out Problem Notes for SAS®9 - 65916: Accessing a Google BigQuery table without including the SCHEMA= option in the LIBNAME statement might result in an error By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 6 May 2020 09:41:22 EST When you issue a LIBNAME statement for a Google BigQuery database without including the SCHEMA= option, all tables in the project are shown when the libref is expanded. However, if you try to acces Full Article BIGQUERY+SAS/ACCESS+Interface+to+Google+
out Problem Notes for SAS®9 - 34294: A missing discrete dependent variable in the selection model together with a OUTPUT statement might cause an Access Violation error By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 5 May 2020 13:04:13 EST If the following conditions are met in PROC QLIM: the SELECT option and DISCRETE option are specified in the same MODEL statement or ENDOGENOUS statement the same dependent variable with S Full Article ETS+SAS/ETS
out Sternberg optimistic about 2019, Rays' stadium By mlb.mlb.com Published On :: Tue, 19 Feb 2019 17:49:38 EDT Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg won't make any big prediction entering the 2019 season, but he still expressed a lot of enthusiasm during Tuesday's media session. Full Article
out Life without air [Lipids] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-03-27T00:05:59-07:00 An early exposure to lipid biochemistry in the laboratory of Konrad Bloch resulted in a fascination with the biosynthesis, structures, and functions of bacterial lipids. The discovery of plasmalogens (1-alk-1'-enyl, 2-acyl phospholipids) in anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria led to studies on the physical chemistry of these lipids and the cellular regulation of membrane lipid polymorphism in bacteria. Later studies in several laboratories showed that the formation of the alk-1-enyl ether bond involves an aerobic process in animal cells and thus is fundamentally different from that in anaerobic organisms. Our work provides evidence for an anaerobic process in which plasmalogens are formed from their corresponding diacyl lipids. Studies on the roles of phospholipases in Listeria monocytogenes revealed distinctions between its phospholipases and those previously discovered in other bacteria and showed how the Listeria enzymes are uniquely fitted to the intracellular lifestyle of this significant human pathogen. Full Article
out Linking risk factors and outcomes in autism spectrum disorder: is there evidence for resilience? By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 10:26 Full Article
out Elevated First-Trimester Neutrophil Count Is Closely Associated with the Development of Maternal Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes By diabetes.diabetesjournals.org Published On :: 2020-04-24T14:58:49-07:00 Chronic low-grade inflammation plays a central role in the pathophysiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). In order to investigate the ability of different inflammatory blood cell parameters in predicting the development of GDM and pregnancy outcomes, 258 women with GDM and 1154 women without were included in this retrospective study. First-trimester neutrophil count outperformed white blood cell (WBC) count, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the predictability for GDM. Subjects were grouped based on tertiles of neutrophil count during their first-trimester pregnancy. The results showed that as the neutrophil count increased, there was a step-wise increase in GDM incidence, as well as glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), macrosomia incidence and newborn weight. Neutrophil count was positively associated with pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI), HOMA-IR and newborn weight. Additionally, neutrophil count was an independent risk factor for the development of GDM, regardless of the history of GDM. Spline regression showed that there was a significant linear association between GDM incidence and continuous neutrophil count when it exceeded 5.0 x 109/L. This work suggested that first-trimester neutrophil count is closely associated with the development of GDM and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Full Article
out Prominins control ciliary length throughout the animal kingdom: New lessons from human prominin-1 and zebrafish prominin-3 [Cell Biology] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-05-01T00:06:09-07:00 Prominins (proms) are transmembrane glycoproteins conserved throughout the animal kingdom. They are associated with plasma membrane protrusions, such as primary cilia, as well as extracellular vesicles derived thereof. Primary cilia host numerous signaling pathways affected in diseases known as ciliopathies. Human PROM1 (CD133) is detected in both somatic and cancer stem cells and is also expressed in terminally differentiated epithelial and photoreceptor cells. Genetic mutations in the PROM1 gene result in retinal degeneration by impairing the proper formation of the outer segment of photoreceptors, a modified cilium. Here, we investigated the impact of proms on