Baba Ramdev also mentioned about superstar Aryan Khan’s son and Aamir Khan in his speech.
"Shah Rukh Khan's son (Aryan Khan) was caught doing drugs at a drug party. He went to jail. Salman Khan takes drugs. I don't know about Aamir Khan. God knows about these actors," said the Yoga teacher.
His opinion was made while addressing a large gathering in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh during the three-day ‘Aryaveer Sammelan’. The Yoga guru was speaking at the launch of an anti-drugs campaign. The Baba further went on to blame the film industry and bollywood celebrities for the proliferations of drugs in the country.
"Who knows how many film stars take drugs. And actresses - even worse. In the film industry, it is drugs everywhere. There are drugs in Bollywood, drugs in politics," the Baba added.
"Liquor is distributed during elections. We should take a vow that India must be free from every drug addiction. For this, we will launch a movement."
However, no celebrities have responded to the allegations of the Baba.
Notably, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested last year in the "drugs-on-cruise" case. The starkid has to stay in the prison for 20 days.
However, he soon get bail and was later cleared of any charges over lack of evidence.
Many bigwigs and film personalities have been interrogated by the anti-drugs department in an investigation of an alleged "Bollywood-drugs nexus" after the shocking death of Chhichore actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020 during lockdown.
A.K. Jain, drug controller of Uttar Pradesh, said, "Those four syrups are manufactured only for export. We are asking our drug inspectors to seize any pack found at wholesale or retail medical stores even though they are not supposed to be sold in the country."
Meanwhile, deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who holds the heath portfolio, tweeted that he had asked the director general, medical and health, to probe the matter and take strict action against the concerned companies. He has sought an interim report within 24 hours and a detailed report within three days.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a medical product alert for four contaminated medicines identified in Gambia that have been "potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children". The preliminary investigations showed that the four medicines are cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited in India.
On Thursday, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) sent the samples of the same batch of the four Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd-manufactured medicines, on which the WHO issued an alert, for testing. Further course of action would be decided after the results are received, the Union Health Ministry has said.
According to Border Security Force (BSF) officials, a BSF's patrolling party heard buzzing sound of a drone on the intervening night of September 24 and 25 following which the troopers fired in the direction of that drone that eventually flew back towards Pakistan.
The BSF carried out a search operation in the fields of Dhanoe Khurd village in the morning and found four packets containing narcotics.
No arrest, however, has been made yet in connection with the incident.
"A container having more than 22 tonnes of Licorice coated with Heroin has been seized from Nhava Sheva Port, Mumbai," the senior official said.
The official informed that the total quantity of heroin coated on the Licorice is approximately 345 kg.
The massive drug haul comes exactly a year after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in September, 2021 made the largest contraband seizure in the history of the country by catching a drugs consignment weighing 3,000 kg and worth Rs 21,000 crore at Mundra port in Gujarat.
The DRI had seized the heroin, concealed in a consignment of semi-processed talc stone, between September 17 and September 19, 2021 at Container Freight Station of Mundra Port.
The Delhi Police are expected to reveal details of the Mumbai drug haul soon.
Drawing a comparison with the Bollywood where many actors and producers have been accused of consuming drugs and holding rave parties, the Kalinga Sena chief, Hemanta Rath said that Ollywood is no exception and people belonging to the business are involved in drug deals.
“A group in Odia cine industry is under the grips of narcotics. Exactly like the Bollywood, the actors and other members of the industry are consuming drugs in a big way,” Rath alleged.
Rath went on to invoke the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput that stoked a major controversy in the country and exposed the drug consumption of many A-list actors by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He said, “We have already seen how Sushant Singh Rajput lost his mental balance by consuming drugs that ultimately led to his suicide. And more importantly, Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty has already made a statement on the potency of Odisha ganja.”
“If we look at the statement from Babushaan’s wife who alleged that her husband was deliberately fed narcotics by some people and his mother Aparajita Mohanty’s statement who had said that Babushaan has lost his mental balance, we can only hope that nobody in our industry takes the path Sushant Singh took in Mumbai,” Rath said.
“We demand the police to take the narcotics deals seriously and bring all the persons from peddlers to consumers under the purview of investigation,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that the ‘Chocolate Boy of Odia cinema’, Babushaan had returned to Odisha from Chennai on Wednesday. Babushaan has also knocked the doors of Orissa High Court seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the case filed by his wife.
The actor's wife Trupti Satpathy had lodged a case under section 498 ‘A’ against him at Kharvel Nagar Police station while a case under IPC section 506 has been registered against his co-actor Prakruti Mishra.
The accused have been identified as Roshan Ray, Md Irfan Alam, Md Nasim, Md Jarad, Vivek Sonkar and Bajrang Shah.
Acting on a tip off, the Plantsite police conducted raids at two places in the city. 322.34 gm of heroin worth around Rs 8 lakh was recovered from the two places. Moreover, the officials recovered two 7.65 mm country made pistols, 7 round live bullets and Rs 1.26 lakh cash from the accused.
As per reports, the peddlers were targeting mostly young customers. To nab the accused the Steel City police had constituted a special team and mounted surveillance since the past three months.
“We seized drugs and arms and ammunitions from the arrested accused. We have frozen fixed deposit bond of Rs 25 lakh and a savings account having deposit of Rs 12 lakh,” Superintendent of Police (SP), Mukesh K Bhamoo said.
“It is a successful operation as we have not only arrested them with drugs and arms, but also crippled their finances,” he added.
