My Science School

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 ºF (37 ºC). Hypothermia (hi-poe-THUR-me-uh) occurs as your body temperature falls below 95 F (35 ºC).

When your body temperature drops, your heart, nervous system and other organs can't work normally. Left untreated, hypothermia can lead to complete failure of your heart and respiratory system and eventually to death.

Hypothermia is often caused by exposure to cold weather or immersion in cold water. Primary treatments for hypothermia are methods to warm the body back to a normal temperature.

When the balance between the body's heat production and heat loss tips toward heat loss for a prolonged period, hypothermia can occur. Accidental hypothermia usually happens after cold temperature exposure without enough warm, dry clothing for protection. Mountain climbers on Mount Everest avoid hypothermia by wearing specialized, high-tech gear designed for that windy, icy environment.

However, much milder environments can also lead to hypothermia, depending on a person's age, body mass, body fat, overall health, and length of time exposed to cold temperatures. A frail, older adult in a 60-degree house after a power outage can develop mild hypothermia overnight. Infants and babies sleeping in cold bedrooms are also at risk.

 

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Heatstroke is a condition caused by your body overheating, usually as a result of prolonged exposure to or physical exertion in high temperatures. This most serious form of heat injury, heatstroke, can occur if your body temperature rises to 104 ºF (40 ºC) or higher. The condition is most common in the summer months.

Heatstroke requires emergency treatment. Untreated heatstroke can quickly damage your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles. The damage worsens the longer treatment is delayed, increasing your risk of serious complications or death.

Heat stroke results from prolonged exposure to high temperatures -- usually in combination with dehydration -- which leads to failure of the body's temperature control system. The medical definition of heat stroke is a core body temperature greater than 104 degrees Fahrenheit, with complications involving the central nervous system that occur after exposure to high temperatures. Other common symptoms include nausea, seizures, confusion, disorientation, and sometimes loss of consciousness or coma.

 

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A mice infestation in your home could give your parents sleepless nights. They would swing into action, setting up traps to get rid of the rodents as quickly as possible. Mice are not only troublesome pests, but also dangerous. They eat away our supplies, damage our books and belongings and make a terrible mess of the house. And they also contaminate food and spread diseases. Now, imagine the plight of residents of rural Australia, which is witnessing the worst plague of mice in decades.

After years of drought, rural New South Wales and parts of Queensland enjoyed a bumper crop due to the recent wet season. But this influx of new produce and grains has led to an explosion in the mouse population. While houses are trapping dozens of these rodents every night, supermarkets tally crosses hundreds. Residents complain of unbearable stink whether the little mammals are alive or dead. Eyewitness videos shared online show thousands of the tiny rodents swarming around farms and streets. It is quite a nightmarish experience for farmers and businesses alike. Some unlucky farmers have lost their entire harvests to the mice. Hotels in the infested areas are closing their doors to visitors. The plague so far has estimated to have cost the businesses upwards of $30,000.

Locals say they started noticing the swarms up north in October 2020, and the wave of rodents has been spreading south ever since, growing to unimaginable proportions. Intensive baiting programmes have so far had little success against the infestation, and locals are hoping for a temperature drop or a heavy rain to drown the mice in their burrows. Efforts to poison the mice are backfiring as their carcasses started appearing in water tanks.

Not uncommon in Australia

The mouse plague has occurred several times throughout parts of Australia, usually in the grain-growing regions. Australia and China are the two countries where plagues of mice are known to occur.

What causes a mouse plague?

The breeding season in mice begins in spring and continues into autumn, given suitable weather conditions. One pair of breeding mice can produce a new litter every three weeks, potentially birthing over 500 offspring in one season. A female mouse reaches sexual maturity in 5 to 6 weeks. When the food supply is abundant the breeding season could extend well into autumn and lead to a population explosion. Most plagues end in July when cold winter conditions stress the population and when food becomes scarce.

 

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With the world's largest vaccination drive going on in the country, you may have heard people mention Co-WIN. What is it?

The government which launched the anti-coronavirus vaccination drive on January 16, 2021, by inoculating frontline and healthcare workers, has extended it in the next phase to senior citizens (those above 60 years) and those aged 45 or older with comorbidities (pre existing health conditions). How can they get vaccinated? First they should register themselves on the anti-coronavirus vaccine registration portal called COWIN

A mobile app

COWIN is a mobile app rolled out by the government to ensure smooth implementation of the vaccination process. Owned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, COWIN is said to be an extension of the eVIN (electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network), which has been used in crucial immunisation programmes across the country. COWIN stands for COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network. The COWIN system identifies target groups, registers beneficiaries, allots vaccine centres subject to availability, and keeps track of the beneficiaries. Not just that, it also keeps track of the vaccines at the national, State and district level on a real-time basis. With every detail uploaded on the digital platform, utilisation, wastage, and coverage of the vaccination campaign can be constantly monitored.

