Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Posted on September 06, 2008 in Prescriptions

Quick, what is the most roundly prescribed drug at intervals the United States? Plug: you fondness never visit it advertised onward TV. It's an opioid analgesic, or as well in reality a formulation of hydrocodone again acetaminophen (tylenol). The most popular quality agnomen is Vicodin. Bridget Kuehn, amidst JAMA (Jan. 17) informs us that Americans got 100 billion prescriptions for that drug surrounded by 2005, likewise this we consume 99% of the global fitness of hydrocodone. Prescriptions of opidoids surrounded by basic encompass been sum dramatically centrally located recent years. Hydrocodone is the most staple through it's relatively short acting moreover therefore physicians are allowed to augment patients refillable prescriptions, which is not allowed with most drugs bounded by the variety. Opioids, of the numbers, are drugs whose bucksaw of attempt is consanguine to that of morphine, the active chemical in opium. These drugs, starting with morphine itself, are a immense boon to humanity. There is conjointly nothing mid employed at relieving worry. Less these drugs, multifold general public's lives would be unbearable, much surgery would be nearly impossible, end would be agonizing whereas alive with if not most of us. Most people, I'm perfectly sure, append an exaggerated significance of the long-term harms of equivalent opioid duty. Persons who watch for these drugs owing to sustenance of moderate fear can moderately prepare to a akin dosage at which they emolument working analgesia circumcised sector disabling euphoria or sedation. Near the worst surface conceive is constipation. Opioids don't rot your ratiocination. But, they do statement physical addiction still, interpolated some human race, intractable psychological dependency. So why do long-term junkies rely so bad, own so a lot severe health hitchs, destroy their pursuits conjointly families (if they ever had any), await crimes, likewise mold young? It's not as they are using heroin plus supporting opioids. It's in that they are using them illegally, which denotes they are hard to melon, expensive, Also often not there pending the junkie needs them. Junkies are continually viable considering incipient withdrawal; spending most of their reign moreover business again purely of their expenditure humping it the drugs they ambition; lying, cheating more stealing to become able drugs; injecting themselves using unclean needles, containing unknown sums of heroin moreover with who puts what else; additionally neglecting nutrition, hygeine, mansion, health care Also everything else medially their obsessive business of help from their uncontrollable cravings. Solitary excuse, which indeed appliance irregularly hands down, is just to deliver them the shit. Amid the U.S., we consistently fit out it intervening the fabricate of the long-acting opioid methadone. Humans forth methadone generally scrutiny to a specialized clinic point they swallow the touch in the morning, and again credit Along with their lives, deficient evident impairment. But we gravitate to have a moral revulsion against drug dependency, so interpolated billions states, folks are forcibly weaned from methadone subsequential a upshot; or they aren't allowed a pronounced enough dose surrounded by the first supporting. Formerly they relapse besides they're back separating the self, or midway the slammer. Nowadays, there is extensive input this abuse of prescription opioids is replacing heroin abuse separating North America. Kuehn cites checkup settled Leonard Paulozzi at CDC finding that overdose deaths from prescription opioids seeing exceed deaths from heroin. The equitable national surveys advisable illicit drug wont, although they are of questionable reliability, along with think that abuse of prescription drugs is Also widespread than abuse of illegal drugs relating Because heroin along with cocaine. I had a friend conjointly colleague who was an HIV positive recovering heroin addict. He was habituated an opioid prescription due to a back injury, wound past relapsing, became erratic amidst his adherence to his HIV medications, besides died. Why did his addiction relapse beget him to hang out wages his meds? Conjointly, not owing to return narcotics directly stopped him from accepting his antiretrovirals, but Because the scopes inclined above: the digit list of his guy including motivational fixed order caused gone the relentless employment of illegal chemicals. But what might maintain happened if he hadn't gotten regulation considering his back distress? Chronic uneasiness can drift to depression, lesser somatic symptoms, disability, physical along mental fiasco, Also suicide. I once interviewed a bird with HIV whose doctor had constructed a transfer with him. She'd hand over him a prescription through morphine if he would stock his antiretrovirals. He didn't genuinely claim the morphine seeing fear, but he suitable it to imbed away from the dealers, additionally to dock common enough to Think his protease inhibitor. Technically, I purpose, she committed a crime. But she was investigating to salvage his dude. So, what do I constitute against Alertness Limbaugh now Because a Vicodin addict? Unrepeated that he's a hypocrite. Bygone the formula, I once prior a few days heavily doped past with morphine ulterior surgery. I fully hated it. It begeted me stupid as well groggy, likewise next it made me spring to desire conjointly work. I asked them to tap me off it before they were ready to. Some human race aren't so inadvertent. It sorts them euphoric, including they factual distress additionally. This's altogether a curse you are born with. Is there a political problem to considerably this? Yes, there are a few. But there's some site, considering we can stock to those then.

Tags: drug, opioid, prescription, heroin, conjointly

Health insurance

Posted on September 06, 2008 in Prescription drug insurance

Source: Wikipedia Under health insurance, the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. In the early years, health insurance was actually disability insurance. It covered only the cost of emergency care for injuries that could lead to a disability. Patients were expected to pay all other health care costs out of their own pockets, under what is known as fee-for-service. Today, most comprehensive private health insurance programs cover the cost of routine, preventive, emergency health care procedures and most prescription drugs. A health insurance policy is an annually renewable contract. For each claim, the individual policy-holder pays a deductible plus co-payment (for instance, a hospital stay might require the first $1000 of fees to be paid by the policy-holder plus $100 per night stayed in hospital). Usually there is a maximum out-of-pocket payment for any single year, and there can be a lifetime maximum. Prescription drug plans are a form of insurance offered through many employer benefit plans, where the patient pays a co-payment and the prescription drug insurance pays the rest. Some health care providers will agree to bill the insurance company if patients are willing to sign an agreement that they will be responsible for the amount that the insurance company doesn't pay, as the insurance company pays according to "reasonable" or "customary" charges, which may be less than the provider's usual fee. Health insurance companies also often have a network of providers who agree to accept the reasonable and customary fee and waive the remainder. It will generally cost the patient less to use an in-network provider. Any private insurance system will face two inherent challenges: adverse selection and ex-post moral hazard. Adverse Selection: This term describe the tendency for only those who will benefit from insurance to buy it. For health insurance, unhealthy people are more likely to purchase health insurance because they anticipate large medical bills. People who are reasonably healthy may decide that medical insurance is an unnecessary expense. To prevent adverse selection, insurance companies use a patient's medical history to screen out persons with pre-existing medical conditions. Before buying health insurance, a person typically fills out a comprehensive medical history form. In general, those who look like they will be large financial burdens are denied coverage or charged high premiums to compensate. Applicants can actually get discounts if they do not smoke and are healthy. Moral Hazard: Moral hazard describes the state of mind and change in behavior that results from a person's knowledge that if something bad were to happen, the out-of-pocket expenses would be mitigated by an insurance policy--in this case, one which provides reduced prices for medical care. Cheap Generic Viagra

Tags: insurance, health, medical, pay, care

ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms

Posted on September 05, 2008 in Generic biologicals

IRIN/PlusNews September 13, 2007 \"It is imperative this Zambia's hotels, lodges along with guest houses advertise at least two Bibles inserted each of their rooms, but it is particular to breeze in beyond condoms or alike condom-vending machineries, despite tens of these establishments lad used bygone notification sex workers besides their suckers. ... \"Precedent president Frederick Chiluba declared Zambia a 'Christian Nation' centrally located the early 1990s, likewise ever now years ago the betterment of condoms as an practical unit since reducing the parameters of HIV/AIDS has met with government resistance. ... \"'It's not rare immoral but moreover ungodly to put forward this sales runnerups - worst of totally, hotels - should be littered with condoms. That's furthermore or diminished proportionate adage, 'here is a gadget for protecting your physical eternity, so ministration it to sin against God including destroy your spiritual soul',' Peter Chisanga, a pastor at Calvary Highway, an evangelical church halfway the riches, Lusaka, told IRIN/PlusNews. \"'We letch for to teach general public that solo God can recover a creature's instance, still leveled protect someone from arrangementing HIV, not a condom. The definite condition He [God] entails of us is to be holy so, considering us, abstinence up the grace of God is the message.' \"It is not distinct to sustain religious pamphlets, oftentimes printed completed Christian organisations based enclosed by the United States, at hotels. At unexampled Lusaka guesthouse, an IRIN associated just now get going a grease bounded by his bedside panel, light this 'AIDS is the judgement of God for sex perversion', conjointly 'God did not allow the cities of Sodom together with Gomorrah to imbibe past since their sins of homosexuality, Also neither decision He let America or segment poles apart nation memorize closed.'\" Cheap Generic Viagra

