Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Monday, October 21, 2024
Friday, November 18, 2022
Bits and Bites from around the World > Rats Bopping along to Lady Gaga; Swarm of Bees puts 37 people in Hospital
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Rats move to beat of Lady Gaga, study says
Issued on: 15/11/2022 - 08:16
Modified: 15/11/2022 - 08:14
Researchers at the University of Tokyo played Mozart, Queen and Lady Gaga's hit 'Born This Way'
to rats ANGELA WEISS AFP
Tokyo (AFP) – Nodding along to catchy music is not just a human habit, according to Japanese scientists who have discovered that rats also move to the beat of songs by stars like Lady Gaga.
What does that say about the quality of her fans?
Researchers at the University of Tokyo played Mozart, Queen and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to rats wearing miniature sensors to detect even the tiniest movements.
They found the rodents had an innate ability to synchronise their moves to the beat, previously believed to be a skill unique to people.
I thought parrots also had this ability.
"Rats' brains are designed to respond well to music," even though their bodies move only a little, said associate professor Hirokazu Takahashi, part of the team who conducted the study.
"We all believe that music has magical powers, but we don't know anything about its mechanisms," he told AFP on Tuesday.
So "we wanted to find out what kind of sound connections appeal to the brain, without the influence of emotion or memory."
For rats, the "bopping" effect was most pronounced for music in the range of 120-140 beats per minute -- the same as humans.
This led the scientists to hypothesise that it could be a reaction that is consistent across different species.
Rats were found to have an innate ability to synchronise their moves to the beat, previously believed
to be a skill unique to people NICOLAS DELAUNAY AFP/File
"Music moves the body. It goes beyond the auditory system and affects the motor system... the power of sound is that great," Takahashi said.
The research mainly focused on Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K.448, played at four different tempos.
But the scientists also tried out "Born This Way" and the driving rhythm of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", tracks picked by Takahashi's students.
Unlike other pets such as parrots, which are famous for their uncanny imitations of music and other sounds, it was the first time the rats in the study had listened to music.
The effect of music on rats may have been overlooked until now because previous research was mainly carried out using video footage, not movement sensors, making the animals' tiny movements more difficult to detect, Takahashi said.
Sounds like it would be really boring to watch them dance.
The study was published last week in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal.
In the future, Takahashi said he wants to go beyond rhythm and explore the effects of melody and harmony on the brain.
"If music has an emotional effect, it would be really interesting if we could get to the point where we could see it in animals," he said.
It appears they haven't read The Pied Piper in Japan.
Massive bee swarm leaves 37 people including eight children
in hospital as angry insects fly through car windows
Natalia Penza
Published: 9:25, 18 Nov 2022, Updated: 11:34, 18 Nov 2022
NEARLY 40 people were treated in hospital after being attacked by a swarm of bees.
Terrified locals abandoned their cars in the middle of the street after the insects flew through car windows in moving traffic.
Drivers abandoned their cars as the swarm hit traffic in Melo, Uruguay
Beekeepers were called in to destroy illegal hives
Some victims were stung dozens of times as they tried to flee on foot.
The swarm hit yesterday afternoon in the centre of Melo, a city in Uruguay near the border with Brazil.
Police confirmed 37 people including eight children were rushed to A&E for treatment.
Officers took many of the patients to hospital in their patrol cars as colleagues closed streets in the city centre to make sure no one else entered the danger zone.
One of those caught up in the drama told local press: “My son ran like mad but he still got stung about 15 times.
“Many people were in a state of desperation.
“They abandoned motorbikes and cars. I had my car windows down when a swarm of bees appeared out of nowhere and came in.”
The scare has been blamed on two hives of bees said to have been kept without permission at a house near the spot where motorists and pedestrians were stung.
Beekeepers in protective suits were called in to remove the hives using poison and make the area safe.
One of the experts who helped remove them said: “People were kept away for around an hour.”
Local journalist Silvia Techera said: “I saw people running everywhere and heard lots of sirens.
“Shopkeepers were closing their doors.
“I never imagined for one minute it was going to be down to bees. They appeared to be very angry.
