Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Our Kids Under 5 Lack CoVid Protection

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/1EuZS-tjrBc   Ninety-seven percent of US children 2 and under have not received any CoVid vaccination protection, and 95% of those ages 2 to 5 years haven’t as well.  These are the latest CDC estimates as CoVid hospitalization rates are rapidly rising for American infants and toddlers.   The good news is that better protection is now available for all children 6 months through 5 years of age.  The Omicron-specific bivalent vaccine has recently been CDC and FDA approved for this age group.   Remember too that the only protection available for our infants 6 months and under comes from their mothers, if they received CoVid vaccinations or a booster during their pregnancies.  The protective CoVid antibodies pass across the placenta to the developing fetus before birth and pass to the baby in breastmilk after birth.   CoVid rates are now surging in all US metropolitan areas following the Thanksgiving holiday. They will continue to rise during the December holidays.  To protect our most vulnerable neighbors including the very young and the oldest, it is critical that all of us not only keep our CoVid vaccinations and boosters current but also return to the defensive use of masking when indoors, on mass transit, and in crowds.   https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographics-trends   #CoVid #vaccine #booster #omicron  

A Green Mediterranean Diet Dissolves Beer Bellies Best

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/RiomZ2exPlU   Consuming a so-called green Mediterranean diet enriched with plant-based polyphenols and reduced red and processed meats more than triples the loss of intra-abdominal, visceral adipose tissue compared with merely following health dietary guidelines.  The green Med diet doubles the belly fat loss compared with a standard Mediterranean diet.   These findings stem from an international collaborative study of 286  subjects 88% of whom were men.   The green Mediterranean diet was polyphenol-enriched by the addition of green tea and green shake drinks.   Following either Mediterranean diet led to a modest weight loss, 2.7% for the standard variety and 3.9% for the green supplemented variety.  The effect of which diet the subjects followed was more significant on the loss of visceral adipose tissue. Those on a standard, healthy diet lost 4.2%, on a Mediterranean diet lost 6%, but those on the green Mediterranean diet dropped 14%.   https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-022-02525-8   #beerbelly #visceraladiposetissue #vat #Mediterraneandiet #greenMediterraneandiet  

US Vaccination Rates Abysmal

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/odP-sDjsFqk   With CoVid infections raging, the percentage of Americans who have received a complete series of CoVid vaccinations as well as the updated bivalent Omicron booster is nothing short of disgracefully low.  CoVid cases are up 55% in New York City, 127% in LA, 139% in Atlanta, 59% in DC, 54% in Miami, 92% in Houston, 73% in Chicago, and 121% in Los Vegas.   Only 71% of  men and 66% of women have finished their 2 shot initial CoVid vaccination series and a dismal 15% of men and 12% of women have receive the updated Omicron booster.  Even worse, only 5% of young children and 32% of older children have been vaccinated and only 3% of young children and 5% of older children have received the Omicron booster.   Are we doing any better with the flu?  Not really.  The flu season is well underway, and everyone should have already gotten the flu jab.  To date, though, only 26% of adults and 43% of children have had the flu vaccine.  That’s slight better than this time last year but not good enough.   We currently have a tridemic raging: CoVid, Flu, and RSV.  The good news is that we have vaccines to help control CoVid and Influenza.  An RSV vaccine is on the way, but not just yet.  For the two diseases for which we do have vaccines, the vaccination rates should be closer to 100%.   What is wrong with us?  These vaccines are like any other medicine.  If you have a strep throat, would you refuse to take penicillin or another antibiotic.  If you have diabetes, would you refuse insulin.   If you’re constipated, would you skip Ex-Lax. Fact is, these CoVid vaccines are likely as safe as the drugs you freely buy in the drugstore for your colds and your sleepless nights.   What’s more, so far, these vaccines are FREE.  They don’t cost you or your family a penny.  Ever wonder why that is?  It’s because responsible public health officials have advised our governmental leaders that having a vaccinated and boosted American population is essential for the well-being of us all.  It keeps us healthy, out of the hospital, working to support the almighty US dollar, and, of most importance, out of the grave.   So we all need to get off our butts, get vaccinated for CoVid and the flu, get boosted, in order to not only protect ourselves but also to protect the ones we love and all of our neighbors.  The CDC has just approved the CoVid Omicron booster for infants and children 6 months to 5 years.  It’s another chance for Americans to finally wake up and protect our youngest kids.   What’s more, doing your part to stop CoVid and the flu doesn’t stop with vaccination.   It includes masking when around others in the absence of safe ventilation which means indoors, on trains and buses, and in crowds.   https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographics-trends https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/dashboard/vaccination-dashboard.html   #CoVid #influenza #vaccines #boosters #masking #economy #publichealth  

