Features

Even those not technically minded know the essential input-output principle that rules every single computer-based device today, from actual computers to smartphones. Hence the importance of data or information input, the place where understandably it all starts. How do you input yours? What is your preferred method?

In the beginning it used to be keyboards, almost exclusively. Today, various pointers, trackballs, touch pads, touch screens, mice, S-Pens, virtual keyboards and last but not least voice, they all come to the rescue. Though it may be fun and trendy, the most sophisticated method is not always the most practical. It all depends on the context and the task you are working on.

Take voice input for example. Today, with the advanced speech to text functionality, you can just say the text you want to “type” and your computer will feed the text in the word processor, smartly displaying it on the screen. Even the mouse clicks and keyboard commands have their equivalent with voice commands. This is great only if you have a long text to type, if you are working in a quiet place and if you are alone. For surely you don’t want everyone around to listen to the text you are dictating to your computer.

Voice operation is becoming more and more common with smartphones and with some forms of Google search like Ask Google for instance. But again, in the most common situation silent operation remains the preferred rule, and by far.

When it comes to tablets, combining voice action with the virtual keyboard that automatically appears on the screen works well. Still, for long typing sessions many prefer to connect a physical keyboard to the tablet, be it a cabled or a wireless Bluetooth model.

The mouse of course goes without saying. Alongside the keyboard it has proved to be a survivor through the years, and few devices have really replaced it or can perform better, especially with the high precision and inexpensive models that have now been around for more than 10 years. American Douglas Engelbart from Stanford University patented the mouse in 1970. The device may be small apparently insignificant, but its impact is huge and universal. Today, countless wireless Bluetooth models of mouse are used not only with computers but with tablets as well.

I must confess I have a weakness for Samsung’s S-Pen. I started playing with the beautifully crafted little electronic pen when I discovered that it came with my latest tablet. I say playing for I didn’t buy the tablet because of it and didn’t take it seriously at first. The more I was using it and the more convenient I found it to be. It’s fast, precise, responsive, and it truly replaces the pen you’d use to write on paper.

The application that Android provides with it is very smartly designed and covers all aspects of working with a pen: erasing, ignoring the annoying wrist touch, colouring, setting the thickness and the type of pen, and so forth. In less than a week I was hooked on the little pen and I now I use it to take notes during meetings or even to input my “to do” list for the next day, to write down quickly a memo, etc.

The S-Pen comes with additional functions that are elegantly housed in its body and that also lets you click like with a mouse and also allow you to preview data and menu items just by hovering above the screen, without even touching it, making the best of both worlds.

As wonderful as the S-Pen may be, it won’t make me discard the other tools. We need them all, at different times, for different tasks, with different computers.

For older people, the brain-protecting benefits of eating fish outweigh any potential harms from mercury, according to a small US brain study.

Researchers found that older adults who ate the most seafood did have higher brain levels of mercury, but didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects from it. And if they also had a gene variant that raises risk for Alzheimer’s disease, high fish intake seemed to lower their risk of developing the disease.

“We had a unique opportunity to look at seafood consumption and relate it to brain health,” in a group of elderly people before and after death, said lead author Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago.

“Seafood is touted for its many health benefits,” Morris told Reuters Health. “A large number of studies have shown that it slows cognitive decline with aging and reduces risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

But some older people worry that consuming fish with mercury will actually damage their brains, she said, so this study should allay those concerns.

The researchers used detailed data on a group of older people living in Chicago retirement homes or subsidised housing and participating in a memory and ageing research project. During the study, which ran from 2004 to 2013, participants described their fish and seafood consumption among other foods, and after many of them died, their brains were autopsied for research purposes. 

On average, participants died at around age 90, and they had answered the dietary questionnaires about four and a half years before death. Of the 544 participants who died by 2013, about half had brain autopsies and the new analysis is based on those results.

Researchers found that as the number of seafood meals a person ate each week rose, so did the level of mercury detected in their brain on autopsy. But those who said they ate seafood one or more times a week also had less Alzheimer’s-related brain pathology, such as plaques or neurofibrillary tangles, compared to those who ate little or no seafood.

Among people with the “e4” version of a gene known as apolipoprotein E (APOE), which is associated with heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s, the disease was less common for seafood eaters than for those who ate little or none. The results were similar when researchers looked at just omega-3 fatty acid levels in the diet, most of which come from certain types of oily fish.