How to register

The COWIN app is meant for administrators, supervisors, and vaccinators, and not for us, the general public. People can register for the anti-COVID vaccination through the COWIN portal http:// www.cowin.gov.in and through the Aarogya Setu app (Remember this app was launched to detect contact tracing when the pandemic broke out?), which has been integrated with the COWIN app. Besides, there is a walk-in provision for people to get themselves registered and vaccinated at the nearest centre.

Registration on the COWIN portal opened on March 1. People need photo identification proof to register - they can use their Aadhaar card, Driving Licence, Voter ID, or PAN card, among others. In the initial days, the app faced some technical glitches. But it is said that they have been taken care of subsequently. Further, it is said that the personal data of beneficiaries stored on COWIN is secure and hence will not be available in the public domain.

The vaccines being administered in the country should be given in two doses. They are being provided free of cost at government vaccination centres, while at private centres, they cost Rs. 250 per dose.

 

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Anemia is defined as a low number of red blood cells. In a routine blood test, anemia is reported as a low hemoglobin or hematocrit. Hemoglobin is the main protein in your red blood cells. It carries oxygen, and delivers it throughout your body. If you have anemia, your hemoglobin level will be low too. If it is low enough, your tissues or organs may not get enough oxygen. 

Anemia affects more than two billion people globally, which is more than 30% of the total population. It is especially common in countries with few resources, but it also affects many people in the industrialized world. Within the U.S., anemia is the most common blood condition. An estimated three million Americans have the disorder.

Anemia can have other affects on your body in addition to feeling tired or cold. Other signs that you might be lacking in iron include having brittle or spoon-shaped nails and possible hair loss. You might find that your sense of taste has changed, or you might experience ringing in your ears.

Different types of anemia may lead to other serious problems. People with sickle cell anemia often have heart and lung complications.

 

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Bloating is a condition where your belly feels full and tight, often due to gas. When you are bloated, you feel as if you’ve eaten a big meal and there is no room in your stomach. Your stomach feels full and tight. It can be uncomfortable or painful. Your stomach may actually look bigger. It can make your clothes fit tighter.

Bloating happens when the GI tract becomes filled with air or gas. This can be caused by something as simple as the food you eat. Some foods produce more gas than others. It can also be caused by lactose intolerance (problems with dairy). 

Your doctor can generally diagnose the cause of your bloating through a physical exam in the office. He or she will ask you questions about your symptoms. They will want to know if your bloating is occasional or if it occurs all the time.

Temporary bloating is usually not serious. If it happens all the time, your doctor may order other tests. These could include an imaging test to look inside your abdomen. This could be an X-ray or CT scan.

 

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The stomach flu (gastroenteritis) is a nonspecific term for various inflammatory problems in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Food allergies may produce eosinophilic gastroenteritis, a sign of which is increased eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) seen in the blood. Children with the stomach flu or gastroenteritis have similar symptoms to adults, but also may have symptoms such as refusing to drink or being very thirsty.

The main way contagious causes of the stomach flu are spread is person to person via the fecal-oral route. Individuals at most risk of catching the stomach flu are those in close association with an infant, child, or an adult that has a viral or bacterial cause of stomach flu .

Stomach flu is diagnosed in most cases without specific tests, however, tests can help define the underlying cause. Home remedies may reduce symptoms of stomach flu, including diet changes. Most people with viral or mild bacterial gastroenteritis require no treatment. Some individuals may require symptom reduction with medications but more serious bacterial infections may require antibiotic therapy.

 

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The year 2021 has brought new developments on the vaccine front. On January 3, India approved the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines, namely Covishield and Covaxin. When this article was taking shape, nationwide drills were being held to train more than 90,000 health care workers to administer these vaccines. The dry runs were also intended to avoid logistical loopholes during the actual vaccination drive that will cover crores of people across the country. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government expected the first phase of vaccination - targeting around 30 crore people on priority - to be completed by August 2021. While preparations are in full swing, some scientists expressed concern over the rushed approval given to the indigenous vaccine, Covaxin.

Who has developed Covishield and Covaxin?

Covishield is the Indian variant of AZD1222, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford. Pune-based Serum Institute of India developed and manufactured Covishield through a licence from Astrazeneca and Oxford.

The overall efficacy of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine has been found to be 70.42%. Serum Institute of India has said it would price the vaccine at Rs. 440 for the government and around Rs. 700-800 for the private market.

