Kenyan Too wins Dublin City Marathon, Cibanu takes Irish title
Kenya's Eluid Too en route to victory. Picture: Ray McManus/SPORTSFILE
Kenya’s Eliud Too claimed this year’s SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon in blustery conditions this morning.
The 31-year-old Kenyan steeplechase champion, taking part in his second marathon, took the tape in two hours 14 minutes and 47 seconds, nine clear of countryman Paul Koech Kimutai.
“The course was very tough and it was very windy, we were in a block with about six guys until about 25 kilometres. I decided to break away at 25 kilometres” Too said afterwards.
Defending women’s champion Maria McCambridge took the silver medal just four seconds behind race winner Kenya’s Esteher Macharia.
Maria McCambridge after coming second in the women's race. Picture: Donall Farmer/INPHO
Dundrum South Dublin athlete McCambridge made a surprise move for home just after half way and got into a battle with eventual race winner Kenya’s Ester Macharia.
McCambridge took over 60 seconds off her personal best, but it wasn’t enough as 27-year-old Macharia held out in a spring to the line.
“It’s a happy disappointment” admitted McCambridge afterwards. “On the last mile I just said to myself give it everything, I closed my eyes and headed for home.”
“The wind was so bad I could hardly see correctly, it was blowing my contacts back” joked McCambridge.
“I just thought drive hard, because (Macharia) won’t know about the back part of the course, but she battled hard and was a good winner.”
“I’m in the best shape I’ve been in and I knew I could mix it at international level” admitted 42 year old McCambridge afterwards.
Moldovan international Sergiu Ciobanu who competes for Dublin club Clonliffe Harreirs took the Irish title finishing fifth overall in 2:21:01.
Sergio Cibanu. Picture: Ray McManus/SPORTSFILE
Ciobanu, who is awaiting the formalities of Irish citizenship finished over 100 seconds clear of Athlone man Barry Minnock with Rathfarnham club mate Eoin Flynn taking bronze.
McCambridge took the Irish title with Tullamore’s 2008 Olympian Pauline Curley taking bronze and Dublin athlete Ailish Malone taking bronze.
A general view of the marathon. Picture: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Over 14,000 people from 47 countries were taking part in today's race, the 35th running of the event.
Results:
Men’s:
1.Eliud Too – Kenya – 2:14:47
2.Paul Koech Kimutai – Kenya - 2:14:56
3.Dmitry Safonov – Russia – 2:15:12
Irish Men
1. Segiu Ciobanu – Clonliffe Harriers – 2:21:01
2. Barrry Minnock – Rathfarnham WSAF – 2:22:42
3. Eoin Flynn – Rathfarnham WSAF – 2:25:25
Women’s
1.Ester Macharia – Kenya – 2:34:15
2. Maria McCambridge – Ireland – 3:34:19
3.Meseret Godana – Ethopia – 2:38:53
Irish Women
1. Maria McCambridge – Dundrum South Dublin – 2:34:19
2. Pauline Curley – Tullamore – 2:48:02
3. Ailish Malone – Clonliffe Harriers - 2:48:48
Source: breakingnews.ie
Maine state police dispatched to back nurse's quarantine
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, however, said Wednesday that Hickox has been "unwilling" to follow state protocols and that he will seek legal authority to enforce the quarantine.
The governor's office said state police were stationed outside her home "for both her protection and the health of the community."
"We hoped that the healthcare worker would voluntarily comply with these protocols, but this individual has stated publicly she will not abide by the protocols," LePage said in a statement on the governor's website.
"We are very concerned about her safety and health and that of the community," he said. "We are exploring all of our options for protecting the health and well-being of the healthcare worker, anyone who comes in contact with her, the Fort Kent community and all of Maine. While we certainly respect the rights of one individual, we must be vigilant in protecting 1.3 million Mainers, as well as anyone who visits our great state."
Hickox, according to her attorney, had only agreed to remain home for two days after traveling from New Jersey on Monday.
The nurse for Doctors Without Borders was the first person pulled aside at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday under new state regulations after her return from Sierra Leone, where she was working with Ebola patients.
After speaking out publicly, Hickox was allowed to leave for Maine, where health officials have said they expect her to agree to be quarantined for a 21-day period, The Bangor Daily News reports.
Hickox said she believes the quarantine policy is "not scientifically nor constitutionally just."
