BSGT-ESGCT What is Stem Cell Therapy? – Video

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28-10-2011 17:23 Dr Tristan McKay of the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London presents the current status of stem cell therapies for human disease. He highlights the opportunities and controversies in the field, and sets out the challenges ahead. Hosted on Barts Cancer Institute Channel on behalf of Gene Therapy, Nature Specialist Journal Web links

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BSGT-ESGCT What is Stem Cell Therapy? - Video

Lung Anatomy – Video

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14-03-2011 08:53 http://www.nucleusinc.com This 3D medical animation begins with a detailed description of the anatomy and physiology of the lungs (Pulmonary system). It describes the pleura and diaphragm which aid in lung expansion. The animation also deals with lung cancer and the role of lymph in transporting bacteria, allergens and cancer cells away from the lungs and to the lymph nodes.

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Lung Anatomy - Video

White tea, witch hazel proven by scientists to reduce inflammation and fight cancer

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by: Tara Green

Rose, witch hazel and white tea may sound like the refrain from a folk song, but the trio of natural substances delivers both health and skin benefits through their ability to halt inflammation say British researchers. Health issues including cancer, arthritis and diabetes have all been linked to inflammation, which is also responsible for premature signs of aging.

Health and Beauty Benefits
The recent research project involved an unusual collaboration between academic researchers from London's Kingston University and scientists from the British beauty product firm Neal's Yard Remedies. The research team was led by Professor Declan Naughton of the University's Life Sciences department. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Inflammation in October of 2011.

Researchers performed laboratory tests analyzing twenty-one plant extracts for evidence of their ability to fight cancer as well as to slow the effects of aging on skin. Of the extracts tested, white tea, witch hazel and rose were proven to block the effects of inflammation. Read more...

Ayurtox for Body Detoxification

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Best Wishes for a Healthy 2012!

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Many thanks to my readers, followers, critics, contributors, commentors and sponsors.  The intent of the blog remains as it did 4 years ago - to educate and inform the pathology and laboratory community on digital pathology, other technology news items and occassional dips into government and regulatory issues for the broader picture of healthcare and pathology's opportunities and weaknesses as we look ahead.  No doubt healthcare reform changes, medicare/medicaid issues, FDA regulation, changes in the practice and business of the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine will affect some change on all of us. And no doubt that social media will affect how that news and commentary is shared and honored to be a part of it in this growing community.  Best wishes for a healthy 2012 and a year of great things to come! Keith

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Bags of blood, and not a donor in sight: Lab-grown blood used for the first time

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Promising news out of Paris for suitable blood products when inventories remain tight for donor blood. Will see if subsequent use and experimentation can both create viable red cells that can remain in circulation and maintain their oxygen-carrying capacity.

The Chicago Tribune (12/29) reports that according to a study in published in the journal Blood, "red blood cells generated in a lab have been successfully injected into a human volunteer for the first time." French researchers extracted "hematopoetic stem cells from a volunteer's bone marrow" and used various growth factors to induce the cells to differentiate into red blood cells (RBC). "After five days, 94 to 100 percent of Red-blood-cellsthe cells remained in circulation, while after 26 days, 41 to 63 percent remained -- a survival rate comparable to normal red blood cells. The cultured blood cells also gave every indication of being safe to use. ... They behaved like normal red blood cells, binding to oxygen and releasing it." While this result is promising, researchers note that "next challenge is to scale up production to a point where the cultured blood cells can be made quickly and cheaply in sufficient quantities for blood transfusions."

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Healthcare Reform Said To Be Affecting Millions and Medicaid Cuts

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USA Today (12/28, Kennedy) reports that "it can be difficult to dig through the rhetoric to determine just what the 2010 health care law has done," but "proponents and foes say big pieces of the law have been President+Obama+Signs+Health+Care+Reform+Bill+DXo97z9cIBnlenacted and have already affected millions of people's lives." Don Berwick former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, remarked, "It's complicated, but there are very many benefits affecting millions of people. They will not know it's the Affordable Care Act, but it is." The piece highlights "five major changes in health care that occurred in 2011 because of the health care law," including a crackdown on fraud and more benefits for young adults and seniors.

The AP (12/28) reports, "Just as Medicaid prepares for a vast expansion under the federal health care Medicaid1overhaul, the 47-year-old entitlement program for the poor is under increasing pressure as deficit-burdened states chip away at benefits and cut payments to doctors. Nearly every state has proposed or implemented a plan in its current budget to rein in costs, and many are considering additional cuts in the year ahead." The piece notes that for those "who rely on the program...the cuts translate into longer waits for doctors, restrictions on prescription drugs, a halt to vision and dental care, staff cuts at nursing homes and dwindling access to home health care."

