NDM-1 Update: "South Asian superbug claims first fatality" - INQUIRER.net

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A Belgian national was reported to have died from the so-called South Asian bug also known as NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-lactamase-1).This is the first known fatality from a pathogen containing the NDM-1 enzyme gene that is said to be resistant to most antibiotics that exists today.

This comes after the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent declaration regarding the H1N1 virus, bringing down its alert level to the post-pandemic stage. Now, the NDM-1 is not at this point in time a global concern. However, the gene is said to spread easily among different bacteria populations which could cause common strains to be drug-resistant.

Tip of the iceberg

Experts agree that the NDM-1 issue could be much larger than currently reported cases. With human migration and travel on the rise the situation may reach global proportions. In the meantime, the search for a solution is projected to come not until the next decade.


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Stay Awake At Work

I recently got into a gig that requires me to work in a different timezone. It's an online project so I get to stay at my home-office. Nevertheless, for the past 2 weeks my body is still adjusting from the flipping of my body clock. Now, my AM is PM and vice-versa.

Nowadays however, this sort of thing is as much commonplace as an email address in a business card. Today's businesses and jobs exposes us all to the possibility of compromising our sleeping routine at one point or another.

The question therefore is how do you stay awake at work? Not unless you have Morvan's syndrome, it may need a little bit more than just a cup of coffee. Before trying to self-induce insomnia, know that sleep deprivation carries with it serious health risks. That said, here are some known practices for staying awake.

1. Get enough rest. This is a no-brainer. You want to stay awake? You've got to get enough sleep prior to your scheduled waking hours. The day before my first graveyard shift, I dropped my previous afternoon routine and just went on a sleeping binge. Slip into comfortable pajamas. Darken up the room to fool your mind into thinking it's nighttime. Make sure your room is quiet. Either that or employ a source for "white noise" - the buzzing of an electric fan for instance, or a recording of whale sounds. A cup or two of milk can work wonders. Just make sure that you take the horizontal position for six up to eight hours before you're supposed to be awake.


2. Eat less. A full stomach triggers most people to rest mode. By eating less, you'll probably be "too hungry" to doze off. Also, what you eat determines your sleepiness. No to carbs. They fill up more. Sugary bites helps. Chocolate bars can give you that push of energy during your night shift. Spicy food tend to keep you hot enough to stay awake but a study also shows chili helps you to sleep better. Personally, I take in a chili rich soup during the last leg of my shift; it keeps me on my toes then later, when I do need to hit the pillows, helps me to sleep soundly and makes me feel more energized when I wake up.




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3. Learn to Power Nap. Short 15-minute to half-hour naps helps in keeping you up in the long haul. The object is to get that benefit of feeling rested without actually dozing off to deep sleep. With this strategy, your alarm clock is your best friend.


4. Exercise your butts. Sleep requires inertia too, meaning you have to be in a position conducive to sleep before you actually snooze off. So take short breaks and get in motion. Do stretches, push-ups or even lift some weights. The spike in adrenaline caused by the exercise will power you up for your shift.
   

Now here's a video that gives more pointers for the sleepyheads out there.



Do you know other sound advice on keeping awake? Send in your suggestions.

"Bloggers Get Healthy!" - Check Your Body Fat and Other Ways to Measure Health

"So, the greater the pizza size..."
Some time ago, I did an article (see "Healthy Alternative...") urging my fellow bloggers to take some time out at least thrice a week to get some light exercise into their routine. The tip is intended for non-bloggers also, in case you're wondering. So did you fellows take the advice?

Well, did you?

For those of you who failed to heed the call of the stairmaster or your local aerobics instructor, here's a quick check to see whether you're qualified for the next sumo wrestling world cup.

There are of course devices in the market that can measure your body fat quite accurately. However, these digital monitors won't your reduce body fat but rather it will strip away your hard earned blog advertising revenue. Keep that cash and stay wealthy and healthy at the same time.

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What you do is you get your grandma's trusty old tape measure and head on over to HealthCentral.com's Health Calculators at their CholesterolNetwork site. Here you'll find a few online tests to gauge your health's status.

Body Fat Percentage and Body Mass Index (BMI) are two important measures relevant to finding out whether your likely prone to weight-related health risks. You need to know your height, weight, waist and hips measurements, plus you will also need to measure your wrist's and forearm's girth. Plug those numbers in on their calculators and you'll get a close enough picture of how healthy you are.

There's also the Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) measurement which relates to whether you're body is shaped like an "apple" or a "pear". Apple shaped body types have extra weight concentrated around the waist which is correlated to greater health risks. You may visit healthyforms.com and use their cool graphical WHR tool.