"If the restrictions placed on me by the state of Maine are not lifted by Thursday morning, I will go to court to fight for my freedom," she says.
Her attorney, Steven Hyman, told CNN Wednesday that his client had received no mandatory orders and that "the next step is up to Maine."
"The only reason that there is a cry for quarantine is because the political side has decided that it would just be better if she stayed home and lost her civil right so we could all feel more comfortable, which is not supported by any medical evidence," Hyman said.
Without naming Hickox specifically, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said Tuesday evening that the state has the authority to seek a court order to compel quarantine for individuals deemed a public health risk.
"We have made the determination that out of an abundance of caution, this is a reasonable, common-sense approach to remove additional risk and guard against a public health crisis in Maine," said Mayhew, WLBZ-TV reports. She did not mention Hickox by name.
Hickox's high-profile campaign from isolation in New Jersey, including a first-personaccount in The Dallas Morning News, underscored the shifting response to the Ebola crisis by state and federal authorities.
On Friday, New York Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan of mandatory quarantine for health care workers back from Africa who had been exposed to Ebola but showed no symptoms.
It was in part a reaction to the case of Craig Spencer, a New York City physician who tested positive for Ebola, but acknowledged he had left his apartment and moved around the city just before experiencing Ebola symptoms.
Saying they couldn't rely on voluntary self-reporting, the governors pronounced themselves resolved to err on the side of caution and monitor people such as Spencer under confinement. Cuomo, however, quickly eased those rules, allowing such health care workers to self-quarantine at home.
The White House also weighed in, saying it had conveyed concerns to the governors of New York and New Jersey that their stringent quarantine policies were "not grounded in science" and would hamper efforts to recruit volunteers to fight the epidemic in Africa. Christie said he had not heard from the White House before the plan was announced.
After the uproar in New Jersey, Hickox was allowed to leave on Monday, but Christie insisted that it did not represent a change of policy.
"I didn't reverse any decision," he said Tuesday. "She hadn't had any symptoms for 24 hours. And she tested negative for Ebola. So there was no reason to keep her. The reason she was put into the hospital in the first place was because she was running a high fever and was symptomatic."
"If people are symptomatic they go into the hospital," Christie said. "If they live in New Jersey, they get quarantined at home. If they don't, and they're not symptomatic, then we set up quarantine for them out of state. But if they are symptomatic, they're going to the hospital."
Hickox told The Dallas Morning News that her brief fever spike, recorded by a forehead scanner at the airport, was the result of being flushed and angry over her confinement and that an oral temperature reading at the same time showed her to be normal.
5TH ANNUAL EAST AFRICAN HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OPENS IN KAMPALA, UGANDA
5TH ANNUAL EAST AFRICAN HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OPENS IN KAMPALA, UGANDA
...President Museveni Commends Partner States on Regional Centers of Excellence in the Health Sector
East African Community Headquarters, Kampala, Uganda, 25 March 2015: Uganda's Vice President His Excellency Edward Ssekandi this morning represented HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the official opening of the 5th Annual East African Health and Scientific Conference and International Health Exhibition and Trade Fair at the Kampala Serena Hotel in Uganda.
In a statement read by his Vice, President Museveni commended the EAC Secretariat and the Partner States for initiating the process of establishing Regional Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the Health sector namely Nephrology and Urology in the Republic Kenya, Oncology in the Republic of Uganda, Cardiovascular in the United Republic of Tanzania and Biomedical Engineering and eHealth in the Republic of Rwanda.
He said this initiative will enhance EAC Competitiveness through highly skilled health workforce in biomedical sciences and also enable the East African citizens access quality and specialized services within the region.
The first phase of the project is expected to cost USD 72.75 million and will be supported by the African Development Bank. The CoEs are expected to deliver high quality and skilled personnel in the specialized fields and reduce medical tourism, which costs EAC Governments an estimated of USD 150 million annually for treatment of Non-Communicable Diseases abroad.
At the same occasion, the Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community in charge of the Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Jesca Eriyo, who represented the Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, informed the delegates that there was strong evidence that an investment in people's health was a key asset for society and for the economy as a whole.
"As you may be aware, the Health sector is also leading in creating Job opportunities and a driver of innovation and technology" noted Hon. Eriyo, adding that "As such, health systems strengthening have an important role in achieving Millennium Development Goals to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth in the Health Sector and Economy at Large.
