E-Borne Newsletter : June Edition
Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S., Editor Roger@iAwareables.com
Dear friends and colleagues,
Summer's
nearly upon us, which
means we're
nudging the year's seriously important event,
Father's Day! Exactly how massive it looms on
your importance scale will depend on whether
you are, have, were, or know a father. Also,
whether you qualify as a giver, or givee! In
any case, don't agonize over that bleeding
edge, soon-to-be-obsolete electronic do-dah
with the unfathomable instructions. Consider
instead, an Awareables communicable cravat -
simple, timely, environmentally friendly, no
instructions required. Surf's up - block the
sun, but not the fun!
1.NEW DESIGNS FOR AAH-T EIGHT
2. HCAIs: HEALTH CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS
3. DOES PRICE MAKE THE PILL?
4. "MISSING WOMEN" AND HEPATITIS IN CHINA
5. JOSHUA LEDERBERG, 1925 - 2008
6. MEETINGS, 2008
1.NEW DESIGNS FOR AAH-T EIGHT BIOHAZARD NECKTIE
As we are constantly reminded, just about everything today is a threat to life, limb and earnest pursuit of guilty pleasure. IA LAUGHS in the face of danger: to wit, this very kool, understated "rep" style design, featuring that faux-friendly "biohazard" icon so familiar to everything from silly white powders to chipped beef in gravy.
CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICLE NECKTIE (C. Diff)
Oh great, another unpronounceable, invisible, life-threatening more-than-you-want-to-know microbial menace. Better get used to it - this one is fast becoming a major pathogenic player in our healthcare facilities.
Severe, potentially fatal colitis, anyone? No worries, though. . .our handsome recreation has been clinically shown to ward off potential pathogens - at least, as long as you're wearing it!
HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS (HPV)
SCARF: "HAVE THE
CONVERSATION" - In case you missed Mom's Day!
In collaboration with the California Family Health Council, this is one beautiful design! Dark navy background, multicolored image. HPV vaccine is now available and recommended by the Centers for Disease control and Prevention for routine administration to 11- and 12-year-old girls. The CDC also endorsed the vaccine, called Gardasil, for girls as young as 9, and has recommended that women aged 13 to 26 receive the vaccination series. Whether or not the vaccine is appropriate for you and yours, no one can argue the importance - and timeliness - of the "conversation."
PENDING FOR FALL: CLIMATE CHANGE!
We're not smart enough, or plan to live long enough, to interpret the interpreters on this one. We do know that this tie design, with creative input from the Purdue University Climate Change Research Center, should qualify for a know-bell prize considering it's mix of science, art and deeply profound symbolism. Not to mention polar bears! Watch for this one, our finest effort!
ALSO: New West Nile scarf colors; "Be Safe" Caps and Boxers.
2. HCAIs: HEALTH CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS
WHAT DO WE KNOW, WHEN DO WE KNOW IT!
The probability that you will leave a
hospital facility with some bug "what you
hadn't brung," ranges from around 3% to 10%
or greater, depending on several variables.
However, a recent UK study indicates that
while the generic "you" is aware of inherent
risks in your oh-so-fun hospital stay, even
to the point of identifying deadly MRSA
(Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus), most of
us generics are not well-versed on the actual
sources of these "nosocomial" infections.
The study concludes that while the media
excels at hyping bad guys, sizzling superbugs
and the like, it's not terribly interested in
delivering the devilish, but boring details.
Causes, sources, transmissions, prevention.
. . annoying details like those.
Cut to the chase: consider where your healthcare provider's hands have been, and make sure they've been washed in front of you! The rest is blind luck.
3. DOES PRICE MAKE THE PILL?
PAYING MORE MAKES IT WORK BETTER. Or so we think!
A study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that we're pretty impressionable when it comes to our drugs. 82 volunteers were asked to rate the pain of electric shocks delivered to their wrists (the study did not measure IQ), after receiving what they were told was an new opiod painkiller. One half the group was given a "regularly" priced pill @ $2.50, the other half, the same pill, but discounted to 10 cents. No explanation was given for the discount, and the regularly priced med was accompanied by a splashy brochure with the usual hype. In fact, both groups were given the same dummy pain pill, but 24% more of the "regular" pricees reported relief than the Walmart shoppers. Similar findings in studies of high vs. low priced wine and energy drinks do seem to confirm that for most of us, price - as a perception of quality - rules.
Proof positive that the hypothalamus was named after a marketing person.
4. "MISSING WOMEN" AND HEPATITIS IN CHINA
INTELLECTUAL HONESTY. WHAT A CONCEPT!
In 2005, economist Emily Oster, in her Ph.D. thesis at Harvard University, postulated that the ratio of men to women in China was unusually high due not only to social preferences for boys, but also due to the ravages of endemic Hepatitis B virus. Based on evidence from several studies available at the time, Dr. Oster's paper concluded that the "missing women," i.e. some 30 million women who might otherwise be living in China under a naturally balanced gender ratio, could be explained by the high incidence of the virus. But lo and behold, new evidence, which Dr. Oster helped uncover, refuted that theory, and lead to her posting another paper. In this follow up paper, she retracted her theory, clearly stating the new evidence, with no shades of gray, no hedging, no excuses.
The significance of this report - for us - lies in a responsible scholar admitting a mistake, albeit evidence-based, with integrity enough to correct her findings publicly, letting truth supercede personal gain and ambition. In today's world-without-responsibility, you have to celebrate small victories where you can!
For an up-close look at a Hep B virus that needs no apologies, and no immunization whatever, check out:
5. JOSHUA LEDERBERG, 1925 - 2008
"ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE SCIENTISTS OF OUR TIME."
Nobel prize winner Joshua Lederberg was a scientific genius whose legacy looms more influential today than ever. With his discoveries that bacteria can actually have sex and exchange DNA, a process called conjugation, Dr. Lederberg laid the foundation for our understanding of today's seminal public health issue, antibiotic resistance. He later pioneered techniques which serve as the basis for what we know as "genetic engineering." Joshua Lederberg entered medical school at the tender age of 18, and began his research on bacteria even before graduating. Through the years, he held prestigious positions at U. of Wisconsin, Stanford University and Rockefeller University, achieving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006, the nations' highest civilian award.
An inspiring example of one man's influence on how we all live, and die, and a man, essentially unknown outside his field, to whom we all owe immeasurable gratitude.
6. MEETINGS, 2008
ASM American Society for Microbiology; Boston, MA; June 2 -4.
APHA American Public Health Association; San Diego, CA; Oct 25-29.
Be there, or have your teacher sign a note!
AND
DON'T DISAPPOINT DAD WITH
SOME ERSATZ
POLYESTER TIE. FLAUNT YOUR IMPECCABLE TASTE,
GIFT-A 100% SILK IA CRAVATATTA, ABRIM WITH
MEANINGFULNESS AND STYLE! WE CAN'T EVEN
BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCE ;)HANG TEN, AND THEN SOME, UNTIL FALL. . .
Awareabley yours,
RPF
Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S., and THE IA TEAM