two distinct examples of ciliogenesis. First, we demonstrate that the overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant variant of human PROM1 (i.e. mutation Y819F/Y828F) significantly decreases ciliary length in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. These results contrast strongly to the previously observed enhancing effect of WT PROM1 on ciliary length. Mechanistically, the mutation impeded the interaction of PROM1 with ADP-ribosylation factor–like protein 13B, a key regulator of ciliary length. Second, we observed that in vivo knockdown of prom3 in zebrafish alters the number and length of monocilia in the Kupffer's vesicle, resulting in molecular and anatomical defects in the left-right asymmetry. These distinct loss-of-function approaches in two biological systems reveal that prom proteins are critical for the integrity and function of cilia. Our data provide new insights into ciliogenesis and might be of particular interest for investigations of the etiologies of ciliopathies. Full Article
out Sources: Giants add Parra to outfield mix By mlb.mlb.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Feb 2019 17:46:02 EDT As they continue to await a resolution to the Bryce Harper sweepstakes, the Giants augmented their outfield depth by signing veteran Gerardo Parra to a Minor League deal Tuesday, sources confirmed to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi and Mark Feinsand. Full Article
out Risks of duloxetine for stress incontinence outweigh benefits, say researchers By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 06:30 Full Article
out The rule of law and maritime security: understanding lawfare in the South China Sea By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 13:46:35 +0000 4 September 2019 , Volume 95, Number 5 Douglas Guilfoyle Read online Does the rule of law matter to maritime security? One way into the question is to examine whether states show a discursive commitment that maritime security practices must comply with international law. International law thus provides tools for argument for or against the validity of certain practices. The proposition is thus not only that international law matters to maritime security, but legal argument does too. In this article, these claims will be explored in relation to the South China Sea dispute. The dispute involves Chinese claims to enjoy special rights within the ‘nine-dash line’ on official maps which appears to lay claim to much of the South China Sea. Within this area sovereignty remains disputed over numerous islands and other maritime features. Many of the claimant states have engaged in island-building activities, although none on the scale of China. Ideas matter in such contests, affecting perceptions of reality and of what is possible. International law provides one such set of ideas. Law may be a useful tool in consolidating gains or defeating a rival's claims. For China, law is a key domain in which it is seeking to consolidate control over the South China Sea. The article places the relevant Chinese legal arguments in the context of China's historic engagement with the law of the sea. It argues that the flaw in China's approach has been to underestimate the extent to which it impinges on other states' national interests in the maritime domain, interests they conceptualize in legal terms. Full Article
out Iraq Tribunal: US Pulling Out By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Apr 2020 10:21:57 +0000 1 May 2008 , Number 3 Rowdy sessions of the Iraq High Tribunal attracted sensational daily news coverage while Saddam Hussein was being tried. However, following his grim execution in December 2006, coverage all but evaporated. The foreign press and most western monitors packed their bags and left, and television reporting in Iraq dwindled. Now even the United States Department of Justice, which initially provided key financial and political support, is quietly withdrawing its advisers. So what is happening at the Tribunal and why are the Americans pulling out? Sonya Sceats Associate Fellow, International Law Programme @SonyaSceats SaddamPA.jpeg Full Article
out A short video about MathSciNet By blogs.ams.org Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 15:20:00 +0000 There is a three-minute video about MathSciNet now available online on Vimeo. It is also available as part of a blog post from EBSCO, which mostly discusses Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month and the really neat book Living Proof: Stories … Continue reading → Full Article Announcements Short posts
out Diabetes Core Update: COVID-19 – Impact on Youth and their Families, May 2019 By diabetescoreupdate.libsyn.com Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 20:31:09 +0000 This special issue focuses on the impact COVID-19 is having on youth with diabetes and their families. Recorded April 30, 2020. This is a part of the American Diabetes Associations ongoing project providing resources for practicing clinicians on the care of Diabetes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today’s discussion is an audio version of a webinar recorded on April 30, 2020. Presented by: Barry Conrad, MPH, RD, CDE Stanford Children's Health Tamara S. Hannon, MD, MS Indiana University Marisa Hilliard, PhD Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital Cynthia Munoz, PhD, MPH President-Elect, Helath Care & Education, American Diabetes Association Jennifer Raymond, MD, MCR Children's Hospital Los Angelas Full Article
