India to hold biggest Yoga fest in China next week

India to hold biggest Yoga fest in China next week

India will hold the biggest Yoga festival in China next week where the iconic Indian spiritual and physical art form has become a rage with millions of health-conscious Chinese making it part of their routine.

More than 1500 people are expected to take part in the Yoga Summit — the second such festival to be held in China in recent years — that will be held from July 7 to 12 at the picturesque city of Dali in Yunnan Province.

Indian Embassy and Indian Consulate in Guangzhou is organising the event as part of the ongoing year-long Glimpses of India festival being organised across China to expose the Chinese public to popular Indian ancient dance and art forms.

The Sangeet Natak Akadami dance troupe which is currently touring China is scheduled to perform at the festival. Geeta S Iyengar, daughter of the famous Yoga guru B K S Iyengar, along with 17 top Yoga exponents would take part in the event.

B K S Iyengar, who visited China in 2012, has become a popular ambassador of the art form among millions of Chinese practitioners and his works were widely translated into Mandarin.

The art form has become a rage with almost every gym across China having Yoga instructors. Specialised teaching centres like YogiYoga, run by Yoga exponent Mohan Singh Bhandari and Yinyan, a Chinese journalist who previously worked for Elle Magazine, trains over 8,000 would-be teachers.

Yoga is also considered as a million-dollar business in China where it is seen as a more of potent physical exercise. There is, however, criticism about the certification of teachers being churned out by many institutes.

The Yoga Summit which is being advertised all over China is expected to draw large audience, Indian officials said. Indian Ambassador Ashok K Kantha and top local Chinese officials were expected to take attend the festival.

Source: samachar

Scorpion’s venom can make cancer cells ‘glow’

Scorpion’s venom can make cancer cells ‘glow’

In what can alter the course of cancer treatment in the near future, researchers have found a compound that appears to pinpoint all of the malignant cells in a patient’s body. The twist is that the compound’s main ingredient is a molecule that is found in the sting of a deadly scorpion. The compound called chlorotoxin is found in the venom of the death stalker scorpion known as leiurus quinquestriatus. It gives malignant cells a bright fluorescent sheen so surgeons can easily spot them, wired.com reported.

‘A scorpion-venom concoction that makes tumours glow sounded almost too outlandish to be true in the beginning. But with generous donations from individuals, the fluorescent scorpion toxin is now in Phase I clinical trials,’ informed Jim Olson from the renowned Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre that developed the technique, called ‘Tumour Paint’. (Read: Cancer vaccine developed to boost lifespan of patients)

Scorpion venoms are cocktails of numerous individual toxins that attack different targets within a victim’s body. Olson and his team found that chlorotoxin did not attach just to brain tumours — it grabbed onto all sorts of cancers, from those that affect the skin to those that destroy the lungs. In lab experiments, Olson began to inject fluorescent-tipped chlorotoxin into mice — the compound lit up cancer cells that no other technology could identify. In one instance, the chlorotoxin illuminated a clump of just 200 malignant cells that were burrowed deep within a wad of fat. ‘That was the point we learned that the technology was far more sensitive than an MRI,’ Olson was quoted as saying

Source: the health site

Full Moon Night May Reduce Sleep by 20 Minutes

Full Moon Night May Reduce Sleep by 20 Minutes

Next time when your grandmother tells you a folklore as you try to sleep on a full moon night, tell her to cut short as you are going to lose some sleep owing to the effect of lunar cycle on your brain.

Researchers have found that people actually sleep 20 minutes less when the moon is full.

“Participants slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more trouble falling asleep during the full moon phase. However, the greatest impact on REM sleep (during which most dreaming is believed to occur) appeared to be during the new moon,” said Michael Smith from Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Based on a study of 47 healthy adults aged 18 to 30, the results support an earlier theory that a correlation between sleep and the lunar cycle exists.

“The brain is more susceptible to external disturbances when the moon is full,” Smith added.

A Swiss research study conducted last year showed that the full moon affects sleep.

The findings demonstrated that people average 20 minutes less sleep, take five minutes longer to fall asleep and experience 30 minutes more of REM sleep.

“There may be a built-in biological clock that is affected by the moon, similar to the one that regulates the circadian rhythm,” researchers said.

Re-analysis of the data showed that sensitivity, measured as reactivity of the cerebral cortex in the brain, is greatest during the full moon.

Greater cortical reactivity was found in both women and men whereas only men had more trouble falling asleep and slept less when the moon was full, said the paper that appeared in the journal Current Biology.

Source: ndtv

‘On-off’ switch can help coma patients come to life

on off switch-can-help-coma-patients-come-life

Do you know there is an “on-off” switch in our brain that controls consciousness? Scientists have found one that can help coma patients regain consciousness.

Researchers at George Washington University made an epileptic patient go to sleep by applying an electrical impulse in a specific brain region.

