Sunday, April 1, 2012
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/rethinking-healthcare/new-blood-test-predicts-heart-attack-weeks-in-advance/8268?tag=nl.e098
Home / Technology / Rethinking Healthcare
New blood test predicts heart attack weeks in advance
By Janet Fang | March 21, 2012, 9:00 PM PDT
*** begin quote ***
A simple test that spots abnormal cells coming from the lining of blood vessels can predict a heart attack a week or two beforehand.
Heart attacks happen when fatty deposits in an artery burst open. A blood clot forms to seal the break, but if that gets too big, it blocks off blood flow.
Blood vessels are lined with ‘endothelial cells’ that control the ability of arteries to widen and prevent clots. When there are a lot of large, misshapen endothelial cells, a heart attack is imminent, the new study shows.
*** and ***
In the future, patients at risk could have a nanosensor implanted in a vein to detect the abnormal cells and then send an alert to their phone.
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine today.
*** end quote ***
This is a great break thru. Fascinating that if could warn us about the widow maker.
From my time on the first aid squad, there is a whole class of victims — men in the forties, smokers, maybe Type A — that just drop dead. And, we had no chance to save them.
(Each one made me sadder. The adage was that each member had a limited number of these in their “tank”. Then when they hit “empty”, they’d have to give it up.)
My break point was a thirty something cancer victim without insurance who needed twice weekly transport in the middle of the night for cheap treatment. He was riddled with cancer and every little jiggle caused him pain, despite painkillers. That was the breaking point for me after 14 years.
I can’t imagine how “real” medical professionals, doctors and nurses, deal with this.
It’d be great to avoid that sadness for all involved. No one would be happier, except for the victim who dodges death.
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Posted by reinkefj
Sunday, March 25, 2012
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/
Hunger Games (2012)
A strong anti Government message
I’m sure that this movie will create some budding little L libertarians. Even more so than the recent “Atlas Shrugged”. If only because the theater was packed with youngsters. Some as young as 10. So much for PG13. And, of course, the obligatory crying baby!
On technical points, while it may win Academy Awards and be a box office smash, it is NOT “GREAT”! (Although I might go see it again to capture the nuances drown out by the poor crying baby. (Wasn’t that “child abuse”? Or aggression by the parent of stealing their fellow theater goers’ expensive experience.)
I didn’t think anything was especially note worthy. In the ENTIRE movie. in general. It doesn’t have a stand.out “Gone With The Wind” type moment.
It lacks the vivid realism of that opening scene in “Saving Private Ryan”, which as much as Hollywood could, puts you on the beach with a feel for the awesome ferocity and death. Made me realize that those D-day vets were one crazy group of men. With real ‘huevos rancheros’. Lacks the pathos of Tom Hanks in “Castaway”. Fails to terrorize us like “Psycho”.
It fails to communicatethe abject desperate poverty critical to the story line. The “District 12” residents don’t look like the starving Death Camp inmates in that “Band of Brothers” segment. Or the poor in Henry Fonda’s portrayal in “Grapes of Wrath”. Look at a picture from the Depression and it communicates poverty. In fact, the “poor” from District 12 look fatter than the average Hollywood starlet or runway fashion model. Hollywood can do anorexic well; the “hungry” cast looks downright fat.
In doesn’t havean iconic line of dialogue like: George C. Scott in “Patton” telling us “to make the other poor dumb bastard die for HIS country”; Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men shouting “You can’t handle the truth!”; Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” calmly quietly promulgating the Libertarian realization that “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”. Somehow “May the Odds be Ever in your Favor” just doesn’t do it; “May the Force Be With You” was best.
It doesn’t have the artistic beauty of “Avitar, “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon”, or “Casablanca”.
What it does have is those sometimes wordless messages to hate the elite, the Government, the System, and “the Man”.
For example, the Government doesn’t do maintenance well when Katniss Everdeen walks through the “electrified” fence. The reason there are drugs in prison is that humans are better than maze rats for finding away.
For example, the ruling class in the Capitol are effete drones living parasitically and vacariously off the suffering poor. Effie Trinket, wearing a costumer and wearing strange cosmetics, is an example of ego run amuck. Especially when she tells the condemned tributes about her inconvenience.
