Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in London conducted an epidemiological study using data from 32,957 individuals to explore the correlation between air pollution and lung cancer. The team also utilized mouse models to determine the underlying cellular processes. The term PM is used to describe a mixture of small solid and liquid particles found in the air, and fine particles such as PM2.5 and PM0.1 are the most concerning regarding their harmful effects on health.

Exposure to pollution is associated with an increased incidence of lung cancer, and the fine particles, particularly PM2.5, can penetrate deep into the lungs. The team investigated the correlation between PM2.5 exposure and the frequency of lung cancer in 32,957 individuals with an EGFR gene mutation from four countries. They found that increasing levels of PM2.5 were associated with a higher incidence of EGFR-mutant lung cancer. Exposure to high levels of pollution for three years was sufficient to trigger cancer development. The researchers used mouse models to explore the cellular processes involved.

They found that PM2.5 appears to trigger the release of immune cells and pro-inflammatory signaling molecules in lung cells, exacerbating inflammation and promoting tumor progression in EGFR and KRAS cancer models. Blocking the pro-inflammatory signaling molecule was found to prevent EGFR-driven cancer development. The study suggests that PM2.5 could act as a tumor promoter, exacerbating existing cancer mutations. Understanding this relationship could help prevent cancer and emphasize the need to address air quality as a public health priority.

Dr Charles recommended that people who are infected should seek medical care

View the full post Outbreak of gastroenteritis and acute respiratory infections on NOW Grenada.

The University of Guyana (UG), now in its 60th year, is set to host its 2nd Diaspora  Conference at the Turkeyen Campus, Greater Georgetown, Guyana, during the period  May 8-10, 2023 under the theme “Calling 592: Honouring, Researching, Reigniting  Diaspora.” The Diaspora Conference is one of several signature events being hosted by the  University this ...

The GCPI is funded through 5% of Grenlec’s pretax profits to improve the quality of life of communities in which the Company operates

View the full post Care institutions thankful for annual Grenlec grants on NOW Grenada.

Local officials are calling on Barbadians to use the state-issued roll-out garbage cart and recycling bins correctly especially in light of a reported increase in the rat problem on the island.

Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer Ronald Chapman told Barbados TODAY that ministry officials were very concerned with the way some Barbadians were using the new collection carts, which are part of the Residential Waste Collection Improvement Project. 

“What we have been finding is that persons have been keeping the bins at their premises and continuing to put the garbage next to the street and at the curb. This has been causing us a spot of bother, because those bins are constructed in such a way, that they do not allow for rodents to get in, [and] they are hard enough that the rodents can not gnaw through them.

“When persons continue to use the old plastic bins, the 65 gallon drums with the holes at the bottom, or continue to put the garbage next to the road, then they provide sufficient food for the rodents because now the feral chickens pick it out, the dogs pull it out, and the rats have a feast,” Chapman said.   

Though communities around the island have access to these new bins, Chapman charged that some residents were refusing to use them for garbage-collecting purposes, and even went as far as just dumping their refuse on the sides of roads, in the hope that it would be collected by the SSA.

“Don’t put the garbage next to the road anymore because the [SSA workers] are not collecting it. It’s just going to sit there next to the road and cause us lots and lots of problems and it makes no sense having these state-of-the-art garbage bins tucked away in your backyard, and then the garbage next to the road, where you have to pass to get into your home.”

He stressed: “This is an issue that is contributing to the number of rodents that we are having here on the island, it is contributing to the fly breeding as well. You get a state-of-the-art bin, use it for what it was intended for, that is to store your refuse until the Sanitation Service Authority can pass and collect it.”

Chapman noted, that while some older members of the society may have difficulty moving the bins from their residences to the corner in areas where SSA trucks cannot easily access, they can leave the bins at the corner where the refuse would be collected. 

“We encourage persons like that to leave the bin at the corner, nobody is going to steal it, everybody has bins. I think some people when they got the bins, they treat them like they are too good for garbage… they are there to put refuse in, and put it in such a way that restricts flies, rodents and other vermin and stops the fowls and dogs from getting to the garbage.

Public Relations Officer with the SSA Carl Padmore, supported Chapman’s comments appealing for a more considerate disposal of garbage.

