Beth Balen | World Tech Today

Alaska tops the list of states with worst healthcare

Sep 6, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

Every American spends an average of $9,523 every year on health care, but a new analysis by WalletHub shows that everyone does not get the same bang for those big bucks. Researchers at the financial adviser site analyzed U.S. health care in the 50 states and District of Columbia to determine which states are best and worst using three dimensions: health care costs, access and outcomes.

The results found that higher costs did not translate into better care. Health care spending in the U.S. accounted for 17.5 percent of national GDP in 2014, and is expected to increased by 2.6 percent by 2025. Overall, Minnesota was found to have the best healthcare quality. Alaska ranked last overall. The top five states in overall quality were (in order) Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Iowa and Utah. The five states at the bottom of the overall quality list were Arkansas, Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alaska.

Alaska and Wyoming tied for the most expensive monthly insurance premiums, with Minnesota having the lowest rates. The District of Columbia has the most hospital beds per capita, Oregon the least. The District of Columbia also ha the most physicians per capita. Mississippi has the fewest.

Patients who are insured by Medicare often have a difficult time finding a physician who will accept them. North Dakota ranks highest on Medicare acceptance, followed by New Hampshire and Minnesota. Oregon, District of Columbia and Hawaii are worst.

Massachusetts has the highest percentage of insured adults and children. Texas is last for insured adults, Nevada last for insured children.

California has the lowest infant mortality rate. Alabama is highest.

Data for the survey came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, eHealthInsurance, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Urban Institute, Health Resources & Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.

Human effect on climate change started a lot earlier than you might think

Aug 29, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

A new study performed by an international team of scientists has found evidence that humans effects on climate change date back to the 1830s, around the time of the early Industrial Revolution. This is nearly 200 years earlier than originally thought. The signs of rising first appeared in the Arctic and tropical oceans around 1830. Twenty-five scientists from Australia, the U.S., Asia and Europe took part in the study.

Researchers have been attempting to pinpoint a date when humans began to significantly affect the environment using instruments that are designed to monitor temperature changes from the 1800s onward. The instruments measure corals, ice cores and tree rings which all indicate historical temperatures on Earth. However, the instruments have not been able to identify the start of the current warming trend.

Nerilie Abram, climate scientist at the Australian National University said, “A lot is known about the climate record for the time when we have instrumental records. We wanted to look at whether these records give us the full picture.”

The team determined that the temperatures of tropical oceans and air in the northern hemisphere began to increase during the 1830s, which was the same time that greenhouse gas emissions began to increase. Initially the researchers thought the rise was simply a climate rebound after a cooling period. However, they then figured out that the rise of greenhouse gasses coincided with the rise of the Industrial Revolution, which pointed directly at humans creating the effect.

The findings of the study are significant in helping understand the temperatures on Earth before humans began directly influencing climate change and global warming. Ed Hawkins, Reading University meteorologist, said the results of the research show just how much information can be found in corals, tree rings and other natural materials that can help determine how past activities affect climate change. “This is further evidence that the climate has already changed significantly since the pre-industrial period,” he said.

The study was published online August 24 in the journal Nature.

Avian flu found in duck in Alaska on major bird migratory route

Aug 29, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

The H5N2 strain of Avian flu has been found in a wild mallard duck in Fairbanks, Alaska, the first time the virus has appeared in the U.S. in 14 months. The discovery is significant, as Alaska lies directly on the migratory routes of birds that are headed to the lower parts of North America an Asia, making it a key location for introducing avian diseases from other locations. The virus has not been found in any wild birds in the U.S. since last June, when 50 million domestic birds died from the disease.

During the outbreak last year, millions of dollars were lost, as export partners suspended trade with countries and states with infected birds. Egg prices increased to record highs and there were turkey meat shortages. Last summer’s outbreak of avian flu was attributed to the droppings of wild ducks and geese flying across the country. Entire flocks of chickens and turkeys died after being infected.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued recommendations for farmers and poultry companies to increase their adherence to protocols for cleanliness and security, to try and ensure the health of their birds. Officials say that wild birds may show no signs of illness even though they are carrying bird flu. Domesticated birds are infected through fecal matter or feathers.

On July 8 a lesser strain of H5 avian influenza was found in a duck farm in southern Ontario. That farm was quarantined, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency oversaw the disinfection of equipment and barns.

