Corpus Callosum is written by a psychiatrist at a small community hospital somewhere in midwestern USA. Email to cc.scienceblogger at gmail dot com.
May 31, 2007
Category: Medicine
I wrote about a similar topic a bit ago, it which a relationship was found between chronic pain and depression in retired pro football players. Now, there is an NTY article that reviews some findings about a relationship between concussions...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:23 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
This is a photo of Horseshoe Bend, in Arizona. It was one of the featured images on Wikipedia. It is from a selection of photos that are good for use as wallpaper for widescreen monitors (16:10 aspect ratio). The...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:06 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 30, 2007
Category: Antidepressants
This post is about amitriptyline, one of the oldest antidepressants on the market in the USA. It also used to be the most widely-prescribed antidepressant. I've decided to not attempt an encyclopedic style of description of the pharmacological action of the...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:17 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 28, 2007
Category: Psychiatry
Fast Company has an amusing and interesting article on pychopathy. Being a business-oriented magazine, they ask "Is your boss a psychopath?" But one could just as easily apply the same principles to other important people in your life, such...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:30 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Armchair Musings
I am on call today, so I am about to go in to the hospital for a full day of work. But while drinking my coffee I encountered an article that I need to get back to. Maybe some of...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:07 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Environment
Sustainable living could use more inventions like this. Eye on Research: Researchers develop low-cost, low-energy desalination process Sun News Report Article Launched: 05/27/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:29 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 27, 2007
Category: Environment
I read this (Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson) when I was in fifth or sixth grade. It was a little paperback book on my Dad's bookshelf. So it was quite a shock to see it included as an "honorable mention"...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:06 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
Who are these people, and what are they doing? They are Democratic congresspersons, sheepishly "caving in". Not only did they cave on the timeline for withdrawal of military and mercenary forces in Iraq, they failed to heed this warning:...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:29 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 25, 2007
Category: Humor
Tax cuts for the Howells. No reproductive rights for Ginger and Mary Ann. Funding Cuts for the Professor....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:52 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Psychiatry
I noticed the incidental coincidence of these two news items: Joseph Zuska, 93; Navy doctor developed treatment for alcoholism Gaps in Mental Care Persist for Fort Carson Soldiers The first item is an obituary for a Navy physician; the...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:01 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 24, 2007
Category: Environment
The Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture is worried about the effects that climate change could have on Hawaii, given the fragility of the ecosystem there: Warming signs seen stressing state's growth By Helen Altonn 20 May 2007 Hawaii...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:01 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Humor
Only in LA, they say, but these things could happen anywhere. A wanted man who wanted to make it to court really early May 22, 2007 For your Stupid Criminal Alibis file, consider the case of the guy stopped by...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:46 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 23, 2007
Category: Politics
It has been a party, sure enough; more like an exercise in Bacchinalian debauchery. Changes Spurred Buying, Abuses By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page A01 ...Congress created the...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:32 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Psychiatry
This is in response to a comment from a prior post. There are a few related questions here. Can preemies develop PTSD, can they be labeled with PTSD, if they can get PTSD is it fundamentally the same as it...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:02 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 21, 2007
Category: Psychiatry
One of the things that most consistently surprised me, when I was doing the consultation-liaison rotation in residency, was how common delirium was, and how frequently it was missed by the medical team. Even since then, it has...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:15 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 20, 2007
Category: Environment
This topic (global dimming) has already been mentioned on SB twice, once on Stoat, once on Living the Scientific Life. Others have picked up on it, too (1 2 3 4 5, among others). It was featured in a news...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:35 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 19, 2007
Category: Medicine
I specifically remember a phrase from a handout I read in the second year of med school, imploring us to not depersonalize patients by referring to them, for example, as "the pancreas in room XXX." That was the thought that...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:21 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 18, 2007
Category: Armchair Musings
USA Today's top story: Drivers cut back -- a 1st in 26 years. Why is this the most important headline for today?
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:22 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
These are from the World Wildlife Federation News blog. Newborn: Day 3: Day 120: The full set of photos is here. Absolutely the most precious thing in the world....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:13 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 17, 2007
Category: Politics
With Wolfowitz out, Gonzalez on the way, can they even be seriious aboutthis nomination? Bush Asked to Reconsider Safety Nominee By STEPHEN LABATON Published: May 18, 2007 WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Senate Democrats urged President Bush on Thursday to...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:13 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 16, 2007
Category: Environment
Perhaps instead of "global warming," or "climate change," we should speak of "climate chaos."
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:14 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 15, 2007
Category: Armchair Musings
A recent article in Health Affairs attempts to put drug safety and risk in perspective. But will it do any good?
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:51 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
What is the correct follow-up for an impeachmint? There is only one possible answer......