However, taking fish oil supplements was not linked to any brain structure changes related to dementia, according to the results published in JAMA.

“The [beneficial] fish consumption levels were on average more than two seafood meals per week,” which is not infrequent, but would be less than in some other areas like Alaska, Morris said.

She was not able to identify which specific types of seafood were most closely linked to reduced brain risk, she said. 

At these moderate levels, though, the mercury associated with fish did not seem to do any harm.

“There is mercury toxicity that does affect the brain, but we do not have data on very high levels of seafood consumption,” Morris said.

“There has been evidence that the mercury level in fish may limit its benefit for the development of the unborn child in pregnant women,” said Edeltraut Kroger of Universite Laval in Quebec City, Canada, who coauthored an editorial alongside the new results. “Pregnant women or women considering pregnancy should limit their intake of fish which has higher levels of mercury.”

The omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood, particularly fatty fish, are important for brain health, Morris said.

“Fish is the most important food source for the intake of omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids,” Kroger agreed. 

“These play an important role in brain cells and may protect against cardiovascular disease,” Kroger said by e-mail.

We need not be afraid of mercury in fish with regard to Alzheimer’s disease, he said.

“Right now for Alzheimer’s disease there are no effective treatments and no cure,” Morris said. “Eating seafood may be one way to reduce your risk.”

Russell Peters, the acclaimed Canadian comedienne was in town last weekend as a part of his two-day “Almost Famous” tour. The tickets for the show were sold out even before I could call up the booking office. Thankfully, a wrong snowstorm forecast by the weathermen in Amman, bungled up the programming and the Wednesday performance was postponed to Friday. 

Two people were offended by this and cancelled their reservation. Luckily I managed to grab those available seats, which were in B category and towards one corner of the massive auditorium. I could not care less. I was a big fan of this funny guy and even if I had to stand backstage and listen to him I would have done that. Happily!

My sole ambition in life was to become a stand up comic. But back then, when I was younger, my family could not even comprehend what that meant. “You want to be a clown?” my grandmother asked me once. Seeing my dejected expression, she hurriedly corrected herself. “Ok, ok so you want to become a joker. God willing, you will be a great joker one day,” she pacified, while stroking my head with her gnarled hand. 

My parents did not actually discourage me, but they did not encourage me either. Whenever I broached the subject, they quickly changed the topic and distracted me by asking me to complete my schooling first. Which I did and subsequently I went on to do other things but if I had half a chance, I would be on a stage and making people laugh. Exactly like Peters does. 

Born in Canada, of Anglo Indian origin, Peters is hilariously witty. The best thing about him is the potshots that he takes at his own background and community. His father was born in Bombay and regularly features in his scripts. His most popular punch line is, “somebody gonna get a hurt real bad”. It ends a joke he tells about his childhood with a traditional Indian father, who used corporal punishment on his sons. 

Arriving at the Royal Cultural Palace in Hussein Sport City on a freezing evening, I joined the long serpentine queue of people wanting to get inside the hall. I was amazed at the strong fan following Peters had in Jordan where people, I thought, were not too familiar with India or Canada. 

Peters likes to interact with the spectators, especially the ones who sit in the first few rows. When he queried if there were any Indians in the audience, I did not raise my hand, because making fun of the Indian accent was his pet theme. Especially the habit of my country people who, while speaking to strangers, asked them, “What is your good name?” instead of “What is your name?” It left the foreigners curious about whether we all had a bad name to go with a good one. 

The audience was rolling in laughter throughout the show and towards the end I had a stitch in my stomach. As we were driving back, our daughter called from London. 

“Had a good time mom?” she asked. 

“I am in pain,” I answered. 

“Not used to laughing so much?” she figured instantly. 

“No, I mean yes,” I gasped. 

“Your good name madam?” she imitated the mimic. 

“Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad,” I warned in Peters’ voice. 

“Perfect mimicry mum. Go on stage next time,” she instructed. 

“Yes, I mean no,” I promised. 

LOS ANGELES — “Kung Fu Panda 3” kicked its way to the top of the North American box office with a respectable $41.3 million, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday.

The DreamWorks Animation film cost a reported $145 million to make and earned a strong “A’’ CinemaScore from audiences — 70 per cent of whom were families.

