CDC report (early release) about the epidemic of bird flu in humans in China.
this is the fifth "epidemic": usually in those who handled poultry. But this epidemic is larger than the past ones. (over 1000 infections).
a second virus is involved in a small number of cases, and this new virus is resistant to anti Viral medicines.
the real danger comes if it evolves to spread human to human.
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Showing posts with label medical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical. Show all posts
Sunday, March 05, 2017
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Philippine news
We are recovered from the rain from the last storm, but Joy reported a lot of fields were still under water last week south of here.LINK
And even further south, 80 thousand are still in evacuation centers. That didn't stop terrorist from murdering Christian farmers in the south, but here terrorist attacks are usually downplayed and not in the headlines.
however, there is good news: A Dengue fever vaccine has been approved.
Dengue vaccine initiative page says it is one of several in development.
this is a live attenuated vaccine, meaning that the shot gives you a weakened germ to give immunity.
Not a perfect vaccine, however since it is only 60 percent effective.
---
well, it is a start. We have screens but the poor use mosquito nets (maybe).
The disease is a major problem here, but since it often is mild, most cases don't get to the hospital. But severe cases can be fatal.
And even further south, 80 thousand are still in evacuation centers. That didn't stop terrorist from murdering Christian farmers in the south, but here terrorist attacks are usually downplayed and not in the headlines.
however, there is good news: A Dengue fever vaccine has been approved.
Dengue vaccine initiative page says it is one of several in development.
this is a live attenuated vaccine, meaning that the shot gives you a weakened germ to give immunity.
Not a perfect vaccine, however since it is only 60 percent effective.
Second, large-scale phase III study successfully meets primary endpoint with overall vaccine efficacy of 60.8 percent and shows efficacy against each of the four dengue serotypes - - Additional observation of the results shows a significant reduction of the risk of hospitalization by 80.3 percent confirming the potential public health impact of the vaccine -
---
well, it is a start. We have screens but the poor use mosquito nets (maybe).
The disease is a major problem here, but since it often is mild, most cases don't get to the hospital. But severe cases can be fatal.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Mark your calenders
October 15 is Global Handwashing day
more HERE
and then there is this:
one of the outreach works we did in Africa 40 years ago was to provide (shallow) wells for villages, so that during the dry season moms did not have to walk a mile to get water.
of course, to have safe drinking water, you need a filter or a deep well.
But that is another story...
more HERE
and then there is this:
Hygiene refers to acts that can lead to good health and cleanliness, such as frequent handwashing, face washing, and bathing with soap and water. Keeping hands clean is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness. However, in many areas of the world, practicing personal hygiene is difficult due to lack of resources such as clean water and soap. Many diseases (including diarrheal diseases) can be spread when hands, face, and body are not washed appropriately at the key times.
one of the outreach works we did in Africa 40 years ago was to provide (shallow) wells for villages, so that during the dry season moms did not have to walk a mile to get water.
of course, to have safe drinking water, you need a filter or a deep well.
But that is another story...
Sunday, August 10, 2014
OH NO NOT MY BABY WALL
When I was in private practice and did deliveries, I would take two polaroid photos of the new moms and their babies, give one to mom and post the other on the wall (with their verbal permission of course).
Now, the NYTimes says it is illegal, thanks to privacy laws
so the government can legally spy on your email and blogposts, and hackers are stealing your information and medical records all the time, but I bet instead of real enforcement of privacy laws, they'll just start bullying docs.
Now, the NYTimes says it is illegal, thanks to privacy laws
Under the law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, baby photos are a type of protected health information, no less than a medical chart, birth date or Social Security number, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Even if a parent sends in the photo, it is considered private unless the parent also sends written authorization for its posting, which almost no one does..
so the government can legally spy on your email and blogposts, and hackers are stealing your information and medical records all the time, but I bet instead of real enforcement of privacy laws, they'll just start bullying docs.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Stuff around the net
For later reading
Butter is back
so is coconut oil, which is now touted in the Philippines as a health food...
Suspended animation to keep the dying alive? A variation of cooling to keep the brain etc alive while you are fixing the rest of the body's injuries that are causing you to lose bood.
This has been experimental for awhile, but I will have to find the details...
7 things Tolkien said about life..
actually I believe that the one about "death is a path all of us must take" is Jackson, not Tolkien.
But the best thing Tolkien wrote about life is found in his letters. If you read that book, don't start at the beginning, which are boring, but start after ten or twelve letters, when he starts writing about his works or writing advice to his sons...
---------------------
other stuff around the net is about some antigun California congressman who was helping to smuggle guns mentions some of them went to Philippine "insurgents": I am trying to find out which group.
And of course, the missing plane is still missing.
Butter is back
so is coconut oil, which is now touted in the Philippines as a health food...
Suspended animation to keep the dying alive? A variation of cooling to keep the brain etc alive while you are fixing the rest of the body's injuries that are causing you to lose bood.
This has been experimental for awhile, but I will have to find the details...
7 things Tolkien said about life..
actually I believe that the one about "death is a path all of us must take" is Jackson, not Tolkien.
But the best thing Tolkien wrote about life is found in his letters. If you read that book, don't start at the beginning, which are boring, but start after ten or twelve letters, when he starts writing about his works or writing advice to his sons...
---------------------
other stuff around the net is about some antigun California congressman who was helping to smuggle guns mentions some of them went to Philippine "insurgents": I am trying to find out which group.
And of course, the missing plane is still missing.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Stories below the fold (plus rants)
Hundreds of bodies found in Mexico were killed by the drug cartels....and now the locals are protecting themselves with home grown militias.
(From StrategyPage).
