Eating strawberries may help prevent esophageal cancer

Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) and researchers in China jointly conducted the study. The study is the first-ever collaborative Ohio State cancer clinical trial to be conducted in China.

“We concluded from this study that six months of strawberry treatment is safe and easy to consume. In addition, our preliminary data suggests that strawberries decreased histological grade of precancerous lesions and reduced cancer-related molecular events,” said Tong Chen, lead author, and assistant professor at Ohio State.

Previously research by Chen and colleagues have found that freeze-dried strawberries significantly inhibited tumor development in the esophagus of rats.  Based on these results, the researchers embarked on a phase Ib clinical trial in China to investigate the effects of freeze-dried strawberries on patients with esophageal precancerous lesions.

“We found that daily consumption of strawberries suppressed various biomarkers involved in esophageal carcinogenesis, including cell proliferation, inflammation and gene transcription,” said Chen.

Each of the 36 study participants ate 60 grams of freeze-dried strawberries daily for six months. The researchers obtained biopsy specimens before and after the strawberry consumption.

The results showed that 29 out of 36 participants experienced a decrease in histological grade of the precancerous lesions during the study.

“Our study is important because it shows that strawberries may slow the progression of precancerous lesion in the esophagus. Strawberries may be an alternative, or may work together with other chemo-preventive drugs, for the prevention of esophageal cancer. But, we will need to test this in randomized placebo-controlled trials in the future,” he said.

Ultimatum Not in my Dictionary: Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said the word of ultimatum was not in his dictionary and he didn’t give any ultimatum to the government.

Addressing a press conference in Raiwind, Nawaz said he is pleased that the prime minister has given positive response to his agenda.

He said Pakistan economy going down day by day. He said, “my agenda is prosperity of the nation.”

Gilani’s phone to Nawaz

Political leaders said on Monday that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s telephone to PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif had eased political situation and described it as a democratic process and positive development.

Information Secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Fauzia Wahab told VOA, “I believe we need the same atmosphere. If we want our country to make progress and weed out extremism and terrorism, we should unite otherwise we cannot achieve our goals.”

She said that the development would be good for the country, not only for Punjab but also for the Centre and added “We should remember that our survival is in democracy and powerful democratic institutions.”

About the possible appointment of PPP leader Latif Khosa as Punjab Governor, she said though she had not received any notification in this regard. If he is appointed, it will be a positive step, she said.

“I believe Latif Khosa is a well-known person of Punjab. Secondly, he has a great say in his own lawyer community,” she added.

Chairman of Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Raja Zafarul Haq said that Gilani’s phone to Nawaz Sharif would calm the political situation and perhaps the government started taking measures for the betterment of people.

A political analyst Professor Rasool Bukhsh Raees described the reconciliation between the country’s two major parties as a good omen for the nation and the country.

Strike over blasphemy law change bid

KARACHI/LAHORE: A complete shutter down strike is being observed all over the country today in connection with Tahafuz-e-Namose-e-Risalat.

Routine life was suspended as shops and markets throughout the metropolis and in major cities remained closed and traffic remained thin, with public transport largely absent.

As per details, in wake of possible amendments in blasphemy law, the religious parties would stage protest rallies all over the country while PML-N has announced to favor the strike call given by campaign for Tahafuz-e-Namose-e-Risalat.

It is noticeable to mention here that the government has ensured the parliament that amendments would not be made in blasphemy law.

In Karachi Leaders of the Tehreek-i-Namoos-i-Risalat (TNR) undertook a mass contact campaign on Thursday so as to make today”s strike against the proposed amendments to the blasphemy law successful.

They called for a peaceful strike across the country against the introduction of a bill in the National Assembly by PPP MNA Sherry Rehman seeking changes in the country”s contentious blasphemy law.

The TNR leaders appealed to all segments of society, including the business community, to make the strike a success by keeping their businesses shut. They also asked for calm and avoidance of any confrontation and violent activity.

Shabbir Abu Talib, Allama Qazi Ahmed Noorani, JUI”s Qari Usman, Aslam Ghori, Mohammad Hussain Mehenti of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana Zafar Abbas Taqvi distributed pamphlets and banners among people on roads as well as among shopkeepers across the city.

