As most of the bloggers here are future scientists, I thought it might be interesting to bring up an issue making headlines recently. Dr. Janet D. Stemwedel explains in a short (albeit quite biased) blog post what Dr. Dario Ringach – formerly at UCLA – has had to endure recently as a researcher working on experiments that use animals. In short, activists have come to his house, beat on his doors and windows, and intimidated his family and friends. Dr. Ringach resigned from UCLA when they provided neither support, nor protection. In the past few weeks, activists have adopted a new plan to attack Ringach’s family.
The LAist confirms that the animal rights activists plan to go to Dr. Ringach’s children’s school to protest and “educate fellow students what their classmate’s father does for a living.” They have protested at his home before, and now they are going to his children’s school. One activist writes, “we’ll just tally up the kids as collateral damage, a small price to pay for all the attention it’s getting now.”
Scientific research has long been viewed from afar by “everyday citizens” as suspicious, fraudulent, and perhaps immoral. What those people in lab coats do is mysterious, confusing and sometimes scary. This is the same sentiment that causes doubt of every scientific finding, from relativity, to climate change.
Citizens have the right to ask questions and demand transparency in science. It has become increasingly clear that good science cannot be done without some kind of accountability and reporting mechanism to the people. Animal rights activists have the right to demand structures in the scientific world that defend animals from misguided research, and yes, such research certainly does happen. Does that mean they should terrorize a child’s school? No. But it does bring up some interesting questions, very salient to the writers here on this blog.
How much responsibility do scientists have to explain themselves to the public? Is that what science journalists, public information officers, the Discovery Channel, or this blog is for, or is there more. Many of the arguments that doctors and PhD’s are citing in response to Animal Rights groups is that if they knew how much good animal testing did for medicine they would surely think twice. If they understood the science behind the experiments, the long term goals and the current success stories. It is so easy for scientists to say “if only they understood the science, then they would understand.” Yet none of these scientists appears ready to explain that science to the activists. Is that not part of the scientist’s job description?
There are certainly bright spots. At UCLA, they recently had a panel to discuss, civilly, the issue of Animal Research. The sponsoring group, Bruins for Animals, is saddened to hear that some activists are harassing children and researchers, saying on their website “Some appear determined to continue with their attempts at interfering with this fresh direction the debate is taking. In a move that defies logic, these activists are now suggesting that children are legitimate targets of their protests.”
It is my hope that the new generation of activists is more like Bruins for Animals, willing and ready to sit down and talk about what the problems are and how to fix them, and perhaps, in the end, realizing that differences of opinion are not just healthy, but important. If no one questioned science, no good science would get done. But please, stay away from the children.
It’s estimated that over ten million people have cat allergy symptoms. These symptoms are thought by many to be associated with the contact with cat fur, or cat dander (dandruff). In seeking cat allergy relief, recent research has found the true cause of the allergy and hence, better treatments.
This research indicates that it’s actually not the fur or dander from your beloved pet that causes your allergic reaction – it is in fact caused by the cat’s sweat, and more likely the cat’s saliva.
This allergen is known as “FEL D 1″, and is smaller than both mold spores or pollen, which explains why so many people are allergic to cats but don’t seem to have other allergy symptoms.
When your cat cleans itself by licking its fur, the saliva dries on the coat, leaving a “protein allergen” that causes allergic reactions in humans, leaving many pet lovers in need of cat allergy relief.
When you pet your cat’s fur, the protein allergen in the dried flakes of saliva become airborne and you breathe these microscopic flecks into your lungs, where they lodge and cause the allergic symptoms.
The microscopic saliva particles also embed themselves everywhere in your home – Surfaces, including furniture, carpeting, and even windows have been found to have this protein allergen present on the surface!
These allergens remain present in a house for years after the pet has vacated the premises. All surfaces of the entire home will need to be cleaned, in order to gain the necessary cat allergy relief.
Many people say they love cats but can’t have one. But there are some good remedies for cat allergy relief, and this is good news for many people.
For people wishing to own a cat, they may try the following things to get cat allergy relief:
Immunotherapy, where the person receives a series of injections containing small amounts of the allergen – allowing the body’s immune system to build up anti-bodies to the allergen. This works in the same way as most vaccinations.
Remove all carpeting from your home- where myriads of germs and allergens lodge;
Utilize a HEPA air filter in your home and make sure you have plenty of fresh air circulating throughout the house.
Cover your blanket & mattress with anti-mite covers & vacuum your sofas & furniture regularly.
Take your cat to a groomer regularly to wash & brush them.
And finally, even the healing of Chinese acupuncture is known to be allergic to cats are easier for some people – you may be skeptical and not evrybody but try to enjoy the company of cats!
Microsoft looks at health potential of Xbox, apps (Cnet News): Xbox unit is cheaper than similar hospital equipment yet often just as powerful for storing electronic medical records.
Top 10 Free iPhone Medical Apps for Health care Professionals (iMedicalApps)
New search tools for science and disease information (Pharma Strategy Blog): Great new search engines found by Sally Church, PhD.
6 Reasons why mHealth is different than eHealth (Ted Eytan, MD)
New patients— Are you prepared for your visit? What does your physician want to know ? What should you ask?: Very important list for patients who will go to a doctor.
Eric Topol: The Wireless Future of Medicine (Medgadget)
10 Tips for Scientists on Blogging and Social Networking (HUGO Matters): Fantastic tips for scientists from Hsien-Hsien Lei.
