Smartphone System Detects Food Borne Pathogens
At Purdue University, a team of engineers and food scientists has developed a smartphone-powered device, and accompanying underlying technology, for detecting food borne pathogenic bacteria.
The technology relies on using specially designed phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. These phages are mixed into water that was used to wash a sample of produce. A special solution is then added that makes the phages glow ever so slightly.
This glow is detected by a tiny luminometer, a device for measuring the intensity of light.
Depending on how much light is measured by the luminometer indicates whether the phages were a...
Source: Medgadget - May 16, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Pathology Public Health Source Type: blogs
Keeping Backyard Poultry
Owning backyard chickens and other poultry has become more popular over the years and it can be a great experience. Many owners enjoy the educational opportunity for family and friends as well as having fresh eggs for cooking and eating. But, be aware that these livestock carry germs and can cause people to get sick. Children and other groups of people have a greater chance of illness from handling live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam. Even handling baby birds displayed at stores can cause a Salmonella infection. The CDC provides information on how to reduce Salmonella infection with tips for hand...
Source: BHIC - April 10, 2018 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Carolyn Martin Tags: General animal handling infections Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 230
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 230.
Question 1:
Braille refined ‘night writing’ so it could effectively be used in the blind population. Who originally commissioned ‘night writing’ for the military?
+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer
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Source: Life in the Fast Lane - March 15, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Frivolous Friday Five beard bowel obstruction Braille Charles Barbier Faget's sign Hans Steininger Napoleon orthodontic wire Sutton's law Sutton's slip Source Type: blogs
Tropical Travel Trouble 004 Bloody Diarrhoea
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
aka Tropical Travel Trouble 004
A medical student who has just returned from their elective in Nepal presents with 1 week of bloody diarrhoea. He has been in the lowlands and stayed with a family in the local village he was helping at. It started three days before he left and he decided to get home on the plane in the hope it would settle. He is now opening his bowels 10x a day with associated cramps, fevers and has started feeling dizzy.
Questions:
Q1. What is dysentery ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - March 12, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Clinical Cases Tropical Medicine amoebic dysentery bacillary dysentery e.histolytica entamoeba histolytica shigellosis Source Type: blogs
How Corporate Health Care Leaders Maintain Their Impunity: The Case of Purdue Pharma's Funding of the Washington Legal Foundation to Attempt to Weaken the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine
The ongoing epidemic ofnarcotic (opioid) abuse, and the resulting rise in the deaths due to overdoses, has focused attention on pharmaceutical companies ' aggressive promotion of these drugs which minimized their substantial risk.A recent article in the Intercept showed how the leadership of one such company tried to insulate itself from responsibility for such actions even while such promotions were continuing.Background: Impunity of Top Leaders of Big Health Care OrganizationsFor years, we have railed against theimpunity of top leaders of health care organizations. We have noted that despite numerous legal settleme...
Source: Health Care Renewal - March 6, 2018 Category: Health Management Tags: impunity legal settlements narcotics Purdue Pharma responsible corporate officer doctrine tobacco Source Type: blogs
President Trump:Diagnosis and, if Necessary Therapy: Doing it Ethically
An excellent article written by physician-ethicist Joseph J. Fins in Harvard Medical Journal and it is my reading that he suggests when it comes to the psychiatric fitness of Donald Trump to be the United States President, it should not be a psychiatric diagnosis (such as "sociopathy") from afar but should be the education of the public in a clinical non-partisan fashion by the psychiatrists of the symptoms of disease and it will be the public and their government to prescribe and carry out the appropriate treatment. In Dr. Fin's words:In the context of the president’s personality, i...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - February 5, 2018 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Maurice Bernstein, M.D. Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
President Trump:Diagnosis and, if Necessary Therapy: Doing it Ethically
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - February 5, 2018 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: blogs
Carmine Color in Cosmetics – A Natural Colorant?
Carmine is perhaps one of the most interesting pigments used in cosmetics because of its origin and history. If anyone would like a deeper dive into the history, just let me know and I’ll create another post, it’s probably too much to cover here.
What is Carmine?
Carmine is a bright red pigment based on carminic acid. Carminic acid is derived from the dried bodies of adult female insects and their eggs. Specifically, adult female cochineal (Dactylopius coccus costa) insects. These organisms are almost always sessile and remain on the plants they parasitize, a specific species of cactus (Nopalea coccinelliferna).
