Friday, 28 June 2019
Hypertension on the rise in Indian women due to air pollution
The researchers measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure of participants and estimated their annual residential exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon. The participants also answered a survey to determine socio-economic status, lifestyle and household characteristics, including the type of cooking fuel generally used. All study participants were exposed to fine particulate matter levels above the 10 microgrammes per cubic metre limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Average exposure to PM2.5 in this study was 33 microgrammes per cubic metre. Based on the blood pressure measurements, almost half of participants (46 per cent) were identified as hypertensive, with high proportions of participants with undiagnosed and untreated hypertension. The results show that an increase of one microgramme per cubic metre in PM2.5 exposure was associated with a four per cent increase in hypertension prevalence in women, as well as a higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure - an increase of 1,4 millimetres of mercury (mmHg) and 0.87 mmHg, respectively. In men, the association observed was weaker, researchers said. "Women spend most of their time near their households in this study area - 83 per cent of their daily time as compared to 57 per cent for men, which could explain why we observe a stronger association in women than in men," said Ariadna Curto, first author of the study. The study indicates that long-term exposure to particulate matter is associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, regardless of the type of fuel used for cooking. "Other studies have found that women that cook with solid fuels such as biomass tend to have higher blood pressure than those using clean fuels, although our data is not powered enough to support this," Curto said. "Our study suggests that the effects of outdoor air pollution on cardiovascular health may be independent from those of indoor air pollution," she said. "In the light of our lack of association with black carbon, it is important to keep in mind that this is a peri-urban area, where the sources and chemical makeup of air pollution differ to urban areas mostly dominated by traffic sources," Curto said. Cathryn Tonne, the study coordinator, said that the mechanisms by which air pollution could contribute to high blood pressure "include inflammation and oxidative stress, which may lead to changes in arterial function." "Although further epidemiological evidence is needed to confirm our findings, ideally through longitudinal studies, these data suggest that public policies aimed at reducing air pollution will greatly benefit cardiovascular health," said Tonne. ... DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Deccan Chroniclehttps://www.edocr.com/user/tussadusmed
Survey reveals witch-hunt shocker
ost such cases are settled at the village panchayats and some cases draw the attention of the outside world only when the victims die or suffer serious injuries, other speakers said. AALI shared findings of a survey it conducted in eight districts of the state that revealed that 33 pet cent of the victims of witch-hunting are women above 51 years of age; those in the 21-30 years age group comprise 21.6 per cent of the victims, 28.8 per cent are in the 31-40 years age bracket and 24.2 per cent are in the 41-50 years age group. "Instead of just terming witch-hunting as a fallout of superstition and bad social customs, it should treated as a violation of the fundamental rights of the victim," said Shubhangi, AALI project coordinator from Lucknow.The awareness of the society must increase and victims should get easy access to police, some speakers said."There is a need for change in the mindset of society," said Arun Kumar Roy, member-secretary, Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority, who was the chief guest at the event attended by around 70 people. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://asmfl.com/cms/UserProfile/tabid/109/userId/31124/Default.aspx
Where are the jobs? Angry students ask Jharkhand minister
Agriculture, he said, is the priority sector of the government and steps are being taken to provide employment opportunities for students. He said that vice-chancellor Parvinder Kaushal would address the students' concerns. The students were not in the mood to be swayed by perfunctory assurances. They raised slogans against the minister and the vice-chancellor, and followed the minister till he reached his car."The last recruitment was done in 1989," said Varunesh Kumar, a former student of the university, who secured a gold medal in 2016 for academic excellence. "In 2015, the government had started the recruitment process for 450 block agriculture officers through the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. The preliminary test was successfully conducted. But two days before the mains examination, the recruitment was cancelled without citing any reason. Students of B.Sc (agriculture) are the worst victims."Ruplal Prasad, a current student, said the university's alumni can be the backbone of an agriculture revolution in the state."But then we are neglected," Prasad said. "Where we will display our skills if employment opportunities are not given to us? Jharkhand's achievement in agriculture is only on paper. The government may be opening new research centres and colleges for agriculture studies in the state but there is employment opportunity for students. We are under pressure of our parents to get jobs. Now we feel that we made a mistake by opting to study agriculture. Every year the minister visits BAU during the foundation day programme and assures to look into our matter, so today we decided to protest."A group of students from veterinary and allied subjects, who were also part of the protest on Wednesday, said the state has 16 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, each with six teaching faculty and scientists, but veterinary and allied sciences students are not deemed qualified for recruitment in the Kendras.The varsity runs a number of courses such as animal husbandry, forestry, biotechnology, fisheries, agri-business management and horticulture. There are six colleges under the varsity, of which four are agricultural colleges, one is a veterinary college and the other is a forestry college. There are over 600 students at the varsity.The angst at BAU is not isolated. The unemployment rate in India rose to 7.2 per cent in February 2019, the highest since September 2016, and up from 5.9 per cent in February 2018, according to data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy and released in March this year. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttps://able2know.org/user/keroonsherry/
Why blame the lychee behind Encephalitis deaths in Bihar?
