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Category: health – Page 216

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners launched the first ever global strategy to defeat meningitis — a debilitating disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. By 2,030 the goals are to eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis – the most deadly form of the disease – and to reduce deaths by 70% and halve the number of cases. The organizations estimate that in total, the strategy could save more.

Than 200,000 lives annually and significantly reduce disability caused by the disease. This strategy, the Global Roadmap to Defeat Meningitis by 2,030 was launched by a broad coalition of partners involved in meningitis prevention and control at a virtual event, hosted by WHO in Geneva. Its focus is on preventing infections and improving.

Care and diagnosis for those affected.“Wherever it occurs, meningitis can be deadly and debilitating; it strikes quickly, has serious health, economic and social consequences, and causes devastating outbreaks,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

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SARS-CoV-2 remains a global threat to human health particularly as escape mutants emerge. There is an unmet need for effective treatments against COVID-19 for which neutralizing single domain antibodies (nanobodies) have significant potential. Their small size and stability mean that nanobodies are compatible with respiratory administration. We report four nanobodies (C5, H3, C1, F2) engineered as homotrimers with pmolar affinity for the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Crystal structures show C5 and H3 overlap the ACE2 epitope, whilst C1 and F2 bind to a different epitope. Cryo Electron Microscopy shows C5 binding results in an all down arrangement of the Spike protein. C1, H3 and C5 all neutralize the Victoria strain, and the highly transmissible Alpha (B.1.1.7 first identified in Kent, UK) strain and C1 also neutralizes the Beta (B.1.35, first identified in South Africa). Administration of C5-trimer via the respiratory route showed potent therapeutic efficacy in the Syrian hamster model of COVID-19 and separately, effective prophylaxis. The molecule was similarly potent by intraperitoneal injection.

Neutralizing nanobodies bind SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD and block interaction with ACE2. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 27 846–854 (2020).

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Innovator, philanthropist, humanitarian — khaliya — discussing radical solutions for the global mental health crisis.

Khaliya (https://www.khaliya.net/) is a Columbia University-trained public health specialist and Harvard University-trained specialist in Global Mental Health and Refugee Trauma. She is also a Venture Partner for Gender Equity Diversity Investments (www.gedi.vc), a new female-led VC firm targeting high growth investments that deliver top-quartile returns and measurable impact towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a preliminary focus on health.

Formerly an aid worker in over 32 countries and a former Peace Corps Volunteer for the US State Department, she has won numerous awards for her international service. Khaliya was the youngest member of the WEF’s Futures Council on the Future of Health and Healthcare and her opinion pieces have run in the New York Times (International and Domestic Editions) as well as WiredUK.

Currently at work on a book on the future of mental health, Khaliya continues to be a sought after public speaker, having spoken at the Obama White House organized United States of Women Summit, the World Economic Forum’s Family Business Summit, the Vatican, Clinton Global Initiative, WiredHealth, WebSummit and at the United Nations General Assembly, among others.

Khaliya is next scheduled to speak at the G20 Women’s Summit in Milan, Italy, and the Ethical Assembly Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, both taking place in October, 2021.

Continue reading “Khaliya — Innovator, Philanthropist, Humanitarian — Solutions For The Global Mental Health Crisis” | >

As Australia turns to nuclear power for its submarines, a UK prototype will test the use of autonomous green hydrogen submarines for freight transport.

A world-first green submarine project will soon get underway after a proposal to power an autonomous underwater vessel with green hydrogen won a share of a United Kingdom £23 million funding program.

Start-up company Oceanways is to build a prototype of a zero emission submarine initially designed to deliver cargo in a twenty-foot container between Glasgow and Belfast.

As the green submarines move underwater, they will also filter microplastics and microfibres out of the ocean, and collect information and data on ocean health and acidification via a number of onboard sensors.

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This year’s deadline for applications is November 15 2021. To learn more, visit https://aws.amazon.com/health/health-equity.

AWS is announcing a new global program to support organizations working to enhance health outcomes for underserved or underrepresented communities. We are providing AWS credits and technical expertise, committing $40 million over three years to help organizations develop solutions to improve health outcomes.

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A new computer model demonstrates that vaccinations have impacts well beyond just preventing disease and death: they can also slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Pneumococcal diseases—which include illnesses ranging from inner ear infections to pneumonia and meningitis—are a leading cause of death globally among children under five. While there are effective vaccines against pneumococcal diseases, access is still a challenge for populations in low-income—and some middle income—countries. And antimicrobial resistance to the antibiotics commonly used to treat these infections is a growing problem.

“We wanted to the value of vaccinating—not only to show that vaccination reduces death or disability from these diseases, but also to quantify whether vaccination can slow antimicrobial resistance,” says Andrew Stringer, an assistant professor of veterinary and global health at NC State.

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The Israeli mask company Sonovia has released a report from a leading Italian textile-testing laboratory showing that its fabric eliminates the COVID-19 Delta variant particles with over 99.95% effectiveness.

The lab is next expected to test the fabric against the MU strain, which carries several mutations to the spike gene, and is labeled a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization, said Sonovia Chief Technology Officer Liat Goldhammer-Steinberg.

The MU strain has not yet entered Israel, according to any official reports, but Health Ministry officials have warned of its potential negative impact.

VisMederi is a commercial research laboratory located in Italy. It says on its website that the company “currently receives orders worldwide in the field of vaccines, where it conducts analytical testing of biological samples and validation of bioanalytical methods for the pharmaceutical industry.”

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An inexpensive oral anti-depressant can save the lives of COVID-19 patients and cut hospital admissions by up to 30 per cent, says a study co-led by McMaster University.

McMaster researcher Ed Mills and his team treated 738 randomly selected Brazilian COVID-19 patients with fluvoxamine, with another 733 received a placebo, between Jan. 20 to Aug. 6 of this year.

Every patient receiving fluvoxamine during the trial is tracked for 28 days to determine their health outcomes and if they still need hospital treatment. They found about a 30% reduction in events among those receiving fluvoxamine and those that did not.

The McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences specializes in health related fields such as: Nursing, Medicine, and Rehabilitation Sciences.

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Intelligent sensing and tele-presence robotic technology, enabling health practitioners to remotely assess a person’s physical and cognitive health from anywhere in the world, is being pioneered in research co-led at the University of Strathclyde.

The technology could aid cost-effective diagnosis, more regular monitoring and health assessments alongside assistance, especially for people living with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments.

The system was demonstrated for the first time to the UK Government Minister, Iain Stewart during a visit to the construction site of the National Robotarium, hosted at Heriot-Watt University, which is co-leading the research with Strathclyde.

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