Additionally, the police seized 3 scooters, 1 motorbike and 6 mobile phones. The accused will be produced at court today and further investigation is underway.
Earlier this month, a major Maoist extortion ring run by a splinter group of the left wing ultras received a body blow when the Rourkela police apprehended a top operative from his hideout in far off Assam.
Arjun Rana alias Kapil Pathak, a key conduit of the Jharkhand-based People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) was nabbed by a special team of the Steel city police.
Pakistan is pushing a huge quantity of drugs into Jammu and Kashmir for funding terror here in a planned manner and getting our youths falling prey to the menace, Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh said on Friday.
The J&K director general of police made the remark while presiding over a specialised training programme for J&K Police officers held in collaboration with the Narcotics Control Bureau here.
Referring to the seizure of 52 kg of heroin on Thursday at Jajar Kotli and huge quantities of various drugs earlier in Poonch, Baramulla, Kupwara and other border areas, the DGP said "Pakistan is pushing huge quantities of drugs for terror funding in a planned manner and getting our youths involved in the menace to satisfy its evil intentions."
Underlining the need for improving the conviction rate in NDPS cases, the DGP said the cases of drug smuggling and trading must be probed professionally, leaving no room for doubts to ensure conviction in such cases.
DGP Singh also stressed identifying the inter-state drug nexus.
Speaking on the occasion, Singh expressed his gratitude to NCB chief S N Pradhan for providing a faculty team for training J&K police officers.
He said this training programme was aimed at enhancing and upgrading the investigating skills of J&K police investigating officers in NDPS cases and added that given the magnitude of the problem this training course is of great importance.
He hoped that the programme would prove helpful for the officers in investigating the NDPS cases.
Taking a cue from the developments elsewhere in the country, the Commissionerate police have now decided to mount surveillance for any such rave parties in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi on Saturday said, “The focus is certainly on to put curbs on drugs. But, at the same time, rehabilitation of youngsters is also crucial. The major responsibility is on the parents to keep watch on their teenage children who are doing drugs or going to rave parties.”
It is worth mentioning here that two youths from Rourkela have been taken into custody in connection with the Mumbai cruise drug party bust by the NCB.
Priyadarshi further said focus will be put on such kind of rave parties. Recently, a number of bars in Bhubaneswar had been raided for violations of Covid guidelines and operating beyond the stipulated timings.
“Apart initiating action against the management and staff at these bars, we had also arrested some youngsters. We will certainly keep surveillance on rave parties as well,” Priyadarshi said.
The senior official said that already an all out crackdown against drugs is underway in the Twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The Quick Action Team (QAT) and Balianta police today arrested a person and seized brown sugar weighing 260 grams from his possession.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Commissionerate Police had recently launched a drive against narcotics drugs smuggling and circulation under ‘Operation White Spider’. Over 34 kg of Brown Sugar has been seized in the past two months in the Twin cities.
Priyadarshi informed that brown sugar weighing over 10 kg has been seized in 2021 so far following raids in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. While over 6 kg brown sugar has been seized in Bhubaneswar, the Cuttack Police has seized 4 kgs of the drugs during that period. As many as 66 persons have been arrested in separate cases registered in Bhubaneswar alone, he said.
Acting on a tip off, R.Udayagiri Police led by Gajapati SP conducted multiple raids at various spots. During the raids, the police intercepted as many as 4 vehicles and seized 21 quintals of ganja.
The contraband item was allegedly being transported to Punjab and Haryana. Among the arrested, the four vehicle drivers hail from Padmapur area under Rayagada district while the others are from Punjab and Haryana.
The arrested persons had allegedly collected the contraband from various areas under R.Udayagiri Police Station and were attempting to smuggle it to other states.
Police said, 28 grams of brown sugar has been seized from the accused, identified as Munna aka Manoj Kahali. The market value of the contraband will be around Rs 2 lakh, police added.
"Acting on a tip-off, the Manglabag police raided in the Maachhua Bazar area and arrested Munna with 28 grams of brown sugar and seized a bike and cash," informed Cuttack DCP Sanjiv Arora.
A special squad formed under the instruction of Bargarh SP had arrested the nine persons during raids conducted at various places of Bargarh Town and Ambabhona Tehsil.
The accused were identified as local residents who used to import the drugs from Chhattisgarh and sell them in the district. Police have seized 231 bottles of cough syrup and five strips of drug pills from their possession.
Talking to media persons SDPO Nayak said, "Nine persons have been arrested from Bargarh and Ambabhona, from whom 231 pieces of cough syrup, five strips of Nitrocine tablet and a motor cycle were seized. Two different cases of Ambabhona and Bargarh is to be forwarded to court today."
He even added, "After preliminary investigation we came to know that the drugs are coming from Chhattisgarh and we are also investigating on that line to track the source of the drugs."
“We have received post mortem and the viscera reports of the deceased. We will consult the doctors who have conducted post mortem and the viscera test and seek their opinion about the exact cause of the death,” Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi told media persons here.
The DCP further said the police, considering various aspects of the case in course of its investigation, have decided to bring more people under the purview of investigation.
He also said to get more evidence on this matter police will give adequate protection to those who are willing to provide more information.
The statement of the DCP came in the wake of a threat call received by a friend of Rishi on Friday.
The youth, while informing the media on Thursday had claimed that there is a link between the sex clip and the death of Rishi, said he received life threatening phone calls from unknown numbers on his mobile phone on Friday.
When asked about the details of the his conversation with the unknown callers, he said they only threatened him. “They didn’t say much but what I observed from their call is that they want to eliminate me”, he pointed out.
