ATN INFO

Dubai harvesting solar energy....

Soon, drugs to treat heart attack, brain injuries...
Derivatives of humanin, a naturally occurring peptide encoded in the genome of cellular mitochondria, could be key to developing such a therapy.
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Washington - There could soon be drug-based treatments for diseases as diverse as strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries as researchers have discovered a compound with the potential to halt the death of cells affected by these diseases.

Derivatives of humanin, a naturally occurring peptide encoded in the genome of cellular mitochondria, could be key to developing such a therapy, the researchers noted.
The present findings could provide a new lead compound for the development of drug therapies for necrosis-related diseases such as traumatic brain injury, stroke and myocardial infarction - conditions for which no effective drug-based treatments are currently available,” said Abraham Parola, professor at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

Strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries are separate diseases with certain shared pathologies that achieve a common end - cell death and human injury due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

In these diseases, a lack of blood supply to affected tissues begins a process that ultimately halts the production of energy-releasing ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) molecules - a death sentence for most cells.

The researchers tested the effectiveness of the humanin analogues AGA(C8R)-HNG17 and AGA-HNG.

They treated mice that had had traumatic brain injuries with an HNG17 analogue, which successfully reduced the impairment.

15,000 vehicles to be off Dubai roads today.....
200 entities confirm participation; staff parking of participating government departments to be closed ..
Dubai: Around 15,000 vehicles are expected to be off the roads in Dubai today to observe Dubai Municipality’s biggest ever Car-Free Day initiative, coinciding with the UAE’s National Environment Day.

Almost 200 entities including government departments and private companies have confirmed participation in the green drive, which will see ministers, senior officials and employees ditching cars to reach their workplaces. They will instead walk, cycle, or hop on to the Metro or buses.

“We are expecting the number of cars not used during work hours to be more than double the figure last year,” an official coordinating the event told Khaleej Times

“We have done elaborate preparations to make it a big success,” said Tasnim Salem Al Falasi of the Environment Department.

In 2014, participants from 66 entities gave up as many as 7,000 cars to commute to work, contributing to the reduction of 20 tonnes of carbon emission on the day of the event. This year, the municipality is expecting to reduce 70 to 90 tonnes of carbon emission. The final figures of vehicles not used and reduction in carbon emission will be released after the event.
No Parking Day

Car-Free Day has been a “No Parking Day” for Dubai Municipality (DM) employees all these years since the huge parking lot in the municipality’s headquarters remains closed for the day. The valet parking service for customers is also suspended, which results in extraordinary rush for parking spaces in the nearby paid parking lots.

This year, a similar move is expected from all participating entities, which include most of the local government departments, some ministries and educational institutions in Dubai.

Follow new BP guidelines and avoid heart disease....
In the new guidelines released by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, stage 1 hypertension is defined as a systolic BP of 140-159 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 90-99 mm Hg.
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Washington: If new hypertension guidelines are followed sincerely, it could help us significantly prevent deaths owing to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) each year without increasing overall health care costs, an analysis conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) found.

“Our findings clearly show that it would be worthwhile to significantly increase spending on office visits, home blood pressure monitoring and interventions to improve treatment adherence,” said lead author Andrew E. Moran, the Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine at CUMC.

“In fact, we could double treatment and monitoring spending for some patients - namely those with severe hypertension - and still break even,” he added.

In the new guidelines released by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, stage 1 hypertension is defined as a systolic BP of 140-159 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 90-99 mm Hg.

Stage 2 or severe hypertension is a systolic BP of 160 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic BP of 100 mm Hg or higher.

The 2014 guidelines are less aggressive for some patients, shifting treatment targets to higher blood pressures.

Fewer patients need treatment under the new guidelines, but according to Moran “even with the more relaxed goals, an estimated 44 per cent of adults with hypertension, or 28 million people, still do not have their blood pressure adequately controlled”.

“Given rising health care costs and limited budgets, it is important to determine the cost-effectiveness of implementing the new guidelines and whether we should focus on specific patient subgroups,” added study leader Lee Goldman, Harold and Margaret Hatch Professor of the University.