Pasay City Councilor Noel “Onie” Bayona (second from the right) looks on as medical mission volunteers distribute medicines to the residents of Barangay 179 Zone 19 in Maricaban, Pasay City last May 10. The medical mission was a joint project of Bayona and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
As a holistic physician, I frequently have long talks with my patients , trying to know the whole person . It is crucial that I listen to these persons, so that there can be good therapeutic alliance . This is essential for effective healing . One of the roles of a physician is that of teacher – this is a role that I relish . In fact in another life I would want to be a kindergarten teacher. When the doctor becomes the teacher, medicine the science is transformed into medicine , the art .
We are now at the beginning of a new year , a new decade – a perfect time for reflection. As I reflect on my life I remember the lessons I have learnt. There have been many. Some have been learnt from my dear family and friends, who have cushioned me. At times I have been taught by my patients .
PATIENCE
Some patients can ramble – to get from point A to point B, they have to go first to points S , then M before arriving at B . This can be understandably frustrating as work needs to be done. I have learnt to be patient because we all have a story to tell. We all want someone to listen to us. Sometimes this is all the medicine a sick person needs.
FAITH
One day, Miss G. came for a routine “check up“. Out of no where she exclaimed “God answers prayers in three ways – yes , no , wait“ . Whoa ! I thought, this lady can read my mind, how did she know that I had been asking God why He was not answering my prayers? Since then whenever I pray, I remember what Miss G said.
ENDURANCE
This means to hold up under pain, fatigue. I frequently see many examples of endurance . Mrs. R, is a young woman with breast cancer who has undergone surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, only to have her cancer spread to her bones. She is in pain, but does not show it. Her energies are vibrant. She always greets me with a smile and asks “How are you doing today ? “
PERSEVERANCE
That lesson was learnt from Mr. W. He had a stroke . Overnight he became a cripple. He was confined to a wheelchair , but decided that he was not staying in that chair . After many months of painful physical rehabilitation , he is now able to walk with the aid of a walker . He is convinced that within the next three months he will be walking unaided.
HAPPINESS
Nothing puts a smile on my face like a little child bursting into my office , unannounced just to smile and greet me . I know the greeting is for me as I do not give children sweets ! . I have learnt that happiness is not directly correlated with material possessions or physical appearances. It is a state of mind.
FORGIVENESS
So many times I have heard of patients been physically and emotionally abused by a family member . I remember asking a lady in her seventies why she continued to live with her husband of 50 years who had disrespected her . Her reply was simple – “I have forgiven him . Although I no longer love him, he is the father of my children, my gifts from God. You see I accept him for the blessings that he has brought me. God is going to turn him around.”
EMBRACING MY “ HUMAN-NESS”
I have learnt that it is OK to give an encouraging smile , to call a patient to enquire about his/ her health , to hug a patient – although there was this one time when an 80 year old gentleman thought that the encouraging pat on his back, gave him permission to proposition me . I have learnt that it is OK to even shed a tear.
LOVE
This is demonstrated on a daily basis when we see patients been accompanied to the office by loved ones . These loved ones just want to be present to show their love, support and care.
In caring for my patients and empowering them to take charge of their health, I have learnt many lessons. I have learnt to embrace truth, honesty, kindness, faith, hope , love and mercy. I have learnt to have peace of mind, strength and joy of spirit. I continue to learn. I give thanks for my patients.
DR. JACQUELINE E. CAMPBELL B.Sc. (Hons) M.Phil. (Pharmacology) M.B., B.S.
Dr. Jacqueline Elaine Campbell is a family physician whose special interests are Pharmacology, and the use of Alternative/Complementary Medicine in the treatment of diabetes and other diseases that are common in Jamaica.
She is the author of A Patient’s Guide to the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus.
(Tilia cordata MİLLER ve/veya T. platyphyllos SCOPOLİ)
Alman resmi gazetesinde 01.09.1990 tarihinde yayınlanarak (Heftnummer:164, ATC-Code:R07AX) modern tıbbi tedavide kullanılmaya başlanmıştır.
Bitki: Kuzey Anadolu ve Avrupa’da yetişir. 15-40 m boya erişebilen, kışın yaprağını döken, birkaç yüzyıl yaşayabilen bir ağaçtır. Çiçekleri sarımsı beyaz renkli ve hoş kokuludur. T. Platyphylloos türü Kuzey Anadolu dağlarında yetişir, yapraklarının alt yüzü mavimsi-yeşil renkli ve tüylüdür.
İlaç etkili kısmı: Kurutulmuş çiçekleri kullanılır.
Bileşiminde: Flavanoid, tanen ve yapışkan madde (polisakkarit) bulunur.
Kullanıldığı yerler: Üşütmeye bağlı hastalıklar ve bununla ilgili öksürüklerde kullanılır. Terletme ile ateşin düşmesine yardımcı olur.
Kullanılmaması gereken haller: Yok.
İstenmeyen Etkileri: Yok.
İlaçlarla uyumsuzluğu: Yok.
Kullanım miktarı: Günlük ortalama kullanım miktarı 2-4 gr çiçek.
Kullanım şekli:
Çayı şöyle hazırlanır: 1 çay kaşığı çiçek dövülür veya öğütülür, bir fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilip 10 dakika demlenir, süzülerek içilir. Özellikle öğleden sonra 1-2 fincan taze hazırlanarak mümkün olduğunca sıcak içilmelidir.
“The world’s problem is not too many people, but lack of
political and economic freedom. Powerful evidence comes from pairs
of countries that had the same culture and history and much the
same standard of living when they split apart after World War II –
East and West Germany, North and South Korea, Taiwan and China. In
each case the centrally planned communist country began with less
population “pressure”, as measured by density per square kilometer,
than did the market-directed economy. And the communist and non-
communist countries also started with much the same birth rates.