out Trust boss gave misleading information to GMC about consultant who was unfairly dismissed By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - 15:31 Full Article
out Covid-19: South Korea relaxes social distancing after the number of new cases drops below 10 a day By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - 16:26 Full Article
out Covid-19: Campaigner calls for national guidance to stop DNR orders being made without discussion with patients and families By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thursday, May 7, 2020 - 12:31 Full Article
out Covid-19: Allow pharmacists to dispense controlled drugs without prescription, urge specialists By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thursday, May 7, 2020 - 16:31 Full Article
out HMC remains resolute in bid to keep out coronavirus By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 00:06:05 -0500 WESTERN BUREAU: THE HANOVER Municipal Corporation (HMC) has written to business operators in the parish, urging them to ensure that persons coming into their business places follow the health and safety protocols designed by the Ministry of Health... Full Article
out Kazakhstan: Reaching Out to Central Asian Neighbours By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:21:03 +0000 4 December 2019 Annette Bohr Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme Despite its regional outreach, Kazakhstan’s diplomatic priority will remain Russia, China, and Europe. 2019-12-04-Kaz.jpg Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakh Majilis Chairman Nurlan Nigmatulin and ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev at an inauguration ceremony in parliament. Photo: Pavel AleksandrovTASS via Getty Images. Leaders of the resource-rich Central Asian region have the propensity to remain in power until mortality dictates otherwise. Much like the UK and Brexit, however, few wanted to see Central Asia’s longest reigning ruler, Kazakhstan’s septuagenarian president Nursultan Nazarbayev, crash out without a deal.The sudden departure of the country’s official leader of the nation with no clear succession plan could have led to investment chaos, intra-elite fighting and the unravelling in a matter of months of a system he had built over decades, à la Uzbekistan following the death of long-serving autocrat Islam Karimov in 2016.In order to avoid just such a ‘no-deal’ scenario and ensure the continuity of his policies, in March Nazarbayev carefully choreographed his own resignation and the election of a hand-picked successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, while retaining plum positions and powers for himself.Tokayev’s assumption of the presidency was accompanied by protesters in the streets, increasing wealth inequality, rising Sinophobia among rank-and-file Kazakhstanis, a hard-to-kick economic dependence on oil revenues and a lack of clarity as to which leader—the old or the new president—would actually be calling the shots. But, amidst this plethora of concerns, as argued in a recent Chatham House report, Kazakhstan: Tested by Transition, one bright spot has been the tangible growth of intra-Central Asian cooperation, with the Nazarbayev-Tokayev ruling duo appearing eager to improve the regional dialogue.Kazakhstan has long shaped its identity as a Eurasian state that has acted as more of an intermediary between Russia and Central Asia than as an integral part of the Central Asian region. But since 2017, in particular, Kazakhstan has been increasingly looking for opportunities to boost hitherto weak cooperation with its Central Asian neighbours. While this is first and foremost owing to the liberalization of Uzbekistan’s large market, there are other factors at work that get less airplay.One such factor is a perceptible disentangling from the Kremlin’s policy directions as Kazakhstan has come to view Russia’s foreign policy as increasingly neo-colonial. The example of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union is in many respects more off-putting than inspiring, and Nur-Sultan does not want to be locked tightly into the union’s economic orbit. And in distancing itself slightly from Moscow in order to limit Russian leverage in its affairs, Nur-Sultan has shown itself to be more open to Central Asian regional initiatives.As part of the leadership’s plan to offset oil dependence, Kazakhstan aspires to become the transport, telecommunications and investment hub for Eurasian integration. The intense focus on connectivity and the development of logistical arteries and infrastructure could have the knock-on effect of boosting trade within the Central Asian region and reducing transit times, which are currently greater than in