“It’s a bold move to take a franchise which has had great success in that summer corridor and move it into late January, which is generally considered a very slow time,” Rentrak’s senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “It also filled a huge void in the marketplace.”

The first film opened to $60.2 million in 2008 and the second to $47.7 million in 2011.

For Fox, switching up the release was a no-brainer after seeing the successes of “The Lego Movie” and last year’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” in this time frame.

“We know that when the market conditions are right, this business really is a 365-day-a-year business,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief. “We saw an opportunity and we grabbed it. We’re thrilled with the results.”

There are a number of winter holidays coming up where kids will be out of school and “Zootopia”, 2016’s next big animated release, doesn’t open until March 4.

The animated sequel also fared much better than the weekend’s other new openers, like Disney’s Coast Guard adventure “The Finest Hours”, which debuted in fourth place with $10.3 million.

Based on a real life 1952 rescue mission, “The Finest Hours” stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster and cost around $80 million to make.

Dergarabedian thinks that the nautical theme might have seemed too similar to the recently released “In the Heart of the Sea” for audiences.

The opening is similar to last year’s “McFarland, USA”, another fact-based drama from Disney, which opened with $11 million in late February and went on to earn $44.4 million.

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” parody “Fifty Shades of Black”, meanwhile, earned a modest $5.9 million for 10th, but it only cost a reported $5 million to produce. Marlon Wayans co-wrote, stars in and produced the R-rated takeoff.

“Spoof movies and parodies have a very mixed box-office record,” Dergarabedian said. “The reviews are never good on these movies. You have to really hope you’re riding a wave of the popularity of the movie you’re spoofing.”

“Fifty Shades of Grey” was released last February and its sequel isn’t expected until next year.

The Weinstein Company’s Natalie Portman-led Western “Jane Got a Gun” misfired out of the gates, bringing in only $803,000 on a $25 million budget.

Overall, there wasn’t much space for newcomers with strong holdovers like “The Revenant” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, which took second and third place with $12.8 million and $11.1 million, respectively. Both fell only 23 per cent from last weekend.

Notably, Fox’s “The Revenant”, once considered a possible box-office disaster with its gritty subject matter and reported $135 million budget, has earned $138.2 million to date in six weeks in theatres thanks in part to its awards hot streak with multiple wins for star Leonardo DiCaprio and a host of high-profile Oscar nominations.

“It’s a marvellous thing for us, for the industry, for filmmaking in general. To have a hold like this is really heartening,” Aronson said. “This is a pretty good weekend. There’s a very balanced marketplace here. There’s something for everyone out there now, and I’ve always said that’s when this business is at its best.”

Fourth was “The Finest Hours”, a rescue-at-sea drama that made $10.3 million on its debut weekend.

Starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, it’s based on the true story of a 1952 rescue of a ship that breaks apart during a raging New England nor’easter.

Comedy “Ride Along 2” was fifth with $8.4 million in receipts. A sequel starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the comedy has been in theatres for three weeks.

Rounding out the top 10 were: “Dirty Grandpa”, $7.6 million, “The Boy”, $7.6 million, “The 5th Wave”, $7.1 million, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”, $6.3 million in ninth spot.

It might one day be possible to expose babies delivered by cesarean section to the colonies of good bacteria in the birth canal that help build the immune system and ward off disease, a small experiment suggests. 

During a vaginal delivery, microbes present in the birth canal colonise the baby’s skin, mouth and gut, forming their so-called microbiomes. These maternal bacteria are believed to play many roles in babies’ health, ranging from aiding digestion and metabolism to supporting brain development and bolstering the immune system. 

“Cesarean delivery, as well as other disruptors of early microbiota assembly — for example antibiotic use and formula feeding — have been associated with conditions emerging later in life including asthma, allergies, type 1 diabetes and obesity,” lead study author Maria Dominguez Bello of New York University said by e-mail. 

To test out whether it might be possible to give C-section babies some help building their microbiomes despite the circumstances of their delivery, researchers swaddled four of these infants in gauze soaked in their mothers’ vaginal fluids. 

All of the C-sections were scheduled, making it possible for researchers to place gauze in the mother’s vagina for an hour before the surgery and then wrap the infants in the gauze right after birth. 

One month after delivery, researchers collected more than 1,500 samples from the babies’ bodies to see what types of bacteria made up their microbiomes.

