Steve Jobs,Dies Due to pancreatic cancer.The Legend shall be told .

Steve Jobs, who transformed the worlds of personal computing, music and mobile phones, died on Wednesday at the age of 56 after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer. The co-founder of Apple Inc, one of the world's great entrepreneurs, was surrounded by his wife and immediate family when he died in Palo Alto, California.

His death was announced by Apple and sparked an immediate outpouring of sadness and sympathy from world leaders, competitors and other businessmen including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod, iPhone and iPad had stepped down as chief executive of the world's largest technology company in August, handing the reins to long-time lieutenant Tim Cook.

He was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve," Apple said in a statement.

"His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

Apple paid homage to their visionary leader by changing their website to a big black-and-white photograph of him with the caption "Steve Jobs: 1955-2011." The flags outside the company's headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop flew at half mast.

Jobs' health had been a controversial topic for years and his battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer a deep concern to Apple fans and investors.

In past years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, was not being forthcoming enough with directors about the true condition of his health.

Now, despite much investor confidence in Cook, who has stood in for his boss during three leaves of absence, there remain concerns about whether Apple would stay a creative force to be reckoned with in the longer term without its visionary.

Jobs died one day after the consumer electronics powerhouse unveiled its latest iPhone, the gadget that transformed mobile communications and catapulted Apple to the highest echelons of the tech world.

His death triggered an immediate outpouring of sympathy.

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates said. "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

Outside an Apple store in New York, mourners laid candles, bouquets of flowers, an apple and an iPod Touch in a makeshift memorial.

"I think half the world found out about his death on an Apple device," said Robbie Sokolowsky, 32, an employee for an online marketing company, who lit a candle outside the store.

Cook said in a statement that Apple planned to hold a celebration of Jobs' life for employees "soon".

Apple, NeXT, iPhone A college dropout, Buddhist and son of adoptive parents, Jobs started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in 1976. The company soon introduced the Apple 1 computer.

But it was the Apple II that became a huge success and gave Apple its position as a critical player in the then-nascent PC industry, culminating in a 1980 initial public offering that made Jobs a multimillionaire.

Despite the subsequent success of the Macintosh computer, Jobs' relationship with top management and the board soured. The company removed most of his powers and then in 1985 he was fired.

Apple's fortunes waned after that. However, its purchase of NeXT -- the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple -- in 1997 brought him back into the fold. Later that year, he became interim CEO and in 2000, the company dropped "interim" from his title.

Along the way Jobs also had managed to revolutionize computer animation with his other company, Pixar, but it was the iPhone in 2007 that secured his legacy in the annals of modern technology history.

Forbes estimates Jobs' net worth at $6.1 billion in 2010, placing him in 42nd place on the list of America's richest. It was not immediately known how his estate would be handled.

Six years ago, Jobs had talked about how a sense of his mortality was a major driver behind that vision.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life," Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005.

"Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

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Hope For Parkinson's Patients Brought By Stem Cell Investigation

Researchers from a study, led by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with UCL (University College London), have for the first time createdstem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's disease. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. 

This will benefit research into the condition, as it will allow researchers to model the disease in the laboratory to clarify why certain nerve cells die.

Funded with a £300,000 grant from the charity Parkinson's UK, the investigators took skin samples from a patient diagnosed with one of the most progressive forms of Parkinson's disease. They then used these skin cells to produce brain nerve cells affected by the disease, making it easier to monitor the effectiveness of potential new medications that could slow or stop progress of the condition.

The goal would be to find drugs that can prevent death of these crucial cells (neurons), which as a result of Parkinson's break down.

Dr Tilo Kunath, of the University of Edinburgh's Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine, explained:

"Current drugs for Parkinson's alleviate symptoms of the condition. Modeling the disease in a dish with real Parkinson's neurons enables us to test drugs that may halt or reverse the condition.

This investigation provides an ideal platform to gain fresh insight into the condition, and opens a new area of research to discover disease-modifying drugs."

The neuron cells were created from a patient with a type of Parkinson's that progresses rapidly and can be diagnosed to individuals in their early 30s. In comparison to the general population, those with this type of Parkinson's have twice as many of the genes that produce a protein called alpha synuclein.

