Japan saw a record number of marijuana offences last year, according to police, amid a crackdown on pop stars, sumo wrestlers and other celebrities who have been caught with the drug.
Police arrested 2,778 people for marijuana-related crimes in 2008, 22.3 percent more than the previous year, even though other drug-related crimes dropped off slightly, the National Police Agency said.
Around nine out of 10 of those arrested were first-time offenders, and 60 percent were under 30.
Japan strictly prohibits both hard and soft drugs, and police have in recent months arrested sumo wrestlers, popular musicians and actors, as well as college students for posessing, growing or selling marijuana.
Police blamed easy access to marijuana on the Internet, an increase in home-grown cannabis and higher sales by organised crime groups, as well as a widespread attitude that marijuana is a soft drug.
Overall, police arrested 14,326 people for drug offences, down 3.1 percent.
Friday, February 20, 2009
39,455 pass nursing board exam
Some 39,455 nursing examinees passed the November 2008 Nursing Board Exam in 2008, with a nursing hopeful from Baguio City topping the highly anticipated list.
A report quoted the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) as saying the latest results showed that the passing rate was 44.51 percent of the 88,649 examinees.
The PRC said the exam's topnotcher is Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna of the Baguio Central University, who got a score of 89 percent.
In June 2008's nursing exam, 27,765 out of 64,459 passed, or 43.1 percent of the more than who took the test. At that time, a University of Santo Tomas graduate topped the list of passers with an 86-percent score.
Friday's results has just elevated almost 40,000 students into being a registered nurse, the government is still concerned they would be an addition to the current pool of nurses that might find difficulty securing jobs abroad.
The Nursing Board Exam, like a few other licensure exams in the country, has had its own share of controversies, the most-talked about being the one conducted in 2006. The alleged leakage incident that year prompted the PRC to form an independent fact-finding committee that recommended a retake of the exam.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) last Wednesday urged nursing schools to device ways on how to produce an even more competent set of graduates.
A report quoted the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) as saying the latest results showed that the passing rate was 44.51 percent of the 88,649 examinees.
The PRC said the exam's topnotcher is Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna of the Baguio Central University, who got a score of 89 percent.
In June 2008's nursing exam, 27,765 out of 64,459 passed, or 43.1 percent of the more than who took the test. At that time, a University of Santo Tomas graduate topped the list of passers with an 86-percent score.
Friday's results has just elevated almost 40,000 students into being a registered nurse, the government is still concerned they would be an addition to the current pool of nurses that might find difficulty securing jobs abroad.
The Nursing Board Exam, like a few other licensure exams in the country, has had its own share of controversies, the most-talked about being the one conducted in 2006. The alleged leakage incident that year prompted the PRC to form an independent fact-finding committee that recommended a retake of the exam.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) last Wednesday urged nursing schools to device ways on how to produce an even more competent set of graduates.
US drivers continue 14-month trend by driving less
Slammed by a tumbling economic outlook, Americans are driving much less, continuing a 14-month trend.
In December 2008, US drivers traveled 3.8 billion fewer vehicle-miles (6.1 billion kilometers), or a 1.6 percent decrease compared to the same month a year earlier, according to latest figures.
In all, since the trend began in November 2007, motorists have traveled 115 billion fewer miles (185 billion kilometers).
"This nation's driving decline is another indication of just how important the president's economic recovery plan is," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, referring to the stimulus package signed this week by President Barack Obama.
The decline in rural driving has outpaced the decline in urban driving since the trend began, according to the department's figures.
However, 17 US states posted increased numbers of driver miles (kilometers).
The western state of Colorado led the pack in December with a 5.4 percent increase, or a 200 million-vehicle-mile (321 million kilometer) rise compared to December 2007.
In December 2008, US drivers traveled 3.8 billion fewer vehicle-miles (6.1 billion kilometers), or a 1.6 percent decrease compared to the same month a year earlier, according to latest figures.