The C-section babies exposed to birth fluids had microbiomes that were more similar to their vaginally delivered peers than to C-section infants who didn’t get this exposure, researchers report in the journal Nature Medicine. 

There are a lot of caveats to the findings beyond just the small size of the experiment, chief among them that it’s impossible to say whether swaddling C-section babies in vaginal fluids has any short-term or long-term health benefits.

In addition, this intervention might carry an infection risk, and might not work for emergency C-section surgeries that leave no time to have women soak the gauze before babies arrive, the authors note. 

“If we demonstrate that there is a health benefit, and that is of course a big ‘if’, I think this has the potential to become common practice in scheduled C-sections,” senior study author Jose Clemente of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York said by e-mail. “As with any other intervention, there will be cases where this procedure will not be advisable and should not be performed.”

The potential is important to explore, however, because C-section rates are surging in many developed countries despite the fact that the World Health Organisation recommends this surgery for only the 10 per cent to 15 per cent of births when the health of the mother or baby is in danger, Dr Alexander Khoruts of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis notes in an accompanying editorial. 

Still, research on the role of the gut microbiome in human health is still in its infancy, Khoruts said by e-mail. 

“It is reasonable to wonder how alterations in the gut microbiota composition can affect human physiology, and whether the changes caused by antibiotics, altered diet and practices during the earliest years of life contribute to the rise of many diseases that seem to be more prevalent in the developed world,” Khoruts added. 

“However, these speculations are still mere hypotheses.”

A more powerful and focused addition to the Korean manufacturer’s popular D-segment saloon car range, the Kia Optima GT has the performance and dynamic abilities to match its now sharper more muscular design. Succeeding the previous generation US market Optima Turbo the GT is the first — and very welcome — performance-biased Optima introduced to the Middle East.

Quick, composed, comfortable and confident, the GT is the range-topping model in a new fourth generation optima range, first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show late last year. Evolutionary in nature, the new Optima is aesthetically more assertive, but also features structural and dynamic improvements, better refinement and more contemporary infotainment and driver assistance systems.

Aggressive evolution

An evolutionary design that is subtly but distinctly more aggressive and muscular, the new Optima features a more sculpted bumper section, side sills and body surfacing. With noticeably blistered fog lamp/side gill housings, more swept back yet heavily browed grille and headlamps, side ports, sharply angled slim rear lights and built-in bootlid spoiler, the Optima a wider more purposeful presence.

Rakishly angled with coupe-like roofline, tautly pulled back sheet metal and flowing waistline line stretching from the headlights to the rear lamps, the new Optima both visually more dramatic and slightly larger. Roomier in all directions, and with 10mm longer wheelbase, the new Optima features 25mm more rear legroom and slight shoulder and headroom increases front and rear. 

Driven with the largest available 235/45R18 footwear filling in its bulgy wheel-arches, the sportier Optima GT is distinguished by a yet more aggressive bumper design with slatted metallic side gill slats and long lower intake slat. The GT also features black gloss side sills and aggressive rear diffuser section with integrated dual exhaust ports.

Quick and confident

Powered by a 2-litre turbocharged direct fuel injection four-cylinder engine driving front wheels through a smooth shifting six-speed automatic gearbox, the Optima GT produces 241BHP at 6000rpm and 258lb/ft torque throughout an early arriving and flexibly broad 1400-4000rpm. Though down from the previous non-Middle East Optima Turbo’s 274BHP and 269lb/ft, the new GT does however deliver better low and mid-range responses and improved fuel efficiency.

A welcome addition to Kia’s regional line-up, the Optima GT offers performance more in tune with its decidedly aggressive design. With quick spooling twin scroll turbo, the GT virtually eliminates turbo lag and is responsive off-the-line. Welling up muscularly to an effortlessly punchy and accessible wide and versatile mid-range, the Optima GT felt decidedly more athletic than headline figures suggest.

Eager spinning to redline and maximum power, and underwritten by generous torque, the GT felt urgent yet refined, with useful real world performance and little torque steer, despite the absence of electronic torque vectoring to tidily channel power to the driven front wheels. Covering the 0-100km/h sprint in 7.4 seconds and capable of 240km/h, it also returns 8.5l/100km combined cycle fuel efficiency.

Composed and committed

Using 150 per cent more advanced high strength steel, the new Optima benefits from 50 per cent enhanced structural rigidity, which pays dividends in terms of crash safety, ride refinement and handling precision. Meanwhile, wider suspension subframe mountings improve stability and the use of four — rather than two — front bushing mounts, more robust wheel bearings and dual rear lower control arms.

