Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Woman's transplanted 'man hands' became lighter and more feminine over time
She had lost both arms below the elbow, in a bus accident

In 2017, Shreya Siddanagowder underwent Asia's first intergender hand transplant.
(Image: © MOHAN Foundation/FaceBook)


By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer


A young woman in India who lost both of her hands in a bus accident received limbs from a darker-skinned male donor. Years later, the skin of her transplanted hands has lightened.

After her accident in 2016, 18-year-old Shreya Siddanagowder's arms were amputated below the elbow. In 2017, she underwent a 13-hour transplant operation performed by a team of 20 surgeons and 16 anesthesiologists, The Indian Express reported on March 7.

Her transplanted hands came from a 21-year-old man who died after a bicycle crash. Over the next year and a half, physical therapy improved Siddanagowder's motor control of her arms and hands, which gradually became leaner than they were at the time of the transplant. But there was another unexpected change: The skin on her new limbs, which had been darker because the donor had a darker complexion, became lighter in color, so that it more closely matched Siddanagowder's skin tone, according to The Indian Express.

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HANDS OF ORLAC HAMMER REMAKE 1960 CHRISTOPHER LEE


Stars: Paul Lukather, Joan Harvey, James Noah Writer/Director: Newt Arnold After a concert pianist loses his hands in a car crash, a surgeon grafts on a pair of a murderer that seem to have a mind of their own! Loosely based on the novel The Hands of Orlac.

The hands of Orlac (1924) is a silent horror directed by the expressionist film maker Robert Wiene. It tell the story of a famous pianist who loses his had in a tragic accident, after a full hand transplant, he finds his new hands have taken on the murderous tendencies of their former owner. The film tell us a lot about the nature of fear, most specifically about the fear of losing your identity, and the fear of losing your free will. For More videos please subscribe or follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/100yearscinema Thanks for watching One Hundred Years of Cinema, I will be writing a video essay about at least one film each year from 1915 onward to track the evolution of film over the last century. Please subscribe and share! Thank you!
Coronavirus: Germany to centralize supply chains, set prices on masks, protective gear
AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

THIS IS WHAT AMERICA CANNOT DO UNDER TRUMP 
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to global shortages of key protective supplies — and fraudsters looking to profit off the desperate need to procure them. Now Berlin is looking at ways to fill the gaps and combat extortion.


As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads globally and cases of the resulting COVID-19 disease multiply exponentially, shortages of surgical masks, as well as N95 and other particle-filtering respirator masks, protective gowns and scrubs, gloves and other key materials have been widely reported at hospitals treating the infected. Already in early February, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the world would soon face a global shortage.

Dieter Wallström, a hospital purchasing manager in northern Bavaria, told the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that in many hospitals he knows of, personnel are becoming "so desperate that they are buying nearly everything." The result of this, he said, is that already, "The market is going berserk, and the prices are becoming inflationary."

Wolfgang Appelstiel and Olaf Berse, who head the nationwide hospital supplier Clinicpartner, agree. The group, which supplies some 400 hospitals and clinics across Germany, has already seen a flood of dubious suppliers offering up all sorts of products, possibly counterfeit. "It is the Wild West" of purchasing, Berse told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The scope of the problem is wide enough that even Germany's foreign intelligence agency, BND, has warned that the risks to the health care sector due to "intransparent delivery chains" cannot be underestimated, according to media reports.

Read more: German doctors lay down life-or-death guidelines

Desperate times

The shortages have already become apparent at many clinics and hospitals in Germany, whose health system usually ranks as among the world's best. Many procurement directors have reported having no choice but to attempt to sterilize and re-use masks as they search desperately for suppliers.

But those supplying key products amid a pandemic may not all be on the level. There have been widespread reports of fake protective gear being sold, or the legitimate products simply disappearing before arrival — stolen by unscrupulous thieves looking to resell them at astronomical profits.

Read more: Europol warns against coronavirus scams

Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, reported that one European firm ordered some €6.6 million ($7.3 million) worth of protective masks and disinfection gel from a company in Singapore — which never arrived. Likewise, a German government shipment of millions of masks from Kenya never turned up. And the Netherlands recently recalled millions of defective masks bought from China.

The market has been flooded with "counterfeit health and sanitary products" and even phony medications, said the police agency. In just one coordinated operation between March 3 and 10, Europol confiscated 34,000 counterfeit surgical masks.

