No. 222 July 2001
INSIDE THE HUMAN BODY: PICTURES During a diagnostic exam, your doctor takes x-rays and CAT scans of the inside of your body and during some surgical procedures endoscopic devices are inserted into the body. Up to now, the endoscopic devices used for intestinal tract examinations are too short to examine the entire 20-foot long small intestine. As of August 1, 2001, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the Camera Pill for marketing. The Camera Pill contains a camera, lights, transmitter, and batteries that last for eight hours. After being swallowed, the Camera Pill moves through the stomach and begins taking photos of the entire small intestine. It snaps pictures twice per second as it moves through the small intestine. It moves through the large intestine, which does not get photographed, and out of the body. The Camera Pill will, for the first time, visually detect and photograph the polyps, cancer, or causes of bleeding and anemia that are in the small intestine. Developed by Given Imaging Ltd. of Norcross GA, it will be worth watching for the next similar device to view that "inner you". These and other details are found in FDA Clears Camera Pill to Photograph Small Intestine, a FDA Talk Paper found at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01094.html . Could these creative inventors at Given Imaging Ltd. have gotten their idea(s) from the 1996 science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage, a movie about four people (in a submersible craft which is) miniaturized and put into the blood stream of an ill scientist? They traveled through this Hollywood version of the inner body to clear a blood clot.
SPORTS ECONOMICS: WHY THE HOT DOGS ARE EXPENSIVE, ARE THEY WORTH IT? In our 50 states there are 92 sports facilities found in 38 of 46 major cities. Sports arenas and stadiums that are extremely expensive include facilities for Major League baseball, National League Football, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League. It costs about $325 million for a baseball or football stadium, a new basketball or hockey arena costs bout 200 million, and the public's share of these costs is about $200 million and $100 million respectively. A city has to consider three criteria when evaluating the benefits of hosting a major league franchise. Is the franchise worthwhile even though the new jobs created and provide local tax revenue generated is usually much smaller than the outlay of public funds allocated toward the building of a new sports facility? "What Are the Benefits of Hosting a Major League Sports Franchise" by Jordan Rappaport and Chad Wilkerson in Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Review, v. 86, no. 1, First Quarter 2001, pages 55-86. http://www.kc.frb.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/er01q1.htm#region provides an abstract of the article and a pdf file at http://www.kc.frb.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/PDF/1q01rapp.pdf presents the full text of the three sections of this article. First is the information about the 38 listed metro areas committed to new stadiums and the pro and con arguments about using public funds. Next are the facts about job creation and tax revenue benefits falling short of the public funding outlays. Finally, it is the quality-of-life benefits that justify the public funds and the building of new expensive sports facilities. The authors list two pages of economic literature resources for further reading.
BIOMONITORING, CHEMICALS, AND COSTS OF THE HUMAN BODY Would you believe, once-upon-a-time chemists said that the chemicals in the body were worth 98 cents? What were the chemicals?, and when were they measured? In 2001, what chemicals are in the human body? What are the nature and amount of environmental chemical substances the body ingests through the air, water, soil, dust, food, etc. How about before birth, since some infants are now born with chemical abnormalities. ("Baby Ills from Beauty Aids" by Cynthia Washam, Environmental Health Perspectives, (EPH) v. 109, no. 5, May 2001, page A202. (HE 20.3559:209/5)) Biochemical monitoring is new and the Centers for Disease Control have some answers. "CDC Unveils Body Burden" by Bob Weinhold, Environmental Health Perspectives, (EPH) v. 109, no. 5, May 2001, page A203 (HE 20.3559:109/5) summarizes this study and report and "Baby Ills from Beauty Aids" shows need for the report and preventive action. This first edition of the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals identifies and discusses the levels of 27 environmental chemicals measured in the U.S. population. These are new benchmarks for biomonitoring of thousands of chemicals around and in us include metals (e.g., lead, mercury, and uranium), cotinine (a marker of tobacco smoke exposure), organophosphate pesticide metabolites, and phthalate metabolites. The levels of these 27 environmental chemicals in the human body will be measured by further National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and coverage will be expanded to 100 chemical substances. The chemicals in the human body will be monitored and the object of the CDC national health survey and health research. Has the question of the current value of the chemicals in the human body has taken a new unanswerable perspective? At the National Center for Environmental Health web site http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/report/, the Report is described with 7 links to related information sources which include a Press Release. The introductory articles by Washam and Weinhold in the EHP May 2001 issue’s "Forum" pages A202 and A203 which are also online at http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109-5/forum.html .