For example, in registering for the reaping, the clerks have all the humanity of the Post Office or the DMV. We see that repeatedly like when the trackers are inserted in the tribute’s arms —sending the message that we don’t own our own bodies.
So there’s a ton of subliminal messaging to create little L libertarians in the future.
So on that basis alone, it overcomes all its shortcomings. And revolutions don’t fail. The human spirit, like the maze rat, always gets through.
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Here’s a thoughtful well-written review of the movie. As opposed to what you read above.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/movies/11303-the-hunger-games-movie-first-in-an-exciting-trilogy
# – # – # – # – # 2012-Mar-27 @ 18:13
: the realistic real li
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Posted by reinkefj
Saturday, March 24, 2012
http://dailyreckoning.com/solving-the-sickle-cell-crisis/
Solving the Sickle Cell Crisis
By Patrick Coxleadimage
03/21/12
*** begin quote ***
Marco Island, Florida – The sickle cell trait has its origins in a genetic adaptation common in individuals in which the mosquito-borne disease, malaria, has impacted human life for thousands of years. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, as many as one-third of people carry the gene. It is also found, although less commonly, in populations ringing the Mediterranean, such as North Africa, Spain, Greece and Italy.
Today, the disease is found throughout the world because of migrations from these regions.
Ordinarily, red blood cells have a doughnut-like shape. Individuals with the sickle cell trait, however, also have red blood cells that assume a crescent shape. This sickle cell’s shape confers resistance to the malaria parasite, plasmodium falciparum, which infects red blood cells.
Although the genetic mutation that causes sickle-shaped red blood cells helps people survive in regions plagued by malaria-carrying mosquitoes, it comes at a high price…
*** end quote ***
This is a national disaster in the making.
It would seem that we could list all the disease that kill people and have a Presidential prize — a plaque, dinner, and picture — for a cure. What an honor! To be deemed the person who cured XYZ. Not everything means that the taxpayer is on the hook for big bucks.
Remember the March of Dimes. They accidently cured the disease that they were fighting. And instead of going out of business, they found a condition that could never be cured — birth defects. Good thing for all those highly paid execs!
Argh!
Where are the dollar a year people.
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Posted by reinkefj
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2012/03/bed_wetting_the_simple_
cause_your_doctor_probably_missed_.single.html#pagebreak_anchor_2
HOME / Family : Snapshots of life at home.
The Real Reason Your Kid Wets the Bed
The simple cause your doctor probably missed.
By Steve Hodges and Suzanne Schlosberg
Posted Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at 6:40 AM ET
*** begin quote ***
In the years following publication of the O’Regan papers, urologists and pediatricians began to recognize the link between constipation and urinary problems. But they missed one of O’Regan’s main points: Constipation is associated with a stretched-out rectum, not the frequency of bowel movements. Doctors routinely ask parents whether their children are pooping regularly, but since most constipated children do poop daily, nothing gets solved.
And so, few doctors diagnose constipation in children who come in with wetting problems. When docs do suspect constipation, they rarely order X-rays to see the extent of the problem, and they fail to prescribe aggressive treatment. They may recommend a small daily dose of laxative, fiber supplements, and frequent trips to the potty and call it a day.
Intrigued by O’Regan’s studies, a colleague and I conducted similar research. In one study published in Urology, we reviewed the records of 30 bed-wetting patients, average age 9. Few of these kids demonstrated signs of constipation; all were shown by X-ray to be severely constipated. Aggressive laxative therapy cured all five of the teenagers in our study within two weeks. Laxatives and/or enemas stopped the bed-wetting in 20 of the 25 younger children within three months. Based on O’Regan’s studies and my own, as well as my years of experience, I am convinced that the majority of bed-wetting cases are due to a rectum stuffed with poop.
*** end quote ***
[Tip o’ the hat to: fellow Prepster Steve]
Doctors are not necessarily the experts we wish they were. There are no silver bullets. (That’s why I’m writing the “Patient Advocate” book.) Everyone has to be a interested participant in the process. It’s your and your child’s health.
I remember that Castor Oil was a regular of the home medicine chest. “Good for what ails you!”
I remember reading that dehydration led to constipation.
I remember a TV commercial that talk about how much poop was held in the colon.
So there’s a lot we still don’t know about the human body.
