Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZYkfn_mauO8   The common child discipline, the good old time out, is safe and effective.  University of Michigan pediatric psychologists report this conclusion after studying a large group of children in Early Had State Research study at 3 points in their early development: around 3, 4 and 10 years of age.   Despite the statements found on 30% of parental advice websites, time outs are recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics and not associated with anxiety, depression, aggressive behavior, or loss of self-control.     Time outs are part of my 4 commandments of good parenting that I’ll review in another report.   Rachel M. Knight, Jeremy Albright, Lindsay Deling, Dawn Dore-Stites, Amy K. Drayton. Longitudinal Relationship Between Time-Out and Child Emotional and Behavioral Functioning. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000725   #Timeouts #parenting #discipline

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/QetW5Xs_9Uk   Our cells and bodies work on internal biological clocks which are lubricated for better efficiency by good old fashioned stress.  University of Minnesota biologists now report  this phenomenon in the journal Neuron.   Using a mouse model and tissue cultures of cells, the scientists unraveled the complex blend of signaling proteins that control the clock. They found that stress accelerates the speed of signal processing and improves the robust nature of cellular biologic clocks.   The bottom line is that some stress may well be good for you.  It literally keeps your system on its toes and speeds your reaction time.   Salil Saurav Pathak, Dong Liu, Tianbao Li, Nuria de Zavalia, Lei Zhu, Jin Li, Ramanujam Karthikeyan, Tommy Alain, Andrew C. Liu, Kai-Florian Storch, Randal J. Kaufman, Victor X. Jin, Shimon Amir, Nahum Sonenberg, Ruifeng Cao. The eIF2α Kinase GCN2 Modulates Period and Rhythmicity of the Circadian Clock by Translational Control of Atf4. Neuron, 2019; DOI:

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/xidm260T2Qc   Overdoing your training for an endurance sport can leave you mentally fatigued.  A French investigation, just published in the journal Current Biology, studied 37 thirty something male athletes during a 9 week training program.   Over-training led to feelings of mental exhaustion but also increased impulsivity with a preference for immediate rather than gratification.  Brain imaging tests confirmed that the altered decision-making was due to diminished prefrontal cortical activation.   This study once again emphasizes that our bodies work best when we moderate our activities.  If you are forced to overindulge, know that you shouldn’t be making any momentous decisions afterwards.   Blain et al. Neuro-computational impact of physical training overload on economic decision-making. Current Biology, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.054   #Endurancetraining #exercise #exhaustion, decisionmaking  

x Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/NSuMJlOl42A   You’ll make poor choices and turn in awful intellectual performances on an empty stomach.  Psychologists at Scotland’s University of Dundee put 50 participants to the test either 2 hours after eating or following a 10 hour fast.   Test results revealed that hunger triggers impatience, impulsivity, and a need for immediate gratification .  The well-fed were willing to wait over a month for a substantial reward while the hungry could only manage 3 days.   If you want and need consistent mental performance, start with a good breakfast and eat regularly.  The researchers add, of course, that you shouldn’t food shop when you’re hungry.   Jordan Skrynka, Benjamin T. Vincent. Hunger increases delay discounting of food and non-food rewards. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2019; DOI: 10.3758/s13423-019-01655-0     #Hunger #impulsivity #impatience  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YLtNdsKtk0Y   The CPSC and Polaris around the recall of Ranger, General Utility, Phoenix 200, and All-Terrain Vehicles.  These products each have throttle defects that may cause crash hazards.  If you own any of these vehicles, stop using them and contact your Polaris dealer to arrange a free inspection and repair.  You may reach Polaris by calling 1-800-765-2747.   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Ranger-and-General-Utility-Vehicles-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Phoenix-200-All-Terrain-Vehicles-ATVs-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert   #recall #polaris #offroadvehicles #throttledefect  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/1x43z_hkq08   The CPSC and Avalon Furniture are recalling Cottage Town Bedroom Furniture.  This product has base coat paint with unacceptably high levels of lead.  The furniture pieces involved ae part of the Cottage Town bedroom furniture collection including: dresser, mirror, headboard, footboard, and chests, and nightstand.  If you have this furniture in your home, stop using it and contact the seller, Rooms To Go for a free furniture pickup and replacement by calling 1-855-688-0919   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Avalon-Furniture-Recalls-Cottage-Town-Bedroom-Furniture-Sold-at-Rooms-To-Go-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Lead-Paint-Ban-Risk-of-Poisoning-Recall-Alert   #recall #oncottagefurniture #lead  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/L3Zpb25hCkc   The CPSC and the Boy Scouts of America have recalled the Cub Scouts Outdoor Activity Pins.  The pin’s face and shaft both contain unacceptably high lead levels.  If your child has earned and received one of these pins, take it back to any Boy Scouts retail store for a full refund or a merchandise credit.  You may contact the Boy Scouts National Distribution Center to arrange for return and refunds by calling 1-800-323-0736.   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Boy-Scouts-of-America-Recalls-Cub-Scout-Activity-Pins-Due-to-Violation-of-the-Federal-Lead-Content-Ban   #recall #boyscouts #cubscouts #activitypin #lead  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zhzL-hi-ehU   The FDA and Transliquid Technologies are recalling Mystic Shield Protection Topical Solution, a hand sanitizer.  This product has been found to contain methanol contamination.  Methanol exposure may produce blindness, seizures, coma, headache and gastrointestinal symptoms.  This product has been distributed and sold in CA, LA, MA, and TX.  If you bought this product, do not use it and return it to the point of purchase.  For more information, call the company at 1-281-377-5845.   https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/transliquid-technologies-llc-issues-voluntary-recall-mystic-shield-protection-topical-solution-due   #recall #sanitizer #mysticshield #methanol  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/KQ4YOMdO--Y   Women with these vasomotor symptoms or VMS are 70% more likely to suffer heart attacks or strokes over time.  Epidemiologists at Australia’s University of Queenland just published this warning after their meta-analysis of 23,365 women.   The risk of adverse cardiovascular consequences rises with severity of hot flushes and night sweats but not with how often they occur.  Women with severe vasomotor symptoms are more than twice as likely to have a cardiovascular issue compared with those without such symptoms.  Even pre-menopausal flushes and sweats raise the risk 40%.   If you are a woman experiencing these vasomotor phenomena, speak with your doctors to establish comprehensive cardiovascular monitoring.   https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(20)30664-5/pdf   #menopause #flush #sweats #heartattack #stroke