Revealing to the media, Rishi’s friend had claimed that his friend’s death is directly linked to the video which was uploaded by a news website and got viral through social media.
Meanwhile, the BJP today said the police have deliberately termed the death of Rishi as an unnatural death case while it was a pre-planned murder.
“It is on the directive of the chief minister police have concluded Rish’s death as unnatural and consciously trying to mislead the investigation,” BJP state vice president Samir Mohanty told the media persons in a press briefing here.
“We will put up this matter in the people’s court in the coming days and inform them about the helplessness of the police who are dancing to the tune of the ruling party in the state,” he pointed out.
The Congress, on the other hand, said the police need to ascertain whether Rishi had taken the drugs or he was forcibly drugged.
“The DCP today told the media that the police have received the post mortem and viscera reports of Rishi. The viscera report says that the death of Rishi was due to drug overdose. What the police need to investigate whether Rishi had taken excess drugs or he was forcibly drugged. We demand that the Mayor should resign immediately and the state government should order a CBI probe into the incident to unravel the exact cause of the death. If the CBI finds that the viscera report is true, then we have nothing to say,” Bhubaneswar District Congress president Manoranjan Das told media persons here.
However, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said the BJD is not probing the case.
“In fact, police is investigating into the matter. You can ask the DCP as to how quickly he will complete the investigation. I have already told you that my party will take a decision on the basis of the outcome of the investigation. We want that it will be better for us if the investigation is completed at the earliest,” he added.
While police had interrogated three friends of Rishi yesterday, another friend Subham Das was interrogated by the police.
Talking to media persons after the interrogation, Das said the police asked about the death of his friend.
“What I knew was Rishi was taking drugs with his other friend who is a student of ITER. Police also asked me about his girlfriend and I told them that Rishi had a girlfriend when he was reading Plus Two,” he said.
Asked whether someone had given him excess drug which led to his death, Das said no one had given him drugs. “In fact we used to tell him to give up taking these drugs. But he paid no heed to our advice. I think he died due to overdose of drugs,” he noted.
To a question whether Rishi had any link in the sex video which has been circulated in the social media, Das said “I don’t think so.”
Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi said police had called up Rishi’s friend to know about details regarding the day of his visit to their mess, what activities he had in their mess, along with him who else was there in the mess and whether he had taken drugs. “To expedite the probe, a special investigating team under the ACP has been formed,” he informed.
Meanwhile, prior to his death on May 6 this year, Rishi had posted a message in the facebook on July 21, 2015 in which he had said “I hate two people in my life. One is a woman and the other is a popular person. Whatever may be the fact, my problem is that I am yet to decide as to which of these two persons I should slap on the face first.”
Besides, some days before his death, Rishi had posted another message in the facebook saying “The countdown has begun for me to take revenge in 10 days”.
It is not yet clear as to who were this woman and the popular person on whom Rishi was to take revenge and what led him to post such message in the social media.
A study has showed that both decongestants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), found in many cold medicines, were listed as medications that could increase blood pressure.
People who used NSAIDs while sick were more than three times as likely to have a heart attack within a week compared with the same time period about a year earlier when participants were neither sick nor taking an NSAID.
"People with uncontrolled high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid taking oral decongestants. And for the general population or someone with low cardiovascular risk, they should use them with the guidance of a health care provider," said Sondra DePalma, from the University of Pittsburgh in the US.
Decongestants like pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine constrict blood vessels. They allow less fluid into your sinuses, "which dries you up", said Erin Michos, associate director of preventive cardiology at the Johns Hopkins Univerity's Ciccarone Center in Baltimore.
The biggest concerns are for people who have had a heart attack or stroke, or have heart failure or uncontrolled high blood pressure, Michos said, in the paper published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Importantly, healthy people might also be at risk.
For the study, researchers looked at nearly 10,000 people with respiratory infections who were hospitalised for heart attacks.
Participants were 72 years old on average at the time of their heart attacks and many had cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
People who are sick should use both classes of medications -- decongestants and NSAIDs -- judiciously and understand the potential side effects.
In addition, decongestants should not be taken longer than seven days before consulting with a healthcare provider, DePalma said.
One should also rest and drink plenty of fluids if symptoms are mild or moderate, DePalma noted.
HPV infections caused an estimated 266,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. Routine screening by Pap smears or HPV DNA tests has reduced death rates in developed countries compared to less developed regions of the globe.
Highly efficacious vaccines against HPV infection exist -- including the recently approved Gardasil 9, which immunises against nine genotypes of HPV known to cause cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers, and genital warts. But the vaccine needs to be given before a person becomes sexually active, since it has no therapeutic efficacy against existing HPV infections, the researchers said.
Preclinical experiments by researchers at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the US suggest the cancer drugs vorinostat, belinostat and panobinostat might help treat HPVs.
"Safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agents are urgently needed," said lead author N. Sanjib Banerjee, Assistant Professor at UAB.
In the study, detailed in the journal PNAS, the team discovered that the productive programme of HPV depends on differentiation of the epithelium into a full-thickness, squamous epithelium.
Furthermore, HPV reactivates host DNA replication in these differentiated cells such that the replication proteins and substrates become available to support viral DNA amplification.
They found that vorinostat effectively slowed down HPV-18 DNA and virus production. Importantly, vorinostat also induced the programmed cell death in a fraction of the differentiated cells. Similar results were obtained with belinostat and panobinostat.