But the market-directed economies performed much better
economically than the centrally-planned economies. This powerful
demonstration cuts the ground from under population growth as a
likely explanation of poor economic performance.>
~Julian Simon, The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Ultimate_Resource/
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Ultimate_Resource/TINTRO.txt
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (1of6)
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (2 of6)
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (3 of6)
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (4 of6)
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (5 of6)
The PRC Forum – Julian Simon (6 of6)
Background Articles and Videos
Julian Simon
“…Julian Lincoln Simon (February 12, 1932 – February 8, 1998)[1] was a professor of business administration at the University of Maryland and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute at the time of his death, after previously serving as a longtime business professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[2]
Simon wrote many books and articles, mostly on economic subjects. He is best known for his work on population, natural resources, and immigration. His work covers cornucopian views on lasting economic benefits from natural resources and continuous population growth, even despite limited or finite physical resources, empowered by human ingenuity, substitutes, and technological progress. His works are also cited by libertarians against government regulation.[citation needed] He died at the age of 65 of a heart attack Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Simon’s 1981 book The Ultimate Resource is a criticism of what was then the conventional wisdom on population growth, raw-material scarcity and resource consumption. Simon argues that our notions of increasing resource-scarcity ignore the long-term declines in wage-adjusted raw material prices. Viewed economically, he argues, increasing wealth and technology make more resources available; although supplies may be limited physically they may be viewed as economically indefinite as old resources are recycled and new alternatives are developed by the market. Simon challenged the notion of a pending Malthusian catastrophe—that an increase in population has negative economic consequences; that population is a drain on natural resources; and that we stand at risk of running out of resources through over-consumption. Simon argues that population is the solution to resource scarcities and environmental problems, since people and markets innovate. His ideas were praised by Nobel Laureate economists Friedrich Hayek[3] and Milton Friedman, the latter in a 1998 foreword to The Ultimate Resource II, but they have also attracted critics such as Paul R. Ehrlich and Albert Bartlett.
Simon examined different raw materials, especially metals and their prices in historical times. He assumed that besides temporary shortfalls, in the long run prices for raw materials remain at similar levels or even decrease. E.g. aluminium was never as expensive as before 1886 and steel used for medieval armor carried a much higher price tag in current dollars than any modern parallel. …”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Lincoln_Simon
Julian Simon Remembered:
It’s A Wonderful Life
by Stephen Moore
“…The weight of the facts that Simon brought to bear against the doomsayers was simply so overpoweringly compelling that I, like so many others, became a Julian Simon fanatic. Julian was the person who brought me to Washington in 1982 to work as his research assistant as he finished his next great book (coedited with the late futurist Herman Kahn of the Hudson Institute) titled The Resourceful Earth: A Response to Global 2000.
So for more than 15 years I was privileged to occupy a front-row seat from which I watched as Simon thoroughly and often single-handedly capsized the prevailing Malthusian orthodoxy. He routed nearly every prominent environmental scaremonger of our time: from the Club of Rome, to Paul Ehrlich, to Lester Brown, to Al Gore. (After reading Earth in the Balance, Julian was convinced that Gore was one of the most dangerous men and one of the shallowest thinkers in all of American politics.)
Simon’s dozens of books and his more than 200 academic articles always brought to bear a vast arsenal of compelling data on and analysis of how life on earth was getting better, not worse. Simon argued that we were not running out of food, water, oil, trees, clean air, or any other natural resource because throughout the course of human history the price of natural resources had been declining. Falling long-term prices are prima facie evidence of greater abundance, not increasing scarcity. He showed that, over time, the environment had been getting cleaner, not dirtier. He showed that the “population bomb” was a result of a massive global reduction in infant mortality rates and a stunning increase in life expectancy. “If we place value on human life,” Simon argued, “then those trends are to be celebrated, not lamented.”
Simon’s central premise was that people are the ultimate resource. “Human beings,” he wrote, “are not just more mouths to feed, but are productive and inventive minds that help find creative solutions to man’s problems, thus leaving us better off over the long run.” As Ben Wattenberg of the American Enterprise Institute explained in his brilliant tribute to Simon in the Wall Street Journal, “Simon’s central point was that natural resources are not finite in any serious way; they are created by the intellect of man, an always renewable resource.” Julian often wondered why most governmental economic and social statistics treat people as if they are liabilities not assets. “Every time a calf is born,” he observed, “the per capita GDP of a nation rises. Every time a human baby is born, the per capita GDP falls.” Go figure!
The two trends that Simon believed best captured the long-term improvement in the human condition over the past 200 years were the increase in life expectancy and the decline in infant mortality (see figures). Those trends, Simon maintained, were the ultimate sign of man’s victory over death.