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/JNv97823NnM   The most protective face masks available, excepting the N95s reserved for medical first responders, are multi-layered high-thread-count cotton and cup masks.  Mechanical engineers at Florida Atlantic University present these conclusions and provide visual proof.   These time lapse photos of each mask type show that a simple bandana offers little aerosol flow protection.  Even multilayered cotton and cup masks allow aerosol leakage around loosely fitting edges.  Tighten those babies up gang.   The most telling photo shows an un-masked cough traveling up to 12 ft, twice the so-called safe physical distance.   Heed this evidence.  When you’re out, wear the best mask you can and stay far away from all but your family.   https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018   #covid #mask #aerosol  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/v6pzU4nlni8   Pediatricians from children’s hospitals across the US just published their study of 186 children in 26 states who developed so-called MIS-C.     This disease is uncommon, 2 in 100,00, and begins 2-4 weeks after CoVid infection. Median age was 8.2 years, 62% were boys, and 70% tested CoVid19 positive.There was gastrointestinal inflammation in 92%, cardiovascular issues in 80% with coronary artery aneurysms in up to 20%, blood disease in 76%, skin or mucous membrane disease in 74%, and lung consequences in 70%.  Eighty percent went to the ICU, 20% needed vents, and 2% died.   For treatment, 77% received immune globulin, 49% received steroids, and 20% received cytokine suppression therapy.   https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021680?query=C19&cid=DM94780_NEJM_Registered_Users_and_InActive&bid=222612563   https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2023158   #covid #misc #kawasaki  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/F6n9dM7ZsYY   Those who weather CoVid19, become virus negative but then subsequently test positive tend to be younger, sicker, and less immune to CoVid than those who remain negative.  A Chinese study, just released on sthe pre-print server medrixiv.org compared 15 such patients with 107 non-recurrent controls.   Their data showed that the rate of recurrent positivity is just 1.87%.  The those relapsing were 28% younger, their hospitalizations were 40% longer, their time to testing negative test 33% longer, and their their IgG antibody levels were 53% lower.   South Koreans suggest that the recurrent test positivity may be due to dead virus fragments and not an infection relapse.  Stay tuned.   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.02.20144873v1.full.pdf   http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200429000724     #covid #recurrent #relapse

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/7k46Q_wHFwc   Emptying every middle seat on an otherwise full airliner will cut your risk of contracting CoVid19 by 50%.  This conclusion comes to us from MIT’s Sloan School of  Management.   For details of the math, check out Professor Arnold Barnett’s online preprint.  He crunched the numbers using the coach section stats of the ubiquitous Airbus 320 and Boeing 737.  With every seat full, your risk of getting CoVid is 1/7,000 but leaving the center seats empty drops that risk to 1/14,000.   Southwest, JetBlue, Delta, and Alaska are keeping their center seats open as recommended by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield.  The other airlines (cash register sound).   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.02.20143826v1.full.pdf   https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/933277   #covid #flying #centerseat