“We want Barbadians to treat to waste in a decent and sensible manner,” he said. (SB)

The post Concerns over use of bins appeared first on Barbados Today.

By Jenique Belgrave

Former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is not in favor of any plan to relocate Government Headquarters from Bay Street to make room for any future tourism development.

He made this clear while speaking on the current administration’s decision to move the Geriatric Hospital on Beckles Road to the Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael.

“I passed where we are going to have the new Geriatric Hospital so that we can release the land in Beckles Road to private investment. When I was Prime Minister, some people came to Barbados telling me that where Government Headquarters is would be good for tourism development and that the Prime Minister’s office should be moved up to Ilaro Court.

“I said ‘I don’t have any problem with that suggestion, just come back and tell me when the White House is going to be moved in the United States; come back and tell me when Number 10 Downing Street is going to be moved and when 28 Sussex Drive In Canada will be moved and where’. I haven’t heard from any of them since,” he stated.

Saying the island once had the belief that the achievements of its people are important and in need of protection, the former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lamented that now “all life in Barbados today is about transactions” with no concern being given to the societal impact. 

“They do not discuss the social implications of anything going on in Barbados. It is just the bottomline, what the transaction will yield and what it will yield for certain people’s pockets,” he charged.

Speaking at the DLP’s City branch meeting at Baxter’s Road over the weekend, Stuart said the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is failing both residential and commercial Bridgetown. He said that since the current administration came into power there has been no transformation of The City either for those who live there or who work there.

The former prime minister pointed out that while Bridgetown was a bustling hub of commercial activity for 69 years, this has declined significantly over the past decade and that the current government has done little to address it.

Commenting on the residential areas in the capital however, he acknowledged that these have not been given any attention for decades.

“Whenever there is upheaval, residential Bridgetown is not regarded as being deserving of economic attention,” he said, while pointing out that several of its communities including Greenfield, New Orleans, Nelson Street and Chapman Lane are in serious need of development.

“The people in Nelson Street do not want any open space. They want proper housing, proper roads, access to the services and the amenities that people in other areas in Barbados have. People in Greenfield want that, in Chapman Lane and the Orleans want that. Residential Bridgetown has been ignored for the last 77 years,” he said, while pointing out that Barbados could not be developed without its main town.

Stuart told the meeting that now is the time to develop forward-thinking policies to take the nation further.

“We also have to formulate policies to carry Barbados into the future. I do not think that we can credibly formulate any policy to carry Barbados into the future, unless we have policies for residential Bridgetown because for too many years they have been the Cinderellas in City politics, stereotyped as the criminal element…and we cannot credibly come back to the people of Barbados unless we have a policy to rehabilitate residential Bridgetown.”  

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post Former PM not supporting shifting Bay Street offices; bemoans lack of concern for societal impact appeared first on Barbados Today.

Rivera stated that walk-in pools should not be used since they require a significant amount of water. When asked about the risk of cholera associated with these pools, the minister said they would only pose a risk if installed in sectors where previous cases were reported.

He cited the example of La Zurza, where surveillance measures are maintained despite no new infections reported, and where community members continue to bathe despite signs prohibiting it. Rivera reported that, as of Sunday, April 2, only one patient with suspected symptoms was under observation for cholera, and there were no hospitalizations for cholera or COVID-19.

As a result, he said the coverage strategy for Easter would focus on traffic accidents during the holiday, with hospitals in the public network and Farmacias del Pueblo supplied by Promese/Cal and the National Health Service (SNS).

Parents and guardians attending children in the Paediatric Ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital can now spend time in a much more comfortable way.

This is because of the donation of ten adjustable chairs, replacing worn-out ones, by a range of families, individuals and one association in the jurisdiction of the New York Consulate. The chairs were donated in response to a request to Mrs. Treva Holder, wife of Consul General Mackie Holder, from Head of the department, Dr. Angela Jennings. Mrs. Holder coordinated the project and shipment was facilitated by the Consulate General at New York.

The ten chairs were recently officially handed over by Mrs. Holder to Dr. Jennings. The presentation was attended by a number of hospital personnel as well as Earl Phillips, a member of the Barbados Support Group of New York, and a chair donor with his wife Gail.

