Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Drug Therapy 'Restores Breathing' After Spinal Injury

Spinal cord damage
A drug-based therapy appears to restore breathing in rats paralyzed from the neck down by a spinal injury, according to scientists. 

They hope their "exciting but early" findings could ultimately help free patients from ventilators.

The pioneering work, in Cell Reports, suggests the brain may not be needed for respiration if a nerve pathway in the spine can be awakened.

More studies are now needed to better understand and exploit this system.

'No brain' breathing

Normally, messages to and from the brain control breathing.
If the spinal cord is damaged high up in the neck, these messages can't get through and a person will need mechanical assistance or a ventilator to breathe.

 Experts have been looking at ways to repair spinal cord damage to reconnect with the brain, but the latest therapeutic approach, being explored at Case Western Reserve University, is entirely different.
Dr Jerry Silver and colleagues believe they have found an alternative nerve pathway for breathing in the spinal cord itself.

The researchers used a drug and a light therapy known as optogenetics to dial up this spinal system.
It appeared to control the body's main muscle of respiration - the diaphragm, a dome-shaped sheet of muscle that sits underneath the lungs, separating the chest from the abdomen.

The live adult rats that they studied had severed spinal cords, meaning the brain could not be the source of the diaphragm movement or breathing that the researchers saw after they administered the therapy.
They believe the treatment works by stopping other nerve signals that would normally silence the spinal system that they found.

Dr Silver said: "This is a primitive response that has been kept in the spinal cord for emergencies, like gasping and screaming in response to danger."
Although the researchers say the movements they saw resembled breathing, it's not clear yet if it would be enough to sustain life. They plan more animal studies to check.

Dr Silver said: "Ultimately, the goal of this research would be to free people with these neck injuries from having to use mechanical ventilators.

"Infections and other complications from mechanical ventilators are a leading cause of death after spinal cord injuries."Dr Thomas Becker, an expert in neuroregeneration at Edinburgh Medical School, said: "This is an important discovery on the fundamental working of the spinal cord. "Understanding the spinal network is the first step toward future therapies."This knowledge could be used for future therapies to restore breathing in patients who lost nerve connections from the brain as a consequence of spinal cord injury."- (BBC)

FROM YESTERYEAR SINHALA CINEMA: A SONG FROM "GAHANU LAMAI" FILM (1978)















THE MAIN CAST OF THE FILM- WASANTHI CHATHURANI ,AJITH JINADASA,JO ABEYWIKARAMA

THIS SONG WAS SUNG BY NEELA WIKRAMASINGHE

Foreign-The Battle Over An Iconic Australian Boot

Bonds Commission Completed It's Sittings

The special Presidential Commission investigating the
controversial Central Bank bond scam had completed it's sittings regarding gatheting evidence on Bond scam  it has been announced yesterday (17).

Yesterday the Commission had  questioned the private secretary of the chief suspect of Bond Scam Arjun Aloysius who is the director of perpetual treasuries, steve samuel and during the questioning he told that  he had no idea on the persons describe through RK and AM although short messages recovered through his mobile phone contains those names.He also told have no idea on them.

The private secretary of Arjun Aloysius due to be summoned earlier, however as he was hospitalized due to a chest pain occurred soon after receiving the notice to appear before Bond Commission ,it got delayed.

Meanwhile Bonds  Commission had requested the Prime Minister's office to submit prime minister Ranil Wikramasinghe's evidence  on the Bond Scam to the Cimmission as he has been named as one of the witnesses of the scam.

Navy Arrested Eight Indian Fishermen Entered Sri Lankan Waters Illegally

Sri Lanka Navy have arrested eight Indian fisherment
who have entered Sri Lankan waters illegally in the sea area near Delft Island (Northern Province).

Navy officers have brought the group of Indian Fishermen who arrived in from Tamil Nadu to the Navy base in Mannar it has been reported.