The UAB team also reported that vorinostat caused extensive cell death in raft cultures of dysplastic and cancer cell lines harbouring HPV-16.
HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the most prevalent, high-risk HPVs responsible for causing anogenital -- the cervix, penis and anus -- and oropharyngeal -- mouth and throat -- cancers.
"But further investigation would be required to verify that these agents could also be useful in treating HPV associated dysplasias and cancers," Banerjee said.
According to the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, released on Thursday by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 3.6 million of US middle and high school students are currently using e-cigarettes, about 1.5 million more than a year before.
From 2017 to 2018, there was a 78 per cent increase in current e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students.
In an open letter issued by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, he described youth use of e-cigarettes as an "epidemic."
"These increases must stop. And the bottom line is this: I will not allow a generation of children to become addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes," he wrote.
The FDA chief vowed to take all necessary actions to stop these trends from continuing.
US federal agencies now plan to prohibit the sale of sweet-flavoured electronic cigarette liquid at convenience stores and gas stations. Vaping products, including e-liquids, may now be sold only in stores that can verify the age of customers. They may be sold online only when there is more stringent age verification.
E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol the user inhales. The liquid usually has nicotine and flavouring in it, and other additives.
Earlier this week, Chicago filed lawsuits against eight online retailers, mostly based in Florida and California, for selling e-cigarette products directly to Chicago residents under the age of 21.
The accused have been identified as Esmatullah (40), Khalilullah (22), from Afghanistan and Victor Osondu (37) from Nigeria.
Deputy Commissioner of Police P.S. Kushwah said they are the key members of an international drug cartel.
The three were arrested on Tuesday at 1.15 a.m. from Saket when Esmatullah and Khalilullah came to deliver a consignment of heroin to Osondo, Kushwah said.
"Apart from heroin, Osondo handed $4,200 to Esmatullah. The amount has been seized," the officer said, adding a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
They told the police that they had been involved in the heroin supply in Delhi and adjoining states for the last three years and have sold more than 100 kg in the capital in the last two years.
"Esmatullah and Khalilullah have brought heroin from their country -- sometimes by storing the capsules in their stomach and sometimes in secret cavities of their bags in flights," Kushwah said.
"They brought about 15-kg heroin on August 30, out of which, 5 kg was to be delivered to Osondo, who came to India in 2014 on a six-month business visa, but stayed back even after its expiry," police said.
Osondo told the police that he bought heroin from Esmatullah and Khalilullah to supply to other countries including Canada, UK, France, South Africa through courier companies.
The findings, published in the journal npj Systems Biology and Applications, could be a major step toward protecting public health at a time when pathogens and common infections are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics.
Scientists have traditionally believed that combining more than two drugs to fight harmful bacteria would yield diminishing returns.
"There is a tradition of using just one drug, maybe two," said Pamela Yeh, one of the study's senior authors.
"We're offering an alternative that looks very promising. We shouldn't limit ourselves to just single drugs or two-drug combinations in our medical toolbox. We expect several of these combinations, or more, will work much better than existing antibiotics," added Yeh, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Working with eight antibiotics, the researchers analysed how every possible four-and five-drug combination, including many with varying dosages -- a total of 18,278 combinations in all -- worked against E. coli.
They expected that some of the combinations would be very effective at killing the bacteria, but they were startled by how many potent combinations they discovered.
For every combination they tested, the researchers first predicted how effective they thought it would be in stopping the growth of E. coli.
Among the four-drug combinations, there were 1,676 groupings that performed better than they expected. Among the five-drug combinations, 6,443 groupings were more effective than expected.
"I was blown away by how many effective combinations there are as we increased the number of drugs," said Van Savage, the study's other senior author.
On the other hand, 2,331 four-drug combinations and 5,199 five-drug combinations were less effective than the researchers expected they would be, said Elif Tekin, the study's lead author who was a UCLA postdoctoral scholar during the research.
Yeh said although the results are very promising, the drug combinations have been tested in only a laboratory setting and likely are at least years away from being evaluated as possible treatments for people.
The researchers are creating open-access software based on their work that they plan to make available to other scientists next year.
Researchers found that after a heart attack, a protein called HIF acts to help heart cells survive.
In people with diabetes, fats accumulate within the heart muscle and stop the HIF protein from becoming active. This means that a person is more likely to suffer lasting heart muscle damage, and develop heart failure after a heart attack.
"After a heart attack, people with Type-2 diabetes are more likely to develop heart failure more quickly, but we have not fully understood the reasons why that is the case," said lead researcher Lisa Heather, research student at the University of Oxford in the UK.
"What we have shown with this research is that the metabolism of people with Type-2 diabetes means they have higher levels of fatty acids in the heart. This prevents signals going to the heart protective protein telling it to 'kick-in' after a heart attack," she added.
In the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the team treated diabetic rats with a drug known to activate the HIF protein, and were able to encourage the heart to recover after a heart attack.
However, these initial results suggest that several drugs known to activate HIF and currently undergoing phase-III clinical trials to treat people with anaemia, could potentially be given to people with diabetes, immediately after a heart attack in the future, the researchers said.
"This research in rats has not only identified the mechanism that could explain why people with Type-2 diabetes have poorer outcomes after a heart attack, but also a practical way this might be prevented," the researchers explained.
However, further studies will be needed to confirm if the same benefits are seen in humans, they noted.
He made the remarks at a press conference in capital Dhaka organised on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
Kamal said law enforcers do not arrest anyone unless they are 100 percent sure.