Covaxin has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology. The vaccine is yet to complete late-stage human clinical trials and its efficacy rate has not been released. The price of Covaxin has not been made public

What does "restricted use approval in an emergency situation" mean?

During an emergency such as a pandemic drug regulators may allow vaccines to be given to certain people even when the studies of safety and effectiveness are ongoing. This form of approval is called Emergency Use Authorisation. Normally, the process to approve a new vaccine can take years, sometimes more than a decade. But the COVID-19 pandemic has urged governments around the world to relax certain rules and to not only speed up the process of vaccine development, but also go ahead with emergency use.

Instead of the usual requirement of "substantial evidence of safety and effectiveness, they allow products into the market as long as their benefits are "likely" to outweigh their risks.

In the case of Covishield and Covaxin, Indian pharmaceutical regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has imposed certain conditions on the vaccines developers. The developers have to continuously submit safety, efficacy and immunogenicity data from their ongoing trials until these are complete.

They also have to submit safety data every 15 days for the next two months, and after that monthly for the duration of their trials.

Who will get vaccinated first?

Covishield will be given in the first phase of the vaccine drive. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that Covaxin will be used only in 'clinical trial mode, where consent will be taken and side effects monitored.

The Covishield vaccine will first be given to around one crore healthcare workers in both government and private hospitals. It will also be given to two crore frontline workers associated with the state and central Police department, armed forces, home guard, disaster management and civil defence organisation, prison staff municipal workers and revenue officials engaged in COVID-19 containment, surveillance and associated activities. People above the age of 50 years and those with comorbidities are next in line to get the vaccine.

How will the vaccines be given?

Both Covishield and Covaxin are meant to be administered in two doses and stored at temperatures of 2 degrees C to 8 degrees C. While Covishield will be given between four and 12 weeks apart, the DCGI has not clarified the intervals between the shots of Covaxin. (The vaccines do not need the ultra-cold storage facilities that some others do. They can be stored in refrigerators. This makes them feasible candidates.)

The remaining population will be inoculated after the people on the priority list are covered. Once it is open to the public, beneficiaries will have to register on the COWIN app and submit ID proof for vaccination.

The Union Health Ministry has said that getting vaccinated for COVID-19 will be voluntary. However, it has 'advised' all to get vaccinated.

What is CoWIN app?

For a smooth implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the government has developed the COWIN app, which stands for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network. Registration on the app is mandatory to receive a vaccine.

Why are some experts concerned about the vaccines' approval?

Some doctors have criticised a lack of transparency in the approval process.

The main concern is that developers of both the vaccines have not presented to the CDSCO the results of their respective phase 3 efficacy trials conducted on Indian participants, Covishield is backed by phase 3 data from studies in Brazil and the United Kingdom, The data from the "bridging study" showing its vaccine can elicit an immune response in the Indian population comparable with the original AstraZeneca vaccine has not been analysed fully. Further, out of a pool of 1,600 Indian participants, the Serum Institute submitted data pertaining to only 100 volunteers to the CDSCO's subject expert committee.

In the case of Covaxin, there is no efficacy data. While Bharat Biotech has said that phase 1 and phase 2 trials have shown good results, the drug regulator has simply said the vaccine is safe and effective. Covaxin is expected to be a "backup," to be deployed only if India faces a surge because of the new coronavirus variant that has been recently identified in the U.K.

 

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Prosthetics is the evaluation, fabrication, and custom fitting of artificial limbs, known as "prostheses." Prostheses enhance the function and lifestyle of persons with limb loss. The prosthesis must be a unique combination of appropriate materials, alignment, design, and construction.

Lower-limb prostheses might address stability in standing and walking, shock absorption, energy storage and return, cosmetic appearance, and even running, jumping, and other athletic activities. Upper-limb prostheses might address reaching and grasping, occupational challenges including hammering, painting, or weight lifting, and activities of daily living like eating, writing, and dressing.

A person's prosthesis should be designed and assembled according to the person's appearance and functional needs. For instance, a person may need a transradial prosthesis, but need to choose between an aesthetic functional device, a myoelectric device, a body-powered device, or an activity specific device. The person's future goals and economical capabilities may help them choose between one or more devices.

Craniofacial prostheses include intra-oral and extra-oral prostheses. Extra-oral prostheses are further divided into hemifacial, auricular (ear), nasal, orbital and ocular. Intra-oral prostheses include dental prostheses such as dentures, obturators, and dental implants.

Prostheses of the neck include larynx substitutes, trachea and upper esophageal replacements,

Somato prostheses of the torso include breast prostheses which may be either single or bilateral, full breast devices or nipple prostheses.

Penile prostheses are used to treat erectile dysfunction, correct penile deformity, perform phalloplasty and metoidioplasty procedures in biological men, and to build a new penis in female-to-male gender reassignment surgeries.