Health Ministry steps in

Now, in light of calls for a central procurement authority, the German government has started an open process for tenders that would bypass administrative hurdles and speed up delivery. Under the process, suppliers must be able to supply a minimum of 25,000 pieces of either masks or gear, guarantee a minimum quality standard and arrange for delivery.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for "other approaches and new partners" in order to better equip health care workers. On Sunday, Spahn confirmed to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that his ministry was scaling up to nationwide procurement.

"We want to protect as best we can doctors, care workers, and all those who work in health entities. That is why we are purchasing medical protective gear at the federal government level and supplying it to all states and public health associations."

Spahn said that the approach would guarantee that, "We are offering fair, firm prices for all domestic and international suppliers of protective masks and gear."

German parliamentarian and health expert Karl Lauterbach, who had called for the measures, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters WDR and NDR on Sunday that the measures were necessary, but he called for the government to go even further.

He said Berlin must "immediately establish a federal agency and task it with production and distribution" across Germany. The urgency and scale of the crisis "is not something that the market can solve," he said.


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Will Germans trade privacy for coronavirus protection?

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Date 30.03.2020
Author Kyra Levine
Related Subjects Coronavirus
Keywords masks, COVID-19, coronavirus, protective gear
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Berlin opens first hostel for the homeless amid coronavirus pandemic

Berlin is opening its first-ever hostel for homeless people. People living on the streets are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.


Berlin on Wednesday will open its first ever hostel for homeless people as the city seeks to keep the deadly coronavirus from spreading to this vulnerable demographic.

The hostel in Berlin's central Tiergarten district will host up to 200 people and will cater to all nationalities, spokesman for Berlin's social services administration Stefan Strauß said Tuesday.

Each room will have a maximum occupancy of two. There will also be a separate floor with 20 beds reserved specifically for woman.

In recent weeks, associations supporting the homeless had called for hotels and hostels to open their doors to Germany's homeless.

Those affected were informed about the hostel on Tuesday.

If more beds are needed, 150 more spots will be made available in a former office building that is already in use by an association helping the homeless, Strauß said. At that location there is the possibility of using an entire floor as a quarantine station if necessary.

Thus far, there are no known cases of COVID-19 among Berlin's homeless population.

Read more: Solidarity: How the coronavirus makes us more willing to help

Avoiding a 'catastrophe'

Other initiatives to help the homeless during the outbreak have been recorded around Germany. In the city of Hanau in Hesse, a Christian organization has established a "donation fence": people can leave bags for homeless people filled with food, hygiene products, and clothing hanging on the fence of a church in the center of town.

The federal association Wohnungslosenhilfe, which helps homeless people in Germany, said that a coronavirus outbreak among the homeless population would be a "catastrophe."

"When the coronavirus infection reaches this community, there is the risk of a catastrophe that I don't even want to describe," said the organization's director Werena Rosenke.

Many homeless people are at higher risk of catching and having complications from the virus due to pre-existing medical conditions, she said.

Organizations needs more space and additional rooms to keep people spaced out at a safe distance, she added. Other resources are also need as well, including face masks, disinfectant gel, hand soap, and protective clothing.

"I hope we get these things before the situation escalates," she said.

Services for the homeless have also taken a hit as many of the volunteers that keep the programs running are older and are themselves at a higher risk of having complications should they become infected.

"Organizations helping the homeless need to be considered part of Germany's critical infrastructure," Rosenke said.

Recent federal figures estimate that there are around 678,000 homeless people living in Germany.

kp/aw (epd,kna)

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to global shortages of key protective supplies — and fraudsters looking to profit off the desperate need to procure them. Now Berlin is looking at ways to fill the gaps and combat extortion.


Date 31.03.2020
Related Subjects Berlin, Germany, Coronavirus
Keywords coronavirus, homeless, Berlin
Send us your feedback.
Print Print this page
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3aGVL
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Antarctica: Creature 'never seen before’ spotted during dive below ice exposed

ANTARCTICA divers made an exceptional discovery after heading below the surface of the frozen desert during a documentary.