Action is being taken against those people whose names are available on the lists of three intelligence agencies.
The minister, however, did not give the total number of drug war casualties.
The casualties of the war on drugs continue to mount, with the latest figures showing that about 160 alleged drug users and drug dealers have been killed since the campaign began earlier last month.
Image source: The Express Tribune
Older adults, regardless of body weight, have increased belly fat. However, when they need to expend energy, older people do not burn the energy stored in fat cells as efficiently as younger adults, leading to the accumulation of harmful belly fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit, Professor at Yale University in Connecticut, US.
The underlying cause for this unresponsiveness in fat cells was unknown yet.
In the study, published in the journal Nature, the researchers discovered a new type of specialised immune cells known as macrophages, that resides on the nerves in belly fat.
These nerve-associated macrophages, which are typically involved in controlling infections, become inflamed with age and do not allow the neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers, to properly function.
New York, Sep 28 (IANS) Excess belly fat in older adults could be linked to inflammation, a finding that can help develop drugs that could enable elderly people burn fat, and decrease their odds of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes, researchers led by one of Indian-origin have found.
Older adults, regardless of body weight, have increased belly fat. However, when they need to expend energy, older people do not burn the energy stored in fat cells as efficiently as younger adults, leading to the accumulation of harmful belly fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit, Professor at Yale University in Connecticut, US.
The underlying cause for this unresponsiveness in fat cells was unknown yet.
In the study, published in the journal Nature, the researchers discovered a new type of specialised immune cells known as macrophages, that resides on the nerves in belly fat.
These nerve-associated macrophages, which are typically involved in controlling infections, become inflamed with age and do not allow the neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers, to properly function.
The researchers also isolated the immune cells from fat tissue of young and old mice, and then sequenced the genome to understand the problem.
"We discovered that the aged macrophages can break down the neurotransmitters called catecholamines, and thus do not allow fat cells to supply the fuel when demand arises," Dixit said.
Further, when a specific receptor that controls inflammation -- the NLRP3 inflammasome -- was lowered in aged macrophages, the catecholamines could act to induce fat breakdown, similar to that of young mice.
"The key finding is that the immune cells talk to the nervous system to control metabolism," Dixit noted.
In further experiments, the researchers blocked an enzyme that is increased in aged macrophages, restoring normal fat metabolism in older mice.
The researchers also isolated the immune cells from fat tissue of young and old mice, and then sequenced the genome to understand the problem.
"We discovered that the aged macrophages can break down the neurotransmitters called catecholamines, and thus do not allow fat cells to supply the fuel when demand arises," Dixit said.
Further, when a specific receptor that controls inflammation -- the NLRP3 inflammasome -- was lowered in aged macrophages, the catecholamines could act to induce fat breakdown, similar to that of young mice.
"The key finding is that the immune cells talk to the nervous system to control metabolism," Dixit noted.
In further experiments, the researchers blocked an enzyme that is increased in aged macrophages, restoring normal fat metabolism in older mice.
The study in rats, published in the Journal of Pineal Research, showed that the drug - known as melatonin - blocked harmful effects of chemotherapy on nerve health.
"These results are promising, especially as melatonin treatment is known to be safe in other conditions," said co-lead researcher Helen Galley, Professor at Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
"However, more work will need to be done before we know if melatonin will help prevent pain in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy," Galley added.
The scientists focused on a common condition known as chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP), which causes tingling and pain sensation to touch and cold temperatures that can be severe enough to cause patients to limit their chemotherapy treatment.
The study showed that melatonin given prior to chemotherapy limited the damaging effect on nerve cells and the development of pain symptoms.
In this study, melatonin did not alleviate pain when CINP had already developed, suggesting that its potential benefits could be as prevention rather than cure.
Importantly, melatonin treatment did not interfere with the beneficial anticancer effects of chemotherapy in human breast and ovarian cancer cells.
Findings also showed that melatonin reduced damage caused by chemotherapy to vital parts of nerve cells known as mitochondria.
Experts say reducing harm to these cell energy centres could hold the key to preventing chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain which affects almost 70% of patients undergoing chemotherapy and can have severe impact on quality of life.
Everyday activities, including fastening buttons or walking barefoot, can cause pain that can persist even after the cancer is cured, meaning that some patients are unable to return to work or able to carry out household tasks.
"We are actively exploring an early-phase clinical study to see if these exciting laboratory findings might translate to direct benefit for patients undergoing chemotherapy. This is an area of real unmet need, where new therapies are urgently required," Lesley Colvin, Professor at University of Edinburgh, said.
The son of late veteran actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis, Sanjay fought a battle with drugs and went to rehab as well as served a jail term. He was arrested for illegal possession of arms in a case related to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, in which over 250 people were killed and several hundred were wounded.
At the India Today Mind Rocks Youth Summit here on Saturday, Sanjay spoke uninhibitedly about his journey and struggles.
When asked how does he compare himself with his legendary father when it comes to fatherhood, Sanjay, a dad of three -- a son named Shahraan and two daughters Trishala and Iqra -- said: "My father raised us as normal children. I was sent to a boarding school... I went through the grind. And I am the same way with my children.
"I try to teach them the values of life, give them 'sanskaar', and teach them (that) respect for elders is very important even if they are your servants... And that you've got to value life. I only pray my son is not like me. Because what my dad went through, I don't want to go through that."
The father-son duo Sunil and Sanjay had together featured for the last time on screen in "Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.".
