MedWorm: Epidemiologists

Cdc releases reports on formaldehyde tests of trailers

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:55:45 +0100

July 2, 2008 -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted on Wednesday two reports from its work related to assessing the levels of formaldehyde in the indoor air of travel trailers used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for emergency housing of Gulf Coast residents. Comment: The two reports should be required reading for anyone buying a mobile home (trailer) and for primary care physicians who care for families who live in such units. At the same time we need to beware of activists who condemn anything that can be measured. Remember, it is the dose than makes a poison. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

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Sen. kennedy's office begins meetings to discuss national universal healthcare.

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:51:28 +0100

The Boston Globe reports that "Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) office [began] convening a series of meetings involving a wide array of healthcare specialists to [start] laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare, according to participants. Comment: We can only hope that he learns from the Massachusetts experience and is advised how complex the system is. Just trying to provide financial access will only make the system worse, unless it is restructured on a primary care/prevention base. One stumbling block is that too many interest groups will be focused on ensuring their specialty is not diminished. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Professor defends research criticizing fda

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:45:36 +0100

The Wall Street Journal reports that Daniel Carpenter, "[a] Harvard University professor, defended research suggesting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was making overly hasty approval decisions on medicines -- an analysis the agency has criticized as mistaken." The revised analysis indicates that "between 1993 and 2005, the 88 drugs approved near the FDA's deadline had a 15 percent chance of being flagged for severe safety problems," while the "rate was just five percent" for "226 other drugs." The FDA "has maintained that its own internal database showed only a modest increase in the rate of safety problems for such drugs." Comment: One more case of legislating in haste to regret the outcome at leisure. Several years ago activists complained the FDA took too long to make decisions., Congress leaned on the FDA to be quicker, without looking at the downside. No additional money was provided so the FDA had to cut corners. The results are a number of high profile drugs be let loose and then having to be withdrawn. The US syndrome of “want an answer immediately” does not work in science, but Congress will not learn. All of us who have managed large agencies have had to listen to legislators tell us what to do without the freedom to respond or discuss. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Bush: "we don't torture" -- the facts: . . . all that much

Effect Measure — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:37:19 +0100

Morally-challenged Attorney General Michael Mukasey can't figure out whether waterboarding is torture or not -- he seems to think it is an open question -- but there is nothing stopping him from following the example of fellowdoubter Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens is a flagrant Iraq War cheerleader who had earlier parsed waterboarding as a form of "extreme interrogation" rather than torture. Accusing him of torturing the language, critics suggested he get waterboarded himself and then say whether he thought it was torture or not. The Guardian reports that Hitchens has just published his experience being waterboarded in Vanity Fair: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Sex and health

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:55:26 +0100

This months Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine is devoted to Sexual Behavior and its ramificatioris for personal health. Some of the topics worth review are: Are Abstinence-only Programs Effective? What happens when politics and scientific research collide? Time for the Male Pill? You can find them in the Magazine (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Trends in sales off tobacco products

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:47:12 +0100

From Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found that 30% of the recent decline in cigarette sales may be offset by the robust sale of small cigars, snuff and roll-your-own products. The major factor in the apparent switch to non-cigarette products by smokers appears to be price -- with the federal tax on other forms of tobacco 1/10th that of cigarettes -- and the heavy attention given to campaigning against cigarette use but not against other forms of tobacco products in recent years. Price increases have proven to be the single most effective form of curbing tobacco use in the U.S. population. Tobacco kills, no matter if it's in a cigarette, a cigar, a snuff can or a roll-your-own. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

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The young and the uninsured

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:37:43 +0100

From "Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, 2008 Update," Commonwealth Fund we find that Almost 14 million young adults lacked coverage in 2006. Young adults often lose insurance when they age out of eligibility for their parents' coverage or public insurance, or when they graduate from college. Jobs available to this population frequently are low-wage or temporary and often don't offer health benefits. Young adults from low-income households are most at risk for going without coverage. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Understanding the watermelon - viagra connection: it's not hard

Effect Measure — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:29:07 +0100

