Just recently a child was hospitalized after putting a bottle rocket in his pants and others were hospitalized after holding cinnamon in their mouth for a minute. The danger is that these kids may or may not know that these stunts are dangerous. It may not be evident that a video seen online is not a credible source…
It worries me that we are being accustomed to quick messages and short hand typing that we will soon become a society of less social individuals and poor communication skills.
Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels
People who had a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets tended to have lower plasma levels of beta-amyloid proteins, possibly reducing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.
In a cross-sectional study of more than 1,200 cognitively normal individuals older than 65, omega-3 fatty acid intake was significantly predictive of plasma levels of the 40- and 42-residue forms of beta-amyloid protein (AB40 and AB42, respectively), according to Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues.
Death Rate Still High in RA Vasculitis
From 1988 to 2000, the average annual incidence of this condition was 9.1 per million (95% CI 6.8 to 12), falling to 3.9 per million (95% CI 2.3 to 6.2) in the subsequent decade, according to Eleana Ntatsaki, PhD, from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich, England, and colleagues.
In the earlier and later time periods, 1-year mortality rates were 14%, and 12%, respectively.
But 5-year mortality rates for systemic rheumatoid vasculitis were 51% and 60%, respectively, despite current therapeutic strategies such as treat-to-target, she said.
via Medical News: Death Rate Still High in RA Vasculitis – in Meeting Coverage, BSR from MedPage Today.
Taking E-Mail Vacations Can Reduce Stress
A new study released Thursday by the University of California, Irvine, which was co-written with United States Army researchers, found that people who do not look at e-mail on a regular basis at work are less stressed and more productive.
via Taking E-Mail Vacations Can Reduce Stress, Study Says – NYTimes.com.
Did we really need a study to tell us this?
American Family Information Services – 87 Layoffs – Insurance Networking News
The company has reduced its total workforce by 730 positions, or almost 10 percent, over the past four years, mainly by attrition.
via American Family Information Services Department Incurs 87 Layoffs – Insurance Networking News.
Short articles like this make me wonder what’s really happening. We don’t know the total number of staff in the company’s IT department so we cannot know what percentage of the entire staff was affected. So I went online and found the following:
The cut positions included 85 people based at the company headquarters at 6000 American Parkway and its other Madison location, off Milwaukee Street, plus two people outside Madison. There are 850 people remaining in the company’s information services division, making the job reductions equal to about a 10 percent cut there.
Document Your Case – InsuranceNewsNet Magazine May 2012
InsuranceNewsNet Magazine May 2012 – page 28.
Good article on file documentation. The article is aimed at producers but the advice can be used by anyone who works with an elderly population.
Opportunities EVERYWHERE
Exchange of Services and Adding New Business Lines: I have a good friend who is a young MD type doctor. He was loaded down with student loans and he operates his own office in Encino, CA, a fairly wealthy area. It costs him $225 per hour to keep his office doors open. He had to do hospital rounds at night to survive. Radio time is now going begging. So, I worked a deal for him with a local radio station. He gets advertising air time and even has his own medical “show” on that station. He is also now the personal doctor for the station owner and the few employees. This was an exchange of services. I did not charge for putting this deal together but it lead to a new business line for him that I proposed and share in that revenue. He is located in a wealthy area. There are a lot of wealthy older people in the area who do not like going to see the doctor but from time to time, need medical help and attention. So we set up a medical concierge service that also gets advertised on that radio station. We make house calls and the fee is not cheap. We now have eight doctors on call and business is brisk.
via Opportunities EVERYWHERE Market Sniper – Slope Of Hope with Tim Knight.
The example above is one of the real life money making opportunities highlighted in the article. Go read the rest. This is tremendous food for thought.
I started to think about my own business after reading the article. A while ago I recognized my opportunities were similar to the ones described by Knight. I began to understand that I had started working at the intersection of disciplines. Underwriting and law. Auditing and underwriting. Technology and underwriting.
Can you take your expertise to the intersections of disciplines to meet unmet needs?
HT – Michael Panzner at Financial Armageddon
Reduced Total Lung Capacity and Mortality
Background: Pulmonary restriction is associated with increased mortality in adults, especially those who are elderly. Previous studies, however, have used the FVC as a surrogate for the total lung capacity (TLC). We evaluated the association between a reduced TLC, mortality, and health-care resources use and compared this association with a reduced FVC.
Conclusions: Reduced TLC is strongly associated with mortality in adults who are elderly. Reduction of the FVC is a weaker risk factor for mortality.
via Association of Reduced Total Lung Capacity With Mortality and Use of Health Services.
Frontline’s Astonishing Whitewash of the Crisis « naked capitalism
Lassa Fever in Nigeria – CDC
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health has reported an increased number of cases of Lassa fever. Nineteen of the country’s 36 states have reported cases since the beginning of 2012. As of April 13, 2012, there were reports of 818 suspected cases, including 84 deaths. At this time, 131 cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing. Seven deaths have also been reported among health care workers.
via Lassa Fever in Nigeria – Travelers’ Health – CDC.
Avoid contact with rats, especially rat urine and feces. Put food away in rodent-proof containers.
- Keep the home clean and rodent proof.
- Trap rats in and around homes.
- Do not eat rats.
lifeunderwriter.net 
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