By CALLUM HOARE Thu, Mar 19, 2020

More than 1,000 scientists are positioned on the icy continent, where temperatures drop below -90C, to study climate change and the history of Earth. The barren landscape gives them access to an unspoilt world, where they can complete their research without intrusion from any third parties. But, sometimes they also head below the ice, to take a peak into an ecosystem untouched in millennia, and Advexon’s “Under the Ice” documentary revealed some of the incredible things that happen when they do.

The series said in 2004: “These cliffs are the next dive site, but it is too far from McMurdo station for the team to use a drilling rig.

“But Christian, Rob and Dale use just about every portable tool known to man to get through the ice.

The team then cut a hole in the ice using a number of instruments, before diving below the surface.

But when they got there, they spotted something incredible.
 
The team made a bizarre find below the ice (Image: GETTY/YOUTUBE)


The team cut into the ice (Image: YOUTUBE)

This is a type of sea star that they have never seen before

Under the Ice

The series added: “This is a type of sea star that they have never seen before.

“It’s using its long arms to pick plankton out of the water as the current moves past.

“This crinoid, a relative of the sea star, is fly casting for plankton on.

“On the surface, Rob keeps the hole clear and has no idea that below him, Dale is having one of the most memorable dives of his life.”

The documentary then revealed an incredible phenomenon the team witnessed below the surface.

READ MORE: Antarctica shock: Bizarre 'creature' discovered 740 metres below ice revealed
Some bizarre creatures were uncovered (Image: YOUTUBE)
Antarctica: Bizarre 'creature' found 740m below ice

It added: “He is witnessing the effects created when snow from these cliffs melts and sinks beneath the cracks in the rocks.

“Under the surface, the freshwater seeping back out from the rocks are frozen by the colder seawater, it looks like a frozen waterfall.

“The sunshine has been feeding energy to algae, which is turning green and golden.

“Soon the algae will bloom in the water and end the season by ruining the visibility, but for now, it’s just plain beautiful.”
 
The ecosystem has been untouched in thousands of years (Image: YOUTUBE)
The divers were stunned by the finds (Image: YOUTUBE)

TRENDING
Moon landing shock: Neil Armstrong’s bizarre ‘cryptic’ message exposed

However, the team did have a warning over Antarctica.

They noted: “On a slope below Mount Erebus, a glacier flows to the sea from the thick ice in the interior.

“In some ages of the Earth’s history, Antarctica’s ice has flowed completely away.

“Today, scientists are studying this ice, trying to learn whether it is growing or shrinking and why.

“This simple and precarious balance between what is frozen and what is not affecting everyone on Earth.”
Coronavirus in sewage foreshadowed outbreak in Dutch city
Scientists say they found the virus that causes COVID-19 in a Dutch city's waste water before the first confirmed case in the city. They hope that sewage surveillance may be an early indicator of COVID-19's presence.


Researchers in the Netherlands said on Monday that the pathogen that causes COVID-19 was present in the sewage system of a Dutch city weeks before the first cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the same city through testing.

The research indicates that sewage surveillance could be a useful tool in detecting whether coronavirus is present in a population before testing patients.

Traces of the virus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are present in the feces of many infected people. This means that testing wastewater for the pathogen can be a good way to determine whether coronavirus is present in a population.

Gertjan Medema and colleagues at the KWR Water Research Institute in Nieuwegein tested wastewater in seven Dutch cities as well as the waste water of Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

Samples taken from a wastewater plant in Amersfoort, near Utrecht, show that the virus was present in the sewage on March 5, weeks before any cases were reported in the city. The first cases in the Netherlands were confirmed on February 27.

Read more: From bats to pangolins, how do viruses reach us?

Sewage surveillance could predict COVID-19 circulation

"It is important to collect information about the occurrence and fate of this new virus in sewage to understand if there is no risk to sewage workers, but also to determine if sewage surveillance could be used to monitor the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in our communities," Medema wrote in the paper.

Sewage surveillance has been previously used to detect the presence of poliovirus and drug prevalence in populations. The KWR Institute is confident their research could be beneficial in tracking the spread of COVID-19.

"Our sewage screening can help to get a better picture of the virus circulation," they wrote on their website. "When the current peak (hopefully it will stay as flat as possible!) is over, sewage screening also helps to detect early — possibly [in the] coming winter — if the virus circulation is increasing."

The preliminary paper was published ahead of peer review on the website medRxiv, which prints preliminary reports of work before certification. The website stresses that reports published there "should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information."

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MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES FORM TO COMBAT COVID-19

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