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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday questioned the Federal Investigation Authority’s (FIA) jurisdiction to investigate personal brawls on social media platforms.

A single-member bench comprising Chief Justice of the IHC, Justice Athar Minallah, heard the case pertaining to a personal conflict between two activists, Ramsha and Sobia Saeed. The fight was over the usage of funds of an organization for coronavirus patients.

One of the girls, Sobia Saeed, had reportedly accused Ramsha of misusing the organization’s funds on social media and reported the activity to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), using her contacts in the agency.

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Acting on the complaint, the agency began formal proceedings and called Ramsha to visit the FIA office for investigation.

The lady, instead, moved to the Islamabad High Court against the alleged harassment by the FIA, drawing the Chief Justice’s attention towards the matter.

While hearing the petition on Monday, the Chief Justice IHC inquired the FIA representative if it had the jurisdiction to investigate personal matters on social media platforms.

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Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the country is not a police state and is run through the constitution.

If the FIA investigates personal fights then who will do their work?

The top judge then questioned the Cyber Crime Wing officer from where and for how long they had got the training. “We are trained for a month,” said the officer, detailing the different aspects of the cybercrime laws.

The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks and sought a reply from the FIA on the next date.

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Japanese researchers have claimed to have identified a previously unknown mechanism for pain control involving a newly identified group of cells in the spinal cord.

While neurons remain the most well-known cells of the central nervous system, a group of non-neuronal cells, discovered first in the mid-nineteenth century, also play a number of important roles.

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Known as glial cells, these non-neural cells are imperative for regulating neuronal development and function in the central nervous system.

Among the different types of glial cells, astrocytes are the most abundant in the central nervous system. But unlike neurons, scientists, until now, never developed a comprehensive understanding of groups of astrocytes with distinct properties.

However, now, the researchers at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kyushu University have discovered a unique group of spinal cord astrocytes with a role in producing pain hypersensitivity.

These astrocytes are found in the superficial laminae of the spinal dorsal horn which carries general sensory information such as pressure, pain, and heat from the body to the brain.

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Using mice, the researchers demonstrated that stimulating noradrenergic neurons, which carry signals from the locus coeruleus in the brain down to the spinal dorsal horn, activates the astrocytes which results in pain hypersensitivity.

These observations contradict the current view that noradrenergic neurons suppress pain transmission in the spinal dorsal horn.

The discovery of this new population of astrocytes reveals a new role of noradrenergic neurons in facilitating spinal pain transmission, said Makoto Tsuda, the study’s lead researcher.

He added that suppressing the signaling of these astrocytes by noradrenaline enhances the effect of drugs for chronic pain.

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Kyushu researchers also tested this on mice in which the response of astrocytes to noradrenaline was inhibited after they were administered duloxetine, a drug that increases levels of noradrenaline in the spinal cord by preventing uptake by noradrenergic neurons.

Tsuda said that the mice demonstrated an enhanced easing of chronic pain by duloxetine which corroborated the proposition that suppressing signaling of astrocytes increases the effects of drugs for chronic pain.

Although more research is needed with different drugs, this astrocyte population appears to be a very promising target for enhancing the therapeutic potential of drugs for chronic pain, concluded Tsuda.

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The second wave of COVID-19 has hit Pakistan, and it is spreading rapidly. Amidst the second wave of the pandemic across the world, the demand for the influenza vaccine has increased manifold.

Doctors in western countries are administering the influenza vaccine to counter symptoms related to the novel coronavirus. This spike in demand has limited the availability of the vaccine in many developing countries, including Pakistan.

Health experts across the country recommend people living in high-risk environments to get vaccinated against the influenza virus every year in October to marginalize morbidity, and in some cases, mortality. October and November are considered a prime time to get flu shots, but during this winter season, vaccine distributors have not received a single vial to meet the demand.

Currently, two leading manufacturers of the vaccine haven’t issued any supply orders to Pakistan. Western countries have cooped up most of the demand.

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Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, and its products are not being imported currently due to the boycott of French products. Abbott hasn’t provided influenza vaccine to distributors in Pakistan as well because of having huge orders from the developed countries.

The Head of Planning and Development, Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani, said in a statement that the leading vaccine manufacturers prepare a vaccine for the international community as per standard practice, but this year the demand from economies bigger than Pakistan has exceeded overwhelmingly.

According to Durrani, Pakistan’s vaccine distributors may not be able to provide the vaccine for the local population. He remarked,

People in developed countries are more aware, they may like to avoid co-infection, flu along with coronavirus illness.

Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani, who is an epidemiologist and also a Member of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), further stated that there is no direct link between the flu shot and protection from COVID-19.

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Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) has announced the revised prices for Corolla Altis along with the launch of the new ‘X-Package’.

For those wondering, the X-Package includes some upgrades over a standard Corolla such as an All-Black Interior, passenger seat belt sensor, parking sensor, and a new body kit for the car that’s intended to make it look more aggressive.

However, reports add that the black interior choice shall only be available in the Corolla Altis Grande 1.8 Automatic, which is the most expensive variant of the vehicle. The rest of the lineup gets only the body-kit, parking sensors, and passenger seatbelt sensors.

Although the changes are sparse in the new ‘X-Package’, the price differences are quite significant. Furthermore, it’s not yet clear as to whether or not these prices are just accompanied by just the X-package, or if the package is an option or a standard addition to the entire lineup.

Following are the new prices of the Corolla lineup:

Vehicle
Previous Price (PKR)
Revised Price (PKR)
Price Increase (PKR)

Corolla Altis 1.6 Manual
3,159,000
3,219,000
60,000

Corolla Altis 1.6 Automatic
3,309,000
3,369,000
60,000

Corolla Altis 1.8 Manual
3,479,000
3,549,000
70,000

Corolla Altis 1.8 CVT Automatic
3,629,000
3,699,000
70,000

Corolla Altis Grande 1.8 CVT Automatic with Beige Interior
3,899,000
3,979,000
80,000

Corolla Altis Grande 1.8 CVT Automatic with Black Interior
3,899,000
3,999,000
100,000

The value Pakistani Rupee has gone up against the US dollar, however, the automakers continue to increase the prices of their vehicles. The balance of power might finally shift for the better once the new entrants, of which there are plenty in line, finally hit the market.

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