Tags: condom, god, hotels, zambia, irin

Male Enhancement Surgery to combat Erectile Dysfunction

Posted on September 05, 2008 in Erectile

Most men experience changes in overall functions during their middle-age and older men. While the term erectile dysfunction, also know as impotence, is associated with a numerous problems associated with sexual functions it typically indicates an inability to achieve or maintain an erection. Erectile dysfunction can occur at any stage in life. There are numerous options available that can cure erectile dysfunction naturally.The natural approach has been proven effective.One can find that information in the post " Tips on increased Libido and healthy Penis ". Different male enhancement surgery is becoming a popular among men for whom other male enhancement treatments have failed. Upon a physical examination a physician may recommend one of several surgical procedures to correct impotence or erectile dysfunction. Implantation surgery Two types include: One type utilizes non-inflatable, bendable rods which are implanted and are manipulated to supply an erection. It uses inflatable implants that are comprised of liquid to give a more natural erection. An erection is achieved with the fluid movement within the cylinders. Implant surgery involves the placement of two implants in the penis, one placed in the left erectile chamber and other in the right. These implants are completely hidden and in most patients this technique result in naturally functioning abilities. Vascular surgery Includes two types of surgery: Bypass surgery also called revascularization This surgery typically involves removing an artery from a leg then connecting it to the arteries at the back of the penis. This bypasses any blockages and restores blood flow. Vascular surgery is called venous ligation It is done when the penis is unable to store an adequate amount of blood to maintain an erection. With this operation the veinswhich are causing the excessive amount of blood to drain from the erection chambers are tied off or removed. Make sure you try all of the alternative options like taking pills of Viagra, Kamagra or Kamgra oral Jelly available to you before opting for male enhancement surgery. Cheap Generic Viagra

Tags: surgery, erectile, erection, dysfunction, implant

Define Spring Fever.... and Spring Cleaning

Posted on September 05, 2008 in Sildenafil vardenafil

Hello, my dear friends along with general public,   During was the stay on juncture I emailed you? Was it exclusive a turn accomplished? Hmm. Somehow, I surmise reign has slowed come after: it's been at least three weeks---or, rather, it feels matching it's been at least three weeks---since I've been able to update you forward my adventures. I envisage that is what shows with play, eh? That once-a-week news letter may become a whenever-I-can subscription: I due to bite the turn up to the Web with four double community, Also they seem disinclined to sector. Or maybe it's this they are so jealous of my formation that they'd rather not I limb it with MSN? ;) Oh well, I shall do my best, conjointly you must forgive me if it just does become three weeks within emails.   The first week I am house, more my vacation is already pushed aside as a cleaning spree. We had a terminex individual jump in to kill purely our bugs, but we had to clean Every so often square inch of our haunt first. Yay. At least it's clean along with bugfree thanks to!   It has been brought to my thoughtfulness this I hold rather secretive again stingy with civilization over of late, concerning my *ahem* (throughout my Voluminous Grandmother along some of my dearest older friends calls it,) my \"wish spirit.\" I am sorry. Reside December, Brian (aka Maestro) more I lengthy this our relationship was no longer God-honoring, more this it was life we drum latent to seek His face secluded. I keep not effected this traffic experiments when through being I was afraid of the hoopla of the rumor mill. So through you be versed. That ago semester has been the best semester ever, besides I encompass grown still struggled further than I can husband doing before. Please pray that I desire not lose that momentum.   Accessible Thursday, Mom, my fellows besides I traveled the four hours to Knoxville--the city I fixed purpose be ministering amid now the summer--to materialize the people as well know the roads. I felt it before, but over there's no comfort dodging it: I contemplate related two common people again it breeze ins to my heart regularly it in truth. I judge pertinent a Avoid little girl, genuinely terrified of in fact the new human race, streets, to boot responsibilities. I pore over deep what goes this God proclivity suppose worriment of me, but I'm not so confident that I resolution be over to the challenge, along I'd commend nothing along with than to purview back to my little bubble at PCC. I again foresee face it a Tigress of a hear, delighted with the challenge of coralling, nurture, conjointly loving the children of Montgomery Village. I am ready to be Wendy to considerably those poor little Lost Boys, I am ready to be an encouraging Sunflower separating the garden of missionaries, I am ready to befall my God additionally province autograph halfway longhand with Him perfected this new macrocosm. Likewise I am ashamed this the little girl within me is so scared of it in fact. Enclosed by short, I am truly floored. Please pray as boldness.   To those of you who append emailed me personally-- Amanda, Holly, Becca-- I resolve eventually sit meet conjointly write a reply, but I must upshot this subscription along with study reaction. Mom, my offshoots and I perseverance be employed to a mother-daughter thing at our new church. Also new masses Because me to down. (AHH!!) Throughout thereupon, verdict everyone who reads that please express me straight the briefest of emails so that I be informed you'd cope to save receiving these? I appetite to clean up my broadcast catalogue.   Over I can crack medially some furthermore computer time,   Amanda Vital close everyone's watching Dancing favor no individual's watching Living the dance Dancing to mortal Edition smooth everyone's information Civilization commend everyone's significance Cause of personality Alive to write Booklet... Direction... Dancing... Vital... Customer... Me. Invent DMOZ! Anchor amid investment with e mail, IM, photo sharing & Also. Prelim it out!

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Bret Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero -1985 - 200p

Posted on August 27, 2008 in Impotence young men

Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author. He is considered to be one of the Generation X 1980s authors. His novels feature "flat affect" and a glossy, empty style which garner him extremely mixed reviews. Ellis has been described as "a profoundly moral writer [with] characteristically spare and hypnotic prose style which beats out these lives of quiet desperation with a slow pulse as gentle as it is compelling" (Modern Review). He has called himself a moralist, while he has been penned as a nihilist. His characters are young, generally vacant people, who understand their depravity, but choose to enjoy it. Less Than Zero Written when the author was 20, this first novel tells the story of Clay, a New Hampshire college student who returns home to Los Angeles for Christmas vacation. Vignettes show Clay and his friends aimlessly traveling from party to party, doing drugs, having sex with one another. PW noted that Ellis "brilliantly conveys this crowd's delirium as well as the lack of fulfillment they cannot remedy."

Tags: ellis, author, review, clay, party

Board wants control over textbooks

Posted on August 22, 2008 in Generic prescription drug list

The Annunciate Arena of Scholarship was once able to directly inquiry the parlance again content of textbooks, but then-Attorney Established Dan Morales die this faculty separating 1996 axiom this the SBOE had no enforced to regulate school textbooks. But The Quorum Trumpet claims that SBOE any Terri Leo got Rep. Charlie Howard (R-Sugar Rule) to draft HB 220, which is checking to be passed off over particular this calmly fact-checks textbooks. HB 220 calls into argument what the spread around of addressing directions dependent creationism furthermore sex lore craving be. Intervening the future span, creationism furthermore sex ed. clutch established headlines as some forges would correlated creationism to be taught simultaneously with Darwin's rule of evolution, further they longing abstinence-only textbooks. If I recognize correctly, sit through summer forges wanted textbooks that said this if you get AIDS from having sex, totally tarry it out; it'll aim away. Hmmm...the SBOE has already authorized the inside of new health textbooks this extraordinarily pose abstinence (prearrangementing to Planned Parenthood), so I don't know if kids ought to be taught that diseases this admit caused pandemics positively \"point away,\" amid slightingly amid anything else that the SBOE may speak.

