Knowledge Update

​Moscow, Oct 27 (IANS) In a major step towards improving surgeries after head or face injuries, Russian scientists have developed a new type of 3-D-printed polymeric bone implants that can get absorbed and subsequently replaced with natural bone tissue in the body.

The prototype can be printed on 3D-printers according to specific parameters, contracted to half its size, then heated in the course of the surgery so the implant can obtain its original shape and size and is securely fixed in the section of the bone being restored. 

The implant is installed with a minimum number of metal fixators that are traditionally used in transplantation.

"We have successfully employed the shape memory effect of the lactic acid polymer - a composite based on polylactide. The porous composite structure is capable of shrinking to half its original size and then returning to its original shape," Project Manager Fyodor Senatov National University of Science and Technology MISIS in Moscow, said in a statement.

"This material is bioresorbable: it decomposes in the body without causing any harm," Senatov noted.

The researchers noted in traditional implant insertion after head injury, additional surgery is often required required due to the low rate of integration with the surrounding tissues or wrong implant position. 

The newly invented polymeric implant has a specified geometry and high porosity, and does not require any additional treatment, the researchers said. 

Due to the properties of the material and the use of the patient's own cells, it rapidly adapts and gets replaced with natural bone tissue. 

"Together with specialists at the N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center, we have developed the technique of colonising the bioengineered structure with cells isolated from the patient's bone marrow," Senatov said,

"The preliminary colonization stimulates budding of blood vessels and tissues inside the implant, which optimises the process and increases the rate of integration with the surrounding tissues, making for more effective transplantation," Senatov said.

The developers plan to use the new implants in oral and maxillofacial surgery to replace small parts of skull bones, up to five cubic centimeters in size. 

The estimated cost of a bioengineered structure colonised with cells isolated from the patient's bone marrow is about $400, the researchers said.

​London, Oct 28 (IANS) Depending on lifestyle choices, taking vitamin E supplements for boosting immunity can have different effects on modifying the risk of pneumonia in older men, a study has found.

The study showed that vitamin E increased pneumonia risk by 68 per cent among men who had the highest exposure to smoking and who did not exercise.

Conversely, vitamin E actually decreased pneumonia risk by 69 per cent among participants who had the least exposure to smoking and who exercised during their leisure time. 

"The effect of vitamin E on health outcomes may depend on various characteristics of people and their lifestyle," said lead author Harri Hemila from the University of Helsinki, Finland. 

Therefore, a single universal estimate of the vitamin E effect might be substantially misleading for some population groups, Hemila said.

For the study, the team studied the effect of vitamin E on the risk of pneumonia on men aged 50 to 69 years old in Finland between 1985 and 1993. There were 898 cases of pneumonia among 29,133 participants of the study.

The author claims that these findings refute there being a uniform effect of vitamin E supplementation on the risk of pneumonia.

Given the current limited understanding about who might benefit, vitamin E should not be suggested for the general population for improving the immune system, Hemila recommended. 

The study was published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

​San Francisco, Oct 26 (IANS) Marking the third straight quarter of declining iPhone sales, Apple has posted quarterly revenues of $46.9 billion and quarterly net income of $9 billion -- down nearly 9 per cent from revenue of $51.5 billion and net income of $11.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

​New York, Oct 26 (IANS) A month after Uber said its self-driving Volvos were still under development, the ride-hailing giant Uber has already ordered 100 self-driving vehicles from the Swedish company, Volvo said on Wednesday.

​New York, Oct 26 (IANS) Increased exposure to air pollution may cause damage and inflammation to blood vessels among young and healthy adults and thus raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and other related deaths, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin.

The study revealed how air pollution actually affects the blood vessels to increase the risk of disease, which was previously unknown.

The researchers found that periodic exposure to fine particulate matter was associated with several abnormal changes in the blood that are markers for cardiovascular disease.

As air pollution rose, they found small, micro-particles indicating cell injury and death significantly increased in number, levels of proteins that inhibit blood vessel growth increased, and proteins that signify blood-vessel inflammation also showed significant increases.

"Although we have known for some time that air pollution can trigger heart attacks or strokes in susceptible, high-risk individuals, the finding that it could also affect even seemingly healthy individuals suggests that increased levels of air pollution are of concern to all of us, not just the sick or the elderly," said Aruni Bhatnagar, Professor at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, US.

"These findings suggest that living in a polluted environment could promote the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke more pervasively and at an earlier stage than previously thought," Bhatnagar added.

Healthcare providers should consider the cardiovascular effects of air pollution on all patients, not just those who are ill or elderly, the researchers suggested.

For the study, investigators analysed the component of air pollution known as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) -- the tiny pieces of solid or liquid pollution emitted from motor vehicles, factories, power plants, fires, and smoking in 72 healthy, non-smoking, adults.

The results were published in the journal Circulation Research.

New York, Oct 26 (IANS) Have you ever wondered why some people just cannot stick to a planned diet while others face no such issues? They may just not be wired for that, suggests a new study that found a link between ability to self-regulate a healthy body weight and individual brain structure.

Dieting success may be easier for some people because they have an improved white matter mechanism connecting the executive control and reward systems in their brain, the study, published in the journal Cognitive Neuroscience, said.