“Cars, motorbikes and crash helmets had been left in the middle of the street.
“At one point the insects began to attack me as well and I sought refuge in my radio station.”
It was not immediately clear today why the bees had gone on the attack, but experts said they could have been stressed by noises like the beeping of a car horn.
Two of the children stung are understood to have been kept in hospital overnight.
A severe allergic reaction to bee stings is potentially life-threatening. A small percentage of people stung by a bee quickly develop anaphylaxis with symptoms including swelling of the throat and tongue.
In May we told how a swarm of 15,000 bees sparked terror as they filled a residential street in just 15 minutes in Tyneside, UK.
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Bits and Bites from Around the World > Rapunzel-like Tower for Sale; Turkey attack puts man in hospital
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Scots Rapunzel-style castle for sale for just £80k – but there’s a catch
Freya Coombes
The Scottish Sun
14:13, 20 Aug 2022
A SCOTS Rapunzel tower has hit the market – and it can be yours for just £80,000.
The four-storey Gothic tower provides impressive views for anyone wanting to indulge in a princess moment by staring out of the tall tower to the surrounding Binn forest.
The only catch is it has no running water, no kitchen and no bathroom or other amenities.
So, before you lock your Princess in the top floor, remember you have to provide food, water, and sanitation facilities two or three times a day.
Binnhill Tower, situated in Kinfauns, Perth, was designed in 1839 by the Scottish politician Sir Frances Gray, 14th Lord Gray.
It was built as an observatory and focal point for Kinfauns Castle, a nearby gothic mansion.
The nearby villages of Kinsfauns, near the River Tay, offer scenic views as well as good connections to surrounding villages.
Rooftop view
It is a ten-minute drive to reach the city of Perth, and for a further journey out, 30 minutes in a car to reach Dundee.
The listing states: “This prominent landmark represents a truly rare and unique opportunity for anyone seeking a historic and romantic building that is ripe for a Grand Designs-style transformation.
“The square-shaped tower is reached by a beautiful woodland approach, just a short distance from the nearest road, with the arched front door opening into a ground-floor space that would be easy to imagine as a homely living area.”
“The tower has lapsed planning permission to be restored and converted into a dwelling, and it comes with a small footprint of land.
“Recently, the property has undergone some repair work, including the replacement of joists and the addition of a roof to make it watertight from the top.
“Externally, Binnhill Tower comes with a footprint of land that is perfect for admiring the lavish landscape.”
Gang of turkeys attacks man in Chase, B.C., breaking
both his hips and a finger
RCMP told that the birds are scheduled to ‘receive the death penalty for their crimes’
JACQUELINE GELINEAU
Aug. 24, 2022 5:30 p.m.
A Shuswap man was seriously injured after being attacked by a rooster and turkeys.
On July 28, Chase RCMP was asked to check on the well-being of someone at a home in Celista. Upon arrival, they found a man who had been attacked by some angry birds. The man had already received medical attention.
His injuries included two broken hips, a broken finger and multiple lacerations.
Police were told that the birds in question have already been scheduled to receive the “death penalty for their crimes,” said Sgt. Barry Kennedy.
It is not known if implicated turkeys will be served at this Thanksgiving dinner.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Islam - Current Day > IS Terrorist Shot in Paris; Egyptian Beheads Man in Ismailia; Hospital Massacre in Kabul
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Knife-wielding attacker shot by Paris railway security after shouting
‘France is ruled by the Islamic State’ – media reports
2 Nov, 2021 08:45
Officers at France’s Saint-Lazare station have reportedly shot a knife-wielding man who ran at staff shouting, “Allahu Akbar! France is ruled by the Islamic State,” following a routine request to follow Covid safety protocols.
The man was shot on Monday evening, after he threatened station staff with a knife, leaving one security officer seriously injured, according to France’s BFMTV.
According to French media, he was previously known to police, having committed acts of violence, but had not been known to the intelligence services or been considered a terrorist threat prior to the incident.
Having initially been stopped for failing to wear a mask in compliance with Covid safety measures, he reportedly became aggressive with staff, before pulling out a knife and running at security officers, screaming, “Allahu Akbar! France is ruled by the Islamic State.”