Even though this type of Parkinson's is rare, the protein involved is connected to virtually all forms of the disease.

"Understanding such a progressive form of the disease will give us insight into different types of Parkinson's. As this type of Parkinson's progresses rapidly it will also make it easier to pick up the effects of drugs tested to prevent nerve cells targeted by the disease from dying,"

..said Dr Michael Devine, of UCL's Institute of Neurology. Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Development at Parkinson's UK, stated:

"Although the genetic mutation that leads to this progressive form of Parkinson's is rare this exciting investigation has the potential to bring about a huge breakthrough in Parkinson's research.

This is just the kind of innovative research that Parkinson's UK is committed to funding as we move closer to a cure."

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Effects of Ragging – Why Ragging Should be Banned

The ruling of the apex court of the country against ragging should be welcomed by all right-thinking people. Ragging is a bitter experience, which many unfortunate students of our country have to face sometimes of the other during their long academic career. In ragging “fresh students” of an educational intuition are often teased, tormented and even roughed up by the senior students mostly of the same institute under the exercise of “introduction”.

In ragging no one knows what would be the extent of suffering for the ragged ones. It can range from some innocent and harm less leg pulling to harsh physical and mental assault. It is this latter type of ragging which is objectionable, abhorring and a matter of great concern. And it is this type of ragging which comes under the scanner of the judiciary which has at last had to intervene to stop this nuisance altogether or at least curb it to a considerable extent.

Only the victim knows how painful, harmful, traumatic ragging can be. Often the perpetrators of the crime of ragging cross all the limits of civility and humanity. They will go to any extent to satiate their sadistic pleasure while ragging their juniors. They derive unbound joy when they find their helpless victim totally at their own mercy. They enjoy every moment of the entire show. More the suffering of the victims, the more is the enjoyment of the ragger and the onlookers. The victim of ragging may be subjected to a wide variety of sufferings, which may range from digesting a barrage of filthy language to bearing physical assault of all sorts.

Ragging often leaves an indelible unpleasant mark in ones life. It often leads the victim psychologically shattered and physically wounded. There are examples when the victim of ragging, unable to bear the unimaginably pain and shock of physical and mental torture, lost their mental balance forever. There are cases of many bright students who’s careers are ruined due to ragging. After undergoing the pains of ragging, these students were so much frightened that they never return to their classes again and they never again dared to join any other institute to pursue their studies any further!

Ragging, infact is a blot, a slur on the face of our so-called civilized and educated society. It is more disparaging since it originates from the centers of education – a school, a collage or any other educational institutions. It is disparaging because its actors are senior students themselves. The youth, the students who are supposed to be the future of the nation and are expected to do some constructive work for the country and for themselves are unfortunately found here engaged in villainous activities in perfect Bollywood style.

The court has had already declared ragging as illegal. But in spite of the legal ban, little sincere effort has been made to eradicate this evil from our educational system. Prior to the latest direction from the Supreme Court, the Raghavan committee had already offered some suggestions to stop ragging. The suggestions were: – to hold the educational intuition responsible for ragging. It also suggested that the concerned educational intuition itself should lodge an F.I.R. with the police informing the later about the incident and to prevent a recurrence of raging should take stern action against the offender and avoid them the strictest of punishment. If the concerned institution fails to take up the matter seriously, the parents of the victim or the victim himself could also file an F.I.R. with police. in such cases the police also has a right to take action against the concerned educational institution. The committee also suggested that the courts also should take up cases of ragging on priority basis.

The supreme court has now directed the educational institute to mention clearly in there prospects itself that if found guilty of ragging, the erring students will be turned out of the intuition. This might act as a deterrent but the need is to educate such criminal minded students before hand, during their early formative years. They must be taught the value of love, humanity, compassion and mutual respect for each other in the society. These qualities are instilled in a child by their elders at home and in school. But alas! In the present fast and utterly materialistic life, the elders of our society are found wanting in their duty to give proper advice and instil human values in the younger generation. To make a better and healthier society we have to educate the members of the younger generation to become good human beings before they aspire to be a big success in their careers.