There is a lot of science stuff in newspapers that is just (barely) warmed over press releases from companies or universities. They get pushed out into the world via aggregating services like Eurekalert. Lots of science bloggers and journalists use this stuff for ideas and sources, but even when the origin is a university you have to be circumspect. Some of it is gross over reaching, probably by scientists being pushed by university media relations types trying to get some ink for their institution and not caring how much sense it makes. At least that's how I read this piece on Eurekalert pawned off on an unsuspecting but prurient public by Texas A&M University: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Food safety proposal: throw the bums out

Effect Measure — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:49:38 +0100

As the tomato Salmonella outbreak heads past the 800 case level, it's time to ask some questions about why we don't know the source of what is the largest produce associated disease outbreak on record. CDC has its own explanation, namely, that figuring out where tomatoes come from and where they go is much harder than they thought. Said another way, the experts in foodborne disease outbreaks at CDC and FDA didn't know much about the industry. Since tomatoes have been a frequent cause of Salmonella outbreaks, that seems odd, except that my experience with CDC in recent years is that it is full of inexperienced people who don't know what they are doing being managed by incompetent managers who spend too much time brown nosing the boss who spends too much of her time sucking up to the Bush administration. Because of bad management the professional expertise at what was once the jewel in the crown of federal public health headed for the exits as soon as their twenty years were up. There are still some terrific, dedicated scientists at CDC, but they are being submerged by mediocrity and bureaucracy. But back to tomatoes: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Why people become cannibals

Zackary Sholem Berger — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:53:00 +0100

There's cameraderie.There's shared values.They practice what they preach.And there's always someone to have for Shabbos lunch.[thanks to House of Gil for laying out the principles] (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger)

Smallmindedness in small towns

Aetiology — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:20:00 +0100

I rarely talk politics here, but I received this email from a cousin the other day: According to the Book of Revelations the anti-christ is: The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuassive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal.... the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destory everything. Is it OBAMA?? The email itself, unfortunately, isn't out of the ordinary; many of my family members believe we're in the End Times. What made this one unique is that the Washington Post has an article up about my hometown (Findlay, Ohio, "Flag City USA") discussing this phenomenon; more after the jump. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

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What makes listeria monocytogenes so dangerous?

Bad Bug Blog — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:44:40 +0100

Listeria is a unique organism because, unlike many other bacteria, Listeria thrives well in cold temperatures below 41°F. Furthermore, the mortality rate for Listeria is significantly higher than that of more common bacteria associated with foodborne illnesses, such as Salmonella. Although illnesses such as Salmonella are more prevalent, Listeria is a more dangerous [...] (Source: Bad Bug Blog)

Summary of last year's flu season

Effect Measure — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:04:50 +0100

We started blogging on public health at the beginning of the 2004 - 2005 flu season, although we didn't concentrate on flu immediately. We intended to use the public health problem of influenza, a disease that contributes to the death of almost 40,000 US citizens a year, as a lens through which to look at public health. The interest in bird flu and pandemic flu followed naturally. The intervening years saw seasonal influenza outbreaks that were milder than previous years, but this resourceful virus made a comeback in the flu season just concluded. CDC has just summarized the 2007 - 2008 flu season and compared it to the three previous years (1004 onward: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Hospital hazards, "holy crap" department

Effect Measure — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:20:29 +0100

We take for it granted that technology can be used to tag objects in various ways, useful and otherwise. The anti-theft devices used on retail clothing stores are a familiar example. Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) are used for this purpose as well as for security access. I have a device like that on my windshield for automatic highway tolls on the turnpike. Hospitals also have a strong interest in keeping track of lots of items like pharmaceuticals, equipment or even ordinary sponges used in surgery. Counting and keeping track of sponges is routine so none are inadvertently left in the patient. Tagging sponges with little RFIDs is just one obvious use. But a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 2008;299(24):2884-2890) by a group of Dutch researchers raises some serious questions about indiscriminate RFID use in the high tech hospital setting: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Freethinker sunday sermonette: george carlin, gone but not forgotten

Effect Measure — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:51:35 +0100

