MKUP WITH GLS

///////////////////Dancing Eyes, Dancing Feet: Opsoclonus-Myoclonus in an 18-Month-Old Child With Neuroblastoma Badaki OB et al. - Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome is a rare disorder frequently associated with neuroblastoma in pediatric patients. We present the case of an 18-month-old child with symptoms classic of the syndrome and review the current literature with the aim of aiding the clinician in the recognition and early management of this disease [more...]
Pediatric Emergency Care, 12/20/07




/////////////////////Congenital cholestatic syndromes: What happens when children grow up? SC Ling - Indications for liver transplantation include synthetic failure, progressive encephalopathy, intractable pruritus, recurrent biliary sepsis and recurrent complications of portal hypertension. Improved understanding of biliary physiology will hopefully translate into improved therapy for children and adults with cholestasis [more...]
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, 12/26/07



///////////////////////HSW=11 Memorable Epitaphs
by the editors of Publications International, Ltd.
11 Memorable EpitaphsThey might be six feet under, but a good epitaph means they'll never be forgotten. Here are some of our favorite gravestone inscriptions. 1. Mel Blanc: "That's all folks!" Arguably the world's most famous voice actor, Mel Blanc's characters included Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and Sylvester the Cat. When he died of heart disease and emphysema in 1989 at age 81, his epitaph was his best-known line. 2. Spike Milligan: "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite." The Gaelic epitaph for this Irish comedian translates as, "I told you I was ill." Milligan, who died of liver failure in 2002 at age 83, was famous for his irreverent humor showcased on TV and in films such as Monty Python's Life of Brian. 3. Joan Hackett: "Go away -- I'm asleep." The actor, who was a regular on TV throughout the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on such shows as The Twilight Zone and Bonanza, died in 1983 of ovarian cancer at age 49. Her epitaph was copied from the note she hung on her dressing room door when she didn't want to be disturbed.
Joan Hackett's epitaph quoted a sign hung on her dressing room door.4. Rodney Dangerfield: "There goes the neighborhood." This comedian and actor died in 2004 from complications following heart surgery at age 82. His epitaph is fitting for this master of self-deprecating one-liners, best known for his catchphrase, "I don't get no respect." 5. Ludolph van Ceulen: "3.14159265358979323846264338327950 288 . . ." The life's work of Ludoph van Ceulen, who died from unknown causes in 1610 at age 70, was to calculate the value of the mathematical constant pi to 35 digits. He was so proud of this achievement that he asked that the number be engraved on his tombstone. See the rest of our list of famous epitaphs on the next page.
Top 5 Most Intriguing ListsWhile you can browse through hundreds of fascinating lists at Extraordinary Lists, here are 5 lists that we feel are certain to amaze and entertain:
59 Famous People Who Died Before Age 40
7 Strange Ways to Die
8 Famous People Who Died in the Bathroom
8 Stars Who Died During the Filming of a Movie
15 Most Common Causes of Death in the World
Memorable Epitaphs, 6-11The remainder of our list of 11 famous epitaphs continues with a notorious character of the Wild West.6. George Johnson: "Here lies George Johnson, hanged by mistake 1882. He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he's gone." Johnson bought a stolen horse in good faith but the court didn't buy his story and sentenced him to hang. His final resting place is Boot Hill Cemetery, which is also "home" to many notorious characters of the Wild West, including Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers, who died in the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. 7. John Yeast: "Here lies Johnny Yeast. Pardon me for not rising." History hasn't recorded the date or cause of John Yeast's death, or even his profession. We can only hope that he was a baker. 8. Lester Moore: "Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a 44, no Les, no more." The date of birth of this Wells Fargo agent is not recorded, but the cause of his death, in 1880, couldn't be clearer.9. Jack Lemmon: "Jack Lemmon in . . ." The star of Some Like It Hot, The Odd Couple, and Grumpy Old Men died of bladder cancer in 2001 at age 76. 10. Hank Williams: "I'll never get out of this world alive." The gravestone of the legendary country singer, who died of a heart attack in 1953 at age 29, is inscribed with several of his song titles, of which this is the most apt. 11. Dee Dee Ramone: "OK . . . I gotta go now." The bassist from the punk rock band The Ramones died of a drug overdose in 2002, at age 49. His epitaph is a reference to one of the group's hits, "Let's Go."



