Peanut-allergic kids safer at school
than at home
Toronto: Despite the
best efforts of parents, children who are allergic to peanuts are far more
likely to be exposed to them in their own homes that at school, say a study.
The researchers
reviewed 567 incidents of accidental peanut exposure to allergic children and
found that 37 percent of exposures occurred in the their own home as against
just three-five percent that occurred in schools and day care centres.
"We discovered that children are most at risk of
exposure in their own homes,” said first author of the study Sabrine Cherkaoui
from University of Montreal in Canada.
Furthermore, when children do have a moderate or severe
reaction to an exposure, parents and medical professionals often do not know
how to react appropriately, Cherkaoui noted.
"Our study looked at 1,941 children who had been
diagnosed as being allergic to peanuts to determine how exposure occurs, how
serious the outcomes of the exposure are, and what treatment is given,"
Cherkaoui explained.
The mean age of the children at the time of their recruitment
into the study was 6.9 years, and the mean length of their participation was
2.9 years.
The researchers found that 37 percent of exposures occurred
in the child's own home. Other people's homes and restaurants accounted for
14.3 percent and 9.3 percent of exposures respectively. Adolescents were at a
higher risk due to their general predilection towards risk-taking behaviour,
the researchers said.
Schools and daycares
where peanuts are forbidden represented 4.9 percent of the cases exposure; for
schools and daycares where peanuts are allowed, it is three percent. Other and
unknown places accounted for 31.6 percent of exposures.
The findings appeared in the journal Clinical and
Translational Allergy.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
29.04.2015
Sangeeta
N Bhatia, Indian origin scientist wins $ 250,000 Heinz Award
Washington: Sangeeta
Bhatia, an Indian-origin scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
has been named the recipient of the 2015 Heinz Award for Technology, the
Economy, and Employment.
Bhatia who has developed artificial human microlivers for
drug testing, won a prestigious $2,50,000 Heinz award for her work in tissue
engineering and disease detection.
The Heinz Awards annually recognise individuals for their
extraordinary contributions to arts and humanities; environment; human
condition; public policy; and technology, the economy, and employment.
“This type of recognition helps to bring science into the
public eye so that everyone can appreciate the dedication and innovation that
is happening in laboratories all over the country,” said Bhatia, the John J and
Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science.
Ms. Bhatia’s team has pioneered the fabrication of artificial
human microlivers, which are being used by many biopharmaceutical companies to
test the toxicity of drug candidates.
She is also using microlivers in the lab to model malaria
infection and test drugs that can eradicate malaria parasites completely. She
hopes to eventually develop implantable liver tissue as a complement or
substitute for whole-organ transplant.
Ms Bhatia will receive her award on May 13 at a ceremony in
Pittsburgh.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
29.04.2015
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible
Dalai Lama
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