This week we lost George Carlin. I only saw him once in person, sometime in the early seventies or maybe late sixties. He was already wildly popular and Mrs. R. and I weren't too flush with disposable income so we wound up sitting in the stratosphere of a gigantic theater, stuffed to the gills with Carlin fans. He was a tiny figure on stage from our altitude, but up close and personal with his hilarious routine. While electronic traces of that hilarious presence remain on YouTube and recordings of one kind or another (I still have "Class Clown" on vinyl), George Carlin the person is gone. While he's not "up there" looking down on us and smiling, we're still smiling at him: Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Best medical quote ever

Zackary Sholem Berger — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:31:00 +0100

“It’s incumbent on the community to dispense with the need for evidence-based medicine,” [some cardiologist] said [in the New York Times, in support of expensive, unproven "CT angiograms"]. (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger)

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Summer reading 3: good germs, bad germs by jessica snyder sachs

Aetiology — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0100

Balance is a tricky thing to find in area, and medicine is notorious for its trade-offs. A drug that may make you well in the long run may also have side effects that make taking the medicine difficult. Even drugs that we often think of as typically innocuous, such as antibiotics, can have an enormous cost associated with their use, both at the individual and the population level. Sachs covers our love-hate relationship with antibiotics and germs in general in her book, Good Germs, Bad Germs. More after the jump... Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

Report on iodine deficiency

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:34:45 +0100

Reporting on a major success in preventing children from being born with one form of mental deficiency UNICEF has just released a report of international efforts to ensure that all salt, worldwide, is iodized. Similarly flour has had folic acid added to it while early detection of PKU allows nutritional intervention to prevent mental deficiency in children. We do not tell enough about our successes in nutritional intervention, but the media focus in supposed benefits (usually spurious) of over the counter nutritional supplements (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Democrats behaving badly

Effect Measure — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:34:27 +0100

I'm still trying to get my blood pressure under control over last week's House FISA vote that gives telecom companies immunity for illegal acts. The focus of my anger is not on Republicans. Republicans have shown themselves reliable enemies of civil liberties and everyone expects them to protect the fat cats. Their votes were asured. What sends me round the bend here are the members of the Democratic Party who caved on this issue. The measure is yet to be voted on in the Senate, but Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he will vote for it. The entire FISA act is not needed for security. The tools already exist. The law passed by the House is bad in its entirety, not just on the immunity issue, so Obama is completely wrong on this important matter of civil liberties. Not particularly out of character. Despite pathetic GOP talking points, Obama is nowhere near the most liberal member of the Senate (at least 8 other senators have more liberal voting records). This is just another example. But Obama aside, 94 Democratic House members switched their votes from last March. A non-partisan research group called MAPLight has shined a light on the vote switchers. MAP is an acronym for Money And Politics, and when they shone their light on the gang of 94 that's what they saw: money and politics: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Safer water - safer health

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:50:49 +0100

In the USA and other developed countries we tale access to safe drinkable and cooking (potable) water for granted. Today the WHO released a new booklet calling for attention to this need to save millions of people world wide from disease and death because of lack of access to potable water. We have been working to ensure such access for everyone in the U.S.for 200 years, but we still have many families in rural areas without access to safe drinking water. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Another phone hazard

Effect Measure — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:50:31 +0100

Every time I write about the hazard of phones some readers flip out. The hazards of non-ionizing radiation, whatever the evidence (and it is controverted, difficult, ambiguous and contradictory), seems to acquire a junk science label from people who don't have much training or experience in evaluating the kind of evidence that forms the basis for some of the claims. OK, rant over. This isn't about the hazards of non-ionizing radiation. But it is about a health hazard from telephones: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

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Eczema in infancy may be linked to cat ownership

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:31:49 +0100

Those With A Specific Gene Mutation, and cat exposure at birth, may increase a child's risk of developing eczema during their first year according to a new study by researchers from University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. Eczema runs in families and evidence suggests it is caused by genetic and environmental factors. The same researchers recently discovered that two common "loss-of-function" variants in the gene encoding filaggrin (FLG) predispose people to eczema. Filaggrin is a protective protein normally found in skin. It acts as a physical barrier to potentially harmful substances in the environment. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Healthcare providers, others reach agreement on phr privacy protections.