//////////////////////Congenital diaphragmatic hernia Robinson, P.D., et al. - The incidence of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) may be as high as 1 in 2000. Over the past two decades, antenatal diagnosis rates have increased, the pathophysiology of CDH has become better understood, and advances in clinical care, including foetal surgery, have occurred. However, there remains a paucity of randomised controlled trials to provide evidence-based management guidelines [more...]
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, 12/14/07



/////////////////////////A Recently Identified Rhinovirus Genotype Is Associated with Severe Respiratory-Tract Infection in Children in Germany Renwick N et al. - Acute respiratory infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Accurate identification of causative agents is critical to case management and to prioritization in vaccine development...The novel genotype represented 73% of rhinoviruses and 55% of all identified viruses. Infections with the novel genotype were associated with upper respiratory tract symptoms but, more frequently, with bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia [more...]
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 12/20/07



/////////////////////Some Useful Condescending PhrasesSome useful phrases to use as an Evil Overlord as given by Steve Meredith. These humorous cuts were originally listed as useful phrases to use around work but they probably only work well if you are a Evil Overlord(TM).
Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.
I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
No, my powers can only be used for good.
How about never? Is never good for you?
I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication.
I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.
I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
I don't work here. I'm a consultant.
Who me? I just wander from room to room.
My toys! My toys! I can't do this job without my toys!
It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.
At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.
You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

http://marvin.ibest.uidaho.edu/~heckendo/usefulPhrases.html


ASIAN BOXING DAY TSUNAMI -3 YRS ON-LARGEST KNOWN SINGLE LIFELOSING DISASTER IN OUR LIFETIME-?3 L DTH-TOTAL FOR THAT DAY-4.2 L


//////////////////// Infants, born at 26/27- and 28/29-week GA, were at similar postmenstrual ages (PMA) when taking 1–2 and 6–8 oral feedings per day.


///////////////////Assessment of the prevalence of microaspiration by gastric pepsin in the airway of ventilated children Gopalareddy V et al. - Measurement of gastric pepsin in tracheobronchial fluid is a sensitive tool to detect aspirations in mechanically ventilated children and to assess the efficacy of preventive measures in PICU settings [more...]
Acta Pediatrica, 12/20/07



/////////////////////What's New in Topical Anesthesia Young, K.D. - Advances in topical anesthesia have brought new products, new drug delivery systems, and new indications. Eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, LMX4, and Synera are available for skin anesthesia before minor skin-breaking procedures such as venipuncture and intravenous cannulation....This article reviews available and upcoming topical anesthetic products, as well as adverse effects, and procedure and disease-specific uses of topical anesthesia [more...]
Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 12/18/07



//////////////////The African Queen (1951)
var rnd = Math.round(Math.random()*10000000);
var https = false; try { https = document.location.href.indexOf('https')==0 } catch(e) {}
document.writeln('');
advertisement
photos
board
trailer
details
September 1914, news reaches the colony German Eastern Africa that its motherland is at war, so Reverend Samuel Sayer became a hostile foreigner; German imperial troops burn down his mission, driving him mad- shortly after his well-educated, snooty sister Rose Sayer buries him and leaves by the only available transport, the crummy river steamboat 'African Queen' of grumpy boorish compatriot Charlie Allnut. As if a long difficult journey without any comfort weren't bad enough for such odd companions, she is determined to find a way to do their bit for the British war effort (and revenge her brother) and aims high as God is obviously on their side: construct their own equipment, a torpedo and the converted steamboat, to take out a huge German warship, the Louisa, which is hard to find on the giant lake and first of all to reach, in fact as daunting an expedition as nobody attempted since the late adventurous explorer John Speakes, but she presses till Charlie accepts to steam up the Ulana, about to brave a German fort, raging rapids, very bloodthirsty parasites and the endlessly branching stream which seems to go nowhere but impenetrable swamps... Despite fierce rows and moral antagonism between a bossy devout abstentionist and a free-spirited libertine drunk loner, the two bachelors grow closer to each-other as their quest drags on... Written by KGF Vissers



//////////////////////Preferences and Practices: Use of Neonatal Resuscitation Devices in Low-Resource Settings Coffey PS et al. - There was a clear preference for the bag and mask device over the tube and mask device due to its ease of use. Programmatic implications include the need to improve health workers? confidence in the ability of the device to be cleaned and to remain in safe working order over time. These issues should be reviewed during periodic refresher training courses [more...]
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 12/26/07