Despite managing to harm one of them, the assailant was quickly shot twice, falling onto the tracks. He was subsequently rushed to hospital, where he is believed to be undergoing treatment.
“The two agents used their service weapons to defend and neutralize him. The injured individual was taken care of by the emergency services,” French media reported, citing a press release from the SNCF, which operates the country’s rail network.
An investigation into the incident has been launched by the Paris prosecutor’s office and the judicial police.
Egypt: Man beheads compatriot in front of passers-by,
wanders Ismailia streets
Gruesome crime leaves witnesses screaming in terror
Published: November 02, 2021 03:51
Samir Salama, Associate Editor
Abu Dhabi: A man cut off the head of his compatriot in front of passers-by and wandered the streets, amid screams of terror in Egypt’s northern city of Ismailia on Monday, local media reported.
Immediately, police imposed a security cordon at the crime scene and called in witnesses, starting a murder investigation.
Videos of the crime were widely circulated on social media across Egypt.
Egypt’s Public Prosecutor pledged in a statement “to quickly finish the investigations into the killing of the victim and the injury of two others on the main road in Ismailia.”
According to preliminary information issued by the authorities, “the killer, who works in a furniture store of the victim’s brother, has psychological issues and has previously been treated at an addiction clinic.”
The websites circulated testimonies of some witnesses who blamed the crime on “the murderer’s mother being raped by the victim,” which has not been confirmed by the investigations so far.
Dr. Sawsan Fayed, professor of sociology, told Asharq Al Awsat the recent spread of this type of crime can be attributed to several factors, the most important of which is mental illness, noting that “there are people who suffer from violence since birth, a condition that is difficult to treat and needs training and hard work.”
Dr. Fayed added: “Among the causes of horrific crimes are hallucinations, behaviour disorders, and addiction to synthetic drugs that cause hallucinations and lack of awareness, in addition to the media and frequent exposure to scenes of murder, blood and crime, which leads people to become accustomed to it, making killing an easy process.”
She pointed out that “in many crimes, we usually hear a sentence from the accused saying that he does not know how he committed his crime, which suggests that he was not conscious at the time of the crime.”
Fayed said that avenging honour is one of the reasons why the accused or the killer boasts of his act, as happened in Ismailia, where the murderer did not conceal his crime, but walked with the body of the victim in the street, perhaps due to his desire to show everyone that he had exacted revenge, as is being rumoured.”
In recent years, a number of crimes have rocked Egypt, including the so-called “martyr of chivalry” case that took place at the end of 2019, in which a university student killed another young man who objected to his harassment of a girl in the street.
Fayed stressed “the importance of education and culture to confront the spread of crime,” noting that “society is suffering a crisis of values, and all religious, cultural and educational institutions must play their role to address this value imbalance that causes the spread of crime.”
She called for “developing plans to treat addiction and remove stigma about mental illness.”
Explosions, gunfire at Afghanistan military hospital kill at least 15
By UPI Staff
A man carries a child after a bomb attack Tuesday at a military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
More than a dozen people were killed in two explosions at the facility. Photo by EPA-EFE
Nov. 2 (UPI) -- More than a dozen people were killed and many others were injured Tuesday after two explosions and gunfire at a military hospital in Afghanistan, authorities said.
The explosions occurred at Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in downtown Kabul.
A Taliban security official said at least 15 people were killed and there were more than 30 injured. Officials at the interior ministry told Al Jazeera 19 were killed.
One of the explosions occurred at the entrance to the 400-bed hospital. Pajhwok reported that two of the three assailants were killed by security forces.
No group immediately claimed credit for the attack, but the Taliban has been targeted in recent months by the Islamic State-Khorasan, an Afghan ISIS offshoot.
The hospital was previously targeted in 2011 by Taliban suicide bombers and again in 2017 when Islamic State gunmen disguised as medical personnel killed 30 people in a six-hour gun battle.
The Taliban have been in charge of Afghanistan since they ousted the U.S.-backed government in August in the run-up to the U.S. military withdrawal.
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