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:46:03 +0100

The AP reports that "Google, Inc., Microsoft Corp., and a hodgepodge of healthcare providers and insurers have agreed on ground rules for protecting the privacy of the sensitive information" contained in personal health records (PHRs). The companies are "hoping to persuade more people to store their medical records online," by "reassuring patients that they can enjoy the convenience of keeping their medical histories in online filing cabinets, without worrying that will open a door for outsiders to peruse the data without their knowledge." Comment: It is unfortunate that so many physicians are Luddites, using every excuse they can dredge up to avoid using technology to improve practice outcome, prevent medication errors, and limit E.R. access to patient records. No other developed nation is as far behind the use of PHR as tHe U.S. We should not have to wait for Google and Microsoft to manage patient records for us. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

More americans delay health care

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:35:46 +0100

From the Wall street Journal we learn that an increasing array of Americans, many with health insurance, are delaying or forgoing medical care because of concern about cost, according to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change. About 20% of the respondents in a 2007 survey of 18,000 people said that they had put off or gone without needed medical treatment at some point in the year earlier, up from 14% in a 2003 survey. Comment: The longer we wait to fix our disabled health care system the worse the problem will get. The experience in Massachusetts shows we cannot do this state by state, or just by increasing the reimbursement system. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Is it in the public domain?

Effect Measure — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:06:17 +0100

Traveling and busy as hell, but wanted to share this. The ever expanding copyright laws is one of my pet peeves, but almost as irritating as the increasing length of copyright is the difficulty in knowing if something is still under copyright. The copyright date and name of the copyright holder in the frontmatter of a book is not a sufficient indication since it only tells you who used to have the copyright, not who does or does not have it now as a result of a renewal. For books published in the US between 11923 there is now a new tool to use: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Summer reading 2: richard preston's "panic in level 4"

Aetiology — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:45:00 +0100

I had ended up with a ratty old piece of Army gear, a space suit that belonged to nobody A little voice started speaking in my head. What are you doing here? the voice said. You're in an Ebola lab in a fucking defective space suit. I started to feel giddy. It was an intoxicating rush of fear, a sensation that all I needed to do was relax and let the fear take hold, and I could drift away on waves of panic, screaming for help. Martha was looking into my eyes again. The little voice went on: You're headed for the Slammer. Richard Preston opens his new publication, a collection of essays titled Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, killer viruses, and other journeys to the edge of science, with a quotation: "In order to know soup, it is not necessary to climb into a pot and be boiled." Preston disagrees with the sentiment, expressed by English mathematician and physicist Oliver Heaviside. Preston discusses how he, as a journalist, has created a living by jumping into the soup--even though it's sometimes scared the piss out of him, as described in the excerpt above (the "panic" described in the title). However, Preston fans should be cautioned that this all isn't typical Preston fare. More after the jump... Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

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The way mothers interact with babies in first year predicts child behavior to age 13

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:33:39 +0100

In the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Benjamin Lahey and his team from the University of Chicago examined how much mothers stimulated their baby intellectually, how responsive they were to the child’s demands, and the use of spanking or physical restraint. Child conduct problems in later childhood included cheating, telling lies, trouble getting on with teachers, being disobedient at home and/or at school, bullying and showing no remorse after misbehaving. The findings support the hypothesis that “interventions focusing on parenting during the first year of life would be beneficial in preventing future child conduct problems…Greater emphasis should be placed on increasing maternal cognitive stimulation of infants in such early intervention programs, taking child temperament into consideration.” Comment: This finding should not be surprising and should encourage better training for child rearing in schools, and possibly for better assistance for new mothers by a team of public health and child care workers similar to the family visitors in the UK system. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Combination vaccine that may protect children from five ailments, reduce shots.

