:-57.50
• Profit: 5
• Amount Paid to Holder(5x$100x 20 puts): $10,000
• Less Cost of Puts:-2,000
• Profit: $8,000

Settlement Value Between Breakeven Level (61.50) and Put Strike Price (62.50):
If by expiration the TNX decreases slightly to 62 or a yield of 6.2%, the holder would exercise his puts. He would receive the amount by which the settlement value is below the strike price. The amount received would be less than what was originally paid, but it would offset some of the cost. The investor would also be earning interest on his $18,000 in his money market.

• Strike Price: 62.50
• Less Settlement Value:-62
• Difference:.50
• Cost of Puts: $2,000
• Less Amount Paid to Holder (.50 x $100 x 20 contracts):-1,000
• Loss: $1,000

Settlement Value At or Above Put Strike Price (62.50):
Settlement Value At or Below Short Call Strike (40):
If the settlement value is at or above 62.5, the yield on the 30-year Treasury at or above 6.25%, the holder would have lost the total premium of $2,000, in this example. However, no matter how high interest rates climb the most that can be lost is the premium paid. The investor still has $18,000 in a money market earning interest.

City Central Library on the brink of closure reported Aug 16 2007

City Central Library on the brink of closure

Swathi. V

No books added to racks despite availability of funds

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Ban on recruitment hits the library and its 86 branches in city
Funds adequate but lack of initiative to revive the library

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HYDERABAD: Lack of initiative and answerability from authorities is sending the 47-year old City Central Library into gradual oblivion.
Set up in 1960 by Andhra Pradesh Public Libraries Act with a mission of making knowledge available to all, the library expanded considerably during the regime of former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, with 40 branches coming up between 1983 and 1987 alone.
Official apathy

However, the institution is now finding it hard to live up to the ideal of its establishment due to official apathy and lack of political will.
With 100 vacancies among the 280 posts across the twin cities, the library is grossly under staffed even to carry out its routine work, says P. Chandraiah, a librarian. The ban on recruitments has barred new staff from entering any of its 86 branches in the city.
“The library itself is shorter by 20 hands,” he says. Most of the branches lack basic furniture and lighting, said another official.
Staff members recall that about 20 years ago, the library was the hub of information dissemination, with long queues of students during working days and heavy rush of children during summer vacation.
“There was a demand from parents to keep the library open even after the stipulated timings. We conducted cultural activities for kids during vacation,” they remember fondly.
Sources say that there has not been any effort towards procurement of books for the past two years even after sanction of Rs.1 crore for this purpose. Even Harry Potter mania did not arouse the authorities into buying a copy for each library.
A reason quoted for the apathy is the politically nominated posting of the Chairman. A literary person at the helm of the affairs instead would go a long way in improving the library, they say.
Shortage of funds, however, is not a problem.
“Eight paisa from each rupee of property tax collected by GHMC is earmarked as library cess. The library has huge funds. What is lacking is the interest and willingness from authorities,” a library official commented.
In spite of their need, there is no demand from readers either, because whatever is provided by the government is viewed as charity unmindful of the heavy taxes imposed, he lamented.

What I could have done

Though I predicted the market was coming down and sold all my stock and was in the safe zone, I did not capitalize on the situation. One way to do it was to short the stocks but I was reminded talking to a colleague my lost knowledge about stock options. It is better or best to short the market by buying some puts instead of the stock itself because the money that one invest and takes risk is substantially less than shorting the equity directly.

I should have bought some puts of the restaurant industry that peaked and was falling down its 30 day averages. The best thing is to look at the S&P see if it crossed the 30 day average and if it has crossed it that means the average mood in the market is selling. Especially after a rally and during these times of uncertainty it is a good indicator to short stocks. There was something in my mind that was cautious about risking my original capital in shorting the stocks directly. Though there was not much of a danger that risk can be taken with options because the money one invests in options is only 5-10 percent of the original capital and if one is correct one can get almost 500% or more.

One more missed opportunity but am on the safe side during this stock slide. Use your predictive knowledge to your advantage by buying options. Make money. Make money.

Options Trading Volume And Open Interest

Price movements in the options market result from the decisions of millions of traders. But there are a number of useful statistics besides price movements that tell you what those other market participants are doing. Here we take a closer look at two factors you should consider when trading options: daily trading volume and open interest.

Daily Trading Volume
Trading volume gives you important insight into the strength of the current market direction for the option's underlying stock. The volume, or market breadth, is measured in shares and tells you how meaningful the price movement in the market is.

Keep in mind that trading volume is relative and needs to be compared to the average daily volume of the stock in question. A large percentage change in price accompanied by larger than normal volume is a solid indication of market strength in the direction of the change. But large percentage increases in price accompanied by small trading volumes are less likely to indicate a market direction. In fact, they may indicate that a reversal is likely in the near term.

The Importance of Open Interest
Open interest is a concept all option traders need to understand. Although it is always one of the data fields on most option quote displays - along with bid price, ask price, volume and implied volatility - many traders ignore open interest. But while it may be less important than the option's price, or even current volume, open interest provides useful information that should be considered when entering an option position.

First, let's look at exactly what open interest represents. Unlike stock trading, in which there is a fixed number of shares to be traded, option trading can involve the creation of a new option contract when a trade is placed. Open interest will tell you the total number of option contracts that are currently open - in other words, contracts that have been traded but not yet liquidated by either an offsetting trade or an exercise or assignment.

For example, say we look at Microsoft and open interest tells us that there have been 81,700 options opened for the March 27.5 call option. You may be wondering if that number refers to options bought or sold. The answer is that you have no way to know for sure.

When you buy or sell an option, the transaction needs to be entered as either an opening or a closing transaction. If you buy 10 of the Microsoft March 27.5 calls, you are buying the calls to 'open'. That purchase will add 10 to the open interest figure. If you wanted to get out of the position, you would sell those same options to 'close' and open interest would then fall by 10.

Selling an option can also add to the open interest. If you owned 1,000 shares of Microsoft and wanted to do a covered call by selling 10 of the March 27.5 calls, you would be entering a sale to open. Since it is an opening transaction, it would add 10 to the open interest. If you later wanted to repurchase the options, you would enter a transaction to buy to close. Open interest would then decrease by 10.

Things get a little more complicated if the options you trade are not created by the transaction, but instead the other side is taken by someone doing a closing transaction. For example, if you are buying 10 of the Microsoft March 27.5 calls to open, and you are matched with someone that is selling 10 of the Microsoft March 27.5 calls to close, then the total open interest number will not change.

So when you are looking at the total open interest of an option, there is no way of knowing whether the options were bought or sold - which is probably why many option traders ignore open interest altogether. However, you shouldn't assume that the open interest figure provides no important information.

One way to use open interest is to look at it relative to the volume of contracts traded. When the volume exceeds the existing open interest on a given day, this suggests that trading in that option was exceptionally high that day. Open interest can help you determine whether there is unusually high or low volume for any particular option.

Open interest also gives you key information regarding the liquidity of an option. If there is no open interest for an option, there is no secondary market for that option. When options have large open interest, it means they have a large number of buyers and sellers, and an active secondary market will increase the odds of getting option orders filled at good prices. So, all other things being equal, the bigger the open interest, the easier it will be to trade that option at a reasonable spread between the bid and ask.