Collectively improving lateral stiffness, steering response and precision, cornering traction and agility, the sportier Optima GT, however, also receives firmer high-performance dampers for better responses and body control. An altogether tauter more connected driving experience, the Optima GT felt stable at speed and settled on rebound, yet eager, poised and committed into and through corners.

Despite limited opportunities to fully explore its dynamic envelope during test drive in Oman, the Optima GT felt tidy and direct on turn-in, with good front and rear grip under load and through corners. Tauter damping provided a sportier and more reassuring drive, with noticeably improved body roll control and a more buttoned down feel over imperfections.

Classier comfort

Tauter and more connected than other Optima models, the GT’s sportier handling abilities better reflects its assertive design, and finds a good balance between keen handling and ride comfort. Supple yet stable riding, the new Optima also benefits from improved acoustic and vibration refinement owing to improved aerodynamics, window seals, dashboard insulation under-floor cover and larger cross member bushings.

Better refined, classier and roomier inside, the new Optima features a cleaner less cluttered design with horizontal emphasis. More upmarket in appearance and feel, it gains more soft textures and improved materials, and features unified metallic accent tone and texture throughout the cabin. Supportive and comfortable, the GT-specific sports seats featured rich red leather and contrasting dark grey stitching.

Well equipped with standard and optional infotainment, convenience and safety and driver assistance systems, the Optima GT features optional 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, up to 8-inch infotainment display, Bluetooth connectivity and wireless phone charging. Also available are 360° around view parking camera, sensors and assistance, and rear cross traffic, blind spot and lane keeping alerts.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, transverse, turbocharged 4 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 86 x 86mm

Compression ratio: 10:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 6-speed automatic, front-wheel drive

Gear ratios: 1st 4.766:1; 2nd 2.946:1; 3rd 1.917:1; 4th 1.420:1; 5th 1:1 6th 0.772:1

Reverse/final drive: 3.393:1/2.885:1

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 241 (245) [180] @6000rpm

Specific power: 120.6BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 154BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 258 (350) @1400-4000rpm

Specific torque: 175Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 223.6Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 7.4 seconds

Top speed: 240km/h

Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined: 12.3-/6.3-/8.5 litres/100km

CO₂ emissions, combined: 191g/km

Fuel capacity: 70 litres

Length: 4855mm

Width: 1860mm

Height: 1465mm

Wheelbase: 2805mm

Track, F/R: 1607/1614

Overhang, F/R: 965/1085mm

Ground clearance: 135mm

Headroom, F/R: 1020/970mm

Legroom, F/R: 1155/905mm

Shoulder-room, F/R: 1475/1432mm

Hip room, F/R: 1423/1422mm

Luggage volume: 510 litres

Kerb weight: 1,565kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Lock-to-lock: 2.78 turns

Turning circle: 10.9 metres

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/double wishbones, coils, anti-roll bars

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 320mm/discs, 284mm

Tyres: 235/45R18

One of the Middle East’s biggest auto exhibitions, the annual Qatar Motor Show is undoubtedly an important national event for carmakers to showcase their latest products to a particularly wealthy market. Held for the sixth year running, the Qatar Motor Show is, however, gaining influence on a regional level. If not quite the full-blown regional auto expo headline event that is the Dubai Motor Show, Qatar — along with Abu Dhabi — is among the next two most influential such events.

Held for the first time at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre — giving the show a more central locale. Meanwhile, the event itself seems to be maturing somewhat, with less glitzy exotics and overly elaborate niche cars, but more mainstream exhibitors. With exhibitor numbers rising from last year’s 35 to 40, the 2016 Qatar Motor Show has even attracted a small number of regional production and concept car premiers, along with expected national debuts, following on from the Dubai and recent international events. 

Despite notable absences from more exotic brands like Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti, the 2016 Qatar Motor Show’s strongest showing came from the Volkswagen group in general and Audi in particular, all of which were represented at a regional office level, rather than just by local importers, as most other manufacturers were. Premiering in Doha following its recent Frankfurt global unveiling was the Audi S8 Plus high-performance luxury saloon. Its’ Audi A8 L Security armoured car sister — already available to high-end clientele — however made its regional motor show stand debut.