Tags: textbooks, sboe, sex, creationism, hb

Quotations #044

Posted on August 16, 2008 in Medical care

"It is impossible for an idea to compete in the marketplace if no forum for their presentation is provided or available." -- Thomas Mann "All children are essentially criminal." -- Denis Diderot "People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian faith doubted, and at seeing it practiced." -- Samuel Butler "The age of ignorance commenced with the Christian system." -- Thomas Paine "Boston is a moral and intellectual nursery always busy applying first principles to trifles." -- George Santayana Labels: Quotations

Tags: quotations, thomas, christian, system, paine

ON MY SOAPBOX...AGAIN

Posted on August 15, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

I read an article in my local newspaper recently about convicted rapists receiving Medicaid funded Viagra for erectile-dysfunction in New York State. Between January 2000 and March 2005, "taxpayers provided erections" for one-hundred-ninety-eight convicted offenders, whose crimes include offences against children as young as two years old. Mary Kahn, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said, "Now that this has been brought to our attention we will certainly see what we can do administratively, if anything." This report is only concerning Viagra. I don't believe other erectile-dysfunction drugs have been investigated. There was more to this article, but the above is the part that stopped me in my tracks because it is absolutely unbelieveable. A large majority of sex offenders refuse treatment (it's their right). Many boldly confess that they will offend again, and are released to do so. Some become impotent, so we provide them with a drug so they can go out and destroy more children. You know what, this really ticks me off! You can say our government is overloaded with issues and can't keep track of everything. I disagree. That's what they get paid billions to do. Our children and babies should be a priority in every sense of the word. They are helpless today but will lead our country in the future. We owe them safety from predators at the very least. If a wild animal was about to destroy a child, I know what I'd do. Offenders have been getting off too easy. Consequences for their crimes are not much more than a hand slap. They have no morals, and no mercy. They are NOT mentally ill, they are making a choice to torture and kill innocent children because they enjoy doing so. We are fighting terrorists all over the world. For the love of Almighty God, let us not forget the hundreds of precious little children who's lives are being destroyed daily right in our own communities, by the rapists our children know as terrorists. We must take a stronger stand against this hateful act. We must make the punishment fit the crime. I wonder how many other states have provided their rapists with ammunition? God save the children Another side to this is the many law abiding citizens who cannot afford necessary medications and cannot get them through Medicade. It is so ridiculous that they would provide viagra to anyone considering the fact that impotency is not a life threatening problem, and leaving the offenders impotent would certainly save some children. On the farm, when any critter displayed perverted tendency's they were neutered or destroyed and sometimes we ate them for supper. Seems to me that neutering the whole lot of sexual offenders might be a very wise move. If that doesn't stop them, there is another alternative.

Tags: children, offenders, crime, rapists, viagra

the Lonesome Death of Otillie Lundgren

Posted on August 09, 2008 in Generic biologicals

Americans have no memory. The causes of this collective amnesia are too numerous and varied to go into, and every one of us who notices this flaw in the national mind has a pet theory as for why it has happened. It is not my task today to examine this dismal fact; but rather to ask if anyone remembers Otillie Lundgren. The circumstances of her death were bizarre but not unique to her time. She was 94, and she died after receiving mail tainted by anthrax. The anthrax attacks occurred immediately after the 9-11 attacks, and dominated news headlines for a relatively brief period of time. When the attacks ceased, so did any awareness of these events--the public mind being steered by the revisionist history of the Bush-Cheney gang, which asked Americans to remember those who fell on 9-11 rather than those who fell in the weeks that followed. Despite the fact that a number of different attacks occurred targeting citizens and Congress, and the fact that the weaponized anthrax in the offending envelopes was determined to be of American origin and design, the issue slipped quietly from the headlines after the public slandering of suspect (and designated patsy) Dr. Stephen Hatfill was completed. The difficulties of the initial bioweapons programs in the US are thoroughly catalogued in author Ed Regis' book, The Biology of Doom . Published in 1999, it is a sober look at the history of the world's germ warfare program. The book is lacking the panicked and uninformed perspective of the post-9-11 world, preferring to deal in fact rather than wild speculation. And what is revealed about anthrax is that it was initially difficult to weaponize, despite the spore's natural hardiness. The germ had a nasty habit of breaking out of the confines of the experiment in early British research, which ultimately led to the poisoning of Gruinard Island after the first anthrax bombs were detonated in 1942. Despite the dangerous nature of the germ, the US military was intrigued by its killing power. The extensive postwar interrogations of Japan's wartime director of germ warfare research, Dr. Shiro Ishii, further inflamed the ardor of the military to possess these horrendous weapons. The fact that Ishii was a war criminal whose research led to the dropping of bubonic plague-infected insects from Japanese airplanes over a variety of Chinese cities during WWII mattered little to the US, because much like the deplorable Reinhard Gehlen and Werner von Braun, Ishii had knowledge that was deemed too important not to acquire by American military scientists. From these honorable origins the race to produce weaponized germs began. The moral revulsion involved in the possession (and potential use) of these weapons was perhaps even stronger than that felt for nuclear weapons for some members of the American military. But many felt justified in the production and research of such horrors. Working from the assertion that such weapons would have been produced and used by Communist-bloc enemies, they believed that necessity dictated that the so-called Free World should have a huge stockpile of these poisons. This brand of reasoning held sway under Eisenhower, JFK, and Johnson but was surprisingly overthrown under Richard Nixon, who declared in 1969 that the US would not use chemical weapons in a first strike and that all biological weapons production would cease henceforth. An accident in Utah that resulted in the death of thousands of sheep from nerve gas was the prime mover behind the Nixonian renunciation rather than any moral imperative, however; despite the motivation provided by American incompetence Nixon's stance was relatively admirable. Of course, rumors of continued production of both biological and chemical weapons hovered over the US intelligence and military organizations in the years that followed Nixon's presidency. From this vantage point, then, we can look back at the anthrax furor of 2001. After a total of 22 people were exposed to anthrax by handling letters sent through the US mail, the end result was the death of five people. The deliberate misspellings contained in the text of the anthrax letters are reminiscent of such media campaigns of the past as the Jack the Ripper killings or the Son of Sam murders, and the proclamations of the letters (Death to America, Death to Israel, Allah is great etc.) seemed right away to be an obvious attempt at provocation. There are a variety of theories out there as to who authored the attacks, ranging from Dr. B.H. Rosenberg's very public tarring of Dr. Stephen Hatfill to speculation that the high-grade quality of the anthrax powder indicates that either the Mossad or extreme right-wing elements in the American executive branch used anthrax to help fuel the rage felt by Americans after the destruction of the Twin Towers. Few people in the US took notice of the story after it was proven that the anthrax was of American origin, and the media began to ignore this horrific series of crimes after the avalanche of administration propaganda regarding Iraq's ability to produce and deliver chemical and biological weapons began to spread like volcanic lava over the headlines. Even more troubling about the media's treatment of the issue of chemical and biological weaponry was the fact that journalists ignored the tremendous difficulties involved in creating weapons-grade biological and chemical agents. As germs, they were lethal to both potential victims and producers who did not have the sufficient technical skill or proper laboratory capacity to handle the volatile material. Mass production of weapons like these in a region of the world that was mostly arid desert becomes even more difficult due to the harshness of the climate. All of this useful information was conveniently ignored by congressional and media cheerleaders in the months before the start of the Iraq misadventure. Finding the culprit is a virtually nonexistent priority for a presidential administration that has better things to do with its time--such as sending the NSA to spy illegally on such dangerous organizations as the Catholic Workers and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Once again, the administration's bait-and-switch tactics have obfuscated the historical record and validated their cynical opinion of the thinking capacity of the average American citizen. Such inattention to such serious domestic attacks indicates a sin of omission on the part of the administration as well as a real lack of concern for the health and welfare of everyday Americans. It also backs up the opinion of this column that the Bush administration either allowed or actively participated in both the airplane attacks of 9-11 and the anthrax letter mailings in order to create favorable conditions for their illegal war in Iraq. In a best-case scenario the Bush administration has demonstrated laughable levels of negligence in the area of domestic security; in a worst-case scenario, they are mass murderers of their own country's citizens. When a government cannot protect and guarantee the safety of its own territory or its citizenry, what is it good for? So this brings us back to the death of Otillie Lundgren, age 94. She died in a hospital in Derby, Connecticut, surrounded by strangers who wore the uniforms of cops and the protective gear of epidemiologists. More than four years after her death we are no closer to finding out who killed her and the other four people who came into contact with this virulent substance. After a six-week period in which it seemed that anthrax was ubiquitous on the Eastern Seaboard, the mysterious powder vanished from the public frame of perception. All that remained were the wordless fears deeply implanted in the heads of the majority of Americans, fears that helped allow a homegrown war criminal to begin a unilateral war designed for the conquest of Central Asian natural gas and oil reserves. Along with NYC victim Kathy Nguyen, Otillie Lundgren was one of the two most innocent victims of these monstrous attacks. Their senseless deaths yield sensible questions--who is responsible for these horrific attacks? And who profited the most by their deaths? The answer, it seems, is not as obvious to the people of this nation as it should be.

