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[Note: We mail this E-Borne newsletter 4x/year +/- to friends, colleagues and suspecting customers of record. If we have mistakenly included you in this mailing, or you wish to be removed from our subscriber list, please refer to end of the newsletter for instructions. We'll miss you, but we promise to honor your request.]
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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
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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.
Biohazard
Tie
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."
Human
Papilloma Virus (HPV) Scarf
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.
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2. HCAIs: HEALTH CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS
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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.
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3. DOES PRICE MAKE THE PILL?
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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.
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4. "MISSING WOMEN" AND HEPATITIS IN CHINA
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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:
Hepatitis-B
Tie
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5. JOSHUA LEDERBERG, 1925 - 2008
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"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.
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6. MEETINGS, 2008
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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!
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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. . .
Awareably yours,
RPF Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S. and the IA Team
Copyright 2008 Infectious Awareables, Inc. Please feel free to pass this Ezine along to your friends. All we ask is that you keep it intact and forward it in its entirety. NOTICE: To subscribe to the IA newsletter: www.iawareables.com/a_main.htm
Phone:
818.990.6264
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