Today, many of Julian Simon’s views on population and natural resources are so triumphant that they are almost mainstream. No one can rationally look at the evidence today and still claim, for example, that we are running out of food or energy. But those who did not know Julian or of his writings in the 1970s and early 1980s cannot fully appreciate how viciously he was attacked—from both the left and the right. Paul Ehrlich once snarled that Simon’s writings proved that “the one thing the earth will never run out of is imbeciles.” A famous professor at the University of Wisconsin wrote, “Julian Simon could be dismissed as a simpleminded nut case, if his ideas weren’t so dangerous.” …”
The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment
Synopsis
“…Arguing that the ultimate resource is the human imagination coupled to the human spirit, Julian Simon led a vigorous challenge to conventional beliefs about scarcity of energy and natural resources, pollution of the environment, the effects of immigration, and the “perils of overpopulation.” The comprehensive data, careful quantitative research, and economic logic contained in the first edition of The Ultimate Resource questioned widely held professional judgments about the threat of overpopulation, and Simon’s celebrated bet with Paul Ehrlich about resource prices in the 1980s enhanced the public attention–both pro and con–that greeted this controversial book.Now Princeton University Press presents a revised and expanded edition of The Ultimate Resource. The new volume is thoroughly updated and provides a concise theory for the observed trends: Population growth and increased income put pressure on supplies of resources. This increases prices, which provides opportunity and incentive for innovation. Eventually the innovative responses are so successful that prices end up below what they were before the shortages occurred. The book also tackles timely issues such as the supposed rate of species extinction, the “vanishing farmland crisis,” and the wastefulness of coercive recycling.In Simon’s view, the key factor in natural and world economic growth is our capacity for the creation of new ideas and contributions to knowledge. The more people alive who can be trained to help solve the problems that confront us, the faster we can remove obstacles, and the greater the economic inheritance we shall bequeath to our descendants. In conjunction with the size of the educated population,the key constraint on human progress is the nature of the economic-political system: talented people need economic freedom and security to bring their talents to fruition. …”
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David Gordon–Five Best Books on the Current Crisis–Video
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Banking Cartel’s Public Relations Campaign Continues:Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke On The Record
It’s not often that I have an entire day to myself to do whatever I want without anyone bugging me or anyone to bug. It seems this kind of day only happens when you have to stay home sick. And guess what: I’m sick. The funny thing is that even though I’ve been out of school for over two years now, I still feel like I’m supposed to be doing some homework I’d rather avoid.
Being sick in in Japan is not the easiest thing to be. When you can’t read or speak the language, it makes it difficult to find the right medication for yourself at the drug store. I have to rely on pictures on the box, if I’m even lucky enough to get pictures. Then, I have to figure out how many pills to take, however many times a day. Finding the lone numbers on the box with a single kanji character next to them is hard enough, but then I have to type in a possible English translation, turn it into Japanese kanji using my trusty Google Language Tools and see if I get a match. It certainly is a process.
Or I give up and turn to the internet for home remedies. The problem here is that sometimes these home remedies include things I could only find back home, like cod liver oil or lavender oil or some other oil or herbal by-product. Perhaps these things are indeed available in Japan, but that would require me to know Japanese. Here you might say, “Why doesn’t she just get a Japanese person to help her out?” but my dear friend, let me ask you, how do you ask a Japanese person about cod liver oil? That’s not a common thing they would have learned in their conversational English lessons. Sure, I could just explain my symptoms and hope they know enough health-related English terminology to lead me to the right medical help. But that’s something I like to wait on till it’s absolutely necessary. The only Japanese people I know who speak English and can help me with these problems are already busy enough with their own lives. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt like a helpless kid who needs a mommy in this country.
For the most part, I really have been lucky, not getting sick too often. And when I do, it’s usually just a cold and I know how to take care of that at home with plenty of rest, vitamin C, and liquids. A good box lotion-infused Kleenex always helps too. No official medication required. But what’s keeping me home from work today is… well, I still don’t know what it is, even though I went to the doctor… but I’d had a sore throat for four days (a long time) and on the fourth day, white spots appeared on my tonsils. That’s when I decided I better see a doctor. Now this is always a hassle at school because they can’t just cancel my classes and everyone else’s schedules get changed around because of me. That always makes me feel bad, but everyone keeps a smile on their face and no one complains, so I guess it’s not the end of the world. Anyway, my poor manager had to take me to the hospital on her day off to translate for me and the doctor prescribed me some antibiotic and ..other stuff.. to take for five days. This is what I came home with:
Japanese medicine for a sore throat.
All for a sore throat! So the gold pills are the antibiotic. The powder stuff is for my fever and my nose, so I was told. The blue pills are for nasal discharge, and the pink pills are to protect my stomach from all the other pills. The bottle is a concentrated Listerine-smelling mouthwash I have to mix with water and gargle but not swallow. And the Lifesaver-looking things are throat lozenges I can only take a maximum 5 of per day. Everything else is to be taken three times a day after meals. Yeesh. They never even said exactly what it was I have. Oh well.
I started this medication yesterday and already I feel a bit better. That’s good because I have to be back at work tomorrow. I swear, going to work sick is bad but it’s even worse when you’re a teacher. You have to teach a class for 50 minutes like nothing’s wrong and all eyes are on you. Blowing your nose in public in Japan is rude too and I’m sure my students wouldn’t want to be that close to me (those rooms are small) even if they did understand I was sick. If I’m lucky, I get a 5-10 minute break between classes to try to freshen myself up and get all my materials for the next class. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day too. Saturdays always are.
Anyway, I guess that’s what I had to write about today. Next, I think I’ll try to write something more creative. With all this time to myself, forcing myself to relax and get some rest, I’ve started reading a lot more. I finally finished a book I was supposed to read for a class back in college but never did. I held onto it though, because I had heard from everyone else that it was a good book. And it was. (Nervous Conditions, if you’re curious). It made me feel good to finish a book. I’m notorious for never finishing a book I start, but since I’ve been in Japan for nearly nine months now, I’ve started and finished four books. FOUR BOOKS. In nine months. That’s a record for me. I’m usually doing well if I finish one book in two years. I’ve since started another book and this is my biggest book to date. It’s a whopping 816 pages long. But I’m excited about it. I used to not fathom how people could read a book that long. But it’s a personal goal I’ve set for myself and it makes me feel like I’m accomplishing a lot more than I could by sitting on my computer all day or watching movies. Reading also inspires me to think, imagine, and create. It’s strange in a way, because these are all the things I should have been doing and feeling when I was getting my Bachelor’s in English Literature over two years ago. It’s like my subconscious finally caught up.