 

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The definition of visual impairment is “a decrease in the ability to see to a certain degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.” Blindness is “the state of being unable to see due to injury, disease or genetic condition.”

There are four terms used to describe different levels of vision impairment and blindness—partially sighted, low vision, legally blind and totally blind. Partially sighted means a person has partial vision, either in one or both eyes. Low vision refers to a severe visual impairment in which visual acuity is 20/70 or poorer in the better-seeing eye and cannot improve with glasses or contacts. Legally blind means a person has a corrected vision of 20/200 in their best-seeing eye. Totally blind refers to a complete loss of sight.

Effective interventions are available for health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation to address the entire range of needs associated with eye conditions and vision impairment across the life course. Some are among the most feasible and cost-effective to implement. For example, uncorrected refractive error can be corrected with glasses while cataract surgery can restore vision. Vision rehabilitation is also effective in improving functioning for people with an irreversible vision impairment.

 

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Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulations in combination with non-manual elements. Sign languages are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon. Sign languages are not universal and they are not mutually intelligible with each other, although there are also striking similarities among sign languages.

Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages have developed as useful means of communication, and they form the core of local Deaf cultures. Although signing is used primarily by the deaf and hard of hearing, it is also used by hearing individuals, such as those unable to physically speak, those who have trouble with spoken language due to a disability or condition (augmentative and alternative communication), or those with deaf family members, such as children of deaf adults.

 

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Over 1 billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability. This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population, with up to 190 million (3.8%) people aged 15 years and older having significant difficulties in functioning, often requiring healthcare services. 

Disability is extremely diverse. While some health conditions associated with disability result in poor health and extensive healthcare needs, others do not. However, all people with disability have the same general healthcare needs as everyone else, and therefore need access to mainstream healthcare services. Article 25 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) reinforces the right of persons with disability to attain the highest standard of healthcare, without discrimination. However, the reality is that few countries provide adequate quality services for people with disability.

Also, very few countries collect data to enable disaggregation by disability in the health sector.  This became very apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic where countries failed to include disability consistently in their response to control the pandemic. This left people with disability exposed to three increased risks with devastating consequences: the risks of contracting COVID-19, developing severe symptoms from COVID-19 or dying from the disease, as well as having poorer health during and after the pandemic, whether or not they are infected with COVID-19.

 

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EV, known colloquially as tree man syndrome, is an incredibly rare genetic condition. It leads to chronic HPV infections that result in characteristic skin growths and lesions.

People who may have EV or a family history of it should notify a doctor, ideally a specialized dermatologist, as soon a possible. The goal is to manage symptoms and prevent severe complications. A person may also benefit from genetic counseling.

Symptoms can appear at any age, including infancy. In more than half of EV cases, symptoms first appear in children between the ages of 5 and 11. For nearly a quarter of people with EV, symptoms first emerge during puberty.

Symptoms may include a mix of:

• flat-topped or bumpy lesions


• small, raised bumps known as papules


• large patches of raised and inflamed skin, known as plaques


• small, raised brown lesions that resemble scabs

 

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The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, was an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and in the U.S. as Lou Gehrig's disease) and encourage donations to research. The challenge was co-founded by Pat Quinn and Pete Frates; it went viral on social media during July–August 2014. In the U.S., many people participated for the ALS Association, and in the UK, many people participated for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, although some individuals opted to donate their money from the Ice Bucket Challenge to other organizations.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is a fun way to raise awareness and donations for a worthy cause. Most supporters are okay with the fact that the challenge is a trend. They understand that the campaign is harnessing the phenomenon of Internet virality and that, even if it only stays popular for a few weeks, the campaign will still have done some good.

 

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Microcephaly is a medical condition in which the circumference of the head is smaller than normal because the brain has not developed properly or has stopped growing. Microcephaly can be present at birth or it may develop in the first few years of life.

Microcephaly can be caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors. Children with microcephaly often have developmental issues. Generally there's no treatment for microcephaly, but early intervention with supportive therapies, such as speech and occupational therapies, may help enhance your child's development and improve quality of life.

There are many potential causes of microcephaly, but often cause remains unknown. The most common causes include:

• infections during pregnancy: toxoplasmosis (caused by a parasite found in undercooked meat), Campylobacter pylori, rubella, herpes, syphilis, cytomegalovirus, HIV and Zika;


• exposure to toxic chemicals: maternal exposure to heavy metals like arsenic and mercury, alcohol, radiation, and smoking;


• pre- and perinatal injuries to the developing brain (hypoxia-ischemia, trauma);


• genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome; and


• severe malnutrition during fetal life.

 

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