Use your brain to look after your heart

QUEEN Letizia of Spain has told women to use their brains to take care of their hearts.

She was addressing women in Madrid at the official presentation of an awareness campaign on cardiovascular health.

Launched at Real Casa de Correos, seat of Madrid’s Regional Government, Mujeres por el Corazon (Women for the Heart) is a pioneering project in Spain promoted by Fundacion Mapfre, Fundacion ProCNIC, the National Centre of Heart Research (CNIC) and the Community of Madrid.

Queen Letizia took the floor at the end of the ceremony and encouraged women to get enough rest, follow a healthier diet and to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and smoking . She said: “It is time to think and take care of our hearts, and for that we need to use our brains.”

She was accompanied by the President of the Community of Madrid Ignacio Gonzalez, the Secretary for Equality and Social Affairs Susana Camarero, the CNIC Director Valentin Fuster and the President of Fundacion Mapfre Antonio Huertas.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death among Spanish women, followed by cancer and other conditions. It is estimated that as many as 43,000 women died in Spain in 2012 as a result of heart-related problems.

“Cardiovascular disease can be avoided or delayed, depending on a number of factors. However, every person out there, and in this case every woman, is largely responsible for her own health,” said the Queen.

Through the campaign, Madrid women will receive a practical guide titled Cuidate Corazon (Take care of yourself, heart), which includes health tips, exercise routines and even recipes with heart-friendly ingredients. The campaign is also accompanied by a website and a video (http://ift.tt/1vwNfxp)

“This is effective advice. Women need to take care of themselves even if they do not have enough time, even if they are tired, even if they come last on their list of priorities, because they have other priorities, including taking care of their parents, their children, their partners and looking after their jobs,” she said.

College student with meningitis dies

• San Diego State U. student dies after meningitis diagnosis


• School officials are notifying up to 400 others


• Bacteria is transmitted in only certain situations

(CNN) -- An 18-year-old San Diego State University student diagnosed with meningitis died Friday, leaving university officials scrambling to notify up to 400 people with whom she may have come in contact.

"Initially, we were thinking it was just a small group of people, but now we're in the range of estimates of 300-400 people that we're notifying," said Dr. Gregg Lichtenstein, director of SDSU student health services and clinical services.

"We've sent out a campuswide notification that all members of the Kappa Delta Sorority and those who attended certain fraternity parties on October 8 and 9 should receive preventive medication."

University officials say Sara Stelzer, a freshman studying pre-communications and a member of the sorority, was admitted to a local hospital Tuesday morning with flu-like symptoms.

"It is always difficult when a young life is lost, especially when that person is part of our SDSU family," Eric Rivera, vice president for student affairs, said in a statement about Stelzer's passing.

"We will do all we can to support Sara's family and our campus community during this difficult time," Rivera said. "We know our students will come together to support one another but also want them to know that counseling services are available."

Meningococcal meningitis is a severe infection of the brain and spinal cord. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms usually appear three to seven days after exposure. Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting.

It can be treated with antibiotics but receiving treatment quickly is key.

Lichtenstein emphasize the bacteria is not easily transmitted, particularly through the air.

"This is what we call a droplet infection so that means that people have to have close contact with respiratory secretions," he emphasized. "So were talking about situations where they're sharing things like glasses, eating utensils, cigarettes or pipes, water bottles and obviously oral contact with kissing."

The county health agency is working with SDSU to identify students who might have been exposed.

"While meningococcal disease can be serious and deadly, it is not spread through casual contact. Therefore, the risk to those who were not in close, direct contact is minimal." Dr. Wilma Wooten, country public health officer said.

Lichtenstein has this advice for students who may have had contact with Stelzer.

"If somebody has symptoms suggesting meningitis, don't go to student health services," he said. "Don't go to their doctor's, don't go to an urgent care center. They need to go directly to a hospital ER department for evaluation."

What to know about meningitis

Torrox beaches get Q for Quality award

TWO Torrox beaches have been awarded the Q for Quality standard.

The Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE) awarded the Q for Quality to Playa Ferrara and Playa El Morche in Torrox.

“This is excellent news for the municipality and especially for the tourism sector, since this award is a symbol of the quality of our beaches and of the tourism services we provide,” said Tourism and Beaches Councillor Mari Nieves Ramirez, adding that the Q for Quality is testament to the quality of the Spanish tourism sector and it represents prestige, distinction, reliability and promotion.

The thorough work carried out by the council with the counsel of AMACVA, Spanish acronym for the Enviroment and Quality of Life Association in Axarquia, has allowed the town to pass the audits conducted by ICTE before awarding the Q for Quality. Councillor Ramirez appreciated the work done by the municipal services and said they work every day, all year round, so that local beaches look their best.

This is not the first time that the quality of Torrox beaches has been recognised. In fact, Playa Ferrara and Playa El Morche had already been awarded the SICTED quality tourism certificate given by the State Tourism Office and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

Torrox beaches get Q for Quality award

TWO Torrox beaches have been awarded the Q for Quality standard.

The Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE) awarded the Q for Quality to Playa Ferrara and Playa El Morche in Torrox.

“This is excellent news for the municipality and especially for the tourism sector, since this award is a symbol of the quality of our beaches and of the tourism services we provide,” said Tourism and Beaches Councillor Mari Nieves Ramirez, adding that the Q for Quality is testament to the quality of the Spanish tourism sector and it represents prestige, distinction, reliability and promotion.

The thorough work carried out by the council with the counsel of AMACVA, Spanish acronym for the Enviroment and Quality of Life Association in Axarquia, has allowed the town to pass the audits conducted by ICTE before awarding the Q for Quality. Councillor Ramirez appreciated the work done by the municipal services and said they work every day, all year round, so that local beaches look their best.

