underwriting
Thought for Today – 08.08.10
Sauna endurance finalist collapses and dies in 110C – Telegraph
Ossi Arvela, the head of the sauna-sitting competition, said in a statement: “The Russian competitor has died in the sauna world championships.”
Hopefully this “sport” will not develop a large following.
By the way, 110 C = 230 F.
HT to Yves Smith at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com
Chronic HBV and Lymphoma Risk
Medical News: Chronic HBV Raises Lymphoma Risk – in Infectious Disease, Hepatitis from MedPage Today
Among individuals who were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the adjusted hazard ratio for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was 1.74 (95% CI 1.45 to 2.09, P<0.0001), compared with those who tested negative, according to Eric A. Engels, MD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., and colleagues.
Calcium Supplements and MI Risk – Listen and Learn
BBC News – Today – Calcium supplement effectiveness ‘pretty poor’
Here’s a pretty good interview on the calcium supplementation and MI risk for those of you who like to listen and learn.
Calcium Supplements and MI Risk
Calcium supplementation appears to increase the risk of myocardial infarction, a meta-analysis showed.
Among studies of patients with or at risk for osteoporosis, those who took calcium supplements were about 30% more likely to have an MI than those who did not, Ian Reid, MD, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues reported online in BMJ.
Among randomized controlled trials with patient-level data, the hazard ratio for MI with supplementation was 1.31 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.67). Among those with trial-level data, the relative risk was 1.27 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.59).
Strong Social Relationships and Mortality
Maintaining strong social relationships may help slow the approach of death, a meta-analysis showed.
In a pooled analysis of 148 studies, having strong social relationships was associated with a 50% greater likelihood of surviving through follow-up (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.59), according to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and colleagues.
The magnitude of the association puts social relationships on a par with quitting smoking and beyond obesity and physical inactivity in terms of relationship with mortality, the researchers reported in the July issue of PLoS Medicine.
The War in Mexico – Prisoners as Hitmen
Hitmen behind Mexico massacre were prisoners: government | Reuters
This news piece is a little aged but linked here in case you missed it.
Childhood Cancer = Excess Mortality 25 Years Post DX
Conclusion Among a cohort of British survivors of childhood cancer, excess mortality from second primary cancers and circulatory diseases continued to occur beyond 25 years from diagnosis.
More on Vitamin D and Cogntive Decline
Conclusion Low levels of vitamin D were associated with substantial cognitive decline in the elderly population studied over a 6-year period, which raises important new possibilities for treatment and prevention.
Stuxnet – Spyware “That’s Really Scary”
Saturday mornings are a great time to catch up on the news. I regularly follow nearly 100 RSS feeds through my reader. The number and content type change periodically as my personal and business interests evolve (or when I forget my Adderall). When I came across this article I was surprised not about the content but more so about the fact that my computer security RSS feed stopped working.
I hate that when that happens.
Free Management Consulting Tip of the Day
Ask your tech guys if your remotes can infect the corporate systems using this sneaker net USB memory stick method.
I don’t know is an unacceptable answer.
Stuxnet spyware targets industrial facilities, via USB memory stick – CSMonitor.com
“We have not seen anything like this before aimed directly at the industrial control system environment,” says Walt Boyes, a control systems security expert and editor in chief of Control magazine. “It’s a clear-cut case of industrial espionage. We don’t know its ultimate aim yet.” But, he says, the attack is aimed specifically at the company that sells the lion’s share of industrial automation software to the electric power sector in North America and Western Europe. “That’s really scary,” Mr. Boyes adds.
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