Conclusion
Trading does not occur in a vacuum. Indicators and reports that show you what other market participants are doing can be a valuable addition to your trading system. Daily trading volume and open interest can be used to find trading ideas you might otherwise overlook. These indicators are also useful for making sure that the options you trade are liquid, allowing you easily to enter and exit a trade, as well as ensure you get the best possible price.
by Jim Graham (Contact Author | Biography)
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/04/060904.asp

The Theory of the Vibhuti

The liberated eye of knowledge in the spiritual consciousness does not in its outlook on the world see this lower Nature alone. If we perceive only the apparent outward fact of our nature and others' nature, we are looking with the eye of the ignorance and cannot know God equally in all, in the sattwic, the rajasic and the tamasic creature, in God and Titan, in saint and sinner, in the wise man and the ignorant, in the great and in the little, in man, animal, plant and inanimate existence. The liberated vision see three things at once as the whole occult truth of the natural being. First and foremost it sees the divine Prakriti in all, secret present, waiting for evolution; it sees her as the real power in all things, that which gives its value to all this apparent action of diverse quality and force, and it reads the significance of these latter phenomena not in their own language of ego and ignorance, but in the light of the divine Nature. Therefore it sees too, secondly, the differences of the apparent action in Deva and Rakshasa, man and beast and bird and reptile, good and wicked, ignorant and wicked, but as the divine quality and energy under these conditions, under these masks.
It is not deluded by the mask, but detects behind every mask the Godhead. It observes the perversion or the imperfection, but it pierces to the truth of the spirit behind, it discovers it even in the perversion and the imperfection selfblinded, struggling to find itself, groping through various forms of self-expression and experience towards complete self-knowledge, towards its own infinite and absolute. The liberated eye does not lay undue stress on the perversion and imperfection, but is able to see all with a complete love and charity in the heart, a complete understanding in the intelligence, a complete equality in the spirit. Finally, it sees the upward urge of the striving powers of the Will-to-be towards Godhead; it respects, welcomes, encourages all manifestation of energy and quality, the flames tongues of the Divinity, the mounting greatnesses of soul and mind and life in the intensities uplifted from the levels of the lower nature towards heights of luminous wisdom and knowledge, mighty power, strength, capacity, courage, heroism, benignant sweetness and ardour and grandeur of love and self-giving, pre-eminent virtue, noble action, captivating beauty and harmony, fine and godlike creation. The eye of the spirit sees and marks out the rising godhead of man in the great Vibhuti.

lewis black on water

Interesting story of a billionaire who is contending for democrate senate

Contrarian Jeff Greene got rich investing in real estate and superrich betting against it. These days he's buying distressed assets and hoarding cash.

Jeff Greene

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Billionaires: Beyond Business

Jeff Greene got rich investing in real estate and superrich betting against it. These days his contrarian instincts have him buying distressed assets and hoarding cash.

If the rich are truly an eccentric bunch, newly minted Forbes 400 member Jeffrey Greene will fit right in. The Los Angeles real estate mogul insists he shuns publicity and extravagance--yet his public relations firm directed a reporter to meet him aboard Greene's 145-foot yacht, Summerwind, docked at the Sag Harbor wharf amid the playlands of New York's tony Hamptons.
From the yacht's highest deck, on a cloudless summer day, the other, far smaller pleasure craft anchored nearby look like toy boats bobbing in a bathtub. When Greene is not sailing he bounces between five homes, including a 63,000-square-foot one in Beverly Hills, Calif. Greene dubbed the mansion Palazzo di Amore prior to using it last year to host his $1 million wedding, which the 53-year-old is quick to point out was his first. Boxing bad boy Mike Tyson was Greene's best man. Celebrities like director Oliver Stone looked on as reporters chronicled the affair.
Greene heads down the circular stairs to the living room of his yacht and reclines on a large, L-shaped leather sofa. His wife, Mei-Sze, svelte, tan and two decades Greene's junior, settles in next to him wearing white jeans and a barely there tunic. She places a hand in her husband's and, like a high school sweetheart, leans in every once in a while for a kiss.
"I got into real estate very much by accident," says Greene, tan and wearing white shorts and a polo shirt the color of money. "But I've never had more fun than now."
Making Greene's life so much fun these days: money. After making and losing and making back a sizable fortune over two decades betting on real estate, he has amassed a supersize one the past two years betting against it. Greene is one of those rare people who smelled trouble in housing when times were flush and made a contrarian bet that they wouldn't last.
He did so by creating his own virtual hedge fund and buying credit default swaps that rose in value as subprime mortgages fell. Greene says the trade was up 1,400% in 18 months until the fall of 2007. That seems to have earned him a quick $800 million profit and catapulted Greene onto The Forbes 400 with a net worth of $1.4 billion.
Greene's winning trade says a lot about him. It was brilliant, brash and, in running counter to everything he'd spent his life doing, infused with insecurity, opportunism and contradiction.

In that, at least, there's an element of consistency. Greene is the son of working-class Jewish parents from Worcester, Mass. His father ran a business selling textile mill machinery, lost it and struggled to make a living. His mother was a Hebrew school instructor who taught Greene to save his pennies, look for value and never pay retail.
A nerdy teenager, Greene played classical trumpet in the Doherty High School band and took extra classes to get a head start on college. Admitted to Johns Hopkins, Greene paid his way by selling circus tickets over the phone. Quickly promoted to manager, he traveled the country during his summers off in his Datsun 510, overseeing telemarketing centers and eating at Pizza Hut buffets to save money. Greene graduated after two and a half years. He spent the following three years saving up $100,000 from his telemarketing sales and then entered Harvard's M.B.A. program in 1977.
Greene began putting his savings to work in business school. He put down $7,400 to buy a three-family home, and rented out rooms so he could live for free. By the time he graduated in 1979 Greene owned 18 properties and was generating more than enough income to cover his $4,500 annual tuition. He sold out a few years later for what Greene says was ten times his cost, pocketing a $1 million profit.
"In real estate you make 10% of your money because you're a genius and 90% because you catch a great wave," he says. "I caught the biggest wave in the history of New England."
Convinced the West Coast offered more opportunity, Greene moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and began buying properties. By 1991 he had amassed $35 million worth of equity. Then property prices collapsed. Within a year Greene figures his holdings were worth $15 million less than the debt he owed against them.
He scraped by long enough for the market to begin recovering and sold an apartment building at a $2 million profit. Greene immediately reinvested the proceeds in the rising market. By 2006 he had amassed nearly 7,000 rental units in southern California that pushed his net worth to $700 million.
He hasn't been bashful about throwing some elbows along the way. In one case Greene took actor and movie director Ron Howard to court. The dispute erupted after Howard and his family rented a contemporary glass home Greene owned in the ritzy Brentwood section of L.A. for $28,500 a month while filming a movie. Howard moved out a month into his six-month lease, claiming the house was infested with rats, leaked and had faulty appliances and polluted water.
Greene sued for breach of contract in California state court. Howard countersued for breach of contract and misrepresentation. Howard's lawyer says Greene knew the house was a shambles but lied about it. Greene says Diana Ross was happily ensconced in the home for a year before Howard, whose story-telling Greene says is not limited to the silver screen. A judge ultimately ordered Greene to pay Howard $616,000. Greene appealed the case to the California Supreme Court but lost.
"The moral of this story is, don't ever try to be in a lawsuit against a celebrity in Los Angeles," Greene says (the state's Supreme Court is headquartered in San Francisco).
Other celebs hold Greene in higher regard. That may be partly due to his taste for lavish, all-night parties at his 12,000-square-foot L.A. home, replete with a karaoke stage and disco. It was at such a soiree that Greene befriended Mike Tyson and Paris Hilton. Madam-to-the-stars Heidi Fleiss, another partygoer, ended up spending a year as his houseguest when Greene was single and after she had served time in prison.
"It probably doesn't look good for a single guy to have had Heidi living with me, but we weren't dating," says Greene. "She's a nice girl. I've had her over to Passover dinner with my mom."
Despite his active social life Greene kept a close eye on his business and a few years ago began fearing that a real estate bust was looming. He was especially concerned about how high prices on commercial real estate had become in relation to net rental values--rent minus operating costs. The multiples got up to 25, as high as he'd ever seen them. Meaning: Investors were paying more in mortgage interest than they were taking out of rent. They were expecting to be bailed out by greater fools.
Greene was determined not to lose his real estate fortune a second time. He started calling "every smart person I know" to find a way to hedge his portfolio. That included party buddies, business school chums and money managers.

