Posts in category: Uncategorized

Studying blood plasma samples from COVID-19 patients, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified specific proteins that may help predict which patients may need to be placed on ventilators to breathe and which are most likely to die of the virus.

Children who are exclusively breastfed or fed a mix of formula and breastmilk for the first six to eight weeks of life are at lower risk of having special educational needs and learning disabilities, according to a new study.

Peter Mac researchers have developed a new approach to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy which has proven effective in fighting solid cancer tumors.

Often an incidental finding on brain scans looking for trauma or other neurological conditions, arachnoid cysts (ACs) are small, fluid-filled sacs within the arachnoid membrane, one of three layers protecting the brain and spinal cord. They often don’t cause noticeable symptoms; however, when they do, patients most commonly report headaches, seizures, developmental delays, and other, often vague neurological symptoms.

New research from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute is shining a light on lighting uncertainties.

Adults hospitalized with the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant have a higher death rate than those hospitalized with seasonal influenza, even though omicron is considered less virulent with lower case fatality rates than the delta and alpha strains. This is suggested by new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15–18 April).

Existing neuroscientific models of the visual system suggest that it represents the visual world just as a camera would, encoding the positions of different objects similarly. An animal’s surrounding environment, however, constantly changes, and these changes could also influence the processing of visual information.

Requirements to wear surgical masks in a large London hospital during the first 10 months of omicron activity (December 2021 to September 2022) made no discernible difference to reducing hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15–18 April).

By PRINCE MABUMBA 

The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has urged teachers countrywide to feel free to be affiliated to trade unions of their choice without interference from employers.

In an interview, BETUZ Director for Public Relations, Obby Chisala explained that, belonging to a trade union or not should be at one’s freewill and not through coercion by employers and supervisors.

Mr Chisala said, teachers should be free to belong to trade unions that will represent their interests in an appropriate and professional manner.

“As union they need to go out to teachers to circulate the manifestos particularly the products and services that they offer and it’s there where you convince them.

Along the way teachers they will look at quality of service delivery then they make choice which union they want to belong to,” he said.

Mr Chisala said those who think not belonging to a union cannot be forced by their superiors.

He said, teachers are adult and they need to do things according to their satisfaction.

By NATION REPORTER

FINANCE Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has not provided a path-way for ZCCM-IH to recover the $2.3billion belonging to Kansanshi Copper and Gold Mines, Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate, Emmanuel Mwamba has said.

He said in 2016, ZCCM-IH took a legal suit to recover US$2.3billion from First Quantum Minerals (FQM). 

ZCCM-IH had also filed a notice of arbitration against First Quantum Minerals in London over the same matter.

This was after an audit established that FQM had illegally externalised US$2.3billion revenue from Kansanshi Copper and Gold Mine, fraudulently and without board approval.

Mr Mwamba, Zambia’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia said ZCCM-IH which held 20% shareholding in Kansanshi Copper and Gold Mine was seeking a pay-out of $1.4billion, which money included its principal share of US$570million, a tax liability of US$260million and interest of US$228million among other claims.

Mr Mwamba however said Dr Musokotwane announced on 6th December 2022 that ZCCM-IH were directed to drop the recovery court cases and the State had engaged the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to discontinue the criminal charges pending against the FQM Directors.

Mr Mwamba said instead of Zambia looking for foreign investment or seeking the return of the discredited Vedanta, Government should help ZCCM-IH, which urgently needed this money to run both KCM and Mopani Copper Mines.

Dr. Musokotwane must explain when First Quantum Minerals will pay ZCCM-IH this colossal sum.