//////////////////////Absolute Hot by Peter Tyson
Is there an opposite to absolute zero?
Seems like an innocent enough question, right? Absolute zero is 0 on the Kelvin scale, or about minus 460 F. You can't get colder than that; it would be like trying to go south from the South Pole. Is there a corresponding maximum possible temperature?
Well, the answer, depending on which theoretical physicist you ask, is yes, no, or maybe. Huh? you ask. Yeah, that's how I felt. And the question doesn't just mess with the minds of physics dummies like me. Several physicists begged off of trying to answer it, referring me to colleagues. Even ones who did talk about it said things like "It's a little bit out of my comfort zone" and "I think I'd like to ruminate over it." After I posed it to one cosmologist, there was dead silence on the other end of the line for long enough that I wondered if we had a dropped call.
I had touched a nerve, because, unbeknownst to me, the highest-temperature question gets to the heart of current inquiries and proposed theories in cosmology and theoretical physics. Indeed, scientists who work in these fields are zealously trying to answer that question. Why? Because, in some sense, nothing less than the future course of physics rests on the answer.
Contender #1—1032 K
Certain cosmological models, including the one that has held sway for decades, the Standard Model, posit a theoretical highest temperature. It's called the Planck temperature, after the Austrian physicist Max Planck, and it equals about 100 million million million million million degrees, or 1032 Kelvin. "It's ridiculous is what it is," said Columbia physicist Arlin Crotts when I asked him if he could please put that number in perspective for me. "It's a billion billion times the largest temperature that we have to think about" (in gamma-ray bursts and quasars, for instance). Oh, that helped.
Truthfully, when contemplating the Planck temperature, you can forget perspective. All the usual terms for very hot—scorching, broiling, hellish, insert your favorite here—prove ludicrously inadequate. In short, saying 1032 K is hot is like saying the universe occupies some space. (For a game attempt at perspective, see A Sense of Scale.)
Whatever the highest temperature is, it might be essentially equivalent to the coldest temperature.
In conventional physics—that is, the kind that relies on Einstein's theory of general relativity to describe the very large and quantum mechanics to describe the very small—the Planck temperature was reached 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang got under way. At that instant, known as one Planck time, the entire universe is thought to have been the Planck length, or 10-35 meters. (In physics, Max Planck is the king of the eponymous.) An awfully high temperature in an awfully small space in an awfully short time after … well, after what? That's arguably an even bigger question—how did the universe begin?—and we won't go there.
A brick wall
The Planck temperature is the highest temperature in conventional physics because conventional physics breaks down at that temperature. Above 1032 K—that is, earlier than one Planck time—calculations show that strange things, unknown things, begin to happen to phenomena we hold near and dear, like space and time. Theory predicts that particle energies become so large that the gravitational forces between them become as strong as any other forces. That is, gravity and the other three fundamental forces of the universe—electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces—become a single unified force. Knowing how that happens, the so-called "theory of everything," is the holy grail of theoretical physics today.
"We do not know enough about the quantum nature of gravitation even to speculate intelligently about the history of the universe before this time," writes Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg about this up-against-a-brick-wall instant in his book The First Three Minutes. "Thus, whatever other veils may have been lifted, there is one veil, at a temperature of 1032 K, that still obscures our view of the earliest times." Until someone comes up with a widely accepted quantum theory of gravity, the Planck temperature, for conventional physicists like Steven Weinberg, will remain the highest temperature.
Contender #2—1030 K
String theorists, those physicists who believe the universe at its most fundamental consists not of particles but of tiny, vibrating strings, have their own take on temperature. I spoke to Robert Brandenberger, a theoretical cosmologist at McGill University in Montreal. Along with Harvard string theorist Cumrun Vafa, Brandenberger has proposed a model of the early universe that's quite different from that of traditional Big Bang models. (I should note that there are many models out there; I'm touching on only a few here.)
Called string gas cosmology, this model posits a maximum temperature called the Hagedorn temperature. (It's named after the late German physicist Rolf Hagedorn.) "This is the maximal temperature which string theory predicts," Brandenberger told me. While string theorists don't give a specific number for the Hagedorn temperature, Brandenberger has reasons to think it's about one percent of its theoretical cousin, the Planck. That makes it about 1030 K, or two orders of magnitude below the Planck.