I usually support gun control, since I was brought up in a city and my grandfather, a cop, wouldn't allow guns in the house for fear of children getting hold of them...
But I know from bitter experience that when there is no law and order, having a gun is the only thing that stands between you and being dead.
related item: The Diplomad discusses the Mexican violence, and how the Fast and Furious talking points tried to spin it to push gun control in the USA.
----------------------------------------
StrategyTalk discusses Benghazi.
related essay: Why the west is screwed (in Syria).
-----------------------------
March 1 is the day of rememberance for the handicapped who were and are being killed for being handicapped.
-----------------------------
for later reading: The Pope and economics.
And here, it means encouraging local values and local jobs, and eliminating corruption, not making people into money hungry gringo imitators and having the government encourage folks to work overseas, a practice that is destroying many families.
Bishop Cruz has more here.
and ironically, the left leaning Inquirer editorial notes love was always associated with solidarity and family, but now the word has been degraded into personal feeling.
Shirley Temple: RIP.
---------------------------
exploring the "Brilliantly successful" persecution by the Shogun against Japanese Christians 400 years ago
Huh?
Or was the government trying to find a scapegoat after Hideyoshi died and Admiral Yi's turtleboats kicked their ass?
For later research....
-------------------------------------
Banana miscellanea.
Headsup AnnAlthouse.
-------------------------------------
Radical feminist supports female genital mutilation.
and again, Ann Althouse blasts the lack of logic
I should note: There are three types, (only one type is harmless to future childbearing and sexual pleasure) and it long predates Islam, and the more radical practice continues even though the prophet tried to discourage the more extreme version...
more here.
---------------------------------------------------------
For later reading: Flappy bird has flown the coop.
this article says that the designer removed it because it was addictive.
but don't worry: Pirate bay to the rescue.
Ruby has it on her smartphone....and agrees that it's addictive and harder than it looks.
---------------------------------------
(From StrategyPage).
I usually support gun control, since I was brought up in a city and my grandfather, a cop, wouldn't allow guns in the house for fear of children getting hold of them...
But I know from bitter experience that when there is no law and order, having a gun is the only thing that stands between you and being dead.
related item: The Diplomad discusses the Mexican violence, and how the Fast and Furious talking points tried to spin it to push gun control in the USA.
----------------------------------------
StrategyTalk discusses Benghazi.
related essay: Why the west is screwed (in Syria).
-----------------------------
March 1 is the day of rememberance for the handicapped who were and are being killed for being handicapped.
-----------------------------
for later reading: The Pope and economics.
... “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? … He continues, “Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded.”yes, like when Europeans and some in North American think the handicapped and unborn who need to be eliminated so the strong and healthy can fullfill their dreams.
And here, it means encouraging local values and local jobs, and eliminating corruption, not making people into money hungry gringo imitators and having the government encourage folks to work overseas, a practice that is destroying many families.
Bishop Cruz has more here.
and ironically, the left leaning Inquirer editorial notes love was always associated with solidarity and family, but now the word has been degraded into personal feeling.
Nowhere perhaps is love’s ancient association with human solidarity more eloquently expressed than in the famous biblical passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”-------------------------------------------------
Shirley Temple: RIP.
---------------------------
exploring the "Brilliantly successful" persecution by the Shogun against Japanese Christians 400 years ago
Huh?
Or was the government trying to find a scapegoat after Hideyoshi died and Admiral Yi's turtleboats kicked their ass?
For later research....
-------------------------------------
Banana miscellanea.
Most Popular Item
at Walmart: Bananas
Business Week, Aug. 15, 2010
Walmart, which registered $405 billion in sales last year and is the largest retailer in the world, sold more bananas than any other single item in its stores.
Headsup AnnAlthouse.
-------------------------------------
Radical feminist supports female genital mutilation.
and again, Ann Althouse blasts the lack of logic
I should note: There are three types, (only one type is harmless to future childbearing and sexual pleasure) and it long predates Islam, and the more radical practice continues even though the prophet tried to discourage the more extreme version...
more here.
---------------------------------------------------------
For later reading: Flappy bird has flown the coop.
this article says that the designer removed it because it was addictive.
but don't worry: Pirate bay to the rescue.
Ruby has it on her smartphone....and agrees that it's addictive and harder than it looks.
---------------------------------------
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Stories below the fold
HERE is the article about drug companies pushing Plan B even though it doesn't work for women if you are over 167 pounds or have a BMI over 30...which is 20 to 30% of women...
Follow the money?
------------------------------
The Pope has been blasted for condemning capitalism, yet as I mention many times he is talking from a third world perspective, where bribery, low salaries and corruption mean workers aren't paid a decent salary and the rich live high on the hog.
Father Z also notes this point might have been overlooked because of poor translation of the original text:
Over at the other post a commentator pointed out that the official English rendering of EG 54 makes Spanish “por si’ mismo” into “inevitably”, but that it really means “by itself”.follow the activists trying to hijack the pope's nuances into fitting their agenda.
Let’s swap in the “by itself” and read it again.
In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories ["trickle down economics"] which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will by itself succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.
A similar kerfuffle in the last week was "wiminpriest" activists interpreting a catacomb picture of a woman with raised hands as showing a womanpriest raising her hands, thereby proving the early church had women as priests.
HELLO: Wikipedia is your friend: the "Orans" position of the hands to pray was common in classical times and still used by Pentecostals in parts of eastern Europe today.
-------------------------------
Research articles often are wrong.
Nature article on how to blow the whistle.
I always thought that letting folks discuss it on line (as we do in journal club meetings in our hospitals) might help.
Maybe they should ask Jim Robinson to set up a similar site for medical articles...that's how they and LGF caught the forged document that destroyed Dan Rather's career.