The Low-pathogenic H5 bird flu was also found in the U.S. on July 18 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS), finding the low-pathogenic strains is not uncommon in live bird markets and backyard flocks. However, they caution that mixing birds from various flocks may cause the virus to not only spread, but genetically adapt.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the general public’s infection risk to be low.

Bagpipes kill 61-year-old piper

Aug 25, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

A 61-year-old man in Manchester, England, died in October, 2014, after suffering increasing difficulty breathing for more than 7 years. A report published in the medical journal Thorax has now revealed the mystery of what killed the avid bagpiper – his hobby. The man contracted hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or HP, from his bagpipes, leading a team of five researchers from University Hospital of South Manchester to coin the term “Bagpipe Lung.”

HP is also known as farmer’s lung, humidifier lung, hot tub lung and pigeon fancier’s lung. This man had no relationship with any of these activities, however, so the researchers were stumped, completely overlooking his hobby as a bagpipe player. Finally they looked at his musical instrument and found massive amounts of yeast and fungi living inside. Pink yeast covered all the parts of the instrument, inside and out, and had even infected the case that it was carried in. Every time the man played his pipes he inhaled a mixture of these molds, which eventually killed him.

When inhaled, the molds and funguses trigger inflammation in the lungs which can lead to irreversible scarring. People who work around farms have also contracted HP from breathing dust from moldy hay, but bagpipes are particularly susceptible to harboring the organisms. Andrew Bova, a bagpiper who works at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, says woodwind instruments should be swabbed down after every playing to get at the moisture that can sit in the nooks and crannies and become moldy. As well as preventing health problems, it can keep the instrument’s wood from becoming damaged.

HP is a fairly new phenomenon among bagpipers. Only recently has the instrument been made with synthetic fabric. When bagpipes were made from leather they needed to be “seasoned” regularly in order to continue working properly. The seasoning contained an antiseptic effect that protected the piper. The new bagpipe material does not need treating, leaving a perfect environment for dangerous spores to thrive in.

The study notes that similar illnesses have affected other wind instrument players, including saxophone and trombonists. Regular cleaning of the instruments is needed to prevent disease. Any musician who gets breathless and develops coughing should have their instrument checked.

HPV vaccine nearly 100 percent effective in preventing cancer, but parents continue to resist

Aug 22, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

It is the only vaccine created specifically to prevent cancer, and it is nearly 100 percent effective, yet parent continue to resist adding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to the requirements for school. Only one in five parents supports mandatory HPV vaccines even though the vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective in preventing cervical cancer, 95 percent effective against anal cancer and 70 percent effective against throat and neck cancer.

Interestingly enough, a recent study of parents’ attitudes toward the HPV vaccine found that support tripled if parents are given the opportunity to opt out for their child. Postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and study lead author William Calo says that, even though support for the HPV vaccine increases with opt-out provisions, previous research has found that those provisions make the law less effective.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that about one in four people in the U.S. are currently infected with cancers caused by HPV infections, and approximately 14 million more, including teens, become infected every year. The infections cause vaginal, cervical and vulvar cancers in women, penile cancers in men, and throat cancer, anal cancer, and genital warts in both men and women.

According to Calo, the vaccine can save an estimated 30,000 lives every year, yet parents continue to resist, even though half believed it was at least as important as meningococcal and Tdap vaccines, which are the other two recommended for adolescents. Only 40 percent of parents believed the vaccine could prevent cervical cancer and almost one-fourth believed (inaccurately) that the vaccine might cause long-term health issues. Only 21 percent of parents thought that requiring the vaccine was a good idea. However, that figure jumped to 57 percent if the parents were allowed to opt out.

The CDC recommends that preteen girls and boys aged 11 or 12 receive the vaccine, which is given in three shots over a 6-month period. Teenagers can be vaccinated if they did not receive the shot at a younger age, men can be vaccinated up to age 21 and women up to age 26.

Ice in Canada’s Northwest Passage has vanished

Aug 21, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

The picture above tells the whole story. On Aug. 9 NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of Canada’s Northwest Passage in a state that NASA says is the “new normal” – the ice that is typically present in the famed waterway nearly year round has vanished. As climate change continues to transform the region, the ice-choked path between Amundsen Gulf to Baffin Bay is now open water.

