Lead Pipe Cinch
By KIM BELLARD
The term “lead pipe cinch” means something that is very easy or certain. Here’s two things that are lead pipe cinches: first, that ingesting lead, such as from the water or the air, is bad for us. It’s especially bad for children, whose cognitive abilities can be impaired. Second, that the Biden Administration’s latest proposal to reduce the lead in our drinking water is not going to accomplish that.
The new proposed rules would require that lead service lines be replaced within ten years; there are estimated to still be some 9.2 million such lines in the U.S. The trouble is, no one really kn...
Source: The Health Care Blog - December 7, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Kim Bellard Lead public health Source Type: blogs
Air, Air, Everywhere, and Not a Breath Safe to Take
BY KIM BELLARD
If you live, as I do, anywhere in the Eastern half of the country, for the past week you’ve probably been thinking about something you’re not used to: wildfires. Sure, we’ve all been aware of how wildfires routinely plague the West Coast, particularly Oregon and Washington, but it’s novel for the East. So when the smoke from Canadian wildfires deluged cities through the East and Midwest, it came as kind of a shock.
For a day last week, New York City supposedly had the worst air quality in the world. The next day Philadelphia had that dubious distinction. The air quality index ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 14, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Non-Health Climate Change East Coast Kim Bellard West Coast Wildfires Source Type: blogs
Housing Supply and Property Taxes
Chris EdwardsIn many cities, a shortage of housing supply has led to high housing prices. One problem is thatstrict zoning rules have undermined the construction of multifamily housing.Property taxes are another barrier to increased housing supply. TheWall Street Journalhas an interesting piece suggesting that taxing buildings as much as, or more than, land induces landlords to hold onto land undeveloped, rather than pushing ahead with building projects.The article highlights land in New York City near the U.N. that is zoned for construction of 1,500 apartments but has been empty for 17 years while the “owner h...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 23, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Chris Edwards Source Type: blogs
Weekly Overseas Health IT Links – 15th October, 2022.
This article uses the one that divides providers into groups depending on the life cycle stage the clinic is at the given moment. According to this classification, medical providers fall into three groups:BeginnersGrowing clinicsWell-established providersHealth care providers are business entities, so their life cycle, like that of any business, consists of the early stage or launch, growth and maturity. At each stage, providers have different priorities and goals, and the choice of medical software solutions should be made accordingly.Medical software for beginnersThe launch phase can be tough. At this stage, the profits ...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - October 15, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
The Foundation of Collective Insanity?
There have always been fairly widely shared delusions out there -- from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, to the Illuminati, to the Reptiloids, and on and on endlessly. (The Illuminati was a real society of secularists in Bavaria but it was outlawed in 1790 with the encouragement of the Catholic Church. The delusional theory is that they continue to exist and secretly manipulate world events.) I wouldn ' t say that crazy beliefs have necessarily always been way out on the fringe. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, for example, has at times been widely believed. But it does seem that the takeover of much of one of the ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - April 28, 2022 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Orwellian “Bias Response Teams” Stifle Free Expression
Thomas A. BerryVirginia Tech has instituted a “bias‐related incidents” policy, under which students may be referred to a “Bias Response Team.” Under the policy, students can be referred for violating a standard as vague as “words or actions that contradict the spirit of the Principles of Community.” Students can also run afoul of the policy for “unwelcome jokes” – or even being present when jokes are made and failing to report them. Students are encouraged to report each other while speculating on the “bia s” that may have motivated their peers’ opinions. The school has given itself jurisd...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 18, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas A. Berry Source Type: blogs
To lower stress levels (ours and others ’), practice cognitive reframing instead of venting
We all get upset from time to time—some of us more than others. Whether we’re sad about the loss of a loved one, angry at friends or family, or fearful about the state of the world, it often feels good to let it all out.
That’s because sharing our emotions reduces our stress while making us feel closer to others we share with and providing a sense of belonging. When we open up our inner selves and people respond with sympathy, we feel seen, understood, and supported.
But “sharing” covers a lot of different modes of communication. Are some healthier than others, over the long run? Science suggests that it depends,...
Source: SharpBrains - August 19, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Greater Good Science Center Tags: Education & Lifelong Learning cognitive needs cognitive reframing emotional needs Emotions human-brain neural pathways Stress venting Source Type: blogs
The neuroscience behind why our brains will need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
News in Context:
Can you grow your hippocampus? Yes. Here’s how, and why it matters
Three ways to protect your mental health during –and after– COVID-19
Exploring the human brain and how it responds to stress (1/3)
Brain teaser: What do you see first, people or other animals?
Three quick brain teaser games to test your perceptual and cognitive skills
The post The neuroscience behind why our brains will need time to adjust to ‘un-social distancing’ appeared first on SharpBrains. (Source: SharpBrains)
Source: SharpBrains - July 6, 2021 Category: Neuroscience Authors: The Conversation Tags: Education & Lifelong Learning anxiety brain-teaser cognitive-function cognitive-skills COVID-19 hippocampus mental health neuroscience social distancing social homeostasis social memory Stress Source Type: blogs
COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Showcase Event — WEDNESDAY 4pm ET!