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/EtaQeeSLgV4   The FDA and Garland Ventures Ltd are recalling Five Cheese Stuffed Shells.  This product is potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.  This microorganism can cause a severe or sometimes fatal infection in the very young, elders, the frail, or those with immune disorders.  If you have this product, do not consume it but return it to the place of purchase for a complete refund.  For more information, contact the company at 1-972-795-5313.   https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/garland-ventures-ltd-voluntary-recalls-five-cheese-stuffed-shells-because-possible-health-risk   #recall #cheeseshells #listeria  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/OTKBnG-4sJk   There is a direct correlation between mask-wearing in a country and the the numbers of CoVid19 cases.  Epidemiologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong report this finding based on their analysis of global CoVid statistics and the Google Trends relative search volume on the topic of face masks.   The researchers show that the higher the online interest of that country’s population is about face masks, the lower the average daily number of CoVid cases in that country.  Vietnam and Hong Kong with the highest online mask buzz put countries like the US, Russia, the UK, and France with low mask interest to shame when it comes to CoVid control.   Let’s mask up and change that.   https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/rccm.202004-1188LE   #covid #masks #google #trending  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/aJjQSnjvQXI   Fewer than 1% of patients recovering from CoVid19 produce the highest concentrations of virus neutralizing antibodies.  A just-published study from New York’s Rockefeller University analyses the antibodies from 149 recovered CoVid patients and controls.   The quantity of CoVid neutralizing IgG antibodies were measured at 39 days following each subject’s onset of symptoms.  The concentration of useful antibody was less than 1:1000 in 79% of subjects.   The conclusion is that most CoVid19 infections induce only a moderate protective antibody response.  They also create T-cell immunity, and we hope that such energized killer cells may confer lasting CoVid immunity.  For now protect yourself with masking, distancing, washing.   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2456-9_reference.pdf   #covid #antibodies #covidimmunity  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/brZGskRn4rc   A large Scottish study now reports that low Vitamin D levels show no association with risk of severe CoVid19 infection or mortality.  Researchers at The University of Glascow just pre-published this conclusion following their analysis of 656 CoVid patient case reports documented the the UK Biobank.   At first glance, the unadjusted numbers suggested that Vitamin D deficiency might trigger a greater susceptibility of CoVid.  A deeper data dive acquitted Vitamin D while indicting advancing age, male gender, socio-economic disadvantage, obesity, and diabetes.   You do want normal Vitamin D levels to maintain strong bones and normal vital organ functioning.  Just know that taking extra will not improve your CoVid odds.   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.26.20140921v1.full.pdf   #covid #vitamind  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/9wgfNdAQbp4   One in every four air samples from a hospital air handler contained detectable CoVid19 RNA.  University of Oregon investigators report this finding after sampling hospital air at various stages of recirculation and filtration.   A full 35% of samples from pre-filters, where recirculated and outside air entered the system, had viral RNA.  Even with filtration, 20% of samples at outlet air vents were positive.   This typical hospital system can only filter down to a MERV15 specification removing micro-organisms larger than 1 micron but permitting viruses to pass.  As we repopulate public spaces including theaters, restaurants, and airplanes, you will need your own HEPA filtration masks to remain safe. Buy or make them now.   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.26.20141085v1.full.pdf   #covid #masks #hvac #theaters #airplanes #restaurants    

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/oktP81p0wh8   CoVid was detectable in the wastewater of Milan and Turin a full 2 months before the first known case of the novel coronavirus surfaced in Lombardy.  Researchers at the Italian National Institute of Health draw this surprising conclusion after testing wastewater samples from various Italian cities gathered as far back as September, 2018.   The first CoVid-positive samples appeared on December 18th in Milan and Turin and on January 29th in Bologna.  The first Italian case of CoVid was identified in Lombardy on February 21st.   These findings are a testimony to hyper-infectious nature of this disease and to the fact that many are infected without even knowing it.  Mask, distance, wash.   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.25.20140061v1.full.pdf   #covid #wastewater #italy  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lFLL_IWAY4k   When men contract CoVid19, they mount a less robust T cell defense than women, generate more harmful inflammatory cytokines than women, and suffer more severe clinical consequences than women.  These conclusions come from a Yale study of 93 CoVid patients just published by the online pre-print server medrixiv.com.    The researchers also found that the incidence of poorly protective anti-virus T cell populations and dangerous inflammatory agents increase with advancing age in men but not women.  This adverse immune pattern also increased with excessive body weight in men but not in women.   Bottom line: guys should be extra cautious not to contract the virus.  That means responsible mask wearing, distancing, and washing.   https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.06.20123414v2.full.pdf   #covid #menshealth #tcells #cytokinestorm