Accidental Inhalation of the Condom

    A 27-year-old woman presented with  persistent cough, sputum and fever for the preceding six months. In spite of trials with antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis treatment for the proceeding four months, her symptoms did not improve.
A subsequent chest radiograph showed non-homogeneous collapse-consolidation of right upper lobe.
   Videobronchoscopy revealed an inverted bag like structure in right upper lobe bronchus and rigid bronchoscopic removal with biopsy forceps confirmed the presence of a condom. Detailed retrospective history also confirmed accidental inhalation of the condom during fellatio.

Source: 

National Center for Biotechnology Information    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

World’s Smallest Palm Sized Ultrasound

           After portable glucometers,  digital blood pressure monitor, portable ECG equipment, health care becomes  personal with the launch of portable palm sized ultrasound. Signostic Medicals gave a new twist to medical innovation with the introduction of SIGNOS, world’s smallest pockect sized ultrasound.

Weighing less than 300 grams with the same size as that of a PDA, SIGNOS provides fast and cost-effective ultrasound system featuring high image resolution. This handy device can be wore around doctors neck or carried in pocket due to its unique small size.
       
 
Incorporating MotionScape and SectorView technology, with an internally operated stethoscope and a 3.5MHz or a 7.5MHz transducer, the device produce high resolution images on its display. Using the microsd memory card(included) signos can save upto 20,000 images, which can later be printed for detailed analysis and report printing purposes.
SIGNOS will be a great attarction for  telemedicine and remote patient monitoring systems in the future, especially in rural areas.

Stanford School of Medicine equipping students with Apple's iPad

           

 










      Looks like Stanford School of Medicine’s incoming class of first years will have an innovate study tool to help ease the pain from the countless hours of studying – Apple’s iPad.

Apple Insider is reporting that each incoming student in the Stanford School of Medicine.
Class of 2014 will be getting the iPad as part of their welcome kit.

• The school cited four reasons behind the new program, including student readiness, noting that iPad "creates opportunities for efficient, mobile, and innovative learning."
  
  • Stanford also noted "the flexibility of iPad technology," noting that "iPad allows students to view and annotate course content electronically, facilitating advance preparation as well as in-class note-taking in a highly portable, sharable and searchable format."
  
  
  • Access to information and "information literacy" was also a consideration, with the school pointing out that "students will be able to easily access high-quality information at any place, at any time (for example, images from textbooks on digital course reserve, image databases, journal articles, Lane Library’s various search tools, etc.)"
  
  
  • A fourth rationale was Stanford's intent to go green, "replacing printed syllabi with PDFs is in line with the Sustainable Stanford initiative, which aims to build sustainable practices into every aspect of campus life."

       This would really only work for medical literature, where the dynamic screen on the iPad can enhance medical images and tables that populate medical text. I thought about a fantastic article written by one of our editors, Felasfa Wodajo, where he lays out exactly how the iPad would be fantastic for medical literature.


It’ll be interesting to see what apps the school’s IT department will be putting on the iPad for the medical students.  My guess is you’ll seeing lots of anatomy apps and PDF reading apps.  This is going to be a fantastic story to follow and we’d love to hear from some Stanford medical students when they start using the iPad for studying.  Either way, learning gross anatomy just got a whole lot more fun.

• So basically, Stanford appears to be leaving it up to their students on how to use their iPad. It appears the UC Irvine School of Medicine (recent article) is taking a more direct approach and actually implementing the iPad into their curriculum. Either way, it appears the iPad has firmly gained a presence as a key tool for medical education.

Source:

•   http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/30/stanford_school_of_medicine_equipping_students_with_apples_ipad.html 

•   http://www.imedicalapps.com/2010/07/stanford-school-of-medicine-ipad-incoming-class/

The Dutchtub - Portable, Wood-Burning Spa.

        
             
                        You may have heard the term flashpacking, the act of traveling in the spirit of a backpacker but with the budget of one more monied. Well, from the Netherlands comes what might be the ultimate in flashcamping—a portable, wood-burning spa.
The Dutchtub is a personal hot-springs-to-go. If you have a tub-sized patch of flat ground, wood and 200 gallons (750 liters) worth of water or snow you can have your own spa virtually anywhere.

Here’s how it works:

Fill your tub with water via a suction hose, bucket brigade or whatever other means you can. (Alternatively, you can leave the Dutchtub outside and let snow or rain do the job for you).
Next, attach the included convection unit to the side of the Dutchtub and build a three-to-four log fire within its coil. Then cover your tub and wait for the water within to get toasty warm. The length of your wait will depend on the type of wood used and the starting temperatures. If the water and air temperature are each a few degrees above freezing, for instance, plan on about two hours for the tub water to heat to 100 F (38 C).
Finally, treat the water with soap, hydrogen peroxide, swimming pool shock or—preferably and most pleasantly—natural salts. Hop in and enjoy! (And try not to think about how it looks like you are sitting in an oversized cappuccino mug).
The Dutchtub is large enough to fit four adults comfortably; the slope of the tub’s side naturally forms ergonomic “seats.” The tub is made from the same stainless steel used to construct giant wind turbines; durability isn’t an issue.
What is somewhat of an issue is the tub’s portability. Everything needed to set up the tub, including the convention coil and the lid, weighs 165 pounds (75 kg)—light enough for two adults to pick it up but too heavy for them to move it very far. Fortunately, the tub does have an optional wheeled hand trailer (see pic, below) and is small enough to be tied to the top of a large car (and to make said car look ridiculous).
The cost of the Dutchtub is no small issue either: about $6,000. If that price has you stress out, don’t worry. A few minutes in the Dutchtub on some secluded beach will take care of that.