The Deputy Secretary reiterated that the overarching goal of the EAC Health Sector Programme was to establish and sustain stronger regional health systems including health research institution. In this regard, the EAC official informed the delegates that, the Protocol for Establishment of the East African Community Health Research Commission (EACHRC) had been ratified by all the five Partner States and instruments of ratification have already been deposited with the EAC Headquarters.
She disclosed that the EAC Council of Ministers and the East African Legislative Assembly had already appropriated USD 924,067 in the EAC Budget for the current financial year (FY 2014/2015) to facilitate operationalization of the East African Health Research Commission in the Republic of Burundi.
Hon. Eriyo also disclosed that the Community had developed scorecard, tools and indicators to track results and resources through the open health initiative (OHI) and that a regional data warehouse for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and nutrition had been developed and plans were underway to expand and include data for communicable and non-communicable diseases surveillance in order to strengthen integrated approaches for disease prevention, control and management.
Uganda's Minister of Health, Dr Ellioda Tumwesigye informed the delegates that Uganda was proud to host the conference, which was providing an opportunity and a platform for synthesizing, sharing and dissemination of research findings to inform policy makers and programmers on evidence-based decision-making and mobilization of political will and resources for the Health Sector.
Burundi's Minister in the office of the President Responsible for EAC Affairs Hon. Leontine Nzeyimana saluted the EAC Partner States for initiating the Annual East African Health and Scientific Conference and International Health Exhibition, and informed the delegates that her country had initiated several measures geared towards mother and child care which includes, among others, free treatment for mothers and children under the age of 5.
Zanzibar's Minister of Health Hon. Rashid Seif Suleiman said strengthening health care services especially primary health care in the rural areas was very critical in the region and that investing in infrastructure, human resources, diagonistic services in medicine was good but most important of all was how to deliver the health care services to the people in the region.
Health and Social Welfare Deputy Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Dr. Kebwe Stephen Kebwe, who is also the Chairperson of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for Health, informed the conference that globally, 2015 was a special year for the health sector in taking stock of what had been achieved during the MDGs of which 3 goals (MDG 4, 5 and 6) were health related.
He said the Conference was an opportunity for the region to re-align itself to the post 2015 era with regard to the health sector. "As we review the progress made to date and share experiences in this conference, it is important that we renew our commitment towards enhancing health sector investments, strengthening of health systems and the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in the EAC", affirmed the Chairperson of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for Health.
He noted that the momentum on regional cooperation had reached a point of no return and the Partner States were working more closely than ever before to improve public health. "Apart from developing robust policies, we are implementing various provisions of the Common Market Protocol which seeks to enhance free movement of people, capital, services and goods across the region, thereby improving the environment for doing business in the health sector and beyond".
The Conference, themed Investing in Health through strengthening regional health systems, and institutions towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, is being attended by over 700 stakeholders.
Is honey good for diabetic people?
Dear Doctor: I am diabetic and I have been taking honey instead of sugar. Is it recommended? Mikairi Kabwijamu
Dear Mikairi: Diabetes is a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too high, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or because the body tissues do not respond properly to the insulin that has been produced.
This results in too much glucose building up in the blood and body, leading to fat being used for much of the energy needs. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body through urine, sweat and saliva. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements.
Much as honey is superior to ordinary sugar, it is not suitable for diabetic people because it raises blood sugar.
Any food that pushes too much sugar quickly into blood should be avoided by diabetic people. Ordinary sugar is broken down into smaller sugars, glucose and fructose, which are then absorbed by the body to reach the blood stream. Honey contains the same sugars, fructose and glucose, which are immediately absorbed, causing a rise in blood sugar.
Honey is good at raising blood sugar when a person has low blood sugar due to the diabetic drugs they are taking.
Honey should therefore be on the shelves of people with diabetes since low blood sugar is dangerous and can cause death within a short period of time if not urgently managed.
Dear Doctor: Why do I develop diarrhoea whenever I am in my periods? I also suffer from a lot of pain. Alfonsina Mbabazize
Dear Alfonsina: Periods result from the shedding of the inner lining of the womb, so that it is replaced by a new one in preparation for pregnancy. To shed and expel this membrane in the form of a period, substances produced locally in the membrane called prostaglandins are helpful.
These substances contract the womb, causing abdominal pain. When these prostaglandins leak into the general blood circulation, they may cause a myriad of symptoms including headache and vomiting. Prostaglandins also trigger contractions in the bowels, resulting in diarrhoea, especially during the first few days of the period.
Over-the-counter drugs that reduce prostaglandin production, such as ibuprofen, can help stop the diarrhoea. These drugs should, however, not be taken as a prevention method because of the associated side effects such as inducing peptic ulcers.
A diet rich in kalo, bread and white rice can also prevent the diarrhoea.
Dear Doctor: I ate fish and the bone got stuck in my throat. I took a lot of water but this was not helpful. I have now developed stomach pain, and I think it is the bone that is piercing me. Do I need an operation? I want to stop eating fish.
Isaac Newton Gunda
Dear Isaac: Fish is a nutritious food which you should not abandon just because a fishbone got stuck in your throat. Eating fish requires a person to be alert so that they do not risk swallowing any sharp bones.
Many people usually eat a banana to slide a fishbone down the throat, which is better than using water.
Once the bone leaves the throat and enters the stomach, it gets digested by acid and the piercing pains you are feeling could be as a result of fear, and not necessarily the presence of the bone in the stomach.
It is only in a few circumstances, such as taking drugs for peptic ulcers, that stomach acid production (omeprazole) is likely to affect the digestion of fishbone, with the likelihood of it (the fishbone) escaping the acid stomach.
This bone may then pierce the intestines and cause obstruction.
Please visit a doctor who may do an x-ray of the abdomen to see if the bone is still in the stomach.
Dear Doctor: Does natural family planning involve the use of herbs? How effective are they (herbs) in family planning?
Dear Zura: Abstaining from sex during the fertile period to prevent pregnancy is called natural family planning. This is the method of family planning which is agreeable to some religious beliefs.
To use it successfully, however, a woman needs to calculate her fertile period and avoid sex during that time.
Body temperature and changes in cervical mucus are also some methods used to calculate a fertile period. Because of illiteracy in some cases, women do not have the courage to deny their husbands (who rarely participate in family planning) sex during their fertile periods. As a result, it becomes difficult to practice the natural family planning method.
Many women use the lactation amenorrhea method, where they are advised to exclusively breastfeed every three hours. This method, however, is only effective for the first six months after birth.
The benefit of using herbs as a family planning method may not be known because there are different types that women use. However, it is not advisable to use herbs since their effectiveness and side effects are not known.
Ebola Bullies Shun African Immigrants in Schoolyard Panic
In Staten Island, a 6-year-old who used to be proud to call himself Liberian now hesitates because of the teasing. His mother, Oretha Bestman-Yates, who had visited family in Africa last summer, was forced to go on unpaid leave at her hospital job, according to the New York Post.
And in Texas, where Thomas Duncan died and two healthcare workers contracted the Ebola virus, children of African families who were born in this country have been questioned by school authorities.
“A neighbor of mine said her daughter was called to the principal’s office to ask when she was last home,” said Carolyn Woahloe, 33 of Fort Worth. “She was born here, but has an African accent.”
The 13-year-old’s family was from Ghana, where there have been no reported cases. “We joke and laugh about it because she educated the principal that Ebola is not in every African country,” she told NBC News.
“You have to educate people,” said Woahloe, who is president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Liberian Nurses Association.
“The stigma is there,” she said. “Kids go to school and because they have African parents, a lot of their classmates make fun of them, their accents and how they dress.”
Woahloe's 10-year-old was born in the United States and attends a school with “lots of diversity,” she said. “He hasn’t really felt any discrimination, but he says, ‘I feel really bad for the African children.’ I say, ‘What do you think you are?’”
So far, only four people have been diagnosed in the United States with Ebola, a disease that has killed nearly 5,000 in the Western African countries of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the outbreak earlier this year, according to the World Health Organization.
The WHO says Ebola has been contained in Senegal, from which Ousame Drame, the father of the boys who were beaten Oct. 24 in New York City, had recently immigrated.
Charles Cooper, who is president of the African Advocacy Council in New York, said he was “shocked” to hear of the beatings and called for the Bronx school to take action.
The sixth-grader was punched and kicked the concrete first and when he screamed for help, his brother ran across the playground to help and was also attacked, according to Cooper.
