No. 211 August 2000
SORE LAW, HORSES, AND PROGRAMS Soring is the pain-invoking practice used on show horses' limbs for the purpose of accentuating its gait and affecting the horse's performance in the show ring. In 1970, Congress passed the horse Protection Act (U.S. Code, Title 15, Sections 1821-1831) to eliminate the practice of soring by prohibiting the showing, selling, or transporting of sored horses. Along with this act there are regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Part 11—"Horse Protection" which prohibit devices and methods used to sore horses. In 1979, regulations were established that require horse show managers to have all show horses inspected to detect or diagnose sored horses. The individuals, referred to as designated qualified persons (DQP’s) are trained and licensed under horse industry sponsored DQP programs certified and sponsored by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Section 11.7-- "Certification and Licensing of designated and qualified persons (DQP’s)" sets forth the requirements for the programs and the licensing of the DQP’s and requires a list of licensed DQP’s be published at least once each year in the Federal Register. This year’s list includes 9 different equine associations/commissions/organizations in 5 states, listing about 200 names of certified DQP’s who are conduct preshow examination of show horses looking for sore horses. "Horse Protection Act; List of Designated Qualified Persons, Notice" Federal Register v. 65, no. 122, June 23, 2000 pages 39120-39121 (AE 2.106:65/122) advises the public and the horse industry of the organizations that currently have a USDA Certified Designated Qualified Person Program and the circa 250 names of the DQP’s currently licensed under each certified organization.
SUPERBUGS AND EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES Pathogens such as Yersinia pestis (Bubonic plague), salmonella, streptococcus pneumoniae, and "tuberculosis" are some of the traditional bugs which were brought under control with the development of antibiotic drugs. Through improper and overuse of antibiotics (Tamara Nordenberg's "Miracle Drugs vs. Superbugs, Preserving the Usefulness of Antibiotics" FDA Consumer, v. 32, no. 6, November-December 1998 pages 22-25 (HE 20.4010:32/6)) these bugs have survived and emerged as a new strains. These pathogens have become drug resistant superbugs with an antimicrobial resistance. They are in both humans and animals, including the animals we eat. "CVM concerns about antimicrobial use in food animals" FDA Veterinarian, v. 13, no. 4, July/August, 1998 pages 1,2 (HE 20.4410:13/4) and "Antimicrobial resistance documents available" FDA Veterinarian v. 15, no. 1, January/February 2000, pages 1,2 (HE 20.4410:16/1). Guidance for Industry: Consideration of the Human Health Impact of the Microbial Effects of Antimicrobial New Animal Drugs Intended for Use in Food-Producing Animals (CVM Guidance Document #78) at http://www.fda.gov/cvm/fda/TOCs/guideline.html shows what the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is doing to remedy this problem. Drug-resistant strains of old pathogens are also prevalent in people as discussed in "High Prevalence of Penicillin-Nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae at a Community Hospital in Oklahoma" by Robert L. Moolenaar, et al., Emerging Infectious Diseases, v 6, no. 3, May-June 2000 pages 283-289 (HE 20.7817:6/3) http://www.cdc.gov/eid . For information about the drug resistant diseases (AKA antimicrobial resistance) in man Emerging Infectious Diseases, published six times per year by the National Center for Infectious Diseases and the CDC is a free electronic journal for the human side of emerging infectious diseases found at http://www.cdc.gov , http://www.cdc.gov/eid , and (in paper) in some federal depository libraries. (HE 20.4410:6/3) In June 2000, the CDC, FDA, and NIH have jointly issued an action plan to address the problem of emerging antimicrobial resistance. Draft – Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance is available as a pdf file at http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/actionplan/ .