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Gender Differences In How The Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-2 Polymorphism Affects Alcohol Dependence

Researchers know that gender differences exist in the prevalence, characteristics, and course of alcohol dependence (AD). Polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) are strong genetic determinants of AD. A new study of gender differences in the effects of these polymorphisms on the development of AD has found that inactive ALDH2 can accelerate the development of AD in women.

Results will be published in the November 2011 issue ofAlcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

"Alcohol dependence (AD) is much more common among males than females," said Mitsuru Kimura, chief scientist in the department of psychiatry at the Kurihama Alcoholism Center in Japan as well as corresponding author for the study. "However, female alcoholics are more likely to have co-existing psychiatric disorders than male patients."

Victor Hesselbrock, professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, concurred. "Females with AD typically have a greater prevalence of affective problems such as depression and anxiety than males, while males with AD typically display more associated behavioral problems - including antisocialpersonality disorder - and have higher rates of co-morbid drug problems," he said. "In general, females have a later onset of AD but typically come to treatment earlier than males. More recently, however, trends indicate that females born in more recent birth cohorts - after 1970 or so - are looking more like males in their clinical picture, for example, age of onset of drinking behaviors, including onset of dependence, and associated problems, including drug problems. Usually gender differences have been attributed to differences in size, such as body mass, body water and/or exposure to alcohol. None of these previous studies ever considered any genotypic information, such as ADH1B or ALDH, as possible explanations for gender differences."

"The two polymorphisms we examined are the most evident genetic determinants of the disease," said Kimura. "ADH1B and ALDH2 eliminate most of the alcohol taken into the body. A lack of ALDH2 activity causes a 'flushing response' which includes flushing, nausea, and a headache after drinking, so it tends to greatly suppress people's drinking."

"ADH is important for the initial metabolism of ethanol into acetaldehyde, while ALDH is important for metabolizing acetaldehyde, the first by-product of ethanol metabolism, into acetate and water," said Hesselbrock. "A variant of the ALDH gene, ALDH2*2 ... is relatively common in select Asian populations, approaching 50 percent, but is absent in the homozygous form in Caucasian populations. The allele frequency of these two polymorphisms does not vary by gender." 





Kimura and his colleagues examined 615 individuals (415 men, 200 women) hospitalized for AD in the Kurihama Alcoholism Center. Clinical information and background data were gleaned from chart reviews, and ALDH2 and ADH1B genotyping were performed.

Results indicated that ALDH2 polymorphisms appear to have contrasting effects on the development of AD among men and women. While females typically cannot drink as much as males because of their smaller body size, current findings suggest that differences in alcohol metabolism due to genetic factors may also help explain morbidity differences both between and within genders apart from their different levels of drinking.

"Usually the painful experience of flushing response caused by inactive ALDH2 suppresses alcohol drinking," said Kimura, "but our findings suggest that women who have co-existing psychiatric disorders might be motivated to drink heavily in order to cope with the symptoms of their psychiatric disorders." This suggests a "gene-gender interaction" in the development of AD, meaning that the same genetic factor has a different effect on the different genders.

"In addition, our results might suggest female AD has two types: one is characterized by early-onset and a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity; the other by late-onset and a relatively low prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity," said Kimura. "The early-onset subtype likely has a primary psychiatric disorder, and the psychiatric comorbidity likely caused secondary alcohol-related problems. In this subtype, alcohol consumption is scarcely suppressed by the flushing response induced by inactive ALDH2. On the other hand, the middle- or late-onset subtype likely has AD as primary with a low prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity. This subtype commonly increases alcohol consumption to reduce stress or to enjoy social activities, and results in AD. This subtype is more similar to the pattern of male AD and is suppressed by inactive ALDH2."

"This study demonstrates that some genotypes may also be useful phenotypes," said Hesselbrock, "helping us to better describe and understand variations in the expression of alcoholism between patients and possibly provide clues to the clinical course. Furthermore, these findings, if replicated, could be quite useful for the clinician. Currently clinicians have no objective biological variables available for use in helping them diagnose and develop treatment plans for patients. Additional studies may identify differences in the course of alcoholism or differences in treatment response to certain medications based upon these genotypes." 

