Author Archives
In short, I review clinical research on an almost daily basis. What I post tends to be articles that are relevant to the readers in addition to some curiosities that have intriguing potential.
As a hobby, I truly enjoy the puzzle-solving play that statistics and programming as in the python language bring to the table. I just do not enjoy problem-solving, I love problem-solving and the childlike inspiration and exploration of that innocent exhilaration of discovering something new.
Enjoy ;-)
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Devices that fire microwave blasts, scrambling cars’ onboard computers, could soon allow the authorities to rein in suspect vehicles
Police could use radio waves to bring cars to a halt 12 December 2013 by Paul Marks Magazine issue 2947. Subscribe and save For similar stories, visit the Cars and Motoring and Crime and Forensics Topic Guides IMAGINE you… Read More ›
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Forgotten Soldiers / A cache of musty documents lost to memory exposes a time when the U.S. lobotomized some 2,000 veterans. The nation forgot
A cache of musty documents lost to memory exposes a time when the U.S. lobotomized some 2,000 veterans. The nation forgot. But Roman Tritz remembers. Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber for The Wall Street Journal By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS Roman… Read More ›
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US and Chinese warships nearly collide amid tensions over airspace
USS Cowpens was near Liaoning aircraft carrier in South China Sea when another Chinese ship closed in, officials say Reuters in Washington theguardian.com, Friday 13 December 2013 22.30 EST China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier on an East China Sea exercise in… Read More ›
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Whooping cough vaccine antigen disappearing from bacteria in US
Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology Vaccines for whooping cough contain three to five protective antigens, the presence of which are critical to the vaccine’s effectiveness. But one of the antigens, pertactin, which had been present in… Read More ›
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New study shows link between perfluorinated compounds and diabetes
Press release Published 2013-12-12 Perfluorinated compounds are environmental toxins that are found in fire extinguishing foam and water-repellent textiles and, for example. In a new study, a research team led from Uppsala University has seen links between high levels of… Read More ›
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US ranks near bottom among industrialized nations in efficiency of health care spending
Contact: Carla Denly cdenly@support.ucla.edu 310-825-6738 University of California – Los Angeles UCLA, McGill study also shows women fare worse than men in most countries A new study by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and McGill University… Read More ›
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Is laughter really the best medicine?
Contact: Stephanie Burns sburns@bmj.com 44-020-738-36920 BMJ-British Medical Journal Food for thought: Laughter and MIRTH (methodical investigation of risibility, therapeutic and harmful): Narrative synthesis Laughter may not be the best medicine after all and can even be harmful to some patients,… Read More ›
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Should your surname carry a health warning?
Contact: Stephanie Burns sburns@bmj.com 44-020-738-36920 BMJ-British Medical Journal Research: The Brady Bunch? New evidence for nominative determinism in patients’ health: Retrospective, population based cohort study Patients named Brady could be at an increased risk of requiring a pacemaker compared with… Read More ›
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From friend to foe: How benign bacteria evolve to virulent pathogens
Contact: Isabel Gordo igordo@igc.gulbenkian.pt 351-214-407-915 Public Library of Science Bacteria can evolve rapidly to adapt to environmental change. When the “environment” is the immune response of an infected host, this evolution can turn harmless bacteria into life-threatening pathogens. A study… Read More ›
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Half of psychiatrists reject private and federal insurance, preferring cash
Contact: Jen Gundersen jeg2034@med.cornell.edu 646-317-7402 Weill Cornell Medical College Researchers warn that just when the need for mental health services is recognized on a national level, access to help is declining at an alarming rate
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Personal care products are possible sources of potentially harmful parabens for babies
Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society Through lotions, shampoos and other personal care products (PCPs), infants and toddlers are likely becoming exposed to potentially harmful substances, called parabens, at an even higher level than adult women in the… Read More ›
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Food and Chemical Toxicology Editor-in-Chief, A. Wallace Hayes, publishes response to letters to the editor / Was Monsanto involved in the retraction?
