New polymer gel may restore vocal cords |  |
- New polymer gel may restore vocal cords
- Beer belly or muffin top? A perilous lifestyle disorder
- This Pakistani's heart will beat for India
- Shock and disappointment, but no tears at Mumbai hospital
- 48 students fall ill after having mid-day meal
- Injured Ramdev follower remains critical
- SDSC's Trestles provides rapid turnaround and enhanced performance for diverse researchers
| New polymer gel may restore vocal cords Posted: 15 Jul 2011 02:15 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A polymer gel, developed by scientists, could be implanted into scarred vocal cords to restore their normal functioning. The gel, which mimics key traits of human vocal cords, could help millions of people with voice disorders. How it was developed is an interesting story. In 1997, actress and singer Julie Andrews of 'The Sound of Music' fame lost her voice following a surgery to remove non-cancerous lesions from her vocal cords. She approached Steven Zeitels, professor of laryngeal surgery at Harvard Medical School, for help. Zeitels was developing a new type of material that could be implanted into scarred vocal cords to restore their normal function. In 2002, he enlisted the help of MIT's Robert Langer, professor in chemical engineering, an expert in developing polymers for biomedical applications, the journal Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology reports. The team led by Langer and Zeitels has now developed a polymer gel with the help of former Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Sandeep Karajanagi. They hope to start testing in a small clinical trial next year, according to a Harvard statement. About six percent of the US population has some kind of voice disorder, and the majority of those cases involve scarring of the vocal cords, says Karajanagi. Many of those are children whose cords are scarred from intubation - during surgery, while others are victims of laryngeal cancer. Other people who could benefit are those with voices strained from overuse, such as teachers. 'This would be so valuable to society, because every time a person loses their voice, say, a teacher, all of their contributions get lost to society,' Zeitels says. http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| Beer belly or muffin top? A perilous lifestyle disorder Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:38 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, July 15 - For all those who don't think twice before gulping a pint of beer and royally ignore their bulging bellies, it's high time to cut down on parties and poor lifestyle and take corrective action! And if you are a woman, happily laughing at the beer belly of your partner and thinking you are plain lucky, then it's time for a reality check as women too get the affliction. 'The beer gut isn't exclusively for the boys! Girls with beer bellies are often referred to as having a muffin top,' Munira Jawadwala Kawad, nutrition expert at Gold's Gym India, told IANS. 'Beer guts aren't just a guy's problem. Women who drink a large amount of beer can also get them,' she said. 'Stomach fat is the most perilous kind. It leads to lifestyle disorders like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol,' Kawad said. One must measure his or her beer intake, Kawad noted. 'If you are drinking enough beer and you've seen significant weight gain in the abdominal region, it's safe to say you may need to cut back on the beer and other alcohol intake. Beer contains an average of 155 calories per 350 ml, even though it varies according to the brand,' said Kawad. 'If you drink only two glasses of beer you have taken in an additional 300 calories. Make that four and you have added an extra 600 calories to your diet,' she cautioned. 'This doesn't even count the pizza, chips and other junk food that most people eat with their beer. So if you've made a decision to try a change in the way in which you look and you really want to lose that beer belly, it's time to lose the beer,' she added. Experts suggest a few lifestyle changes and a good exercise programme can make anybody's beer belly flat. 'The number one thing is dieting and then exercises: crunches, sit-ups, ab lounges. One has to burn additional fat through cardio and decreased calorie intake,' said Sheru Aangrish, a Mumbai-based fitness guru. 'Then tone up those muscles which lie... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| This Pakistani's heart will beat for India Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:53 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Chennai, July 14 - A Pakistani national has got a new lease of life after an Indian family donated the heart of their family member, who died in a road accident here, to him. Riaz Mohammad, 54, got a fresh heart at Frontier Lifeline Hospital July 10 from a 35-year-old man declared brain dead after a road accident, doctors at the hospital said. Prashant Vaijyanath, a doctor at Frontier Lifeline, said Riaz came to the hospital for heart transplant June 22 and was admitted the next day. The Pakistani had a massive heart attack in 2003 and had undergone a bypass surgery. 'His case was a redo-bypass surgery. We found his heart was weak and was functioning just 15 percent. The only way out was a heart transplant,' Vaijyanath said. Riaz was registered under the Tamil Nadu Network for Organ Sharing -. He was wait-listed, awaiting a suitable donor's heart for transplant. One organ, from the road accident victim, became available July 8 at Global Hospital here After the consent from the deceased's family and obtaining the green signal from the officials concerned, a search was made for an Indian recipient in Tamil Nadu and across the country. Since no appropriate recipient was found, an offer was made to Frontier Lifeline for Riaz. Frontier Lifeline's medical team harvested the heart from the donor. The heart was taken out at 1.47 a.m. July 10 and brought to Frontier Lifeline at 2.11 a.m. covering a distance of 34.8 km in 24 minutes. The transplant operation took around five hours but was successful, the doctors said. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Shock and disappointment, but no tears at Mumbai hospital Posted: 14 Jul 2011 09:18 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Mumbai, July 14 - There was shock and disappointment, but no tears in the eyes of those whose loved ones are undergoing treatment at the Harkisandas Hospital here following the triple blasts that rocked India's financial and entertainment hub. From the rush of patients immediately after the blasts Wednesday evening, the hospital wore a business-as-usual look Thursday. People weren't running helter-skelter, medical services were better organised and the corridoors were clear. 