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• The Natural Hot Tub Company Announces Natural Products for Spas and Hot Tubs (pr.com)

OCTOBER 2010 International holidays and observances

              October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name (from the Latin "octo" meaning "eight") after July and August, after Julius and Augustus Caesar respectively, when the calendar was originally created by the Romans.
October is commonly associated with the season of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.
 October Symbols

• October's birthstone is the opal. The opal is thought to have the power to predict illness. This is because the opal responds to heat. Sickness increases body temperature before signs of illness appear. The increased body heat causes the opal to lose its shine, leaving it dull and lacking color. It is also said that the opal will crack if it is worn by someone who was not born in October.
• Its birth flower is the calendula. 

The Zodiac sign for those born in this month is either Libra or Scorpio, depending on which day you were born.

October International  Observance:

• First Monday of October - World Habitat Day, recognized by the UN

• October 1 - International Day of Older Persons, recognized by the UN

Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in modern social and political activism,
considered these traits to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity.

• October 1 - World Vegetarian Day

• October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence, recognized by the UN, observed on M.K. Gandhi's birthday
  
  
   
• October 4 - World Animal Day

• October 5 - World Teachers' Day

• Second Wednesday of October - International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, recognized by the UN

• October 6 - World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

• October 8 - World Humanitarian Action Day

• October 9 - World Post Day, recognized by the UN

• October 10 - World Mental Health Day, recognized by the UN

• October 11 - Coming Out Day

• October 14 - World Standards Day

• October 15 - International Day of Rural Women, recognized by the UN

• October 15 - Foundation of the Black Panthers Day

• October 16 - World Food Day, recognized by the UN

• October 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, recognized by the UN

• October 24 - United Nations Day, recognized by the UN

• October 24 - World Development Information Day, recognized by the UN 

October events and holidays

• Children's Book Week (England) – First Week of October
• National Day (China, People's Republic of) – October 1
• Dashain in Nepal
• Independence Day in the Republic Of Cyprus – October 1
• Independence Day in Nigeria – October 1
• International Day of Non-Violence – October 2
• German Unity Day (Germany) – October 3
• Proclamation of Portuguese Republic (Portugal) – October 5
• International World Teachers' day – October 5
• Armed Forces Day in Egypt commemorating the Yom Kippur War – October 6
• Independence day in Croatia – October 8
• Leif Erikson Day - October 9
• Freethought Day – October 12
• National Day of Spain – October 12 (Discovery of America)
• Thanksgiving (Canada) – Second Monday of October
• Health and Sports Day (Japan) – Second Monday of October
• Columbus Day (Most of United States) – Second Monday of October
• World Food Day – October 16
• Alaska Day - October 18
• Constitution Day in Niue – October 19
• Apple Day – October 21
• Remembering the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 – October 23
• United Nations Day – October 24
• Day of the Romanian Army – October 25
• National Day of Austria - October 26
• Independence Day in St. Vincent & the Grenadines – October 27
• Independence Day in Turkmenistan – October 27
• Navy Day (United States) – October 27
• Ochi Day (No Day) in Greece – October 28
• Republic Day in Turkey –   October 29

Halloween, Samhain –   October 31 
Month-long observances

• Filipino American History Month (in United States)
• National Arts & Humanities Month (in United States)
• Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month (LGBT History Month) (in United States)
• National Cyber Security Awareness Month (in United States)
• Fair Trade Month

Cultural celebrations

• German American Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 in the United States)
• National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 in the United States)
• Italian American Heritage Month: Italian Heritage and Culture Month 
• Polish American Heritage Month

Health observances

 
• Celiac Sprue Awareness Month
• Health Literacy Month 
• Healthy Lung Month
• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (in United States and Canada)
• National Dental Hygiene Month (in United States)
• National Down Syndrome Awareness Month (in United States)
• National Infertility Awareness Month (in United States)
• National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (in United States)
• National Lupus Erythematosus Awareness Month (in United States)
• National Physical Therapy Month (in United States)
• National Spina Bifida Awareness Month (in United States)
• Rett Syndrome Awareness Month (in United States)
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month (in United States)
• World Blindness Awareness Month
• American Pharmacist Month

