Scientists develop treatment effective again Ebola-related virus

Scientists develop treatment effective again Ebola-related virus
US attempted rescue of American hostages in Syria
Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA
Educators to Better Prepare with 21st Century Teaching Capability
New Paddy Mills at Wasan to Produce 8.5 Tons of Rice Per Year
Botox may slow tumor growth in stomach cancer

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 07:29 PM PDT

WASHINGTON: Canadian and US researchers say they have successfully used an experimental drug to save the lives of monkeys with Marburg virus, a virus closely related to Ebola that has killed over 1,200 in West Africa this year.

The treatment was shown to be effective at a point when the monkeys have detectable levels of the virus in their system and begin to show symptoms of the disease, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Marburg and Ebola viruses belong to the family of filoviruses and often cause fatal hemorrhagic fevers.

At present, no vaccines or drugs have been approved for human use to treat these devastating infections.

Previous studies in non-human primates have been limited to treatment shortly after exposure before symptoms appear.

In the study, researchers from University of Texas and Canada-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals treated macaques infected with Marburg-Angola, the most severe strain of Marburg virus with a mortality rate of up to 90 percent, over a range of times from shortly after infection up to three days after exposure when symptoms have already appeared.

Their strategy centered on small interfering RNAs known as siRNAs, which were encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to aid therapeutic delivery to target cells to block replication of the Marburg virus.

All 16 macaques that received the siRNA drug survived, while all of the control animals died between days seven and nine, the researchers said.

"We demonstrate the ability to completely protect non-human primates against the lethal Marburg Angola virus challenge even when treatment is delayed until day three at a time when we can detect viremia at the onset of disease, showing real world utility of this technology," said senior author Thomas Geisbert professor of microbiology and immunology at University of Texas.

"The siRNAs have been designed to protect against all known strains of Marburg virus, meaning that the approach has broad spectrum potential in terms of at least protecting against all of the different strains of Marburg," he said.

The researchers have previously shown this drug's ability to prevent Marburg-infected guinea pigs from dying.

Other studies have shown that siRNAs can confer protection against Ebola virus in monkeys when given up to 48 hours after infection.

"This technology may have potential for combating Ebola," Geisbert said.

The researchers are planning to see how much further they can delay the initiation of treatment for both Marburg hemorrhagic fever and Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

The treatment was published in US journal Science Translational Medicine. –BERNAMA

US attempted rescue of American hostages in Syria

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:40 PM PDT

WASHINGTON: US forces tried but failed to rescue reporter James Foley and other US hostages held in Syria by the so-called Islamic State (IS), officials and reports said Wednesday (Aug 21). The IS released a video Tuesday showing Foley's on-camera beheading, a murder that has provoked worldwide revulsion.

The Pentagon and the White House did not say if the covert mission was to rescue Foley, who was kidnapped in northern Syria in November 2012. However US media, citing senior Obama administration officials, said Foley was among those US Special Operations commandos were trying to rescue.

The video of Foley's killing also showed a second US reporter, Steven Sotloff, being paraded by a black-clad IS militant who warned that he would also be killed if US President Barack Obama does not stop air strikes on IS positions in Iraq.

"The United States attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS)," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. "This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL (IS). Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location."

The White House said in a separate statement that the rescue attempt was authorized "earlier this summer." It involved several dozen US commandos, one of whom was injured in a fierce firefight with IS militants, The Washington Post said, calling it the first known US ground operation in Syria since the country's descent into civil war. The Post said that it was believed that Sotloff was also among the group being held that included Foley.

IN HARMS' WAY

IS, also known as ISIL, considers Washington its arch enemy and has overrun large swaths of Iraq and Syria. It says it represents the aspirations of a global Muslim caliphate.

"As we have said repeatedly, the United States government is committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens, particularly those suffering in captivity," said Kirby. "In this case, we put the best of the United States military in harms' way to try and bring our citizens home."

In the White House statement on the rescue attempt, Lisa Monaco, assistant to President Barack Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, said: "The president authorized action at this time because it was the national security team's assessment that these hostages were in danger with each passing day in ISIL custody. "The US government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the president authorized the Department of Defense to move aggressively to recover our citizens."