A NATIONAL TREE Did you know we have a National Tree? It was in January 2001 that the American public had the opportunity to vote online for a National Tree from 21 National Tree Candidates. At least 444,628 people who knew about voting, because that is how many people cast votes. There were over 100,000 votes for the oak tree which was chosen as our National Tree. This online election and a poster contest were sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation in schools (K-12) across the country. The voting ended at midnight on April 26 and at 9 A.M. on April 27, 200, Arbor Day, the new National Tree, a Northern Red Oak, was unveiled and planted on the Capitol Grounds. Another Northern Red Oak was planted at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska the home of the Arbor Day Foundation. The voting is over, but the election results, and pictures of the other 20 candidates and the winner, are still available. To see real Northern Red Oaks, you don't have to travel to the Capitol or Nebraska City. Select your state at "Tree Cities by State" and the search finds all the designated "Tree Cities" in your state. Kentucky has 25 Tree Cities that promote trees and urban forestry. Then visit the city. For virtual reality, visit the Arbor Day Foundation. For those with "money", some can be spent at the "Online Tree Store" or learn how you can "Get 10 FREE Trees. The U.S. Department of the Interior Press Release Interior Secretary Gale Norton to Unveil People's Choice for America's National Tree in Honor of Arbor Day http://www.doi.gov/news/010426a.html announces the treeplanting on the Capitol grounds. Those treelovers who missed the voting and Arbor Day ceremony can go to The Arbor Day Foundation Tree web page at http://www.arborday.org/NationalTree/index.html. It has all the links to everything discussed including an online version of the "Winning Oak Poster".
PETS/SERVICE ANIMALS IN HUD HOUSING Pets, especially dogs and cats can be very loyal and inexpensive providers of hearing assistance to the deaf and visual assistance to the blind. These are usually considered services animals allowed in HUD Housing because of early 1980s HUD Regulations (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24, Part 5 Subpart C "Pet Ownership for the Elderly or Persons with Disabilities). Some pets "serve as therapists" by listening to the pros and cons of your argument, or to a sad story recounting your problems and they "help" you move on to a solution. These pets provide, for merely a pat-on-the head or a food treat, the companionship needed by many of the elderly people in HUD Housing. As of August 2, 2000, pet animals are legal in HUD Housing. Approved October 21, 1998, Section 526 "Pet Ownership" of Public Law 105-276, (112 STAT 2568-2569) mandated the creation of this new HUD Regulation. Section 526 of the 1998 Public Law went into effect on August 9, 2000 as a HUD Regulatory Final Rule. "Pet Ownership in Public Housing, Final Rule" Federal Register, v.65, no. 132, July 10, 2000, pages 42518-42523 (AE 2.106:65/132) had an effective date of August 9, 2000. Because of this Final Rule, the HUD Housing Regulations now have a new section: "Subpart G Pet Ownership in Public Housing" Code of Federal Regulation, [2001 Edition] Title 24, Part 960.701 to 960.705 (AE 2.106/3:24/P.700-1699 /2001).