The research involved a group of thirty six chronic dieters, with mean body fat of 29.6 per cent.

Pin-Hao Andy Chen from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, US and colleagues asked them to make simple judgements on images in order to divert their attention from the real aim of the task.

The activity carried out was a food cue reactivity task designed to localise the executive control and reward areas in the brain, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

After localising the executive control and reward areas, the researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify the white matter track connecting these areas in order to quantify the integrity within this tract.

The functional MRI results demonstrated that dieters showed greater reactivity to food images than control images.

The DTI results further showed that those with lower body fat percentages showed greater white matter integrity between executive control and reward areas of the brain.

"Individuals with reduced integrity may have difficulty in overriding rewarding temptations, leading to a greater chance of becoming obese than those with higher structural integrity," the researchers said.

Vatican City, Oct 26 (IANS/AKI) Fences are being erected in some countries to keep out migrants and refugees, but this only aids the criminal organisations who traffick human beings, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

"Today, the current economic crisis unfortunately fosters attitudes of closure instead of welcome," Francis told pilgrims at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square. 

"In some parts of the world walls and barriers are being built. But this actually ends up favouring criminal trafficking," he stated.

The only solution to the phenomenon of migration is solidarity, Francis said.

"Solidarity with the migrant, solidarity with the 'foreigner'. It appears that the silent work of men and women who, in different ways, do what they can to help and assist refugees and migrants, is being drowned out by the noise made by those who give voice to an instinctive egoism." 

The growing influx of refugees fleeing war, famine and dire poverty requires Christians to welcome and care for them, as they have done through the ages, said Francis.

"Dioceses, parishes, religious institutes, organisations and individual Christians: we are all called to welcome our brothers and sisters who are fleeing war, hunger, violence and cruel conditions of life.

"As followers of Christ, may we never close our hearts to those in need."

New York, Oct 26 (IANS) Adding whole eggs to a colourful salad boosts the amount of vitamin E the body absorbs from the vegetables, says a study.

"We found vitamin E absorption was four- to seven-fold higher when three whole eggs were added to a salad," said Jung Eun Kim from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana US.

"This study is novel because we measured the absorption of Vitamin E from real foods, rather than supplements, which contain mega-dose amounts of Vitamin E," Kim noted.

Vitamin E, which is absorbed along with dietary fats, is often found in oils, seeds and nuts.

Eggs, a nutrient-rich food containing essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids and B vitamins, also contain a small amount of vitamin E. 

This study accounted for how much total vitamin E was absorbed when vitamin E containing foods were co-consumed with whole eggs. 

This research supports a way to increase the absorption of vitamin E found in foods that contain low dietary fat. 

Also, this research highlights how one food can improve the nutrition value of another food when they are consumed together.

"Now consumers can easily improve their diets by adding eggs to a salad that boasts a variety of colourful vegetables," Wayne Campbell, Professor of Nutrition Science at Purdue University pointed out.

The findings were published in The Journal of Nutrition.

​Dhaka, Oct 26 (IANS) Bangladesh leads South Asia in gender equity, at world rank 72, followed by India at rank 87, in the Global Gender Gap Index 2016 prepared by the World Economic Forum. Pakistan figures at a lowly 143 in the ranking.

After India comes Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan and Pakistan, in that order.

Iceland is ranked the first country in the Global Gender Gap Index of 144 countries.

According to the report, Bangladesh recorded progress in political empowerment gender gap, but its gap on women's labour force participation and estimated earned income widened.

The report found that the US fell from 28th place in 2015 to 45th when it came to closing the gap. The World Economic Forum (WEF) said that is primarily due to a more transparent measure for estimated earned income.

Through the Global Gender Gap Report, the WEF quantifies the magnitude of gender disparities and tracks their progress over time, with a specific focus on the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.

​New York, Oct 26 (IANS) An experimental drug developed to combat Alzheimer's disease has the potential to prevent inflammation, remove abnormal protein clumps in the brain as well as restore memory in the patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease, a study has found.

Development of abnormal protein clumps called amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fibers in the brain -- key characteristic of Alzheimer's disease -- causes inflammation in the brain and damage to the neurons. This progressive damage leads to memory loss, confusion and dementia. 

The new drug, known as NTRX-07, appears to decrease this inflammation in the brain, while preserving neurons and regenerative cells in the brain, the study stated.

"This drug may reduce inflammation in the brain, which is linked to Alzheimer's disease," said lead researcher Mohamed Naguib, Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Ohio, US. 

The new drug improved removal of abnormal amyloid plaques and improved memory performance and other cognitive skills.

"NTRX-07 uses a different mechanism than many other Alzheimer's drugs currently available, as it targets the cause of the disease, not just the symptoms," Naguib said.

In the study conducted on mice, NTRX-07 was found to target CB2 receptors -- receptors on the surface of microglia cells or immune cells that typically remove dangerous amyloid plaques in the brain. 

The mice treated with NTRX-07 also showed an increase in the levels of SOX2 -- protein that helps new brain cells to develop and protect the brain in people with Alzheimer's disease. 

In contrast, mice treated with a placebo showed decreased levels of SOX2, active inflammation in the brain, poor removal of amyloid plaques, and poor memory performance.

The study was presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting in Chicago, recently.