Doctors Sew Severed Hand to Man's Ankle in Attempt to Save It... -

Doctors Sew Severed Hand to Man's Ankle in Attempt to Save It... - 



After a man lost his right hand in a work place accident in November, doctors in Changsha, Hunan province successfully reattached the limb by grafting it to his ankle for a month. 
The man, Xiao Wei, said that at the time of the accident he "was just shocked and frozen to the spot, until colleagues unplugged the machine and retrieved my hand and took me to the hospital. I am still young, and I couldn't imagine life without a right hand."
Doctors, opted to graft the hand to Wei's ankle to prevent it from dying while they worked on his other extensive injuries. The doctors told Rex Features: “His injury was severe. Besides ripping injuries, his arm was also flattened. We had to clear and treat his injuries before taking on the hand reattachment surgery.”
Roughly a month later, Wei has recovered sufficiently such that he can undergo reattachment surgery. Doctors say he will require several other procedures but remain hopeful that he will regain full function of his hand.  

Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/12/16/Doctors-Save-Severed-Hand-By-Sewing-to-Man-s-Ankle

Confidential Obamacare Navigator training manual uploaded online -

Confidential Obamacare Navigator training manual uploaded online - 



“INFORMATION NOT RELEASABLE TO THE PUBLIC UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY LAW: This information has not been publicly disclosed and may be privileged and confidential. It is for internal government use only and must not be disseminated, distributed, or copied to persons not authorized to receive the information. Unauthorized disclosure may result in prosecution to the full extent of the law.”

That is the warning at the bottom of every page of the 217-page confidential Obamacare Navigator training manual sitting online for anyone to come across –and as Watchdog.org reports, that’s exactly what someone did.

Tammy Duffy, a radiation health physicist from New Jersey, was talking with Obamacare Navigators one day and asked a question regarding people who are self-employed, in which they could not provide an answer. She then asked for a copy of the manual, which they would not give her since it’s not meant to be available to the public.

“I asked the nice ladies for a copy and they said I could not have it because it was a government document not for the public. So I thought maybe there is an outline or shorter version that is for the public. I went to Google and typed in ‘healthcare insurance marketplace Navigator SOP,” Duffy said.

Sure enough, a Google search of “Healthcare insurance marketplace Navigator SOP” yields a link back to the “Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual.” The manual is labeled as “restricted distribution” by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and threatens prosecution to anyone authorized to view it who ultimately disseminates it to unauthorized people — and it’s online for everyone to see. - http://www.healthreformgps.org/wp-content/uploads/navigator-SOP-manual-8-26.pdf

Dogs licking poisonous toads to get high -

Dogs licking poisonous toads to get high - 



Queensland dogs addicted to hallucinogenic sweat found on the backs of toads are hunting down the creatures to get their fix.

Vets warn that some dogs are risking their lives for the cheap thrill, with an increasing number of repeat offenders – dubbed "serial lickers" – treated for cane toad poisoning several times a year.

And with the wet season approaching, dog owners are being urged to help their pets kick the deadly addiction before it's too late. Nikita Den Engelse, 27, of Hemmant, is one such owner, after she found her best friend frothing at the mouth and trembling on two separate occasions. 

"The vet told me dogs will lick toads because it gives them hallucinations from it," she said. "I pretty much cried the whole time. I was thinking 'oh God'. I was concerned he was going to die." The dog is now in diversion therapy, being kept inside, as he recovers from his latest overdose. 

While it is impossible to say whether a dog or cat is having a hallucination, some tell-tale signs include vacant staring and unprovoked responses, Jonathon Cochrane from the University of Queensland's School of Veterinary Science explained. 

Owners are encouraged to keep serial lickers indoors, especially at night and when it is raining.

Queensland dogs are getting high by licking the poison off cane toads.
Vets are warning some pooches may become addicted to the hallucinogenic and are risking their lives trying to get their next toad fix.
It's being reported the dogs have worked out how to lick the toad just enough to get high.
"This phenomenon of animals deliberately getting intoxicated by cane toads, it's fascinating," says veterinarian Megan Pickering. "It just seems unbelievable that an animal will go back for a second try.

"But nevertheless we do have many documented cases of patients who deliberately - on a regular basis - will seek out a toad and they seem to be able to lick the toad in such a way that they seem to get a very small dose."
Ms Pickering claims the dogs become addicts, putting their lives at serious risk.
One dog was recently found frothing and trembling.
The serial licking was first reported in the Northern Territory in 2005. But no one really listened. Now it has spread to Queensland and is back in the headlines.
Vets insist it's a true story and a real problem – they're warning dog owners to keep their loved ones inside, away from temptation.