This is not the first time that the quality of Torrox beaches has been recognised. In fact, Playa Ferrara and Playa El Morche had already been awarded the SICTED quality tourism certificate given by the State Tourism Office and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

More developments on fake rape case

FIVE men falsely accused of multiple rape during Malaga fair are taking preliminary steps to continue their case with the civil courts.

To allow this, a written petition has been made to the Number Two Malaga City Court asking for the sentence of the second criminal case, accusing the young woman in question of false accusations, to be clarified.

She was given a 10-month prison sentence and a fine, although an agreement was reached whereby the five men would not demand compensation in the criminal courts to avoid her having to go to prison. Yet the sentence states that the defendants expressly waived compensation for moral damages for moral damages derived from media coverage of the event and time spent detained.

The defendants’ lawyers insist compensation was only waived in regard to the criminal court, not a possible civil case, as some of their clients intend to continue through this channel. Therefore, an alteration to the criminal sentence has been applied for.

If the sentence does not allow a civil court procedure, an application may be made for the entire case to be declared invalid.

Do we need Comic Sans typewriter?

By altering a typewriter to type letters in one of the Internet's most despised fonts, designer Jesse England wants to provoke thoughts about how we "consume and generate media."

Comic Sans is often mocked for its child-like design, which is why England says he chose it: "To provoke a reaction."

To create the "Sincerity Machine," England used a laser engraving machine to etch new letters out of acrylic, and glued them onto the strikers of a Sears-branded Brother Charger 11 typewriter.

England, who works at a digital media studio, used a vinyl cutter to make new key covers.

Comic Sans' detractors believe that its childish design makes it inappropriate for most uses in everyday life beyond comics or elementary school classrooms.

Detractors of the "Sincerity Machine" can take heart in knowing its alterations are not immutable, England said. "If need be those stickers can come off the keys and the Comic Sans covers can come off the strikers, and the machine would be as good as new."

• "Sincerity Machine" types letters in Comic Sans


• Creator Jesse England hopes to make people think about how they consume media


• England says he wants people to use media "in a considered fashion," he said

(CNN) -- It's one of the most mocked fonts on the Internet, the target of numerous campaigns and websites that believe its "comical" design has no place in civilized society.

Now, Comic Sans has gone analog with the "Sincerity Machine," a typewriter that types letters in Comic Sans.

The idea came to Pittsburgh designer Jesse England one night in September, when he was lying in bed reading a comic that used a typewriter-style font in its lettering.

"It just struck me there was nothing stopping me from making a typewriter that could use a different font," he said.

Why do it? It's hard to say, exactly. But it's the kind of project that interests England, an artist and educator who leads classes in laser-cutting and engraving at a digital media studio for a living. Through his job he had access to tools to etch letters out of acrylic and glue them onto the strikers of an old Brother Charger 11 typewriter he found on the street years ago.

He could have used any font, but he chose Comic Sans "to provoke a reaction."

"If I'd made it in Helvetica people would've just observed it as a little design experiment," he said in a phone interview Saturday. Instead, by altering a classic machine to type one of the most polarizing fonts, he hopes to make people think about how they consume, generate and store media.

It appears to be working. Reaction on his YouTube video has been mixed and extreme, much like feelings over the much-maligned font. The Comic Sans Criminal website urges people to take the "Comic Sans Pledge" to seriously consider whether it is "an appropriate font choice" before using it in any printed work."

England has contemplated use of media in previous projects. As a Carnegie Mellon graduate student, he printed the pages of an eBook to create a bound book. He also leads YouTube tutorials on how to write in different fonts to show people that they can "retrain themselves" to use media differently from how they were taught in school.

He insists he's not a Luddite: he uses a smartphone and the cloud, and he appreciates the benefits of the digital age. But he worries that our fetishism of nostalgia and "homage to older standards in unquestioned fashion" is misguided at times. He also worries about policies and governments that restrict access to digital media.

"It's great that we can store our own content in the cloud and access email anywhere," he said. "What I want to avoid is the ability to have control over my media life being removed."

So, what does that have to do with a Comic Sans typewriter?

"I sincerely want people to consume and generate and make media in a considered fashion," he said.

As for those who despise the Sincerity Machine as much as the font, he has a reminder: Nothing is permanent.

"If need be those stickers can come off the keys and the Comic Sans covers can come off the strikers, and the machine would be as good as new."

Domestic abuse reports

THE president of the Observatory of Domestic and Gender Violence expressed worry on Friday October 17 regarding the rise in the number of women who report abuse but later choose not to press charges, and insists on the need for the victims to be accompanied during the legal process.

Data offered by this institute shows that a total of 31,699 gender violence cases were reported during the second quarter of this year, 4,188 of which were later withdrawn, bringing the number of women who do not continue the process to 13.2 per cent, the highest amount in the second quarter of a year since recording began in 2007.

She also stressed the need to encourage women to report cases to achieve a better response from authorities and increase the protection offered to women and children. The amount of reports has hardly changed in comparison to those of the same period in 2013, though many of these crimes are believed to not be reported to authorities.

69 per cent of women reporting abuse are Spanish and 31 per cent of other nationalities. Of these, 62 per cent of the victims who choose not to press charges are Spanish.

While the figures for the second quarter barely differ from last year, the first quarter registered a total of 62,110 reports, 1.8 per cent more than the same period in 2013.

As tends to be the case, this quarterly study - which collects data from the 106 courts dedicated exclusively to violence towards women in Spain along with 355 general courts – shows that in 70 per cent of cases the report is made by the victim herself, 1.61 per cent by family members or friends, 14.2 per cent following direct police intervention and 11.84 per cent are reported following injuries. A small remainder (1.78 per cent) are reported by third parties.

The Balearic Islands, Murcia and Valencia are the areas with the highest number of reports in proportion to female residents.