They also met industrialists and transporters, who had already announced support for the strike.

They announced they would not stop protesting until the government came clean on the issue, removed Salman Taseer as governor Punjab and Sherry Rehman as MNA.

After Friday”s shutter-down strike, a public meeting would be held on January 9 as those who had great love and respect for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would never allow anybody to indulge in any act of blasphemy, they added.

In Lahore all trader bodies are united on the religious parties” strike call for “preservation of the blasphemy law” and they have decided to observe a complete shutdown across the country today.

Earlier, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT) had supported the strike call given by the religious parties, however, the parties also attached price hike and imposition of the RGST with their strike call at which the Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI) and other traders bodies announced separation with the strike call. Later, the traders” bodies got united and announced a complete strike across the country.

The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT), Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI), Gulberg Traders Board Association (GTBA), Mall Road Traders Association (MRTA), Lahore Sugar Dealers Association and Lahore Karyana Merchants Association confirmed their participation in Friday”s strike.

All the markets and commercial areas in the country were closed, and traders would hold a rally on The Mall after Friday prayers.

Abdul Razzaq Babbar said that from Balochistan, APAT President Abdul Rahim Kakar and Secretary Qayyum Syed Agha, from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Haji Haleem Jan, from Islamabad Ajmal Baloch, from Karachi Sarafa Association President Haroon Chand and from Hyderabad Haji Fazalur Rehmanhad had assured their full support for the strike.

In a joint statement issue on Thursday, religious leaders, including Syed Munawwar Hassan, Maulana Sami ul Haq, Ameer Hamza, Syed Ata ul Muheman and Professor Sajid Mir, said the strike would be a tremendous success. They said that all the efforts to repeal Article 295-C was unacceptable and the government must avoid bowing before the foreign pressure. The entire nation was united to protect Namoos e Risalat, said the religious leaders.

PU Harassment Case: Prof Iftikhar Baloch Gets Clean Chit form Police

Police acquitted Professor Iftikhar Baloch of the Punjab University of harassment case.

Meanwhile, Baloch withdrew his interim bail application.
Principal of Environmental Sciences Department Prof Iftikhar was alleged of harassing two women after which he was suspended from the said department and was transferred to Geology Department.

The revelations of the incident led to huge protests by the varsity students. On Saturday, the police presented its report to the session judge while the probe report being carried out by the university administration has not been prepared yet.

Merit announced for admissions in medical colleges of Punjab

University of Health Sciences (UHS) has announced the merit for admissions in the medical and dental colleges of Punjab, News Trends reported on Monday.

According to the announcement, the minimum merit for admission in MBBS has been 81.7727 while for BDS the minimum merit has been 81.6273. Addressing a press conference at the University of Health Sciences (UHS), the vice-chancellor of UHS Professor Mubasshir Malik said that 7303 candidates applied for the admissions while only 3017 would be able to get admissions in 18 medical colleges.

Merit for King Edward Medical University (KEMU) remained 87.20191 while it remained 85.4727 for Allama Iqbal Medical college (AIMC), 84.0909 for Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), 83.9182 for Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC), 83.6273 for Nishter Medical College Multan, 83.1091 for Punjab Medical College Faisalabad, 83.0182 for Rawalpindi Medical College, 82.5909 for Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Bahawalpur, 82.4909 for Sargodha Medical College, 82.3182 for Nawaz Sharif Medical College Gujrat, 82.1636 for Shaikh Zaid Medical College Rahim Yar Khan, 81.7636 for De’Mont Morency College of Dentistry Lahore, 81.6727 for Nishter Institute of Dentistry Multan, 81.9545 for Sahiwal Medical College, 82.0545 for Gujranwala Medical College and 81.7727 for Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College.

The vice-chancellor of UHS Professor Mubasshir Malik has said that the affiliations of those private medical colleges would be cancelled that started admissions before time and that admitted students with less than 60 percent marks.

Sedition case filed against Roy, Geelani

The Delhi Police booked author Arundhati Roy, Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and others on charges of sedition for their anti-India speech at a seminar here last month.

