Common antidepressant may help stroke victims recover

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New York: A commonly prescribed antidepressant may help stroke survivors improve movement and coordination even when rehabilitation after the stroke incidents gets a little delayed, new research has found.

An estimated 65 percent of stroke survivors experience some weakness or paralysis of their limbs, and difficulty in walking and moving due to the death of brain cells from lack of blood flow.

While it is know that earlier the rehabilitation starts for stroke victims, better is the recovery, this new study has showed that the drug fluoxetine, often sold under the trade name Prozac, prolongs the time after a stroke during which physical therapy remains effective for recovering lost motor function.

'For rehabilitation to be effective, it needs to start as soon after a stroke as possible,' said lead author of the study Steven Zeiler, assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Maryland, US.

'But with this study, we have shown that in mice, we can extend the time period during which rehabilitative intervention has an effect on meaningful recovery,' Zeiler noted.

Protesting B.P.Ed students cane charged in Lucknow

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Lucknow: Violence erupted in front of the vidhan sabha in Lucknow on Tuesday when Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.Ed) students clashed with police.

Agitating over their demands, they began pelting stones at police when they were asked to disperse. Police then resorted to a baton charge and used water canon.

Police men baton charge B P Ed Sangharsh Morcha members after they set afire vehicles during their protest for jobs in front of Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow on Tuesday / PTI

While many women protesters suffered injuries in the melee that ensued after the baton charge, about one dozen policemen, including superintendent of police, East Lucknow, were also injured.

One of the protesters' main demands is to be appointed as teachers at par with individuals working as 'Shiksha Mitras'.

The students also set fire to a police vehicle and attacked policemen.

An official told IANS that B.P. Ed (Bachelor of Physical Education) degree holders had converged near the state assembly from across the state to press for their demands. The district administration declared their demonstration illegal and asked them to disperse.

The mob soon became unruly and started raising slogans and waving banners against the government.

The protesters told IANS that they were targeted by police on instructions of the Akhilesh Yadav government and added that they will now continue their protests with renewed vigour.

2 children hit by car in Malappuram, die

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Malappuram: In an unfortunate mishap on Tuesday early morning, two students lost their lives when a car hit them near Pattikaadu at Aakaparambil in Malappuram district. The car lost control and ran into the two children who were walking on the road. The children were on their way to a madarassa. Muhamme Dhaanish (12) from Puthanamcheri and Muhammed Shibini (11) are the deceased.

Tirur native arrested for IS links

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Kochi: The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has arrested a youth belonging to Tirur in Malappuram district for establishing links with the militant group Islamic State.

Sources said he was taken into custody at Karipur airport on Monday. However, the agency has not disclosed more details.

The intelligence agencies had carried out a search in his residence near Tirur town.

The youth, who went to Middle East a few years ago, later moved to Syria and started working for the IS. His arrest was made amidst enquires are being conducted to trace five Keralites serving for the militant outfit.

When contacted, a senior police official said they have not received any information regarding the arrest.

Kerala mulls setting up private universities

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Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Wednesday that the government will discuss whether it should set up private universities in Kerala.

'Kerala is the only state in the country that does not have a private university. In West Bengal, there are six and in Tripura there are two,' he said, referring to the other two states where Communists are strong.

'We will discuss this issue with all concerned at several levels before a decision is arrived at,' Chandy told reporters.

The Kerala State Higher Education Council wants private universities to come up in the state.

But Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb is opposed to private universities.

'This is my personal view and is not important because it is the state government which will take the final decision,' said Rabb.

Chandy will now place a report submitted by the Council before the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF)

All-India strike underway; throws normal life out of gear in Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram: The all-India strike called by trade unions and government employees in protest against the alleged anti-labour policies of the Central Government has begun. The strike hit Kerala hard on Wednesday as public buses went off roads and shops and banks remained shut.

Employees of public sector banks, government-owned non-life insurance companies and BSNL are partaking in the strike that would continue till Wednesday midnight.

Hospitals, supply of milk and newspaper and Hajj-related activities have been exempted from the strike.

Meanwhile, the state government said dies non will be applicable to the government employees going on strike. Government staff, including teachers, will not be sanctioned leave but for special circumstances. Temporary staff, who keep away from duty sans prior permission, will be dismissed. Also, district collectors and department heads have been told to ensure safety of those reporting for duty.

The district police chiefs have been given instructions in this regard. Action will be taken against those found involved in forcible closure of shopsand blocking of traffic.

