Fake China, India drugs put Kenyans at risk.

Fake China, India drugs put Kenyans at risk. A UN study has ranked Mombasa as a major hub for trafficking of fake pharmaceutical and veterinary drugs, putting millions of lives in danger. The study by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the International Institute for Research Against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) cites the Kenyan port city as being among the biggest trafficking points in Africa for counterfeit veterinary products and human medicines like antimalarial drugs, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and analgesics as well as gastro-intestinals. “Some 113 million illicit and potentially dangerous medicines were seized in Africa, with a total estimated value of €52 million (Sh6 billion). The biggest interceptions were in Nigeria, Benin, Kenya and Togo – in that order,” says WCO secretary-general Kunio Mikuriya in the report released late last month. “All these potentially dangerous medicines to animal and human health have been withdrawn from the market instead of being sold to the African populations.” more

Avian flu vaccination to begin in China.

Avian flu vaccination to begin in China. China takes avian flu control to next level as threat to poultry, humans intensifies. Asian countries are bearing the brunt of the current global battle against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). New outbreaks in poultry are reported in South Korea, Taiwan and China, and the Beijing government is to start a vaccination program to try to control the further spread of the virus. In Europe, French farmers hit by recent epidemics are receiving compensation payments, while there are new cases in Belgium. Among African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria have confirmed new outbreaks in poultry. In the last week, China’s ministry of agriculture has reported to the OIE that poultry at four more locations have tested positive for the H7N9 HPAI virus variant, bringing the total number of outbreaks since March this year to nine. Latest to be affected were two farms in Inner Mongolia, one in Guangxi, and a slaughterhouse in Longyan city (Fujian province). Almost 462,000 birds were destroyed as a result of the findings. As of June 10, the total number of confirmed human cases of influenza A(H7N9) reported globally increased to 1,533, according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong. Of these, 727 cases have been recorded in Mainland China since October 2016. The most recent patients – with disease onset between April 25 and June 6 – numbered 12 and were located in Beijing and six provinces. Concern over the threat to the health of humans and poultry posed by the H7N9 HPAI virus lies behind the latest announcement from China’s ministry of agriculture to begin vaccination of poultry against the virus, according to Reuters.source

Solar and wind hybrid drier prevents food waste.

Solar and wind hybrid drier prevents food waste. The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute (KEMFRI) has come up with a drier machine using wind and solar power to remove excess moisture from farm products to reduce post harvest losses. 

 The United Nation’s agency Food and Agricultural Organisation says more than 40 per cent of the global farm produce goes to waste. The waste starts from the farm up to the table of the consumer. 

 

The hybrid drier is powered by the energy harnessed from the fan-like turbine erected on a wind obstruction free area. It can also be powered by solar, which is harnessed directly from panels or indirectly heated piped water. more

Early stress confers lifelong vulnerability causing alterations in a specific brain region.

Early stress confers lifelong vulnerability causing alterations in a specific brain region. Early life stress encodes lifelong susceptibility to stress through long-lasting transcriptional programming in a brain reward region implicated in mood and depression, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the journal Science. The Mount Sinai study focuses on epigenetics, the study of changes in the action of genes caused not by changes in DNA code we inherit from our parents, but instead by molecules that regulate when, where, and to what degree our genetic material is activated. Such regulation derives, in part, from the function of transcription factors -- specialized proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences in our genes and either encourage or shut down the expression of a given gene. Previous studies in humans and animals have suggested that early life stress increases the risk for depression and other psychiatric syndromes, but the neurobiology linking the two has remained elusive until now. source

Meditation and yoga can 'reverse' DNA reactions which cause stress.

Meditation and yoga can 'reverse' DNA reactions which cause stress. Mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as meditation, yoga and Tai Chi don't simply relax us; they can 'reverse' the molecular reactions in our DNA which cause ill-health and depression, according to a study by the universities of Coventry and Radboud. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, reviews over a decade of studies analysing how the behaviour of our genes is affected by different MBIs including mindfulness and yoga. source

Prolonged exposure to work-related stress thought to be related to certain cancers.

Prolonged exposure to work-related stress thought to be related to certain cancers. A study on the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men throughout their working lifetime. In men,prolonged exposure to work-related stress has been linked to an increased likelihood of lung, colon, rectal, and stomach cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This is the first study to assess the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men throughout their working life. The findings are among the results obtained by researchers at INRS and Université de Montréal who conducted the first study to assess the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men throughout their working life. The research results were recently published in Preventive Medicine. source

How to use light to suppress mosquito bites and prevent malaria.

How to use light to suppress mosquito bites and prevent malaria. Scientists at the University of Notre Dame have found that exposure to just 10 minutes of light at night suppresses biting and manipulates flight behavior in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, the major vector for transmission of malaria in Africa. The study published in journal parasites and vectors shows that periodic pulses of light suppresses the bites and changes flight behavior of mosquitoes. Insecticide-treated bed nets and walls have helped prevent bites and reduce malaria, but researchers say mosquitoes are adapting to preventive conditions, leaving adults and children vulnerable in the early evening and early morning hours -- when they are not under the nets or in the house. more