In Japan, where coronavirus-related suicides are increasing, Prime Minister Suga named ‘Minister of Loneliness’ Tetsushi Sakamoto, who acted as Regional Minister.

Social life has ground to a stop in Japan’s battle against the coronavirus, leaving the people to feel constantly depressed and lonely.

The rise in suicides has occurred in the world. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has designated Tetsushi Sakamoto, Minister of Regional Development, as Minister liable for the concerns of the lone people.

Sakamoto claimed in his first speech about his current assignment, “I was advised by Prime Minister Suga to examine the problem and to bring out a holistic approach in cooperation with the ministry in question. I plan to carry out programs aimed at avoiding social isolation and protecting people’s relations.”

Sakamoto also addressed his intention to organize an emergency conference by the end of February and to welcome and listen to others who have helped many people cope with mental health problems, in particular depression and exclusion. Consultations will also be held on support programs, and will also be accompanied by Suga.

The Ministry of Health of Japan has confirmed that the rate of suicide, which has been decreasing in Japan for 10 years as part of strenuous contributions, has begun to increase again for the first time since the end of 2020. In Japan, where 20,919 people committed suicide in 2020, the rise in female and youth suicides is projected to be due to financial hardships exacerbated by the outbreak.

A 70 Percent Rise in The Women Suicide Rate.

Suga has previously reported that about 880 Japanese women committed suicide in October 2020, which is 70% more than the same time last year.

Michiko Ueda, a suicide researcher, said “There are many women who are not married. They have managed to live their own life, work, and survive but generally have no stable jobs. So, they have financial and social issues in harsh times.”

Japan ranks 121 among 153 countries in the 2020 Gender Equity Survey issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

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In recent reports, some dogs have been trained to literally sniff out individuals infected with COVID-19. Now, a tech company is using the power of artificial intelligence to do the same thing with an “artificial nose” handheld device.

In a recent test, BrainChip Inc. and NaNose Medical were able to successfully detect COVID-19 in exhaled breath in much the same way a breathalyzer detects alcohol.  Their COVID-19 testing results are reportedly fast and highly accurate.

BrainChip is a leading provider of ultra-low power high performance artificial intelligence technology. In a press release, the company wrote, “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread (COVID-19) testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

This NaNose Medical technology is based on the artificial nose developed at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, by Prof. Hossam Haick, and has the same sensitivity to minute quantities of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as a dog’s nose.

While it’s use as an instant or rapid COVID-19 test are new, the device has been used in tests to identify diseases including Parkinson’s, cancers, kidney failure, and multiple sclerosis for several years.

For the recent trials testing COVID-19, NaNose Medical collected samples from 130 patients and used that data to train its Akida neuromorphic processor. The system has now learned to recognize patterns of VOC biomarkers associated with an COVID-19 infection within seconds with a high level of accuracy.

According to a study in China, this type of breath sensor data is more accurate than current COVID-19 tests using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Additionally, sensor testing like this reduces the risk to healthcare workers because the tests does not rely on saliva or mucus samples.

“Artificial intelligence in medicine and healthcare is an emerging field and one in which we are eager to contribute with our edge AI processing solution at the Edge, for the benefit of science and humanity,” said Louis DiNardo, BrainChip CEO.

Both Louis DiNardo, Brainchip CEO and Orit Marom Albeck, NaNose Medical CEO said: “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

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The company’s innovative spirit has served them well, as they’re leading the industry with no actual competition. The good news? They use their influence for more than a healthy balance sheet; they’re tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems.

This week Starbucks announced that they’ve been secretly testing a wide variety of plant-based products in a single location in Seattle. We’re talking more than plant-based milk alternatives, which they already offer worldwide, but food items, too.

A partnership with Impossible Foods, the acclaimed non-animal meat producer, helped the siren coffee shop offer a 100% plant-based menu from breakfast to late-night snacks.

The menu is just a test, but following the company’s commitment to sustainability, we expect to see a wide range of non-animal food products in other stores around the US and the world.

Perhaps, one day, all Starbucks stores will be entirely sustainable. Hopefully, others will follow, and not just coffee shops, but companies in all industries.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of flying on a rocket into space, this is literally your chance. In addition to providing this once in a lifetime opportunity, the proceeds from the sweepstakes will provide funding to an incredibly worthy charity – the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Jared Isaacman. founder of Shift4 Payments has committed $100 million as a donation to St. Jude’s and is providing 2 of the 4 seats on the SpaceX capsule for this fund raiser.