My scores aren't pretty but I'll share it to the rest of the web universe as a baseline. I'm currently keeping to a workout program and I'm confident these numbers will improve a few dozen blogs from now.

Body Mass Index (BMI) - 31.8 (High Risk, Overweight)
Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) - 1.08 (Apple, Overweight, Health Risk)
Body Fat Percentage - 22.1% (18% is healthy for Asians like me)

Remember that keeping a healthy weight is a key factor in avoiding heart ailments as we grow old.

What about you? How do your health scores add up?

World's Most Polluted Places for 2007 Listed

The Blacksmith Institute recently released its 2007 list of the Top 10 World's Most Polluted Places. The unranked list referenced several localities in China, Russia and India as well as some former Soviet Republics, Peru and Zambia.

The severity of pollution indicated in these areas involve environmental contamination due to chemical, mining, energy and heavy-metal industries. Notable among those listed is Chernobyl in the Ukraine which is still suffering from the 1986 catastrophic meltdown of its nuclear power plant.

The Blacksmith Institute report also highlights the impact of environmental pollution to health. Some 12 million people in these identified communities are said to be at risk for cancers, birth defects, sterility and poisoning among others.

Here is the list dubbed as the "Killer Communities" for 2007:

• Sumgayit, AZERBAIJAN
• Linfen, CHINA
• Tianying, CHINA
• Sukinda, INDIA
• Vapi, INDIA
• La Oroya, PERU
• Dzerzhinsk, RUSSIA
• Norilsk, RUSSIA
• Chernobyl, UKRAINE
  
• Kabwe, ZAMBIA
  

Eight years in the running, the Blacksmith Institute have been supporting local champions that address pollution-related issues in developing nations. In 2003, the Blacksmith Institute came out with the Polluted Places Initiative which focuses on seeking solutions for severely polluted sites. The top 10 World's Most Polluted Places list began in 2006. The list is selected by a panel of environment and health experts comprising the Technical Advisory Board (TAB).

To date, 24 projects have been successfully completed in 9 countries through the US-based institute's various programs. More on The Blacksmith Institute at their official website at www.blacksmithinstitute.org.

Hybrid Embryos Ok'd for Stem Cell Research in UK

The British Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) approved in principle the use of human-animal hybrids in stem cell research. The controversial decision came September 5, 2007 with mixed reactions polarized between scientists and ethics advocates.

Stem cells have been touted to be the next frontier in medical research as these basic of cells in organisms can be cultured and transformed to produce specialized tissue cells. Already, adult stem cell research has found therapeutic applications in the treatment of leukemia and related bone/blood cancers. Applications for embryonic stem cell research remains elusive however due to a lack of good viable human embryos for experimentation.

Human-animal embryo hybrids are made from combining human cells and animal eggs. From these hybrid embryo's scientists aim to extract stem cells to further their research into medical use. The recent HFEA decision requires a stringent application and monitoring process and also provides for the unconditional destruction of the used embryo in 14 days.

Religious groups and other ethics groups, have opposed embryonic stem cell research because, for one thing, the practice requires human embryos to be destroyed. Others are concerned that creating human-animal hybrids crosses the line of what is morally or ethically acceptable.

Healthy Alternative for Bloggers

Two reports (see "Pot Belly..." and "Even Light Exercise...") made me bow my head and seriously think today. Particularly, the first one entitled "Pot Belly Linked to Heart Disease" was even cited as the most emailed article for at the BBC News site.

I admit, I do have a pot belly and therefore the article made my heart beat a tad faster than usual. Basically, the study states that while being overweight is a definitive factor to developing a heart disease, the concentration of that weight in the abdominal area poses increased risk for atherosclerosis - the narrowing and hardening of the arteries.

Ardent bloggers have a tendency to lead sedentary lifestyles due to the fact that they spend considerable time sitting down, uploading their various blogcasts in front of the computer. Couple that with a viscious amount of coffee and chips throughout the day and there then is a picture of a future medical bill that by itself can cause a heart attack.

Don't be deceived by video bloggers who look healthy from the chest up. Notice they won't show their waistline on webcam because in most certain terms there are probably love handles brimming down there.

Kidding aside, there is hope for bloggers to remain healthy come Web 3.0 and beyond. The second report encouraged light exercise (i.e. brisk walking) for 30 minutes 3 times a week. That is apparently enough to achieve certain health benefits. Although the minimum exercise regimen to achieve truly significant gains is 30 minutes for 5 times weekly, the 3 times a week program should push borderline couch potatoes off to performing some level of healthy activity.

So when you're stuck in a writing rut or presented with the option of blogging about a pop star in rehab, take your 30 minutes and just walk it off. The world won't miss it and you'll probably be a healthier blogger to boot!