----------------------------
Libertarian Instapundit often supports free sex, but today links to this article:
Catholics have often argued the same thing: that a sexual act forms a link between the people involved, because we are our bodies (i.e. not a "ghost in a machine", an idea that implies what we do with our bodies has nothing to do with our souls) therefore, what we do with our bodies affects the entire person.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Sexual Desire Forges Lasting Relationships. “People often think of love and lust as polar opposites—love exalted as the binder of two souls, lust the transient devil on our shoulders, disturbing and disruptive. Now neuroscientists are discovering that lust and love work together more closely than we think. Indeed, the strongest relationships have elements of both.”
and, as Andrew Greeley noted,
Catholic paraphernalia are merely hints of a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility that inclines Catholics to see the Holy lurking in creation. The world of the Catholic is haunted by a sense that the objects, events, and persons of daily life are revelations of Grace.Greeley has also written that god often sends sexual desire to mess up our narrowly scripted lives, and has written a bunch of R rated novels to show examples.
So CS Lewis' famous line: Pain is a megaphone to rouse a deaf world" could be better written as "lust is a megaphone that tells us of the glory and compassion of god" and is one way that God uses to change our lives in unexpected ways.
come to think of it, that's what happened to Lewis himself...who was indeed "surprised by Joy"...
----------------------------
also from Instapundit:
Media feasting on Bush ‘fake’ turkey claim; false story still repeated 10 years on. The image of Bush serving Thanksgiving dinner to the troops was so unacceptably wholesome, the press was forced to hallucinate a flaw in order to maintain its own sanity.Bush was joking around, as he often did, and the troops were all laughing.
It was a joke, twisted by the PC MSM to ridicule the president.
The real story is that it was very dangerous at that time to land in Baghdad, since several planes had been shot at....but Bush did it anyway, and the troops were very very happy to see him. And that story is not one that the MSM wanted to remember either.
actually, I first became aware of his trip when one freeper posted "guess who is eating in our mess" on FreeRepublic, whose monitor quickly pulled the thread because it might have alerted Iraqi insurgents lurking on the site to shoot down his plane when he left.
---------------------------------------------
.
for later reading: StrategyPage: Peace in our time or another ploy
Friday, August 30, 2013
Cycling? Health alert
Aside from heat stroke (in the summer) and frostbite (in the winter) and being hit by a car, what can go wrong?
LINK
LINK
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Stuff below the fold
Here, they buy votes for 200 pesos (five dollars), although here, with the murdering mayor's daughter running, our cook says the bribe to vote the party line is 2000 pesos.
But that's a third world phenomenum, right?
Gay Caswell, an ex MP says no: it's a way of life for the "indigenous" in Canada:
Although I worry about her: Canada has a strong libel law, and she named names...the last time she did that, her blog was taken down and she was fined for libel (but apparently no investigation of her charges was done).
e"
---------------------------------------------
Brown out yesterday is routine in the hot/dry season, since we get a lot of our electric power from hydroelectric plants, which run low in water about now. (until the monsoon arrives in early June).
They had a major brownout in Manila yesterday, which is part of the "rolling brownout" strategy.
The bad news? we have electronic voting machines....and the election is this week...
To prevent fraud (i.e. stuffed ballot boxes full of fake votes) we have switched to voting machines (presumably the politicians haven't figured out how to reprogram the machines yet, and the ballots, which require punching your decision, require more time and energy to fake and are also counted manually to double check what is going on).
So will the rolling brownouts mess up the election?
----------------------------
A mask that lets you block out sound so that the unidirectional microphone can point to the sound you need.
What I can't figure out is why they need a mask, which some of us with agorphobia wouldn't tolerate, when simple ear plugs would do.
they also say they have a similar "mask" for the eyes so you can concentrate on what you want to see...
--------------------
FYI: AngryBirds Multi device syncing now available.
---------------------------------------------
happy birthday? Spam mail turns 35
-------------------------------------
Hollywood's perfect timing: Nostalgic film about terrorism is released right in time for the Marthon bombing.
------------------------------
Volcanos can be dangerous: Link to a BBC special on how even scientists get it wrong.
YouTube Link
The bad news is that the Mayon explosion that killed the hikers last week was not a magna eruption, but overheated water exploding, so there was no warning.
----------------------------
Ender's game: The trailer is now available.
the problem? Ender was 8, not near puberty...
Ruby noticed the same thing in Percy Jackson film: They made Percy an older teen, not the 12 year old in the book.
I wrote awhile back about the problem of making underaged teens as military heroes: Indeed, children are easy to program as killing machines, as every third world dictator knows, and they are hard to "deprogram" into civilian life when the war stops (one of my friends in Zimbabwe helped work in a program that did this).
------------------------------------------------------
more news about pacifiers: adults who "clean" them by sucking on them may be helping their kids have fewer allergies.
but I suspect it is bad data based on population bias...
-------------------------
Stephen King supports gun control, and even pulls a short story about a teenager who shoots up a classroom because he is angry.
Uh, isn't it a little late for the author of Carrie to come out against teenagers using violence against bullies?
Ironically, if someone had a gun and shot Carrie when she was setting the prom on fire, maybe a lot of kids wouldn't have been killed in that novel/story...
--------------------------
Hmmm...Everyone on earth is related to everyone else...
----------------------------------
The "WAGD" article of the day: The SARS like virus that killed several people in Saudi has now been found in France in a man who had visited the UAE...
---------------------------
StrategyPage has the background for Israel's bombing of weapons in Syria
and this article on Algeria points out the tribal differences behind some of the conflicts may have a religious twist:
Wikpedia article notes that the Protestants are making converts there (although only a tiny percentage of the population) however, given that these are Protestants, one wonders if it will spread quietly, using the mem of the underground house churches as is happening in China.