Isaacman and another billionaire will occupy seats one and two. Seat 3 will be awarded to a St. Jude mission ambassador, to be selected, who will exemplify the mission pillar of Hope.

The fourth seat will go to one lucky winner of the sweepstakes fundraiser drawing. To enter the drawing, simply go to this Prizeo web site (the company organizing the drawing), and make a donation to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The goal is to raise an additional $100 million for the noble charity.

As can be seen, there are a variety of donation levels, and each will provide you with about 10 sweepstakes tickets for every dollar donated – starting at 100 tickets for a $10 donation.

There is also a variety of merchandise, including mission patches, shirts, and even a ride in a Mig-29, which are given to those who donate at various levels.

St. Jude’s is celebrating its 59th anniversary. Over the years they have achieved a 94% survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a disease once considered incurable.

Recently they have launched St. Jude Global, a mission to dramatically improve pediatric cancer outcomes for all children, including those in low- and middle-income countries where survival rates lag far behind the U.S.

So, if you were planning to donate to charity this year, and every dreamed about going into space, now is the perfect time to donate to save children from cancer.

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The most recent data published by the Ministry of Health shows that there have been 2087 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the outbreak.

These statistics show that suicide incidents, which have been declining for many years, have risen steadily recently, hitting their highest level since May 2015.

Japan is among the few advanced economies to publish suicide information on a timely basis. Sadly, Japan is the nation with the greatest number of suicide incidents in the Western Pacific following South Korea (26.9 per 100,000). The world average is 10.6 per 100,000.

Suicide incidents in Japan are related to a variety of causes. These causes include long hours of service, school stress, social alienation, and stigma. Records of suicide incidents have been maintained in the country since 1978.

Suicides of Women Increasing

Based on these results, there was a decline in suicide cases over the 10 years leading up to 2019. Last year actually, the number of suicide incidents decreased to 20,000. However, it is believed that the corona-virus outbreak has triggered this pattern and that this spike is primarily affecting women.

Men form the bulk of people who have committed suicide in Japan. However, the percentage of women taking their own lives is rising.

Is Covid-19 the only variable to blame?

Japan was one of a few countries that quickly controlled and limited corona-virus cases. As a result, they now have less stringent quarantine requirements relative to many European countries and America.

In other words, the root causes of suicide in Japan may be interpreted as deeper problems – unrelated to COVID-19.

According to CNN’s article, Associate Professor Michiko Ueda of Waseda University in Tokyo, “We have not even been locked down and the effect of Covid-19 has been very minimal compared to other countries.”

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This decision was made after the US announced a that it planned to import prescription drugs from Canada to ensure cheap drugs for Americans. Canada, however, is not the only country producing cheap drugs. In fact, prescription drug costs are higher than some nations but still more economical than in the US.

Canada’s suppliers are worried about the safety of Canadians and have already warned that the plan devised by President Trump would result in major shortages in their country.

Due to the COVID-19 virus, the requirement of the drugs and other medicines has been enhanced as per the reports of AFP agency. The health ministry of Canada released a statement proclaiming that 68 percent of the drugs sources stem from expatriates, and this balance should not be disrupted.

The statement further affirmed that the companies linked with prescription drugs will be asked to share information in case potential shortages result. This should be done within a day if a serious health issue prevails.

The US President, Donald Trump has, however, signed a legislative order allowing the import of affordable prescription drugs from Canada.

A month after the order was passed, the Canadian Prime Minister responded saying he will be glad to extend their supplies and export them to other nations. However, his top and foremost priority is to protect and safeguard the people of his own country, Canada.

Meanwhile in the US, the drug pharmacies and suppliers continue to face criticism from all over the country including insurance companies, patients, US politicians and President Trump himself.

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The new tech comes from Hologic, Inc. – an innovative medical tech company focused on improving women’s health through early detection and treatment of cancer.

Dubbed the Genius Digital Diagnostics System, it is a first-of-its-kind digital cytology platform. Using a new advanced AI algorithm to help analyze its digital imaging results, the system aids doctors in the identification of pre-cancerous lesions and cancer cells in women.

“Application of AI requires digital images that are of exceptional quality,” said Kevin Thornal, president, Diagnostic Solutions Division at Hologic.