'Last time, during the 26/11 attack, there was utter chaos...but this time there is more discipline, which has eased our work,' Ravi R. Anchan, general manager, Finance and Accounts - at Harkisandas Hospital, told IANS. The hospital currently has seven patients in the OPD, and so far 12 surgeries have been successfuly performed. 'All the patients have survived the surgeries. Seven patients are still in critical care unit and four patients might be discharged after police permission,' said Anchan. Harkisandas Hospital was the closest to the blast that went off in the Opera House area of south Mumbai. It is one of the dozen hospitals where those injured in the blasts, which also occurred at Zaveri Bazar - and Dadar -, were taken for treatment. The blasts killed 17 people and injured 131. The relatives of the blast victims were distraught and at a loss of words, but are holding themselves strong. Kalubhai, who works at a shop in the Opera House area, bore severe injuries on his head. 'His head was badly hurt in the blast. Thank god he has survived...He has been operated upon, and he is fine now,' one of Kalubhai's relatives told IANS. The son-in-law of another patient, Sahedev Bhawre, said: 'My father-in-law has lost his right leg as it had to be amputated. He is fine now...but till when will this mayhem continue?' The disappointment apart, many, like him, had a question: What is the government doing to prevent such attacks? 'After 26/11, we really... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| 48 students fall ill after having mid-day meal Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:44 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kurukshetra, July 14 - Fortyeight school students in this Haryana district fell ill after having contaminated mid-day meal Thursday, health officials said. The incident happened in two government-run primary schools in two villages - Doda Khedi and Gobindgarh, a health official said. 'After eating the food, students started complaining of vomiting and dizziness,' he said. 'At least 48 students were immediately rushed to the nearest hospital. Ten students were administered glucose while others were discharged,' he added. 'We have sealed the food sample and sent it to the laboratory for testing. If we find any kind of contamination, then strict action will be taken against the guilty,' the official said. Mid-day meal is supplied in over 100 government schools here by a local NGO. Sources in the district administration said an official found a dead lizard in the food and thereafter schools were told not to serve the food. 'However, this information could not reach the schools of Doda Khedi and Gobindgarh. Students ate contaminated food and fell ill,' said a district administration official, on condition of anonymity. Under the Mid-day Meal Scheme, free lunch is provided in government schools. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Injured Ramdev follower remains critical Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:02 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, July 14 - Raj Bala, who was severely injured in the police crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev last month, continues to be serious, her doctors said Thursday. The status report released Thursday by G.B. Pant Hospital medical superintendent N. Shashi Gururaja said: 'Patient is conscious and obeying verbal commands and she continues to be on ventilatory support and her condition is very critical.' A resident of Gurgaon, Bala, 51, underwent surgery June 5 for cervical spinal injuries. She has been in the intensive care unit of the G.B. Pant Hospital here, bedridden for over a month now. According to doctors, Bala is still quadriplegic -. 'Her vital parameters are being maintained with increased pharmacological support. Surgery was done, decompression and fixation using plate, screw and cage,' the statement added. Police clamped down at Ramlila Ground here on the night of June 4-5 where Ramdev along with his supporters was holding a campaign against corruption. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| SDSC's Trestles provides rapid turnaround and enhanced performance for diverse researchers Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Trestles, a supercomputer launched earlier this year by the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, is proving itself as a valuable resource for researchers across a wide range of disciplines, from astrophysics to molecular dynamics, who need access to computational resources with rapid turnaround. In the seven months since its launch, more than 50 separate research projects have been granted time on Trestles. As the system is targeted to serve a large number of users, project allocations are capped at 1.5M SUs (service units, or single processor hours) annually on the new SDSC system. Trestles was designed to enable modest-scale and gateway researchers to be as computationally productive as possible, said Richard Moore, SDSC's deputy director and co-principal investigator the system, the result of a $2.8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award. It has attracted researchers from diverse areas who need access to a fully supported supercomputer with shorter turnaround times than has been typical for most systems. In addition, to respond to user requirements for more flexible access modes, we have enabled pre-emptive on-demand queues for applications which require urgent access in response to unpredictable natural or manmade events that have a societal impact, as well as user-settable reservations for researchers who need predictable access for their workflows. With 10,368 processor cores, a peak speed of 100 teraflop/s, 20 terabytes memory, and 39 terabytes of flash memory, Trestles is one of several new HPC (high-performance computing) systems at SDSC. The center is pioneering the use of flash-based memory, common in much smaller devices such as mobile phones and laptop computers but relatively new for supercomputers, which typically rely on slower spinning disk technology. Flash disks can read data as much as 100 times faster than spinning disk, write data faster, and are more... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
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