Clean energy, air-powered bike.

Meet the 14-year-old girl from Odisha who has invented a fuel-free bike. The increasing levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the air, big cities in India have been suffocating with harmful pollutants. In these times, 14-year-old Odisha girl Tejaswini Priyadarshini has invented an ‘air bike’ which runs at up to 60 km per hour. A cylinder with 10 kg of compressed air is mounted to the back of a bicycle with no pedals. Tejaswini got this thought when she was visiting a cycle-repair shop. Fascinated by how the mechanics made use of air guns to remove the knots in the tyres, she applied the same concept of an air gun which runs on air pressure continue

Low socioeconomic status reduces life expectancy and should be counted as a major risk factor in health policy.

A study published in the Lancet that evaluated 1.7 million people shows that low socioeconomic status is linked to significant reductions in life expectancy and should be considered a major risk factor for ill health and early death in national and global health policies. The study, using data from the UK, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, USA and Australia, is the first to compare the impact of low socioeconomic status with other major risk factors on health, such as physical inactivity, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and high alcohol intake. Although socioeconomic status is one of the strongest predictors of illness and early death worldwide, it is often overlooked in health policies.In the study, researchers compared socioeconomic status against six of the main risk factors defined by the World Health Organisation in its Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases. The plan aims to reduce non-communicable diseases by 25% by 2025, but omits socioeconomic status as a risk factor for these diseases. The study included data from 48 studies comprising more than 1.7 million people. It used a person's job title to estimate their socioeconomic status and looked at whether they died early.When compared with their wealthier counterparts, people with low socioeconomic status were almost 1.5 times (46%) more likely to die before they were 85 years old. Among people with low socioeconomic status, 55,600 (15.2% of men and 9.4% of women) died before the age of 85, compared with 25,452 (11.5% of men and 6.8% of women) of people with high socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status is important because it is a summary measure of lifetime exposures to hazardous circumstances and behaviours, that goes beyond the risk factors for non-communicable diseases that policies usually address

Survey reveals low awareness on cause of cervical cancer among Kenyan women .

As Kenya joins the world in marking World Cancer Day , a new survey has revealed that majority of Kenyan women are not aware of the main cause of cervical cancer, despite the disease being a top killer. The survey, involving women in Kenya’s major cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu indicates that 97 per cent are not aware of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - the sexually transmitted virus that has been established to cause virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Instead, the survey reveals widespread misconceptions about the causes of the disease with many women attributing it to frequent abortions. The survey, conducted in October 2016, was commissioned by Lancet Group of Labs and Alison Productions, and was conducted by the research firm Consumer Options Limited. It involved 327 women in the three cities aged 18 to 60 years. continue

Sedative in dog food; Evanger’s issues recall after dog dies.

At least five dogs have been sickened and one has died after eating Evanger’s “Hunk of Beef” canned food. A barbiturate, Pentobarbital, has been confirmed in one lot of the food and the company is concerned people may still have unused cans in their homes. Recalled Evangers dog food canEvanger’s Dog & Cat Food of Wheeling, IL, is recalling five lots of 12-ounce cans of “Hunk of Beef” dog food that have expiration dates of June 2020, according to the recall notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration The barbiturate Pentobarbital is a sedative and if ingested by animals it can cause drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea and, in extreme cases, death. The implicated beef was not used in any other Evanger’s products. continue

Bird flu sensitization seminar and new compensation scheme.

The bird flu virus ravaging many nations is a wake up call for strict biosecurity protocols and surveillance strategies. Poultry keeping is a money spinner and a source of employment, and raw materials for many companies,but a breech in bio security measures will make a mess of the business and loss of products. In line with the go back to agriculture initiative, all hands must be on deck to support farmers,agribusiness' and feed millers to ensure there ventures are profitable to provide wholesome products for the people thus contributing to food security. The Lagos state avian influenza office is organizing a sensitization seminar on bird-flu and how to stop the virus. The scope of seminar will be ; 1) Biosecurity. 2) New compensation scheme . The seminar will hold at Johnson Agiri Complex,Oko Oba Agege on the 15/2/2017 @ 9am prompt. This is an open invite for farmers ,live-poultry-dealers,veterinarians,feed-millers and other members of the poultry value chain. Products will be on display, for your education and purchase.

First NI bird flu case found in County Derry wild swan.

The first case of bird flu has been confirmed in Northern Ireland. The avian influenza strain H5N8 was discovered in a dead wild swan near Lough Beg, County Londonderry. The swan was reported by a member of the public as part of the Department of Agriculture's dead wild bird surveillance programme. Initial testing has indicated the presence of the H5N8 strain of bird flu. However, the department has said the risk to the public is very low.Officials have been on alert for the disease since cases were confirmed in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. source

Top benefits of Greencoat wax-free boxes.

During IPPE 2017, Interstate Container highlighted the eight main reasons driving the evolution to wax-free coated poultry packaging. The company is the creator Greencoat wax-free corrugated boxes. Eight reasons to evolve with Greencoat wax-free boxes are as follows; 1) 100% recyclable and re-pulpable. Traditional wax-coated boxes are unrecyclable and end up in landfills, taking over a century to decompose. FBA-certified Greencoat wax-free boxes significantly reduce environmental impact. Since transitioning entirely to Greencoat wax-free boxes in 2010, Mountaire Farms, a leading U.S. poultry processor, has annually contributed to a carbon savings of 150,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. This equates to the removal of 31,685 passenger vehicles from the road for one year or 48,000 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled. 2) Customized box aizes. These boxes are not one size fits all. Poultry producers can choose the “right size” packaging that builds strength and reduces waste and costs for customers. 3) Proven quality and performance. Greencoat boxes are field-tested and customer approved. Interstate Container has partnered with poultry, meat and seafood producers, as well as Global Green USA, to continuously test Greencoat boxes under long, damp and difficult transport routes across the country. Every month, the company produces and ships over 12 million Greencoat boxes to some of the largest poultry processors in the country. 4) As strong as traditional wax boxes. With a powerful combination of eco-friendly impregnation and wax-free coating, Greencoat boxes withstand the challenges of the cold-storage supply chain, enduring tremendous exposure to moisture, rough handling, and long storage. continue