Okay, new personal goal: Read, think, imagine, and create. Even if you’re not sick at home.
This is an article that discusses who the government thinks is growing the medicine in Colorado. The DEA seems to think large drug cartels are involved, but many who have lived in Colorado for a long time seem to think otherwise. Multiple reasons are given that seem to indicate most of the medicine is being grown by local, smaller operations.
Local officials say medical marijuana supply grown locally, DEA disagrees
This is from Ambrose-Evans Pritchard in today’s Telegraph blogs:
“…David Cameron views the NHS as sacrosanct, but that is precisely what must be cut. It is anachronistic that you cannot obtain prescription drugs without going through a doctor — wasting everybody’s time — as if doctors these days reach a better decision in two minutes than well-informed patients with an acute self-interest in getting the matter right. It is precisely this edifice that needs to be hacked down with a machete in a revolutionary rethink about the functions of the state..”
He is right. The Knife works in a big NHS hospital, and knows how the management works. You could save 10% fairly easily without cutting back on much. That’s the view of pretty much all my colleagues, who are fans of the NHS. No-one is thirsting to hoover up the debris in the private sector. Here’s a few:
1. Scrap health boards. What do they really do? Public health issues are national with a few exceptions. GP’s can be contracted centrally as independent practitioners, small groups of hospitals (AKA trusts) can be funded by central government
2. Get tough with GP’s. The government should tell them what they want, not the other way round, and pay less for some of the less valuable services that they offer.
3. Scrap unwieldy clinical governance bureaucracies and devolve the safety/quality issues purely to the specialties
"..could you direct me to the Clinical Governance department?"
4. Show more flexibility on waiting times targets – the public are not obsessed by the difference between 9 and 12 weeks. Getting these cases done in tight specialties costs a fortune, when you could just wait a little bit longer. this is NOT a return to 1 year waits for a hernia etc..
5. Ban management consultants
6. Get rid of development co-ordinators/advisors etc with clipboards. They are bugger all use.
7. Everyone know some things are bad for you – smoking, booze etc – so stop spending cash telling them this
8. National pricing for drugs and implants, end local negotiations
…..there are lots and lots of these ideas, they just need the will to act on them. Ask any doctor.
Crash dieting is not possible for all of us for different reasons and is not advisable either. But maintaining good health is important for all of us. So, what’s the solution? Let’s adopt the middle path. Less eating can help us achieve our objective.
Since ancient times when medical sciences came into existence, diet assumed great importance. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was the first man to establish that unbalanced diet and improper food are the causes of diseases.
Dr. Samuel Hannemann, the father of Homeopathy, discussed effects of diet on a healthy body as well as on patients.
Anything which is fully-loaded has some disadvantages. For example, just try to visualize a fully loaded bus or a fully packed luggage bag and how clumsy they are. For optimum performance there should be a little bit space in everything.
Eat less to live more
, flatulence, loose motion and vomiting.colics digestive juices and acids are not enough to digest the voluminous food intake and indigestion results. This leads to stomach The quantity of our digestive system. These body parts expand and contract and help move the food forward. However, food taken in large quantities and gulped in forcefully, create dumping in the system. This drastically lowers the digestion efficiency. constituteStomach, gall bladder, small and large intestines, rectum and the anus
The stomach remains loaded with undigested food which begins to rot and this definitely is detrimental to the body. This is an invitation to many disorders. Ayurveda says that minimal diet is easily digested and as a result vital nutrients are supplied to the body for health and vigor.
Food should be cooked at very low temperatures so that the nutrients are preserved, and eat only that much as is required by the stomach. One should never stuff or gulp morsels of food and dump the digestive system.
Many would tell you that they do not feel energized after eating so much. The more you eat before you go to bed, the more tired you will tend to feel the minute you wake up. What is the reason for feeling so fatigued after eating? Isn’t eating supposed to give you more energy? The reason you feel so tired right after eating is because digesting food consumes so much energy. Unfortunately, only animals and babies retain their natural instinct when sick and they choose to refuse food.
Here is some tips for you:
Eat enough calories but not too many. Maintain a balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don’t eat more food than your body uses. The average recommended daily allowance is 2,000 calories, but this depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity.
Eat a wide variety of foods. Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don’t normally eat.
Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.
Drink more water. Our bodies are about 75% water. It is a vital part of a healthy diet. Water helps flush our systems, especially the kidneys and bladder, of waste products and toxins. A majority of Americans go through life dehydrated.
And finally,
Don’t be the food police. You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart – even if those French fries aren’t!
Every day hundreds of thousands of doctors and patients around the world discuss the benefits and risks of drugs. You might think therefore that we know how to communicate the information well, but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration agree that we don’t.
Indeed, the EMA logically thinks that before we can communicate well we need to reach an agreed definition on what we mean by benefits and risks and determine the best methodology for measuring and describing them.
Research among 42 assessors of drugs showed that there was no agreed definition of benefits and risks but rather multiple definitions. There was no agreed systematic approach, but there was agreement that it was difficult to define and measure benefits and risks.
Should definitions be qualitative, quantitative, or both? Should there be explicit criteria for both benefits and risks? How can patients’ values best be incorporated? How might definitions relate to the severity of the conditions being treated? Patients will accept much more risk in treatments for serious, life threatening illnesses. How can definitions deal with the gap between efficacy (as measured in clinical trials) and effectiveness (what happens in the real world)? And what about drugs being used off label, when there may be risks but no benefits? What is the best way to acknowledge uncertainties? How can doctors explain to patients that only 20% of them may benefit from a treatment and that we have no way of knowing whether any particular patient is in the 20% or the 80%? How can we best describe the huge uncertainties around the benefits and risks in the many patients who have multiple comorbidities?