CG Holder noted that the donation was yet another example of the quick response of the Barbadian community overseas to requests to assist, particularly related to the QEH and education matters. He added that the pledges to assist with the chairs were made within a day of the announcement, but it took some time to source, have them assembled and shipped and on the ward.

Contributions were made by Lestra and Daniel Cox; Earl and Gail Phillips; Alicia Connell, Sonia Clarke and Ira Carrington; Virginia Mayers Holder and Shirley Holder; Dr. Joseph and Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix; Mayor Adrian Mapp; Plainfield Now – Ayiesha Mapp, Amelia Mapp, Adrain Mapp, Beverley Morris-Gill, Jazz Clayton-Hunt; the Barbados Support Group, (BSG), – Alicia Connell, Michelle Brathwaite, Earl Phillips, Leroy Hutchinson (2), and Consul General Mackie Holder and Treva Holder. Each three-position chair bears the name of the donor or donors.

It is intended that all the chairs on the ward will be replaced by the community under the jurisdiction of the NY Consulate. This continues the partnership, which began with Mrs. Holder and Dr. Jennings collaborating on the Care Buddy Project, initiated by Mrs. Holder, which provides all children in paediatrics with stuffed toys.

The Care Buddy programme was extended to children who contracted COVID-19 and now also covers children admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department. (PR)

The post QEH Paediatric Ward gets new chairs courtesy Bajan diaspora appeared first on Barbados Today.

Santo Domingo, DR
On the commemoration yesterday of World Colon Cancer Day, the Dominican Institute of Gastroenterology (INDDEG) reported that at least 148 patients were diagnosed with colon polyps out of 1,073 studies carried out on people from different regions of the country.

These statistics constitute a “very high” prevalence figure, representing 13.7% of the confirmed cases of colon cancer. An investigation carried out between July 2022 and January 2023 by Dr. Eddy Herrera and Dr. Elaine De los Santos, director and deputy director of INDDEG, revealed that the sex most often diagnosed with the disease is female.

However, men are more affected in general. The most frequent anatomical location is rectosigmoid.
The doctors define the disease as any mass or tumor originating in the colon or rectum’s wall or mucosa and protruding into the lumen.

The study “Prevalence of Colonic Polyps in the Dominican Institute of Gastroenterology” assures that the age range where colonic polyps were found is between 40 and 60 years old and warns of the need to look for outlets for early detection to save lives and prevent the diagnosis through healthier lifestyle habits.

A plan which was in place since 2017 has finally been fulfilled and that is the ability to offer elite, emerging and developing athletes a place where their medicals can be done as well as a full sports medicine assessment.
The launch of the programme, which is a collaboration between the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), the Barbados Sports Medicine Association (BSMA) and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Community Empowerment, took place today at the BOA’s headquarters.
Speaking at the launch, president of the BSMA, Dr Carl Ward said that they will initially be catering for around 70 athletes. He said they are trying to offer more to the athletes but it will first start with an assessment clinic.
Ward said athletes will have a comprehensive medical yearly, as well as the medical that they would be required to have before travelling with a team on national duty.
Ward revealed that they will also have a referral system in place to deal with any problems that they may find.
One of the areas which they wish to address is the number of athletes who have been quitting their respective sports due to injuries that have gone untreated.
Another worrying trend which it hopes will be addressed is that of athletes who do not seek out trained professionals due to either financial reasons or lack of knowledge as to where they can find assistance.
Ward hopes that this will be the start of helping the developing and emerging athletes forge a pathway to the elite level regardless of injury.
Minister of Sport, Charles Griffith said that he also wanted some satellite places for the programme so that those who do not have transportation can still benefit from the programme.
However, Ward pointed out that a lack of human resources was the biggest problem with expanding the programme at the moment which is why they were catering for the current numbers.
Griffith voiced his concern that many athletes do not understand the impact that nutrition has on their careers.
He said a lot will now depend on coaches paying attention to and being aware of what is happening in terms of injuries. He also called for a mandate that all national federations be made to educate their coaches as to what is programs are in place.
Griffith also offered some space at the Wildey Gymnasium to help expand their program.
All three entities BMSA, BOA and the Ministry of Sport hope to collaborate in the future with the University of the West Indies.
(CG)

The post Athletes to benefit from new programme appeared first on Barbados Today.