 Miscellaneous

• The month October has become famous as "Red October", due to the Russian October revolution of 1917, although in the modern Gregorian calendar, the revolution started in November.
• In the 19th century, the month of October was dedicated to the devotion of the rosary in Roman Catholic countries.
• Slavs call it "yellow month", from the fading of the leaf; to the Anglo-Saxons it was known as Winterfylleth, because at this full moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin
• Eric Whitacre composed a piece based on this month, titled October.
• Mental Illness Awareness Week

 

Why Some Longtime Couples Look Alike

             Among the raft of books, articles, jokes, rom­antic comedies, self-help guides and other writings discussing marriage, some familiar ideas often crop up. Few appear more often than the idea that many old couples look alike. You've probably seen it before -- two elderly people walking hand in hand down the street or sitting at a café, resembling each other so strongly that they could be siblings.

• Forget about opposites attracting. We like people who look like us, because they tend to have personalities similar to our own. And, a new study suggests, the longer we are with someone, the more similarities in appearance grow.

• Researchers set out to investigate why couples often tend to resemble one another. They asked 11 male and 11 female participants to judge the age, attractiveness and personality traits of 160 real-life married couples. Photographs of husbands and wives were viewed separately, so the participants didn't know who was married to whom.

The test participants rated men and woman who were actual couples as looking alike and having similar personalities. Also, the longer the couples had been together, the greater the perceived similarities.
The researchers speculate that the sharing of experiences might affect how couples look.

A biological reason  

• The idea that there is a connection between appearance and personality might seem odd at first, but there could be biological reasons for a link, said study member Tony Little from the University of Liverpool in England.

• "Testosterone is linked to masculine face shapes and it also affects behavior," Little told LiveScience. "Also, the face displays our emotions and over time emotional expressions may become written in the face."

For example, someone who smiles a lot may develop lines and muscles that are suggestive of someone who is happy.
Other studies have shown that partners who are genetically similar to each other tend to have happier marriages. Similarities in personalities and physical features might be one way to gauge genetic similarity.
Smiles and eyes

• The new study, to be detailed in the March issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, indicates that people home in on a variety of different features when using facial appearance to make decisions about someone's personality, and that the particular cues focused on change from face to face. Vital to the decision, however, are eyes and smiles.
• Genetic influences are also a factor. A past study showed that genetically similar people have better marriages [Source: Live Science]. Such families have fewer incidents of child abuse and a lower rate of miscarriages. People also appear to be more selfless when involved with genetically similar partners.

Smiles are important social cues that may tell us whether or not someone is friendly, and eyes are also a traditional focus of attention.

• In another study, a researcher at the University of Western Ontario determined that when considering friends or romantic partners, a si­milar genetic profile made up about a third of the selection criteria. We may think subconsciously that people who are genetically similar work better together. Consequently, we look for physical or emotional cues that tell us that this potential friend, husband or wife is genetically similar to us. Of course, couples shouldn't be too genetically similar -- in most cultures, relationships between close relatives are taboo, and geneticists agree that diversity is important to a healthy gene pool.

Besides feeling that they work better together, why and how do people choose partners who are genetically similar? Asking for a DNA sample on the first date would be impolite. The answer may be equal parts personality -- derived in part­ from genetics and consistently ranked by people as important in a partner -- and the marriage models we have around us. In other words, many women say they want a guy like dad.

Other Criteria for Attraction

Finding out what attracts one person to another has been explored by matchmakers and psychologists alike. But science has been able to go beyond many of the classic answers, such as sense of humor, kindness, intelligence and similar values. The genetic basis of attraction may be equally important while also representing a bigger mystery.

•    A study involving researchers from several universities showed that women prefer men who look like their fathers. Even women who were adopted seem to share the same predilection. Tamas Bereczkei, a researcher at Hungary's University of Pecs who was involved in the study, called the process sexual imprinting. Women use their fathers as models by which they judge their prospective mates.

• The study also found that a close father-daughter relationship more often resulted in a woman marrying someone who looked like her father. Again, the notion of imprinting arises as these fathers, by forming close emotional bonds with their daughters, seemed to provide a model of what a husband should be.

 Source:
 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11346164
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/old-couples2.htm
http://www.physorg.com/news10783.html

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• Do Spouses Grow Alike as Time Passes? (webmd.com)
• Married People Don't Become More Alike Over Time (aolhealth.com)
• Spouses do not grow more alike, study finds (eurekalert.org)
• Advanced Matchmaking Practices (datingwebsites.org)

The Sweet Donation Bag

                       
Glam Pack for Blood

• The Sweet Donation Bag is an attempt to redesign the blood collection pouch. 
• It features a sleeve with large cut-outs indicating the blood type (A, B, AB & O). The overall design is much more refined than the current bags in use and the packaging looks sturdy. [If only the cut-outs would have indicated Type+ or Type- then I guess the impact would have been better. ]
• Slicker and tidier to look at;
• It won’t reduce the needle-prick pain!

Source:

• Yanko Design web magazine http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/10/01/glam-pack-for-blood/