The EMA is tackling these questions with a series of activities and hopes to have some answers within about 18 months. But what might be the role of drug companies in communicating benefits and risks? This question was discussed at a meeting I attended at the Royal Society last week.
Drug companies are understandably perplexed about their role in communication in Europe. They know more about their drugs than anybody else, but they are not allowed to communicate with patients—even if a patient contacts them with a specific question. Politicians in Europe are unyielding in their refusal to allow drug companies to communicate with patients—fearing bias or inflation of their drug budgets.
A particularly tricky issue arises over periodic safety update reports (PSURs), which drug companies are required to present to the EMA. These may be huge documents and give detailed, patient level information of new reports they have received on adverse drug reactions and any other new information that bears on the safety of their product. Most doctors and patients don’t know of the existence of these PSURs, but some groups have found out about them and want to know more.
The motivation to know more might be either a hunger from patients for all relevant information or a fear that something is being hidden. Various groups in Europe have asked to see these reports under freedom of information acts, and some redacted versions have appeared on websites in the Netherlands. (We in Britain learnt the word “redacted” through the scandal of MPs’ expenses: it means that some information, in this case patient details, is blacked out.)
As they stand these PSRUs are not good for communicating benefits and risks for patients, not least in that they concentrate on risks and say little about benefits. But could they be made useful? This remains an open question, but most people at the meeting thought that better ways could be found to communicate benefits and risks—particularly after the EMA has completed its work on definitions.
There were disagreements at the meeting, but everybody seemed to agree that many medicines are not used rationally and that it’s in the interests of everybody—patients, clinicians, regulatory authorities, health care funders, and drug companies—that they come to be used more rationally. Better ways of communicating the benefits and risks of medicine will be one way to help achieve that aim.
Competing interest: The meeting was funded by Roche, but I received no fee or expenses. I did, however, have two cups of coffee, two cups of tea, and a tasty lunch, for which I thank Roche. If I was an employee of the US government I wouldn’t have been able to accept the lunch, but I can’t say I feel corrupted.
Some med students were lucky enough to have had awesome teaching in reporting chest radiographs. (I fondly remember taking my lunch hour to attend a small tutorial, kindly held by this 90 year old radiologist, very experienced, and incredibly dedicated in teaching and making us see the light(box))
We were such aweful skiving med students; this class was anything from 1-6 pax large! I thank Alex and Kathy (What country have they NOT been to?!) for organising these awesome sessions for us, and I wish I remembered her name that lovely lady, who knew we wouldn’t listen unless she was harsh with us.
Now just moogling and found a great secret source which runs this through pretty concisely. Ok it wasn’t so secret, but it made you click! Follow it and you will not miss a sign. Perservere for lateral CXR interpretations too, it’s initially mind bending, but a dying trade.
Last night there was an interesting segment on Olympic doping and what athletes go through to insure that they’re clean but more importantly, that the ones that aren’t, get caught. Unfortunately, the testing only catches about 1/4 of 1 percent of the athletes and most of the results are for the use of marijuana, not enhancement drugs.
That would seem a worthless use of time, energy and money but the USADA doesn’t see it that way because as they say, “you can’t calculate the deterrent factor.” Athletes that might be tempted to cheat won’t because they fear getting caught, is definitely something to consider. However, when an entire life is spent trying to obtain a medal that can be lost by less than 1/10th of a second, there will always be those that succumb to the pressure to win, at all costs.
These athletes are not alone out there, they have entire teams of physicians, agents, coaches, all trying to make their athlete the winner. Therefore, they can find those “evil chemists,” that the USADA abhors, and help the athletes willing to cheat, with ways of hiding the use of enhancement drugs.
As I watched the segment, they showed how over 3,000 athletes from around the country are required to notify the USADA of their every move and I do mean, their EVERY move. They are subjected to random test which means that if they run out for a gallon of milk and aren’t there when the doper police show up, then they are given one strike and 3 strikes can get you suspended, from your sport.
As they showed the Houston Marathon begin, the interest was not on the athletes but on the USADA shacklers. They actually have a term for the person that is waiting at the finish line, for a particular athlete. The tape is broken, the athlete who’s bending over in triumph and exhaustion is met with their shackler, the person that will be shackled to their side, until such time as the athlete can work up a large cupful of urine.
This takes hours, remember these athletes just ran a freaking marathon, urinating for them is next to impossible, so they immediately start downing bottles of water, each chosen only by them, as well. The shacklers are their shadows and literally never leave their side until the urine is gathered. Even then, they actually watch the delivery being made, which is then capped off and carried by the athlete, where they themselves are required to sit down and begin their own science project. It took one athlete longer to work up her cupful of urine, than it did for her to run the marathon. Talk about anti-climactic.
Another athlete lost his chance at the last winter Olympics and not because he cheated but because he wasn’t vigilant on keeping up with the drugs that were banned. Evidently this athlete’s vanity got the best of him. He was using Propecia, the hair growth drug, which he declared the use of, each year to the USADA. This guy was on the up and up but he failed to make sure that Propecia was still an accepted drug. The USADA banned the drug because it was thought that it was being used to cover up the use of enhancement drugs and he failed to realize that. He tested positive and that result cost him his change in the 2006 winter Olympics. His opening ceremony clothing was lying on his bed, ready for him to step into, when the call came notifying him that he was no longer eligible, to compete. Propecia was taken off the banned substance list 2 years later because there was no evidence that it could hide the use of enhancement drugs. He is competing in this year’s winter Olympics but instead of being in first place, he’s thirteenth, overall.