They were booked following court orders which came following a petition by one Sushil Pandit in a local court on Saturday. The petitioner had alleged that Geelani and Roy made anti-India speeches at a conference on Azadi The Only Way on October 21, a senior police official said. Syed Ali Gilani and Arundhati Roy had shared the dias with Maoist sympathiser Vara Vara, Delhi University Professor, Syed Abdul Rehman Gilani, Jammu and Kashmir University Professor, Sheikh Showkat Hussain, Shuddharbrata Sengupta, Sujato Bhadra and others during the seminar Azadi-the only way on October 21.It is to mention here that the maximum punishment, if convicted, is life imprisonment for the offence.

Life and death in the age of the bionic heart

The device, called HeartMate II and made by Thoratec Corp, was approved by US health regulators in 2008 to keep patients alive while they waited for a heart transplant.
But in January, it was approved for permanent use in patients who are ineligible for a transplant, expanding the number of potential recipients from a few thousand to tens of thousands, and potentially changing the landscape for the treatment of end-stage heart failure.
There has been a ten-fold increase in the use of these devices since they were approved for permanent use, said Dr. Lynne Warner Stevenson, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director, Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

India: Disgruntled native shooters refuse to stay in Village

The Indian shooting team has lashed out at the Suresh Kalmadi led Commonwealth Games Organising Committee after they were made to wait for 6 hours to get into the Games Village and refused to stay in the Village owing to mismanagement.
The Indian marksmen, who arrived at the New Delhi airport at 9 pm on Saturday night, were made to wait at least six hours to get their accommodation at the Games Village. Indian shooters were made to wait at the international airport till 1 am in the night for the pick up bus to arrive. Finally when the bus arrived it didn’t have a clearance to take them to the shooting range to deposit their ammunition. When the shooters reached the Village at three in the morning it took volunteers an hour to find suitable furnished flats for the Indian team. According to Professor Sunny Thomas, Indian shooting team’s manager, there was ‘complete lack of co-ordination’ and ‘chaos’.

George Parks Latset News

The death of George Parks unexpectedly and Professor of Music George Parks, which led the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman ICBM division and national prominence, died.

The university said in a statement that Park had a heart attack after the execution in the state of Ohio on Thursday.

He was 57. A group of 350 members on the road in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she plans to speak in the game of football Saturday against UMass, Michigan. And will continue this performance.

Said Chancellor Robert Holub Parks dedication to perfection, creativity and love of teaching and a source of inspiration to us all. ”

In 33 years under gardens, a group of UMass in three presidential inauguration, and in 1998 won the Louis C. Sudler Trophy, the top honor of the State in orchestra.Parks leaving his wife and two children.

B Vitamins reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s

Taking certain B vitamin supplements on a daily basis can cut in half the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people suffering from mild memory problems, reveals a new Oxford University study.
Approximately 1 in 6 elderly people over the age of 70 has mild cognitive impairment, experiencing troubles with memory, language or other mental functions, but not enough to interfere with everyday life.
About half of people with mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop dementia – mainly Alzheimer’s disease – within five years of diagnosis. Certain B vitamins – vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid – control levels of homocysteine in the blood, and it is known that high levels of this amino acid are linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s. So a team from the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA) set out to discover whether supplements of these B vitamins could slow down the higher rate of brain shrinkage, or atrophy, as seen in mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s. The study observed 168 volunteers aged 70 or over with mild memory problems. Half of these volunteers took high-dose B vitamin tablets for two years while the other half took a placebo tablet. The scientists evaluated disease progression in this group by using MRI scans to measure the brain atrophy rate over a two-year period. The findings are published in the journal PLoS ONE. The researchers found that the brains of those taking folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 supplements shrank at a rate of about 0.76 percent a year, while those in the placebo group had a mean brain shrinkage rate of 1.08 percent. People with the highest levels of homocysteine benefited the most, showing atrophy at only half the rate of those on placebo. It is our hope that this simple and safe treatment will delay the development of Alzheimer’s disease in many people who suffer from mild memory problems, said Professor David Smith of the department of pharmacology at Oxford University, a co-leader of the trial. Along with studying the rate of brain shrinkage, the scientists also evaluated cognitive test scores, discovering that those with the slowest rate of shrinkage scored the strongest in cognition.

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