Indoor air pollution causing more
deaths than outdoor: Experts
Indoor air
pollution is causing more deaths than outdoor
air pollution and needs to be addressed with an integrated approach to increase
the access to clean fuel in the country, leading environment experts Wednesday
said.
They called to form a community of
researchers who can come together to draw a roadmap for reducing air pollution
in the country, particularly in the national capital, which has been rated as
the most-polluted city in the world by WHO.
Speaking at a panel discussion on 'Your
Breath Your Health' at the American Center here, Lesley Onyon, Region Advisor,
WHO, said that approximately 40 per cent of all the diseases burden can be
attributed to household air pollution.
She said that the government needs to
improve the access to cleaner fuels like LPG and CNG to deal with indoor air
pollution as more than 60 per cent of the household are still dependent on
solid fuel combustion.
"As much as 81 per cent of the
rural households use dirty fuels like wood for cooking, and in urban areas it
is 20 per cent, making the national average of 64 per cent.
"The government needs to take
long-term measures to deal with air pollution in the country, which includes
increasing access to cleaner fuel as 64 per cent of the households use solid
fuel combustion as a primary source of cooking," she said.
Onyon said that Health Ministry will
have to play an effective role in reducing air pollution with strong
coordination and integration of local and national health policies.
The World Health Assembly in their
resolution had highlighted the key role that health authorities needed to make
in raising the awareness about the potential to save lives and reducing health
costs if air pollution was to be addressed effectively.
The Health authorities should resolve
for strong cooperation between different sectors and integration of health
concerns into all regional, local and national health policies," she said.
Parthaa Basu, Indian Director and South Asian Liaison, Clean
Air Asia, said that indoor air pollution is also caused by biological material
and consumer products like mosquito repellents, incense sticks and deodorants.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
19.11.2015
Short winter days make women
aggressive?
New York: Now you know why your
spouse or girlfriend suddenly gets hostile towards you as winter settles in.
According to fascinating research, a hormonal mechanism may trigger aggression in females
-- and not males -- during short winter days.
The hormone called melatonin acts
directly on the adrenal glands in females to trigger a “seasonal aggression
switch” from hormones in the gonads to hormones in the adrenal glands -- a
major contrast to how this mechanism works in males,” explained Nikki Rendon,
PhD student of biology from Indiana University.
The work on hamsters (rodents), which
advances basic knowledge about the connection between certain sex hormones and
aggression, could go on to advance research on the treatment of inappropriate
aggression in humans. "This study reveals a ripe area for research,"
Rendon added.
Melatonin is a hormone that rises in
the body during darkness and lowers during daylight.
The hormone released from the adrenal
gland is called DHEA - a sex steroid shown to affect aggression levels in
mammals and birds and possibly humans. Professional sports competitions have
banned the use of DHEA in athletes. Rendon and colleagues found that melatonin
acts directly on the adrenal glands in females to trigger the release of DHEA,
without the need for the pituitary hormone.
DHEA can be converted to androgens and
estrogens, which affect aggression in both males and females. In females, DHEA
appears to compensate for low levels of estradiol -- a form of estrogen -- that
occurs during the winter. The research was conducted on Siberian hamsters, a
species with an adrenal system similar to humans. About 130 hamsters were
exposed to long days for a week, after which 45 were exposed to shorter days
for 10 weeks.
The female hamsters exposed to shorter
days had increased levels of both melatonin and DHEA -- and higher aggression
scores -- along with physical changes in their adrenal glands. Females exposed
to longer days did not experience these changes, the authors noted.
Collectively, the results show that
melatonin is the primary regulator of aggression in females.
The study appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Royal
Academy B.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
19.11.2015
He has not learned the lesson of life who does not
overcome from fear
Gaius Julius Caesar
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