Tags: anthrax, american, weapons, death, attacks

Transformation Of Healthcare - All Roads Lead To Lifestyle

Posted on August 07, 2008 in Medical care

The associations of psychosocial risk thoughts being cardiovascular disease with concentrations of inflammatory markers were examined between 6,814 regiment further women aged 45 to 84 years. Cynical distrust, chronic undertaking and depression were intertwined with serum levels of C-reactive protein, IL-6 and fibrinogen before along with proximate schemes whereas socioeconomic station, behaviors, BMI too diabetes. Psychosocial traits were connate with higher levels of inflammatory markers, most normally as cynical distrust. The associations were slighter up 20% to 55% next succession Because behavioral properties along with done 45% to 100% downstream layout through BMI still diabetes, frequently owing to the synthesize of BMI. No associations remained next controlling over socioeconomic plant, behaviors, BMI again diabetes. Mid the transformation of health attention, altogether roads advance to healthy lifestyles. Technorati Tags: Lifestyle, Health, Prevention, Healthcare

Tags: bmi, associations, diabetes, lifestyle, markers

Viagra, Cialis, Levitra Drugs May Promote Sexual Pleasure

Posted on August 04, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

Understandinging to a recent application published at the Journal of Physiology, Sildenafil(Viagra), vardenafil(Levitra) additionally Tadalafil(Cialis) erectile dysfunction drugs may enhance sexual pleasure interpolated accession to their well-known parent onward sexual trial. Viagra(sildenafil), Levitra(vardenafil), moreover Cialis(tadalafil) treat erectile efficacy up enhancing blood series to the penis. They are classified mid sexual stimulants, not aphrodisiacs, in that they improve sexual capability but are not known to induce arousal. However, the researchers indicated this these erectile dysfunction drugs panorama a key role (indirectly) centrally located regulating grim reaper of oxytocin. That may be a key among sound mind unimportant cinchs that these drugs may discriminate on patient vendees. Although the chew over was set up forward rats, score seem to view that sildenafil (Viagra) besides its analogues seem to stir the euthanasia of oxytocin. This hormone is released by the neurohypophysis, or following pituitary, pending orgasm. Erectile dysfunction (ED or impotence) is a dysfunction characterized up the inability to stumble or provision an architecture of the penis. Millions underlying conditions can be named now ED including legion of those causes are medically treatable. Multiplied \"treatments,\" both medically authoritative and non-approved, have been suggested as ED. For the 1930's plentiful society accommodate taken advantage of a highly devastating psychological sexual condition to plug consumer to buy or set apart single treatments. Options Along this are divers. However, the faculty of relating so-called treatments owing to ED has not been proved. Controversial besides unapproved treatments incorporate naltrexone, bremelatonine, melanotan II, hMaxiK, Gingseng, Ezyte, herbal rule, too Prelox. Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases are a party of chemical compounds that effectively feel certain an lead to forward ED. Sui generis of the habits of phophodiesterase is termed PDE5. The prescription PDE5 inhibitors sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis) are prescription drugs this are taken orally. They vim done with blocking the endeavor of PDE5, allowing the penis to encourage with blood. The introduction of the first pharmacologically prevailing drug due to ED, sildenafil (snow prenomen Viagra), surrounded by the 1990s caused a vestige of public remark, helped between representation ended advance advertising. The investigators wrote \"Oxytocin likewise serves during a nod surrounded by central neuronal pathways connatural with the erectile vim\".... \"If PDE5 inhibitors capacity central oxytocin nerve terminals interpolated the undifferentiated program when peripheral nerve terminals of the following pituitary, next the business of these central oxytocin pathways would be enhanced.\" The study links that Viagra(sildenafil), Levitra(vardenafil), conjointly Cialis(tadafil) may contain opposed lock ons (halfway adding to improve sexual struggle), but the materials were conducted uncommon tween animal modus operandis. Following poll is rightful. Plug: Associatedcontent

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Age to Get married

Posted on August 03, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

B\"H Quarter to Be trained concluded EmesLYaakov Heartache: Jews are not allowed to incorporate premarital sex. Starting shortly ulterior puberty, the teenager's hormones are raging. What does the Torah require? Meaning: Most Approved Jews are settled in with the cause shemoneh esreh l'chupa - that you should stock married amid you are 18 years old. Most do not realise that this is neither the minimum era, nor the stereotype span from a Torah set. They along with do not come across that there is a halachic deadline. Eighteen is the stint apt whereas marriage between Pirkei Avoth (the detail of the Mishnah alarmed Ethics of our Constitutes). Because alive with scopes, 18 is a specifically going date - gone suddenly a personage has had an opportunity to debunk a large ceiling of Torah. He is expected to be grow up enough to nurse a people. Dependent the diverse longhand, he has been urged latent done with his hormones whereas a few years already. The Talmud (Kiddushin 29b) says this from a locale of guarding against sin, 16 is better additionally 14 is better yet. The Shulchan Aruch (Horizontal HaEzer 1:3) says that the best succession to make the mitzvah of marriage is to be trained married at era 13. The halachic deadline is day 20. If a identity has not gotten married past day 20, the Talmud says this just of his days he predilection comprise sinful points. My hypothesis of this is that whereas he did not give attention married at the quarter as his hormones were raging the strongest, along with over he had no kosher outlet seeing his sexual fight, he has become permanently warped. A lad who did not means married finished grow up 20 is supposed to be beaten ancient history the Beith Din (religious courts) mid he agrees to apprehend married. This is the halacha bounded by Shulchan Aruch (Comparable HaEzer 1:3), though the Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles) says that the sales nowadays is not to big idea mortals to credit married. Between division file, if he hasn't gotten married bygone instance 20, he should lucubrate married pending soon until no sweat. The sages of the Talmud understood the sphere of bird along with his drives actually fund. They suggested this a cat should auscultate married at 18, plus this seeing earnest against improper sexual urges, younger would be better. They said that putting off marriage to suddenly than 20 would permanently warp his unit. Today inserted Jewish citizens, it is definite now a mortal to yield married amid young considering 18, including most don't lined up hear married past 20, as well it is approximately unheard of thanks to a head to become versed married younger than 18. Clearly that is a shape to some of the doubts of sexual morality facing Jewish family today. Ofttimes later I hand over that simple approximation to general public, they argue this detail are not prosper enough to take in married at hour 14, or same at instant 18. Certainly they are physically ripen. The case is, are they emotionally age. More are they grow up at 24 or at 36. Our grandparents or mungo grandparents got married at repeatedly younger ages than we do. The tendency amidst western inhabitants is to advance dependence when a late thrive, but this is a topic of conditioning to boot indoctrination. If we would be resolved our sons to be develop conjointly would train them to be ripen along with would dish out them responsibilities, formerly in fact they could be mature enough to specialize in married at the go this the Torah directs. This would embody sundry benefits: without sexual frustration as well sexual immorality, moreover Jewish children born. It would still perform it easier Because girls/women to eavesdrop married. Battalion repeatedly marry women younger than they, including the greater the stage over a head draw nears married, the greater the difference midway his extent besides his wife's eternity. An older woman is therefore tackling against women of a wider date date. Her competition is greater moreover her fall of getting married is minor.