Contact: Meghan Jendrysik m.jendrysik@elsevier.com 617-397-2845 Elsevier Cambridge, MA, December 10, 2013 – The following statement will be published in the journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, alongside a selection of letters to the editors regarding the decision to retract the paper… Read More ›
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Long-term use of common heartburn and ulcer medications linked to vitamin B12 deficiency
Contact: Cyrus Hedayati chedayati@golinharris.com 415-318-4377 Kaiser Permanente OAKLAND, Calif. — Long-term use of commonly prescribed heartburn and ulcer medications is linked to a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, according to a new study published in the Journal of the… Read More ›
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2012 solar storm points up need for society to prepare/ Adopted new worst case space weather scenario
CU-Boulder scientist: 2012 solar storm points up need for society to prepare December 9, 2013 • Institutes A massive ejection of material from the sun initially traveling at over 7 million miles per hour that narrowly missed Earth last year… Read More ›
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New demographic data show how diversely different species age – biologists cannot explain why
Aging out of bounds December 08, 2013 Despite aging being one the hottest topic in the media recently, scientists have no coherent explanation for it. New demographic data on humans, animals and plants for the first time unveil such an… Read More ›
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‘Affluenza’ Springs Teen in Fatal DWI in Texas / “felt wealth bought privilege and that there was no rational link between behavior and consequences”
By DAVID LEE FORT WORTH (CN) – A Texas judge believed a teenager’s “affluenza” defense regarding the drunken driving deaths of four people and sentenced him to only probation, outraging the victims’ family. Judge Jean Boyd sentenced Ethan Couch, 16,… Read More ›
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Queen angry at police officers eating her Bombay mix, court hears
Royal protection officers were warned to stop eating snacks meant for the Queen according to News of the World memos It was suggested that the Queen became so incensed she began marking the bowls to check if the levels were… Read More ›
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Dozens of G20 diplomats had computers hacked after clicking on an attachment labelled ‘To see naked pictures of Carla Bruni click here’
Security breach was first discovered at the G20 summit in Paris in 2011 Message sent to those attending including finance ministers The former supermodel became President Nicolas Sarkozy’s third wife She was well known for taking her clothes off in… Read More ›
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No Clear Strategy On China, Experts Say
Dec. 11, 2013 – 07:09PM | By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS | A Chinese boy looks at a photo of the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier. The ship gives the Chinese navy more options in projecting power in the western Pacific… Read More ›
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Nature trumps nurture in exam success: GCSE results are ‘mainly determined by genes,’ says landmark study of twins
Conclusion that teachers are less important than biology sparks outrage, as researchers call for national curriculum to be abandoned in favour of personalised lesson plans Richard Garner Wednesday, 11 December 2013 Genetics has a more powerful influence on pupils’ GCSE… Read More ›
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Yellowstone supervolcano a ‘much larger system’ than scientists had thought
Experts say new findings don’t necessarily increase the ‘Yellowstone hazard’ – despite claims it could be due a catastrophic eruption Adam Withnall Wednesday, 11 December 2013 The supervolcano hidden beneath Yellowstone National Park in the US is even more enormous… Read More ›
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Bizarre Complaint Stems From Auto-Complete
By RYAN ABBOTT ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – The federal government is stalking a former contractor because Google auto-completed his intended search: “How do I build a radio controlled airplane?” to the unfortunate query “How do I build a… Read More ›
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NLST data highlight probability of lung cancer overdiagnosis / overdiagnosis rate for bronchioloalveolar lung cancer was 78.9 percent
Contact: Shawn Farley PR@acr.org 703-648-8936 American College of Radiology NLST data highlight probability of lung cancer overdiagnosis with low-dose CT screening Philadelphia, PA—Data from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST)—conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network and… Read More ›
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Proposed federal legislation targets 32 US states that retain laws making it illegal to not declare HIV status to sexual partners
New bill seeks to repeal outdated state HIV discrimination laws Dan Roberts in Washington theguardian.com, Tuesday 10 December 2013 15.48 EST ProPublica’s study ound 541 cases over the last decade where people have been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to,… Read More ›
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Proposed federal legislation targets 32 US states that retain laws making it illegal to not declare HIV status to sexual partners
New bill seeks to repeal outdated state HIV discrimination laws Dan Roberts in Washington theguardian.com, Tuesday 10 December 2013 15.48 EST ProPublica’s study ound 541 cases over the last decade where people have been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to,… Read More ›
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Disabled man banned from Walmart for life for trying to price match
Joe Cantrell used to shop twice a day at his favorite Arizona Walmart He scoured circulars for lower prices that he thought Walmart would match He instead was cuffed and served a notice banning him from all Walmart, as well… Read More ›
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Guilty: The ex-assistant city manager facing 17 years jail for ‘corruption on steroids’ by approving enormous salaries and nearly bankrupting the city