Read more: - 

http://www.3news.co.nz/Dogs-licking-poisonous-toads-to-get-high/tabid/417/articleID/325363/Default.aspx

Yoga Classes -- With Dogs... - It’s called doga -

Yoga Classes -- With Dogs... - It’s called doga - 



There’s new meaning to the term “downward dog.”  More and more yoga lovers are sharing their mats with their pooch.  3 On Your Side Health Reporter Stephanie Stahl has more on what some are calling doga.

Panting exercises in this yoga class are taken to a whole new level.  It’s called doga.

“Really comes from your diaphragm, so you connect with your dog’s breath,” said Mahny Djahanguiri, a doga instructor.

It’s a yoga class for dog lovers and their best friend, that mixes massage, poses and chanting.  Some claim it reduces anxiety for both owners and their dogs.

“They’re getting their yoga, their human yoga, while the dog feeds off from their calm,” said Mahny.

Dogs can either take part in the stretching or act as a weight.

“It’s your yoga class with your dog, and your dog helps you to find yourself,” said Mahny.

Niki Roe loves doing yoga with her dog Mindy.  She says the class can help tame problematic pets.

“For your dog to listen to you, you need to be calm.  And this is the best way to be calm with your dog,” said Niki.

So both can reach that desire for inner peace and healthy bodies.

Experts say the relaxed bonding time can also have some cardiovascular benefits for the dog, but your pet still needs some regular exercise.



Read more - 

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/12/13/health-yoga-with-your-dog/

Genetic Tweaks Could Extend Human Lifespan -- To 500 Years? -

Genetic Tweaks Could Extend Human Lifespan -- To 500 Years? - 



Living to the ripe old age of 500 might be a possibility if the science shown to extend worms' lives can be applied to humans, scientists have said.
U.S. researchers tweaked two genetic pathways in the tiny lab worm Caenorhabditis elegans and boosted the creature's lifespan by a factor of five.
The research raises the prospect of anti-ageing treatments based on genetic interactions, they said.
‘What we have here is a synergistic five-fold increase in lifespan,’ said lead scientist Dr Pankaj Kapahi, from the Buck Institute of Age Research, Novato, California.

‘The two mutations set off a positive feedback loop in specific tissues that amplified lifespan. 
‘Basically these worms lived to the human equivalent of 400 to 500 years.’
While it could take years of research to extend humans’ lives dramatically, the study raises the prospect of anti-ageing treatments informed by genetic interactions, according to Dr Kapahi.
‘In the early years, cancer researchers focused on mutations in single genes, but then it became apparent that different mutations in a class of genes were driving the disease process,’ he said. 
anti-ageing treatments

‘The same thing is likely happening in ageing,’ he added.
C. elegans, the first animal to have its whole genome (or genetic code) mapped, has been widely used in studies of ageing and lifespan.
The new research, reported in the journal Cell Reports, involved blocking key molecules that affect the action of insulin and a nutrient signalling pathway called Target of Rapamycin (TOR).
Single mutations in the TOR pathway were known to extend the lifespan of C. elegans by 30 per cent, while insulin-signalling mutations could double the amount of time they lived.
Adding the two together might have been expected to extend longevity by 130 per cent, but the combined impact turned out to be much greater.
The research may explain why it has proved so difficult to identify single genes responsible for the long lives enjoyed by human centenarians.
‘It's quite probable that interactions between genes are critical in those fortunate enough to live very long, healthy lives,’ said Dr Kapahi.
Future research is expected to use mice to see if the same effects occur in mammals.
‘The idea would be to use mice genetically engineered to have suppressed insulin signalling and then treat them with the drug rapamycin, which is well-known to suppress the TOR pathway,’ Dr Kapahi said.

Read more: -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2523086/Could-humans-live-500-years-old-Scientists-believe-genetic-tweaks-significantly-extend-lifespan.html

STUDY: Exercise just as effective as drugs in fighting major disease... - 



Exercise could be as effective as some of the best drugs which protect against major diseases, research has found.
A study of more than 300 trials has found that physical activity was better than medication in helping patients recovering from strokes - and just as good as drugs in protecting against diabetes and in stopping heart disease worsening.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal, analysed data about studies on 340,000 patients diagnosed with one of four diseases: heart disease, chronic heart failure, stroke or diabetes.
Researchers said the findings suggested that regular exercise could be "quite potent" in improving survival chances, but said that until more studies are done, patients should not stop taking their tablets without taking medical advice.
The landmark research compared the mortality rates of those prescribed medication for common serious health conditions, with those who were instead enrolled on exercise programmes.