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Posted by reinkefj
Thursday, March 8, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/taylor-swifts-bikini-australia-photo_n_1323914.html
It’s well know that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Taylor Swift. I’m not some dirty old man; just old. I think she’s got a lot of attributes worth emulating. The recent bikini picture upset me. Not for the suit or that it’s on the net, but she looks anorexic.
So, I pledge $100 donation to the charity of her choice for her to gain ten pounds.
I’ll even take a picture of her eating fast food. (If you listen to the “food police”, that will make you instantly fat.)
You look at pictures of her from 2004 to today and you can see the girl get thinner by the year.
Now she looks like a death camp inmate.
So, I hope she can “plump” up a little. She doesn’t have to become a heifer. Just make it back a few pounds.
Think of all those young girls with body image issues.
Hope her Mom speaks to her frankly.
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Posted by reinkefj
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Chicago-Police-Take-NBC-Chicago-Photojournalist-
Into-Custody-Warn-1st-Amendment-Rights-Can-Be-Terminated-143105086.html
Police Handcuff NBC Chicago Photojournalist
Police release media members after about 10 minutes
By Zach Christman| Monday, Mar 19, 2012 | Updated 6:32 AM CDT
*** begin quote ***
“Your First Amendment rights can be terminated if you’re creating a scene or whatever,” the officer said.
*** end quote ***
Sounds like the kops needs some sensitivity training.
“Released after ten minutes” sounds like some realized the big time screw up!
If they were trespassing, what is the “barbara streisand” about fail to press charges.
Sorry, but this stinks.
We expect that the Fourth Estate, The Press, will give us the facts. Their RIGHTS are as inviolable as ours. An attack on that RIGHT is an attack on all our rights.
What will that kop say to you if he doesn’t like your lack of deference to his exalted status? “Your Right to Life can be terminated any time I choose.”
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Posted by reinkefj
Saturday, March 3, 2012
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/24/10493942-australia-inquest-hopes-to-solve-1980-mystery-dingo-baby-case
Australia inquest hopes to solve 1980 mystery ‘dingo baby’ case
By msnbc.com staff and news services
*** begin quote ***
SYDNEY — A coroner on Friday opened Australia’s fourth inquest into the most notorious and bitterly controversial legal drama in the nation’s history: the 1980 death of a 9-week-old baby whose parents say was taken by a dingo from her tent in the Australian Outback.
Azaria Chamberlain’s mother, Lindy, was convicted and later cleared of murdering her and has always maintained that a wild dog took the baby. She and her ex-husband, Michael Chamberlain, are hoping fresh evidence they have gathered about dingo attacks on children will convince Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Morris and end relentless speculation that has followed them for 32 years.
Anne Lade, a former police officer hired by the court to investigate the case, told a packed courtroom at the Darwin Magistrates Court in the Northern Territory that in the years since Azaria disappeared, there have been numerous dingo attacks on humans, some of them fatal.
*** end quote ***
Sad for this poor mom who was vilified in the press.
The world is a dangerous place for hairless, slow, “stupid” bi-pod humans. I’ll beat my drum about “guns” being the big equalizer. Every man, woman, and child should be packing. We’ve become so complacent that we presume we have a “divine right” to survival. Foolish people wander around the planet and don’t understand how fragile life is.
Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
Friday, March 2, 2012
TIP OF THE HAT TO THE IOWA NEPHEW-IN-LAW
http://espn.go.com/espnw/commentary/7601977/connecticut-huskies-prove-weekend-warriors-no-match-elite-women
Weekend warriors no match for elite women
Feb 22
By Adena Andrews
*** begin quote ***
Earlier this month, comedian Kevin Hart and a group of male friends challenged the UConn women’s basketball team to a game of five-on-five. The video has recently made the rounds on social media.
Hart, who’s so short he calls himself a “little grown man,” was confident he and his entourage could defeat the Huskies, who are ranked No. 4.
That’s right, a group of men whose cumulative collegiate basketball experience was one Division III season challenged one of the best women’s teams in the country.
And, as expected, UConn wiped the Gampel Pavilion floor with Hart and his crew. The only things that may have been bruised during the game were five male egos … and one guy who hit the ground pretty hard after being posted up by a UConn center.
