Families refuse polio drops in Bihar |  |
- Families refuse polio drops in Bihar
- New hybrid carbon material discovered
- Continental-scale research project thinks big about water quality
- Welsh-Finnish link pinpoints important new familial motor neuron disease gene
- India confirms bird flu in Bengal, PM concerned
- 'Alzheimer's patients require love, care, medicines'
- Suspected brain disease kills five children
- Shortage of health workers increases child deaths: NGO
- I wanted to become a nurse: Dikshit
- Yoga effective in treating psychiatric disorders
| Families refuse polio drops in Bihar Posted: 21 Sep 2011 09:37 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Patna, Sep 21 - At a time when Bihar is on the verge of eradicating polio, more than 400 families here refused to immunise their children against the disease, saying the orally-administered drops cause impotency, an official said Wednesday. 'More than 400 families have refused to vaccinate their children against polio in different localities,' a health official associated with polio campaign said. The government, the World Health Organization - and Unicef have been seeking help of local representative and social activists to convince people in the state not to refuse polio drops. 'Most of these families are poor and illiterate. Due to lack of awareness, they refused the polio drops,' a WHO official said. From recording the second highest number of polio cases in the country after Uttar Pradesh in 2009, Bihar has not reported even a single case of the disease in the last one year. Sanjay Kumar, executive director of the state health society, said that no reports of P1 and P3 cases -- types of polio virus -- have been reported since September 2010. He said that if the state is able to maintain the situation for two more years, it will have successfully eradicated polio. Since December 1995, 45 pulse polio immunisation rounds have been conducted in Bihar. 'Though the state has not reported any case of wild polio virus Type-III for the last one-and-a-half years and of Type I since last September, the immunisation drive will continue,' he said. In 2009, 117 polio cases were reported in Bihar, while the figure was over 230 in 2008. In 2010, nine polio cases were recorded -- all before September. Earlier this year, the state government identified 41 blocks -- among them Araria, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Khagaria, Madhubani, and Samastipur -- which were highly polio endemic. http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| New hybrid carbon material discovered Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New hybrid carbon material, which combines both graphene and SWNTs, Graphene Nanoribbons encapsulated into Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (GNR@SWNTs) have been discovered by researchers from Aalto University (Finland) and Umea University. Carbon nanotubes and graphene materials have attracted enormous interest from a broad range of specialists. - We came up with the idea to create a novel hybrid material, which combines two most fascinating carbon nanomaterials - single-walled carbon nanotubes and grapheme, says Doctor Albert Nasibulin from Aalto University. SWNTs have a hollow space inside, which was used in this study as an 1-dimensional chemical reactor. An intriguing property of this space is that chemical reactions occur differently compared to the bulk 3D conditions. Large polyaromatic hydrocarbon molecules (coronene and perylene), which can be imagined as small pieces of graphene, were used as building blocks to produce long and narrow graphene nanoribbons inside the nanotubes. It was found that the shape of encapsulated graphene nanoribbons can be modified by using different kinds of polyaromatic hydrocarbon molecules. Nanoribbons can be either metallic or semiconductor depending on their width and type. Interestingly, SWNTs can also be metallic, semiconducting (depending on their chirality) or insulating when chemically modified. This creates enormous potential for a wide range of applications: Now we can prepare GNR@SWNT in all possible combinations. For example, metallic nanoribbon inside insulating nanotube can be considered as the thinnest insulated nanowire. Nanoribbons can be used directly inside of SWNTs to generate light (e.g. as light emitting diodes), which will easily go through nanotubes and GNRs and by using of existing energy barrier will became a nano-lamp. Semiconducting nanoribbons can be used for transistor or solar cell applications. Metalli-metallic combination is in fact a new kind of coaxial... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Continental-scale research project thinks big about water quality Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) MANHATTAN, Kan. -- We drink it, we bathe in it and we play in it. Water is essential to our everyday lives, yet water quality in streams and lakes can be profoundly influenced by the organisms that live in these habitats. Scientists at Kansas State University and seven other collaborating institutions were recently awarded $3.3 million from the National Science Foundation to conduct a-large scale study of how stream organisms influence water quality across North America. Kansas State University's Walter Dodds, university distinguished professor, and Keith Gido, associate professor, both from the Division of Biology, have developed the experiment Scale, Consumers and Lotic Ecosystem Rates: Centimeters to Continents with Kansas State University as the lead institution. It is a continental-scale experiment encompassing streams from five different biomes, with experimental scales ranging from a few centimeters to entire watersheds. In addition to evaluating water quality, scientists plan to assess whether the small-scale experiments can provide an accurate depiction of how aquatic life influences water quality in larger-scale streams and rivers. Our research will test if results from small-scale experiments can be generalized to predict how the system works at a large scale, Gido said. We've done a lot of work on these smaller experiments, so we want to test if they are relevant on a larger spatial scale. Scientists often use data collected from small areas to create models for larger areas. By conducting this research, Dodds and Gido aim to refine this process to represent larger streams and rivers more accurately. Just like sampling from a diverse population is needed for an accurate depiction of a political poll, sampling of diverse habitats should provide an accurate evaluation of environmental health, Dodds said. Since the sampling will be so widespread across the continent, the experiment should provide a good... