Foreign-A Female Cyclist Hand Cycles 2000 Miles From Canada To Mexico

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QUOTES FOR LIFE

Government Pharmacists To Launch An Islandwide Token Strike Tomorrow(01)

Government Pharmacists have been decided to launch an Island Wide one day token strike from 8  a.m tomorrow(01) to 8 a.m on day after(02) by opposing the Health Ministry's decision to suspend the postgraduate degree program me on clinical Pharmacology conducted in Post Graduate Institute of Medicine in Colombo under the influence of Government Medical Officers Association(GMOA) according to the Government Pharmacists Union.

Due to the strike the issuing of Drugs to the Clinical  patients in OPD and  patients in wards of all Government Hospitals  will be paralyzed tomorrow and only the emergency services in the wards will be maintained as usual the Union has stated.

Due to the humanitarian reasons Pharmacists attached to the all Children,Mental,Cancer and Maternity Hospitals in the state sector will not participate in the strike the president of the Pharmacists Union Ajith.P.Thilakratne has stressed.

Cabinet Approved An Amendment On Making Compulsory To Obtain License For Toddy Tapping From Coconut And Palmyrah Trees

The Cabinet has approved an amendment proposed to the Excise Ordinance by the Ministry Of Finance And Mass Media to make compulsory the obtaining of a license for Toddy Tapping from Coconut and Palmyrah Trees.

Although the license should be required for Toddy tapping under the Excise Ordinance  it was later amended in 2013 by excluding Coconut,Kitul and Palmyrah trees from licensing system and as a result the Excise department has faced difficulty to monitoring the volume of  Toddy produced as distilleries when collecting Excise duty.

Although license is compulsory for Toddy tapping from Coconut and Palmyrah trees according to the new amendment ,the excluding of  Kitul Tree when obtaining a license for  Toddy tapping remains same according to the authorities. 

Railways Department To increase the Rail freight transportation charge by 50% from tomorrow(01)

The Railways Department has decided to the increase the Rail freight transportation charge by 50% with effect from tomorrow(01).

The Freight transportation charges will only increase on transportation of Commercial goods the Department has stated.

Cabinet has granted approval for the increase of Rail Freight transportation charge which is due to be implemented  first time after 2008 .

Three Faculties Of Jaffna University Closed Down Due To The Class Boycott Of Students

Science,Management Studies and Commerce and Art Faculties attached to the Jaffna University have been closed down today (31) by the authorities indefinitely  due to the class boycott launched by the students of these faculties by demanding the release of imprisoned Tamil political prisoners.

The Jaffna University authorities had requested the all students in Hostels to vacate their premises by 4 p.m tomorrow(01).  

Due to the closure of the Three faculties of Jaffna University  indefinitely , the students  have complained  that they were not able to sit for the mid term examination of the University.

Meanwhile the authorities of the  University had declared the main premises of the University out of bounds for all the students.

Alzheimer's Nutrient Drink Falters In Clinical Trial

There is no good evidence that a nutrient drink being sold online in the UK to "help" people with early Alzheimer's actually slows the disease, say experts. 

Latest trial results in patients who took Souvenaid did not find it preserves memory and thinking.
The authors say in Lancet Neurology that bigger studies are needed to show if the product can work as hoped.And consumers should be aware that the £3.49 per bottle drink "is not a cure".
Manufacturer Nutricia says its drink should only be taken under the direction of a doctor, specialist nurse or pharmacist.

What is the drink?

Souvenaid comes in strawberry or vanilla flavour and contains a combination of fatty acids, vitamins and other nutrients.Taken once daily, the idea is that the boost of nutrients it provides will help keep Alzheimer's at bay in people with the earliest signs of this type of dementia.
But the latest phase two clinical trial results do not prove this.

What the trial found

The study involved 311 patients with very early Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment. All of them were asked to take a daily drink, but only half were given Souvenaid - the other half received one with no added nutrients.

After two years of participating, the patients were reassessed to see if there was any difference between the two groups in terms of dementia progression, measured by various memory and cognitive tests.

The treatment did not appear to offer an advantage, although patients in the Souvenaid group did have slightly less brain shrinkage on scans, which the researchers say is promising because shrinkage in brain regions controlling memory is seen with worsening dementia.
But experts remain cautious.

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, a dementia expert at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Some of the other tests of brain structure and function were promising, but overall this study indicates that a specific change in nutrition is unlikely to make a large difference to people with Alzheimer's, even in the early stages.

"There is strong evidence that a healthy lifestyle including exercise and a healthy diet can help reduce risk for developing dementia, but once the brain damage starts, a dietary intervention is unlikely to stop the disease."

Another expert, Dr Elizabeth Coulthard from University of Bristol, said people should think carefully before buying something that is, as yet, unproven.

Dr David Reynolds, from Alzheimer's Research UK, advised: "If people are worried about their memory, or are considering buying and taking Souvenaid as a supplement to manage their diet, then it is important that they discuss this with their GP."

A spokeswoman from Nutricia said: "We are pleased that this adds to the body of evidence for Souvenaid and we remain committed to ongoing and further clinical research."