Most of the 305 studies examined involved patients had been given drugs to treat their condition. But 57 of the trials - involving 15,000 volunteers - examined the impact of exercise as a treatment.
The research found that while medication worked best for those who had suffered heart failure, in all the other groups of patients, exercise was at least as effective as the drugs which are normally prescribed.
People with heart disease who exercised but did not use commonly prescribed medications, including statins, and drugs given to reduce blood clots had the same risk of dying as patients taking the medication.
Similarly, people with borderline diabetes who exercised had the same survival chances as those taking the most commonly prescribed drugs.
Drugs compared with exercise included statins, which are given to around five million patients suffering from heart disease, or an increased risk of the condition.
The study was carried out by researcher Huseyin Naci of LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science and Harvard Medical School, with US colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine.
He said prescription drug rates are soaring but activity levels are falling, with only 14 per cent of British adults exercising regularly.
In 2010 an average of 17.7 prescriptions was issued for every person in England, compared with 11.2 in 2000.
Mr Naci said: “Exercise should be considered as a viable alternative to, or alongside, drug therapy.”
Dr John Ioannidis, the director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said: “Our results suggest that exercise can be quite potent.”
Other medications compared with exercise included blood-clotting medicines given to patients recovering from stroke, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors given to patients on the cusp of developing diabetes.
Only the patients who were recovering from heart failure fared best when prescribed drugs, where anti-diuretic medication was most effective.
However, they said their analysis found far more trials examining drugs, than those which measured the impact of exercise.
They said there was a need for more research into the benefits of exercise for those suffering from serious health problems.
Researchers stressed that they were not suggesting that anyone should stop taking medications they had been prescribed, but suggested patients should think “long and hard” about their lifestyles, and talk to their doctors about incorporating more exercise into their daily routines.

Read more - 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10515917/Exercise-just-as-good-as-drugs-in-war-on-major-disease.html

Howard Stern Contest Winner - Won Date With Prostitutes - the 86-year-old Died Minutes Before Getting Laid -

Howard Stern Contest Winner - Won Date With Prostitutes - the 86-year-old Died Minutes Before Getting Laid - 



The elderly grandpa who won a date with 2 prostitutes on the Howard Stern Show choked and died last night ... just before he was going to have sex for the first time in years ... TMZ has learned.

We've confirmed 86-year-old Johnny Orris died in a Lake Tahoe hospital last night ... after choking on his steak at a local restaurant.

Orris appeared on the Stern show back in October with his grandson ... who had entered him in a  contest called "I Want To Get My Grandpa Laid."  Orris said his wife had died more than a decade ago ... and he hadn't had sex since.  He said he fantasized about big-breasted black women.

On the show, Orris won a date with two prostitutes from the famed Bunny Ranch in Nevada ... and flew to Lake Tahoe to claim his prize.  

Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof tells us Orris came to the ranch last night and chose 2 gorgeous working girls he wanted to have sex with -- Caressa Kisses and Vanity.  But before consummating the date ... Orris went out for a nice dinner with his grandson, Ed.

We're told Orris ordered the steak at Sage Room Steakhouse at Harvey's Lake Tahoe ... and began to choke on it.  Ed and the maitre d' immediately began CPR ... and Johnny was transported by ambulance to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Hof tells us, "He just wanted a steak before having sex with Caressa Kisses and Vanity. The bunnies loved him."

And this is hilarious ... Ed tells us, he felt bad leaving the Ranch without sampling the goods -- especially after traveling so far -- so he banged one of the hookers after his grandpa died. Not Caressa or Vanity, though. That would have been weird. 

The best part ... Hof let Ed use his grandpa's coupon for one free roll in the hay.

Read more: -

http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/13/howard-stern-contest-johnny-orris-prostitute-bunny-ranch-dennis-hof/

Seattle Veterinarians Offer Medical Pot for Pets... -

Seattle Veterinarians Offer Medical Pot for Pets... - 



Two Seattle veterinarians are pioneering the use of medical marijuana to treat pets.  Dr. Sarah Brandon, co-founder of Canna-Pet, says medical cannabis can be used for many ailments plaguing your dog or cat.  
"Cannibanoids control inflammation to reduce pain from arthritis," she says. "They can help reduce anxiety."
Brandon and her colleague Dr. Greg Copas launched Canna-Pet two months ago because citing that traditional pet medicines can have undesirable side effects.  For example, Brandon says,"Anti-inflammatories can cause vomiting and Opioids can cause decreased appetite." These are reportedly common arguments to support the use of medical marijuana for humans. However, Brandon says, her treatment will not intoxicate your dog or cat. 