most other parts of the globe.In addition, demographic trends and educational shifts that favour ethnic Kazakhs, together with a growing ethno-nationalist narrative, have allowed the state’s leadership to identify more closely with Kazakhstan’s common Central Asian heritage and, by extension, a common Central Asian region—although Kazakhstan’s leadership still remains eager to demonstrate that the country is not just another ‘stan’. The coming to power of President Mirziyoyev in Uzbekistan appears to have made Kazakhstan more aware of the interconnectedness of the two countries in terms of geographical location and potential economic complementarities, as well as culture and history.Not least, there is a growing recognition among the Central Asian states themselves—including isolationist Turkmenistan to a degree—that deepening regional trade is mutually beneficial, especially given the constraints associated with Russia’s economic problems. The strengthening of Kazakhstan’s ties with Uzbekistan has slowly kick-started regional cooperation as a whole: trade turnover between the Central Asian states in 2018 grew by 35 per cent on the previous year.But both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are keen to stress that there is no discussion of integration or institutionalization, not least because previous attempts at integration have been overtaken by Russia, leaving Central Asia without its own coordinating body.The official consensus in Kazakhstan is that Uzbekistan’s economic reforms after years of isolation will spur ‘a healthy rivalry’ and ultimately boost Kazakhstan’s own economy, in so far as the competition for foreign investment will require both countries to work harder to improve their respective business and regulatory environments.At the unofficial level, however, some Kazakhstani analysts view Uzbekistan’s rise as potentially unprofitable, given the possible diversion of some investments and market activity from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan. Moreover, Uzbekistan has the advantage of having undergone a clear change of executive, while it remains unclear which developments await Kazakhstan once First President Nazarbayev leaves the scene for good.It can certainly be argued that Uzbekistan does pose a potential threat in the long-term to Kazakhstan’s entrenched position as Central Asia’s economic powerhouse: Uzbekistan’s population is one-and-a-half times bigger, even if its nominal GDP is three times smaller. Uzbekistan has a bigger market and a well-developed industrial sector, and is already the regional leader in terms of security. But it is not as though the world’s interest is moving from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan; rather, Uzbekistan is in the process of trying to catch up.Despite this relatively upbeat picture, Kazakhstan’s combined trade with the other Central Asian states accounts for less than 5 per cent of its total volume of foreign trade—a figure that cannot begin to equal its trade with Russia, China, and Europe. As a result, Kazakhstan will continue to give greater importance to positioning itself as a global player than as a regional leader.This article was originally published in The Diplomat. Full Article
out Three Challenges for UK Peacebuilding Policy in the South Caucasus After Brexit By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Jan 2020 09:24:44 +0000 21 January 2020 Laurence Broers Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme @LaurenceBroers Building on the legacies of a long-term British investment in a peace strategy for the South Caucasus is a realistic and attainable goal. 2020-01-21-NK.jpg A building in Nagorny Karabakh flies the flag of the self-proclaimed republic. 'Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh have evolved into examples of what scholars call "de facto states" that, to differing degrees, control territory, provide governance and exercise internal sovereignty,' writes Laurence Broers. Photo: Getty Images. What does Britain’s departure from the EU mean for the country’s policy towards the South Caucasus, a small region on the periphery of Europe, fractured by conflict? Although Britain is not directly involved in any of the region’s peace processes (except in the case of the Geneva International Discussions on conflicts involving Georgia, as an EU member state), it has been a significant stakeholder in South Caucasian stability since the mid-1990s.Most obviously, Britain has been the single largest foreign investor in Caspian oil and gas. Yet beyond pipelines, Britain also has been a significant investor in long-term civil society-led strategies to build peace in the South Caucasus.Through what was then the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, in the early 2000s the Department for International Development (DfID) pioneered large-scale peacebuilding interventions, such as the Consortium Initiative, addressing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, in 2003-09. These built civic networks in the South Caucasus and partnerships with British-based NGOs.This experience left