Refworld has more HERE. about the prosecution of local Christians... more HERE.
--------------------------------------
The story behind the reason the Pope is declaring the martyrs of Otranto as saints
maybe because, like Thermopolae and the Alamo, they slowed an invasion so that the main army could be gathered to stop them...
and it mentions Vlad the Impaler as another "christian" prince who stopped the Turkish invasion of eastern Europe...and it mentions the Serbian struggle against the Turks: which is one reason why Russia resented Clinton bombing Serbia...
headsup IdleSpeculationsblog.
----------------------------------
Quickbeam at TORN presents his favorite Tolkien quotes.
my favorite wasn't there, but is this one:
Why? Because destroying the ring was not about glory and power, but about letting ordinary folks live their ordinary lives in peace...
Factoid: In the film, Jackson casted Sean Astin's daughter and Sarah Mcloed's daughter as her son...
and of course, in the book, Sam grew up with her brothers and knew her for years: she helped at their farm, and was not a barmaid (Jackson's invention to simplify the story)...
But that's a third world phenomenum, right?
Gay Caswell, an ex MP says no: it's a way of life for the "indigenous" in Canada:
We saw that watching Liberal stalwarts marshall the troops for NDP Doyle Vermette . For at least two weeks before the election day, dependable people from northern communities were stationed in La Ronge where they were given booze, dope, money for food and lodging. They voted Left and often and got their relatives and friends to do the same. Probably every person voted at every advance poll at least one. Most went home well stocked with booze and drugs to do the same on election day. Doyle Vermette is in the Legislature today because of sustained massive violations of the Election Act and sustained massive violations of the Criminal Code
drug laws.
How can any political campaign afford the drugs and booze that is freely distributed at election time? Where do they get these drugs? Why are there never charges and prosecutions?
Although I worry about her: Canada has a strong libel law, and she named names...the last time she did that, her blog was taken down and she was fined for libel (but apparently no investigation of her charges was done).
e"
---------------------------------------------
Brown out yesterday is routine in the hot/dry season, since we get a lot of our electric power from hydroelectric plants, which run low in water about now. (until the monsoon arrives in early June).
They had a major brownout in Manila yesterday, which is part of the "rolling brownout" strategy.
The bad news? we have electronic voting machines....and the election is this week...
To prevent fraud (i.e. stuffed ballot boxes full of fake votes) we have switched to voting machines (presumably the politicians haven't figured out how to reprogram the machines yet, and the ballots, which require punching your decision, require more time and energy to fake and are also counted manually to double check what is going on).
So will the rolling brownouts mess up the election?
----------------------------
A mask that lets you block out sound so that the unidirectional microphone can point to the sound you need.
What I can't figure out is why they need a mask, which some of us with agorphobia wouldn't tolerate, when simple ear plugs would do.
they also say they have a similar "mask" for the eyes so you can concentrate on what you want to see...
--------------------
FYI: AngryBirds Multi device syncing now available.
---------------------------------------------
happy birthday? Spam mail turns 35
-------------------------------------
Hollywood's perfect timing: Nostalgic film about terrorism is released right in time for the Marthon bombing.
------------------------------
Volcanos can be dangerous: Link to a BBC special on how even scientists get it wrong.
YouTube Link
The bad news is that the Mayon explosion that killed the hikers last week was not a magna eruption, but overheated water exploding, so there was no warning.
----------------------------
Ender's game: The trailer is now available.
the problem? Ender was 8, not near puberty...
Ruby noticed the same thing in Percy Jackson film: They made Percy an older teen, not the 12 year old in the book.
I wrote awhile back about the problem of making underaged teens as military heroes: Indeed, children are easy to program as killing machines, as every third world dictator knows, and they are hard to "deprogram" into civilian life when the war stops (one of my friends in Zimbabwe helped work in a program that did this).
------------------------------------------------------
more news about pacifiers: adults who "clean" them by sucking on them may be helping their kids have fewer allergies.
but I suspect it is bad data based on population bias...
-------------------------
Stephen King supports gun control, and even pulls a short story about a teenager who shoots up a classroom because he is angry.
Uh, isn't it a little late for the author of Carrie to come out against teenagers using violence against bullies?
Ironically, if someone had a gun and shot Carrie when she was setting the prom on fire, maybe a lot of kids wouldn't have been killed in that novel/story...
--------------------------
Hmmm...Everyone on earth is related to everyone else...
----------------------------------
The "WAGD" article of the day: The SARS like virus that killed several people in Saudi has now been found in France in a man who had visited the UAE...
---------------------------
StrategyPage has the background for Israel's bombing of weapons in Syria
and this article on Algeria points out the tribal differences behind some of the conflicts may have a religious twist:
There was also a religious element to the hostility as the local Berbers belong to a Shia sect. Algerians Arabs tend to be Sunni and Sunni conservatives consider Shia heretics. An increasing number of Berbers are also converting to Christianity, as a protest against the continued persecution of Berbers. This further infuriates the Sunnis. The government says that only 11,000 (out of 34 million) Algerians are Christian. But Christian religious leaders say the number is 30,000 and growing fast, especially among Berbers. The government fears these Berber Christians and Berbers in general. The Berbers, a people related to the ancient Egyptians, were the original occupants of Algeria. Arab armies conquered the country over a thousand years ago, but, unlike other Arab conquests, most Berbers did not adopt Arab language and customs. Today, about a third of Algerians are Berbers, and speak the Berber language, Tamazight.