Contender #3—1017 K
I learned of yet another highest possible temperature from Brandenberger's former graduate student, Stephon Alexander. Now an assistant professor of physics at Penn State, Alexander is one of many physicists who are eagerly awaiting the day that officials at CERN on the Swiss-French border switch on the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator.
One reason why they're excited has to do temperature. As Alexander told me, "It may be that the [highest possible] temperature is—as I believe—the temperature or the energy right around the energy that the LHC will be probing." The LHC will operate at 14 trillion electron volts, or terra electron volts, designated TeV. Fourteen TeV equals 1017 K, thus 15 orders of magnitude below the Planck.
Why could the LHC help determine this? As Brandenberger explained to me, string theory predicts that space-time has more than four dimensions, either 10 or 11. "Now, the other dimensions, which are hidden to us, could either be very, very tiny—they could be strings or Planck scale—or else they could be TeV scale." And if these extra dimensions prove to be TeV scale, he says, then the topmost temperature will be TeV scale too.
If there is a hottest temperature, whatever it is, how about something even hotter? No problem!
I asked Alexander what it would mean for physics if the Planck temperature turned out to be TeV scale. "Oh my God, this would be one of the biggest breakthroughs of our species—you know, Einstein stuff," he said. "It'd be as big as the discovery of relativity and quantum mechanics itself." Brandenberger, for his part, thinks it's a "very, very long shot" that temperature's upper terminus is TeV scale. Regardless of who's right on this score—if, in fact, either is—it will be nail-bitingly suspenseful to see what arises from the LHC, which is slated to begin operation in 2008. Says Alexander: "I've got my stock invested."
Contender #4—0 K
As if at least three different possible opposites to absolute zero weren't pause-giving enough, what Alexander told me next really set my head spinning. Whatever the highest temperature is, he said, it might, just might be essentially equivalent to the coldest temperature. "In other words, zero temperature is the same, in a sense, as the Planck temperature."
Come again?
Alexander described two potential ways the universe began. Either it was at the Planck temperature and then inflated and cooled to create what we see today. Or it started off at zero temperature and speeded up as it expanded. "So one of two situations could have happened," he said, "and it would be interesting if, indeed, both situations are really the same underlying phenomenon."
That is, could the physics of the coldest possible temperature be equivalent to the physics of the hottest possible temperature? Considering that beyond both limits—below one and above the other—space and time start to do those strange, unknown things, Alexander believes it's "a logical conclusion, a logical possibility. Why not?"
Beyond the beyond
Why not, indeed? After chatting with Alexander and others in his rarefied field, I was up for anything. How about something theoretically hotter than the Planck? Sure! I asked Jim Gates of the University of Maryland. "All we know is that above the Planck temperature, the rules change, but … we don't know what the rules change to," he said. "If someone figures out such consistent rules, then yes, it's conceivable that there will be hotter temperatures."
How about a boundlessly high temperature? Great! After all, classical general relativity calls for an infinitely high temperature at the very start of the universe, as well as in the centermost point, the singularity, of black holes.
Or, if there is a hottest temperature, whatever it is, how about something even hotter? No problem! In theory, a hotter temperature than a hottest temperature can exist—it's a negative temperature. As Charles Kittel and Herbert Kroemer write in their classic text Thermal Physics, "The temperature scale from cold to hot runs +0 K, …, +300 K, …, +∞ K, -∞ K, …, -300 K, …, -0 K."
Almost giddy now, I again turned to Arlin Crotts for help. If, theoretically speaking, you go above the Planck to an infinitely high temperature, the next step beyond infinity is minus infinity? "Well, you're not talking about thermal distribution anymore," he said, "but if you keep pushing it, you basically go through infinity over to minus infinity and then come around on the other side." Wow! "What you really should be paying attention to," he added, "is 1 over T [where T is temperature], because one over infinity and one over minus infinity are basically the same thing." Totally!
Contender #5—Who the heck knows?
As you might have guessed, by this point the physicists had lost me—if not at the very beginning. I was way out of my comfort zone.
In the end, perhaps the best answer to my question came from Lee Smolin of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. "It may be that the most you're going to be able to say is that there's a possibility that there's a highest possible temperature," he told me. "But let me mull it over…."