"We focus on the non-THC portions of the plant that seem to really have the best benefit without giving animals the high that recreational users seek." And what's more, Brandon claims pets don't like to get high: "It certainly isn't pleasant for them. They don't understand why they feel different. They don't have any ability to calm down from it."
According to Brandon, "Canna-Pet doesn't have enough THC in it to cause that high." 
The Canna-Pet website boasts that medical marijuana can help with aggression disorders, noise phobias, anxiety, self-trauma, cognitive disorders and dementia (canine), marking and spraying (feline), sleep disorders, OCD, excessive vocalization and inappropriate urination. 
We're still talking about pets right? 
Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/12/12/Seattle-Vet-Offers-Medical-Pot-For-Pets

French café starts charging extra to rude customers -

French café starts charging extra to rude customers - 



A small French café has taken the old adage that manners don’t cost you anything to its logical extreme – by charging extra to rude customers.

At La Petite Syrah in Nice, if you ask for “un café” it will set you back €7 (£5.80). If you also include the magic words “s'il vous plaît” you’ll get the same drink for €4.25, however – and it’s just €1.40 if you begin the order with a friendly “bonjour”.

Speaking to the French edition of The Local, café manager Fabrice Pepino said his staff had grown increasingly fed up with the bad manners of people in a rush on their office lunch breaks.

“It started as a joke because at lunchtime people would come in very stressed and were sometimes rude to us when they ordered a coffee.

“It's our way of saying 'keep calm and carry on,’” he said.

“I know people say that French service can be rude but it's also true that customers can be rude when they’re busy.”

Mr Pepino said that many of his customers were regulars, who were happy to play along when the sign was first put up.

He admitted that he was yet to actually enforce the “strict” pricing scheme, but said: “People are more relaxed now, and they’re smiling more. That’s the most important thing.”

Read more -

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-caf-starts-charging-extra-to-rude-customers-8998130.html

Rise of 'baby gadgets'... - New monitors equipped with night vision... - the rise of goo-goo gadgets -

Rise of 'baby gadgets'... - New monitors equipped with night vision... - the rise of goo-goo gadgets - 



At the Bugaboo showroom in Henley-on-Thames I found myself mesmerised. More out of politeness and necessity – I am soon to be a father – than of interest, I had gone to see the prams. But I was quickly drawn in by the range, the engineering and gadgetry behind it, and the fact that the demonstrators talked about the stroller's "chassis" and showed the satisfying click noises it makes when put together.

It was the start of a journey of discovery, where I found a previously unknown interest in baby products. This was largely due to their increasingly technological nature, which means that these new takes on the old classics are being marketed towards gadget fans.

Well aware of the trend, technology magazine T3 has a Tech Dad section devoted entirely to parenting gadgets, and according to Mark Mayne, T3's online editor, it's not a difficult section to fill. "The volume of stuff we're getting through is increasing dramatically, and big brands are approaching us a lot more. They're definitely interested in getting into a tech magazine," he says.

Mayne believes that it is a trend reflected across all manner of lifestyle products.

"You can see it with kitchen gadgets and fitness products as well. Increasingly, the selling point is technology and that often plays to a male audience, which likes to think it is more au fait with that kind of thing. There has been a huge explosion in child-care related tech."

Whether they are toys that play the sound of a mother's heartbeat or baby gyms that come with iPod docks built in, these items seem a lifetime away from the world of Silver Cross prams and wooden building blocks. But then the baby-product market is booming, thanks to parents who don't want hand-me-downs and hanker after the most hi-tech functionality. According to Mintel, 84 per cent of British parents purchase a new pram. In the US, the luxury-baby category is projected to grow to $10.6bn (£6.44bn) next year.

Nothing seems to be safe from this hi-tech mission creep. Take baby monitors. Until recently they were little more than glorified intercom systems. Two weeks ago I was contacted by D-Link, originally a network and communications product manufacturer, now creator of the EyeOn Baby Camera (£129.99). This new model incorporates a thermometer and a built-in lullaby function with almost military-sounding capabilities such as sound sensors, "night-vision infrared LEDs" and remote access so that you can watch your child on your phone or tablet wherever you are. Just like Netflix, really.

There are monitors with special movement sensors for the cot and then there is Exmobaby. This looks like any ordinary cotton babygro, but inside it has a strap to monitor the activity of your baby's heart, and on the outside there are movement sensors and a thermometer.

Described by its maker as a "smart garment", the outfit will then send you a text message to let you know the baby's vital signs. Never mind that reason tells you that you could tell all these things by, you know, actually picking the child up. There is still the lingering doubt (particularly for the parent with money to burn – the Exmobaby and its accompanying system cost $1,000 when it launched) that when the child is born you might not hear it cry.

Read more -
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/the-rise-of-googoo-gadgets-hey-baby-nice-wheels-8998565.html