a strong intellectual legacy. British expertise on the South Caucasus, including specific expertise on its conflicts, is highly regarded in the region and across the world.There is also a strong tradition of British scholarship on the Caucasus, and several British universities offer Caucasus-related courses. Through schemes such as the John Smith Fellowship Trust, the Robert Bosch Stiftung Academy Fellowship at Chatham House and Chevening Scholarships, significant numbers of young leaders from the South Caucasus have spent time in British institutions and built effective relationships within them.Three challengesThis niche as a champion of long-term, strategic peacebuilding and repository of area-specific knowledge should not be lost as Britain’s relationship with the EU and regional actors evolves. This can be ensured through awareness of three challenges confronting a post-Brexit Caucasus policy.The first challenge for London is to avoid framing a regional policy in the South Caucasus as an extension of a wider ‘Russia policy’. Deteriorating Russian-British relations in recent years strengthen a tendency to view policies in the European neighbourhood through the traditional prisms of Cold War and Russian-Western rivalries.Yet an overwhelming focus on Russia fails to capture other important aspects of political developments in South Caucasus conflicts. Although often referred to as ‘breakaway’ or ‘occupied’ territories, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh are not ungoverned spaces. They have evolved into examples of what scholars call ‘de facto states’ that, to differing degrees, control territory, provide governance and exercise internal sovereignty.Few disagree that these entities would not survive without external patronage. But neither does that patronage explain their sustainability on its own. Russia-centricity diminishes Britain’s latitude to engage on the full range of local drivers sustaining these entities, contributing instead to less effective policies predicated on competition and containment.A second and related challenge is to maintain and develop Britain’s position on the issue of engaging populations in these entities. De facto states appear to stand outside of the international rules-based system. Yet in many cases, their civil societies are peopled by skilled and motivated activists who want their leaders to be held accountable according to international rules.Strategies of isolation ignore these voices and contribute instead to fearful and demoralized communities less likely to engage in a transformation of adversarial relationships. Making this case with the wider international community, and facilitating the funding of local civil societies in contested territories, would be important steps in sustaining an effective British policy on the resolution of conflicts. The third challenge for Britain is to maintain a long-term approach to the conflicts of the South Caucasus alongside potential short-term imperatives in other policy fields, as relationships shift post-Brexit.In this fluid international environment, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a role to play both as an internal champion of a long-term peacebuilding strategy and a coordinator of British efforts with those of multilateral actors engaged in the South Caucasus. These include the United Nations, the EU’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia and OSCE’s Special Representative for the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, all of which have built relationships with relevant actors on the ground.RecommendationsBritain’s niche as a champion and advocate of a strategic approach to peaceful change can be secured post-Brexit in the following ways. First, in-house expertise is crucial to effective peacebuilding programming. The Foreign Office’s research analysts play a vital role in generating independent internal advice and liaising with academic and NGO communities. Their role could be supplemented by the reinstatement of a regional conflict adviser post, based in Tbilisi, tasked with strengthening Britain’s regional presence on conflict issues and coordinating policy at a regional level.This post, with a remit to cover conflicts and build up area knowledge and relationships can contribute significantly to working closely with local civil societies, where so much expertise and knowledge resides, as well as other stakeholders.Second, programming should build in conflict sensitivity by dissociating eligibility from contested political status. This can encourage local populations to take advantage of opportunities for funding, study, comparative learning and professional development irrespective of the status of the entity where they reside.The Chevening Scholarships are an excellent example, whereby applicants can select ‘South Caucasus’ as their affiliated identity from a drop-down menu. This enables citizens from across the region to apply irrespective of the status of the territory in which they live. Finally, a holistic understanding of peace is crucial. Programming in unrecognized or partially-recognized