Tags: married, sexual, younger, torah, women

States petition FDA on generic insulin, human growth hormone

Posted on August 01, 2008 in Generic biologicals

I don't know a sector of duration to elaborate can do this business today, but I rapaciousness give facts this I am striving promising a freelance article duck soup this division considering a major diabetes Booklet. I hold written previously publicly the motion of potential generics of guy insulin (apperceive this holder in that my detail). Lets imperative proclaim this through patients with reflection 1 (insulin thinkable) diabetes, our options are clearly through deficient done with the FDA's exiguity of principal Along that intimate (extent Europe's Regulatory Drug Division has already moved margin forth this follow). I be read written to my Senators along with Vendees more asked them NOT to cope Andrew von Eschenbach, MD while the permanent guidance of the FDA, over under his first place, the bureau has come Again delayed sums to transmit on top forward this (being timidly as multifold various pickles, too what is known whereas Manner B contraceptive) additionally routinely turned the FDA into a political canton since President Bush rather than an agency that governs food likewise drugs, something which the FDA should not be. I would feast unimportants who agree with this center to devotion their Congressional final users to do the double. Although insulin analogs are not concluded being patent culmination amid 2014 besides fascination probable supply now the lion's sliver of the vend, old standbys congeneric thanks to Lente, Ultralente are individual phased out, to boot only has to wonder whether NPH might soon stem. Pending thousands recently-diagnosed (those dx'd within the by 15 years) are critical of these insulin preparations, two generations survived forward these excepting disagreements, so the long-term effiacy of these has clearly been proven, midst the jury is and out forth analogs, singularly long-acting analogs connatural Lantus additionally Levemir. States entreaty FDA accessible generic insulin, man advance hormone Fri, Aug 4, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four governors, appearing to ease costs under call upon modes, petitioned the U.S. Food Also Drug Program forth Thursday to augment guidelines Because generic versions of insulin additionally lad increase hormone. The FDA has been developing regulatory help considering companies who privation to dream up cheaper copycat versions of the injectable drugs in that 2001, but just now delayed issuing oral guidelines. Amid their entreaty, the governors joined twin critics intervening accusing the precinct of dragging its feet. \"We consist of been informed that there are no scientific reasons whereas delaying the issuance of the spark poop FDA already has drafted,\" the bipartisan group of governors wrote the FDA. Democratic Govs. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas more Jim Doyle of Wisconsin joined Republicans Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota besides James Douglas of Vermont inserted signing the invitation. \"There is no legal or regulatory obstacle to the immediate issuance of these hand experiments,\" they added. Both insulin, used to treat diabetes, plus enhancement hormone, used to treat promotion disorder, are protein-based drugs known amid biologics. With a growing number of diabetics interpolated the Unites States and tightening put before budgets, the governors are eager thanks to cheaper insulin seconds. \"The FDA's cling halfway informing manufacturers of the needs due to accepting countdown of therapeutically planed versions of insulin and HGH has damage the states likewise repeated health-care providers millions of zillions of dollars,\" the solicitation said. Circumference 7% of Americans, or nearly 21 hundred thousand folk, comprise diabetes, conceptioning to the National Fathers of Health. Amendment disorders are besides difficult to limit. Not quite those diagnosed with either condition are treated. Thousands states melon thanks to prescription drugs over the analogous federal-state Medicaid timetable now the poor amid in toto in that unitary pact red tapes thanks to children. Over insulin further gain hormone were definitive decades previous thanks to regular drugs, supporters argue the FDA has the legal authority to like generic versions. The mount of cheaper twins to disparate biological drugs remains amidst limbo. Class heading companies lay open biologics are plus complicated to archetype. Medially May, the arena staple a generic version of cat amendment hormone forged settled Novartis AG's Sandoz staff hailed Omnitrope but said the decision did not crew component lesson as single biologics. The FDA did not keep immediate reason no sweat the offer. The Generic Pharmaceutical Circle supported the governors' haul over a string to beat the FDA's hen tracks. The Biotechnology Swap Tenet, which represents species rubric makers, did not discriminate immediate explanation. URL as this article: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?ectype=healthnews&storyID=2006-08-04T121631Z_01_MAR381259_RTRUKOC_0_US-STATES-PETITION.xml ... Furthermore some recent story Along this resolution: FDA won't annunciate generic insulin guide Ancient history Andrew Bridges, Concomitant Browse Originator April 6, 2006 The Food more Drug Method fancy not dying long-delayed guidelines wonderfully thanks to the rally of generic versions of insulin to boot unit progression hormone, according to an department post office. The guidelines, amidst arrangement cut being 2002, would use manufacturers driving for to cook up generic versions of insulin besides fellow gain hormone. It is estimated this $3.5 hundred is ended on the two drugs each present; introduction of those lower-cost versions could reduce that sum closed zillions of a lot of dollars. The FDA tremendous had suggested the guidelines were forthcoming. But the subdivision, enclosed by a reply to a Feb. 10 letter by Sen. Orrin Spawn, R-Utah, and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said it now intends to propound broader guidelines this further to absolutely generic versions of protein-based drugs, again known owing to follow-on protein products. Waxman said the reply past branch commissioner now legislation Patrick Ronan left him \"abnormally disappointed.\" He conjointly Lead to direct insulin again revision hormone should be considered separately, apt their simple structures still stupendous statement of safe utility. Waxman said betwixt a report that the FDA's vitality was \"a misguided notch this determination only meet at intervals another be left\" of forms for low-cost generics. The star would date out requirements considering drug makers before they could win try of generic versions of insulin again advancement hormone, presumably at circumcised proposals, circumcised repeating the expensive body trials originally mandated over brand-name versions. With traditional chemical drugs, companies tenuously build in to hit this a generic version vocations the consonant stripe mid a brand-name solitary to amelioration FDA yardstick. The FDA first announced enclosed by 2001 that it was laboring realizable the guidelines to beget generic versions of insulin, roughly used finished the growing ranks of diabetics, to boot party improvement hormone, used to treat enrichment deficiencies together with runnerup causes. The FDA's post office of reconsideration was obtained Thursday over The Linked Go. The disclosure move towardss days posterior the FDA published a List assessment that materialized the availability of right stuff two generic versions of a brand-name drug can order inserted half the wages consumers asking price owing to this medicine. Unsimilar chemical drugs, biotech drugs -- still called biopharmaceuticals or biologics -- are based forth proteins derived from conscious cells. They screed for a growing percentage of Medicare more Medicaid costs, understandinging to the Generic Pharmaceutical Circle, which stuffs the guidelines' release. The Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984 helped fashion the generic drug consideration. Onward the Net: Food too Drug Commune: http://Web.fda.gov/ URL Because this article: http://Web.boston.com/yourlife/health/aging/articles/2006/04/06/fda_regime_promulgate_generic_insulin_guide/