Wikpedia article notes that the Protestants are making converts there (although only a tiny percentage of the population) however, given that these are Protestants, one wonders if it will spread quietly, using the mem of the underground house churches as is happening in China.
Refworld has more HERE. about the prosecution of local Christians... more HERE.
--------------------------------------
The story behind the reason the Pope is declaring the martyrs of Otranto as saints
maybe because, like Thermopolae and the Alamo, they slowed an invasion so that the main army could be gathered to stop them...
and it mentions Vlad the Impaler as another "christian" prince who stopped the Turkish invasion of eastern Europe...and it mentions the Serbian struggle against the Turks: which is one reason why Russia resented Clinton bombing Serbia...
headsup IdleSpeculationsblog.
----------------------------------
Quickbeam at TORN presents his favorite Tolkien quotes.
my favorite wasn't there, but is this one:
“But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap.
He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said”
Why? Because destroying the ring was not about glory and power, but about letting ordinary folks live their ordinary lives in peace...
Factoid: In the film, Jackson casted Sean Astin's daughter and Sarah Mcloed's daughter as her son...
and of course, in the book, Sam grew up with her brothers and knew her for years: she helped at their farm, and was not a barmaid (Jackson's invention to simplify the story)...
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Medical story of the day
Richard III, whose bones were recently found, was indeed suffering from scoliosis (he was a hunchback).
Ancient Standard discusses, and says it was idiopathic scoliosis.
Idiopathic scoliosis is more common in girls (and alas is common).
But it is less common in boys.
Many boys with scoliosis are born with a "hemivertebrae" which causes the problem, but the skeleten suggests his vertebrae/back bones were normal (not severely deformed). Cerebral palsy and some musculoskeletal problems can also cause this to happen.
Or did it develope from an injury, or from polio (and if so he would have weak legs) or ideopathic (which develops at puberty, during the growth spurt.).
I'll probably google about it later and put it on my medical blog.
Router is still out, and Joy's computer is out since Ruby spilled a soda on the keyboard, so I'm sharing the office computer with two people.
Ancient Standard discusses, and says it was idiopathic scoliosis.
Idiopathic scoliosis is more common in girls (and alas is common).
But it is less common in boys.
Many boys with scoliosis are born with a "hemivertebrae" which causes the problem, but the skeleten suggests his vertebrae/back bones were normal (not severely deformed). Cerebral palsy and some musculoskeletal problems can also cause this to happen.
Or did it develope from an injury, or from polio (and if so he would have weak legs) or ideopathic (which develops at puberty, during the growth spurt.).
I'll probably google about it later and put it on my medical blog.
Router is still out, and Joy's computer is out since Ruby spilled a soda on the keyboard, so I'm sharing the office computer with two people.
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Spin Spin Spin *(plus rants). Ignore please
..I suspect whatever caused the back pain was the cause of the sepsis: and have written about the differential diagnosis on my rant blog...however, one should note that the docs followed the AAFP guidelines for PROM
-----------------------------------------------------
We are expecting similar propaganda here since the RH bill is now suddenly back in the news.It is about population control, not maternal child health, and will fine medical personnel and employers if they don't push the pill or dare to advise against it. THAT should improve the ability to recruit Catholic and Muslim midwives for isolate rural areas (not)...
My solution? Village Pill ladies, which worked for us in Zimbabwe and worked wonders in Bangladesh...and if the Catholics wants NFP to be used, they can teach it at every parish...
------------------------------------
And the schools here are now pushing promiscuity under the guise of "sex ed", using the "huge increase in the rate of HIV" to justify it...
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS has noted that while elsewhere HIV/AIDS growth rates have declined, the Philippines and Bangladesh have posted at least 25% increase from 2001 to 2009 (UNAIDS 2011).25% growth? Gasp! Except...they are lying with statistics.
The absolute numbers remain low, and the increase is mainly in our OFW and local gays who cruise in Manila...
----------------------------------
Speaking of hate: The pope now has a twitter account, but the haters have already gotten busy filling it with the usual hate.
and GetReligion notes the cheerleading by the press to push gay marriage, but that they never bother to discuss what marriage, gender, or sexuality means, and how imposing a new morality could affect society.
The press pretends it's only about gays, but it's really about Julia, a single isolated woman who gets through life with government supplying her every need, not relying on family or spouse. For when you destroy all intermediate institutions such as family and churches, your only hope is the Leviathan..
And it will result in churches that support self control as being seen as hate speech, never mind that Confucius said the same thing.
----------------------
WMD? What WMD? If Hillary says it, it must be true.
You mean some of those trucks seen carrying supplies from Saddam to Syria before the Iraq war might have been carrying WMD's?
And is the US secretly arming the rebels? Fox asked that six weeks ago, but never mind, only racists raise such questions that go against this official claim:
Up to now, the United States has opposed military intervention or providing arms support to Syria's rebels for fear of further militarizing a conflict...As StrategyPage points out: 700 thousand refugees and counting, and if Assad goes, the next civil war will be the locals vs the radicals, whose ranks include many who are al queda linked foreigners experienced in war.
and I had to laugh: Only Ralph Nader is honest enough to notice that Obama is just as bad as Bush when it comes to war.
No, I don't agree with him, but at least he is honest about being anti war: The rest of those who made a frenzy against Bush were merely posturing for political reasons....
------------------------
The UK Mail has had a few articles about the overuse of the Liverpool pathway, (which was originally devised to be used for patients in pain with terminal cancer) and the UKMail notes they are now using the "protocol" to kill handicapped infants..
The usual sardonic Dustbury says:
Medical practitioners being fond of cutesy acronyms and such, I suggest something like Seems Nearly Unhealthy: Finalize (SNUF).Well, why not? The medical rationing board/death panel in the UK is named (I kid you not) NICE...