In an interview with Audi Volkswagen Middle East Managing Director Benoit Tiers commented that the “Qatar Motor Show is important for Qatar and it is also important for the region, but I don’t see a fight against Dubai. I see an opportunity for us as a group to show the best of our products, to a country where we have specific need”. Voicing support for the event, and that there is more than one show in such a big region, Tiers added that Audi is “happy to introduce such sporty models to the Qatar Motor Show, because those are the sort of cars Qataris like”.

And while the S8 Plus regional premiere and R8 supercar national debut perhaps took centre stage for Audi, Qatar also played host to the regional premiers for the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s compact sports SUVs: the compact high performance RS Q3 and sporty mid-size SQ5. A sentiment echoed at other group brands, Volkswagen took the opportunity to introduce the latest incarnation of the compact Tiguan crossover to the region. Porsche, meanwhile, unveiled the Macan GTS version of its compact sports SUV to the Middle East, alongside regional debuts for three Turbo S, Carrera 4S and Targa 4S variants of its long-standing and distinctive rear-engine 911 sports car.

Fellow German rival BMW introduced high-performance SUVs, including the large and practical X5M and its less-practical but more dramatic sloped roof X6M sister model. While Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche were with luxury and high-performance cars well represented at the Qatar auto expo, Mercedes-Benz featured the C450 AMG Sport to debut a new AMG Sport line of performance cars bridging the gap between garden variety and full high-performance AMG models. At the more exotic end of the automotive spectrum, Maserati, Ferrari and Rolls Royce were also present.

Concept cars at the Qatar Motor Show included the radical Toyota FT-1 and Qatar’s very own first supercar concept. Designed by Abdul Wahab Ziaullah and financed by the Qatar National Research Fund, the Elibriea prototype is a work in progress and not yet road worthy. With initial road testing and development performed, the sharp and radical looking Elibriea is currently powered by a 525BHP General Motors sourced engine, but is envisioned to produce 800-1000BHP, should development continue to production.

Audi S8 Plus

Understated, luxurious and supercar swift with re-assuring four-wheel drive roadholding, the high-tech S8 Plus is a full-fat road rocket evolution of the already ample high-performance S8 version of the A8 full-size luxury car range. Unlocking an additional 84BHP from the S8’s 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, the Plus version develops 597BHP and 553lb/ft torque with an increased 305km/h top speed limit. With four-wheel drive Quattro traction and light weight aluminium construction, the S8 Plus’ delivers segment-leading 3.8-second 0-100km/h acceleration.

Audi RS Q3

Audi’s quick and compact RS Q3 high-performance skunkworks crossover SUV Sportback is muscular and agile, and benefits from Quattro four-wheel drive roadholding and a slick automated dual clutch gearbox. Harking back to Audi’s most celebrated 1980-91 Quattro, the RS Q3 is powered by a turbocharged 5-cylinder engine producing 335BHP and 332lb/ft torque, which allows for brisk 4.8-second 0-100km/h acceleration and a governed 250km/h to speed.

Audi SQ5

Less brutal but more practical than the RS Q3, the larger sporty performance SQ5 version of Audi’s mid-size SUV also features Quattro driveline mated to a smooth and swift 8-speed automatic gearbox. Power comes courtesy of a 3-litre supercharged V6, the SQ5 offers responsiveness and consistent delivery with a broad sweet spot. Developing 349BHP and 346lb/ft, the well-equipped and efficient SQ5’s delivers 5.3-second 0-100km/h acceleration and is expected in Middle East showrooms in the third quarter of 2016.

Audi A8 L Security 

Luxurious plush and impenetrable to VR9 level ballistic and explosive armour rating, the A8 L Security is Audi’s most secure car ever. Unique among head of state level armoured cars are the A8’s relatively low weight and Quattro four-wheel drive, which adds another level of roadholding and power distribution ability. Benefiting from the stock A8’s aluminium construction and high tech low weight armour plating, the A8 L Security may be portly in absolute terms at just over 3.6 tonnes, but is trim by comparison to competitors.

Offering the benefit of a holistic and integrated factory approach to security, the A8 L Security also offers optional fresh air supply and unique explosive emergency exit doors. Priced from 400,000 euro upwards, the A8 L security is powered by a choice of 4-litre twinturbo V8 developing 429BHP and 442lb/ft or a naturally aspirated W12 engine producing 493BHP and 461lb/ft, and features run-flat capability at 80km/h for up to 80km, and a governed 210km/h top speed.