NASA sea ice scientist Walt Meier says that even if this year does not break the ice extent loss record that was set in 2012, the situation is becoming typical. “A decade ago, this year’s sea ice extent would have set a new record low and by a fair amount,” said Meier. “Now, we’re kind of used to these low levels of sea ice – it’s the new normal.”

Meier says that the sea ice of the region reached a record low maximum extent in March, and continued with fairly rapid ice loss through May. According to Meier, melting slowed in June, which makes it unlikely that the ice loss this year will set a new record, but it is showing no signs of any kind of recovery. “It’s still in a continued decline over the long term,” he said. “It’s just not going to be as extreme as other years because the weather conditions in the Arctic were not as extreme as in other years.”

The sea ice cover of the Kara and Barents seas north of Russia opened in April this year, exposing the surface of the ocean to the warmth of the sun weeks ahead of schedule. By May 31 the extent of sea ice cover loss in the area was a month ahead of normal.

A weather change in June slowed the loss of the sea ice, but Meier says a really strong low pressure system moving across the Arctic could start the accelerated ice melt again.

Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Texas is the most dangerous state to be pregnant in

Aug 20, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

Although it does not definitively tie the reason for an alarming increase in pregnancy-related deaths in Texas to budget cuts, a new study has found that the rise in mortality rates coincided with the slashing of family planning funds in the state budget in 2011. The cuts reduced funds to family planning clinics by 66 percent, and forced 82 of the facilities to close. One-third of them were Planned Parenthood clinics. Women’s health services in Texas were left able to serve only half as many women as they had previously, with low-income women particularly experiencing less access to care.

The study, published in the September 2016 journal of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, details the dramatic increase in the deaths of pregnant women in the state since 2011. Texas saw a modest increase in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2010, but the rates then nearly doubled in 2011 and 2012, a trend not matched by any of the other 49 states.

While 72 women died in Texas from pregnancy and childbirth complications in 2010, 148 died from the same reasons in 2012, a rate of 33 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The study notes that the rates of increase in deaths are too high to be explained by budget cuts alone. “In the absence of war, natural disaster, or severe economic upheaval, the doubling of a mortality rate within a two year period in a state with almost 400,000 annual births seems unlikely,” the researchers wrote.

The Texas Department of Health has a task force investigating the issue, but as yet has no explanation.

16 rotting bodies discovered in Florida funeral home

Aug 19, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

Two employees at Brock’s Home Town Funeral Home in Callaway Florida have been arrested after an anonymous tip led officials to discover multiple rotting bodies inside the facility on Sunday night. Funeral director Gregory Dunphy, 64, and Felicia Boesch, 39, who is the manager of the funeral home and the daughter of the owner, are charged with a total of 16 misdemeanor counts for unlawful storage of human remains. Each count can be punished by up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine.

According to the Washington Post, Dunphy claims to have made the call alerting the authorities to the situation in the funeral home. When they arrived, they were met with the stench of death and flies throughout the building. Ten bodies were inside a refrigerator that was supposed to be kept at 40 degrees but was instead set at 62. Six more bodies were being kept in the main part of the funeral home without any refrigeration. None had been embalmed, and cremations had also not been done.

Family members of the deceased are outraged at the lack of care the bodies of their loved ones had received. In a Facebook post, Shannon Doughterty Bailey wrote that her family had been told that their grandmother had been cremated, and that Brock’s was just waiting on a specially-ordered urn before giving them the remains. “Instead her body was rotting away in a freezer,” she wrote.

Dunphy blames the situation on Boesch, who he said was in charge of cremations. Dunphy claimed he did not have access to either the crematorium or the refrigerated room where state law requires bodies that have not been embalmed to be stored. He had only been working at the home for three weeks, after Boesch asked him to come and help out. He said that he told her the situation at the facilities “needs to be rectified.”

Dunphy said that Boesch told him she would be picking up gas so that the cremations could be performed, and that the remains that were not refrigerated would be going into the cooler as soon as the cremations took place. “Turns out, she did not get gas … for the [furnace] to operate and because of that her refrigeration area became full,” he said. The funeral director said that, according to Florida law, none of the bodies needed to be embalmed because all were scheduled to be cremated.

As bodies began to bloat in the hallway, Dunphy said he tried to borrow body bags or cooler storage place from rival funeral homes, but eventually couldn’t stand the conditions any longer and called the sheriff’s office. Dunphy is now wondering why he is in jail.