She added: "Their effort should serve as another signal to those who would do us harm that the United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable."

It is not known how many foreign hostages are being held by IS fighters in Syria and Iraq.- AFP

Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:39 PM PDT

WASHINGTON: A chemical used in dry cleaning and fire extinguishers may have been phased out in recent years but NASA said Wednesday (Aug 20) that carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is still being spewed into the atmosphere from an unknown source. The world agreed to stop using CC14 as part of the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, which attained universal ratification in 2009.

"Parties to the Montreal Protocol reported zero new CCl4 emissions between 2007-2012," the US space agency said in a statement. "However, the new research shows worldwide emissions of CCl4 average 39 kilotons per year, approximately 30 per cent of peak emissions prior to the international treaty going into effect."

CC14 levels are not enough to reverse the decreasing trend of ozone-depletion, but experts are still mystified as to where it is coming from. With no new reported emissions, atmospheric concentrations of the compound should have declined at an expected rate of four per cent per year since 2007.

However, observations from the ground showed atmospheric concentrations were only declining one per cent per year.

"We are not supposed to be seeing this at all," said Qing Liang, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It is now apparent there are either unidentified industrial leakages, large emissions from contaminated sites, or unknown CCl4 sources."

Researchers used NASA's 3-D GEOS Chemistry Climate Model and data from global networks of ground-based observations to establish the first estimate of average global CC14 emissions from 2000 to 2012. In going through the data, researchers also learned that the chemical stays in the atmosphere were 40 per cent longer than previously thought.

"People believe the emissions of ozone-depleting substances have stopped because of the Montreal Protocol," said Paul Newman, chief scientist for atmospheres at NASA. "Unfortunately, there is still a major source of CCl4 out in the world."

The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.- AFP

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Educators to Better Prepare with 21st Century Teaching Capability

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:36 PM PDT

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Students need to have skills that enable them to analyse and evaluate information and ideas creatively in order to make career and life decisions and choices appropriate to the family, community, culture and religion, ©BRUDIRECT.COM reported.

Speaking at the Launching Ceremony of the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Space for e-Hijrah Computing in Model Schools (CIMS) Project, at Rimba II Secondary School, the Minister of Education, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Awg Abu Bakar Hj Apong said that having such a skill would enable them to be innovative, and be able to participate and contribute to the 21st century.

The Minister added that educators also need to adopt new pedagogies and teaching practices, create stimulating and engaging learning environments and harness the educational power of emerging technologies to make the students achieve new skills.

Yang Berhormat Pehin then presented Certificates to Model Schools Principals for Completion of the Leadership Professional Learning and Teachers Professional Learning. The certificates were presented to the Wasan Vocational School, Rimba II Secondary School, Panaga Primary School, Kg Bukit Beruang II Perpindahan Primary School, Tutong II and Sultan Hashim Primary School, Batu Apoi, Temburong. The event was followed by a video presentation on "21st Century Teaching and Learning".

Yang Berhormat Pehin then launched and toured the new learning space. This 21st century classroom learning is more about developing skills for lifelong learning which involves analysing, evaluating information and ideas creatively, solving real world problems and communicating effectively with peers, teachers and experts in the field.

Also present at the launching ceremony were the Deputy Minister of Education, Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Yusoff Hj Ismail and the Acting Permanent Secretary of Core Education, Dr Hjh Romaizah Hj Md Salleh.

New Paddy Mills at Wasan to Produce 8.5 Tons of Rice Per Year

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:35 PM PDT

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) through Department of Agriculture and Agrifood undertook a task to formulate a master plan that will help establish the inaugural Center for National Paddy Processing that is both high in quality and capacity in support of the local paddy manufacturing industry, ©BRUDIRECT.COM reported.

In a bid to achieve a goal of such magnitude, a Paddy Processing Complex was launched yesterday by Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar. The launching took place at Wasan Paddy Mill Center in Jalan Limau Manis.