In early 2006 Greene called hedge fund manager John Paulson of Paulson & Co., to whom he had been introduced in the Hamptons a few years earlier. Greene says J.P., as he calls Paulson, suggested he could short real estate by buying insurance on bonds backed by subprime loans. Greene says he sat down with Paulson for half an hour and looked over a ten-page offering memo for a fund that would make such bets. When he asked whether he could do the trades himself, Paulson told him he was unlikely to gain bank approval, Greene says.
"No one told me how to do the trades," insists Greene, parrying rumors that Paulson was infuriated that his strategy had been purloined (Paulson declines comment). "It was like somebody told you to short oil, but you have to go do 1,000 hours of work to figure out how," says Greene.

housing market was peaking, Greene convinced Wall Street banks to allow him to trade credit default swaps; he is believed to be the first individual to do so. Greene put up $30 million to buy swaps that would pay off from a default from paper backed by subprime mortgages. He increased the bets by $20 million over the next year, focusing on packages of California and Nevada loans and those known as 2/28s--30-year mortgages whose borrowers had been drawn in by 2-year teaser rates that were destined to be higher for the next 28 years.
Initially the market moved against Greene, and by the summer of 2006 he was sitting on a $5 million paper loss. He held on, and the market started to turn, eventually leaving Greene with his $800 million win.
These days he's cashing out his swaps and investing elsewhere. He likes muni bonds. Traditionally, he says, high-grade 30-year munis yield about 80% as much as taxable 30-year Treasurys. But recently hedge funds have been forced to sell to cover losses elsewhere, pushing muni yields to 0.3 percentage points above the yield on Treasurys.
Other Greene plays: paired trades, like one in which he is shorting Treasurys (through interest-rate swaps) and going long Ginnie Mae securities of like maturity; his thinking is that he will profit when the spread between the two narrows from 2.5 percentage points, which is double the historical norm. He's also buying collateralized loan obligations for highly rated companies like Calpine (other-otc: CPNLQ.PK - news - people ) and Dole Foods, whose yields are likewise abnormally high under today's stressed-out market conditions.
Greene's biggest bet, which includes $800 million of his $1 billion in investable assets: cash. "Being in cash, or very near cash, is the smart place to be because things are dropping in value," he says.

Whatever the product, that's the kind of market Greene likes. "I bought it," he says, gesturing to his yacht, "six years ago from a guy in Singapore during the SARS crisis. I paid $6 million, and it would have cost $20 million new." That takes the sting out of the fact that the 350-ton vessel costs $100,000 to fill with fuel and burns 50 gallons per hour. ("Don't print that! It's a bigger carbon footprint than we'd like to have," Greene cautions.)
"A lot of my friends say, 'Now that you've made it big, aren't you going to buy a bigger boat?' I say, 'What for?'" says Greene. But hasn't he been shopping in Hong Kong for a 165-footer? "I'm a trader," he explains sheepishly. "Under the right circumstances I'd consider a new boat. I'm not ruling it out."
Nor, it seems, are Greene and John Paulson ruling out a rapprochement. The two traders exchanged greetings in jpmorgan's box at last month's U.S. Open men's final, and Greene introduced Mei-Sze. It's not Passover with Greene's mom, but it's a start.

good books for reading for all age groups

The best children's books: 5-7 year-olds

From Roald Dahl's bestselling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch, Julia Eccleshare picks her top reads for 5-7 years.

The Sheep-Pig: Dick King-Smith

Brave Babe, born a runty little piglet, who is brought to the farm for fattening-up, cheats his destiny by learning new skills from his adoptive mother Fly, the sheepdog. Babe's sheep-working skills are all his own and soon his unique technique of speaking respectfully to the sheep brings him fame as well as saving Farmer Hogget's sheep from harm. Funny and touching.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory is one of fiction's most tantalising locations and Charlie Bucket's adventure a mouth-watering rollercoaster of a ride. Along with four other children, Charlie wins a golden ticket to be shown around. While Charlie blossoms on the trip, his four companions reach suitably sticky and disgusting ends as punishment for their revolting behaviour. Mr Willy Wonka dispenses prejudiced and violent justice, which children adore.

The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth: Eoin Colfer

The sometimes horrible but always fascinating way in which brothers treat one another lives on in this hilarious story of how Will's older brother Marty spooks the daylights out of him with a terrible tale of the deadly pirate Captain Crow. The thought of what the bloodthirsty pirate might do sets off a chain reaction of disasters for Will but also a just and delightful comeuppance for Marty.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants: Dav Pilkey

Cartoon illustrations, a chunky format and pants in the title make this an easy choice for new readers. Superhero Captain Underpants hurtles through adventures, seeing off all kinds of opposition from aliens and the rest. Loads of slapstick humour to enjoy in the pictures, as well as easy-to-read speech bubbles that support the longer storyline.

The Worst Witch: Jill Murphy

It's hard enough to be hopeless in any school but, when it is spells that go wrong, the results can have unpredictable consequences. New girl Mildred Taylor doesn't quite get the hang of some of the magical homework set at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. The resulting chaos is delightful and hugely satisfying.

The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon: Mini Grey

Everyone knows that the dish ran away with the spoon but, in this bittersweet rags-to-riches picture-book story, now we know what happened next. The couple sail to New York. Here they make big money as glamorous stage stars but then lose it all and set out on a less glamorous life as criminals. Sophisticated and glorious illustrations make this a visual treat.

Flat Stanley: Jeff Brown

Squashed flat when a billboard falls on top of him, Stanley lives a new and deliciously dotty life, being posted off on holiday – so much cheaper than a plane ticket – and being flown as a kite.

Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire: Andy Stanton

Mr Gum is unremittingly nasty. He hates children, animals and even fun. But there is something he loves: money! So, when he finds someone with lots and lots of cash, he is determined to get his hands on it. Mr Gum's anarchic and outrageous behaviour has much to recommend him.

Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age: Raymond Briggs

Like all children, Ug questions everything. And with good reason. Briggs's Stone Age is solidly stony. Ug wants a soft ball to play with, cooked meat not raw. Above all, Ug longs for soft trousers. (His stone ones are hugely amusing.) A brilliant book about asking why.

The Iron Man: Ted Hughes

From its terrifying opening in which a strange creature crashes down a cliff, then scrabbles to put itself back together from the body parts that are strewn all over the beach, this mythic story is rich in unforgettable images. Underlying them, Hughes raises all kinds of questions about how people respond to anything new.

Finn Family Moomintroll: Tove Jansson

The stories of the Moomins have a timeless charm. Fantasy and reality fuse delightfully; the strong family feeling of the Moomins and the charming details of their domestic life sit comfortably alongside the magic that surrounds them. Here, Moomintroll and his friends have a wonderful set of adventures with a magical hat when they wake up from their long winter sleep.

The best children's books: 8-12 year-olds

From the small genius of The Borrowers to the giants of children's books, the Narnia stories, Lucy Mangan and Imogen Russell-Williams pick their must-reads for 8-12 years.

Stig of the Dump: Clive King

This was the first original Puffin published in 1963. The story of eight-year-old loner Barney who befriends Stig, a remnant of the Stone Age hidden in the local chalk pit, has not been out of print since. The two boys grow to appreciate each other's eras and skills as they contrive ingenious solutions to Stig's various problems living out of the junk that is thrown into the pit. A modern classic.

Charlotte's Web: EB White

"'Where's Papa going with that ax?' said Fern to her mother" is probably the most famous opening line of any children's book. He is going to dispatch Wilbur, the runt of the litter, until Fern pleads for clemency. With the help of Wilbur's wise and devoted friend, Charlotte, the spider is able to live out the rest of his days in safety. You may feel like warning your child that Charlotte dies "as spiders do" at the end of the summer. You should resist. It's a book that teaches you that characters can be made to live for ever simply by turning back to the first page and starting again.

The Family from One End Street: Eve Garnett

This episodic collection of the adventures (in the late 1930s) of the multitudinous Ruggles family (seven children, two parents) was one of the first books for this age group to take working-class life as its central theme and to depict it with charm and without condescension. They remain as fresh as the day they were penned.

The Story of Tracy Beaker: Jacqueline Wilson

One End Street was Wilson's favourite book as a child and its influence can be seen in all her wildly popular books, which speak just as directly and unpatronisingly to and about the kind of children underrepresented in young fiction. Tracy Beaker is their totem, an irrepressibly imaginative child (though the staff in her care home say she has "behavioural problems") who writes the story of her life while waiting for her mother to come and get her back.