In all, since the trend began in November 2007, motorists have traveled 115 billion fewer miles (185 billion kilometers).
"This nation's driving decline is another indication of just how important the president's economic recovery plan is," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, referring to the stimulus package signed this week by President Barack Obama.
The decline in rural driving has outpaced the decline in urban driving since the trend began, according to the department's figures.
However, 17 US states posted increased numbers of driver miles (kilometers).
The western state of Colorado led the pack in December with a 5.4 percent increase, or a 200 million-vehicle-mile (321 million kilometer) rise compared to December 2007.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Seductive chemicals hidden in sloppy kisses
Seductive chemicals are hidden in sloppy kisses, scientists say, but even the most chaste caress can spark an intense hormonal response.
Men like sloppier kisses with more open mouth and that suggests to me that they are unconsciously trying to transfer testosterone to trigger the sex drive in women. Kissing can certainly open the door to sex. Men's preference for sloppy kisses with lots of tongue may help them over come their poor sense of smell and taste.
What they might be doing is trying to pick up the estrogen cycle in a woman to figure out the degree of her fertility. Kissing also stimulates an enormous part of the brain, but love can do even more, according to an experiment with MRI brain scans.
But it can also close it: a recent study found that the first kiss was the "kiss of death" for budding relationships.
Should you drool more? You don't want to turn off your partner. Kissing is a natural instinct that likely serves a number of evolutionary purposes.
People who had recently fallen in love had high levels of activity in the reward system in the brain that produces dopamine and is linked to craving, motivation, focused attention and goal-oriented behavior.
Long term lovers showed activity in the same "reward" area as new lovers but also showed activity in a region associated with the feeling of calm that produces the chemical serotonin and in the area that produces oxytocin, which is associated with pair-bonding.
Kissing raises oxytocin levels among men and also lowers stress hormones in both men and women, according to a study that will be presented at the conference Saturday.
Wendy Hill, a neuroscience professor at Lafayette College, tested the saliva and blood of 15 couples who spend 15 minutes either kissing or holding hands and talking.
She found that the women had significantly higher levels of the pair-bonding hormone than the men before the experiment started, but those levels dropped when they were tested after the experiment was completed.
It was a surprising result, which Hill said could be attributed to the fact that the test was run in the college's health center and that a bit of soft music and some flowers were not enough to get the women in the mood.
"We're running the setting again in a more romantic setting," Hill said. "It's a secluded room in an academic building. It has a couch, it has flowers, it has candles - electric because of fire hazard issues - and we have light jazz playing."
Men like sloppier kisses with more open mouth and that suggests to me that they are unconsciously trying to transfer testosterone to trigger the sex drive in women. Kissing can certainly open the door to sex. Men's preference for sloppy kisses with lots of tongue may help them over come their poor sense of smell and taste.
What they might be doing is trying to pick up the estrogen cycle in a woman to figure out the degree of her fertility. Kissing also stimulates an enormous part of the brain, but love can do even more, according to an experiment with MRI brain scans.
But it can also close it: a recent study found that the first kiss was the "kiss of death" for budding relationships.
Should you drool more? You don't want to turn off your partner. Kissing is a natural instinct that likely serves a number of evolutionary purposes.
People who had recently fallen in love had high levels of activity in the reward system in the brain that produces dopamine and is linked to craving, motivation, focused attention and goal-oriented behavior.
Long term lovers showed activity in the same "reward" area as new lovers but also showed activity in a region associated with the feeling of calm that produces the chemical serotonin and in the area that produces oxytocin, which is associated with pair-bonding.
Kissing raises oxytocin levels among men and also lowers stress hormones in both men and women, according to a study that will be presented at the conference Saturday.
Wendy Hill, a neuroscience professor at Lafayette College, tested the saliva and blood of 15 couples who spend 15 minutes either kissing or holding hands and talking.
She found that the women had significantly higher levels of the pair-bonding hormone than the men before the experiment started, but those levels dropped when they were tested after the experiment was completed.