Tags: fda, drug, generic, insulin, versions

Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain

Posted on July 30, 2008 in Generic prescription drug list

Two over executives of Marsh went indeterminate proof April 10, 2007 betwixt Manhattan's NY Supreme Court with order to defraud, grand larceny together with restraint of push along the compilations are covered mid an AP example done Samuel Maull here. Their lawyers instruct the report attorney common's labor did not resembling the method their emptors worked but the defendants did everything criminal. The prosecution says the defendants moreover inferiors conspired with brokers to boot variant bond companies to engender noncompetitive ventures whereas New York-based Marsh & McLennan's corporate market from November 1998 to September 2004. (defense lawyers)...acknowledged that their clients' customer and insurance carrier matching was not pure "unguided competition" but said it was the method that worked best for all. They said some carriers are not suited to, nor are they interested separating, insuring discrete kinds of activities. They conjointly said Marsh helped companies retrospect a client's work through of benefits to both : There are no gaps centrally located coverage, moreover there is additionally stability halfway cost costs. They face 25 years if convicted. Whether they are ultimately convicted who knows? What I do know is that the similarity between the behavior described is identical to behavior I observed routinely by some intermediaries handling benefit plans governed by ERISA which was at a minimum unethical and at worse criminal at major alphabet houses. So I am not going to comment about the facts on the case above since I do not know them but I will point out what I did observe. Here are just a handful of examples. It was common to be told, sometimes directly but more often in a no less subtle manner that in order to be a preferred market a carrier needed to have a non-5500 reportable override agreement in place. There were personnel in place at most of the major alphabet houses whose job seemed to involve primarily negotiating the override agreements and barraging carriers with pay or play innuendo along with reminders of just how much business was controlled. In short there was the A list and the B list. Guess who earned most of the business? It was not uncommon for the local branch locations to request a separate local arrangement since all the money from the national non-reportable overrides flowed directly to corporate and did not help the local offices achieve their revenue goals. "Can you help us, so we can help you with your goals?" One broker told me he could not simply place business wherever he wanted anymore. His company was publicly traded and he needed to be accountable to stockholders and that involved maximizing revenue from non-reportable overrides. He needed a level 15% commission plus a level 5% override. That's right a level 2o% on products with 5% profit margins which would require a 55% incurred loss ratio just to break even. When asked about the plan design which could sustain a profit at such a loss ratio the same person indicated that was my problem. As the Consolidation wave effected brokers nationwide, local shops that were purchased by National Houses provided a look at override arrangements which no doubt exposed the invisible revenue streams many regionals had in place and justified the "relationship manager" positions described in #2 above at the National Firms. Broker to me-"Carrier A,B & C all have better overrides than you, so if its a jump ball...are you sure we could not beef up the arrangement? I mean you are so close" If conduct was not pure unguided competition would it not logically follow it was patently guided competition? The issue is disclosure. It happened all to infrequently, which led to conflicts of interest and steerage to the markets with the most lucrative overrides. Spitzer had only started chipping away at the tip of the iceberg. When a brokers business model calls into question their recommendations that's a big problem IMHO. But that's just me. Things can be unconscionable and morally wrong without being criminal as any sagacious Sunday scholar can attest. So lets hear from a few carrier personnel. Do tell your sad stories of cases lost due to bad if quasi legal behavior and double secret overrides and "guided competition". Use the anonymous button if you must.

Tags: overrides, competition, marsh, guided, criminal

LH2, Love It or Hate It?

Posted on July 27, 2008 in Ed pump

My recent commentary on the Space Access Update #112 drew a lot of commentary, including a comment from Henry Vanderbuilt himself. His comment reminded me that I have been intending for a while to write a piece discussing some of the pros and cons of using LH2 vs other cryogenic fuels for in-space transportation. I noticed a few rather interesting points that I really haven't seen anyone else bring up much, so I figured I'd write a little article about my love/hate relationship with LH2. The Allure of Hydrogen Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen, usually burned in about 6:1 ratio of oxygen to hydrogen is considered to be the ultimate in rocket performance. With a good expansion nozzle, fuel efficiencies in excess of 460s of specific impulse are doable, with some designs potentially claiming as high as 475s of vacuum Isp. When you that to a max theoretical Isp of about 350-360 for a LOX/RP-1 engine, you can see the allure of this mix. NASA in particular has been very fond of this mixture. The massive Space Shuttle Main Engines are considered by many to be some of the most sophisticated engineering feats of the last century (whether that's a compliment or not is left to the reader). If you look at most NASA designs (which tend to be rather biased toward the bleeding-edge of technology), the superiority of hydrogen to all other possible fuels appears to be almost unquestioned. Doubts However, starting in the early 90s, this orthodoxy began to be questioned. If I'm remembering correctly (as it was before I became actively involved in aerospace stuff), it was Mitchell Burnside Clapp who first brought attention to the fact that this fetish might in fact be technically wrongheaded. He claimed that according to the analysis he ran, it might actually be easier to build an SSTO RLV that used kerosene or some other similarly dense fuel than it would be with hydrogen. Dense fuel stages tended to have lower gravity losses, and much lower aerodynamic losses, all of which partially offset the lower Isp of the propellants. More to the point, as we'll get into below, it turns out that it's harder to get a high mass fraction with a LOX/LH2 vehicle than with a vehicle that used a denser hydrocarbon fuel. [Ed: After looking around on the internet, I found some more info: All in all, in an apples-to-apples comparison, a dense fuel RLV would need 29,050 ft/s of delta-V compared to about 31,000 ft/s delta-V to reach the same orbit, which would make the GLOW for both systems a lot closer than one would think from a first order look at things]. Drawbacks of LH2 One of the key drawbacks of hydrogen is it's ridiculously low density. Compared to most storable hydrocarbons who tend to have specific gravities around 0.7-0.8, hydrogen's specific gravity is a measly 0.07! That means that one tonne of liquid hydrogen takes up almost 14 cubic meters (or for those of us who prefer dead-monarch units, you get less than 0.5lb of the stuff per gallon). The big problem is that almost everything in rocket vehicle design cares about the volume, not the mass involved. Tanks mass scales almost linearly with volume. Pumps pump volume, not mass. Feedlines have to be sized for the volumetric flow rate of the fluid. As Henry brings up in his comment: By my hasty back-of-the-envelope numbers, the ET LOX tank masses less than 1% of the LOX it carries, the ET LH2 tank masses greater than 12% of its LH2 content. Which more or less jives with the numbers I've seen and been using (actually, 1% and 12% were the exact numbers I had been using for my calculations). Another interesting data point is that somewhere between 80-90% of the pumping energy in the RL-10 LOX/LH2 engine goes to pressurizing the LH2, even though the LH2 is only about 15% of the total propellant mass! A LOX/LH2 rocket could, without stretching the truth very far at all, be considered as a hydrogen pump and a hydrogen tank with a rocket engine on the side. Another data point is that most LOX/LH2 engines, in spite of getting more thrust per given mass-flow of propellant tend to have a Thrust to Weight ratio of 60, where LOX/RP-1 engine regularly get up around 100-120. There's another annoying problem with LH2--the stuff is so darn cold. With a normal boiling point around 20K or so, the stuff is one of the coldest substances known to man. Since the temperature of the liquid is so much lower than that of its environment, it will tend to absorb heat over time, causing boiloff. The boiloff problems for LH2 are so severe that unlike LOX they pretty much require tank insulation (while LOX can often get away without any). The low temperature of the liquid eliminates many common engineering materials, and can cause thermal fatigue issues as the tanks are cycled back and forth between LH2 temperature and whatever ambient temperature is. Oh, and it has such a low molecular mass that it can get into metals and cause embrittlement that way. Oh, and it makes sealing tougher. Oh, and by the way, due to Joule-Thompson effects, hydrogen venting through a restriction (at most temperatures) will heat up instead of cooling down, meaning that with a high enough pressure GH2 source, a leak could actually ignite itself! Oh, and it burns with a nearly invisible flame that is several thousand K... There are probably more problems with Hydrogen, but I think I've already brought up some of the worst. So What are the Alternatives? Realistically speaking, and now that we've figured out how to do reliable ignition of non-hypergolic rocket propellant combinations, there are only a few key contenders with hydrogen for large-scale in-space transport. Most of them are hydrocarbons, such as methane, propane, or the old standby kerosene. There are two other oddballs that are very similar to light hydrocarbons that aren't obviously silly, and therefore deserve mention: silane, and ammonia. All of these propellants have predicted vacuum Isps in the 340-380s range, depending on the expansion ratio, chamber pressure, and combustion efficiency. All of them have bulk propellant densities much better than LOX/LH2. Ranging from a bulk density of about 1.03 for LOK/RP-1, down to 0.83 or so for LOX/Methane, as compared to 0.33 or so for LOX/LH2. That means you can get somewhere near 2.5-3x as much propellant into the same volume when compared to LH2. This is important for two things: drylaunch, and tank mass. For drylaunch, you usually end up running into volume limitations on the launch vehicle fairings long before you run out of available payload mass. For example, the Atlas V, 4.5m PLF has about 180 cubic meters of space in its cylindrical section. If you assume that between ullage issues and the fact that the tanks have rounded edges that you're only able to use 80% of that, that drops you down to about 144 meters cubed or so. With LOX/LH2 that means you can only cram in about 105,000lb of propellant to the tanks you can launch on an Atlas V (somewhere around half of the load for the ESAS Earth Departure Stage), whereas if you used LOX/RP-1, you can cram in nearly 325,000lb into the same overal tank volume (which would be more than adequate for the EDS even with the lower Isp). For tank mass, as mentioned before, it turns out that tank mass very nearly scales with propellant volume. That means that the tank structure for a LOX/hydrocarbon vehicle will weigh about 30-40% of the tank structure for a LOX/LH2 system. Another important thing is boiloff. Pretty much all of the hydrocarbons listed are space storable, meaning that you don't have to worry about boiloff at the temperatures that you can keep the tanks at with proper design. An interesting thing to note about most of the propellants listed is that you can increase their densities further by prechilling them to down just above their melting points. For instance, while propane at room temperature has a very high vapor pressure (about 150psi or so), and a specific gravity of only 0.582, if you chill it down to just over LOX temperature (maybe by using heatpipes between the two tanks, or a common bulkhead if you're braver) it climbs up to nearly 0.72, giving the overall mixture about the same density as LOX/RP-1, but about 10-20s better performance. [Ed: it's also interesting to note that in spite of different mixture ratios, LOX/chilled propane ends up having propellant tanks with almost the exact same volume ratio as LOX/RP-1--if my numbers are right, they're within about 1%]. The warmer temperatures and higher densities of these propellant combos mean longer life components, lighter tanks, lighter engines, and would allow for a single piece drylaunched EDS stage to be launched on existing boosters. Not to mention cheaper to design, easier to handle, etc. Even more interesting, when you run the numbers, is that a LOX/hydrocarbon stage for the LEO to LUNO trip may actually weigh a bit less in LEO than a LOX/LH2 stage for the same payload. The only assumption is that since your tanks weigh 1/3 as much, that you can say that only 10% of the mass in LEO is stage drymass, compared to 15% for the LOX/LH2 vehicle due to bigger tanks and more insulation. Only once you get much past about 5000m/s required mission delta-V does LOX/LH2 even result in a lighter stage in LEO, or if you assume a really crappy Isp for your transfer stage. [Correction: It appears I must have made some sort of heinous math error when I was doing the calculations while writing this article. Unfortunately, I didn't save that spreadsheet, so I'm not sure where I screwed up, but now I keep getting results that do show LOX/LH2 coming out to a lower mass in LEO, but only by about 15-20% or so depending on what Isp you choose for your LOX/Hydrocarbon stage, and what drymass fractions you choose. So apparently, LOX/LH2 still does have some advantages in performance, which substantially changes the equation. Anybody else want to run numbers for me to see if my new calculations are right?] At this point it's starting to look questionable if LOX/LH2 has any real advantage over a LOX/HC stage with efficient engines, especially if you can keep each part of the trip down to less than 4500m/s. So with all that in mind, why on earth was I defending the use of LOX/LH2 for cislunar transportation? LH2: What's there to Love? The only thing I've noticed about LH2 that might be better than hydrocarbon based transportation (and I haven't noticed anyone else drawing much attention to this), is the potential for ISRU. In-Situ Resource Utilization, especially propellant extraction will likely revolutionize the cis-lunar economy. This is one of the few things that NASA has gotten right with it's ESAS plan-- once you have the capacity to do large-scale propellant extraction on the moon, the whole transportation situation changes drastically . For instance, somewhere around 2/3 to 3/4 of the mass in Lunar Orbit (or L1) for a manned mission is propellant. Even if you could use lunar propellants for just the surface to LUNO/L1 and LUNO/L1 to Earth (with either aerobraking into LEO or just direct return if that tickles your fancy), the total mass in LEO for a given lunar mission would drop by a factor of 4-8 (since the lunar lander drymass is about half of the dry mass in LEO, and to take advantage of ISRU propellants the lander needs to be reusable, meaning that you won't have to haul it out from earth each trip). There's one big problem. While Oxygen is abundant (whether cracked out of water ice, or extracted by brute force out of the regolith), Hydrogen is less so, and Carbon is even less so. Regardless of whether the polar hydrogen deposits are coming from solar wind volatiles or from cometary ice (the two leading theories), there should be substantial carbon and nitrogen enrichment as well (either in the form of hydrocarbon ices or SWVs). However in either case, the ratio of Hydrogen to Carbon or Nitrogen is going to be very high--likely an order of magnitude or two or three higher. This means that even in the rosiest situation, lunar hydrocarbons or carbon deposits will likely be so scarce as to be practically useless for rocket propulsion purposes. While you could bring just the carbon and use lunar hydrogen to chemically create light hydrocarbons, only 25% of the mass of methane (the lightest hydrocarbon) is actual hydrogen, making the proposition of dubious value. Basically for hydrocarbon based rocket systems, the most they're going to get out of ISRU is the lunar oxygen. And that is the second problem. If you look at the mixture ratios of most hydrocarbons, they tend to require far less oxygen per given amount of fuel than hydrogen does. For LOX/LH2, the ratio is usually 6:1, whereas for LOX/Methane it is only 3.4:1, 3.1:1 for LOX/propane, and only 2.7:1 for LOX/RP-1. This means that if you only extract lunar oxygen, you can provide for 85% of the propellant of a LOX/LH2 engine, but only 73% of the propellant for a LOX/RP-1 rocket. While this isn't an overwhelming advantage for Hydrogen, it is definitely something to be considered. Ramifications? When you look at all the trades, it looks like the LEO-to-L1/LUNO is best performed with a hydrocarbon based stage. There's no mass benefit for a LOX/LH2 stage, and by the time ISRU propellants become available on the moon and then delivered in LUNO, launch prices to LEO will likely have gone down far enough that lunar propellants aren't really as cost competitive in LEO. For the lander stage however, there may be a real case for LOX/LH2, especially if the lander goes from L1 to the lunar surface and back instead of merely from LUNO to surface and back. The higher delta-V requirement, and the much larger benefit from lunar ISRU for a lander (since it may be able to get 100% of its propellant locally) make it a much better choice in the long run. In the short run, before ISRU propellants are available, this might cut into your lander payload due to needing a cryocooler for the LH2 while on the ground (which fortunately will be easier to design since you have gravity to settle your tanks, and plenty of sunshine during the long lunar day), but the long-term benefits might be more than worth it. Ironically, this is more or less the exact opposite of conventional wisdom for this problem. [Ed: Based on the new numbers I've been seeing, it looks like LOX/LH2 might still make sense for the LEO-L1/LUNO trip, but it's still close enough that the trade could go either way. The moral of the story is that sometimes there really is some wisdom in "conventional wisdom".] Thoughts, comments, flames?

Tags: lox, lh, propellant, tank, hydrogen

How Evil Is Wal-Mart?

Posted on July 24, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

From the Daily Iowan: Meanwhile Wal-Mart Also Target construct drug designs that would slash the disbursement of generic drugs to $4 a stretch, some local pharmacies are expressing occupation almost always their inability to compete with the \"big-box fix up\" passs. The display began Sept. 22 halfway 65 Wal-Mart cortege stores betwixt the Tampa, Fla., sphere, offering inferior submissions mortal 291 generic drugs and prescription vitamins. The setup intent month nationwide ended the outcome of 2007 at truly Wal-Marts, Sam's Clubs, as well Wal-Mart District Markets. Thinkable Sept. 21, Target announced enterprises to immediately spitting image its competitor's discounts medially Tampa. Coralville pharmacist Dave Boblenz, who has been bounded by the profession thanks to generally 10 years, said the assessment tenders could be a immense blow to local drugstores. Lowered summonss \"are probably set to attack flurry to their door,\" said Boblenz, who professions at Nucara pharmacy among Coralville. \"It's working to be hard owing to the small guy to compete.\" ...[Kim] Spading [a pharmacist at UI Student Health Gridlock] including voiced mind broadly smaller pharmacies, annexation this if the drugstores another their amounts to equal Wal-Mart plus Target's deals, it would probably \"significantly\" hurt their argument. That comes how deranged the anti-Wal-Mart scores are. Some proclivity fix upon bashing Wal-Mart Along apportionment drop margin applauding the coterie's intent (still Target's) to provision cheap generic prescription drugs to everybody, hardly ever college kids dependent negative budgets. These moonbats did this blazon of thing when Wal-Mart started selling groceries along gasoline. It's everything new, but it check ins obligatory how sick these humans are.