Matilda: Roald Dahl

It's almost impossible to choose between Dahls but Matilda is one of the most borrowed by children so let us pick her – especially as it helps refute the charges of misogyny occasionally aimed at Dahl. Matilda is the superbright daughter of horrible parents who helps free her schoolmates and her lovely teacher Miss Honey from the tyranny of Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress. All of Dahl's exuberance and cartoon brutality is on display here, just the way kids like it.

Tom's Midnight Garden: Philippa Pearce

Exquisitely written, perfectly pitched and suffused with a gentle yearning, the story of lonely Tom – who discovers that the gardenless flat in which he is staying returns at midnight to its days of Victorian splendour – is Pearce's masterpiece. And if you don't cry at the final scene, well, you'll know you're dead inside.

The Phantom Tollbooth: Norton Juster

Bored, disaffected young Milo receives a mysterious present – a purple tollbooth – and sets off on a journey through Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, cities at war in the Kingdom of Wisdom which has banished the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason. It dazzled, discomfited, enmeshed and then enraptured me.

The Narnia books: CS Lewis

Yes, they're very much of their time and place, an oak-panelled room in the oak-panelled 1950s – and maybe you'll want to drop The Last Battle, where the whole Christian allegory thing becomes crudely explicit, behind the sofa – but until then it's a riot of fauns, talking beavers and dancing dryad in a cracking set of stories.

Harry Potter: JK Rowling

No, they're not great literature. But, like Enid Blyton, they give new readers quick and convincing proof that reading can be fun. For that alone – although I'd argue they achieve more than that – Rowling's boy has earned his Z-shaped stripes.

The Borrowers: Mary Norton

The Borrowers – tiny people, living secretly in the houses of "human beans" and scavenging therein – are a wonderful idea. The story of young Arrietty's growing frustration with life under the floorboards speaks forever to children's irritation with their own circumscribed world. If only we could all pole vault with a hatpin out of here.

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror: Chris Priestly

Mesmerising, understated, and convincingly Victorian in tone, these grisly ghost stories are beautifully framed by the mysterious Uncle Montague, telling tales of his sinister knick-knacks to his nephew Edgar over tea and cake. A book for children who enjoy being frightened – and a perfect introduction to Saki and Edgar Allan Poe.

The Lionboy Trilogy: Zizou Corder

This riproaring trilogy crams in everything – dystopian oppression, passionate conservationism, villainous relatives, shipboard circuses and a boy who can speak to cats, all set in a petrol-poor, corporation-controlled future. Charlie Ashanti discovers his scientist parents have been kidnapped by the corporation because they're on the verge of discovering a breakthrough cure for asthma. Charlie must travel to Paris, Venice, Morocco and Haiti, in the company of the lions he has freed from a drug-administering tamer, to set the world to rights. Joyous.

Skellig: David Almond

Michael, worried because his baby sister has been born prematurely, finds a curious creature in the garage of his family's new home. Unethereal in its tastes – which include brown ale and Chinese takeaway – the being nevertheless seems to have wings. Skellig celebrates children's unfiltered, Technicolor perceptions of the exciting world in which they live. A bookshelf essential.

The best children's books: 5-7 year-olds

From Roald Dahl's bestselling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch, Julia Eccleshare picks her top reads for 5-7 year-olds

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The Sheep-Pig: Dick King-Smith

Brave Babe, born a runty little piglet, who is brought to the farm for fattening-up, cheats his destiny by learning new skills from his adoptive mother Fly, the sheepdog. Babe's sheep-working skills are all his own and soon his unique technique of speaking respectfully to the sheep brings him fame as well as saving Farmer Hogget's sheep from harm. Funny and touching.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory is one of fiction's most tantalising locations and Charlie Bucket's adventure a mouth-watering rollercoaster of a ride. Along with four other children, Charlie wins a golden ticket to be shown around. While Charlie blossoms on the trip, his four companions reach suitably sticky and disgusting ends as punishment for their revolting behaviour. Mr Willy Wonka dispenses prejudiced and violent justice, which children adore.

The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth: Eoin Colfer

The sometimes horrible but always fascinating way in which brothers treat one another lives on in this hilarious story of how Will's older brother Marty spooks the daylights out of him with a terrible tale of the deadly pirate Captain Crow. The thought of what the bloodthirsty pirate might do sets off a chain reaction of disasters for Will but also a just and delightful comeuppance for Marty.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants: Dav Pilkey

Cartoon illustrations, a chunky format and pants in the title make this an easy choice for new readers. Superhero Captain Underpants hurtles through adventures, seeing off all kinds of opposition from aliens and the rest. Loads of slapstick humour to enjoy in the pictures, as well as easy-to-read speech bubbles that support the longer storyline.

The Worst Witch: Jill Murphy

It's hard enough to be hopeless in any school but, when it is spells that go wrong, the results can have unpredictable consequences. New girl Mildred Taylor doesn't quite get the hang of some of the magical homework set at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. The resulting chaos is delightful and hugely satisfying.

The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon: Mini Grey

Everyone knows that the dish ran away with the spoon but, in this bittersweet rags-to-riches picture-book story, now we know what happened next. The couple sail to New York. Here they make big money as glamorous stage stars but then lose it all and set out on a less glamorous life as criminals. Sophisticated and glorious illustrations make this a visual treat.

Flat Stanley: Jeff Brown

Squashed flat when a billboard falls on top of him, Stanley lives a new and deliciously dotty life, being posted off on holiday – so much cheaper than a plane ticket – and being flown as a kite.

Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire: Andy Stanton

Mr Gum is unremittingly nasty. He hates children, animals and even fun. But there is something he loves: money! So, when he finds someone with lots and lots of cash, he is determined to get his hands on it. Mr Gum's anarchic and outrageous behaviour has much to recommend him.

Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age: Raymond Briggs

Like all children, Ug questions everything. And with good reason. Briggs's Stone Age is solidly stony. Ug wants a soft ball to play with, cooked meat not raw. Above all, Ug longs for soft trousers. (His stone ones are hugely amusing.) A brilliant book about asking why.

The Iron Man: Ted Hughes

From its terrifying opening in which a strange creature crashes down a cliff, then scrabbles to put itself back together from the body parts that are strewn all over the beach, this mythic story is rich in unforgettable images. Underlying them, Hughes raises all kinds of questions about how people respond to anything new.

Finn Family Moomintroll: Tove Jansson

The stories of the Moomins have a timeless charm. Fantasy and reality fuse delightfully; the strong family feeling of the Moomins and the charming details of their domestic life sit comfortably alongside the magic that surrounds them. Here, Moomintroll and his friends have a wonderful set of adventures with a magical hat when they wake up from their long winter sleep.

I am diagnosed with fatty liver

The Doctor says, "it is one of those rare syndromes that happen in 1 in 10 or 20 people where the bile levels are elevated. He says it is called Gilbert's Syndrome."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert%27s_syndrome

He advised exercise and diet. That was his best advice. But his diagnosis is I feel wrong. Because the problem with me is not really the bile but the super elevated triglycerides. I asked him why the triglycerides are off the limits and he says that he has no answer to that. Hmmm. He does not know. Diet and exercise were his mantra.
This is the specialist Internal medicine doctor.
There is a fatty liver because of alcohol or hepatitis and a fatty liver without alcohol abbreviated NASH.
Looks like I have to treat myself with herbs. I ordered Kutki  herb and I am going to take it for a couple of months and check my triglycerides again.
According to  the article in Wikipedia, whose estimates could be dubious, people with NASH have 1 in 5 chances of developing cirrhosis. I do not want to get into those cirrhosis bunch. Lets see.
No more yummy cheese.......

For Arthritis and vata agrrevation

Ayurvedic Treatment of Arthritis
(Painful Joints)
by Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan Arthritis is one of the most common ailment for which Ayurvedic help is being sought these days.

Disease Process in Arthritis

According to Ayurveda mostly pains are caused by the aggravation of vata (air) dosha. Arthritis is a condition which is caused by accumulation of ama and aggravation of vata. (Ama is a toxic by-product of improper digestion.) This ama circulates in the whole body and deposits or gets collected at the sites which are weaker. When it deposits in the joints and at the same time there is aggravation of vata, it results in a disease called amavata. This amavata is arthritis.