entities should acknowledge that effective peacebuilding needs to embrace political dynamics and processes beyond cross-conflict contact and confidence building. Local actors in such entities may find peacebuilding funding streams defined exclusively in terms of cross-conflict contact more politically risky and ineffective in addressing domestic blockages to peace.While cross-conflict dynamics remain critical, ‘single-community’ programming framed in terms of civic participation, inclusion, civil society capacity-building, minority and human rights in contested territories, and building the confidence from within to engage in constructive dialogue, are no less important.The ’global Britain’ promised by Brexit remains a fanciful idea. Quiet, painstaking work to build on the legacies of a long-term British investment in a peace strategy for the South Caucasus, on the other hand, is a realistic and attainable goal. Full Article
out Keep me out of this one By kolembo.wordpress.com Published On :: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 21:19:03 +0000 the lone yellow pebble bore witness to the abduction that took place at midnight. The man was bound and gagged and led away as women wept. Keep me out of this one. Did you know that a bear needs twenty seven, Square miles of forest, to live? Keep me out of this one. The woman […] Full Article Poetry poetry religion
out Hanging out with my father, and my brother and sister By kolembo.wordpress.com Published On :: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 06:11:42 +0000 So I thought about my brother and sister a lot this weekend. It’s not like me at all. You don’t count on people just, sort of vanishing. I’ve been talking about death since I was born, so with my Dad it was kinda different. I knew he was dying. It was strange. We both […] Full Article Poetry cancer coming out death family memory Prose United Nations writing
out Isha Blender opens up about loss of her son - Shares the heartbreaking tale in latest track ‘I Wish’ By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 00:17:11 -0500 REGGAE ARTISTE Isha Blender is still coming to terms with the loss of her son, Josiah, on January 5, a mere two days after she celebrated her birthday. The daughter of legendary crooner Everton Blender said the death of a child can be one of the... Full Article
out Mark Wignall | Some will be left out! By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:23:04 -0500 A recent Washington Post article reminds us of this frightening statistic: the first 100,000 cases of COVID-19 occupied all of three months to reach that milestone. It also stated that the second 100,000 cases sprinted to that number in 12 days.... Full Article
out Chemical leak at LG plant in India kills 11, about 1,000 injured By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 10:14:15 -0500 HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A gas leak at a chemical factory owned by a South Korean company in southern India early Thursday left at least 11 people dead and about 1,000 struggling to breathe. The chemical styrene, used to make plastic and... Full Article
out South Africa parliament video call hacked with pornography By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 10:43:05 -0500 JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A virtual meeting of South African lawmakers has been disrupted by hackers who flooded the video call with pornographic images. In the incident on Thursday, the hackers also hurled racial and sexual insults at the meeting... Full Article
out International donations to the Ebola virus outbreak: too little, too late? By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Feb 2015 11:19:32 +0000 Karen Grépin, assistant professor of global health policy at New York University, has been examining the pledges made by the international community to help fight the ebola virus outbreak - was it really too little, too late? Read her full analysis: http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h376 Full Article
out Obioma Ezekobe GP - patients need to be educated about resources By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:55:55 +0000 Obioma Ezekobe is a GP in an urgent care centre in Central Middlesex Hospital. She believes that the public need to be educated about the use of NHS resources, and be taught when it is appropriate to seek care. If you would like to contribute to this collection, please email a brief audio recording to voices@bmj.com or phone +44 (20) 3058 7427... Full Article
out "We're pulling the rug out from under the feet of [GPs]" By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:30:37 +0000 Gareth Iacobucci talks to Candace Imison, director of policy at The Nuffield Trust, about the problems facing GPs, and how primary care could be changed. "5 minutes with... Candace Imison": http://www.bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i1378 Full Article