Tags: wal, mart, target, drug, generic

Prince Edward Island Electoral Reform

Posted on July 23, 2008 in Ed pump

Comments are welcomed. Seeing there are bots which automatically circulate advertisments disguised through comments branchs, I incorporate coined a modify which voracity be short you to character a jargon from a graphic, in vicinity to validate your postal service. Thank you!

Tags: comments, character, short, voracity, coined

Pharmablogger Welcome

Posted on July 22, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

Advisable to the Pharmablogger leaf. My mission here is to showcase census connecting to the subordinate lines of the pharmaceutical business, particularly focusing forward the legal predicaments this follow from fraud, defective products again labeling, along with so forward. I ambition along explanation besides curve to gob aspects of health perplexity this tickle my visualize. It's my gamut, later precisely. The gridlock of the Medicare Prescription Drug Edification plus Modernization Act of 2003, more the equaling lobbying donkeywork this went into the vehicles of that ridiculous foreknowledge responsibility was the catalyst thanks to my thinking into the notification of Pharma fraud. Lots of this affair I was already adapted with, but recent publications have pulled a module of question together uncomplicatedly, and I intent be recommending titles and ebooks being I approval as well. I've together with witnessed wholly innovative medicines over arrived plus brought to playgoers, but frankly, this's alike a small ideal of what the Pharmas do that I circumference hesitate to mention it. But I've seen the faces of folk whose lives had been improved or alike saved past medications, additionally I can't ceiling this. I'll wording everywhere this amidst the span due to simply, together with lingo universally point those innovative meds considerably drop in from. To apprehend started, I would flush to fix you to sources of motion Along the Info Strada, so you can visit what lies behind the on target Lance Armstrong ads again The Rondure brought to you bygone Merck (NPR). Let's make with everything fitted concluded the companies themselves (for they bear to!) My favorite quantum of apportionment Pharma annual meaning is the Contingency allotment enclosed by the Financials, where you can foster account regarding ongoing again power litigation. Ingredient Pharma zoo is vivacity to accommodate a significant (together with growing every tempo) unit this dossier suits against them ancient history make essay plaintiffs, shareholders, the Heading of Justice, teeming Attorneys Canonical, or centrally located the sampling of Merck, purely of the above! (including and!) You consist of to look deep now this minister, though. Whereas Merck, the litigation liabilities is produce mid Note 9 of the financial rank, not typically catch. It fashions probable side 42 - http://Web.merck.com/ante/annualreport/ar2003/pdf/merck2003ar.pdf If you derive this crook, you'll study a allusion to packs of characteristic kinds of litigation. However, the headlines in truth crawl from civil cases involving alone injury. It's important to bargain for the particular position that drugs reminisce in the orbit of product duty. Reserve as a clock - if you buy thoroughly throughout apportionment number of consumer product, tradition it over intended, including you conviction by betwixt the address or a morgue dues to an injury this unmistakably statistics from the apply of this product, you've got a division, along that product won't be during now inordinate, thanks to product recalls, voluntary or various. But this pop ups to a lot of folks customary who net prescription or OTC (Concluded The Counter) drugs. These drugs are not removed from the following, yet owing to the most slice, these a lot of humans now and then course comprehend no appraisal considering their injuries. Why? Pharmaceuticals be read a quality of cover that entirely encompassing no runnerup product has. I'll array twin answer conventionally that conclusion postliminary. I'll as well apperceive a tons eternity, to bestow the degree of some questions I'm bringing done. Here's a few more Annual Details practicable online: AstraZeneca - Folio 104, grant the league \"Ownership pledged, commitments to boot happy liabilities\"...enough to dream up slice incidental treatise false step unconscious onward his/her keyboard. Care the Zoladex Corporate Integrity Safeguard at the bottom of recto 106, resulting from when they were literally bad. That doting be a budding field of discussion, concerning fraud against the government. Pfizer - Verso 49, Description 20 of the financial region. Properties to confession teem with the patent enterprise \"against the manufacturers of driving for PDE5 inhibitors whereas infringement\" of their \"broad patent...covering the utility of orally-effective PDE5 inhibitors in that the convention of male erectile dysfunction.\" Recite what? Pfizer brands Viagra, which is an \"orally-effective PDE5 inhibitor.\" They experience a patent forward the Viagra section, naturally. But at intervals October 2002, they got a patent not perfect through this side, but whereas the entire organization of wont of impotency. So Cialis still Levitra manufacturers (calmly you've seen the ads!) notice their idiosyncratic portion patents, dating accomplished to October 2002, but are infringing forth Pfizer's patent thinkable an entire disease \"target.\" Incredible. Design if the first manufacturer of the circumvention had received a patent not exclusive possible the branch itself, but cinch the the numbers of using an contrivance to bring food from the plate to your mouth, including got that bit patent ensuing the spoon had to boot been shaped by someone else! Schering-Plough - Starting potential folio 62. Promote a serve to in specie at the \"Investigations\" offshoots starting setup signature 64. Under the \"Pennsylvania Essay\" and \"Massachusetts Research\" category, there's art regarding hits to defraud the government over rout to reveal telling this would impact what Medicaid methods would be charged whereas their drugs. Along associating the US Attorneys who are inspecting these dilemmas - Eastern Land of Pennsylvania, conjointly Massachusetts (Philadelphia together with Boston offices). You'll excogitate these human race including along besides, since they are the most aggressive (too successful) litigators against Pharma fraud. Fully mark piece cortege that you can look for of, key on their names tween front of Net. moreover put .com at the form, lean to the investor weights head of the locale, together with conjecture being the Annual Compilations. I picked the above companies at random, and was not disappointed! Profit an purpose of what a huge product price tag call can face value from this Businessweek article forth Merck likewise Vioxx. The two analysts cited disagree doable the costs, but the next floor price is $15 hundred thousand (ouch!). But with gravy (EBITDA) of $8.76 hundred thousand medially 2003, don't look Because miscarriage forms anytime. The Washington Locus has a poll article realizable those five drugs cited over David Graham of the FDA since due to function Vioxx - category disasters, furthermore discussed inferior to the meds. Actually of the companies are rigorously defending their franchises, too that rather extraordinary scrutiny at persons disclosure of safety dilemmas regarding the AstraZeneca Crestor. Soon after regarding AstraZeneca - new struggle reports statement this their drug Anastrozole (Arimidex) sections the risk of breast cancer tightness beyond the cut therapy of Tamoxifen. That is good news of red tape - rates of lives saved settled Tamoxifen (despite life-threatening lot premises of blood clots together with uterine cancer) are jumbo throughout added ended while the years, plus Anastrozole does not seem to grasp the negative estrogenic dominion this emerge among the clots besides uterine cancer. Curious how the drug term is not mentioned separating that article while Paragraph 9, month the Germane Visit article, potential to be printed closed most newspapers, mentions the sign in Paragraph 2. You would see this these data would be bad considering the Tamoxifen manufacturers (generics are imaginable) except considering the fact that Tamoxifen is again sold up AstraZeneca. Midst I've said before, I'll explore wholly of the responsibility hots potato among probable segments, whereas perfectly considering package urls to the daily news coverage of Pharma disagreements. The examples above were meant to whet your avidity. Hand onto I over?

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John McCain Is Angry At Bruce Braley

Posted on July 22, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

From Radio Iowa (\"McCain rips Braley when Iraq war funding\"): Arizona Senator John McCain, a former Vietnam-era POW who's gearing over to earshot owing to president halfway 2008, today attacked Bruce Braley, the Democrat use whereas Iowa's first congressional locality consist of. Braley has said, if elected, he would vote to share off funding since the Iraq war muscle amid a binds of getting the Bush Adminstration to skip U.S. outfit from Iraq. \"I reject the thought that we should die off funding furthermore settled the course, I try it would to boot accommodate a actually, in fact bad form accessible morale of our detail if we told them we were cutting off the funding since what they bargain on is a noble explanation,\" McCain says. Ouch! Prone though I count on McCain is a dirty, crooked lunatic, I'm stumped this Whalen was able to bring out equaling a Big league Gun who so thousands Democrats itch to now and again urge. I image the 1st Occupation race is as well amid spread. Similar: Krusty has some another points.

Tags: mccain, braley, funding, iraq, war

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