Nothing angers me more than cheaters, especially in the Olympics. You can’t watch sports in America without there being a brewing drug scandal behind it. All those miraculous feats turn to nothing more than cheats and all because the athlete in question, didn’t just want to win, but wanted to be the only winner. It wasn’t enough that they were already professional athletes, a goal in itself that is hard to achieve.
Olympic hopefuls are tested enough on the path to their Olympic dreams, without adding the temptation to win, through cheating. I don’t know what the answer is but standing on the winner’s block can’t possible taste sweet when the bitter taste of drugs, is still fresh on your tongue.
I create this blog in order to share with others with my experience in the natural healing with acupuncture.
Doctor Jing Ru Zhou is my acupuncture doctor, who has saved me from putting my life at risk. I suffered from anemia. I felt dizzy and sleepy, especially after losing blood in my hip operation. I had been so desperate to find a doctor like Doctor Zhou all my life. She has reminded me of my grandfather, Chan Li Hai who was a Feng Shui master and a medical doctor.
Doctor Zhou is like my grandfather. She is very knowledgeable, kind with a heart and very humble. My grandfather had passed away. I just feel that I have lost the most valuable treasure in my life. I am so glad to have met Doctor Jing Ru Zhou. She is such an amazing acupuncture doctor. The thing she does with acupuncture intrigue me. She does the Ba Gua format and principles. Anyone who understands feng shui would be intrigue like me. Feng Shui is about realigning the energy in a house. Acupuncture is about aligning energy in a body.
Doctor Zhou and I have a lot to talk about the energy in Ba Gua, Feng Shui and Yi Ching. It is so fascinating that doctors can make use of Ba Gua principles to fix our energy in our body.
I felt like I was in paradise after receiving acupuncture treatment from Doctor Zhou. I no longer feel sleepy. I feel that I can do so much more with my life. I had been to other Chinese acupuncture doctors to fix the energy in my body in the past. I did not feel the same as I feel now.
Dr. Zhou is such an expert in many areas as I found out from her patients while I was waiting to be treated. I will start to share with you what kind of illness she can cure with acupuncture as I go along writing this blog. I have so much to write about that I think I have to write in many blogs.
One of her patients called Linda told me that she was in a wheel chair since she was 13. After going to Dr. Zhou for acupuncture treatments, she now walks and leads a normal life. She even got married. Linda is very grateful with Dr. Zhou. Linda knew I was going to write this blog. She told me to call her to tell me more of how Dr. Zhou has helped her. I will share with you her experience later.
Dr. Zhou was so good in her work, I wonder how long she had been in acupuncture field. She told me that she was in this acupuncture medical filed for 50 years. She used to study both Chinese acupuncture and western medicine as a surgeon. She graduated in 1960. I asked her what kind of western medicine that she studied. She said she used to operate on stomach. Now I understand why she has so much knowledge about Tai Chi on a Ba Gua. It relates to the chi in the stomach. I really enjoyed talking to Dr. Zhou. She is full of wisdoms and disciplines.
Dr. Zhou’s specialty is in healing pain, depression, weigh loss … I would tell you more later in the next blog. The reason why I start this blog is because I appreciate Dr. Zhou in fixing my medical issues. I want the world to know that you can heal with natural remedy without side effects.
You may contact Dr. Zhou 626 796 4896 Her address is 127 North Madison Ave, Suite 25, Pasadena, California 91101. Her email is painhealer888@googlemail.com
Anthony P.Hollander,Paul V.Hatton, “Biopolymer Methods in Tissue Engineering (Methods in Molecular Biology Ser)”
Publisher: Humana Press | 2003-11-17 | 280 Pages | ISBN: 0896039676 | PDF | 4,5 MB
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Expert laboratory researchers describe in a standard format all the diverse laboratory methods needed to perform state-of-the-art tissue engineering. Topics range from the synthesis, processing, and characterization of specific biomaterials, through the successful use of scaffolds in theengineering of tissues, to techniques useful in evaluating the biological quality of scaffold-engineered tissues. Topics of special interest include the incorporation of biological molecules into scaffold biomaterials and the use of a wide range of methods and techniques to generate a comprehensive description of cell-polymer construct quality.
Four new studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine link exercise with healthy aging.
In an editorial accompanying the reports, Drs. Jeff Williamson and Marco Pahor of the University of Florida, wrote: “Regular physical activity has also been associated with greater longevity as well as reduced risk of physical disability and dependence, the most important health outcome, even more than death, for most older people.”
In the first study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that among women aged 70 and older, those who engaged in regular physical activity during middle age were more likely to show signs of better overall health, according to MediLexicon.
Another study linked resistance training to improved cognitive skills in older women. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups that undertook a particular exercise program for a year. Researchers from Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and University of British Columbia reported that those in the resistance training groups performed better on a cognitive test of selective attention and conflict resolution.
Exercise may be linked to reduced cognitive impairment in adults, according to the third study. Researchers in Germany followed a group of older adults for two years and found that moderate or high physical activity appeared to be linked with a lower risk of developing cognitive impairment.
The final study looked at the link between exercise and bone health. German researchers recruited and randomly assigned more than 240 women aged 65 and older to follow an exercise program or a wellness program for 18 months. Those in the exercise group appeared to have denser bones and a reduced risk of falls but not a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
These studies are just another clear indicator that seniors should stay as active as they can, as it will only be beneficial to their overall health and reduce mental decline. Although you may not be able to find the time to get your loved one up and out of the house, you can always find help at your local Home Instead Senior Care. CAREGivers are passionate about their work, and they can help motivate your loved one into participating in even the simplest forms of activity.