---------------------------------------
a little less dismal news is in the papers too:
Guess who is pregnant?
Best wishes to her and the family.
--------------------------
some watching the hobbit complained of dizzy spells.
I felt the same way the first time I watched an IMax movie...it felt like I was in a car moving with the camera...so I wonder: Is it the increase frame rate to blame, or because it was IMax?
So take a Meclizine before viewing if you are prone to motion sickness.
--------------------------------------
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Headlines below the fold
Not in the headlines for some reason, but if you scan lower
down you will find that the Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to the scientists who devised a way to make adult stem cells act like embryonic stem cells.
Japanese press story HERE.
Probably not in the reports: check NYTimes 2007 story about Yamanaka's decision to stop destroying embryos:
-------------------------------------------
StrategyPage report on the Philippines peace deal
Well, when even Binay and the Manila Bulletin (i.e. the business community) are praising him, it means this is a big deal. The indigenous groups, who predate the Moros, also are supportive.
(hint: The extremists will try to destroy it, so everyone is waiting for a few bombs to go off).
-----------------------------------
For the last two days I have been hearing prop planes and helicopters flying low overhead, meaning the AFP are training the Yanks in jungle warfare at nearby Ft Magsaysay again. And no: I haven't spotted any Harriers yet.
This would ordinarily be good news for the local working gals, but after the Subic rape case kerfuffle, the Marines are probably told local gals are now off limits.
One difference this year: I can't find reports of the left protesting the visit. Even the left hates China more than the US...but officials reassure China the fact the USS Bonhomme Richard is parked at Subic has nothing to do with China...
------------------
Related item: China's economic problems might affect the economic growth of Asia.
more HERE.
------------------------------
Strategy page keeps pointing out why there will be no peace with the Middle East: Two generations of hate propaganda in the media there.
Michael Totten links to this article in Arab news pointing out the same thing: Ignoring the Arab on Arab atrocities...
StrategyPage also report on the keystone cops infighting in the administration about the deaths at Benghazi. Some of the post attack coverup it to keep sources from being outed, of course, but the key question:
--------------------------
Mrs. Gay Caswell again blogs to correct a recently published book that whitewashes the history of "the ultimate mole" in the Canadian government...
Who do you believe, that nice elite writer who is "one of us", or the files from the KGB?
----------------------------------
Bookmarked for later reading: Camille Paglia and Ricochet on the demise of the arts.
----------------------------------------
MoJo has an article on everything you ever wanted to know (not) on fecal therapy.
-----------------------
Could Africa become the bread basket of the world?
yes: they need to copy Zimbabwe, where farmers grow wheat in the winter/dry season with the help of irrigation.
(and if they get rid of the tsetse fly and start irrigating, you'd see wheat field where NatGeo only sees lion habitat )
Japanese press story HERE.
Probably not in the reports: check NYTimes 2007 story about Yamanaka's decision to stop destroying embryos:
Dr. Yamanaka was an assistant professor of pharmacology doing research involving embryonic stem cells when he made the social call to the clinic about eight years ago. At the friend’s invitation, he looked down the microscope at one of the human embryos stored at the clinic. The glimpse changed his scientific career.
“When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters,” said Dr. Yamanaka, 45, a father of two and now a professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences at Kyoto University. “I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.”
-------------------------------------------
StrategyPage report on the Philippines peace deal
Well, when even Binay and the Manila Bulletin (i.e. the business community) are praising him, it means this is a big deal. The indigenous groups, who predate the Moros, also are supportive.
(hint: The extremists will try to destroy it, so everyone is waiting for a few bombs to go off).
-----------------------------------
For the last two days I have been hearing prop planes and helicopters flying low overhead, meaning the AFP are training the Yanks in jungle warfare at nearby Ft Magsaysay again. And no: I haven't spotted any Harriers yet.
This would ordinarily be good news for the local working gals, but after the Subic rape case kerfuffle, the Marines are probably told local gals are now off limits.
One difference this year: I can't find reports of the left protesting the visit. Even the left hates China more than the US...but officials reassure China the fact the USS Bonhomme Richard is parked at Subic has nothing to do with China...
------------------
Related item: China's economic problems might affect the economic growth of Asia.
more HERE.
------------------------------
Strategy page keeps pointing out why there will be no peace with the Middle East: Two generations of hate propaganda in the media there.
Michael Totten links to this article in Arab news pointing out the same thing: Ignoring the Arab on Arab atrocities...
StrategyPage also report on the keystone cops infighting in the administration about the deaths at Benghazi. Some of the post attack coverup it to keep sources from being outed, of course, but the key question:
That said, it's still unclear why the ambassador chose to spend September 11th (a day many Islamic terror groups liked to attack Americans on) in such a vulnerable place (Benghazi, noted for its many Islamic radical groups and in a lightly guarded consular compound, rather than the heavily guarded embassy back in Tripoli.)Well, it was an open secret that the place was indefensible and going to be attacked: every gamer has known this since VileRat said goodbye on line.
--------------------------
Mrs. Gay Caswell again blogs to correct a recently published book that whitewashes the history of "the ultimate mole" in the Canadian government...
Who do you believe, that nice elite writer who is "one of us", or the files from the KGB?
----------------------------------
Bookmarked for later reading: Camille Paglia and Ricochet on the demise of the arts.
----------------------------------------
MoJo has an article on everything you ever wanted to know (not) on fecal therapy.
-----------------------
Could Africa become the bread basket of the world?
yes: they need to copy Zimbabwe, where farmers grow wheat in the winter/dry season with the help of irrigation.