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:05:42 +0100

A move in the right direction ot reduce complexity of vaccine schedule. The UPI (6/24) reports that the "Food and Drug Administration has licensed a vaccine against five childhood ailments in a single dose." Sanofi Pasteur's Pentacel vaccine, the "first five-in-one pediatric combination vaccine," is "approved for use in infants and children six weeks through four years of age." The vaccine provides protection "against invasive disease due to Haemophilus influenza type b, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis." Presently, "children in the United States receive up to 23 injections by the time they're 18 months old, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," HealthDay (6/23) noted in its Health Highlights section. The use of Pentacel could reduce that number of shots by as many as seven (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Number of people with diabetes increases to 24 million

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:56:14 +0100

June 24, 2008 -- Diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people in the United States, an increase of more than 3 million in approximately two years, according to new 2007 prevalence data estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which provide estimates for every county in the US..Comment: How much of this is related to more overweight? How much is due to earlier diagnosis? How much is due to increased sensitivity of tests? How much is due to increased push for doctors to diagnose diabetes earlier? How much is due to improved access of Medicaid? Probably some or all. This is a disease which can be treated and for many people prevented, if we take rsponsiblity for our own behaviors. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Why fever screening at airports is unlikely to work

Effect Measure — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:35:28 +0100

In our earlier discussion of the science behind greenhouse gases we pointed out that all objects radiate electromagnetic radiation, doing so at a peak wavelength dependent upon their surface temperatures. That means two things. One is that things at the usual temperatures in our world are radiating EM radiation at wavelengths characteristic of the far infrared region. The other is that by measuring the intensity of infrared you can also measure the surface temperature of the body without touching it. Commercial devices are touted as highly accurate. Clinicians use them to measure body "core temperatures" by sticking an infrared sensor in your ear and measuring the infrared (IR) coming off your eardrum. Public health officials have talked about using the same technique at airports or other public places to detect people with fevers as part of trying to stop the spread of infectious diseases. Think of screening passengers remotely (and perhaps covertly) as they embark on a plane. Those with fevers could be pulled aside for a more thorough look. Sounds like a good idea, right? But how good are these devices for this purpose, i.e., detecting a person with a fever by measuring the temperature on some easily visualized body surface like the forehead? A team of French researchers set out to find out. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Understanding the sixties (with subtitles)

Effect Measure — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:49:53 +0100

One thing about the sixties. If you weren't there, it can be hard to understand the real message. For the age challenged, here is one of the great Beatles songs sung by the one-of-a-kind Joe Cocker at Woodstock in 1969, complete with subtitles so you can understand the words: Hat tip Jesus General. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

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Don't worry. the cdc labs are perfectly safe.

Effect Measure — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:24:52 +0100

The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) newspaper is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) worst nightmare because it continually runs in depth stories about why CDC is the worst nightmare for scientists concerned with laboratory safety. CDC is the agency supposedly ensuring the public's safety from laboratories researching contagious disease causing organisms. They have their own research labs which they need for identification of unknown organisms or scientific work on agents of special importance. In the Bush years, this has often meant CDC has worked on biowarfare agents. One of those agents is Coxiella burnettii, the cause of Q fever. Q fever is a possible biowarfare agent because it causes a debilitating acute disease and is relatively easy to disperse through the air. To our knowledge it has never been used militarily but work on it goes back to before World War II. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Couples therapy

Zackary Sholem Berger — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:40:00 +0100

I never lend a handwhen I can take yoursto drag our coupleacross unders and overs.What brought us togetheris chicken-or-egg.You bring and I give.We cry and we beg. (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger)

My hobby

Zackary Sholem Berger — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:09:00 +0100

(with apologies to xkcd)Judging articles in the medical literature based on whether the authors have cool names.Boring paper:Project LIFE-Learning to Improve Fitness and Function in Elders: Methods, design, and baseline characteristics of randomized trial. Morey MC, Peterson MJ, Pieper CF, Sloane R, Crowley GM, Cowper P, McConnell E, Bosworth H, Ekelund C, Pearson M, Howard T.Good paper:Enck P, Zimmermann K, Menke G, Müller-Lissner S, Martens U, Klosterhalfen S.A mixture of Escherichia coli (DSM 17252) and Enterococcus faecalis (DSM 16440) for treatment of the irritable bowel syndrome - A randomized controlled trial with primary care physicians.Excellent paper:Adeoye AO, Omotoye OJ.Eye disease in Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria.Afr J Med Med Sci. 2007 Dec;36(4):377-80.Note that the Dutch are usually at the top of the heap as well. How can anyone resist these authors?Thyroid hormone transport and metabolism by OATP1C1 and consequences of genetic variation.van der Deure WM, Hansen PS, Peeters RP, Kyvik KO, Friesema EC, Hegedus L, Visser TJ. (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger)

