Blood Test to detect someone may attempt suicide

LONDON — A blood test that can predict whether someone may attempt suicide has been developed by scientists in a breakthrough which could prevent hundreds of deaths.

American researchers have found that variations in a single gene can be used to predict if someone is likely to take their own life. Those mutations can be spotted through a simple blood test which could allow therapists or doctors to intervene before it is too late.

Researchers at John Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, found that the gene SKA2 stopped functioning correctly in people at risk of suicide. The gene, found in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, is responsible for keeping levels of cortisol – the stress hormone — under control. It is also involved in preventing negative thoughts and controlling impulsive behaviour.

If there isn’t enough SKA2, or it is altered in some way, the body cannot control levels of cortisol. Previous research has shown that people who attempt suicide or who take their own lives have large amounts of cortisol in their systems.

“Suicide is a major preventable public health problem, but we have been stymied in our prevention efforts because we have no consistent way to predict those who are at increased risk of killing themselves,” said study leader Dr Zachary Kaminsky, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences. “With a test like ours, we may be able to stem suicide rates by identifying those people and intervening early enough to head off a catastrophe.”

The blood test managed to predict those with the most severe risk of suicide with 90 per cent accuracy.

The scientists could also spot if someone had already attempted suicide with 96 per cent accuracy, simply by looking at the levels of SKA2.

A test could allow doctors or psychologists to place patients on ‘suicide watch’ and restrict their access to drugs or equipment which they could use to end their own life. Dr Kaminsky said it could also help doctors know whether to give medications which are linked to suicidal thoughts.

“We have found a gene that we think could be really important for consistently identifying a range of behaviours from suicidal thoughts to attempts to completions,” Dr Kaminsky said. “We need to study this in a larger sample but we believe that we might be able to monitor the blood to identify those at risk of suicide.”

Pledge property for CPF minimum sum

Pledging your property

Your property, which you had purchased using your CPF savings, was automatically pledged for part of your Minimum Sum when you reached 55 if you were not able to set aside the required Minimum Sum in cash. 

You may pledge your property up to 50% of the MS after you have obtained the consent from all other co-owners to do so.

The amount that you can pledge depends on

• HDB’s quarterly median resale prices for HDB flats or valuation price for private properties;
  
• Outstanding housing loan amount (including non-housing loan for private properties); 
  
• Co-owner’s CPF usage (for joint-ownership cases); and
  
• Your share of the property.

Upon the sale of the property, you will need to refund the principal CPF amount withdrawn towards the property plus the accrued interest as well as the pledged amount.

Examples illustrating the amounts that can be pledged:

EXAMPLE 1

Where the co-owner’s CPF usage is less than 50% of the residual value of the property
HDB’s average valuation price	:$300,000
Less outstanding HDB loan	:$100,000
Residual value :	:$200,000
Co-owner's CPF usage :	:$ 40,000
Member's share :	:$ 100,000

In example 1 above, as the co-owner's CPF usage is less than 50% of the residual value, the member’s share of the property would be based on 50% (assuming that the property has only two owners with 50% share each) of the residual value. He can pledge the property up to the maximum limit of $77,500 if his MS is $155,000 and he has fully set aside this amount in his RA.

EXAMPLE 2

Where the co-owner’s CPF usage is more than 50% of the residual value of the property
HDB’s average valuation price	:$300,000
Less outstanding HDB loan	:$200,000
Residual value :	:$100,000
Co-owner's CPF usage :	:$ 80,000
Member's share :	:$ 20,000

In example 2 above, as the co-owner's CPF usage is greater than 50% of the residual value, the member's share of the property would be the residual value less the co-owner's CPF usage. The member can only pledge an amount of $20,000(i.e. $100,000 less $80,000).

EXAMPLE 3

Where the co-owner did not use his CPF for the property and has 50% share ownership
HDB’s average valuation price	:$300,000
Less outstanding HDB loan	:$250,000
Residual value :	:$ 50,000
Co-owner's CPF usage :	:$          0
Member's share :	:$ 25,000

In example 3 above, as the co-owner did not use his CPF for the property and the member has 50% share of the property, the amount that the member can pledge is $25,000 only.

Underweight call on sabana reit

Innotek disposable of The 15,000,000 units in Sabana REITs would be disposed of over a period of time and a financial institution has been appointed to invest the proceeds from the sale into other financial instruments including dividend stocks, bonds and different sectors of REITs. 

Frasier hospitality trust IPO

The public portion of its IPO, aimed at ordinary retail investors, will comprise 45.5 million stapled securities priced at S$0.88 apiece.

The public offer opens at 9am on Tuesday and closes at 12pm on July 10, Frasers Hospitality said. The stapled securities will begin trading on the Singapore Exchange on July 14.