out BMJ roundtable: How to fix out of hours care By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Wed, 27 Apr 2016 14:39:06 +0000 The BMJ recently held a discussion between experts in the fields of general practice, emergency medicine, and paediatrics about the state of out of hours care in the UK, and crucially offered their vision for a better service. Are children a special case, can urgent care ‘hubs’ be a silver bullet, is NHS 111 up to the job of triaging patients,... Full Article
out Reprehensible, but the people carrying out atrocities have very low rates of mental disorders By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:46:46 +0000 Oversimplification and lack of evidence stigmatise people with mental illness and impede prevention efforts, says Simon Wessley, professor of psychiatry at King's College London, in an editorial published on thebmj.com. Read the full editorial: http://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i4869 Full Article
out Surrogate outcomes distorting medicine By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:47:05 +0000 Surrogate endpoints are commonly used in clinical trials to get quicker results, however Michael Baum, emeritus professor at University College London, worries that by not focusing on real outcomes - length of life, and quality of life - that these are being used to justify expensive treatments which may not benefit patients. Read the full... Full Article
out Palliative care is about life, not death By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 03 Mar 2017 17:04:51 +0000 Scott Murray, professor of primary palliative care at the University of Edinburgh, has written, and talked in this podcast before, about the benefits of early palliative care - and today he’s back to explain how illness trajectory, and the pattern of decline at the end of life, affects 4 main areas of wellness - physical, social, psychological and... Full Article
out Fighting inequality, corruption, and conflict - how to improve South Asia's health By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tue, 11 Apr 2017 15:29:46 +0000 The BMJ has published a series of articles, taking an in-depth look at health in South Asia. In this collection, authors from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan collaborate to identify evidence-based solutions to shape health policy and interventions, and drive innovations and research in the region. In this podcast,... Full Article
out James Kinross and Chris Hankin WannCry about NHS IT By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 14 Jul 2017 16:13:20 +0000 Earlier this year, the WannaCry ransomeware attack took control of computers in 40 NHS trusts, blocking access to the data held on them. This wasn’t the first time that NHS computers had been infected by malware, but it brought the danger of cyber attack into the consciousness of doctors and patients. In this podcast we hear from two people who... Full Article
out HIV in pregnancy - "without the big picture, people aren't going to be able to take the medication" By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 15 Sep 2017 17:11:27 +0000 A new Rapid Recommendation from The BMJ suggests that for pregnant women, they may wish to avoid certain antiviral treatments for HIV. This recommendation differs from the WHO's, and to discuss why that is, and what makes that difference important, we're joined by Reed Siemieniuk, a physician and methodologist from McMaster University, and Alice... Full Article
out Civilians under siege in Eastern Ghouta By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tue, 03 Apr 2018 10:03:35 +0000 In 2016, from an estimated pre-war population of 22 million, the United Nations (UN) identified 13.5 million Syrians requiring humanitarian assistance, of which more than 6 million are internally displaced within Syria, and around 5 million are refugees outside of Syria. In this podcast, Aula Abarra, consultant in infectious disease from London,... Full Article
out What forced migration can tell us about diabetes By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tue, 08 May 2018 17:04:46 +0000 Worldwide, the rate of type II diabetes is estimated to be around 1 in 11 people - about 9%. For the Pima people of Arizona, 38% of the adult population have the condition - but across the border in Mexico, the rate drops down to 7%. The difference between the groups is their life experience - one side displaced, the other on their traditional... Full Article
out James Munro cares about patients opinions. By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 05 Jul 2018 16:00:39 +0000 Getting feedback from people who use NHS services is essential to assessing their value - and improving their quality. Hospitals and general practices widely post information about patient's satisfaction with their services on their websites, but approach tells us little about how feedback changes things on the ground . In this podcast, James... Full Article
out Talking honestly about intensive care By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 26 Oct 2018 19:35:20 +0000 On the podcast, we’ve talked a lot about the limits of medicine - where treatment doesn’t work, or potentially harms. But in that conversation, we’ve mainly focused on specific treatments. Now a new analysis, broadens that to talk about patients being admitted to a whole ward - intensive care. The authors of that article contend that, often,... Full Article