Despite the out-of-control conditions inside Brock’s, the funeral home continued to operate, accepting more bodies. The funeral home is now permanently closed, as Brock’s has surrendered its funeral home and crematorium licenses and its owners are dismantling the business. The bodies are being held by the medical examiners office.

Family members of the deceased may be faced with paying a second time for the cremations, which will need to be handled by a second funeral home.

New study shows surprising revelation on what motivates dogs

Aug 18, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

Most people consider dogs to be most motivated by food, but a new study known as the “Dog Project” has revealed some surprising contradictions to that belief. The study, published Aug. 12 in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, showed that dogs have a strong preference to praise and pets over food.

Study author Gregor Berns, who is a neuroscientist from Emory University, has worked on the Dog Project for the past five years, using MRI scans to study brain activity in dogs while they are awake and unrestrained. Dozens of Atlanta dog owners participated in his study, with the goal of determining whether dogs would rather have belly rubs than treats. “Is social reward on the same footing as food, or is it potentially more valuable?” was his question.

To find the answer he needed dogs that could keep still for 30 minutes while awake, which would allow the MRI scan to be done. Since calmer dogs were needed, “lots of retrievers” were used. Fifteen dogs at a time were used in three separate experiments in which they were made to lie down in the MRI machine while they were shown various toys. After one toy they were fed a hot dog, after another they were praised and after another they got nothing. Thirteen out of 15 dogs showed brain activity that indicated that the praise stimulated their brains just as much, or more, than the food.

A second experiment involved not praising the dogs, which led to nearly the same brain activity in the dogs who responded more strongly to non-food rewards. According to Berns, “the dogs who responded more strongly to praise in the first experiment were more disappointed for not getting praise.”

In the third experiment that dogs were placed in a maze, and had the choice to seek praise from their owner or food, and after the first two tests Berns was pretty sure what the researchers were find in the third. The dogs who had exhibited the strongest neural response to praise chose finding their way to their owners 80 to 90 percent of the time.

The results of the study could be valuable for training service dogs as well as pets. Dogs with high preferences for social rewards might be best suited for jobs as service or therapy dogs. Dogs with less neural preferences for praise might make better choices for independent jobs, such as search-and-rescue dogs.

Although the typical dog owner does not have access to an MRI machine to perform a neural scan on their own pet, they probably already have a sense of what most motivates their canine companion. The study likely reinforces what they already know, but perhaps could not believe.

Usain Bolt: Big jerk or happy-go-lucky showman?

Aug 15, 2016 by Beth Balen Leave a Comment

It’s one of those iconic images that most of the world saw for the first time in the 2008 Olympics: Usain Bolt making his signature pose at the end of his winning 100-meter race. In that 100 meters he cruised to victory in world record time while slowing down at the end to play the showman and celebrate. It may have left a bad taste in the mouth for many viewers, as his antics appeared to be the actions of a real jerk. But, after three Olympics and three gold medals (he won the most recent just last night), the world is finding that Bolt’s actions are more happy-go-lucky than in-your-face.

He might be excused for being a bit of a jerk. After all, he is indisputably the world’s fastest man, the first ever to hold world records in both the 100 and 200 meters, as well as the 4 x 100 meter relay, and is the Olympic and World champion in all three events. However, even IOC president Jacques Rogge found Bolt’s 2008 showboating to be disrespectful.

Bolt claims that his celebrating is because he is just happy. Last night commentator Bob Costas’ Aug. 4 interview with Bolt aired. Costas, who drew criticism for comparing Bolt to Bob Marley, commented on the fun the global superstar seems to have with his talents, displaying showmanship and charisma, seeming to express authentic and irresistible joy in the competitions. Bolt said that he sees his running as a performance, which both he and the people who watch him enjoy. He likes to excite the fans by making them wonder what he’ll do next.

The so-called Lightning Bolt is not just a positive influence on the track. After his victories in the 2008 Olympics, Bolt, who is the highest paid athlete ever in track and field, donated $50,000 U.S. dollars to the children of China’s Sichuan province to help those harmed by the 2008 earthquake. He donates frequently to children’s charities, and the Usain Bolt Foundation is “dedicated to the legacy for happy children,” helping them live their dreams.

The audience must decide if Bolt is a happy-go-lucky showman or a big jerk, but no one can deny that watching him is exciting. There is always the potential for surprise when the Lightning Bolt steps on the track.

Photo credit: J. Brichto, Creative Commons License