After receiving applications from 115 people (across every continent except Antarctica!) and 50 organizations, including 35 academic institutions, the judges have declared DeepOutbreak, a team with members from Georgia Tech, the University of Iowa, and Virginia Tech as the winner of COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge.
Second place was awarded to K&A, a Russia-based team working with the World Bank and the Higher School of Economics. $75,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winners.
The winners and the other three finalists will present their prototypes at the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Showcase on Wednesday, D...
Source: The Health Care Blog - December 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: COVID-19 Chrissy Farr Facebook Indu Subaiya Symptom Data Challenge Source Type: blogs
Here ’s How We Perceive The Political Leanings Of Different Fonts
Photo: The serif font Jubilat was used on signs for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid — though a new study suggests that sans serifs are generally seen as more liberal. Credit: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images.
By Emily Reynolds
Fonts can be very distinctive indeed. Even if robbed of their original context, it can be easy to identify the fonts used on the front of a Harry Potter book, adorning a Star Wars poster, or on the side of a Coca-Cola can, to name a few examples.
But particular fonts can also leave us with other impressions: the font used to brand a beloved book, for example, has different emotional connotati...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - February 17, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Aesthetics Language Perception Political Source Type: blogs
Was that Will really Free?
Not Shakespeare, mind you. We’re talking about the infamous Mr. Seung-Hui Cho. Stephanie noted in a comment that Sharon Begley had written very cogently (and generally in agreement with what I had written) about the origins of behavior that could result in something like the Virginia Tech massacre. Sharon Begley is a highly informed science writer who really understands the basic science of brain plasticity, and as a Wall Street Journal writer, has helped introduce the wider world to its principles. She is now directing the science writing agenda for Newsweek, and is publishing a new, important blog that you would pr...
Source: On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. - January 1, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. Merzenich Tags: Brain Fitness Brain Trauma, Injury BrainHQ Posit Science Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, et alia Source Type: blogs
Exclusive with CELLINK Co-Founders Erik Gatenholm and Dr. H éctor Martínez
CELLINK is a 3D bioprinting company based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was one of the first companies in the world to offer 3D printable bioink, which is used to print human organs and tissues. In just four years of existence, the company has been able to commercialize products used in more than 700 labs and 50 countries. This startup has made a lot of important strides in creating the technology essential to making 3D bioprinting more widespread and accessible to those without the necessary resources. In addition, Cellink has taken a multidisciplinary, tactical approach to conquering tissue bioengineering by looking at the ...
Source: Medgadget - December 6, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Alice Ferng Tags: Cardiac Surgery Exclusive Materials Medicine Neurosurgery Source Type: blogs
3D Liquid-Cell Electron Microscopy Imaging Now Possible
Electron microscopy revealed a world that exists at scales smaller than the wavelength of light. Advancements in this field have allowed scientists to visualize ever more objects and processes, but actually seeing living cells in 3D and within a liquid environment has been impossible.
Now, a team of researchers from Penn State University, Virginia Tech, and a company called Protochips have developed a system that allows for an electron microscope to be used to volumetrically visualize living cells and biological systems that exist in a liquid.
“With this technology that we developed in collaboration with Protoc...
Source: Medgadget - October 15, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Diagnostics Materials Nanomedicine News Oncology Pathology Radiology microscopy Source Type: blogs
3D Printed Custom Prostheses with Integrated Sensors for Improved Function and Comfort
Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed a 3D-printed prosthetic device with integrated electronic sensors to assess pressure distribution between a limb and the device itself. The sensors provide data that help the researchers to improve the device for added comfort and functionality. Their approach may lead to more affordable and effective custom prostheses.
3D printing is providing people who are missing limbs the opportunity to print their own prosthetic devices using open source plans. This approach could lead to cheaper and more readily accessible devices. However, making sure that every device fits perfectly and ...
Source: Medgadget - April 8, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Neurology Rehab Source Type: blogs
Self Forming Injectable Gel for Cervical Brachytherapy Procedures
A Virginia Tech polymer chemist and a University of Virginia clinical oncologist, have teamed up to create a special gel to reduce the pain associated with cervical cancer brachytherapy. This kind of therapy involves placing radioactive sources near the location of tumors, which essentially kill the cancer cells. Gauze is placed within the vagina to help with bleeding and other side effects, and it along with the cells dying from the therapy generates pain.
The new gel is made to replace the gauze with something more pleasant, and biocompatible gels can be very smooth, soft, and conforming. The new gel from he researchers...
Source: Medgadget - November 27, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Ob/Gyn Oncology Radiation Oncology Source Type: blogs