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Volkswagen turns off Blackberry email after work hours

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Smart move by Volkswagen.  Mobile technologies, in my own experience, can disrupt the delicate work-life-family balance.  It is good to be "connected" but checking e-mail as often as you can, likely for many items that can wait until after dinner or the next morning is a trap.  Of course, I suppose one could do this themselves but perhaps the employees felt a sense of having to use this service or perhaps it gave them a sense of belonging to always be "connected" to the office and their colleagues. 

Pathology call aside, when my phone and I get home, it gets plugged in and rarely (OK - seldomly) gets checked before the next morning.  I just get out my laptop and check e-mails...  For the past year on family vacations I do leave my phone and iPad in the room and guess what - do not miss a darn thing that couldn't wait. 

Speaks to digital pathology a bit - while you can review a case from anywhere, anytime which I have mentioned is one of the many value adds for the technology - should you or would you really want to?  In some cases - you are the world's expert in a particular disorder and find yourself skiing in Switzerland when the call comes in.  You may be able to help out someone.  Out of the office at a research meeting and the afternoon is going to be spent on CS protein in the liver, a little outside your sphere of interest while that new client you attracted is now busy with their endoscopes and flooding your colleagues who could use a hand to maintain good service and turn around time?  Sure. Done.  Dedicated consults or make up for shortages or where demand exceeds supply.  Quiet hotel room with high-speed networking. No reason not to. 

In the meantime, hold off on e-mails that likely will wait a few more hours to be opened, read, responded to or trashed.  The e-mail will wait for you patiently and not care. 

Looks like this idea of turning off the e-mail server is gaining popularity in Europe. 

The comments are worth a read on this as well.  And I promise not to hound you with late night e-mails.

Volkswagen has agreed to stop its Blackberry servers sending emails to some of its employees when they are off-shift.

The carmaker confirmed it made the move earlier this year following complaints that staff's work and home lives were becoming blurred.

The restriction covers employees in Germany working under trade union negotiated contracts.

Campaigners warned that the move would not be suitable for all companies.

A spokesman for VW said: "We confirm that this agreement between VW and the company's work council exists", but would not comment further.

Under the arrangement servers stop routing emails 30 minutes after the end of employees' shifts, and then start again 30 minutes before they return to work.

The staff can still use their devices to make calls and the rule does not apply to senior management.

"We wanted to take a preventative approach to tackling the issue," said Gunnar Killian, VW's works council spokesman.

"At Volkswagen flexitime is between 0730-1745, with our new arrangement workers can only receive emails between 0700 and 1815."

Spare time

The move follows criticism of internal emails by Thierry Breton, chief executive of the French information technology services giant, Atos. He said workers at his firm were wasting hours of their lives on internal messages both at home and at work. He has taken the more radical step of banning internal email altogether from 2014.

Last month the maker of Persil washing powder, Henkel, also declared an email "amnesty" for its workers between Christmas and New Year saying messages should only be sent out as an emergency measure.

Industry watchers say the moves reflect growing awareness of a problem.

"It's bad for the individual worker's performance being online and available 24-7. You do need downtime, you do need periods in which you can actually reflect on something without needing instantaneously to give a reaction," said Will Hutton, chair of the Big Innovation Centre at The Work Foundation.

"Secondly it has a poor impact on an individual's well-being. I think that one has to patrol quite carefully the borderline between work and non-work.

"So I can see why some firms are taking this action, the problem is that a universal response is impossible... but certainly we should have the capacity to be opted out of it rather than be opted in."

Consultations

Union officials in the UK have also cautioned other firms against repeating Volkswagen's move without consultation.

"The issue of employees using Blackberrys, computers and other devices out of working time is a growing one that needs to be addressed as it can be a source of stress," Trades Union Congress (TUC) secretary general Brendan Barber told the BBC.

"However other organisations will need different solutions and what works in VW may not work elsewhere.

"By working in partnership with their union, Volkswagen's policy will have the support of all their employees. Where employers simply introduce policies on their own, however well-meaning they may be, they are unlikely to be successful."

 

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Lab results in: BGH appeal slides over top

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Nice story for the holiday season -- Brockville General Hospital in Ontario, Canada recently exceeded their annual fundraising goal and will use the donations to purchase a telepathology system for purposes of secondary consultation.

BGH raises $142,300 for laboratory

They answered the pleas and put patients at ease.

Donations to this year's Brockville and District Hospital Foundation Annual Appeal surpassed the goal of $135,000, coming in with a total of $142,300 as of Thursday.

The result has officials at Brockville General Hospital once again astounded at the generosity of local residents.

"The generosity of the community is always heartening to see," BGH chief executive officer and president Ray Marshall told The Recorder and Times. "There are so many causes out there at this time of year that seem to be doing well, and it's heartwarming and encouraging to see the continued support from the community for the hospital and our equipment needs."

This year's funds will be used to purchase a telepathology system for the hospital. The system uses electronic imaging and information transfer to allow for transmission and sharing of digital images of pathology samples – commonly referred to as "slides."

