'' No junk food in college canteens: Rajasthan govt ''The Rajasthan government has asked all state-run colleges to ban sale of junk foods including pizzas, burgers and cold drinks on their premises, an official said Friday.“On the request of the state government, the directorate of college education has written to principals of all state run colleges directing them not to sell pizza, burger, cold drinks etc. in their canteens,” a senior officer of the directorate told IANS.
The move aims at promoting healthy food habits and discouraging intake of foods that are high in saturated fats and also carbonated drinks, he said.
“It is the best time to develop habits for good health during college time. If taught properly in this period, a person is likely to remain health conscious throughout his or her life,” said the official.
The directive also advises the college administration to run awareness campaigns among students, warning them of ill effects these kinds of food can have on their health, the official added.
The directives ask the principals to try to inform students about benefits of eating healthy food and participating in sports and games.
The state government had earlier prohibited sale of nicotine products, including cigarettes, in and around educational institutes.
'' Health Minister promises free drugs for the poor at public health facilities ''The central government will provide free generic drugs at all public health facilities from April 2012 in an effort to reduce the financial burden on patients, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Monday.While inaugurating the day-long National Consultation on Social Determinants of Health, Azad reaffirmed that the central government is committed to meet and overcome the challenge of addressing social inequities.
“In an attempt to provide universal healthcare, steps would be taken to provide free generic drugs at all public health facilities in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) for reducing financial burden on patients,” said Azad.
He said that the Commission on Social Determinants of Health has outlined that unequal distribution of health damaging experiences are perpetuated by a combination of poor social policies and programmes and unfair economic arrangements, globally and nationally.
“If it means investing more for the poorer segments of society, we shall do it; if it means challenging the biases against the marginalised segments of society, we shall do it; if it means ensuring better integration of different development programmes, we shall do it; and if it means reducing out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare for the people who cannot afford it, we shall do it,” he said.
Cotton Ear Buds... Please do not show sympathy to people selling buds on roadside or at Signals. Just wanted to warn you people not to buy those packs of ear-buds you get at the roadside.It's made from cotton that has already been used in hospitals.. They take all the dirty, blood- and pus-filled cotton, wash it, bleach it and use it to make ear buds. So, unless you want to become the first person in the world to get Herpes Zoster Oticus (a viral infection of the inner, middle, and external ear) of the ear and that too from a cotton bud, DON'T BUY THEM.......Dr.B.Sriganesh. BDS, PGDHM.
''Hydrogen sulphide helps convert dental pulp into liver cells! ''A compound that gives the mouth its bad breadth or halitosis, can also help tweak stem cells from human dental pulp into liver cells, a study reveals.Researchers from Nippon Dental University, Japan, showed that hydrogen sulphide (H2S) (which smells like rotten eggs) boosted the ability of adult stem cells to differentiate into hepatic (liver) cells, furthering their reputation as a reliable source for future liver-cell therapy.
This is the first time that liver cells have been produced from human dental pulp and, even more impressively, have been produced in high numbers of high purity, the Journal of Breath Research reported.
“High purity means there are less ‘wrong cells’ that are being differentiated to other tissues, or remaining as stem cells,” said a university statement.
“Moreover, these facts suggest that patients undergoing transplantation with the hepatic cells may have almost no possibility of developing teratomas or cancers, as can be the case when using bone marrow stem cells,” said Ken Yaegaki, who led the study.
Yaegaki and his group used stem cells from dental pulp — the central part of the tooth made up of connective tissue and cells — which were obtained from the teeth of dental patients who were undergoing routine tooth extractions.
“Until now, nobody has produced the protocol to regenerate such a huge number of hepatic cells for human transplantation. Compared to the traditional method of using fetal bovine serum to produce the cells, our method is productive and, most importantly, safe” concluded Yaegaki.
'' Beware – Mouth bug could lead to serious heart, brain and spinal disease ''Scientists have identified a common mouth bug that can trigger serious illnesses if it gets into the bloodstream.Identified by University of Zurich researchers, the oral bug has been named Streptococcus Tigurinus after the region of Zurich where it was first recognised. The similarity of S. Tigurinus to other related bugs has meant that it has existed without being identified, which is clinically important, explained Andrea Zbinden from the Zurich Institute of Medical Microbiology, who led the study.
“Accurate identification of this bacterium is essential to be able to track its spread. This will allow infected patients to be treated quickly and with the right drug,” added Zbinden, the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology reports.
Streptococcus Tigurinus was isolated from blood of patients suffering from endocarditis (inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and its valves), meningitis (bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) and spondylodiscitis (inflammation of the spine), according to a Zurich statement.
It bears a close resemblance to other Streptococcus strains that colonise the mouth. Bleeding gums represent a possible route of entry for oral bacteria into the bloodstream.
“This bacterium seems to have a natural potential to cause severe disease and so it is important that clinicians and microbiologists are aware of it,” Zbinden said.
