Abhishek blog

Clijsters wins in Paris, closer to No. 1 ranking

PARIS – Kim Clijsters moved within one win of the No. 1 ranking, rallying past Kristina Barrois of Germany 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 Wednesday in the second round of the Open Gaz de France.

The Australian Open champion needs to win her quarterfinal match on Friday to take the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki.

"It didn't get into my mind," said Clijsters, who last held the No. 1 ranking in March 2006. "One more match, I guess. It will be tough. There's a couple of tough players who might get through."

Nadia Petrova of Russia, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden advanced to the second round. Clijsters will play either Petrova or Jelena Dokic of Australia.

Clijsters got off to a sluggish start, dropping serve twice to give Barrois a 4-0 lead.

The top-seeded Belgian cut the deficit to 4-3, but Barrois converted her first set point when Clijsters sent a backhand volley into the net.

"She's a tricky player," Clijsters said. "She has a game that you don't see that often anymore on the women's tour. In the beginning, I just had to get a feel for it."

In the next set, Clijsters hit a crosscourt backhand winner for a 3-1 lead. She double-faulted in the next game but broke Barrois with another backhand winner for a 4-2 lead, clinching the second set when a forehand from Barrois sailed long.

Clijsters was in control in the final set, although she had to save three break points in the third game.

"I wasn't worried after the first set," said Clijsters, who won the tournament in 2004. "I was sometimes overdoing a bit too much, I was trying to go for the winners a little bit too fast. But once I got that under control, I felt a lot more confident during the rallies."

Petrova cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Virginie Razzano of France, and Petkovic rallied past Angelique Kerber 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Petkovic won despite 17 break points and losing serve five times.

Wickmayer saved a break point at 4-2 down in the first set before defeating Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-6 (1), 6-2. Arvidsson defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Processed, Fatty Foods May Dumb Down Your Kids: Study

MONDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Feeding children lots of fatty, sugary and processed foods may lower their IQ, while a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients appears to boost it, British researchers say.

This is particularly true during the first three years of life when the brain is developing rapidly, the study authors explained. They speculate that good nutrition may promote brain growth and cognitive development.

"We have found some evidence to suggest that a diet associated with increasing consumption of foods that are high in fat, sugar and processed foods in early childhood is associated with small reductions in IQ in later childhood," said lead researcher Kate Northstone, a research fellow in the department of social medicine at the University of Bristol.

A more health-conscious diet was associated with small increases in IQ, she said.

Children should be encouraged to eat healthy foods from an early age, she said. "We know this is important for physical growth and development, but it may also be important for mental ability," she added.

For the study, published online Feb. 7 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Northstone's team collected data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children on 3,966 children born in 1991 and 1992.

The children's parents had answered questions about their kids' diets at age 3, 4, 7 and 8.5 years. The children's IQs were measured using the standard Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children when they were 8.5 years old.

The researchers identified three basic diets: "processed," crammed with fats, sugar and convenience foods; a "traditional" diet high in meats and vegetables; and a "health conscious" diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, salads, fish, rice and pasta.

Children who ate a diet high in processed foods at age 3 had a lower IQ at 8.5 years than kids with a healthy diet. For every one point increase in processed foods consumption, they lost 1.67 points in IQ. Conversely, every one point increase in healthy eating translated into a 1.2 point increase in IQ, the researchers found.

The key seemed to be the diet at age 3, since diet at 4 and 7 seemed to have no effect on IQ, the research team noted. However, to truly understand the effect of diet on children's intelligence, further studies are needed, they said.

Commenting on the study, Samantha Heller, a dietitian, nutritionist and exercise physiologist in Fairfield, Conn., said that "most of us do not realize that the foods we eat have direct consequences on brain growth, function and performance."

When a child's diet consists primarily of high-calorie foods that are low in the nutrients they need (such as healthy fats, vitamins and minerals), their brains don't get the compounds necessary to develop and function properly, Heller said. "This can have a series of deleterious effects, including decreased cognitive ability, poor behavior and social skills," she said.

"Fast and junk food seem like an easy and affordable option for busy parents, but defaulting to high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods is putting their children's health and future at risk," Heller said.

Cooking easy, healthy meals for the family will give "children's brains a boost in essential nutrients needed for healthy development and improved cognitive skills," she added.

More information

For more information on healthful eating for kids, visit theU.S. Department of Agriculture.