Marshall said the equipment allows staff to take a slide and digitally transmit the images to garner second opinions.

"It will speed up diagnosis," he said. "It's really focused on those cases where our local pathologist is looking for a second opinion on a particular slide."

He said in many cases it could be used to determine cancer diagnoses, which, by speeding up the process, will lead to the easing of patient anxiety.

"It is focused on being able to provide worried patients quicker response once they biopsy or a sample has been taken," he said.

The annual appeal is a mail-out campaign in which the hospital sends out a request forms to some of its previous donors and other members of the local community.

Each year, the funds raised are used to purchase a key piece or pieces of equipment for the hospital. Marshall said 6,000 letters were sent out to previous donors.

 As of Thursday, 641 people had donated to the 2011 campaign.

Funds raised in the 2010 campaign were used to purchase an orthopedic surgical package that included power equipment, positioning devices, a camera and other arthroscopic instrumentation tools.

steve.pettibone@recorder.ca


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Vanitas Drawing Featuring Real Human Skeleton, With Classically Trained Artist Lado Pochkhua: Observatory, 6 Mondays Beginning Jan. 9

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We have a new art class beginning on Monday, January 9th that I am very very excited about. Lado Pochkhua, an accomplished classically trained artist from Eastern Europe (see following bio) and artist in residence at our sister space Proteus Gowanus will, using a variety of artifacts drawn from The Morbid Anatomy Library, teach students to create and draw their own “vanitas”--or mortality-themed still life--compositions. The main star of said Vanitas composition will be the genuine human skeleton recently donated to the library, which you can see in the photograph above.

Full details follow; this is sure to be a awfully terrific class. Hope very much to see you there!

Vanitas Drawing Class with Classically Trained Artist Lado Pochkhua
Date: 6 Mondays, January 9th through February 13th
(Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6 & Feb. 13)
Time: 7:30-10:00 PM
Admission: $110 (classes can also be taken individually on a drop-in basis for $20 per class)
*** This class has a 10 person size limit; Please RSVP for full course at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
 This class is part of the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Vanitas is a genre of still-life painting that flourished in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. A vanitas painting contains collections of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures, exhorting the viewer to consider mortality and to repent.

This Vanitas course will comprise six drawing lessons in which, using artifacts drawn from The Morbid Anatomy Library, students will learn how to create and draw their own “vanitas” composition. The ultimate goal of the class will be not only the creation of this particular drawing, but also understanding of the principles of classical drawing. The instructor will also share historical images throughout the course.

No previous drawing experience necessary; all levels are welcome!

MATERIALS
Please bring with you to class:

  • One drawing pad at least 18" X 20" with a firm back; paper Fabriano or Arches, or Strathmore 400
  • Pencil: HB, 2B, 4B, simple graphite pencils, (no charcoal !!!)
  • Eraser

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Lado Pochkhua was born in Sukhumi, Georgia in 1970. He received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Tbilisi State Art Academy in Georgia in 2001. He currently divides his time between New York and Tbilisi, Georgia.

Selected Exhibitions:

  • 2011 “Works from the Creamer Street Studio,” at the Literature Museum, Tbilisi Georgia (solo show)
  • 2010 “Paradise ” at Proteus Gowanus, New York
  • 2009 “Prague Biennale 4,” Georgian pavilion
  • 2009 “The Art of returning Home,” Arsi Gallery, Tbilisi Georgia (solo show)
  • 2008 Gardens, Ships, and Lessons, K. Petrys Ház Gallery, Budapest, Hungary (solo show) Exhibition of Georgian Artists, Festival OFF EUROPA ditorei Gallerie NBL, Leipzig, Germany
  • 2004 Artists of Georgia, Georgian Embassy, London, UK
  • 2003 Curriculum Vitae: a retrospective of 20th century Georgian art, Caravasla Tbilisi History Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia, Waiting for the Barbarians, Gallery Club 22, Tbilisi, Georgia (solo show)
  • 2001 21 Georgian Artists, UNESCO, Paris, France
  • 1998 Magical Geometry, TMS Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia (solo show)

There is a 10 person limit for this class; you can sign up by sending an email to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com. This class is one of the newest installments in the series newly termed The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy; to find out more about that--including a full class list thus far--click here.

Images: Top image: Still-Life with a Skull, "Vanitas" by Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674) via Wikimedia; Bottom image: Skeleton from The Morbid Anatomy Library who will be featured in our Vanitas compositions

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China medical tourism–spinal cord injury–stem cells therapy – Video

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Many of our patients travel to Guangzhou from all over the world for medical treatment and tourism. China medical tourism can help with becoming a patient, travel arrangements and language assistance. If you want to know more about our services, please browse the web:htttp://www.medicaltourism.hk/ or mail to us: giels-x@medicaltourism.hk firstcare-china@hotmail.com After a fall from a bridge left him with a neck injury, Gabi was paralyzed from the neck down.

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