TRUCK DRIVERS There are drivers of bread trucks, beverage trucks, and other retail services who sleep at home every night. It is the long haul semi-trailer truck drivers who work for commercial freight carriers or household moving companies who spend days, if not week(s) on the road. Their truck cabs are their "homes away from home". The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) asks the question: "does the driver spend enough time in his cab/home"? When the driver’s income is related to the volume of freight delivered, The delivery of freight, in long-haul operations, on time (or early) is how money is made. The (fast) and frequent freight delivery(ies) translate into big income. Some truck drivers drive too long and rest or sleep too little, and they run the risk of driving while drowsy, tired, or fatigued. "The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) estimates that 755 fatalities and 19,705 injuries occur each year on the nation’s roads because of drowsy, tired, or fatigued CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle) drivers." In the Federal Register there are some proposed regulations which would revert to a 24-hour daily cycle, and a 7-day weekly cycle. Included in this new 5-point plan, is a required weekend rest period that includes two consecutive periods from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. The last requirement is the use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) in CMVs (commercial motor vehicles) by drivers in long haul and regional operations. "Hours of Service of Drivers; Driver Rest and Sleep for Safe Operations, Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); Request for comments" is in the Federal Register, v. 65, no. 85, May 2, 2000, pages 25539-25611. Comments may be submitted to the FMCSA until October 30, 2000, then sometime after that date a final rule will be issued and go into effect. This rule as a text or pdf file is found at the FMCSA web page: http://mchs.fhwa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/rulemakings.htm#proposedrule .
INTERNET’S SAFE HARBOR BEING DREDGED The concept is easily understood, but could be difficult to find. "On October 20, 1999, the FTC issued its Final Rule (http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9910/64fr59888.htm ) pursuant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 5601, et seq. The Rule requires certain web site operators to post privacy policies, provide notice, and obtain parental consent prior to collecting, using, or disseminating personal information from children. The Rule contains a ‘safe harbor’ provision enabling industry groups or others to submit self-regulatory guidelines that would implement the protections of the Rule to the commission [i.e. FTC] for approval." The 1999 Final Rule, now part of the FCC Regulations (at Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16, Part 312.10 – "Safe Harbors") (AE 2.106/3:16/P.0-999/2000) allows the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to submit its "proposed self-regulating guidelines" (per the "Safe Harbor" Rule) to the FCC for public comments and approval. The two pages of information: "Children’s Online privacy Protection Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines; ERSB Privacy Online, A Division of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Notice of Proposed ‘Safe Harbor’ Guidelines and Request for Public Comment" in Federal Register v. 65 no. 125, June 28, 2000 pages 39901-39902 or at the pdf file ( http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/safeharbor/esrbfedreg.pdf ) provide the 5 questions the FCC and the public used to examine these guidelines. Although the deadline for public comment (July 31, 2000) is passed, these 5 questions and the text of the 34 page ESRB proposed self-regulatory guidelines at http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/safeharbor/esrbapplication.pdf are background information for the FTC final Rule yet to come. The final Rule for the ESRB Safe Harbor Guidelines will create the electronic industry’s safe harbor for its "electronic marketers’ ships". Using one’s imagination: could this new Safe Harbor (Program) http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/safeharbor/shp.htm be the location for the (21st Century) electronic version of the 1789 Boston Tea Party, if and when, Congress (who like King George and tea tax) wants to levy a tax on the internet commerce? Just a thought!
WEATHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, NOAA’S CALL FOR AN ARK Sometimes it would be nice to have some options as to what kind of weather which will be occurring tomorrow. Or, even today, if we had the option of change from a dry morning to a rainy afternoon. Except for seeding the clouds to cause rain, nothing can be done about changing the weather, whether we like it or not! The only thing left to do is to learn what the weather will be tomorrow, in the next few days, in the next week, etc. What happened yesterday will make the news, and there are daily weather forecasts for tomorrow and the next few days. However, this weather information prediction is history at the time it is printed. Also, your local newspaper is limited in its coverage of information for each city. Some people want to know how and the current hot ("excessive heat") spell, and the gardener is looking for rain during a dry ("Drought") spell. Whether (or not) you are interested in the weather, the National Weather Service has a new Internet web site and set of pages about the Weather. NOAA welcomes you to the National Weather Service’s home page ( http://www.nws.noaa.gov ). Our NOAA does not provide the ark, but does provide warnings, storm predictions, and extended forecasts links in this home page. Also provided is a link to weather for states and cities. "Heat/Drought Awareness", "Severe Weather Awareness," "Storm Ready", and "U.S. Cities 3-Day Forecast" will lead to the weather data for selected cities in every state and whether you will have a lengthy heat wave, http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/hi_outlook.html need sunscreen, an umbrella, or see if our 20th century NOAA’s outlook on precipitation will require an ark in the next few days http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/610day/610day.02.gif .
