February 2012
20 posts
Overweight/obesity soars among Chinese kids (J... →
Secular trends in body mass index and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents inSChandong, China, from 1985-2010
Zhang Ying-Xiu & Wang Shu-Rong
Journal of Public Health 34(1) 131-137
The BMI of children and adolescents aged 7–18 was calculated using data from five national surveys on students’ constitution and health carried out by the government in...
Crafters rejoice: Medical journal says quilting is... →
The Relationship Between Quilting and Well-Being
Emily Burt & Jacqueline Atkinson
Journal of Public Health, 34(1) 54-59
Results: Cognitive, emotional and social processes were uncovered, which participants identified as important for their wellbeing. Participants found quilting to be a productive use of time and an accessible means of engaging in free creativity. Colour was psychologically...
Noting: Citizens' petition filed at Whitehouse.gov... →
Interesting: A petition has been put up on the We The People citizen-participation page of the White House site, asking for regulation over antibiotic use in agriculture.
It’s been up a week and has 5,526 signatures so far. (Looks like the floor for consideration is 25,000 within a month.)
Here’s the text:
WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Protect our families’ health by...
My kind of science: Characterizing the microbiota... →
Lactic Acid Bacterium and Yeast Microbiotas of 19 Sourdoughs Used for Traditional/Typical Italian Breads: Interactions between Ingredients and Microbial Species Diversity
Fabio Minervini,a Raffaella Di Cagno,a Anna Lattanzi,a Maria De Angelis,a Livio Antonielli,b Gianluigi Cardinali,b Stefan Cappelle,c and Marco Gobbettia
Department of Biologia e Chimica Agro-Forestale ed Ambientale,...
CDC seeking infections that may have been caused... →
Published Date: 2012-02-17 14:27:11
Subject: PRO> Non-tuberculous mycobacteria - USA: tattoo, RFI
Archive Number: 20120217.1043907
NON-TUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIA - USA: TATTOO, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION *******************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious...
New site for reviews of e-books on science:... →
Started by @CarlZimmer with an all-star cast of editors comprising all the cool kids in science writing (well, except me). Check it out immediately at http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com.
Their opener says:
It is still tough for readers to discover new science ebooks. Traditional book reviews limit themselves to works on paper. Some ebooks may appear in computer magazines, but buried in reviews...
Disease outbreaks from raw milk 150x greater than... →
The rate of outbreaks caused by unpasteurized milk (often called raw milk) and products made from it was 150 times greater than outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 13-year review also revealed that the states where the sale of raw milk was legal had more than twice the rate of outbreaks as states where it was illegal....
Most Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood, Not a... →
The symbol of American success often involves having the biggest house possible, but our outsized fantasies seem to be shifting. According to a new survey, more than three quarters of us consider having sidewalks and places to take a walk one of our top priorities when deciding where to live. Six in 10 people also said they would sacrifice a bigger house to live in a neighborhood that featured a...
More dogs sick, FDA scrutinizes chicken jerky pet... →
By @JoNelAleccia
Amid reports of more than 500 dogs sickened by chicken jerky pet treats imported from China, government health officials are ramping up border inspections for dangerous toxins.
Food and Drug Administration officials have begun collecting and testing chicken jerky treats upon import, analyzing samples for evidence of melamine and melamine analogs and diethylene glycol, chemicals...
Oh just *great*: Contagious measles patient was at... →
Two cases of measles in Hamilton County have been confirmed by the State who suspects there may be two more in Boone County. And one of those patients from Hamilton County was in the Super Bowl Village on Friday. The combination of 200,000 tightly-packed people and a highly contagious infection is sparking plenty of worry.
China-owned hog-slaughter plant may start in... →
By Michael Fielding on 2/10/2012
Montana’s pork industry would get a major boost under a plan by Gov. Brian Schweitzer to bring a Chinese-backed processing facility to Shelby, located in the northern part of the state near the Canadian border.
After a similar courting of Danish investors failed to lead anywhere five years ago, Schweitzer turned to the Chinese, who hope to build a USDA-certified...
FDA: Acid reflux drugs increase risk of C. diff... →
By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: February 08, 2012
The FDA warned today that use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — including popular brands such as Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid — may increase the risk of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.
The warning comes after a review of data from the agency’s Adverse Event Reporting System and the...
Lessons (and cautions) on freelancing and blogging →
I gave a talk at the SoCon12 unconference about how I transitioned from newspaper reporter to blogger-freelance writer-microblogger-Twitterer-etc. and what I’ve learned so far. My notes are stashed on a separate page on this Tumblr; there’s also a link in the left rail.
China food safety inspection results ‘alarming’... →
By Mark Astley, 02-Feb-2012
Over half of food processing and packaging firms on the Chinese mainland failed safety inspections in 2011 – a figure food quality control company AsiaInspection has called “alarming.”
According to a report by the China-based company, 51% of all food facility check-ups conducted in the country failed, with ‘major’ defects including cases of rodent faecal...
99% of Dutch Chickens Contaminated with ESBL... →
From De Telegraaf (De nummer 1 in nieuws), we have a report that 99% of retail chickens produced with intensive farming and sold in Dutch Supermarkets are contaminated with ESBL-containing bacteria. Organic chicken appears to be far less contaminated, perhaps 1/8th as likely. My Dutch is a little rusty, so I’ve provided the sources. Either way, fear the kipfilet!!
Sources:
1. De...
Big news: HHS website now carries hospital...
HHS has just started adding data on CLABSIs (“central line-associated bloodstream infections,” an important category of hospital-caused infections) to its Hospital Compare website. Here are instructions from the Consumers Union Safe Patient Project, which pushed for this, on how to find the data:
Central Line Bloodstream Infection Information Now Available for Hospitals Nationwide
...
Pfizer recalls birth-control pills because may not... →
(Reporting by James Kelleher; Editing by Greg McCune)
Pfizer said on Tuesday it was recalling about 1 million packets of birth control pills in the United States because they may not contain enough contraceptive to prevent pregnancy. Pfizer said the birth control pills posed no health threat to women but it urged consumers affected by the recall to “begin using a non-hormonal form of...
“in some areas, the only place that poor, uninsured or under-insured women can...”
– This is what the Susan G. Komen Foundation said in 2009 on their own forums about their belief that Planned Parenthood provides needed — and in many cases the only available — breast health care for poor and uninsured women. Yesterday, under anti-abortion pressure, they changed their minds.
In...