Remedies

As described above ama and vata are the main causes, so efforts should be made to digest ama and to reduce the vata. The digestion should be improved so that no further ama is produced. Efforts should be made to relieve the pain and inflammation. This is the line of treatment according to Ayurveda.

Fasting is very beneficial for digesting the ama. The fasting be complete or partial depending on the strength of the person, season and place. Two tea spoons of lemon juice mixed in 250 ml. of warm water and a tea spoon of honey is good to take twice a day -morning and evening.

Body massage with sesame or mustard oil helps to reduce the vata and thus reduce the pain. The joints affected by pain can be massaged for longer time.

Light exercise is useful but you must know your limits: as a general rule if any exercise, including walking, causes pain after one hour, you have crossed your limit.

Liberal intake of orange juice or sweet limejuice or Vitamin C enhances the efficacy of any anti rheumatic drug, since Vitamin C can reduce skeletal pain.

Guggul is a very helpful herb for curing arthritis. If available it can be taken in one to 3 gm dose twice a day after meals with warm water.

Contra-indications:
Not recommended for people with kidney disease or acute rashes.

Diet and Regimen

Foods which are easily digestible and do not make wind or gas are good. Vegetable juices and soups are good. Juices of carrot, beat root and cucumber mixed together is also beneficial. Green salad with a dressing of lemon juice and a little salt is also good. Fruits like apples, oranges, grapes and papaya can be taken. Cooked vegetables like squash, zucchini and pumpkin are good. Cooking with spices like cumin, coriander, ginger, asafetida, garlic, fennel and turmeric is also helps a lot.

Avoid eating hot, spicy and fried foods, sweets, wind forming foods like cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, okra and potatoes should be prohibited. Avoid taking too much tea, coffee, alcohol, white sugar, yogurt, chocolate and cocoa, excessive smoking, sleeping during day time, staying up late in the night and mental tensions like worry, anxiety, fear, stress and grief etc., should be given up. Regular physical exercise and every day massage with oil, once or twice a week, should form an important part of life style.         
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I found above article useful and more on herbs


1. Sallaki is a resin related to Guggul and myrrh and used for similar purposes of cleansing the blood and countering arthritc pain. 


2. Bala, Indian country mallow


Bala is a tonic and rasayana for all kinds of vata disorders. It feeds the nerves and is soothing for arthritic pain.  It is also rejuvenative and nutritive and a stimulant to the heart. 


It belongs to the Mallow family ( like marshmallow) as tonics and demulcents and rejuvenatives.  These include Bala, mahabala (sida rhombifolia ) and atibala (abutilon indicum) as well as Cotton Root, the root of the cotton plant. Though they all possess similar properties, bala is a more effective heart tonic, and atibala is a stronger diuretic, while cotton root is heating and is a stronger emmenagogue.

Peptic ulcers

Asparagus (Asparagus racemosa) Asparagus is known to be an antispasmodic. It reduces the fire in the stomach. The root of the asparagus is effective in reducing the hyperacidity of the digestive system.
indian Gooseberry (Emblica officinalis) The Indian gooseberry, or amla, is very beneficial in the treatment of several stomach ailments, gastritis included. The other digestive ailments it is used for dyspepsia, burning sensation, anorexia, vomiting and hemorrhage.

Ayurvedic Treatment for Gastritis
Amalaki choorna or Triphala choorna is given in a dose of three grams thrice a day for seven days.
If there is constipation along with gastritis, then Avipattikara choorna is taken as the medicine of choice. The dosage is two teaspoonfuls at bedtime.
There is a list of other Ayurvedic preparations that are useful in the treatment of gastritis. Some of these are Dhaatri loha, Sukumara ghrita, Sootashekhara rasa, Kaamadudha rasa, Leela Vilas rasa, Chandrakala rasa and Amalapittantaka rasa.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:B4BKP1h0dcUJ:www.amrutpharma.net/herbal-tablets.html+gastric+burning+ayurveda&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Ayurveda offers a wide range of drugs for this condition. One of the safest drugs that can be used regularly is Avipattikara Churna available in powder form. It is digestive, anti-flatulent and antacid. Regular use promotes ulcer healing by arresting excessive secretions of irritating acid and juices in the digestive system and throws out the unwanted toxins from the GI Tract through Virechana i.e., purgation.

1. Amlaki - Botanically known as Emblica Officinalis, Indian gooseberry is highly useful and the fresh juice extracted from the fruit along with some sugar, if consumed daily on empty stomach, works wonderfully in this condition.
2. Certain plants which have astringent properties like Patol Patar, Brahmi, Aloe etc., are very useful in the treatment of peptic ulcer.
3. The decoction of barley, pipal, parval along with honey, can be taken for ulcers and acidity twice daily in the dose of 25 to 50ml.
4. The powder of Harar (2.5gm to 5gm) mixed with honey and gur has proved very effective for controlling peptic ulcer.

kutki for liver

Kutki

Other Names: Picrorrhiza Kurroa, Katuka, Katki.
This Ayurvedic herb is found in the western Himalayas from Kashmir in India to Sikkim.

As a Dietary Supplement

Kutki helps to maintain healthy bile production and supports healthy liver function. It is safe to use as nutritional support for excessive fat.

As per Ayurveda

It balances pitta and kapha (fire and water) in the body. It is used as a mild laxative, hepatoprotective, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic. It helps in cases of skin problems, jaundice and improves eye sight. It is also used to check first stage of liver cancer.
Traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) healers have relied on this plant for centuries to treat lung and liver disorders including hepatitis and poor bile production, constipation, digestive upset, and snakebites, among other ailments.
High Quality herb and pure extract of wild crafted herbs from their natural habitat without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or preservatives. Wild Crafted Herbs are more potent and effective than Cultivated Herbs.

Picrorhiza kurroa is a famous herb in the traditional system of medicine i.e. ayurveda and has classically been used to cure disorders of the liver and upper respiratory tract (URT). It also reduce fevers and to resolve dyspepsia, chronic diarrheal condition and bites by scorpion sting. It is a small perennial weed, found in the Himalayan region evolving at heights of 3,000-5,000 meters above sea level. Picrorhiza kurroa or commonly known as kutki has a long, creeping stocks of the roots that is bitter in taste and grows in rock crevices and rocky surfaces and moist, sandy soil. The leaves of the plant are flat, oval, and sharply serrated. The flowers appear in late summers and early rainy seasons. Flowers are white or pale purple in color and borne on a tall spike. It is harvested manually in the early winter season. The active ingredients are achieved from the root and rhizomes. The plant is self-regenerating. Present studies on Picrorhiza kurroa

(kutki) has focused on its hepatoprotective (liver protection), anticholestatic (stablelises cholestrol), antioxidant, and immune-modulating activity. Picrorhiza kurroa improves the gall bladder secretions and helps in digestion and metabolisation of fats. It is very useful in treating fatty liver and also regulates the fat metabolism in liver.

Pharmacological Action: tonic, expectorant, anthelmintic, antiviral, antipyretic, strong purgative, mild diuretic, antispasmodic, hepato and spleenotonic, regulates blood sugar, expectorant, anthelmintic, bhedana, antiviral = also HIV, EBV, purgative provoking pitta remove, anticoagulant, antipyretic, lekhana, diuretic, hepato detoxifier, antipleuritic, antispasmodic = hiccoughs K= kapha pitta hara, pacana, dipana, yakrt utageka, pitta sarka, krmighana, prame hangn, daha prasamk; bitter stomachic, laxative, cathartic in large dose, antiperiodic, cholagogue, mild purgative
Indications (Uses): portal hypertension, ascites, fever, hiccoughs, chronic constipation, renal failure, cirrhotic changes, HIV, rheumatic conditions, CFS, jaundice, hepatitis A (infectious) or B C, cirrhotic changes ,lipomas, gall stones, CFS, cirrhotic changes from alcohol, placque on arteries, gall stones, eczema, peptic ulcer, arteries, rheumatism, immune deficiency, fever, infectioin, pneumonitis, pulmonary congestion, cold, cough, HIV, EBV, chronic hiccough from CHF, renal failure, uremia, chronic constipation from gases, ascites, spleenomegaly, renal failure, hepatomegaly K = dropsy, snakebit, scorpion sting, disease of liver and spleen including jaundice and anemia, constipation due to scanty intestinal secretions, bilious fever as decoction of kutki, neem, licorice, raisins dyspepsia (kutki, vaca, haritaki, citrak with cow's urine in dose of 28ml, scorpion sting, non-specific fever such as with constipation, fever of elephantiasis, infective hepatitis with jaundice, bronchial asthma, hi serum cholesterol and long coagulation times
Contraindications (Cautions): diarrhea, dual hiccoughs, hypoglycemia
Constituents: K = flavonoid, kutkin a glucosida bitter principle actually two glucosides picroside-1 and kutkoside. Petroleum ether extract yielded D-mannitol, kutkiol, kutkisterol, and a ketone identical to apocynin, picrorhizin is its bitter principle, as glucosidovanilloyl glucose was isolated
Active Substances:
Plant Part Used: rhizome