Cancer screening for women, as it is for men, is extremely important. It allows for detection of cancer at an earlier stage. 

Detecting cancer at an earlier stage means a better prognosis, and a more effective treatment for the affected individuals.

For example, in stage one breast cancer, the percentage of individuals cured may reach up to 100 per cent; however, for stage 4 breast cancer it is only around 20 per cent. 

It is precisely in these percentages that the difference lies.

Screening tests exist for four types of cancers in women: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and lung cancer (in a specific group of smokers).

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females and it holds the highest percentage for most cancer cases in Jordan (around 20 per cent of all cancer cases).

At the age of 20, all women should start breast self-examination and report any new breast symptoms to their physician. It is preferable that women between the ages of 20 and 40 undergo a clinical breast exam (a breast exam carried by a healthcare professional) once every three years. 

At the age of 40 all women should start having a yearly mammogram.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in females. Screening for colorectal cancer should start at the age of 50. There are several colorectal cancer screening tests; however, the most common are a colonoscopy once every 10 years (best colorectal cancer screening test), and a yearly stool test.

As for cervical cancer, women aged 21 and above should consult their gynaecologist to discuss screening on an individual basis.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in Jordan. Screening for lung cancer is not necessary for all women, only for a specific group of smokers. A woman should screen for lung cancer if she is between 55-74 years of age and in good health, an active or former (must have quit within the past 15 years and not before) smoker with 30 “pack years’’ (discussed below) of smoking. People who fit these criteria should undergo a yearly lung CT scan from the ages of 55 to 74. Of course one could simply avoid screening for lung cancer altogether by not smoking.

As I have discussed in a previous article, “Pack years” is a figure that incorporates two things: the number of years a person has smoked, and the number of packs a person smokes per day. Both numbers are multiplied, and the product of their multiplication is the pack years. Say, for example, a woman smoked two packs per day for 15 years, she would have 30 pack years, which is the same as an individual who smoked 1 pack per day for 30 years.

To sum up, all women should screen for cancer. Screening, in general, is an integral part of health as it allows a person to remain in constant sync with one’s own body. Cancer screening, specifically, is crucial because it allows for the earlier detection of cancer and thus bettering the prognosis.

Women should consult with their healthcare professionals to discuss the frequency and timeline for screening; some may need to start the screening process earlier than that discussed, depending on certain factors, such as a family history with the disease.

The writer is an MD currently working on cancer screening awareness and general health screening campaign. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.

Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate
London: Saqi Books, 2015
Pp. 256 

In this book, London-based, Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan connects the dots of daily news reports to give a comprehensive picture of what he calls Islamic State [Daesh] — its origins, leaders, mode of operation, funding and the keys to its success. Ranking high among the latter is inventive use of the Internet: “Without digital technology it is highly unlikely that Islamic State would ever have come into existence, let alone been able to survive and expand.” (p. ix)

While Al Qaeda has used the internet, it is the new generation of jihadists, who are attracted to Daesh, that pioneered in harnessing the outreach offered by social media and virtual private networks for the purpose of propaganda, recruitment, battlefield logistics, procuring funds, and more.

It seems equally unlikely that Daesh would have come into existence without the chaos and sectarian strife created by war, which it was ready and able to exploit to its advantage. Relying on hard facts gleaned from extensive research and interviews with key players, Atwan traces the origins of Daesh to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, highlighting the role of failed US policy. “Two 2006 studies, one by the Saudi government and one by an Israeli think tank, found that most foreign fighters [in the Iraqi resistance] were not jihadists before the 2003 invasion of Iraq but had been radicalised by the American occupation.” (p. 50) 

A pivotal moment, in Atwan’s view, came in 2008, when the US handed over the Sons of Iraq Sunni tribal forces it had trained, to the sectarian Maliki government that dismissed them without compensation. “Many were absorbed back into the insurgency… In 2014, they then became the backbone of Islamic State’s army. Having been trained by American personnel and having fought alongside them, they had invaluable insight into the modus operandi of the ‘enemy’.” (p. 53) 