Two Persons Arrested With A Large Stock Of Kerala Cannabis While Transporting Them

Police Narcotic Bureau officials have arrested two
persons while transporting 137 kilos and 228 grammes of Kerala Cannabis by a van at Wattala area.

The suspects have been identified as residents of Thaleimannar and Colombo.

The estimated value of the stock of Kerala Cannabis is more than Rs.20 million.

Three Indian Females Have Been Remanded Over VIolating Visa Laws

Pettah Police have arrested three Indian females over selling of ornament  Jewelry at the pavement of Pettah by violating conditions of tourist visas .

The three suspected females have been remanded until 24th of October by the Colombo Additional Magistrate today (17)after being ptoduced before the court.


GOLDEN MELODIES


CID Had Arrested A Cousin Brother Of Former Litro Gas Chairman Over Financial Fraud In A Taiwan Bank

Criminal Investigations Department (CID)had arrested
a cousin brother of the imprisoned former Chairman of Litro Gas company Shaleela Munasinghe over transferring US Dollars 10 million belonging to a Taiwan Bank in to his personal account.

Former Litro Gas chairman had been arrested and   remanded over the financial fraud occurred in far eastern International Bank in Taiwan recently and he was removed from chairman post of Litro Gas company afterwards.

Four Persons Have Been Arrested Over Stealing A Blue Gem

Terrorism Investigations Division has arrested four
persons including a former LTTE member over stealing a 'Blue Sapphire "gem belonging to a Gem Businessman in Beruwala.

The four suspects had been arrested while attempting to sell the Gem and remanded until 20th of October by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate Court after being produced before the court.

The suspects had stolen the Gem on 11th of September which worth over Rs.20 million after the Gem owner handing over the Gem to a Gem polishing center in Bagathale Road,Colpetty to polish it the Police Headquarters has stated.

Arts Faculty Of The Colombo University Closed Down Due To A Clash

The Arts Faculty of the Colombo University has been
closed down this evening (17)until 23rd of October  notice due to a clash occurred between two student  groups of the faculty.

Two students have been injured due to the clash  and admitted to the Colombo National Hospital for treatment.

Sri Lanka Has Decided To Play Cricket In Pakistan For First Time Since 2009

QUOTES FOR LIFE

Mahathmiya මහත්මිය ගේ ඡායාරූපයMahathmiya මහත්මිය ගේ ඡායාරූපය1000 Talk "තව්සන් ටෝක්" ගේ ඡායාරූපය
චානුà·€ා - Chanuwa ගේ ඡායාරූපය

The Proprietor Revealed The Connection Between Bond Scam Suspect And Former Fiance Minister Ravi Karunanayake Left The Country Due To Threats?

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The director of East -West properties Anika Wijesuriya who had revealed before the Special Presidential Commission Of Inquiry conducting investigations on Central Bank Bond Scam that the main suspect of Bond Scam Arjun Aloysius had paid the lease of the Penthouse Apartment given to the former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake ,had left the country due to threats according to the Additional Solicitor General of Attorney General's Department Yasantha Kodagoda.
 
The Additional Solicitor General has revealed this during the hearing of the Bond Commission held this morning(17).

The Director of East West Properties Anika Wijesuriya has revealed before the Commission while giving evidence recently that an apartment owned by her was leased by Ravi Karunanayake;s family last at a monthly rental of Rs.1.45 million and the lease was paid by the director of Perpetual Treasuries Arjun Aloysius the chief suspect of the Bond scam.

A Parcel Contains Eight Hand Grenades Had Recovered In Gampola

Image result for hand grenades graphics
Two pedestrians have recovered a parcel contains eight live hand grenades at Thalawathura on Gampola-Weligolla road today(17) according to the Davulagala Police.

After being informed ,officers attached to Special Task Force base in Gampola have defused the Hand Grenades.

Peace And World’s Development Goals Are Under Threat -UNFPA


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Unchecked inequality, failure to protect the rights of poorest women could threaten unrest, undermine peace and world’s development goals, new UNFPA report warns.

