Knowledge Update

New York, Dec 23 (IANS) Exposure to a common plastic compound found in baby bottles and personal care products may increase the risk of pregnant women and lactating mothers developing negative behavioural changes and impairment in brain regions, researchers have warned.

The study, conducted in mice, showed that the exposure to bisphenol S (BPS) -- a replacement chemical for Bisphenol A (BPA) -- impaired the maternal care of pups, including mothers' ability to adjust to the needs of their young during early development. 

"BPS affects maternal behaviour as well as maternally relevant neural correlates," said Mary Catanese, doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. 

The effects differ based on dose, postpartum period and generational timing of exposure, Catanese said.

Further, BPS exposure was found to increase the infanticide thoughts in a brain region sensitive to estrogen or estrogen-mimicking chemicals as well as important in maternal behaviour in mice. 

"Although these same effects were not seen at the higher dose, more than 10 per cent of females exposed to two microgram BPS/kg per day either killed their pups or provided such poor instrumental maternal care that one or more pups needed to be euthanised. 

While not statistically significant, the neglect and poor maternal care we observed were striking," explained Laura Vandenberg, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts.

In addition, BPS exposure may also impair a mother to adjust to the changing needs of her pups, the researchers observed.

BPS-exposed mothers showed significantly shorter latency to retrieve their first pup and significantly shorter latency to retrieve their entire litter, which may not represent improved care but instead "may indicate hyperactivity, compulsivity-like behaviour, heightened stress response to scattered pups, or a displaced form of retrieval," Vandenberg noted.

The details of the study appeared in the journal Endocrinology.

New York, Dec 23 (IANS) You can literally lose sleep over discrimination as a new study has found that people who perceive more unfairness in daily life have higher rates of sleep problems.

"Discrimination is an important factor associated with sleep measures in middle-aged adults," according to the study by Sherry Owens of West Virginia University in the US, and colleagues. 

The research included 441 adults from a study of health and well-being in middle age and beyond (the MIDUS Study). The participants' average age was 47 years. 

Participants wore an activity monitor device for one week to gather data on objective sleep measures -- for example, sleep efficiency, calculated as the percentage of time spent in bed that the person was asleep. 

They also completed subjective sleep ratings -- for example, how often they had sleep problems.

Perceived experiences of discrimination were assessed using a validated "Everyday Discrimination Scale." 

For example, participants were asked how often they were treated with less courtesy or respect than others, or how often they were insulted or harassed.

Participants who perceived more discrimination had increased sleep problems, according to the study published in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.

Higher discrimination scores were associated with 12 per cent higher odds of poor sleep efficiency and a nine percent increase in the odds of poor sleep quality. 

Discrimination was also related to (objective) time spent awake after falling asleep and (subjective) overall sleep difficulties.

While poor sleep has previously been linked to higher perceived discrimination, the researchers said that the new study is the first to look at how discrimination affects both objective and subjective sleep measures.

"The findings support the model that discrimination acts as a stressor than can disrupt subjective and objective sleep," the study said.

New York, Dec 23 (IANS) Researchers have developed a new tattoo ink that glows only under certain light conditions and disappears later. It can better help in surgical treatment of patients with a form of skin cancer much more than the commercially available tattoo pigments.

Tattoos may not be just for body art, but are also used by the medical community for precisely demarcating future treatment landmarks. 

This is especially important for identifying biopsy sites of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) patients as they typically have to wait up to three months between a biopsy confirming their condition and treatment. 

However, the commercially available tattoo pigments inks can cause discomfort and inflammation.

The new ink developed by researchers led by Kai Chen University of Southern California is time-limited. Under ambient lighting, the nanoparticles are invisible, which would avoid unwanted markings in a patient's skin, and is a safer, more patient-friendly option. 

Testing in mice showed that tattoos created with these nanoparticles did not cause inflammation and lasted for three months. 

The study was published in the journal ACS Nano.

​London, Dec 23 (IANS) In a large human trial led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), an experimental Ebola vaccine was found highly protective against the deadly virus, promising an effective weapon against any future outbreak.

The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, according to the results published in The Lancet journal. 

"While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa's Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless," said Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, and the study's lead author.

In the most recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa that started in late 2013, more than 11,000 people lost their lives. The WHO removed the global emergency tag for the disease early this year.

The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11,841 people in Guinea during 2015. 

Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. 

In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.

The trial was led by the World Health Organization, together with Guinea's Ministry of Health and other international partners.

The vaccine's manufacturer, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, this year received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration and PRIME status from the European Medicines Agency, enabling faster regulatory review of the vaccine once it is submitted.

Since Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, sporadic outbreaks have been reported in Africa. 

But the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which resulted in more than 11,300 deaths, highlighted the need for a vaccine.

The trial took place in the coastal region of Basse-Guinée, the area of Guinea still experiencing new Ebola cases when the trial started in 2015. 

To assess safety, people who received the vaccine were observed for 30 minutes after vaccination, and at repeated home visits up to 12 weeks later. 

Approximately half reported mild symptoms soon after vaccination, including headache, fatigue and muscle pain but recovered within days without long-term effects. 

Two serious adverse events were judged to be related to vaccination (a febrile reaction and one anaphylaxis) and one was judged to be possibly related (influenza-like illness). 

All three recovered without any long term effects, the study reported.

Amman, Dec 22 (IANS/WAM) Japan has signed an agreement for a $254 million grant to Jordan to enhance its financial situation and support development policies to reform public services in the country.

​Brussels, Dec 22 (IANS) The European Police Office (Europol) has signed an agreement with EURid, the European Commission-appointed internet registry manager, to enhance internet security cooperation.

Beijing, Dec 22 (IANS) China's State Council has passed a plan on healthcare and medical system reform for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

Health care development is basic to the drive for a "Healthy China" and crucial to addressing people's needs, said a statement on Wednesday released after a State Council

​New York, Dec 22 (IANS) Social media giant Facebook has roped in 17 US universities to help it speed up technology projects by collaborating with faculties and labs.

Regina Dugan, Vice President of Engineering and Head of the social network's Building 8 (B8) group announced a Sponsored Academic Research Agreement (SARA) designed to

Tokyo, Dec 22 (IANS) Japanese car manufacturer Honda has begun negotiations with Waymo, a Google subsidiary that builds self-driven vehicles, to collaborate on developing the technology further, the company said on Thursday.

​New York, Dec 22 (IANS) Researchers have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics.

The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design could revolutionise the use of bio-batteries as a power source in remote, dangerous and