Angela Spaccia, 55, found guilty of 11 corruption charges by jury today Bell, Los Angeles officials said to be guilty of ‘grand theft by paycheck’ Her former boss Robert Rizzo had previously admitted 69 charges By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED:… Read More ›
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Victor Dahdaleh corruption case collapses
Tom Harper Tuesday, 10 December 2013 A major anti-corruption trial brought by the Serious Fraud Office collapsed today following the intervention of the deputy prime minister of Bahrain and sudden withdrawal of key witnesses. Billionaire Victor Dahdaleh — a… Read More ›
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Little boy makes pretend arrow-shooting gesture, could be expelled
Posted By Robby Soave On 9:32 PM 12/08/2013 In | Yet more evidence that schools go to extreme lengths to punish children for even thinking about weapons: A 10-year-old Georgia boy was suspended for a day after he pretended to… Read More ›
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Impending Japan-China war has the makings of a Clancy classic
by Mark Schreiber Online: Dec 07, 2013 Print: Dec 08, 2013 Last Modified: Dec 08, 2013 – On Nov. 23, China announced the creation of a newly expanded air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, overlapping a… Read More ›
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Heroic Pakistani doctor who helped CIA capture Bin Laden speaks out about prison torture in secret letter smuggled out of Pakistan
Shakil Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to pinpoint Osama bin Laden in Pakistan before the raid that killed him The doctor was sentenced to 33 years in jail after the mission for ‘conspiring against the state’ While… Read More ›
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‘A public safety disaster’: Obamacare could force THOUSANDS of volunteer fire departments to close
The Affordable Care Act forces companies with more than 50 workers to buy them all health insurance or pay hefty fines The IRS says volunteer firefighters are ’employees,’ even though the Department of Labor says they’re ‘volunteers’ Out of more… Read More ›
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TOP SECRET//COMINT//REL TO USA, AUS, CAN, GBR, NZL//20320108 / Topic: Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual Environments
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Spy agencies infiltrate gaming world
Xbox Live among game services targeted by US and UK spy agencies NSA and GCHQ collect gamers’ chats and deploy real-life agents into World of Warcraft and Second Life Read the NSA document: Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual… Read More ›
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Drones turned into zombies using an easy Wi-Fi hack
18:56 09 December 2013 by Paul Marks For similar stories, visit the Aviation and Robots Topic Guides The zombies are coming. A hacker has shown how easy it is to use one drone to hijack another, allowing someone else… Read More ›
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Global Warming -135.8 below zero in Antarctica
Tuesday, 10 December 2013 Feeling chilly? Here’s cold comfort: You could be in East Antarctica which new data says set a record for “soul-crushing” cold. Try 135.8 degrees Fahrenheit below zero; that’s 93.2 degrees below zero Celsius, which sounds… Read More ›
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Housing double whammy: A whole generation ‘won’t be able to buy or rent a home’ (U.K.)
Unless we build affordable housing, more and more people will be priced out, say experts Andrew Grice Tuesday, 10 December 2013 A generation of Britons faces a housing “double whammy” as a growing number of people cannot afford to buy… Read More ›
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2.5m people will have to take out a loan just to afford central heating this Christmas (U.K.)
Shocking figures revealed as winter fuel costs are hiked by up to £120 Simon Read Monday, 9 December 2013 Some 2.5 million people will have to borrow money to heat their homes this Christmas. The shock statistics are published as… Read More ›
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How the scare tactics of the past shape the Affordable Care Act debate today
The long, lurid tradition of public health propaganda By Kevin Hartnett December 08, 2013 A creepy looking Uncle Sam in anti-ACA ads. The Affordable Care Act has prompted a Supreme Court case, polarized… Read More ›
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Care at top hospitals is NOT INCLUDED in Obamacare, report reveals
Insurers selling cover on the new exchanges will not offer access to cancer centers, Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Access to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, one of the top research and teaching hospitals,… Read More ›
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Workers face biggest fall in living standards since Victorian era ( U.K. )
The number of public sector workers on low wages doubles to more than one million, with women and part-time staff disproportionately affected by squeeze on incomes Nigel Morris Monday, 9 December 2013 The biggest drop in living standards since the… Read More ›
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‘Smashed teeth £900. Broken limbs £1,800’: Russian rent-a-killer website still running despite official claims it had been banned
EEV: As of this posting it is up… Current screen shot – Translated through Bing “We offer several options for contract killings: – Death from natural causes or an accident. The best way to take the life of this man,… Read More ›
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IG finds some not-so-intelligent conduct in the intelligence community
Intelligence community appears to be endemic with fraud i.e. Two owners, who were the only employees of a subcontracting firm, mischarged 1,691 hours to the government for time running “a business for horse saddle padding,” according to the IG report… Read More ›
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FDA’s Manure Proposal: What’s the Big Stink About? BYE BYE Large Organic Farming?
If you’ve caught wind of the controversy around proposed laws on food safety, then you know that a lot of folks are knee-deep in talks about manure. Black gold – as farmers have been known to call it – manure makes… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 