tamas

shyam benegal interview

Gallstones

Description
The gallbladder is a pearshaped organ that is located beneath your liver. The gallbladder stores bile, a digestive fluid that the liver produces, until the fluid is required to help digest dietary fats in the small intestine. Normally, the acidic bile prevents cholesterol from becoming too concentrated. However, if too much cholesterol is present in the bile, it crystallizes in the gallbladder, forming gallstones. These crystalline formations may be round or jagged, small as a pea or large as a Ping-Pong ball. Some people with the condition develop only a single gallstone, while others develop several.
Gallstones that remain in the gallbladder typically produce no symptoms. If a gallstone exits the gallbladder, it can cause pain and other symptoms. Gallstones usually begin producing symptoms when they obstruct the duct that leads from the liver to the gallbladder or the duct that leads from the gallbladder to the small intestine. Once lodged in one of these ducts, the stones may produce painful spasms and inflammation at the site of the obstruction.
Gallstones most commonly affect people over the age of 40 and are generally associated with high blood cholesterol levels. Women who have had multiple pregnancies

are also at increased risk. In fact, women, in general, have a much higher incidence of gallstones than men do.

Signs and Symptoms

• Intense and very sudden pain in the upper-right portion of the abdomen that may radiate to the right shoulder blade and persist for several hours
• Nausea and vomiting
• Indigestion
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Jaundice

Conventional Medical Treatment

While many people who have gallstones never experience any symptoms, some people experience a painful attack that alerts them to visit a doctor. To diagnose the condition, your physician conducts a physical examination (to look for jaundice) and feels your abdomen to determine whether your gallbladder has become obstructed and distended. A blood test and ultrasound examination may be necessary to confirm diagnosis.
Non-surgical treatment is less common now and usually limited to patients who cannot un dergo surgery. Laparoscopic surgery to remove the gallbladder is the most frequently used treatment. Stones can be broken up by directing high-frequency sound waves at the gallbladder. This is called lithotripsy. Alternatively, gallstones may be dissolved with cheno-ursodeoxycholic acid.
While the gallbladder provides a useful service, it isn't necessary in maintaining normal body functions; the liver still can produce bile in the gallbladder's absence.

Complementary and Alternative Treatments

Nutrition and Supplementation
For gallstones, mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil with lemon or grapefruit juice and drink before breakfast and before bedtime. This treatment often helps eliminate stones in the stool. Your diet should contain 75 percent raw foods and include applesauce, fresh apples, eggs, beets, and plain organic yogurt. Other dairy products, fried and fatty foods, and refined white sugar increase the risk of gallstone formation. Avoid coffee (even decaffeinated), as it contracts the gallbladder and constricts bile flow.
To cleanse the system, drink as much pure apple juice as possible for five days; pear juice may be substituted on occasion.
Obesity is a risk factor. If you are overweight, experts recommend a sensible weight loss program created with the help of a medical expert. Do not go on a crash diet, which in itself may be a risk for gallstones.
Supplement your diet with the following on a daily basis:

• vitamin C (3000 mg in divided doses)-a deficiency can result in gallstones
• vitamin E (600 IU)
• lecithin (1200 mg)-aids in the digestion of fats
• choline (1000 mg)-aids in liver and gallbladder function
• L-glycine (500 mg, taken with water or juice)-important for the biosynthesis of bile acids
• taurine (1 g twice daily)-increases bile formation
• vitamin D (400 IU)-may interfere with absorption (Consult your healthcare provider regarding the duration of treatment.)

Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurveda views gallstones as a kapha disorder of slow metabolism (including underactive thyroid). An Ayurvedic practitioner may recommend taking an Ayurvedic formula containing six herbs, including musta and shilajit, to help prevent gallstones by speeding metabolism. To eliminate gallstones, the practitioner may also suggest a liver flush of olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Note: Use these treatments only with the approval of your doctor and under the supervision of a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner.
Bodywork and Somatic Pradices
Oriental bodywork therapies and reflexology are good first lines of action for these painful conditions. Include Reiki and Therapeutic Touch for extra loving care.
Herbal Therapy
Numerous herbs are recommended for banishing gallstones, improving the flow of bile, and preventing the formation of new stones. Any of the following treatments are suggested by herbalists: Combine equal amounts of tinctures of wild yam, fringetree bark, milk thistle, and balmony, and take a teaspoonful of the blend several times a day. Drink chamomile or lemon balm tea or a combination tea of balmany and fringetree. To make any of the teas, steep 1 or 2 teaspoons of the herb in 1 cup boiling water for 15 minutes; strain.
Other beneficial herbs for treating gallstones include catnip, cramp bark, dandelion, fennel, ginger root, and horsetail.
Homeopathy
Gallstones may respond to homeopathic treatment. However, the selection of a remedy-more than one is available depends on your symptoms and the stage of the condition. Don't try treating this disorder yourself. See a homeopathic professional.
Hydrotherapy
To help prevent gallstones, drink plenty of water-8 to 12 8-ounce glasses-everyday. Water dilutes the bile and helps flush it from the liver.
If you're bothered by gallstones and have frequent attacks, try constitutional hydrotherapy several times a week: apply alternating hot and cold packs to the abdomen and lower back.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture Acupuncture can be used to improve circulation to the gallbladder, thereby helping to prevent the formation of gallstones. It also can be used to relieve gallstone-related pain, inflammation, digestive problems, and fever.
Acupuncture points may include Gallbladder 34, Pericardium 6, Bladder 19, Stomach 36, Large Intestine 11, and related ear points.
Acupressure Acupressure can be useful in improving the flow of bile in the gallbladder and lessening gallstone pain. Points targeted during this treatment include Liver 3; Gallbladder 34; and Bladder 17, 18, and 19.
Chinese Herbal Therapy To improve bile flow and remedy gallstones, a Chinese herbalist may prescribe Corydalis Formula, Liver Strengthening Tablets, Minor Bupleurum Formula, Rhubarb and Scutellaria Formula, and Lidan Tablets. For gallbladder pain, Corydalis Analgesic Tablets are usually recommended.
Yoga and Meditation
Yoga poses that help ward off gallstones by emptying the gallbladder include the Bow, Peacock, and Spinal Twist.

correction came

 I predicted and was out of the market at the right time. I got into the market again. Got DPZ, VZ and shorted Cse.

Have to be vigilant about this stock. VZ, I am going to keep it for sometime because it gives nice interest 6.5 %. Can keep it for long term. VZ is a natural monopoly. They have enough extra cash to give of dividents.

Already reaping some profit in CSE. I am hoping if CSE goes to 4.5, i can buy back the shares.

Dpz, i want to hold it for a little longer because of its low p/e and also feel that the uptrend will continue after little gap of may be a couple of months. So it is the time to hold. 

There are some nice shorting opportunities out there.

liver problems

Liver function tests, or LFTs, include tests that are routinely measured in all clinical laboratories. LFTs include bilirubin, a compound formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin; ammonia, a breakdown product of protein that is normally converted into urea by the liver before being excreted by the kidneys; proteins that are made by the liver including total protein, albumin, prothrombin, and fibrinogen; cholesterol and triglycerides, which are made and excreted via the liver; and the enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Other liver function tests include serological tests (to demonstrate antibodies) and DNA tests for hepatitis and other viruses; and tests for antimitochondrial and smooth muscle antibodies, transthyretin (prealbumin), protein electrophoresis, bile acids, alpha-fetoprotein, and a constellation of other enzymes that help differentiate necrotic (characterized by death of tissues) versus obstructive liver disease.