At one point during his time in jail, Sanjay had wondered why was he in prison despite being Sunil Dutt's son. As for his mother, Sanjay, 58, said his mother never saw any wrong in him.
"All mothers are the same -- they can't see anything wrong in their son... Whatever happens. If someone complained that 'Sanju has done this', she couldn't believe it. She used to get angry with them only," he said, fondly recounting his younger days.
Dressed casually in a pair of denims teamed with a black t-shirt and sporting a well-groomed beard, Sanjay spoke candidly to a crowd of school-goers that he always thought from his heart.
"But using head is also important. Don't think from your heart, also use your brains sometimes," he said, offering more pearls of wisdom to the crowd.
"Always listen to your parents and never keep any company that's bad for you. Be safe. You go with the law of the land, and (I) promise, nothing will happen," said Sanjay, who spoke about how his conviction in the Arms Act was based on a piece of paper in which he purportedly confessed possessing a weapon.
Sanjay is coming back to films with "Bhoomi", father-daughter story directed by Omung Kumar.
"WADA can confirm that we have received Russia's National Anti-Doping Strategy and we are currently in the process of reviewing it," WADA said in a statement addressed to Tass news agency on Friday.
Russia's Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission (IPADC) on Tuesday issued its national plan on the fight against abuse of performance enhancing drugs in sports.
The plan must be implemented before the end of 2017 and envisages a substantial reduction in anti-doping rules violations in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the work done by specialists from the IPADC saying that the commission should be in charge of monitoring the implementation of the new national anti-doping plan.
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Executive Board approved the establishment of the public anti-doping commission late last July.
Vitaly Smirnov, who is also an International Olympic Committee's (IOC) honorary member, was appointed the head of the new body.
Jodhpur: During the trial of self-styled godman Asaram, a prosecution witnesss had deposed to the court that the the former believed sexual exploitation of girls is not a sin for 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person.
Asaram also used to take medicines to increase sexual prowess, said prosecution witness Rahul K Sachar, an Asaram's follower, in his deposition forming part of the 453-page judgement convicting the godman and his two accomplices for raping a minor nearly five years ago
Sachar , who was close to Asaram and had access to his 'kutia' or abode, deposed that he had seen Asaram molesting girls in his ashrams in 2003 in Pushkar (Rajasthan), Bhiwani (Haryana) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
For this purpose, he used to give signals to three girls, who used to stay with him, by throwing torch light. On getting the 'signal', the girls used to take the targeted girls to his room in Kutia. He used to roam around the ashram with the three girls for selecting the targeted girls, said Sachar
One evening in Ahmedabad, Sachar deposed, he climbed the wall of the 'kutia' and saw the godman molesting the girl. He then wrote a letter questioning why he was doing this to girls and handed over the letter to the cook. Asaram read the letter but ignored it.
The follower sent a second letter to Asaram, but he chose not to respond to it, following which he forcefully entered the 'kutia' and asked why Bapu was quiet on his questions.
The response of Asaram was, ?'Brahmgiani ko ye sab karne se paap nahi lagta.' (It's not a sin for a 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person to do so).
When he posed second question how a 'Bhramgyani' can have such desires, Asaram quietly went inside and asked his men and guards to throw the follower out of the 'kutia.'
Sachar had further told the court that Asaram also used to take medicines for increasing his sexual power and used to consume opium
Codeword for opium was 'Panched Buti'
The prosecution witness had also disclosed to the court that the three girls staying with Asaram were also involved in abortion of the godman's victims
After leaving Asaram's company and his ashram, Sachar was also attacked in 2004, for which he had lodged a complaint with police but no progress ever took place. He was again attacked after giving statement in the Asaram sexual assault case.
Asaram was arrested and was lodged in judicial custody since September 2013 in the case, in which he was awarded life-long jail term yesterday by the Jodhpur special POSCO court.
Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths nabbed the duo at Jaleswar railway station, they said.
The drugs -- cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate -- were tested in a group of patients in Britain. The results published in the journal EclinicalMedicine showed that patients tolerated the drugs, with no serious side-effects, even when they were given in full doses or in combination with other medicines.
"The results of this trial show promise for treating a common cause of stroke and the most common cause of vascular dementia, since currently there are no effective treatments. Further trials are underway," said lead researcher Joanna Wardlaw, Professor at University of Edinburgh in Britain.
Damage to small blood vessels in brain is responsible for around a quarter of strokes. It is also a common cause of memory problems and dementia. At present, the only way to reduce risk of the disease is by controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, stopping smoking and managing symptoms of diabetes.
For the study, researchers recruited 57 patients who had experienced stroke caused by damaged small blood vessels, known as a lacunar stroke. They took the two medicines either individually or in combination for up to nine weeks, in addition to usual treatments aimed at preventing further strokes.
They completed health questionnaires and had regular blood pressure checks, blood tests and brain scans. The findings suggest the drugs are safe for use in stroke patients, taken alone or in combination, at least in the short term.
There were also signs that the treatment helped improve blood vessel function in the arms and brain, and may improve thinking skills, but researchers stressed further studies to test this.
Experts believe the findings pave the way for larger studies to check if the treatment can prevent brain damage and reduce risk of stroke and vascular dementia. A larger study, called LACI-2, is underway, said a statement from University of Edinburgh.
The Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group is leading the work as it examines the drug's effectiveness on 2,950 patients with a hereditary disposition to this particular form of cancer, according to an Austria Press Agency report.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Professor Christian Singer from the Vienna General Hospital said the study will also examine the effects of Denosumab on healthy women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, reports Xinhua news agency.