(and if they get rid of the tsetse fly and start irrigating, you'd see wheat field where NatGeo only sees lion habitat )
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
The "WAGD" post of the day
The outbreak of Hanta Virus among rich yuppies vacationing in Yosemite has made a lot of headlines.
Mother Jones report HERE, includes this CDC map
Huh? I knew about all the cases in the Navajo reservation area, but where did that case in Maine etc come from? No deermice there...
But the CDC notes that several different rodents can carry the virus.
which makes me wonder how many cases were never diagnosed in the past...and just died of "viral pneumonia"...
indeed the clue that the disease was local (not a "new" virus or a toxin ) was when the IHS docs consulted the native healers/medicine men, some of whom remembered previous outbreaks of a similar disease in the past when it rained more than usual.
Here is a nice film about how to clean up rat droppings, if you are in an area with Hanta virus:
Mother Jones report HERE, includes this CDC map
Huh? I knew about all the cases in the Navajo reservation area, but where did that case in Maine etc come from? No deermice there...
In May of 1993, an outbreak of unexplained illness occurred in the four corners region of the southwestern United States. A cluster of cases presented with influenza type illness that progressed rapidly to a more severe respiratory disease. Within a couple of weeks a newly identified virus, Sin Nombre, was shown to be the cause of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) and the rodent reservoir was shown to be the common Deer Mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus. Over the years HPS appeared to occur throughout the United States and was found to be caused by at least 10 different strains, each associated with different rodent species. Below is technical and clinical information that describes HPS in depth.
which makes me wonder how many cases were never diagnosed in the past...and just died of "viral pneumonia"...
indeed the clue that the disease was local (not a "new" virus or a toxin ) was when the IHS docs consulted the native healers/medicine men, some of whom remembered previous outbreaks of a similar disease in the past when it rained more than usual.
Here is a nice film about how to clean up rat droppings, if you are in an area with Hanta virus:
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
stuff below the fold take two
Good or bad? old maps used to say "here be monsters", but now Google Earth shows you the truth...
-------------------------------------
new malware "Flame" collects information about you.
heck, Facebook already does that....
but this seems to be cyberwar against everyone in the Middle East...
more here
and HERE.
-----------------------------------
hurricane seasons starts in the US with a bang.
hope my son in Florida is okay.
--------------------------
Don't mess with Zarifa, housewife, sheriff, village leader, and mother of 15
-----------------------------------------
"I tell the men of the village, all I want is your prayers," she says. "When you have a problem, I'll speak to the government on your behalf and whenever there is any disturbance at night-time, I'll pick up my gun and come to your house to see what's going on."
The UKGuardian has an expose on third world kidney buying...
and note the in-betweens and doctors get rich, not the donors.
Headsup Secondhandsmokeblog.
--------------------------------------
The "scary new disease of the week" is an oldie but goodie: Chagas disease.
more here.
It's mainly spread via insects that suck blood from you that hide in you in those nice, romantic looking hovels so beloved of the green types, or via blood (to unborn children, via transfusions).
Prevention? Insecticides, and screening of blood transfusions and pregnant women.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Be afraid, be very (rant)
Full rant moved to BNN...
(I wrote early drafts and posted here mainly to save it in case we had a brown out or intenet outage)
Summary can be found in this video....
(I wrote early drafts and posted here mainly to save it in case we had a brown out or intenet outage)
Summary can be found in this video....
Friday, November 19, 2010
Stuff below the fold
Hong Kong has another birdflu case, probably caught in China.
The reason this is so bad is that China has hid epidemics before (e.g.SARS) and we don't know if it is the tip of the iceberg or just an isolated infection from a sick bird.
------------------------
Strategypage discusses Stuxnet.
----------------------------
Persian paradox is being censored. She was active in throwing out the tyrannical Shah's regieme, and favors a free Islamic state.
Sorry, guys, but I am old enough to remember stories from my fellow docs who came from Iran about the Shah; like the problems with the Saudis, these problems were rarely covered by the US press.
-----------------
And finally, the cultural post of the day:
A Klingon Christmas Carol:
The reason this is so bad is that China has hid epidemics before (e.g.SARS) and we don't know if it is the tip of the iceberg or just an isolated infection from a sick bird.
------------------------
Strategypage discusses Stuxnet.
----------------------------
Persian paradox is being censored. She was active in throwing out the tyrannical Shah's regieme, and favors a free Islamic state.
Sorry, guys, but I am old enough to remember stories from my fellow docs who came from Iran about the Shah; like the problems with the Saudis, these problems were rarely covered by the US press.
-----------------
And finally, the cultural post of the day:
A Klingon Christmas Carol:
Scrooge has no honor, nor any courage. Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Stuff below the fold
Medicare fraud case: not caught until they had billed $100 million fake bills.
Yet we docs spend time and energy trying to figure out the complicated system, and often underbill out of fear we'll be investigated.What's wrong with this picture?
------------------
Trillianes is out, but the Morong 43 are still in jail....
--------------------------------------
New book on the Bloodlands of Stalin/Hitler .
the bloodlands are Central Europe, so these stories are now finally leaking out.
Also starting to leak out: the news that Mao made both of them look like amateurs.
--------------------------------------
InFromTheColdBlog discusses rumors of another underground explosion. Stuxnet strikes?
-------------------
Need a job? Guam is hiring...it seems the US is moving a lot of stuff from Okinawa to Guam and they are recruiting up to 15 thousand workers here in the Philippines to help build and staff the base.
---------------------
Bob Hope is dead, but Lt.Dan Band is still working for the USO.
