The packaging

These guys are doing it on a Piaggio Highway ride. Go to No Age Limit to read about their journey. I'd prefer to take the slower ride on my Vespa ET2, that I know longer have :0( but I could get another one for this epic ride. Anyone want to come? I won't do it alone.

just not on my girl parts though. Works well on my neck! I think this is a great idea. If I was a guy I'd be very excited to recuperate w/ my March Madness, hopefully my team would make it in though.

Basketball and no babies, yay!

"Utah is only state where students, professors can carry guns at all public colleges"

When I was sheriff

When I was a hillbilly

At first read I thought this was crazy but then I thought about it for 30 seconds and changed my mind, or just proves I'm crazy too but I think I would totally do this for my beloved Cleo someday if price came down under $50,000 like they're speculating. Pet Cemetery is one of my all-time fav scary movies so I'd be willing to die at the hands of my cloned hound just to keep her around forever. Now I'm getting creeped out...

Scams on Craigslist with the apartment hunting.

Glad I've never experienced one, too bad for these people, even though I lived in Manhattan, Kansas for 4 years.

Coming from Boston I had no clue when it came to tornadoes. I felt like there should be some crash course when you show up to tell you the drill so that it wasn't Spring semester first year finals week and I get woken at 5am to the sound of a siren that I have no clue what it is and my lovely roommate Jonathan is up watching the Weather Channel and tells me to go back to bed. So I did. I still had no clue what the siren meant, that someone had seen a funnel cloud or something touch down in our town, and chance of tornadoes was high. I didn't realize the seriousness until I went to class and everyone was talking about it. It didn't help that I lived in a house w/ no basement and no shelter to go to.

It usually happened same time every year, kinda. It always seemed to correspond to finals for me. Next place I lived I had a basement. One time Becca Lu drove over w/ her 3 cats and toad, I don't think she had Boden her dog yet, because she didn't have a basement. Who wants to hang out in a basement though? Most of the time I just looked out the window :0)

What happened more frequently were the scariest thunderstorms ever. They were just crazy and happened way too often for me. The wind was soooo bad. One time the power lines came down and the live wires were sparking and caught the tree outside my bedroom window on fire and I had to call 911 but nothing happened for a long time because the fire dpt. was responding to a building that had collapsed. Eventually the power got turned off. I was home alone, it was finals, middle of the night, no power in the house and I was ready to make a run for it w/ Cleo. Maybe that's when they cut the power to the wires. It was awful!

Let's see if I have old posts about it.

A new furry little guy

A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org

[1] Date: Fri 1 Feb 2008 Source: Associated Press (AP) [edited] http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqaebpM28dOdHO2Fop0x-o06mxqQD8UHHT4O2

Investigators are closer to understanding a mysterious illness reported by pork plant workers in Minnesota (MN) and Indiana (IN) and now have pinned a name on it, officials said. CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) issued a report on Thursday [31 Jan 2008] summarizing the investigation so far that gives the condition a name, progressive inflammatory neuropathy.

Minnesota officials said they were broadening their investigation to thousands of former employees at the Quality Pork Processors Inc plant in Austin, MN, going back a decade to when a powerful compressed air system was installed to remove brain tissue from pig heads.

Investigators have been trying to determine whether pig brain tissue, sprayed into the air as droplets during removal by the compressed air system, was inhaled by workers and made them sick. If further investigation proves their theories true, they will have identified a rare, new condition that could shed light on a whole family of poorly understood disorders in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves or the sheath that surrounds them, the Star Tribune reported.

This "could have far reaching applications in terms of our understanding of the mechanism of disease," said Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota's state epidemiologist, who is heading the investigation [in Minneapolis]. Since December 2007, 12 meatpackers in Austin and 2 at a plant in Indiana have reported fatigue, numbness, and tingling in their arms and legs. A few are severely disabled; others have returned to work. Indiana health officials have declined to discuss the conditions of the affected workers there or say where they were employed, citing patient privacy laws.

All 14 employees worked near powerful compressed air systems that blow brains out of pig heads at what is known as the head table. Both plants have stopped using the process.

Lynfield said investigators are now looking for anyone who has worked near Quality Pork's head table since 1997. That's difficult because the plant employs about 1200 workers, many of them immigrants, and turnover is high. "But we feel it's important to look for prior cases," she said.

Investigators say they've ruled out toxins as a cause, and viruses or bacteria are unlikely because none of the affected workers reported infectious disease symptoms, such as fever, before the onset of their neurological symptoms. That would leave the brain tissue itself. Experts said the foreign pig tissue may have triggered the workers' immune system, which then attacked their own neural tissue.

Experts at the Mayo Clinic and New York's Columbia University are now trying to devise ways to test pig brain tissue against the immune cells of the sick workers, Lynfield said. It could be months before results are in, she said.

-- communicated by: ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org

[2] CDC Report Date: Thu 31 Jan 2008 Source: CDC. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2008;57 (early release): 1-3. [edited] http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm57e131a1.htm?s_cidmm57e131a1_e

Investigation of progressive inflammatory neuropathy [PIN] among swine

slaughterhouse workers -- Minnesota, 2007-2008

On 29 Oct 2007, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) was notified by a tertiary care provider of unexplained neurologic illnesses among workers in a swine slaughterhouse (plant A) in south east Minnesota. As a result, MDH initiated a detailed investigation at plant A to characterize the outbreak. This report describes the ongoing investigation and outbreak-control measures undertaken by state public health officials and CDC.

Plant A, located in south eastern Minnesota, employs about 1200 workers and processes 18 000 pigs per day. After being notified of the illnesses, MDH investigators initiated active case finding, interviewed workers at plant A, and reviewed the plant's occupational health and employment records. As of 28 Jan 2008, a total of 12 workers at plant A had been identified with confirmed (8 workers), probable (2), or possible (2) progressive inflammatory neuropathy (PIN) [see 'Box' below.] Illness onset ranged from November 2006 through November 2007. Median age of the 12 patients was 31 years (range: 21-51); 6 patients were female. All 12 patients reported being healthy before the onset of neurologic symptoms.

Symptoms ranged from acute paralysis to gradually progressive symmetric weakness over periods ranging from 8 to 213 days. Severity ranged from minor weakness and numbness to paralysis predominantly in the lower extremities affecting mobility. 11 patients had evidence of axonal or demyelinating peripheral neuropathy by electrodiagnostic testing. Cerebrospinal fluid was obtained from 7 patients. All 7 had elevated protein levels (median: 125 mg/dL; range: 75-231 mg/dL [normal: 14-45 mg/dL]) with no or minimal pleocytosis (median: 1 cell/dL; range: 1-73 cells/dL in a nontraumatic tap); 5 patients had evidence of inflammation on spinal magnetic resonance imaging (4 patients in peripheral nerves or roots and one patient in the anterior spinal cord).

All 12 patients reported either working at or having regular contact with an area where swine heads were processed (known as the head table), which was located within a larger processing area in plant A known as the warm room. A case-control study was conducted among plant A workers to identify specific risk factors associated with illness. The 10 patients with confirmed or probable cases were included in the study, along with 2 stratified control groups: 1) a random selection of 48 healthy warm-room workers and 2) all 65 healthy head-table workers. Statistically significant (p less than 0.05) differences were calculated by chi-square test. Blood samples and throat swabs were collected from all consenting case-patients and controls. As of 30 Jan 2008, laboratory investigations had not identified any infectious agent from the blood and throat-swab specimens that would explain the occurrence of PIN.

Results of the case-control study indicated that case-patients (7 of 10, 70 per cent) were significantly more likely to have worked at the head table than the warm-room controls (12 of 48, 25 per cent) (odds ratio [OR]: 7.0; 95 per cent confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-42.2; p = 0.009). Case-patients also were more likely to have removed brains or remaining skeletal muscle from the pig head (a process known as backing heads) (4 of 10, 40 per cent) than controls (2 of 46, 4 per cent) (OR: 15.3; CI = 1.8-163.4; p = 0.006). Among head-table workers, case-patients were significantly more likely to have removed brains or skeletal muscle from the head (4 of 7, 57 per cent) than head-table controls (8 of 65, 12 per cent) (OR: 9.50; CI = 1.40-70.2; p = 0.01). Illness was not determined to be associated with previous travel outside or within the USA; exposure to chemicals, fertilizers, or insecticides; use of medications; or receipt of previous vaccinations.

An environmental assessment of the plant was conducted on 28 Nov 2007. Standard personal protective equipment (PPE) used by workers at plant A included hard hats, laboratory coats (including some that were short-sleeved), boots, hearing protection, eye protection, and specialized gloves that varied with the particular task of the worker. A compressed air device was used in the plant to harvest brain tissue from pig heads at the head table. The device was placed into the skull of the pig through the foramen magnum, and the force of the air disrupted the brain material into a liquefied form that made it easier to remove (a technique known as "blowing brains"). This technique caused generation of small droplets and splatter, possibly including aerosolized brain material, to which workers operating the device and others nearby might have been exposed. In response to the investigation, plant A voluntarily suspended harvesting of brains and instituted additional mandatory PPE on 28 Nov 2007, including face shields and long sleeves, for workers stationed at the head table and other workers who chose to use additional PPE.

Results of case-finding survey

A survey of the 25 federally inspected swine slaughterhouses with greater than 500 employees in the USA indicated that only 3 plants (plant A in Minnesota and plants in Nebraska and Indiana) reported recent use of compressed air to extract pig brains. To date, no cases of PIN have been identified in association with workers at the Nebraska plant. However, several workers at the Indiana plant have been preliminarily identified with neurologic illnesses and similar histories of exposure to head-processing activities at that slaughterhouse. Further assessments of these patients, and additional measures to identify other workers with illness, are being conducted in Indiana. As a result of this investigation, all three plants have stopped using compressed air to extract brain material.

[Reported by: Lachance D, Goyal S, Danila R, et al]

MMWR editorial note

This report summarizes an ongoing investigation of PIN, a syndrome that appears to be associated with swine slaughterhouse workers who process pig heads. Several clinical and laboratory features of this illness and the distinctive epidemiology associated with patients appear unique. Pigs slaughtered at plant A have passed inspection by the USA Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service [USDA-FSIS], and the investigation has not identified any foodborne risk to the general population.

The investigation in Minnesota indicates that PIN appears associated with having worked at the head table, where a compressed-air device was used to extract pig brains. In the process of blowing compressed air into the pig skull, brain material might have been splattered or even aerosolized, and workers might have been exposed through inhalation or contact with mucous membranes. One hypothesis for development of PIN is that worker exposure to aerosolized pig neural protein might have induced an autoimmune-mediated peripheral neuropathy (1,2). Additional investigation of the characteristics and causes of PIN is under way.

Whether compressed-air devices are being used for pig-brain extraction in other slaughterhouses or processing facilities, in the USA or internationally, is unknown. Clinicians should provide CDC with information regarding swine slaughterhouse workers who might have illnesses similar to PIN, including patients with peripheral neuropathy, myelopathy, or features of both. Clinicians who identify such patients should report the cases to their state health department and contact CDC at 770-488-7100.

References

1. Quattrini A. Inflammatory neuropathies. Neurol Sci 2005; 26: S6.
2. Tatsumoto M, Koga M, Gilbert M, et al. Spectrum of neurological diseases associated with antibodies to minor gangliosides GM1b and GalNAc-GD1a. J Neuroimmunol 2006; 177: 201-8.

Box: Working case definition for PIN among swine slaughterhouse workers

Epidemiologic criterion: - participation in or close exposure to commercial or private swine slaughtering operations. Clinical criteria: - new onset of bilateral and relatively symmetric flaccid weakness/paralysis of the limbs, with or without involvement of cranial nerve innervated muscles. - new onset of decreased or absent deep tendon reflexes at least in affected limbs. Diagnostic criteria: - electrodiagnostic studies consistent with axonal or demyelinating peripheral neuropathic features in affected limbs and not attributed to an underlying chronic disease condition. - neuroimaging consistent with radiculitis, myelitis, or encephalitis. - cerebrospinal fluid protein level greater than 45 mg/dL (with or without pleocytosis). Exclusion criterion: - identification of an alternative etiology for clinical or diagnostic findings. Case classification: - confirmed case: meets epidemiologic criterion, meets both clinical criteria, and has electrodiagnostic studies consistent with axonal or demyelinating features. - probable case: meets epidemiologic criterion, at least one clinical criterion, and at least one diagnostic criterion. -possible case: meets epidemiologic criterion, and at least one clinical criterion.

-- communicated by: ProMED-mail rapporteur Brent Barrett

[The AP piece states that the compressed air system has been used for 10 years but previous posts have stated that the system was recently installed.

The CDC report, which gives a name to the process, clearly states that respiratory personal protective equipment was not used and also provides a working case definition and more specific information regarding the clinical cases and the case-control study.

No additional information is given regarding etiology, but it remains likely that this is not directly infectious in etiology. - Mod.LL]

[see also: Undiagnosed neuro. synd., porcine plant workers - USA (02): (IN, MN) 20080129.0366 Undiagnosed neuro. synd., porcine plant workers - USA: (IN, MN) 20080118.0226

2007

Undiagnosed neuro. synd., porcine plant workers - USA: (MN), RFI 20071204.3915]

.................ll/mj/sh

I'm sure this'll fail too.

I listen to the Sandbox every morning, even though I hate those DJs. Didn't really know what the hell was going on with Henry. Check out Universal Hub and the links to this story that eventually lead to Ken Jennings' message board. Nice.

I have a big day tomorrow at work and I'm just sitting up waiting for it to snow and hoping that I don't have to go to work. A ton of schools are already closed, including some colleges and universities, but not mine. Hurry up snow, it's already 2am.

Oh yeah, I was pissed earlier that I missed the season opener of Rock of Love 2 but hey it's on again now. Guess I'm staying up at least another hour.

One of the chicks is from Beauty and the Geek. What's up w/ that?

I just subscribed, yay!

but it's a video podcast.

Sorry, but I warned you. So if you wanna click here

Randy's old guitar teacher, Derrick, was just on the news for a segment talking about the popularity of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. When we lived in Brighton and were dating Randy was taking lessons from him and Randy had a little recital one time and I went to listen and met Derrick. Randy played 'Hey Bulldog.' I think I also went to some open mic thing Derrick did or maybe it was to see him in a band, can't quite remember, it's a very vague memory from several years ago.

Anyway, Facebook is in the news and it's not a good thing.

Here's an article about the growing campus of Emmanuel College, my alma mater. I graduated in 1998 so I was there when it was only women and I guess no money, not many students or faculty or equipment or opportunity, etc. I had my reasons for going there that were specific to my situation. I transferred there from a HUGE university, University at Buffalo, and for several reasons just needed a change.

My decision to go there turned out really well for me and I'd say one of the biggest reasons was the location, and as I said in the title of this post, it's still the same location.

I started working at Brigham & Women's Hospital while still a student there. I just had to walk down the street and I was there, very convenient. So many opportunities in the Longwood Medical Area even before Merck was on campus. I ended up working at BWH after graduating and was exposed to several different labs all in that area.

Now I've been through grad school and now my postdoc and had to go back to Emmanuel as an invited speaker to their biology honors society induction. In my lovely speech, which I had that on tape, it'd be a big YouTube hit, I tried to emphasize that Emma was in a great location with lots of opportunities that I was fortunate enough to take advantage of and I stressed to these students that they should too. Who knows if anyone listened to me, or already knew, or didn't care...

I guess my point is that before Merck, Emma was in a great location, so would work for some students like me I guess. Regardless they needed money and now they have that so maybe it's better I guess. I do know they offer more in the bio dept. know, have more classes, more faculty and probably better equipment which from experience I know they needed.

Not sure what else I have to say so Bye.