It was a surprising result, which Hill said could be attributed to the fact that the test was run in the college's health center and that a bit of soft music and some flowers were not enough to get the women in the mood.
"We're running the setting again in a more romantic setting," Hill said. "It's a secluded room in an academic building. It has a couch, it has flowers, it has candles - electric because of fire hazard issues - and we have light jazz playing."
Aptera 2e
An exclusive drive of an aerodynamically slick electric vehicle that looks to change the world, three wheels at a time.
Aptera 2e, a soon-to-be-produced electric vehicle whose shape is slipperier than a Teflon-coated salmon on glare ice, and whose composite construction offers both light weight and impressive structural integrity. Better yet, the 2e is scheduled to begin rolling off the Vista, California, assembly line this October for an as-yet-to-be-determined price between $25,000 and $40,000. Charge it overnight from your 110-volt home outlet, and it's claimed to have a range of 100 miles...in the carpool lane, if you wish.
But flinging it around the streets near Aptera's headquarters, it seems quicker still, partly due to a go-kart-like agility that's carried off with a surprisingly civil ride. Adding to the feel is a view of the road rushing up at you (the base of the aircraft-evocative windshield plunges toward the pavement) and those wheel pants articulating with the inboard rocker-type front suspension, visible out of the dramatically forward-raked side windows. Steering and brakes are unassisted, but efforts are reasonable as the curb weight is only 1700 lb., about half the weight of a base Honda Accord.
Earlier, in another near-production prototype whose interior and exterior detailing is nearing final spec. Entering gracefully through the quasi-gullwing doors takes a few tries, but the door openings are large and once seated, the cabin width seems to split the difference between a Lotus Elise and a Toyota Corolla. There's a large hooded digital speedometer and bar-graph battery state-of-charge indicator, along with a central infotainment screen that offers mind- boggling possibilities. Leg- and head room were surprisingly generous for even my 6- foot-3 frame. And safety is preeminent in the Aptera's design — the final version will have both frontal and side airbags. And if there was any doubt about the strength of the composite construction, it was quelled as eight Aptera employees stood on the roof of a development shell. And that was after the shell had gone through government roof -crush testing!
It seems as if the future is here today...or at least come this October.
Aptera 2e, a soon-to-be-produced electric vehicle whose shape is slipperier than a Teflon-coated salmon on glare ice, and whose composite construction offers both light weight and impressive structural integrity. Better yet, the 2e is scheduled to begin rolling off the Vista, California, assembly line this October for an as-yet-to-be-determined price between $25,000 and $40,000. Charge it overnight from your 110-volt home outlet, and it's claimed to have a range of 100 miles...in the carpool lane, if you wish.
But flinging it around the streets near Aptera's headquarters, it seems quicker still, partly due to a go-kart-like agility that's carried off with a surprisingly civil ride. Adding to the feel is a view of the road rushing up at you (the base of the aircraft-evocative windshield plunges toward the pavement) and those wheel pants articulating with the inboard rocker-type front suspension, visible out of the dramatically forward-raked side windows. Steering and brakes are unassisted, but efforts are reasonable as the curb weight is only 1700 lb., about half the weight of a base Honda Accord.
Earlier, in another near-production prototype whose interior and exterior detailing is nearing final spec. Entering gracefully through the quasi-gullwing doors takes a few tries, but the door openings are large and once seated, the cabin width seems to split the difference between a Lotus Elise and a Toyota Corolla. There's a large hooded digital speedometer and bar-graph battery state-of-charge indicator, along with a central infotainment screen that offers mind- boggling possibilities. Leg- and head room were surprisingly generous for even my 6- foot-3 frame. And safety is preeminent in the Aptera's design — the final version will have both frontal and side airbags. And if there was any doubt about the strength of the composite construction, it was quelled as eight Aptera employees stood on the roof of a development shell. And that was after the shell had gone through government roof -crush testing!
It seems as if the future is here today...or at least come this October.
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