As many as 26 endangered crocodiles have been found dead over the last three days in northern India and experts attribute the rare mass deaths to cirrhosis of the liver, authorities said on Friday. The reptiles died in the waters of the Chambal river, which runs along the borders of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the central state of Madhya Pradesh, baffling experts as it is considered their natural habitat. "Autopsies confirm liver cirrhosis as the cause of death," D.N.S. Suman, Uttar Pradesh's top wildlife official, told Reuters from Etawah town on the banks of the Chambal where experts have camped to investigate the deaths. Poisoning was not suspected as fish in the river had not died, Suman said, adding that scientists would test the water for the presence of any liver-damaging toxins. Cirrhosis is marked by the loss of liver tissue, leading to the loss of function of the vital organ, a report from Reuters.
Mechanical pumps to give failing hearts a boost were originally developed as temporary measures for patients awaiting a heart transplant. But as the technology has improved, these ventricular assist devices commonly operate in patients for years, including in former vice-president Dick Cheney, whose implant this month celebrates its one-year anniversary. Prolonged use, however, has its own problems. The power cord that protrudes through the patient's belly is cumbersome and prone to infection over time. Infections occur in close to 40 percent of patients, are the leading cause of rehospitalization, and can be fatal. Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have tested a wireless power system for ventricular assist devices. They recently presented the work in Washington, D.C. at the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs annual meeting, where it received the Willem Kolff/Donald B. Olsen Award for most promising research in
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