These women have a 1.8 per cent chance of developing breast cancer each year, or about an 80 per cent chance during their lifetime. In addition, they have a 50 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer.
Up to now the only preventative measure against both cancers has been surgical removal of the affected breast tissue or the ovaries.
The participants in the drug trial will receive either a Denosumab injection or a placebo every six months, Singer said.
Denosumab is known as a monoclonal antibody and has been used in particular to treat osteoporosis, due to its capacity to prevent the development of cells that break down bone.
Earlier Austrian studies have given strong indications that Denosumab may be effective against breast cancer, experts said.
"First-time users may be unfamiliar with the effects of various drugs, so it is important to first understand when people are most likely to start these behaviours," said Joseph J. Palamar, Associate Professor at New York University.
In 2017, according to the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than three million people in the US tried LSD, marijuana, cocaine, or ecstasy for the first time.
The study used data collected from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2011 and 2017 involving about 394,415 people aged 12 and older.
According to the researchers, participants were surveyed about their use of various drugs through a computer-assisted interview. New users were asked to recall the month and year when they initiated use.
The findings, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed that over a third (34 per cent) of recent LSD initiates first used the drug in the summer.
In addition, 30 per cent of marijuana, 30 per cent of ecstasy --also known as MDMA or Molly and 28 per cent of cocaine use was found to begin in the summer months.
The investigators suggest that the results could be explained, in part, by people having extra recreational time during the summer, as well as the growing popularity of outdoor activities, such as music festivals, at which recreational drug use is common.
"Parents and educators who are concerned about their kids need to educate them year-round about potential risks associated with drug use, but special emphasis appears to be needed before or during summer months when rates of initiation increase," Palamar said.
"Whenever I earn some money I buy a bottle of adhesives and use it to get intoxicated after sniffing it. It is easily available in the market," said a minor boy.
Sources said that they apply the solution, generally used for repairing tyres, on handkerchiefs and inhale it through nose and mouth to feel intoxicated.
Meanwhile, locals alleged that use of such material is the major reason behind rise in criminal activities in the steel city and the local administration has no clue in this regard.
"Initially, they used it to control their hunger but it has now become a habit for them. People and the authorities see them using it. However, no action has been taken to stop it," alleged Puja Pati, a social activist.
Speaking on the issue, Bhima Pati, a lawyer of Rourkela Bar Association said, "The concerned officials should trace the youths who use the solution as they are involved in loot incidents. Stringent action should be taken against them."
Trinath Patel, Superintendent of Railway Police, Rourkela, on the other hand, claimed that he is yet to get any complaint in this regard. "We have not received any complaint yet. However, we are keeping a close vigil on it and will take action against those who use it," said Patel.
Bhubaneswar: The signs are ominous. The seizure of brown sugar and other narcotics by the police in the last one year or so is believed to be just the tip of the iceberg. Drug mafia appears to be well entrenched in the state with its tentacles spreading everywhere. What is worrisome is that the people being targeted by the drug cartels are the youth and the children. School kids are supposed to be among the most vulnerable as peddlers lurk around these institutions.
That the deadly trade in narcotics is casting a large shadow on the state capital is obvious from the seizures made mainly from its slums. Even women have been found peddling brown sugar in the slums. The trade, according to sources, flourishes despite arrests. For the poor living in the ‘bastis’ drug peddling is an easy source of income and arrest a small price to pay for that.
A city in transition, Bhubaneswar has a big floating population and, unlike cities like Cuttack where ‘Sahi’ culture still flourishes, it is still looking for a definite socio-cultural identity. People not only from various parts of the state but also from different parts of the country have made it their home, some on a permanent basis and some temporarily.
To the floating population, it offers a certain kind of anonymity which helps crime and criminals. An excellent example of this is how the dreaded mafia don of eastern UP, Brajesh Singh lived in the city under an assumed identity for several years before being arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Delhi police in 2008.
Changing the crime profile of the city only reflects its changing character, a conurbation caught in the throes of transitioning from a typical middle-class conservative society to a metropolitical culture. Currently, it is a cross between the two which is the most dangerous phase to be in. So we have a flourishing gun culture and a sex trade which often uses beauty business as a front.
Drug smuggling is the latest addition to this growing list of crimes. But then narcotics trade is not limited to Bhubaneswar, it seems to have taken the entire state into its grip. Not long ago, the special task force (STF) of Crime Branch arrested notorious drug dealer, Sheikh Raja in Bhubaneswar and this led to raids on his Balasore residence.
Police suspect that he has links with the drug mafia not only in states like Goa and Rajasthan but also in neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh. Raja and his associates were smuggling drug consignments into Odisha via Kolkata after procuring the contraband from contacts in Bangladesh.
Balasore has emerged as a major hub of the narcotics trade in the state. The smugglers operating in the district continue to be active despite seizures and arrests. The good news is that the police have decided to adopt stermer measures including attaching the assets of drug smugglers to put an end to their nefarious activities. One only hopes the men in khaki succeed in their mission in the larger interest of the state.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
The BBC reported that the men participating in the trials had stopped responding to the main treatment options.
A small proportion of men -- described as "super responders" -- remained well even after the trial ended, despite a very poor prognosis before the treatment, the researchers found.
The drug was found to be effective in treating advanced head and neck cancers.
Immunotherapy uses the immune systems of individuals to recognise and attack cancer cells. It is in use as a standard treatment for some cancers like melanomas, and being tested on many others too.