N.Z museum mulls options for mummified Maori heads

WELLINGTON (AFP) – For decades, New Zealand has campaigned for museums to repatriate the mummified and heavily-tattooed heads of Maori warriors held in collections worldwide -- now it must decide what to do with the gruesome but culturally valuable relics.

New Zealand's national museum Te Papa has more than 100 of the heads, known as toi moko, in storage in Wellington, along with about 500 skeletal remains plundered from Maori graves as recently as the 1930s.

In Maori culture, the dark swirls and geometric designs of traditional facial tattoos on men recognised high birth and rank, as well as achievements on the battlefield.

Te Herekiekie Herewini, who leads Te Papa's repatriation programme, said the heads of deceased chiefs or family members would be mummified as a way of preserving their spirit, while enemies' heads were preserved as war trophies.

"Initially the mummification of heads and bodies was part of our normal mourning process," he said.

"But when Europeans came, they saw the exotic nature of the heads and they became a coveted trading item because they were of commercial value in Europe, America and Australia."

The heads became so valuable that in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, some Maori hunted members of rival iwis (tribes) and murdered them to supply the burgeoning market in European museums for exotic human remains.

"For some of the iwi, trading in toi moko was strategic in accessing items such as muskets and European tools," Herewini said.

The trade in human heads was banned in the 1830s but over the next century museums turned their attention to skeletal remains.

New Zealand medical students also fed the demand, as they were required to take their own skeletons when they attended overseas colleges, with most of the bones robbed from Maori tombs.

"People would go to known caves or hidden burial sites where they knew Maori remains were and, without permission, they would take them and trade them," Herewini said. "Every museum wanted their own Maori head or Maori skeleton."

The grisly curios continued to be displayed in museums around the world, including New Zealand, until the 1970s.

Herewini said it was around then that Maori began pushing for the repatriation of their ancestors' remains, often meeting fierce resistance from institutions which feared it would set a precedent that could eventually see them forced to return human remains such as ancient Egyptian mummies.

The French parliament last year voted overwhelmingly in favour of returning around 15 Maori toi moko after years of debate about the implications of the move.

"These are much more than simple museum pieces," French lawmaker Michele Tabarot said at the time.

"These are human remains and some of these people were deliberately murdered to satisfy a despicable trade."

Herewini said repatriating remains was an emotional issue for Maori, who had a strong connection to the land and wanted to give the warriors the dignity of a proper funeral.

"For us, it's taking an ancestor back home, so it's the whole process of remembering," he said. "They're family members and it's important for them to be returned home to their resting place.

"The iwi don't know exactly who these people are but they do know they're connected to the land. They think about the different battles they were in, the different lifestyle they lived and the possible connections they have with them directly."

While the remains are returned to their iwi whenever possible, Herewini said that a lack of historical records meant about a quarter of the heads and bones held at Te Papa could not be identified.

They are stored in acid-free boxes in a special area of the museum and never go on display. Even viewing images of toi moko is considered taboo in Maori culture, Herewini said.

Building a permanent mausoleum for the unidentified remains in Wellington is under consideration but the Ngati Kuri tribe, in the country's far north, has put forward an alternative proposal.

They want to bury them near Te Rerenga Wairua, or Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in New Zealand, where Maori believe the spirits of the dead depart for the afterlife.

"It's a special area where there are ancient burial sites," Ngati Kuri Trust chairman Graeme Neho said. "Provided the other iwi agree, we believe placing their final resting place there would be a comfort to them and we would be their guardians."

Regardless of the remains' final destination, Herewiri sad he would continue his quest to return Maori ancestors to their homeland.

"For me, it's about righting a wrong, whether that was committed by Maori or Europeans is really immaterial," he said.

"It's completing the circle and bringing these people back home."

Steelers' Polamalu, Harrison silent in Super Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas – Troy Polamalu whiffed on a tackle. James Harrison was nearly invisible.

Not the way the Pittsburgh Steelers drew this up.

Pittsburgh's big-play, hard-hitting defensive leaders were nowhere to be found when the Steelers needed them most as Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay's offense led the Packers to a 31-25 victory Sunday night.

Polamalu was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but was anything but the impact player who helped get the Steelers to this point. He had a chance to make a big play early, but delivered only a glancing blow on James Starks.

Polamalu delivered his biggest hit the very next play — as Greg Jennings caught a 21-yard touchdown pass.

Harrison had a sack, but made most of his noise with his mouth during the week while criticizing the NFL. He might not have much to say after this performance, though.