out HIV - everything you wanted to know about PeP and PreP By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Tue, 15 Jan 2019 23:12:27 +0000 We have had two articles published recently on bmj.com, looking at drug prevention of HIV; PeP - Post-exposure Prophylaxis and PreP - Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, neither prevent the virus from entering the body, but they do prevent the infection from taking hold. There are lots of questions that doctors have about these - what are the risk... Full Article
out #talkaboutcomplications By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 14 Mar 2019 15:25:27 +0000 Renza Scibilia and Chris Aldred have diabetes, and their introduction to the idea of complications arising from the condition were terrifying. Because of this early experience, and Chris's later development of complications, they have campaigned to make doctors really think about the way in which they talk about complications with patients.... Full Article
out Is opt-out the best way to increase organ donation? By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:43:46 +0000 As England’s presumed consent law for 2020 clears parliament, Veronica English, head of medical ethics and human rights at the BMA, say that evidence from Wales and other countries shows that it could increase transplantation rates. But Blair L Sadler, physician and senior adviser to California State University, consider such legal changes a... Full Article
out Finding out who funds patient groups By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Wed, 29 May 2019 16:32:22 +0000 We’ve been banging the drum about transparency of payment to doctors for years - we’ve even put a moratorium on financial conflicts of interest in the authors of any of our education articles. Not because we think that all doctors who receive money from industry are being influenced to push their agenda - but because we have no way of telling when... Full Article
out Burnout - Don't try to make the canary in the coal mine more resilient By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Aug 2019 16:59:04 +0000 Burnout is a problem in healthcare - it’s a problem for individuals, those who experience it and decide to leave a career they formerly loved, but it’s also a problem for our healthcare system. Burnout is associated with an increase in medical errors, and poor quality of care. Fundamentally it’s a patient safety issue. But, unlike other patient... Full Article
out Gottfried Hirnschall is optimistic about ending the HIV epidemic By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:45:11 +0000 In 2001, Gottfried Hirnschall joined the WHO to work on the global response to HIV/AIDs, 18 years later he just retired as the director of WHO’s department for HIV and Hepatitis. The intervening period, almost half the time we’ve been aware of the disease the fight against the infection has been characterised by scientific breakthroughs, and... Full Article
out Tackling burnout in The Netherlands By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 16:35:45 +0000 We heard a few podcasts ago about burnout - what it is, and why it should be thought of as a systems issue. Now a project in the Netherlands is trying to investigate who it is that is particularly at risk of burnout, and hopes to test whether individually tailored coaching and counselling can help those who are experiencing the symptoms change the... Full Article
out Vaping deaths - does this change what we think about public health messages By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:58:18 +0000 This week the Trump administration has banned the sale of flavoured vapes in the USA. The reason for that is the sudden rash of cases of pulmonary disease, including deaths, linked to vaping. The mechanism by which vaping may be causing damage to the lungs is as yet unclear, and our understanding is hampered by the heterogeneous nature of the... Full Article
out Creating a speak out culture By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2019 17:00:38 +0000 Giving staff the confidence to speak out is important in healthcare - It's a key aspect of the WHO patient safety checklist, decreasing incidence of medical error, but it's also important to stop incidents of harassment and abuse which undermine staff and increase burnout. Creating that culture is a difficult task, but two hospitals in the... Full Article
out Reversing our preconceptions about where innovation comes from By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Thu, 14 Nov 2019 16:51:19 +0000 Reverse innovation may sound like some attempt to return to the dark ages - but it has a specific meaning, especially when it comes to med-tech. It’s about where we look for innovation - and overturning our preconceived ideas of where new ideas come from. Mark Skopec, and Matthew Harris - both from Imperial College London are two of the authors... Full Article