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For Longer Life, Exercise 15 Minutes A Day And Cut TV Hours

Two new studies suggest it might be easier to make a significant difference to people's risk of death than we think. Researchers in Taiwan found that just 15 minutes exercise a day appears to be enough to lengthen lifespan, even for people with cardiovascular disease, while researchers in Australia found that long hours spent watching TV can shorten lifespan.

Both studies are published online this week, the first inThe Lancet, the second in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicine.

For the The Lancet study, Chi-Pang Wen of the Institute of Population Science at Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes, and colleagues, write that the benefits of physical activity, including links with longer lifespan, are well known, but we know little about the effects of exercising less than the widely recommended 150 minutes a week.

To look into this further, they assessed the benefits of various amounts of exercise in over 400,000 people (approximately half men and half women) living in Taiwan who underwent standard medical screening between 1996 and 2008.

As part of the screening the participants had filled in questionnaires about exercise, so that from their responses, the researchers were able to categorize them according to five levels of weekly exercise volume: inactive, low, medium, high, and very high.

Then over an average follow up of 8 years, they noted any deaths among the cohort and calculated the risk of death of each of the four active groups compared to the inactive group, and the life expectancy of each group.

They found that compared with the inactive group, the low volume exercise group had a 14% reduced risk of death from all causes (Hazard Ratio HR = 0·86, 95% Confidence Interval CI =0·81 to 0·91) and their life expectancy was 3 years longer. This group exercised on average 92 minutes a week (95% CI from 71 to 112 minutes a week) or 15 minutes a day. (SD 1.8).

Bringing in the other active groups, they found that every extra 15 minutes of exercise per day above the 15 minutes per day of the low volume group, reduced risk of death from all causes by another 4% (95% CI from 2.5 to 7.0), death from allcancers by 1% (0.3-4.5).

These results applied to all age groups, both men and women, and to participants with risks for cardivascular disease.

Wen and colleagues also found that participants in the inactive group had a 17% higher risk of death compared with participants in the low-volume exercise group (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.10 - 1.24).

In the British Journal of Sports Medicine paper, researchers in Australia found that watching TV or videos for an average of six hours a day could shorten a person's lifespan by nearly five years.

Lennert Veerman of the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland, and colleagues, used data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, a national population-based observational survey that started in 1999-2000. This was a cross-sectional survey of Australian adults aged 25 and over that included information about TV viewing habits.

They then cross-referenced the data against the Australian Bureau of Statistics national population and mortality figures for 2008.

Using a "life table model" approach, they modelled the effect of changes in population average TV viewing time on life expectancy at birth: effectively estimating how long a person can expect to live depending on how many hours they spend watching the TV every day.

Their results showed that compared to people who don't watch TV at all, those who spend an average of 6 hours a day watching TV can expect their lives to be 4.8 years shorter.

They also found that every hour of TV viewing after the age of 25, took 22 minutes off a person's life expectancy.

The researchers said these findings suggest the effect of TV viewing time on loss of life is comparable to that of other major chronic disease risk factors such as obesityand lack of exercise.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD 

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Two found positive for Chikungunya; vector-borne diseases on the rise

Jamshedpur: At a time when the Jamshedpur Health department is struggling to combat the rising cases of vector-borne and viral diseases in the city, two positive cases of Chikungunya has set the alarm bell ringing for them.

The suspects of Chikangunya were confirmed positive by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

With the detection of Chikungunya, Additional Chief Secretary of the state has directed Dr Parveen Chandra, Director (Health) to investigate the cases and prevent its further spread.

In a press conference on Monday, Dr TP Madhusudan, General Manger (Health facility), Tata Steel Hospital informed that to identify the causes behind the spurt in viral cases, 12 blood samples of viral patients were sent to NIV, Pune.

“Two patients were detected with Chikungunya virus, which is spread by Aedes mosquito. The remaining 10 patients were detected with different kind of virus. Specific cases are presently under observation,” he said.

Dr Madhusudan added that patients suffering from viral fever are showing different symptoms, which is an issue of concern.

According the official data provided by the Tata Steel Hospital, around 1407 patients were admitted in the hospital last month.  The bed occupancy rate broke the record of past 15 years.
Dr Madhusudan informed that vector borne diseases have spread to such an extent that against the average limit of 10-150, the hospital is catering to 254 patients in a day.

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