It is true that the deaths of the children is coinciding with the lychee season, but this season is also when the heat wave is at its peak and the humidity levels are high. Data clearly shows that all the children hit by AES (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome) are those living below the poverty line. These malnourished children belonging to the marginalised sections of society were in this semi-starved state to begin with. The statistics that indicate stunting and wasting of children in this region are as bad as they are in sub-Saharan region, if not worse, with one in every two children being undersize. The stunting of children is not an overnight occurrence, but happens over a period of time when the nutrition is compromised. Our very own National Survey's (NHFS 4) data has clearly indicated the dismal state of the under-5 children in this region. The visuals available of these children only confirm this sorry state of malnutrition and poverty. A malnourished child is a very vulnerable one at a higher risk for various infections and reduced chances of surviving an insult. In these circumstances, it was AES that threw them off the edge and not the consumption of a few lychees as it is being made out to be. What may be of interest is the fact that all plants produce some amount of toxins in a bid for self-preservation. Strawberries contain some amount of acetone (which is also found in nail-polish remover), and lychee has small amounts of the toxin MCPG (Methylene Cyclopropyl Glycine). However, the small quantities of these naturally-occurring pesticides in fruits do us no harm when we eat them. The exceptions are in cases when there is some contamination in the crop (bacterial or viral), or chemical pesticide residues in large quantities, and they are ingested without adequate washing and cleaning processes. Some of these children (do note that many children who fell prey to the disease did not consume the fruit) did eat a few lychees that had fallen to the ground while their parents were labouring in the fields. This was the only food they had eaten before bed. These children usually go to bed hungry with low blood sugars. Low blood sugar due to insufficient food is evident, not due to eating lychees and the toxin present in it that blocked off the metabolic pathway, as is being proposed. In such circumstances, the children need food security and nutrition security to help them grow into healthy productive individuals. Lychee can be a part of the healthy meals, as it has always been in the summer season. Moreover, all proposed links to the fruit and deaths have been inconclusive. I do hope these points come across clearly in the investigative reports that are underway. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttp://www.allforlawyers.com/UserProfile/tabid/43/userId/445835/Default.aspx
Neymar wants Barcelona return, says club's vice-president
'To say that Barça is working on recruiting Neymar, that is something I cannot agree with,' Cardoner said. 'For the moment all that is happening -- and not only with Neymar -- is that a number of players would like to play for a great club like Barcelona. We will see what happens in timely fashion.' 'We are currently working on the phase of deciding which players we will not be keeping on next season,' said Cardoner. 'We are recruiting no-one at the moment, especially not this player (Neymar) with whom we have had no contact.' However, media reports indicated that intermediaries between PSG and Barca had hammered out the terms of the deal which would free the Brazilian star to return to Barcelona this summer. According to other Spanish media reports this week, Neymar has offered to take a pay cut of 12 million euros a year to return to the club and Barca have reached a 'verbal agreement' to take him back. The 27-year-old spent four years at Camp Nou, winning the Champions League in 2015 and two La Liga titles in a potent attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Any return for Neymar would likely require Barca to raise funds through sales. Antoine Griezmann is expected to join from Atletico Madrid for 120 million euros while Frenkie de Jong has already signed for 75 million euros from Ajax. The pay cut would see Neymar's salary clipped from around 36 million euros at PSG to the 24 million euros he received at Barca prior to his departure in 2017, according to the reports. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Hindustan Timeshttp://actionangler.net/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/62/UserId/176589/Default.aspx
Warmer climate can lead to rise in malaria infection
"The rate of malaria transmission to humans is strongly determined by the time it takes for the parasites to develop in the mosquito. The quicker the parasites develop, the greater the chances that the mosquito will survive long enough for the parasites to complete their development and be transmitted to humans," said Matthew Thomas, professor and Huck scholar in ecological entomology, Penn State. The researchers used two of the most important malaria-hosting mosquito species in the world, Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles gambiae, to conduct their experiments. They maintained these malaria-infected mosquitoes in the laboratory under a variety of temperatures ranging from 16 to 20 degrees Celsius. They maintained a separate control set of mosquitoes at 27 degrees Celsius, which is the temperature at which malaria transmission is typically highest. In addition, the team varied the daily temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius- 5 degrees Celsius above and below the daily mean- since such variation in temperature is common in natural settings when it is cooler at night and warmer in the daytime. The traditional model estimates that parasites in the mosquito take 56 days to develop at temperatures just above the minimum threshold for development, a cool 18 degrees Celsius. However, the current study shows that as few as 31 days are required for such development for Anopheles stephensi. The researchers also found that variation in temperature at this cooler end of the range promotes faster parasite development. Parasites developed in as few as 27 days at 18 degrees Celsius, under realistic variable temperature conditions. According to Waite, the findings have implications for potentially millions of people living in the higher elevations of Africa, such as the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands, and in South America. "As temperatures increase with climate change, infectious mosquitoes in areas surrounding mountains, for example, may be able to transmit the parasite higher up the mountains than they have in the past," she said. "Our results suggest that small rises in temperature could lead to greater increases in transmission risk than previously thought." ... DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Deccan Chroniclehttp://asmfl.com/cms/UserProfile/tabid/109/userId/32835/Default.aspx
UP: Lawyer who shot Bar Council chief dies during treatment
According to an official at Medanta Hospital, the accused was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the intervening night of June 12 and 13. He was being treated for a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died in the hospital at 1.20 pm on Saturday, an official confirmed. The Supreme Court will be hearing a petition seeking a CBI enquiry into Yadav's murder. On June 12, a victory procession was being taken out in the premises of an Agra court, in the honor of Yadav, for being elected as the first female chairperson of UP Bar Council. Sharma was also present. It is alleged that an argument ensued between them and Sharma shot her three times before shooting himself in the head. Yadav died while Sharma slipped into coma following the injury. An FIR under section 302 (murder) had been filed against Sharma at the New Agra Police Station. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttp://www.tichytraingroup.com/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/57/UserId/14676/Default.aspx
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