Measure Blood Pressure With A Camera

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/eXkn5EkmNbE   Australian and Iraqi engineers have developed an artificial intelligence-based system that permits contactless measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressures using video cameras.  The technique captures video data from two forehead regions over a 10 second interval and uses artificial intelligence algorithms to extract estimates of the subject’s blood pressure that are 90% accurate when compared to those gathered with conventional arm cuffs.  The same researchers have worked on measuring other vital signs including respirator rates, oxygen saturations, body temperatures, and jaundice.  All of this in support of telemedicine that is rapidly becoming more sophisticated.   https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5134/7/3/84   #bloodpressure #contactless #video #artificialintelligence  

Palm eTattoos Measure Stress

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/50X2_G70_VM   You’re well aware that your palms get sweaty when you’re under duress, and palm moisture is a time-tested indicator of stress.  Problem is that measurement of that stress level conventionally requires lots of electronic equipment.  Bioengineers at the University of Texas Austin have developed a nearly invisible graphene etattoo that can be applied to the palm.  The tattoos communicate with a smartwatch on the wrist via serpentine graphene-gold connectors that maintain the circuit despite palm and wrist movements.   The signal processing may occur in the watch or in a bluetooth-linked phone permitting non-stop monitoring of your stress levels.   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34406-2   #stress #etattoo #smartwatch #bluetooth #sweat  

Possible Oral Therapy For Osteoporosis

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/5T2aHV2jLqQ   Loss of bone calcium and structural integrity is a scourge of aging that particularly affects women.  The common treatment stops bone dissolution with bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax or Actonel.  The more direct approach is the stimulation of bone formation which usually requires repeated injections of parathyroid hormone.  Now endocrinologists at Harvard’s Mass. General Hospital have identified a small molecule SK-124 that, when administered orally, has parathyroid hormone-like effects including raising blood levels of calcium and vitamin D leading to new bone formation.  SK-124 works in mice and will be developed into a drug for humans in collaboration with the Radius Health pharmaceutical company.   https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2214396119   #osteoporosis  #parathyroidhormone #bisphosphonates #osteoclasts  

Detecting All Cancers Earlier

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/iOVqB2XL6VU   Glycosaminoglycans are sugars that undergo unique structural changes when normal cells become malignant.  Swedish researchers now report the results of their multisite, international study that successfully detected all 14 different types of cancer that were under investigation.  Comparing the detection of altered glycosaminoglycans with neoplasm DNA fragment detection as a means of implementing so called Multi-Cancer Early Detection or MCED, the investigators were heartened to find that the sugar analysis detected more types of cancer at the earliest stages than DNA detection.   The best news: glycosaminoglycan analysis is relatively cheap opening up the possibility of its wide application.  The technique is being commercialized by the startup Elypta, a Chalmers University of Technology spinoff.   https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2115328119   #cancer #glycoaminoglycans #sugar #polysaccarides #oncology #earlydetection #mced  

Life Is Good Women’s Sweatshirts and Men’s Shorts Are Flammable

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/67UGHKsukAI   The CPSC and the Life Is Good company are recalling Life Is Good branded Darkest Blue Fleece Women’s Sweatshirts and Men’s Shorts.  These garments fail to meet federal flammability standards for clothing textiles and create burn hazards for wearers.  About 750 of these garments were sold online at lifeisgood.com and at independent clothing stores nationwide.   Stop wearing these garments and contact Life Is Good st 1-888-339-2987 or via email at customer_service@lifeisgood.com to request a prepaid shipping label in order to return these products for a full refund.   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/The-Life-is-Good-Company-Recalls-Darkest-Blue-Womens-Fleece-Sweatshirts-and-Mens-Fleece-Shorts-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Flammability-Standard-and-Burn-Hazard   #lifeisgood #sweatshirts #shorts #flammability #burns #recall  

Ortal Gas Fireplaces Are Fire Hazards

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YDw9P29TcGg   The CPSC and Ortal USA are recalling Ortal Traditional 90 and Traditional 110 Gas Fireplaces.  Improper installation of these fireplaces less to dangerous heat accumulation, fires, and burns.  About 400 of these furnaces were sold nationwide.  Stop using these fireplaces and contact Ortal at 1-800-238-7000 to determine if your unit requires a retrofitted plate.   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Ortal-Recalls-Gas-Fireplaces-Due-to-Fire-Hazard   #ortal #fireplace #overheating #fire #burns #recall  

Scotch Thermal Laminators Trigger Fires

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/r8K1sUIX_vQ   The CPSC and the 3M Company are recalling Scotch TL1302 Thermal Laminators.  These units may overheat creating fire and burn hazards.  About 516,500 of these units were sold at Walmart, Staples, Costco and other stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com, Amazon.com and Staples.com.  Stop using these laminators and go to the scotchbrand.com online site to fill out the recall registration form.  Once you do, 3M will contact you for more information to process the refund as well as to give you disposal instructions. For more information, call 3M at 1-800-772-4337.   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/3M-Recalls-Scotch-Thermal-Laminators-Due-to-Fire-Hazard   #3m #scotch #laminator #overheating #fire #burn #recall