Also present during the inauguration ceremony was Member of Legislative Council (LegCo) Mukim Lumapas, Yang Berhormat Awg Hj Jumat Akim; Yang Mulia Dyg Hjh HasnahHj Ibrahim, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Primary Resources Development) MIPR; Yang Mulia Awg Hj Khairuddin Hj Abd Hamid, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship), MIPR; Dyg Hjh Aidah Hj Md Hanifah, Director of Agriculture and Agrifood; Heads of Departments; senior government officials and staff of Department of Agriculture.

To bless the ceremony, a staff from Mosque Affairs Department Imam Hj Burhanuddin Hj Daud recited Surah Al-Fatihah and the Doa Selamat. It was then followed by a welcoming remark by Senior Managing Director of Satake Corporation Mr Kihara Kazuyuki. A short video presentation on the paddy processing plant was later initiated by Mr Tomoyasu Yoshimara, General Manager of Satake Corporation. Shortly after, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources was invited to officiate the launching of the new paddy processing complex. A recital of Selawat to Muhammad Rasullullah Sallalahu Alaihi Wassalam was performed beforehand by Imam Hj Burhanuddin to bless the occasion. Yang Berhormat Pehin then toured the facility, getting a first-look on the machines while trying out to pack the Laila-type paddy at the packaging fixture, much to the amazement of the onlookers. The Minister also went to visit the laboratory in which the paddy will undergo further testing prior to packaging.

The project cost approximately BND$5,010,272.00 and it covers purchase, supply and assembly of the machineries that can produce up to 3.5 metric tons of paddy per minute. In addition, such a feat will enable the Sultanate to achieve its projected level of self sufficiency up to twenty per cent with five thousand and eight hundred metric tons of rice per annum. Moreover, the master plan also includes with it the needed facilities to train the personnel of Department of Agriculture and Agrifood in handling the massive machineries that debuted in the country's leading paddy fields yesterday.

In preparing the workforce needed to man the entire facility, personnel from the relevant departments have undergone a two-week basic course in Thailand with another six weeks' worth of additional training in the Sultanate when the assembly of the machineries concluded this August. The training was provided by Satake Corporation from Japan.

The new milling complex is estimated to produce local paddy with an efficient rate while at the same time enabling the personnel to maintain tight quality control under the strictest possible scrutiny.

As a progressive measure towards achieving the self sufficiency, MIPR is currently planning to increase the paddy capacity to 7.5 metric tons per hour to fulfill the maximum sixty per cent production rate, a plan that will soon be implemented by the Ministry in times to come.

Botox may slow tumor growth in stomach cancer

Posted: 20 Aug 2014 05:08 PM PDT

Botox has frozen the faces of countless Hollywood stars, and international researchers said Wednesday the toxic injections might also be able to stop cancer in its tracks, at least temporarily.

The findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine are based on studies of mice with stomach cancer.

Researchers found that Botox could block signals from the vagal nerve — which extends from the brain stem to the abdomen — slowing the growth of tumors as much as surgery would.

"We found that by removing the effect of the nerve, the stem cells in the cancer tumor are suppressed, leading to cancer treatment and prevention," said co-author Duan Chen, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Botox worked when injected locally to the vagus nerve by blocking the release of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, that encouraged the tumor to grow.

Other techniques — such as surgically cutting the vagus nerve and giving a blocking drug — also slowed tumor growth.

Blocking acetylcholine through facial injections lessens wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing muscles.

"Scientists have long observed that human and mouse cancers contain a lot of nerves in and around the tumor cells," said Timothy Wang, professor of medicine at Columbia University's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"We wanted to understand more about the role of nerves in the initiation and growth of cancer, by focusing on stomach cancer."

A phase II clinical trial of the method in patients with stomach cancer is now taking place in Norway.

Scientists say the technique, while not a cure for cancer, might extend the lives of people with inoperable stomach cancer, or patients who no longer respond to chemotherapy.

"We believe this treatment is a good treatment because it can be used locally and it targets the cancer stem cells," said Chen.

Further research is needed to determine if the technique might work in other cancers.

Stomach cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer worldwide, and about one quarter of patients survive for more than five years after diagnosis. -AFP