Summer reading 1: lauri lebo's "devil in dover"

Aetiology — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:30:00 +0100

Many of you probably followed the 2005 "Kitzmiller vs. Dover" trial in Dover, Pennsylvania closely. From its early days, with daily updates at the Panda's Thumb to the publication of the ruling--"Kitzmas"-- in late December, the trial was filled with drama and moments right out of the movies. From the defendants' remarkable lying on the stand to Behe's admission that his definition of a scientific theory included astrology, it seemed that each day was better than the last for the pro-science side, culminating in the stinging tongue-lashing doled out by Judge Jones in his decision in favor of the plaintiffs. However, what was reported was only a small slice of the larger story, and Lauri Lebo's new book, The Devil in Dover, brings us the rest. A journalist for the York Daily Record, Lebo grew up in the Dover area and has an intimate understanding of the local history and culture--and the personalities involved on both sides of the case, making "Devil in Dover" far more than just another recounting of the trial. (More after the jump...) Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

The problem of testing the effectiveness of bird flu vaccines

Effect Measure — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:39:17 +0100

There is a great deal of activity on the bird flu vaccine front. Several different new techniques to make vaccines are being tested and so are additives to vaccines, called adjuvants, that boost the ability of the preparation to induce the body to make sufficient antibodies to protect us against infection. The smaller the dose needed for protection, the more people can be vaccinated for a given amount of production. Since we are talking about enough productive capacity to vaccinate a significant proportion of the world's population in the event of a catastrophic pandemic, this is obviously a critical issue. When it comes to bird flu, the subtype of influenza A in birds designated H5N1, there is a special problem in determining whether the vaccine is effective or not and at what dose. Since a pandemic strain of H5N1, one that transmits easily from person to person, has yet to develop we can't test to see if the vaccines really protect against infection in people. It is clearly unethical to infect people experimentally with existing strains. Current case fatality ratios are over 60%. So how do we know if the vaccines now being developed and tested will work or not? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

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Our pastures of plenty are hot and dirty

Effect Measure — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:12:20 +0100

The hardest and most dangerous agricultural work in the United States is not done by people who are citizens. It is done by immigrants. Some don't have proper documents but many do. Documents don't protect workers from dying. And agricultural workers die of heat stroke at 20 times the rate of other workers: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Freethinker sunday sermonette: religion as knitting

Effect Measure — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:25:58 +0100

Since it's a lazy summer weekend (the first of the summer, astronomically speaking -- that is, if you believe the earth goes around the sun), I was lazily contemplating some of the dumbass things said about one of my sciblings, PZ Myers, by another one of my sciblings, Matt Nisbet. The clip Matt embedded is no longer available (taken down at the insistence of the copyright holder; if it's so bad for the pro-science side, why did they take it down?), but it seems to be the infamous "religion is like knitting" clip. Since that clip is still up on YouTube, here it is again, in case you missed it the first time: Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Passion with a purpose

Zackary Sholem Berger — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:49:00 +0100

I don't read a bookOne moment after it stops exciting myCuriosity or interest, and this passionHas finally stopped my reading altogether [...]-David Shapiro, Poems from Deal, 1969(thanks to AS) (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger)

Not even national lampoon would vacation in indonesia

Effect Measure — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:02:58 +0100

The beach in Indonesia may look nice, but don't let that distract you: There is an English word for deliberately neglecting to tell people something they have asked you about. It's called lying. On that basis, the Indonesian government, primarily in the person of their Minister of Health, Siti Fadillah Supari, are liars. They have publicly declared their intention to lie by announcing they will no longer notify the world promptly about new human cases of bird flu. The acknowledged motive is to improve the reputation of Indonesia in the eyes of the world. Currently the country is the world's hotspot for human bird flu. Whether they announce new cases or not, it will continue to be the world's hot spot for bird flu. And frankly, anyone who doesn't absolutely have to travel there would be crazy to do so. I know there are some beautiful vacation spots in Indonesia, but there are beautiful vacation spots in lots of places. Why go somewhere where the government has announced its willingness to cover up a deadly danger that could take your life? As for investing there? Sure. If you want to lose everything when rumors sweep the world that bird flu is running amok there and no credible source is available to refute the stories. Because the Indonesian government is most definitely not a credible source. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Incidence of hiv in the usa?