Highlighting a charter of demands, around 10 trade unions, except the BMS, are taking part in the protest.

All the operations at the Cochin Port were also hit.

Most of the IT firms in Technopark and Infopark reported very thin attendance.

All examinations that were to be held on Wednesday have been postponed by the various state universities.

Antibiotic use may increase diabetes risk

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 London: Frequent use of antibiotics might increase your risk of developing Type-2 diabetes, a new study warns.

Danish researchers have found that people who developed Type-2 diabetes tended to take more antibiotics in the years leading up to the diagnosis than people who did not have the condition.

'In our research, we found people who have Type-2 diabetes used significantly more antibiotics up to 15 years prior to diagnosis compared to healthy controls,' said one of the study authors Kristian Hallundbæk Mikkelsen from Gentofte Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark.

'Although we cannot infer causality from this study, the findings raise the possibility that antibiotics could raise the risk of Type-2 diabetes,' Mikkelsen noted.

Another equally compelling explanation may be that people develop Type-2 diabetes over the course of years and face a greater risk of infection during that time, he pointed out.

For the study, the researchers tracked antibiotic prescriptions for 170,504 people who had Type-2 diabetes and for 1.3 million people who did not have diabetes.

Individuals who used more antibiotics were more likely to be diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.

A person develops diabetes, which is characterised by high blood sugar levels, when the individual cannot produce enough of the hormone insulin or insulin does not work properly to clear sugar from the bloodstream.

Past research has shown that antibiotic treatments can alter the bacteria in an individual's gut and that certain gut bacteria may contribute to the impaired ability to metabolise sugar seen in people with diabetes.

This may explain why higher rates of antibiotic use are associated with the development of Type-2 diabetes, but more research is needed to explain the findings, Mikkelsen said.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Car rams into tempo traveller claiming 3 lives in Kozhikode

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Kozhikode: Three Sabarimala pilgrims were killed in a Kozhikode road mishap on Saturday morning. The accident happened at Azhinjilam on the National Highway when a car smashed against a tempo traveller. Two others were seriously injured and have been rushed to the Kozhikode Medical College hospital. The deceased were Karnataka natives Manjunath, Thilakanath and Anil Chowdhary.

3 arrested in connection with deaths of 71 migrants in truck

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Vienna:Police arrested three people in Hungary overnight in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants found in a refrigerated truck abandoned on Austria's main highway, a police official said today.

The migrants likely suffocated, said Hans Peter Doskozil, chief of police in eastern Burgenland province. A Syrian
travel document was found, indicating that at least some of the dead were refugees fleeing violence in Syria, though it
wasn't clear if some were for elsewhere. The 71 included eight women and four children.

It was the latest tragedy in a year that has seen tens of thousands of people risking everything to seek a better life
or refuge in wealthy European countries.

At least 2,500 have died, mostly at sea, where another tragedy was unfolding today as Libyan authorities counted
bodies from two ships that capsized off the coast of that country. The UN refugee agency said 200 were missing and
feared dead.

Migrants fearful of death at sea in overcrowded and flimsy boats have increasingly turned to using a land route to Europe
through the Western Balkans.

They start in Greece, which they can reach via a short boat trip from Turkey. But the discovery of the bodies in the
truck showed there is no truly safe path.

The refrigerated truck was found parked in the safety lane of the highway from Budapest, Hungary, to Vienna yesterday.

The death toll was initially estimated at 20 to 50.

The bodies were partially decomposed and police had the truck towed to a refrigerated warehouse before they began a
body count and tried to identify them. Autopsies were being conducted.

At least two of those arrested are Bulgarian citizens, while the third has Hungarian identity papers, police said.
(AP)

No ID card? You are a ticketless passenger

 

Chennai: The Railway has revised the norms for tatkal booking in trains.

As per the new norms, neither the copy of identity card nor its number is not required while booking tatkal tickets at the counter. However, the passengers should carry anyone of the 10 documents mentioned by the Railway during travel. Otherwise, they should be considered ticketless passengers and fine would be imposed.

Documents accepted as identity proof:
1. Electoral identity card
2. Passport
3. PAN card
4. Driving licence
5. Photo identity card bearing serial number provided by state or central government
6. Identity card provided to students by their institutions
7. Pass book of a nationalised bank carrying photo
8. Laminated bank credit card
9. Aadhaar card
10. Photo identity card provided by central government-owned public sector institutions, district administrations and local bodies