Home Instead Senior Care will provide outstanding caregivers to help your loved one with personal care, incidental travel, companionship, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and even meal preparation. To learn more, call 248-203-2273 or visit www.homeinstead.com. Home Instead Senior Care is the world’s trusted source of in-home non-commercial personal care and companionship for seniors. Each franchise is independently owned and operated. And remember, to us, it’s personal.
The swine flu outbreak was a ‘false pandemic’ driven by drug companies that stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare, a leading health expert has claimed.
Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organisation’s decision to declare a pandemic.
This led to the pharmaceutical firms ensuring ‘enormous gains’, while countries, including the UK, ’squandered’ their meagre health budgets, with millions being vaccinated against a relatively mild disease.
Trapped: British family Neil, Maria, Samuel and Abigail Willis were quarantined in their hotel in Beijing, China, at the height of the swine flu scare
A resolution proposed by Dr Wodarg calling for an investigation into the role of drug firms has been passed by the Council of Europe, the Strasbourg-based ’senate’ responsible for the European Court of Human Rights.
An emergency debate on the issue will be held later this month.
Dr Wodarg’s claims come as it emerged the British government is desperately trying to offload up to £1billion of swine flu vaccine, ordered at the height of the scare.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson last year ordered the NHS to plan for up to 65,000 deaths
The Department of Health warned of 65,000 deaths, set up a special advice line and website, suspended normal rules so anti-flu drugs could be given out without prescription and told health and local authorities to prepare for a major pandemic.
Planners were told to get morgues ready for the sheer scale of deaths and there were warnings that the Army could be called in to prevent riots as people fought to obtain drugs.
But with fewer than 5,000 in England catching the disease last week and just 251 deaths overall, Dr Wodarg has branded the H1N1 outbreak as ‘one of the greatest medical scandals of the century’.
He said: ‘We have had a mild flu – and a false pandemic.’
He added the seeds of the scare were sown five years ago, when it was feared the much more lethal bird flu virus would mutate into a human form.
The ‘atmosphere of panic’ led to governments stockpiling the anti-flu drug Tamiflu and putting in place ’sleeping contracts’ for millions of doses of vaccine
Dr Wodarg said: ‘The governments have sealed contracts with vaccine producers where they secure orders in advance and take upon themselves almost all the responsibility.
‘In this way the producers of vaccines are sure of enormous gains without having any financial risks.
‘So they just wait, until WHO says “pandemic” and activate the contracts.’
He also claims that to further push their interests, leading drug companies placed ‘their people’ in the ‘cogs’ of the WHO and other influential organisations.
Sue Armitage with her children Daisy and Ralph who could not go on holiday after catching swine flu
He added that their influence could have led the WHO to soften its definition of a pandemic – leading to the declaration of a worldwide outbreak last June.
Dr Wodarg said: ‘In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies have influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards, to alarm governments worldwide.
‘They have made them squander tight healthcare resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly exposed millions of healthy people to the risk of unknown side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines.’
He does not name any Britons with conflicts of interest.
But last year, the Daily Mail revealed that Sir Roy Anderson, a scientist who advises the Government on swine flu, also holds a £116,000-a-year post on the board of GlaxoSmithKline.
GSK makes anti-flu drugs and vaccines and is predicted to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic.
A young girl is given an inoculation at a medical centre in Cockermouth, England. Millions were given vaccines against swine flu, with pharmaceutical companies being paid huge sums by the government
The Department of Health says that although the disease appears to be on the wane, it cannot rule out a third surge and urges all those entitled to the jab to have it.
Professor David Salisbury, the Government’s head of immunisation said there were ‘no grounds whatsoever’ for Dr Wodarg’s claims, saying people with conflicts of interest were kept out of the decision-making process.
A GSK spokesman said: ‘Allegations of undue influence are misguided and unfounded. The WHO declared that H1N1 swine flu met the criteria for a pandemic.
‘As WHO have stated, legal regulations and numerous safeguards are in place to manage possible conflicts of interest.’
The company, which still employs Sir Roy, said he had declared his commercial interests and had not attended any meetings related to the purchase of drugs or vaccine for either the Government or GSK.
Dr Conrad Murray, the murderer of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson is set to turn himself in to the LAPD and face the charges surrounding his actions in the murder of Michael Jackson. A lawyer for Michael Jackson’s personal physician said Tuesday that the Houston-based doctor is in Los Angeles and ready to surrender if authorities file charges against him in the pop star’s death.
Dr Murray has admitted that he irresponsibly administered the lethal drug anesthetic propofol into Michael Jackson’s system on the night of June 25, which was the cause of his untimely death. An autopsy classified Jackson’s death as a homicide and said the cause was “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with the use of sedatives.
TMZ.com is reporting that…manslaughter charges will not be filed today but if Murray surrenders on schedule it seems the L.A. County District Attorney will file charges first thing in the morning and Dr. Murray would be arraigned in downtown L.A. criminal court…
Let us all hope that this murderer is taken from the streets, so he can not victimize any one else….no matter how famous, or not.
“[...] Apoptosis, the process by which cells commit suicide, is a vital mechanism in the body that weeds out damaged, infected, or otherwise unhealthy cells. No matter what the disease or the tissue, cells undergoing apoptosis have very distinct characteristics–the electrical profile of their membrane changes, the cells become more acidic, and lipids in the membrane lose their rigid order and become jumbled. Aposense believes it has found a way to target a trace marker to this combination of traits, which would let doctors image cell death and thereby determine whether radiation and chemotherapy are working within just a few days after treatment begins. [...]“
The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment
