| A prayer for an elephant
The Victoria Falls are one of Africa's greatest natural wonders. But as tourism and political instability change the face of the region, the thundering waters are becoming a treacherous spot for the local pachyderms.
BY ROD NORDLAND,
NewsweekApril 13, 2007
April 13, 2007 - They say an elephant never forgets. But the one who tried to cross the Zambezi on Good Friday would have had to be very old to remember the last time he saw the river running this high. And as he picked his way across from Zimbabwe, swimming from island to island along an ancient elephant corridor, a changed world was waiting on the Zambia side of the border as well: a sprawling five-star hotel along the banks in the national park. With poachers and hunters at his back, and tourists sipping sundowners ahead, the elephant foundered and was washed downstream, plunging over the 130-meter-high (about 430 feet) Victoria Falls, Africa's mightiest cataract.
Department of Health funding for mental health and hospitals
The Department of Health has announced £45m in funding for 29 important and substantial research programmes as part of the National Institute for Health Research into areas such as mental health, medicines for children, diabetes, stroke, and dementias, neurodegenerative diseases and neurology.
The programmes of research aim to increase understanding of how to manage and treat these types of diseases more effectively, develop new treatments and help prevent ill health developing in the first place. This new government funding will improve health outcomes for patients in England with particular emphasis on conditions that cause chronic distress to patients and that are a significant issue for the NHS to manage. It will also enable NHS trusts to tackle areas of high priority for patients.
Teen undergoes surgery after mower shoots wire into abdomen
A Ceres teen underwent emergency surgery Thursday afternoon after a piece of metal coat hanger was shot into his abdomen as he was mowing the grass. “That thing nearly went through him like a bullet," said Brian Weber, Fire Division commander of the Ceres Department of Public Safety. The 17-year-old boy was mowing grass at A&L Products in the 1900 block of Kinser. The boy was wearing protective eye goggles and earplugs but inadvertently ran over the piece of metal when the blade picked it up. Weber said the metal shot through the grass catcher bag, and through several layers of shirt before puncturing his abdomen. “He didn't realize how bad it was nor did his mom," said Weber. The boy was first taken to the HealthWorks facility on Mitchell Road where doctors realized that the metal went in deep near his navel.
Study: Better IOL exchange results with sulcus or capsular bag ...
Secondary implantation of an IOL in either the sulcus or the capsular bag during the exchange of opacified Hydroview IOLs resulted in significantly better visual outcomes than placing the lens in the anterior chamber, a prospective study found. Rasha Altaie, FRCSI(Ophth), and colleagues at Waterford Regional Hospital, Ireland, evaluated outcomes for 73 eyes of 71 patients treated with IOL exchange for opacified Hydroview IOLs (Bausch & Lomb) at an average of 36.64 months after their primary cataract surgery. When possible, surgeons implanted the secondary IOL in the capsular bag. In cases of posterior capsular rupture or inadequate capsular support, surgeons instead placed the lens in either the sulcus or the anterior chamber, according to the study. At 13 months mean follow-up, investigators noted a significant improvement in mean best corrected visual acuity, with 40 eyes (54.8%) achieving 6/12 or better, the authors reported.
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