Purpose

Liver function tests done individually do not give the physician very much information, but used in combination with a careful history, physical examination, and imaging studies, they contribute to making an accurate diagnosis of the specific liver disorder. Different tests will show abnormalities in response to liver inflammation; liver injury due to drugs, alcohol, toxins, or viruses; liver malfunction due to blockage of the flow of bile; and liver cancers.

Precautions

Blood for LFTs is collected by sticking a needle into a vein. The nurse or phlebotomist performing the procedure must be careful to clean the skin before sticking in the needle.
Bilirubin: Drugs that may cause increased blood levels of total bilirubin include anabolic steroids, antibiotics, antimalarials, ascorbic acid, Diabinese, codeine, diuretics, epinephrine, oral contraceptives, and vitamin A.
Ammonia: Muscular exertion can increase ammonia levels, while cigarette smoking produces significant increases within one hour of inhalation. Drugs that may cause increased levels include alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics, and diuretics. Drugs that may decrease levels include antibiotics, levodopa, lactobacillus, and potassium salts.
ALT: Drugs that may increase ALT levels include acetaminophen, ampicillin, codeine, dicumarol, indomethacin, methotrexate, oral contraceptives, tetracyclines, and verapamil. Previous intramuscular injections may cause elevated levels.
GGT: Drugs that may cause increased GGT levels include alcohol, phenytoin, and phenobarbital. Drugs that may cause decreased levels include oral contraceptives.
LDH: Strenuous activity may raise levels of LDH. Alcohol, anesthetics, aspirin, narcotics, procainamide, and fluoride may also raise levels. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can lower levels of LDH.

Description

The liver is the largest and one of the most important organs in the body. As the body's "chemical factory," it regulates the levels of most of the biomolecules found in the blood, and acts with the kidneys to clear the blood of drugs and toxic substances. The liver metabolizes these products, alters their chemical structure, makes them water soluble, and excretes them in bile. Laboratory tests for total protein, albumin, ammonia, transthyretin, and cholesterol are markers for the synthetic function of the liver. Tests for cholesterol, bilirubin, ALP, and bile salts are measures of the secretory (excretory) function of the liver. The enzymes ALT, AST, GGT, LDH, and tests for viruses are markers for liver injury.
Some liver function tests are used to determine if the liver has been damaged or its function impaired. Elevations of these markers for liver injury or disease tell the physician that something is wrong with the liver. ALT and bilirubin are the two primary tests used largely for this purpose. Bilirubin is measured by two tests, called total and direct bilirubin. The total bilirubin measures both conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin while direct bilirubin measures only the conjugated bilirubin fraction in the blood. Unconjugated bilirubin is formed in the reticuloendothelial (RE) cells in the spleen that remove old red blood cells from the circulation. The RE cells release the bilirubin into the blood, where it is bound by albumin and transported to the liver. The bilirubin is taken up by liver cells and conjugated to glucuronic acid, which makes the bilirubin water soluble. This form will react directly with a Ehrlich's diazo reagent, hence the name direct bilirubin. While total bilirubin is elevated in various liver diseases, it is also increased in certain (hemolytic) anemias caused by increased red blood cell turnover. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a condition caused by an immature liver than cannot conjugate the bilirubin. The level of total bilirubin in the blood becomes elevated, and must be monitored closely in order to prevent damage to the brain caused by unconjugated bilirubin, which has a high affinity for brain tissue. Bilirubin levels can be decreased by exposing the baby to UV light. Direct bilirubin is formed only by the liver, and therefore, it is specific for hepatic or biliary disease. Its concentration in the blood is very low (0–0.2 mg/dL) and therefore, even slight increases are significant. Highest levels of direct bilirubin are seen in obstructive liver diseases. However, direct bilirubin is not sensitive to all forms of liver disease (e.g., focal intrahepatic obstruction) and is not always elevated in the earliest stages of disease; therefore, ALT is needed to exclude a diagnosis.
ALT is an enzyme that transfers an amino group from the amino acid alanine to a ketoacid acceptor (oxaloacetate). The enzyme was formerly called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) after the products formed by this reaction. Although ALT is present in other tissues besides liver, its concentration in liver is far greater than any other tissue, and blood levels in nonhepatic conditions rarely produce levels of a magnitude seen in liver disease. The enzyme is very sensitive to necrotic or inflammatory liver injury. Consequently, if ALT or direct bilirubin is increased, then some form of liver disease is likely. If both are normal, then liver disease is unlikely.
These two tests along with others are used to help determine what is wrong. The most useful tests for this purpose are the liver function enzymes and the ratio of direct to total bilirubin. These tests are used to differentiate diseases characterized primarily by hepatocellular damage (necrosis, or cell death) from those characterized by obstructive damage (cholestasis or blockage of bile flow). In hepatocellular damage, the transaminases, ALT and AST, are increased to a greater extent than alkaline phosphatase. This includes viral hepatitis, which gives the greatest increase in transaminases (10–50-fold normal), hepatitis induced by drugs or poisons (toxic hepatitis), alcoholic hepatitis, hypoxic necrosis (a consequence of congestive heart failure), chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis of the liver. In obstructive liver diseases, the alkaline phosphatase is increased to a greater extent than the transaminases (ALP>ALT). This includes diffuse intrahepatic obstructive disease which may be caused by some drugs or biliary cirrhosis, focal obstruction that may be caused by malignancy, granuloma from chronic inflamation, or stones in the intrahepatic bile ducts, or extrahepatic obstruction such as gall bladder or common bile duct stones, or pancreatic or bile duct cancer. In both diffuse intrahepatic obstruction and extrahepatic obstruction, the direct bilirubin is often greatly elevated because the liver can conjugate the bilirubin, but this direct bilirubin cannot be excreted via the bile. In such cases the ratio of direct to total bilirubin is greater than 0.4.
Aspartate aminotransferase, formerly called serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), is not as specific for liver disease as is ALT, which is increased in myocardial infarction, pancreatitis, muscle wasting diseases, and many other conditions. However, differentiation of acute and chronic forms of hepatocellular injury is aided by examining the ratio of ALT to AST, called the DeRitis ratio. In acute hepatitis, Reye's syndrome, and infectious mononucleosis the ALT predominates. However, in alcoholic liver disease, chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis, the AST predominates.
Alkaline phosphatase is increased in obstructive liver diseases, but it is not specific for the liver. Increases of a similar magnitude (three- to five-fold normal) are commonly seen in bone diseases, late pregnancy, leukemia, and some other malignancies. The enzyme gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is used to help differentiate the source of an elevated ALP. GGT is greatly increased in obstructive jaundice, alcoholic liver disease, and hepatic cancer. When the increase in GGT is two or more times greater than the increase in ALP, the source of the ALP is considered to be from the liver. When the increase in GGT is five or more times the increase in ALP, this points to a diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis. GGT, but not AST and ALT, is elevated in the first stages of liver inflammation due to alcohol consumption, and GGT is useful as a marker for excessive drinking. GGT has been shown to rise after acute persistent alcohol ingestion and then fall when alcohol is avoided.
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is found in almost all cells in the body. Different forms of the enzyme (isoenzymes) exist in different tissues, especially in heart, liver, red blood cells, brain, kidney, and muscles. LDH is increased in megaloblastic and hemolytic anemias, leukemias and lymphomas, myocardial infarction, infectious mononucleosis, muscle wasting diseases, and both necrotic and obstructive jaundice. While LDH is not specific for any one disorder, the enzyme is elevated (twoto five-fold normal) along with liver function enzymes in both necrotic and obstructive liver diseases. LDH is markedly increased in most cases of liver cancer. An enzyme pattern showing a marked increase in LDH and to a lesser degree ALP with only slightly increased transaminases (AST and ALT) is seen in cancer of the liver (space occupying disease). Such findings should be followed-up with imaging studies and measurement of alpha-fetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen, two tumor markers prevalent in hepatic cancers.
Some liver function tests are not sensitive enough to be used for diagnostic purposes, but are elevated in severe or chronic liver diseases. These tests are used primarily to indicate the extent of damage to the liver. Tests falling into this category are ammonia, total protein, albumin, cholesterol, transthyretin, fibrinogen, and the prothrombin time.
Analysis of blood ammonia aids in the diagnosis of severe liver diseases and helps to monitor the course of these diseases. Together with the AST and the ALT, ammonia levels are used to confirm a diagnosis of Reye's syndrome, a rare disorder usually seen in children and associated with infection and aspirin intake. Reye's syndrome is characterized by brain and liver damage following an upper respiratory tract infection, chickenpox, or influenza. Ammonia levels are also helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic encephalopathy, a serious brain condition caused by the accumulated toxins that result from liver disease and liver failure. Ammonia levels in the blood are normally very low. Ammonia produced by the breakdown of amino acids is converted to urea by the liver. When liver disease becomes severe, failure of the urea cycle results in elevated blood ammonia and decreased urea (or blood urea nitrogen, BUN). Increasing ammonia signals end-stage liver disease and a high risk of hepatic coma.
Albumin is the protein found in the highest concentration in blood, making up over half of the protein mass. Albumin has a half-life in blood of about three weeks and decreased levels are not seen in the early stages of liver disease. A persistently low albumin in liver disease signals reduced synthetic capacity of the liver and is a sign of progressive liver failure. In the acute stages of liver disease, proteins such as transthyretin (prealbumin) with a shorter half-life may be measured to give an indication of the severity of the disease.
Cholesterol is synthesized by the liver, and cholesterol balance is maintained by the liver's ability to remove cholesterol from lipoproteins, and use it to produce bile acids and salts that it excretes into the bile ducts. In obstructive jaundice caused by stones, biliary tract scarring, or cancer, the bile cannot be eliminated and cholesterol and triglycerides may accumulate in the blood as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. In acute necrotic liver diseases triglycerides may be elevated due to hepatic lipase deficiency. In liver failure caused by necrosis, the liver's ability to synthesize cholesterol is reduced and blood levels may be low.
The liver is responsible for production of the vitamin K clotting factors. In obstructive liver diseases a deficiency of vitamin K-derived clotting factors results from failure to absorb vitamin K. In obstructive jaundice, intramuscular injection of vitamin K will correct the prolonged prothrombin time. In severe necrotic disease, the liver cannot synthesize factor I (fibrinogen) or factors II, VII, IX, and X from vitamin K. When attributable to hepatic necrosis, an increase in the prothrombin time by more than two seconds indicates severe liver disease.
Serum protein electrophoresis patterns will be abnormal in both necrotic and obstructive liver diseases. In the acute stages of hepatitis, the albumin will be low and the gamma globulin fraction will be elevated owing to a large increase in the production of antibodies. The alpha-1 globulin and alpha-2 globulin fractions will be elevated owing to production of acute phase proteins as a response to inflamation. In biliary cirrhosis the beta globulin may be elevated owing to an increase in beta lipoprotein. In hepatic cirrhosis the albumin will be greatly decreased, and the pattern will show bridging between the beta and gamma globulins owing to production of IgA. The albumin to globulin ratio (A/G) ratio will fall below one.
The most prevalent liver disease is viral hepatitis. Tests for this condition include a variety of antigen and antibody markers and nucleic acid tests. Acute viral hepatitis is associated initially with 20- to 100-fold increases in transaminases and is followed shortly afterward by jaundice. Such patients should be tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) and IgM antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc IgM), and anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HVC) to identify these causes. In addition to hepatitis A-E, viral hepatitis may be caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections of the liver. Tests for these viruses such as the infectious mononucleosis antibody test, anti-viral capsid antigen test (anti-VCA), and anti-CMV test are useful in diagnosing these infections.
Liver disease may be caused by autoimmune mechanisms in which autoantibodies destroy liver cells. Autoimmune necrosis is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus and chronic viral hepatitis usually caused by hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections. These conditions give rise to anti-smooth muscle antibodies and anti-nuclear antibodies, and tests for these are useful markers for chronic hepatitis. Antibodies to mitochondrial antigens (antimitochondrial antibodies) are found in the blood of more than 90% of persons with primary biliary cirrhosis, and those with M2 specificity are considered specific for this disease.