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:55:53 +0100

Another Editorial in today’s Lancet quotes Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that the number of new HIV infections per year in the USA was closer to 50 000 than 40 000. Fauci does not talk about diagnoses but new infections. He says that 52 000 is a new number that will soon become an official statistic. the figure shows that US efforts to prevent HIV have failed dismally. The CDC must not fail US citizens further by delaying the release of the data behind this fact. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

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Allergies and the hygiene hypothesis.

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:50:44 +0100

In an editorial in the Lancet today: The cost of allergic rhinitis in the USA is nothing to be sniffed at. According to a report published last week by the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality, in 2005, Americans spent $11bn on doctors' bills, prescription drugs, and other medical care to relieve allergy symptoms. Although there is no consensus on the reasons for the increased prevalence of allergies, the “hygiene hypothesis” has solid support. First proposed by David Strachan in the 1980s, this hypothesis suggests that children exposed to poor hygiene and increased infections in early life have lower levels of IgE sensitization and allergic diseases. In other words, squeaky-clean modern life could be a contributing factor, and may indeed be harmful to children. Comment: All the activists who rail about dangers from exposures to compounds considered harmful, may be causing the entire population harm . Remember how infections brought from Europe to North American decimated a number of indigenous populations. We need to reconsider how clean our environment should be and whether too clean is harmful. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

As the waters recede...what now?

Aetiology — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0100

Here in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor, the waters have been going down for several days, and people are being allowed back into their homes and businesses to begin assessing the damage and cleaning up what remains. However, while the dangers from the initial flooding are receding along with the waters, the clean-up and aftermath bring about a new set of misery. Flooding is a potential nightmare when it comes to infectious diseases. The water can bring people returning to their flooded residences into contact with sewage, animal carcasses, and other sources of pathogens--and warm waters in June can mean the rapid replication of these organisms. Flooded waters can bring individuals into contact with a variety of diarrheal pathogens, including E. coli, Giardia, and Cryptosporidia. Individuals who have wells should also have their well water tested ( the University Hygienic lab offers testing kits), and individuals are being warned to avoid food from flooded gardens as well. Eyes and skin are also vulnerable to post-flood pathogens, especially when coupled with another main cause of post-flood morbidity: injuries. These can exacerbate infection (by creating breaks in the skin, for example). Another problem that will only increase in the coming days: mold. Again, the health department has a short instruction sheet on post-flood mold cleanup, and individuals are already removing carpet, drywall, and other soaked materials in an effort to start drying out. Finally, another problem in the coming weeks could occur from the residual standing water, providing additional breeding grounds for mosquitoes--and therefore a greater chance of transmission of arboviral diseases (including West Nile and other viral encephalitides). Update: MSNBC has a bit more detailed article describing the risks I list above as well as a few others. Image from Iowa City Press-Citizen. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

Primer on greenhouse gases, iii.

Effect Measure — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:22:15 +0100

This is the third (and last) post in our primer of the science of green house gases (see the first two here and here). Our objective is to explain what makes something a greenhouse gas. Why is CO2 a greenhouse gas and not O2 (oxygen) or N2 (nitrogen)? In the first two posts we set the table by explaining electromagnetic (EM) radiation, how we describe it and how it interacts (or doesn't interact) with matter. We pointed out that all physical bodies act like little transmitters of EM radiation and that they can also absorb EM radiation -- but only at the same wavelengths they emit it. Some physical bodies, like the earth and the sun emit EM at all wavelengths, although they emit most of it (peak emission) around a wavelength determined by the substance's temperature. The hotter the body the more EM radiation it emits and the shorter the wavelength at its peak. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Primary care shortfall