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:51 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 14, 2007
Category: Computing
Speaking of open-source software, I recall posting a while back when the percentage of visits to Corpus Callosum, by users of Internet Explorer, dropped below 50%. Now, it is 24%. Roughly parallels President Bush's approval rating. I wonder what those...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:32 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Computing
From CNN Money: Microsoft takes on the free world Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants royalties from distributors and users. Users like you,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:29 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Psychiatry
Domestic violence and other forms of childhood trauma are all too common. The effects of trauma on children have been studied in a variety of ways, but much of this research has not employed strict diagnostic criteria. Now, the Archives...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:13 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 13, 2007
Category: Medicine
The LA Times reports on the Senate passage of a bill that should enhance the oversight of drug safety by the FDA. Numerous posts here on ScienceBlogs, and elsewhere, have commented on the problems with safety oversight. The existence of...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 2:11 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Meta
I took out the blogroll for now because it was taking forever to load. I will put it back, somewhere, probably at the bottom of the page. I hate to do that, but Blogrolling was just not responsive enough. UPDATE:...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:35 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 12, 2007
Category: Psychiatry
For anyone who is interested, Medscape has a nice, concise summary article about medication treatment options for bipolar disorder. They focus on the atypical antipsychotics, but cover the mood stabilizers, too. Generic Name Trade Name Manic Mixed Maint. Depr. Valproate...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:49 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Energy
Southwest BioEnergy has announced a plan to build a biomasss electrical generation facility in Vado, New Mexico. Vado is rather close to the middle of nowhere, but it also happens to be very close to a whole lotta cattle and...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:13 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Humor
You all will be pleased to know that bug #177773 in cowsay has been fixed. The cow's tongue now will be rendered correctly. j7uy5@localhost ~ $ cowsay Corpus Callosum is weird! ___________________________ < Corpus Callosum is weird! > --------------------------- ...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:41 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
Jack Lessenberry is fairly well known in Ann Arbor, being an historian, journalist, and senior political analyst (or something like that, I can't remember his exact title) for WUOM. A year ago, he wrote: Essay: Thinking About Impeachment...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:42 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 11, 2007
Category: Social Commentary
Blackwater USA was co-founded by former Navy Seal Erik Prince, a "billionaire right-wing fundamentalist Christian from a powerful Michigan Republican family." By the end of 2004 Blackwater's president, Gary Jackson, was bragging to the press of "staggering" 600 percent growth....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:21 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
Some call it "hillbilly heroin," something I could not bring myself to say aloud. But that illustrates the strong feelings that people have about the drug, Oxycontin. As painkillers go, it is pretty strong. Sometimes it is an appropriate choice,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:42 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 8, 2007
Category: Humor
The spoof site is here. The spoof video: I know this is kind of old, but still worth a chuckle or two....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:49 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 6, 2007
Category: Psychiatry
(Note: if the accent marks look weird, set your browser to view character encoding as Unicode (UTF-8)) One of the problems with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is that there is no clear rationale for the division...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:30 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
"Resilient Infections Worry Military Doctors" is a headline in the Washington Post. It reflects a serious concern often noted here at ScienceBlogs. I read it and worried, again. But perhaps there is hope: maggots. From News@Nature.com: Maggots eat up resistant...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:41 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 5, 2007
Category: Medicine
Sometimes newspapers raise more questions than they answer. In the case of this WaPo editorial about Medicare, I find myself wishing that they had done a little more research. Unsustainable Medicare Fixes for the program's funding will be needed soon....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:45 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 4, 2007
Category: Medicine
For some completely inexplicable reason, MT won't let me reply to the comment under my last post. But I can still post posts, so here is the question and the answer: Q: Wow, is this serious? I have amblyopia, and...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:29 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Neuroscience
The work of Li-Huei Tsai on the partial restoration of memory was in the news a few days ago. Although the experiments were done on mice, it was hoped that the results could indicate a reason to hope that...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:17 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
Two US senators, Robert Byrd and one other, are suggesting now that Congress try a different approach for ending the war in Iraq. That would entail legislation that would end the authorization to the use of military force. It...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:10 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 3, 2007
Category: Social Issues
According to a study done at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, fewer people are identifying themselves as multiracial. Reynolds Farley Ph.D. reported: The annual ACS, which samples about 3 million households, shows a clear trend, Farley...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:26 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Social Commentary
Congress sent the President an appropriations bill that suggested a timetable for the withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq. He vetoed it. When President Bush vetoed the bill, he signed the veto with a pen handed to him...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 5:02 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Chatter
A study has shown that the world's fastest average pedestrian pace is in Singapore. The top ten? 1) Singapore (Singapore): 10.55 2) Copenhagen (Denmark): 10.82 3) Madrid (Spain): 10.89 4) Guangzhou (China): 10.94 5) Dublin (Ireland): 11.03 6) Curitiba...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 1:13 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
It is time to pick the tea leaves. May 2 is the traditional date to begin picking tea leaves in Japan....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:30 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Environment
The Australian beer maker, Fosters, is installing a prototype fuel cell. Nothing remarkable about that, except this fuel cell uses wastewater from the manufacture of beer. The carbohydrate-rich effluent is expected to generate 2 kilowatts and make the water cleaner...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 1:08 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
May 1, 2007
Category: Medicine
Every once in a while one of the world's most physically fit persons drops over and dies. In fact four persons have died during or shortly after running the Boston Marathon. It has been known for a while that...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:13 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
Data presented at a Neurology conference shows structural changes in the brain of Gulf War vets who are highly symptomatic of Gulf War Syndrome. It appears that the findings have not yet been published; in fact, the study has...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 2:00 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