The study found that one in 20 men with advanced prostate cancer responded to the drug pembrolizumab, and saw their tumours actually shrink or disappear altogether.
A relatively small number of them gained years of extra life, a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found. A further 19 per cent saw some evidence of improvement.
But most patients in the study lived for an average of eight months on the drug.
The phase II clinical trial, led by the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden, involved 258 men with advanced prostate cancer who had run out of all other options on treatment.
The most dramatic responses were seen in patients whose tumours had mutations in genes involved in repairing DNA.
Researchers are now investigating whether this group might benefit the most from immunotherapy in a larger trial.
But first, a test to pick out who will respond best is needed so that doctors know which patients to give it to.
Last week, a separate trial found that the same drug kept some people's advanced head and neck cancers at bay for an average of two years - five times longer than under chemotherapy.
Both studies are part of a growing body of research that suggests that immunotherapy could offer hope to an increasing number of cancer patients.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already written to the NCB to look into the drugs aspect in Sushant Singh Rajput death case and Rhea Chakraborty has been booked under the NDPS Act. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing a money-laundering angle into the death of Bollywood actor, Sushant Singh Rajput.
While responding to media query, Odisha DGP Abhay said, “It is a particular case and another agency (NCB) is currently investigating it. Commenting on it would not be appropriate.”
Admitting that weed is easily available in Odisha, DGP Abhay said that it is a fact and we cannot deny it. However, our efforts are on to curb such illegal activity and we have seized over 630 quintals of ganja so far which is highest than the yearly total seizure in 2018 and 2019.
To a question whether Rhea Chakraborty had come to Bhubaneswar, Odisha DGP said it is not under the purview of the State Police and another agency is probing it.
“The entire drugs issue came out yesterday. If NCB or any other agencies seek any help of Odisha Police, we will definitely cooperate in the ongoing investigation,” Abhay added.
Earlier yesterday, a purported Bhubaneswar twist to the drugs angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput case had come to fore.
As per Rhea’s chat messages, which were accessed by an English news channel (Times Now), she reportedly said one of her friends Simone Khambatta that the weed available in Odisha’s capital city of Bhubaneswar is ‘best ever.’
Also Read: Bhubaneswar Twist To Drugs Angle In Sushant Singh Rajput Case?
The Narcotics Control Bureau has registered a case against Rhea Chakraborty after it was reported that she dealt in banned drugs. Kangana Ranaut has tweeted about the kind of drugs, which are commonly used in the film industry, stating that she was willing to help the police, provided she was given protection.
Nevertheless, addiction has always been a part of the celebrity lifestyle, be it Hollywood or our own Bollywood.
I am more than willing to help @narcoticsbureau but I need protection from the centre government, I have not only risked my career but also my life, it is quiet evident Sushanth knew some dirty secrets that’s why he has been killed.
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) August 26, 2020
Back in the day it was all about alcoholism for actors such as Geeta Dutt, Meena Kumari, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Parveen Babi and even Sanjay Dutt, who is believed to have broken up with Tina Munim due to his abuse.
[caption id="attachment_472481" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Image Source: College Basics[/caption]
But with time, drugs entered the scene and stars started trying out cocaine, marijuana and other banned substances; alcohol continued to be consumed simultaneously.
A Bollywood insider says, “As Bollywood’s fortunes rose along with the size of the pay cheques of film stars, use of expensive drugs became rampant, especially at weekend parties, which are held on the outskirts of Mumbai, at places like Lonavala, Khandala, Madh Island etc. where many of the actors have their bungalows. Goa is another favourite party destination.”
So, like alcohol, many of the stars started taking drugs on a regular basis. Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor and Prateik Babbar have spoken about their habit. But most of these stars who use it for recreation will never open up about it.
Last year, Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Sirsa kicked up a storm by sharing a video of a party at Karan Johar’s residence where actors Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora were present, and accused them of ‘flaunting their drugged state.’
[caption id="attachment_472484" align="alignnone" width="750"] Image Source: Twitter[/caption]
As a matter of fact, even cricketers have been busted at drug parties in the past. In 2012 the Mumbai police raided a rave party in the Oakwood Premiere Hotel in the city’s Juhu suburb. Cricketers Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell were detained at the bash and later reportedly tested positive for banned substances. TV actor Apurva Agnihotri, fashion designer Rocky S and former cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi’s son Angad Bedi had also tested positive. Among all the people who tested positive at the party, many had used cannabis while some had taken ecstasy.
Bollywood's connection with addiction is not something that is likely to end anytime soon. Though alcoholism is passe, many top stars are still believed to be addicted to it in spite of the use of marijuana and cocaine becoming common. Reportedly, newer substances such as ecstasy are big nowadays in Bollywood circles, of course, unless and until a new drug gains popularity and captures the imagination of our stars.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
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The peon was arrested by a drug task force of Commissionerate Police earlier today. Brown sugar weighing 7.64 grams, 40 grams of gold, cash of Rs 42,050, 5 cell phones were seized from his posession after interrogation.
As per sources, the police team conducted raid near Blood bank of BMC Hospital in Bhubaneswar and caught the accused red-handed while he was selling the contraband item.
Police sources said the accused who lives in Lingaraj police station area has as many as 7 savings bank accounts to his name.
At a time when the police continues to intensify its crackdown to stop illegal trade of narcotics in the capital city, seizure of the contraband from a person at the hindsight of the authorities has raised many a eyebrows.
Earlier today, Balasore police arrested a drug peddler and seized brown sugar worth Rs 6.8 lakh from his possession.