Most of the youtube stuff is fuzzy phone captures, but this one has great music, if you ignore the pictures.
so turn up speakers and dance:
Yet we docs spend time and energy trying to figure out the complicated system, and often underbill out of fear we'll be investigated.What's wrong with this picture?
------------------
Trillianes is out, but the Morong 43 are still in jail....
--------------------------------------
New book on the Bloodlands of Stalin/Hitler .
the bloodlands are Central Europe, so these stories are now finally leaking out.
Also starting to leak out: the news that Mao made both of them look like amateurs.
--------------------------------------
InFromTheColdBlog discusses rumors of another underground explosion. Stuxnet strikes?
-------------------
Need a job? Guam is hiring...it seems the US is moving a lot of stuff from Okinawa to Guam and they are recruiting up to 15 thousand workers here in the Philippines to help build and staff the base.
---------------------
Bob Hope is dead, but Lt.Dan Band is still working for the USO.
Most of the youtube stuff is fuzzy phone captures, but this one has great music, if you ignore the pictures.
so turn up speakers and dance:
Monday, July 19, 2010
Headlines below the fold
Clan politics: Despite the massacre, the Ampatuan clan still got elected in a lot of posts.
How? They ran two folks for a lot of posts, guaranteeing a win, and of course they have access to loads of money to win.
of course, PNoy has lots of relatives and cronies in his administration too.
-------------
In other news, Senator Trillanes left out on bail (lots hoping he will be pardoned).(background HERE)
-----------------------
Global cooling episodes correlate with Chinese political instability.
Yup. famine, war, anarchy, and disease correlates with cold temperature, and not just in China.
and records of the first Emperor of China discovered.
and a quick perusal shows why folks hated him.
-------------------------
Chicken Little was right: The sky is falling:
Layers of Earth's upper atmosphere. Credit: John Emmert/NRL.
-----------------
I can take criticism of God, but not their whiney silly adolescent screeds of the "new atheists".
Too illogical.
First Things agrees, and suggests that the "new Atheists", they read Nietzsche to learn how to do it right.
of course, as a doc, reading Nietzsche's manic outpourings are dazzling, but the writings are suggestive of the writings of someone who is manic. And I use "Manic" in the medical sense.
There are any numbers of reasons for mania, including bipolar illness and drugs, but Nietzsche's gradual deterioration and paralysis suggests tertiary syphilis, the same problem that affected Winston Churchill's father. HERE is an example of a typical case.
addendum: IgnatiusScoop suggests that Hume is a better philosopher for arguing atheism and scepticism.
---------------------------
Medical trivia: one way to "cure" or stop the deterioration of tertiary syphilis: Give the patient a case of Malaria...
apparently the high fever killed the germ.
------------------
Finally, one of the headlines in the local paper:
ZsaZsa broke her hip.
yes, we have political murders, corruption, typhoons, dengue and malaria outbreaks, and a volcano that might erupt, but it's nice to know we keep up with the important news in our papers.
How? They ran two folks for a lot of posts, guaranteeing a win, and of course they have access to loads of money to win.
of course, PNoy has lots of relatives and cronies in his administration too.
-------------
In other news, Senator Trillanes left out on bail (lots hoping he will be pardoned).(background HERE)
-----------------------
Global cooling episodes correlate with Chinese political instability.
Yup. famine, war, anarchy, and disease correlates with cold temperature, and not just in China.
and records of the first Emperor of China discovered.
and a quick perusal shows why folks hated him.
-------------------------
Chicken Little was right: The sky is falling:
Layers of Earth's upper atmosphere. Credit: John Emmert/NRL.
NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed and now is rebounding again.
"This is the biggest contraction of the thermosphere in at least 43 years," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab...-----------------
I can take criticism of God, but not their whiney silly adolescent screeds of the "new atheists".
Too illogical.
First Things agrees, and suggests that the "new Atheists", they read Nietzsche to learn how to do it right.
of course, as a doc, reading Nietzsche's manic outpourings are dazzling, but the writings are suggestive of the writings of someone who is manic. And I use "Manic" in the medical sense.
There are any numbers of reasons for mania, including bipolar illness and drugs, but Nietzsche's gradual deterioration and paralysis suggests tertiary syphilis, the same problem that affected Winston Churchill's father. HERE is an example of a typical case.
addendum: IgnatiusScoop suggests that Hume is a better philosopher for arguing atheism and scepticism.
---------------------------
Medical trivia: one way to "cure" or stop the deterioration of tertiary syphilis: Give the patient a case of Malaria...
apparently the high fever killed the germ.
------------------
Finally, one of the headlines in the local paper:
ZsaZsa broke her hip.
yes, we have political murders, corruption, typhoons, dengue and malaria outbreaks, and a volcano that might erupt, but it's nice to know we keep up with the important news in our papers.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Haitian language support
Earlier, I posted a link for AMEDD materials to help workers in Haiti (includes mp3's).
Today's link is with Hesperian Foundation, who has materials in Spanish, English and Creole on line or to buy (actual books) to help health care workers.
Oh, they take donations.
Today's link is with Hesperian Foundation, who has materials in Spanish, English and Creole on line or to buy (actual books) to help health care workers.
Oh, they take donations.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Medical stuff below the fold
Spray on skin for burn patients...using the patient's own skin.
Contained in the thin skin sample are basal stem cells and melanocytes, cells that give skin its particular colour and texture. The structural materials holding these cells in place are dissolved with trypsin, an enzyme harvested from pigs, and then sprayed back onto a burn site.
Once on the burned area, the skin stem cells and melanocytes begin to divide and expand. In less than a week that stamp-sized donor site of skin can turn into a page's worth of new, healthy skin, which matches the tone and texture of the original skin more closely than skin grafts usually do.
==============
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