///////////////////////fc=

Bad Actor
Molière collapsed on stage in 1673 and died hours later.
The play was called The Hypochondriac.

/////////////Small World
"Formosa" is both a province in Argentina and the former name of Taiwan.
Curiously, those locations are on precisely opposite sides of the earth. Noon at one is midnight at the other, and midwinter at one is midsummer at the other.



//////////////////Chapter VIII: The Yoga of the Indestructible BrahmanVIII.5. ANTAKAALE CHA MAAMEVA SMARAN MUKTWAA KALEVARAM; YAH PRAYAATI SA MADBHAAVAM YAATI NAASTYATRA SAMSHAYAH. (Krishna speaking to Arjuna)And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone at the time of death, he attains My Being; there is no doubt about this. VIII.6. YAM YAM VAAPI SMARAN BHAAVAM TYAJATYANTE KALEVARAM; TAM TAMEVAITI KAUNTEYA SADAA TADBHAAVABHAAVITAH. Whosoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go, O son of Kunti (Arjuna), because of his constant thought of that being! COMMENTARY: The most prominent thought of one's life occupies the mind at the time of death. It determines the nature of the body to be attained in the next birth.




////////////////////How babies build a picture of the world
Posted: 26 Dec 2007 08:57 AM CST
[Originally posted on February 20, 2006]
Here's a picture of our daughter Nora at about 3 months of age. She looks like she's fairly aware of the events going on around her (arguably more aware than she sometimes appears now, at age 12). However, as our knowledge of how infants begin to perceive the world around them has increased, we've learned that the world of a three-month-old literally looks different to them than the world we perceive as adults. That's because vision, which seems so obvious and instinctive, is actually an active process. When we perceive the world visually, we're not just passively "seeing" what's there, we're constantly determining where one object ends and the next one begins. We're applying logical rules to help break objects into groups and understand how the two-dimensional image on the inside of our eye corresponds to a three-dimensional physical world.
In the picture of Nora, for example, how do we know that the bonnet isn't part of her body? Because it's a different color, white? But the white buckle is part of the baby carrier. Clearly the set of rules we've learned are not simple. But when do we learn them? And in what order?Read the rest of this post... Read the comments on this post...


///////////////////////////Make education a continuing, never-ending process." -- Nido Qubein



///////////////////////sociological thinkers that was created by Mike Goodman (with some input from Tom Conroy and Andrew Miller (see the Sociology Server for details.)
Karl Marx
Life's not fair, let's all share!
Emile Durkheim
You get the ankles, I'll get the wrists.
Max Weber
All work and no play...
Georg Simmel
I feel like I am ze Country Mouse in ze Zitty, Ja?
Jurgen Habermas
Why can't we all just get along?
Talcott Parsons
I have a diagram that explains EVERYTHING!
Pierre Bourdieu
Kids, stay in school.
Michel Foucault
Er... donnez-moi le gagball.
Erving Goffman
Where's that #$@%!! waiter?
Jean Baudrillard
Real=fake; life=Disneyland
Robert Merton
Sometimes things happen for bad reasons and sometimes we can't see the reasons right away.
Herbert Blumer
It's all in your mind.
Louis Althusser
It's not in your mind.
C. Levi-Strauss
Myths are cool.
Amitai Etzioni
C'mon people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, we've got to love one another right now.
Clifford Geertz
Ooh, look, a cock fight! How Shakespearean!
Randall Collins
(sung) Let me entertain you...
Rational Choice Theory
Choose, or lose.
British Cultural Studies
It's not so bad to spend time in front of the telly.


////////////////////There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.-- French Proverb A good conscience is a continual Christmas.-- Benjamin Franklin


/////////////////BTO=KOSM=TTWP=THIS TOO WILL PASS




////////////////////FOOTFALL VS SALES



/////////////////Hate Me”: “I want to live my life the way that I want. Take it or leave it, this is what I want.”



//////////////////We, the Depressed, in our darkest hours have
No energy to move
No reason to live
No will to survive
No hope in a cure
No reason to try.
We roam the earth as the living dead
Wanting only to extinguish
That persistent heart that beats,
That ceaseless breath that enters,
That pain that never relents.

Every cell of our being wants to die,
Yet Do We Live.



//////////////////////


//////////////////