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:23:10 +0100

Jack Colwill, professor emeritus of family and community medicine in the MU School of Medicine, and his research team found that the U.S. could face a shortage of up to 44,000 family physicians and general internists in less than 20 years, due to a skewed compensation system that rewards specialists increasingly more than primary care practitioners. The researchers are more optimistic about the future supply of general pediatricians. The wait to see a doctor could get a lot longer if the current number of students training to be primary care physicians doesn't increase soon, according to a new study. The U.S. could face a shortage of up to 44,000 family physicians and general internists in less than 20 years. Comment: Note that there is probably no shortage of specialists. To emphasize the problem the Wall St. Journal today reported that that medical professionals who "really want to do well, [should] become a nurse anesthetist." They "typically receive an undergraduate nursing degree, have experience working as registered nurses, and complete two to three years of post-graduate training." By one estimate, "nurse anesthetists recruited" over the past year "through the staffing firm Merritt Hawkins & Associates landed salaries that averaged $185,000." The nurses' salaries exceeded the salaries of "family-practice docs hired through the firm, who averaged $172,000, and internists, who averaged $176,000." If we want access to health care we need to change the rewards system to encourage primary care practice. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Flood geology and the frequency of "x year floods"--a primer

Aetiology — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:52:30 +0100

In her guest post at Highly Allochthonous, hydrogeologist Anne Jefferson explains how one can have two "500 year floods" in short measure. Great reading... Read the comments on this post... (Source: Aetiology)

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Primer on greenhouse gases, ii.

Effect Measure — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:14:13 +0100

In the first post in this primer series we discussed the nature of electromagnetic radiation. It is via EM radiation that the sun's energy reaches the earth and since it is the balance between the energy that reaches the earth and the energy that is radiated away from the earth that is at the center of the global warming problem, we need to get this part straight. So far we have only talked generally (and very superficially) about what EM radiation is and pointed out that it can carry energy from one point to another (e.g., from the sun to the earth and from the earth back out to surrounding space). If more energy comes in than goes out, we warm up, and vice versa. None of this says anything about whether any imbalance is caused by human activity. That's another topic. What we want to do here is explain how "green house gases" get into the picture. None of what we will be saying is controversial or controverted. It's high school physics. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

Primer on greenhouse gases, i.

Effect Measure — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:51:10 +0100

Objection to the scientific basis of greenhouse warming seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. That is, if you like getting the same gift over and over again and returning it because it's defective never works. Still, hope springs eternal that understanding something about it will make the disagreements clearer. So this will be the first post about the underlying science. There will be more. It's a primer, so if you know the science it's not for you. But understanding what's under the hood can be explained without requiring agreement on global warming. On the grounds that learning about science is an end in itself, we will plunge ahead. That's called idealism, folks. First we have to do some elementary physics. High school level. The central theme is the interaction of electromagnetic (EM) radiation and matter. EM radiation is a mysterious thing that can pass through empty space and also through matter without interacting with it. That's how the sun's radiation gets to us and how its visible portion lights up our world. To get here it has to pass through the atmosphere without being stopped by it. But EM radiation can also interact with matter. Whether it interacts or not is what we have to talk about. It depends on the nature of the EM and the matter it encounters. Let's talk about the EM part first. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post... (Source: Effect Measure)

The perfect storm of overutilization

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:24:13 +0100

In a wonderful article published in JAMA today, [Ezekiel J. Emanuel; Victor R. Fuchs:JAMA. 2008;299(23):2789-2791] Victor Fuchs describes the overselling of medical services to the public and excess desire for new technology by both health care professionals and the public. Also how rewards and punishment in the system has affected the Health Care system driving up its costs. This article should be read by everyone, both health care professionals, students and the public. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)

Head injuries increase dramatically after motorcycle helmet law repeal

Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:52:18 +0100

Which is more important; rights or social responsiblity? Pennsylvania motorcyclists suffered large increases in head injury deaths and hospitalizations in the two years following the repeal of its motorcycle helmet law, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. Even after accounting for increases in motorcycle registrations that occurred during this period, study authors noted a 32 percent increase in head injury deaths and a 42 percent increase in head injury-related hospitalizations, raising concerns about motorcyclists' safety and the impact of this trend on health care costs. "Our study shows that since the repeal of Pennsylvania's motorcycle helmet law, helmet use has gone down, while head injuries from motorcycle crashes have gone up, even after increased motorcycle registration," said Kristen Mertz, M.D., M.P.H., study lead author and assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)