After they stopped the stimulation, the patient came out of coma and had no memory of what had just happened.

“It is like the ignition of a car when turning a key can bring all the other components of the car to life,” Mohamad Koubeissi from George Washington University was quoted as saying.

The effect was produced by stimulating the patient’s claustrum – a thin sheet of neutrons at the lower part of the central brain. Once stimulation of the claustrum stopped, the patient regained consciousness.

Koubeissi found that low-frequency stimulation reduced epileptic seizures in patients by 92 percent without impairing memory.

The discovery of the switch could be very useful in certain areas of medicine, said the study reported by New Scientist.

Source: business standard

Advanced Standing Nursing Program (ASN) – in TAU

ASN

Texila American University has a continuing commitment to assist the registered nurses in attaining the baccalaureate degree. All RN students will have the opportunity to receive advanced placement credit upon completion of specific courses.

Salient Features of the Program

  • This program is also called the RN- BSN Conversion program.
  • This is for those nurses who are already registered nurses, but would like to further their knowledge and upgrade themselves with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
  • Students will be provided training for CGFNS Exams.
  • CGFNS protects the public by ensuring that nurses and other health care professionals educated in countries other than the United States are eligible and qualified to meet licensure, immigration and other practice requirements in the United States.
  • TAU provides training to students for NCLEX exams- this is in built with the Curriculum.
  • NCLEX exams is conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing [ NCSBN].

For more details register here http://www.tauedu.org/texila-connect/signup.html

Cesarean section may cause epigenetic changes

Cesarean section may cause epigenetic changes

Researchers have found that the mode of delivery could make an imprint in the stem cells of the newborn infant. The finding may help explain why individuals born by cesarean section statistically have an increased risk of immunological diseases, researchers said.

“The biological mechanisms predisposing a foetus or a newborn infant to get a certain disease later in life are complex and depend on both genetic and environmental factors during formative years,” said Tomas Ekstrom, Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

“In this study, our focus has been whether the way a baby is born can have an impact on a cellular level in the form of epigenetic alterations in DNA,” Ekstrom said.

Epigenetic changes in the DNA of the cell nucleus occur when environmental factors affects the way the genes are encoded without altering the actual genetic code.

Thus, genes can be switched on and off to adapt body functions following the necessities of the surrounding environment.

In the current study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers investigated epigenetic alterations in stem cells from sorted cord blood.

Global epigenetic analysis was then done from 43 infants, of whom 18 were delivered by cesarean section. Finally, DNA from 12 infants (6 cesarean sections) was analysed for genome-wide locus-specific epigenetic states. The result showed specific epigenetic differences between the groups in almost 350 DNA regions, including genes known to be involved in processes controlling metabolism and immune defense.

“During a vaginal delivery, the foetus is exposed to an increased level of stress, which in a positive way will prepare the unborn baby for life outside the uterus,” said Mikael Norman, Professor of Neonatology.

“This activation of the foetus’ defense systems doesn’t occur when a cesarean section is performed before labour begins, which in turn could be a possible cause for the noticed differences between the groups,” Norman said.

Researchers cautioned that it is still unknown whether the differences that were found in the studied babies remains over a longer period of time, and thus actually have an impact on future disease risk.

Source: IBN live

Now, toolkit to help treat menopause

Now toolkit to help treat menopause

A first of its kind toolkit can be used by doctors to help manage menopausal conditions for women globally – from Madras to Manhattan, scientists say. Created at Monash University, the toolkit is designed for general practitioners (GPs) to use with women from the age of 40.

The Practitioner Toolkit for Managing the Menopause includes a diagnostic tool, as well as a compendium of approved hormone therapies. Led by Professor Susan Davis, the research team from the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, combined existing research on menopause, diagnostic algorithms and extensive clinical experience to develop the diagnostic tool.

Designed for use in a GP surgery, it also works through a patient’s medical history and risk factors to arrive at the best treatment solution. Davis said the toolkit fills the void of clear guidelines on menopause diagnosis and management, equipping doctors with the fundamentals to care for any woman who walks through the door.

“Based on feedback from patients and doctors we realised there’s widespread confusion, not only in how to determine when menopause starts but also prescribing appropriate treatment to help with side effects,” Davis said. Menopause marks the end of the monthly cycle of menstruation and reproductive years in a woman’s life.

Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. Davis said due to hormonal changes, menopausal symptoms, which include hot flushes, anxiety and depression and joint pain, vary widely from none at all to debilitating, making a straightforward diagnosis difficult.

The kit includes a flow chart of standardised questions for doctors to ask, and assess women who are potentially experiencing menopause.

The kit also flags safety concerns, provides a list of all hormone therapies approved by regulators in different countries and lists non-hormonal therapies that have evidence to support their use.

“Hormone therapy is commonly prescribed to women, but its success varies according to symptom type and severity, personal circumstances and medical background,” Davis said.