On t...
Source: thebeautybrains.com - July 10, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kelly Dobos Tags: Makeup Chemist Raw Materials Science Source Type: blogs
More awful reporting on the "poop doping" claimed by Dr. Lauren Peterson
UggBeen trying to stamp out the awful reporting on the poop doping claims of Dr. Lauren Peterson. SeeIrresponsible reporting on "poop doping" from the Washington PostKudos to Bicycling Magazine for pedaling so so so much overselling of the microbiomeBut the crap keeps flowing. Here is the last - in the NY Post: Poop transplants are the final frontier in athletic doping | New York PostHere are some quotes from the story and my comments about them."The treatment helped her battle Lyme Disease, however, there was a downside."No evidence exists that this treatment helped her battle Lyme disease." “I had no mic...
Source: The Tree of Life - June 28, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs
Researchers Score Goal with New Atomic-Scale Model of Salmonella-Infecting Virus
An atomic-scale model of a virus that infects the Salmonella bacterium. Credit: C. Hryc and the Chiu Lab, Baylor College of Medicine.
This sphere could be a prototype design for the 2018 World Cup official match soccer ball, but you won’t see it dribbled around any soccer fields. The image is actually an atomic-scale model of a virus that infects the Salmonella bacterium. Like a soccer ball, both are approximately spherical shapes created by a combination of hexagonal (six-sided) and pentagonal (five-sided) units. Wah Chiu, a biochemist at Baylor College of Medicine, and his colleagues used new computational methods to ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - June 13, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Hunter Barrat Tags: Structural Biology Cool Image Cryo-Electron Microscopy Viruses Source Type: blogs
Chocolate Mousse
Here’s a simple, creamy smooth recipe for Chocolate Mousse. Because there is no added sugar in this recipe, the end result has none of the problems of a conventionally prepared mousse: ultra low-carb with 2 grams net carbs per serving, no sugar, and plenty of healthy fat. It provides the added benefits of cocoa flavonoids, such as reductions in blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, with none of the problems of milk chocolate and other junk forms of chocolate.
As written, this version is dairy-free. Substitute heavy cream for coconut milk if you include dairy in your diet. You can also top the mousse with whipped c...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - April 18, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle chocolate Cocoa erythritol gluten grains monk fruit monkfruit natural stevia sweetener virtue Source Type: blogs
Bacterial Evasion of the Host Immune System
Pedro Escoll presents a new book on Bacterial Evasion of the Host Immune System Topics include: the seven most important bacterial secretion systems; within-host envelope remodelling; subversion of macrophages; pathogen manipulation of host autophagy; mechanisms involved in sensing and restriction of bacterial replication; mechanisms of evasion by Salmonella; evasion strategies of mycobacteria; and role of Cyclic di-GMP in virulence and evasion of plant immune systems. This text is essential reading for everyone involved in bacterial pathogenesis research and an invaluable reference work for those working in fields as dive...
Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. - April 13, 2017 Category: Microbiology Source Type: blogs
ACA Repeal Would Mean Massive Cuts To Public Health, Leaving Cities And States At Risk
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed a little over six years ago, it brought with it the promise of health insurance for all Americans. It also sought to begin to shift the paradigm for health care in this country, emphasizing value over volume, and recognizing the importance of prevention coupled with appropriate access to care.
By now, it is well known that repealing the ACA could leave nearly 20 million Americans uninsured and simultaneously result in millions of job losses across the country. An associated cost that has been less discussed, but no less relevant, is what repeal could mean for the nation’s alr...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - March 7, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Chrissie Juliano Tags: Costs and Spending Following the ACA Public Health Big Cities Health Coalition Community Health Prevention and Public Health Fund. Source Type: blogs
Avoid these common health perils of Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, here are a few tips to help you avoid some common health hazards related to this holiday.
One of the more typical reasons for a trip to the emergency department on Thanksgiving Day (and most days, frankly) is accidental cuts to the hands. Be careful cutting up that turkey! Always use a carving fork, and although the household might be busy, try to avoid distractions when working with knives. Thankfully most such injuries can be repaired in the ED, but occasionally are bad enough to warrant being seen by a hand surgeon. For simple cuts to the hand, we generally place non-absorbable sti...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jonathan Nadler, MD Tags: Health Screening Source Type: blogs