As I watched the video, I laughed — at first. But then I began to seethe. These men actually thought they had a chance against these elite players. The jokes they cracked made it seem like they were surprised women could run and dribble at the same time. Maybe they didn’t get the memo about UConn’s historic 90-game winning streak that ended last season or the 99-game home streak that ended last week.
They may also have just learned women do more than cook, clean and raise children. They are allowed to vote and play sports.
*** and ***
Some players “looked like they might have a hard time competing in a playground pickup game, dribbling the ball off their legs and running into each other on the three-man weave drill,” an Associated Press report said of the tryouts.
Their inflated male egos told them they could actually run with the big girls. Those guys are probably the same ones who sit on the couch saying, “I could beat (insert WNBA player name) in a game of one-on-one.”
They would never challenge Ray Allen to a 3-point shooting contest or claim they could box out Kevin Love. Why? Because they respect their talent. However, that same respect is missing for a woman who has also made the game her career.
*** end quote ***
Remember Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King?
While the bell shaped curve of the physical characteristics of men and women is definitely different, it’s stupid to ignore it.
To think that women can’t be more capable at something than a man, just because they are female, is the height of stupidity.
Ever meet an Israeli woman who fought in the Seven Day War? Definitely, feminine, but had killed to protect her kibbutz. And, I have no doubt could do it again.
Ever see a mother bear with cubs? You better be using binoculars.
Ever … well you get the idea.
That doesn’t mean that every woman can be a firefighter, a front line soldier, or a weightlifter.
To prejudge anyone is just dumb.
My wife played ball and, on at least two occasions, I saw her “spank” overconfident male friends. One of her “victims” remembered the spanking. LOL!
https://reinkefaceslife.com/2011/03/24/memories-remembering-our-girl/
She’d have gotten a good laugh out of this story.
We, as people, better wake up. Look to Africa and Asia for the stupidity they inflict on women. That’s these fools to an extreme. We need all our “human resources” working for a better world.
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Posted by reinkefj
Thursday, March 1, 2012
http://www.quora.com/What-does-it-feel-like-to-have-your-spouse-die#ans1038733
What does it feel like to have your spouse die?
by Betsy Megas, widow.
*** begin quote ***
Only in the last 48 hours did Scott’s spirit begin to fade. He slept, mostly, but he knew he was going. In one of his last lucid moments, he spoke candidly with me and a social worker who had come to visit. He did not feel he knew how to die, he said. I told him I didn’t think he needed to know how, that it was probably a lot like being born. It just happens naturally. And I’m pretty sure I told him I loved him, at least one last time. I don’t know that he had come to grips with it
He died around midnight, just a couple days after his 33rd birthday and three years, almost to the day, after his diagnosis. In all, we were together 15 years. I have very few regrets about the time I spent with Scott.
I don’t think I will ever forget what he looked like when he died. His head leaned to one side, his neck lacking the strength to support it. He turned pale, then blue, and it was a quiet death. That was the moment he ceased to be the person I had known. Still, it’s hard for me to recall that part, to bring it into my mind enough to write about it.
*** end quote ***
Our Girl just stopped breathing.
I was just sitting, hopeless, helpless, waiting. Unable to switch places.
Glad that she was finally released form this vale of tears.
I kissed her again. And, hoped that it was like in the movie “Ghost” where the deceased is drawn towards a beautiful light.
Sadly, I understand how hard it was to write this.
I’m pretty sure that I’ll never wed again. We too had the conversation. I think I always won with “how could someone compare to you?” and I was sure she’d find someone better. How many soul mates can one person find in their life. I found mine.
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Posted by reinkefj
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/feds-urge-court-to-reject-laptop-encryption-appeal.ars
Feds urge court to reject laptop encryption appeal
By David Kravets, wired.com
*** begin quote ***
Colorado federal authorities seized the encrypted Toshiba laptop from defendant Ramona Fricosu in 2010 with valid court warrants while investigating alleged mortgage fraud, and demanded she decrypt it.
Ruling that the woman’s Fifth Amendment rights against compelled self-incrimination would not be breached, US District Judge Robert Blackburn ordered the woman in January to decrypt the laptop by the end of February. The judge refused to stay his decision to allow Fricosu time to appeal.
*** end quote ***
Would someone please explain how this is not being compelled to testify against one’s self?
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Posted by reinkefj
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