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Welsh-Finnish link pinpoints important new familial motor neuron disease gene Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Families suffering from a history of motor neuron disease have helped an international scientific team locate a new gene linked to the incurable disease. The investigators studied a large group of Finnish patients and a family from Gwent, South Wales who have lost many relatives to early onset motor neuron disease (MND) and the neurodegenerative disease fronto-temporal dementia, also known as Pick's disease. The team, including scientists from Cardiff University, The University of Manchester and UCL (University College London), discovered that both the Gwent family and the Finnish patients share a changed genetic segment on the short arm of chromosome 9. Five thousand people in the UK have MND, and well known sufferers have included David Niven and Don Revie. The disease has recently been diagnosed in the South African rugby player Joost van der Westhuizen. The disease is progressive and fatal, with an average survival from onset of symptoms between two and five years. Motor neuron scientists have been studying chromosome 9 for some years but until now have not been able to pinpoint the gene that causes the disease. The new discovery identifies the critical gene change as an expanded sequence of DNA repeats. Unaffected people carry up to 20 DNA repeats in a gene called C9orf72 whereas affected patients with motor neuron disease may carry hundreds of repeats. The gene change affects a gene segment outside of the normal protein coding portion of the gene (affecting non-coding RNA). The role of this DNA expansion is currently unknown but it probably disrupts multiple mechanisms in motor nerve cells (motor neurons), leading to their premature failure and motor neuron cell death. The new discovery will lead to new blood tests for families with a history of this condition, and, potentially, to new avenues for treating the incurable disease. The genetic variation was difficult to identify because it lies outside the protein... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| India confirms bird flu in Bengal, PM concerned Posted: 20 Sep 2011 09:47 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Sep 20 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday expressed concern over avian inluenza in West Bengal and directed authorities to prevent it from spreading, sources said. The directive came after India Tuesday confirmed that poultry samples from Nadia district of West Bengal tested positive for bird flu. The prime minister directed the animal husbandry department to closely monitor the situation to prevent any outbreak even though the incidence is restricted to a few villages, the sources said. The government also ordered culling operations in the affected area, said a statement issued by the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries under the ministry of agriculture. 'Bird flu has been confirmed in poultry samples collected from two villages of Tehatta I block in Nadia,' the statement said. The samples forwarded to the Eastern Region Disease Diagnostic Laboratory - in Kolkata and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory - in Bhopal tested positive for H5 strain of avian influenza, it said. 'It has been decided to immediately commence the culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease. The virus has been contained in the affected area,' it added. Culling has been announced within a radius of three km of the infected area. In addition, surveillance has been ordered in surrounding areas up to 10 km. Surveillance has also been intensified throughout the state to monitor further spread of infection. The central government has advised the state to ban movement of poultry and poultry products in the infected area and to close poultry and egg markets and shops within a radius of 10 km from the infected site. They have suggested a ban on the movement of farm personnel, restricting access to wild and stray birds, and stopping access to infected premises. Regarding compensation for loss of poultry on account of culling, the central government will share... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| 'Alzheimer's patients require love, care, medicines' Posted: 20 Sep 2011 09:08 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Sep 20 - 'Pick laundry', 'Pay maid' and notes relating to other daily chores greet you as you enter Padma Narsimhan's room, where she sits in a corner listening to morning ragas in her own voice. The notes are necessary as 75-year-old Narsimhan, has been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the last four years. She struggles to remember even the most basic activities of her daily life. But her daughter ensures she is not subjected to the loneliness the disease brings with it. 'Life was going normal until a family feud began stressing my mother. She was active in working at home but one day she forgot to switch off the cooking gas for hours. We used to give her money and tell her to keep it safe but she would forget where she had kept it,' said Narsimhan's daughter Rangashri Kishore as she recalled her mother's journey. 'After some visits to the doctor, I and my husband realised it was Alzheimer's. We prepared ourselves to be with her in the times when she really needed us,' an emotional Rangashri told IANS. Though both her daughter and son-in-law work - necessitating the notes - but a maid ensures that Narsimhan is never left alone in the house as she does not even know what is to be done when someone knocks on the door. But her son-in-law, M.C. Kishore, said that despite the memory disorder, the septuagenarian is clued in to current affairs and is the first one to read the newspapers and narrate the stories of the day to her grandchildren. With nearly 3.7 million people suffering from dementia in 2010, Alzheimer's affects nearly 60 percent of them. The age-related disorder hampering memory and thinking caused by loss in brain function is expected to double by 2020, according to Dementia India Report 2010. 'In India's context, we are in a very tricky situation for Alzheimer's. We are yet to get a clear health policy for the elderly through the National Programme for Health Care of Elderly - by the health... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Suspected brain disease kills five children Posted: 20 Sep 2011 08:18 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Patna, Sep 20 - Suspected encephalitis, a brain infection, killed five more children in Bihar's Gaya district, taking the death toll in the state due to the disease to 30, an official said Tuesday. The five children died in the last three days at Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital - in Gaya, about 100 km from here, said a district health official. Twenty-five children earlier died of suspected encephalitis. The children reported high fever, followed by bouts of unconsciousness and convulsions. N.K. Paswan, deputy superintendent of the hospital, said that till date over 110 children with suspected encephalitis were admitted for treatment. 'Most children are from rural areas of Gaya and neighbouring districts,' he said. 'More than one and a half dozen children are still battling for life.' However, a district official told IANS over telephone Tuesday that despite the deaths, no pre-emptive measures had been taken in Maoist-affected blocks. A district administration official said that suspected encephalitis hit Gaya in 2009, 2007 and 2005 and killed dozens of children. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Shortage of health workers increases child deaths: NGO Posted: 20 Sep 2011 07:29 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Sep 20 - Facing a shortage of 2.6 million health workers, millions of children below the age of five in India are at risk of dying every year from easily preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea, an international NGO said Tuesday. 'The dearth means that millions of children below the age of five are at great risk of dying every year from easily preventable diseases such as pneumonia,' Save the Children CEO Thomas Chandy said in its health report. 'India has the highest number of children under five dying every year,' he added. According to the World Health Organisation -, children are five times more likely to die before their fifth birthday if they live in India as the country falls below the WHO health worker threshhold -. The health report stated that close to 1.2 million children under the age of one die every year of largely treatable and even preventable diseases and conditions in India. 'It is simply not acceptable for a child to die because a midwife or a nurse is out of reach. Training health workers is simple and inexpensive, yet their impact is immeasurable,' Chandy said. The health report also showcases that over 55 percent children under the age of two do not receive comprehensive routine immunisation in India. About 2.7 million children under the age of five die as they don't have treatment for diarrhoea. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently admitted that the low doctor to nurse ratio in the country was a cause of concern and must be checked immediately. 'There are 11.28 lakh registered nurses in the country and we need nine lakh more to bridge the gap. Therefore, 269 new nursing schools will come up soon especially in remote and backward areas,' he said, adding that around 22,000 nurses would be trained at these schools annually. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| I wanted to become a nurse: Dikshit Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:41 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Sep 20 - Inspired by Florence Nightingale during her school days, she had wanted to become a nurse. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said this Tuesday while addressing nurses here. Speaking at the International Nursing Summit, Dikshit said: 'I was inspired by the service rendered by Florence Nightingale and I always wanted to become a nurse.' Florence Nightingale is remembered for her work among the wounded during the Crimean War. 'Nurses who care and comfort for the ill should be recognised for their exemplary performance and invaluable contributions to the quality of health care. We should institute an award to honour them,' Dikshit said. Inaugurating the two-day summit organised by Fortis healthcare, Dikshit said: 'We need to improve the quality of healthcare services and bridge the gap between public and private healthcare facilities.' Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Healthcare - Ltd, said: 'Nurses are the lifeblood of any healthcare as a hospital can last a couple of days without a doctor but they cannot do without nurses.' http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Yoga effective in treating psychiatric disorders Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:28 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Sep 20 - Many see yoga as a fad or simply a health enhancer. But a number of scientific studies have found it effective as a therapy in treating mental and psychiatric disorders. 'Some believe that yoga should be used only for prevention and health promotion and not as a therapy for illnesses,' said B.N. Gangadhar, who heads the psychiatry department at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences -, Bangalore. 'The reality is that it is being increasingly used as a method for treating various disorders, either alone or as in addition to other therapies, including psychiatric ones,' Gangadhar, also director, Advanced Centre for Yoga at NIMHANS, told IANS. A study co-authored by Gangadhar and three associates examined the effect of yoga as a therapy supplementing medical treatment of schizophrenia, a severe mental condition, which registers failure rates as high as 50 to 60 percent. The condition is ranked as the ninth leading cause of mental disability worldwide. Roughly half of 61 schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to yoga therapy and the other half to physical exercise for four months. Ten from each group had dropped out during the therapy. The yoga therapy group showed significantly greater improvement in mental or behavioural disorders than those in the physical exercise group. The yoga group also performed better in social and occupational functioning. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations -, delusions - and disorganized thinking and speech, which render the patient's life chaotic and distressful. Another study led by Gangadhar found that Sudarshan Kriya Yoga - significantly lowered stress by bringing down high plasma cortisol levels among patients, which indicate stress or illness. SKY is a method of breath control pioneered by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation. Similarly, M. Javanbakht, a psychiatrist at Iran's Islamic Azad University, and others... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
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