Guideline

• Berlin, Germany and Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, Feb. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Not intended for UK Media
  Bayer AG and Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a gene therapy company wholly owned and independently operated as a subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced that the first patient has been randomized in GenePHIT (Gene PHosphatase Inhibition Therapy), a Phase II trial of AB-1002 (also known as NAN-101) for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF).
• “GenePHIT will evaluate the safety and efficacy of AB-1002 in the largest number of patients to date and improve our understanding of gene therapy overall for the treatment of congestive heart failure.
• “The enrollment of this first patient in the Phase II trial represents the culmination of many years of dedicated research and development in all aspects of cardiac gene therapy for congestive heart failure.
• AB-1002 is manufactured by Viralgen Vector Core, S.L., a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of AskBio.

• DUBLIN, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Practical Requirements of the Arab Pharmacovigilance Guidelines Training Course" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
• On 1 July 2015, the Common Arab Guidelines on good vigilance practices became effective.
• The Guidelines represented fundamental changes to pharmacovigilance practice and followed many aspects of the EU guidelines of June 2012.
• This intensive two-day course will look at the various topics and their practical application from the perspective of compliance with the requirements of the Regulatory Authorities.

• The Nile’s two main tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, come together in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum.
• The Nile is not immune to the same pollutants that affect rivers all over the world.
• To address this gap, I conducted a study to assess the presence of microplastics in the River Nile in Khartoum.
• My students and I tested for the presence of microplastics in Nile tilapia.
• This shows that the River Nile is contaminated with microplastics that can be consumed or absorbed in various ways by the tilapia and other aquatic organisms.

Our sample

• We visited the Al-Mawrada fish market in the Omdurman area, which is also alongside the Nile.
• The individual tracts were treated so they would digest any organic matter they contained without interfering with the analysis of microplastics.
• Read more:
  Fish in a major South African river are full of microplastics

Shape, size and colour

• The most common were very small (less than 1mm), fibrous – they appear slender and elongated – and coloured (dyed).
• These characteristics make sense because of how fish and other aquatic organisms feed.
• Read more:
  Lagos beaches have a microplastic pollution problem

  Nile tilapia are also more likely to consume particles that are within a similar size range as their natural prey, as well as the same shape and colour.

• Their small size also makes it easier for them to move into organs like the liver.

Pollution sources

• For starters, 65% of plastic waste in Khartoum is disposed of in open dumps.
• That means untreated effluent from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities is another probable source of microplastic pollution.
• However, waste disposal and collection practices are sorely lacking, so plastic litter from these leisure activities leaks into the river.

No easy fix

• Tackling microplastic pollution is not easy.
• It will require technological advances, as well as the collective efforts of consumers, producers, governments and the scientific community.
• Governments must enforce waste management regulations and improve waste management practices, as well as helping to improve public awareness.

The project was funded by the Royal Society – UK.

• Washington, D.C., Jan. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced its key achievements in 2023 that protected public health through food safety and strengthened the food supply chain.
• The goal was to increase access to regulatory information and best practices to maintain and enhance food safety and strengthen the food supply chain.
• In partnership with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, FSIS incorporated culturally appropriate food safety information in boxes delivered through the Food Distribution Program in Tribal communities.
• FSIS protected public health by conducting ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of 161 million head of livestock and 9.8 billion poultry carcasses.