“This toolkit has the potential to change that because it’s designed to work as just as well for a 41 year old woman in Madras as it will for the 48 year old in Manhattan,” she said. The toolkit can be downloaded for free from the journal Climacteric.

Source: The financial express

25 Minutes of This Will Get Rid of Your Stress

25 Minutes of This Will Get Rid of Your Stress

In just half an hour, by focusing on your breathing, you can start to relax and melt away your cares.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University investigated how effective mindfulness meditation can be in countering the body’s stress response. For that type of meditation, you need a laser-like focus on your breathing, and, some advocates say that as your body fills up with air, your muscles contract. That helps you to push out other distractions — like deadlines or your to-do list — and start to relax.

They randomly assigned 66 volunteers to either participate in mindful meditation for 25 minutes for three days, or go through a cognitive training program in which they learned how to analyze poetry passages. The people who meditated reported less stress, and even showed that they were better at coping with stress compared to those who relied on their behavior training.

The new study, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, is not the first to show the positive effects of mediation. An analysis from February showed that Transcendental Meditation (TM)–a 20 minute mediation that simply requires closing your eyes and quieting down outside thoughts — sometimes by repeating a mantra — significantly lowered teacher stress and burnout. Fans of TM include chef Mario Batali, music mogul Russell Brand, Paul McCartney, Arianna Huffington, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. Now it looks as if there’s some promising science to back them up

Source: Time

Alzheimer’s research in ‘major step’ towards blood test

Alzheimer's research in 'major step' towards blood test

British scientists have made a “major step forward” in developing a blood test to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Research in more than 1,000 people has identified a set of proteins in the blood which can predict the start of the dementia with 87% accuracy. The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, will be used to improve trials for new dementia drugs.

Experts warned that the test was not yet ready for doctors’ surgeries. Research into treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has been plagued by failure. Between 2002 and 2012, 99.6% of trials aimed at preventing or reversing the disease flopped.

Doctors believe the failure is down to treating patients when it is already too late, since symptoms appear around a decade after the start of the disease. Identifying patients earlier is one of the priorities for dementia research.

Blood test
The research group, which combines university and industry scientists, looked for differences in the blood of 452 healthy people, 220 with mild cognitive impairment and 476 with Alzheimer’s disease.

They were able to tell with 87% accuracy which patients with mild cognitive impairment would go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease in the next year.

“We want to be able to identify people to enter clinical trials earlier than they currently do and that’s really what we’ve been aiming at,” said lead researcher Prof Simon Lovestone from the University of Oxford. However, he said it may find a place in doctors’ surgeries in the future.

“As long as there is no treatment one can question the value of a test, but people come to the clinic because they want to know what’s happening to them and I currently can’t tell them.” He said he was forced to tell patients to come back in a year and see if their memory problems were any worse.

Prof Lovestone added: “That’s grim, it’s horrible, you can only imagine what that’s like for patients. “Although I have some real reservations about doing a test, all I can say is there are some people who come to clinics asking precisely that question.”

Dr Ian Pike, chief operating officer at Proteome Sciences, said: “Having a protein test is really a major step forwards. “[It] will take several years and need many more patients before we can be certain these tests are suitable for routine clinical use, that process can start fairly quickly now.”

Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, described the study as a “technical tour de force”. However, he warned the current accuracy levels risked telling healthy people they were on course to develop Alzheimer’s which may lead to anxiety and depression.

It is unlikely that the test would be used in isolation if it eventually makes its way into clinics. A positive result could be backed up by brain scans or testing spinal fluid for signs of Alzheimer’s.

However, Dr Karran did argue this was a step towards making Alzheimer’s a preventable disease. “I think it does, but not immediately.

“This gives a better way to identify people who will progress to Alzheimer’s disease, people who can be entered into clinical trials earlier, I think that will increase the potential of a positive drug effect and thereby I think we will get to a therapy, which will be an absolute breakthrough if we can get there.

“It’s not a simple journey. We all wish it was.”

Source: bbc news

Your Next Crash Might Be With a Drowsy Driver

Your Next Crash Might Be With a Drowsy Driver

Drunk drivers and texting teenagers are bad enough, but the latest report from the federal government shows that sleepy drivers are putting us all at risk, also. Fully 4 percent of drivers surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confessed to having fallen asleep at the wheel in the past month. Drowsy driving plays a role in as many as 7,500 fatal crashes — 25 percent of all crashes

Drowsy drivers who don’t fall all the way asleep can still cause accidents, by missing exits or drifting out of their lanes, Wheaton’s team wrote. Drinking’s still the biggest single cause of road deaths, however.

“In 2012, nearly one third (10,322) of the 33,561 traffic fatalities occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes,” the CDC team wrote. “In addition, half of vehicle occupants killed were not wearing seatbelts.”

Source: nbc news