Preparation

Patients are asked to fast and to inform clinicians of all drugs, even over-the-counter drugs, that they are taking. Many times liver function tests are done on an emergency basis and fasting and obtaining a medical history are not possible.

Aftercare

Patients will have blood drawn into a vacuum tube and may experience some pain and burning at the site of injection. A gauze bandage may be placed over the site to prevent further bleeding. If the person is suffering from severe liver disease, they may lack clotting factors. The nurse or caregiver should be careful to monitor bleeding in these patients after obtaining blood.

Normal Results

Reference ranges vary from laboratory to laboratory and also depend upon the method used. However, normal values are generally framed by the ranges shown below. Values for enzymes are based upon measurement at 37°C.

• ALT: 5–35 IU/L. (Values for the elderly may be slightly higher, and values also may be higher in men and in African-Americans.)
• AST: 0–35 IU/L.
• ALP: 30–120 IU/LALP is higher in children, older adults and pregnant females.
• GGT: males 2–30 U/L; females 1–24 U/L.
• LDH: 0–4 days old: 290–775 U/L; 4–10 days: 545–2000 U/L; 10 days–24 months: 180–430 U/L; 24 months–12 years: 110–295 U/L; 12–60 years: 100–190 U/L; 60 years: >110–210 U/L.
• Bilirubin: (Adult, elderly, and child) Total bilirubin: 0.1–1.0 mg/dL; indirect bilirubin: 0.2–0.8 mg/dL; direct bilirubin: 0.0–0.3 mg/dL. (Newborn) Total bilirubin: 1–12 mg/dL. Note: critical values for adult: greater than 1.2 mg/dL. Critical values for newborn (requiring immediate treatment): greater than 15 mg/dL.
• Ammonia: 10–70 micrograms per dL (heparinized plasma). Normal values for this test vary widely, depending upon the age of the patient and the type of specimen.
• Albumin: 3.2–5.4 g/L.

Abnormal Results

ALT: Values are significantly increased in cases of hepatitis, and moderately increased in cirrhosis, liver tumor, obstructive jaundice, and severe burns. Values are mildly increased in pancreatitis, heart attack, infectious mononucleosis, and shock. Most useful when compared with ALP levels.
AST: High levels may indicate liver cell damage, hepatitis, heart attack, heart failure, or gall stones.
ALP: Elevated levels occur in diseases that impair bile formation (cholestasis). ALP may also be elevated in many other liver disorders, as well as some lung cancers (bronchogenic carcinoma) and Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, elevated ALP levels may also occur in otherwise healthy people, especially among older people.
GGT: Increased levels are diagnostic of hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver tumor or metastasis, as well as injury from drugs toxic to the liver. GGT levels may increase with alcohol ingestion, heart attack, pancreatitis, infectious mononucleosis, and Reye's syndrome.
LDH: Elevated LDH is seen with heart attack, kidney disease, hemolysis, viral hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, Hodgkin's disease, abdominal and lung cancers, germ cell tumors, progressive muscular dystrophy, and pulmonary embolism. LD is not normally elevated in cirrhosis.
Bilirubin: Increased indirect or total bilirubin levels can indicate various serious anemias, including hemolytic disease of the newborn and transfusion reaction. Increased direct bilirubin levels can be diagnostic of bile duct obstruction, gallstones, cirrhosis, or hepatitis. It is important to note that if total bilirubin levels in the newborn reach or exceed critical levels, exchange transfusion is necessary to avoid kernicterus, a condition that causes brain damage from bilirubin in the brain.
Ammonia: Increased levels are seen in primary liver cell disease, Reye's syndrome, severe heart failure, hemolytic disease of the newborn, and hepatic encephalopathy.
Albumin: Albumin levels are increased due to dehydration. They are decreased due to a decrease in synthesis of the protein which is seen in severe liver failure and in conditions such as burns or renal disease that cause loss of albumin from the blood.