AMERICA’S GREATEST NATURAL DISASTER, NO NOAA It was on September 8, 1900, that an offshore hurricane moved into Galveston Texas. The hurricane rains turned into tidal floods and the winds destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. There were 6, 000 men, women, and children killed, 1000 survivors left naked, 5000 bruised and battered. Nearly half of the homes in the city of 2,636 were wiped out of existence and elsewhere at least 1,000 more were reduced to wreckage. This disaster is worst that the other disasters such as the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 (which killed 480 people), the Chicago fire of 1871 (which killed 250 people), or the Johnstown Flood in 1889 (which claimed 2,200 lives). This tidbit of history came from "The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 – America’s Greatest Natural Disaster" by Patrick Hughes in Mariner’s Weather Log v. 34, no. 2, Spring 1990 page 7. "Galveston Remembers deadliest U.S. disaster; storm killed thousands" is an Associated Press article which appeared in the Kentucky Enquirer on Saturday September 9, 2000. Some of the first disaster details are found in the New York Times front pages of September 10, and 11, 1900. The hurricane’s hitting Galveston may have been inevitable, but unfortunately NOAA was not around to warn the people of the impending hurricane disaster and save many lives as the previous Noah did.
THE GREAT NOSES IN HISTORY The most famous nose of the 19th century French theater was that of Edmond Rostand’s character Cyrano De Bergerac. The American movie and television comedian/entertainer Jimmy Durante of the 1940s and 1950s had a unique facial profile, which included a big nose. The year 2000, the beginning of the electronic age, brings a third newsworthy nose, an electronic nose called, quite aptly, the E-Nose. Developed by Dr. Amy Ryan at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the E-Nose was designed to determine the humidity changes in a space shuttle cabin. This three pound large paperback size machine includes a computer is about 8" x 4" x 5" and uses an average of 1.5 watts of power. The goal is to reduce its size and weight and increase its detecting ability from 12 to 24 compounds. Potential uses include coal gas detection, locating unexploded land mines, chemical spill detection, determining plant ripeness, and diagnosis of disease based on odors from human perspiration and breath. Quite Impressive. What a nose? How about a picture of the E-Nose, which is "nothing to sniff at"? If you go to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/tech/enose , you will find the E-Nose discussed in the NASA June 6, 2000 press release found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/e-nose.html .
1. FAT/THIN, OVERWEIGHT/UNDERWEIGHT, AND UNHEALTHY; OR 2. NORMAL WEIGHT?? The electronic age in which we live allows us to now answer this question electronically. You can use your computer go to the "Body Mass Index and Health" web page that is the electronic Nutrition Insight (publication No.) 16 created by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. There are many overweight or obese Americans whose weight can lead to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and diseases of the gallbladder, heart, and lungs. To check your health/weight status, go to http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/Insights/Insight16.pdf where you will find the " Table 2. Body Mass Index Look-up Table", find your weight and height on the chart and see the resulting value to see if you are in the underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese section of the "Table 1. Body Mass Index Categories" weight chart. To have a normal weight is healthy. To be overweight or obese is unhealthy and the answer as to whether the underweight person is healthy or unhealthy is not obvious.
October 14, 2000
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0008.html