“We have been hearing lots of stories and I am glad this family came forward to ask for help,” Cooper said. “This is affecting the African economy in New York City. They’ve lost a lot of business because their usual customers don’t want to go to them.”
The boys’ father said his sons had been bullied for several weeks before the incident.
“Eventually, a staff member realized what had happened and grabbed them,” Cooper told NBC News. “The injuries were so severe they were bleeding with knocks on their heads and on their arms and legs. They were kicking and punching them and they were screaming.”
New York City’s Department of Education had this response to the incident Monday: “…we are investigating and we take this matter very seriously. DOE school safety staff are on site today to mediate this incident and ensure the
safety and support of these students, school staff and their families.”
Other predominantly African communities say they have not seen the kind of bullying incidents that occurred in New York City and elsewhere. Samuel Sampson, president of the Liberation Nurses Association of Minnesota, said his group has launched an awareness campaign to preempt any hate crimes.
“Folks are coming in every day from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but we don’t have to treat them like second-class citizens,” said Sampson. “And kids going to school don’t have to be disrespected just because they are African immigrants.”
Black tea, citrus consumption 'could lower ovarian cancer risk'
The researchers, from the University of East Anglea (UEA) in the UK, publish their results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
According to the team, ovarian cancer affects over 6,500 women in the UK and 20,000 women in the US each year. Epithelial ovarian cancer - the most common form of the disease - is where the cancer begins in the surface layer covering the ovary.
This type of cancer "remains a highly lethal malignancy," note the researchers, adding that few modifiable risk factors have been established.
However, some previous studies have suggested that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may be associated with a decreased risk, but subsequent studies have produced inconsistent findings.
Plants contain flavonoids that adjust key cellular signaling pathways and regulate cancer-inflammation pathways, note the team, which suggests flavonoids might be the compounds in plants that could reduce ovarian cancer risk.
Flavonoids include flavonols - found in tea, red wine, apples and grapes - and flavanones - found in citrus fruit and juices.
'Just a couple cups of black tea daily linked with a 31% reduction in risk'
To further investigate the link between flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk, the researchers studied dietary habits of 171,940 women aged between 25-55 as part of the Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II over the course of 3 decades.
"This is the first large-scale study looking into whether habitual intake of different flavonoids can reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer," says lead author Prof. Aedin Cassidy, from UEA's Norwich Medical School.
To calculate the participants' dietary intake, the researchers analyzed validated food-frequency questionnaires that were collected every 4 years and found that main dietary sources of flavonols were black tea (31%), onions (20%) and apples, while the main sources for flavanones were citrus fruit (36%; 27% from orange intake) and juices (63%; 54% from orange juice).
During the 16-22 years of follow-up, the researchers found that there were a total of 723 cases of medically confirmed ovarian cancer.
Results show that participants who had the highest intakes of flavonol and flavanone had a lower risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer than those who had the lowest intakes.
Sleeping with more than 20 women in a lifetime linked to lower prostate cancer risk
The research team, from the University of Montreal's School of Public Health in Canada, publish their findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.
According to the researchers, the link between sexual activity and prostate cancer risk remains controversial. Some studies have associated high sexual activity with a greater risk of the disease, while others have suggested the opposite.
In this study, the team set out to determine whether the number of sexual partners men have throughout their lifetime influences their risk of prostate cancer.
They analyzed 3,208 men who were part of the Prostate Cancer & Environment Study (PROtEuS) in Montreal, Canada. Of these, 1,590 were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2005 and 2009, while the remaining 1,618 men were free of the disease.
As part of this study, all men were required to complete a questionnaire that asked about their sexual activity, as well as sociodemographic, environmental and lifestyle factors.
28% lower prostate cancer risk among men who slept with more than 20 women
The team was not surprised to find that men who had a relative with prostate cancer were twice as likely to have the disease themselves. A family history of prostate cancer is a well-established risk factor.
However, the researchers found that a man's prostate cancer risk also appeared to be influenced by the number of sexual partners he had in his lifetime.
Men who reported never having a sexual partner were twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than those who reported having sexual partners.
However, the team found that men who had slept with more than 20 women in their lives had a 28% lower risk of developing all types of prostate cancer and a 19% lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer, compared with those who had slept with fewer than 20 women.