  • Only about half of the world’s women hold paid jobs
  • Globally, women earn 77 per cent of what men get
  • Three in five women worldwide lack maternity leave, many pay “motherhood penalty”

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 17 October 2017--Unless inequality is urgently tackled and the the poorest women empowered to make their own decisions about their lives, countries could face unrest and threats to peace and to their development goals, according the The State of World Population 2017, published today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

The costs of inequalities, including in sexual and reproductive health and rights, could extend to the entire global community’s goals, adds the new UNFPA report, entitled, “Worlds Apart: Reproductive Health and Rights in an Age of Inequality.”

Failure to provide reproductive health services, including family planning, to the poorest women can weaken economies and sabotage progress towards the number one sustainable development goal, to eliminate poverty.

Economic inequality reinforces and is reinforced by other inequalities, including those in women’s health, where only a privileged few are able to control their fertility, and, as a result, can develop skills, enter the paid labour force and gain economic power.

“Inequality in countries today is not only about the haves and have nots,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem says. “Inequality is increasingly about the cans and cannots.Poor women who lack the means to make their own decisions about family size or who are in poor health because of inadequate reproductive health care dominate the ranks of the cannots.”

In most developing countries, the poorest women have the fewest options for family planning, the least access to antenatal care and are most likely to give birth without the assistance of a doctor or midwife.

Limited access to family planning translates into 89 million unintended pregnancies and 48 million abortions in developing countries annually. This does not only harm women’s health, but also restricts their ability to join or stay in the paid labour force and move towards financial independence, the report argues.

Lack of access to related services, such as affordable child care, also stops women from seeking jobs outside the home. For women who are in the labour force, the absence of paid maternity leave and employers’ discrimination against those who become pregnant amount to a motherhood penalty, forcing many women to choose between a career and parenthood.

“Countries that want to tackle economic inequality can start by tackling other inequalities, such as in reproductive health and rights, and tearing down social, institutional and other obstacles that prevent women from realizing their full potential,” Dr. Kanem says.

The UNFPA report recommends focusing on the furthest behind first, in line with the United Nations blueprint for achieving sustainable development and inclusive societies by 2030. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has “envisaged a better future, one where we collectively tear down the barriers and correct disparities,” the report states. “Reducing all inequalities needs to be the aim. Some of the most powerful contributions can come from realizing...women’s reproductive rights.”

A Civil Defense Force Officer Was Killed After Colliding With A Cab

Image result for accidentA 43 year old Civil Defense Force officer was killed after colliding with a Cab vehicle while engaged in searching vehicles in Ambalanthota area on Colombo-Wellawaya road .

The critically injured Officer had succumbed to his injuries after admission to Ambalanthota Hospital it has been reported.The deceased has been identified as a resident of Ambalanthota area.

Ambalanthota Police have arrested the Cab driver regarding the accident.

HEALTH TIP-Shingles May Raise Heart Attack Risk

People who develop the painful, blistering rash known as shingles may be more susceptible to a heart attack, according to a study in the July 11, 2017, Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Also known as herpes zoster, shingles results from a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox, which most adults had during childhood.

Researchers relied on a Korean health database to identify people newly diagnosed with shingles, stroke, or heart attack over 10 years. Among the nearly 520,000 people they followed for that period, just over 23,000 were diagnosed with shingles, whom they compared with a similar number of people without shingles. People who'd had shingles had a 59% higher risk of later having a heart attack and a 35% higher risk of having a stroke compared with people who did not have shingles. The risk was highest during the first year after the onset of shingles and then diminished over time.

About one in three people in the United States will develop shingles at some point. The CDC recommends that most people ages 60 and older get a shingles vaccine, even if you've had shingles before, since you can get it more than once. The vaccine cuts the risk of shingles by half.(Harvard Medical School)

Restaurant Chain 'Cut Sugary Drink Sales' With Price Rise

Putin Hails Crimea Anexation After Election Win

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68601131