This is only one example where Atwan faults the West for contributing to the rise and expansion of extremism, first via unwarranted intervention and later, as in Syria, via hesitation. It is noteworthy that Atwan doesn’t resort to simplistic conspiracy theories, but patiently reconstructs the sequence of events: At a time when Al Qaeda was in retreat owing to the US invasion of Afghanistan, the US destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure and victimisation of its people created nurturing conditions for the renewed extremist upsurge which now threatens people across the region. Since then, “the tech-savvy cyber jihadists have been able to attract frustrated, marginalised and vulnerable young people to its ranks and to convince them of its world vision, predicated on reviving the golden age of Islamic conquest, resisting American hegemony and pitting the ‘believers’ against the ‘infidels’ and ‘crusaders’. The West’s own actions continue to feed into this narrative.” (p. 218)

Reports of this trajectory are not new, but the value of Atwan’s book is that it synthesises scattered details into a coherent whole that suggests ways of defeating Daesh. One of the basics is ending sectarianism, for as Atwan contends, “sectarian conflict is now the main driver for Islamic State’s expansion, fomented by the Sunni extremists and sustained by Shi’a Iran on one hand and Sunni Saudi Arabia on the other”. (p. 224)

An especially interesting part of the book is Atwan’s analysis of the ideological battle within the jihadist movement, which he sees partly as a generational conflict, dating back to Osama Ben Laden’s and Ayman Al Zawahiri’s disagreements with Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. While the older leaders were more ascetic and scholarly, Atwan profiles Zarqawi as “a worldly, tattooed, Jordanian street-thug-turned-jihadist… [with] a Rambo-style obsession with physique”. (p. 61)

Reportedly, Zarqawi’s masterminding of the triple hotel bombings in Amman was the breaking point. Ben Laden and Zawahiri felt that this terrorist act would alienate potential supporters. 

While the whole jihadist movement reveres Ben Laden, according to Atwan’s account, it is Zarqawi who presaged Daesh by glorifying extreme violence and the takfir doctrine of purging those who do not adhere to a particular interpretation of Islam, i.e., sectarian cleansing. The book gets a bit terrifying as it names the many former Al Qaeda branches and new jihadist groups across the region and internationally that have signed on to the new ultra-extremist trend represented by Daesh. 

While Atwan is clearly horrified and condemning of Daesh’s ideology and atrocities, he doesn’t waste time on rhetoric or haranguing. The book is a sober assessment of what Daesh really is, its strengths and weaknesses — unfortunately, the former seem to predominate — and the dangers it poses. In his succinct summation of a wide-ranging, complicated phenomenon, Atwan clearly intends to inform those wishing to devise a workable counter-strategy. As such, this book is a must-read for the public and policymakers around the world.

Oversharers, rejoice. Facebook is now offering you a way to share even more of your life on the social network — for those times when a photo or recorded video won’t suffice.

The company Thursday introduced the ability for its US users on iPhone to broadcast video live from their smartphones to friends (or the broader public) on the service. The launch expands a late 2015 test of the feature to a more widespread audience, and pits Facebook directly against live-streaming app Periscope, which is owned by Twitter.

The new broadcast option appears as a live video icon at the bottom of the update status box in the Facebook for iPhone app. While streaming video, broadcasters can see a count of live viewers, the names of friends who are watching and any comments. Live broadcasts are then saved to users’ Timelines (aka profiles), just like recorded videos.

Facebook’s live video push pairs nicely with its broader ambitions to rival YouTube and others in the digital video realm. The company, which increasingly promotes video to users in News Feed, announced Wednesday that 500 million people are now watching more than 100 hours of video on the social network each day.

Though live video is not a new concept in social media, Facebook has the power to turn the relatively fringe behaviour into something far more commonplace.

“The release of live-video streaming in the main Facebook app is a significant step forward for this fledgling and new type of self-expression,” said Brian Blau, a Gartner analyst who tracks the social media industry. “Facebook will reshape the live video landscape, which could be good for competitors as more attention will come to live video. But it’s also daunting in that Facebook has such as large presence with consumers who may only choose one live video service to use.”

That could spell trouble for Twitter’s Periscope smartphone app, which has dominated the live video arena since its release in March of last year. Periscope attracted 10 million users in the first four months after its launch, and the app recently added the ability to broadcast from some GoPro devices, which could give it an edge with extreme sports enthusiasts.

Facebook, meanwhile, said it had nearly 1.6 billion monthly users as of December 31, 2015. The company plans to roll out the live-streaming feature to users outside the US in the coming weeks.