“Our teams developed a breakthrough imaging technology that converts physical glass cytology slides into digital images with superior clarity. From this digitalization, advanced image analysis and improved standardization are now achievable.”

According to Hologic, the AI in the system is able to narrow down the field of thousands of cells in a Pap test slide to a handful of the most diagnostically relevant images.

This saves time for results analysis and will lead to earlier detection of anomalies. The end result is getting help to the patients sooner and with greater accuracy.

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Love has since used his platform to talk about the topic of mental health and depression, saying that he himself struggles with depression. The topic did not really surface again until a recent interview from this past week.

Kevin Love had a much deeper discussion about his personal battles with depression to the point where he began talking about suicide.

He stated that during his time with the Timberwolves he had actually searched for ways to kill himself on the internet. But the interview from this week was about how Love still battles with those thoughts today.

Suicidal thoughts are not something that goes away over time, as he stated “You don’t get to turn it on or turn it off”. This issue certainly is a sensitive one, but it goes to show that even celebrities deal with these issues and they are still normal human beings too.

What Love credited his help to was knowing that there is strength in numbers. He knew that he was not the only one dealing with these issues and there were other people who felt just like him.

Love wanted to survive and thrive to lead the way for others struggling with the issue and show them you can get through the tough times. It is a sad issue, but the causes are mostly out of our control. However, you do have the power to fight back.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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While health officials and campaigners welcomed the new ban, it will undergo a 6-week consultation. This ban, which comes as an extension to the measures made in July, has shocked the advertisement industry.

Obesity is a dangerous disease. It is also one of the most significant health concerns the United Kingdom faces. The World Health Organization announced that about 2.8 million people die each year from being overweight. This number is about 3 times higher than it was in 1975.

The new restrictions come after seeing the effect COVID-19 had on overweight individuals – putting them at higher risk for complications than the average person.

The Department of Health & Social Care provided research which shows children are exposed to over 15 billion ads revolving around junk food a year. These ads affect how individuals shape their personal eating habits.

Children are easily influenced. The more they see a product, the more they want it. With them spending more time online, they see advertisements everywhere they click, influencing the way they think.

Restricting what is shown will hopefully reduce the influence these products have on their audience. Also, hopefully leading to healthier choices on when and what they eat.

The Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock expressed how determined he is to help make the community more aware of what is going on around them by addressing a current problem which will only become more prominent in the future.

During the pandemic, people who were overweight were proven to be more at risk than others. This policy aims to help improve children’s overall health. Lowering their risk for other serious diseases, and even death.

If implemented, the ban would impact digital marketing all over the web in the UK. The ban includes ads on Facebook, Google, Twitter and Instagram, as well as various other websites.

NOTE: All information was fact-checked by the UK Government’s Online Website https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-public-consultation-on-total-ban-of-online-advertising-for-unhealthy-foods & the World Health Organization Online Statistics.

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If you didn’t know it, pumpkin seeds are highly nutritious and with the right recipe, can taste great. Free online pumpkin seed recipes abound on the internet and are wide in variety.

The great thing about downloading a great recipe is that the seeds can be made to take on the taste of just about anything.

We have a simple and basic pumpkin seed recipe in this article below.

One of the major health benefits of pumpkin seeds is their effect on your LDL cholesterol. The LDL is also referred to as your “bad cholesterol”. This is the stuff that can clog your arteries over time.

Pumpkin seeds made from this or other recipes, creates a tasty snack that can help to lower your LDL cholesterol. In addition to the effect on cholesterol, other studies have shown that pumpkin seeds have a positive anti-inflammatory effect and for some people can help with depression.

A quick online search yielded this easy and basic pumpkin seed recipe. You can always tweak it a bit and add some of your favorite seasonings.

Easy Roasted / Baked Pumpkin Seed Recipe:

• Clean the seeds to remove the pulp from the pumpkin. Do so by washing in a colander or strainer.
• Spread the seeds on a baking sheet.
• While you really don’t need to add anything, many find that a little olive oil, and a pinch of salt bring out the flavor more. (Experiment with a few different batched with other spices like cinnamon, or even chili pepper for a spicy version.)
• Place the seeds in the oven at about 165º F.
• To help maintain the internal oils of the seeds, cook them for only about 15-20 minutes at this temperature.

Let them cool a bit, but they are really great while still warm. Throw some in snack bags to take to school or work in the days ahead.

If you keep them refrigerated, these pumpkin seed will last for about a month.

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