Dick LeBeau's defense was one of the strengths all season for the Steelers, who have a long legacy of punishers — The Steel Curtain among them — who helped bring six previous titles to Pittsburgh. This team expected to do the same, with Polamalu and Harrison leading the way, as they so often have during the last few seasons.

But Polamalu finished with three not-so-memorable tackles, while Harrison had only the sack of Rodgers in the third quarter and a few quarterback hits.

It wasn't just Polamalu and Harrison to blame, of course. The Steelers' suspect secondary gave up several big plays throughout the game as the Packers, even without the injured Donald Driver for most of the game, took aim at Bryant McFadden, William Gay and the rest of Pittsburgh's defensive backs.

The defensive line, led by the big-bearded Brett Keisel, got some pressure on Rodgers but it wasn't consistent enough, especially in the first half, to get the Packers off track.

"We don't grade on a curve," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We're not interested in moral victories and things of that nature. We didn't play well enough to win and Green Bay does, and we tip our hat to them because of that."

When the Steelers look back at this one, though, they'll wish Polamalu and Harrison had done what made them two of the elite defensive players in the NFL.

Polamalu is a matchup nightmare with the way he freelances in the secondary, but he was beaten in coverage on Jennings' 8-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter that put Green Bay up 28-17.

The first quarter provided an ominous peek at how this night would unfold as Starks rumbled for 12 yards — and Polamalu had a shot at him, and missed. Jennings caught a 21-yard pass from Rodgers on the next play and Polamalu unloaded on him, his hair flying behind him, but there was one problem: the Packers receiver was already across the goal line.

"There were a lot of areas that could have swung the balance the other way and we look at every single play in all three phases when we evaluate our performances," said Tomlin.

Harrison was the Defensive Player of the Year two years ago, and was coming off another impressive season for the Steelers in which he had 10 1/2 sacks. He's a problem for receivers and tight ends coming across the middle, and for offensive linemen trying to protect their quarterbacks.

Not so much in this one. The Packers did a terrific job of keeping him out of Rodgers' face, and capped a frustrating week for Harrison.

The big linebacker was one of the centers of attention during the week leading to the Super Bowl, taking some hard shots at the league by calling the NFL's talk about wanting to protect players "a show." He sarcastically suggested a pillow could be used to soften blows he delivers to opposing players, and ripped the owners' push for an 18-game regular season.

Harrison was fined $100,000 by the NFL for illegal hits this season, but won't have to worry about his wallet after the Super Bowl.

Buffalo, N.Y., Snow Totals May Rise with Approaching Storm

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Another hard-hitting storm is bringing a mixed bag of precipitation to the Northeast. Buffalo, once the butt of snow jokes, still lags behind the new winner of snowfall totals -- Syracuse with 115 inches. There are even cities in the east that have tied Buffalo this year and are bracing to surpass with this new wave coming early Wednesday morning.

Although Buffalo is in third for snow totals in New York state, the snow tonight may not change the rankings. That's because almost every county in New York and northern Pennsylvania is under the same storm warning, although they won't be seeing the same precipitation.

"The places that will get the most snow will be along the lake Ontario shoreline where they're going to get anywhere between 8 to 14 inches," said David Zaff of the National Weather Service out of Buffalo. "As you move south towards the PA line that number will drop quite a bit."

However those places south of Buffalo and Rochester will be dealing with a combination of sleet and freezing rain. The initial dump of snow is also just the beginning as many will be dealing with blowing and drifting throughout the day with winds of 25 mph and reaching up to 35 mph wreaking havoc with driving conditions.

Most municipalities are asking the public to watch closely to the news and to heed any driving bans or warnings associated with your area. This helps the highway crews to better clear the roads without stranded or stuck vehicles hindering their progress.

"Just use common sense" was the advice from Steve Stepniak, the city of Buffalo's Commissioner of Public works. "If it looks rough out there and you don't have to go in it, don't. Take the warnings serious, if there are driving bans or driving warnings they're there for a reason."

Preparation is also key to the success of the highway crews.

"You can't prepare for one as apposed to another. You have to prepare each one as they come at you and do the best you can," Stepniak explained. He will have a 2 p.m. conference call with the National Weather Service to get any updates on the storm which will help them prepare for any last-minute details. Because our lake is frozen, we won't have to deal with that lake enhancement. But with this huge storm, Buffalo and the rest of the northeast will still have their hands full... with shovels.