CELL PHONES, FIRST NHTSA USER STUDY During October and November 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration observed 12, 000 vehicles at 640 intersections at 50 geographic locations in the United States. NHTSA estimates that 500,000 drivers of passenger vehicles (cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and pickups) are talking on hand-held cell phones during any given daytime moment. It does not attempt to assess the contribution of cell phone use to traffic crashes, though NHTSA data indicate that some form of driver distraction is a contributing factor in 20 to 30 percent of all crashes. Cell use statistics cover time of day, age group, race, vehicle type, geography, and urban vs. rural. A separate phone survey determined that 54 percent of drivers "usually" have some type of phone in their vehicle. 55 percent have their phone on "all" or "most" of their trips and 73 percent reported using their phone while driving. This survey and other cell phone use information was announced in the article "NHTSA Reports on Major Survey Of Cell Phone Use by Drivers" by Elly Martin in NHTSA Now, V. 7, No. 9, August 8, 2001 (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/nhtsanow/v7.9/NNow7_9index.htm). This NHTSA cell phone study, Passenger Vehicle Driver Cell Phone Use Results from the Fall 2000 National Occupant Protection Use Survey, by Dennis Utter, dated July 2001 is at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/ResearchNotes/809-293.pdf . This 4-page report shows that cell phone usage, in a moving vehicle, is hazardous to your health.
CELL PHONES NOT HAZARDOUS, THE USER IS The cell phone is not a health hazard until in use in a moving vehicle. That is shown by the first question and answer on the new July 18, 2001 FDA’s Consumer Update on Wireless Phones. " Do wireless phones pose a health hazard?" and the first answer is a qualified "No." "The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones. There is no proof, however, that wireless phones are absolutely safe. Wireless phones emit low levels of Radiofrequency energy (RF) in the microwave range while being used. They also emit very low levels of RF when in the stand-by mode." What this FDA report does NOT contain is the fact that wireless phones become a health hazard when used in a moving vehicle. The FDA does not discuss vehicles. Can we assume the cell phone is as safe to use inside a vehicle as it is outside the vehicle? Even the vehicle’s motion does not make the cell phone a health hazard. Using a cell phone in a moving vehicle makes the cell phone hazardous to the health of everyone on the highway. . However, there are other cell phone issues, such as exposure to the RF factor, cell phone use by children, new standards for phone interference with medical equipment, and links to 4 other related web sites with additional information which appear in the other 11 cell phone safety questions answered in this new FDA website http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ocd/mobilphone.html
STEM CELLS In 1998 human pluripotent stem cells were first isolated. Usually called stem cells, they are found, currently in the human embryo, the fetus, and the adult. "Put simply, stem cells are the self-renewing, unspecialized cells that can give rise to multiple types of all specialized cells of the body. The process by which dividing, unspecialized cells are equipped to perform specific functions – muscle contraction or nerve cell communication, for example – is called differentiation, and is fundamental to the development of the mature organism". (Preface, page i) Further study of the stem cell could lead to a better understanding of cell development. Stem cells may one-day replace cells in diseased tissues and used for screening drugs and toxins. 1998 was the birth date of Stem cell science, research, and biology. Now three years in the birth process, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions, dated June 2001, (http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/scireport.htm) is a "review of the state of the science of stem cell research as of June 17, 2001. This provides the 1998-2001 history of stem cells and a general overview is provided in the "Appendix" to assist the reader in understanding the key events in formation of cells, tissues, and the whole organism. The report uses both lay and scientific terms to describe stem cells and their properties. All ethical and legal issues have not been included because they are not part of the review of the state of stem cell science and are available in other information sources. Federal funding policies are also not included.
NEW GPS SATELLITES NAVIGATE/MAP THE FARM John Deere’s NavCom Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will soon equip the new John Deere farm equipment and tractors with the navigational receivers. Farmers will be able to navigate their fields at night and when visibility is poor making use of the navigational signals beamed down by the Global Positioning Satellites. With soil sensors and other monitors, the farmers will also be able to calculate and map their fields as to what area(s) need more water, fertilizer, or weed control. This joint venture allows the farmer to use current satellite navigational technology for better land management and provides NASA with another scientific and practical application of the GPS. The GPS system data used in automobiles provides precise location information within a few meters, which is good for location identification in most city streets and highways that have signage. However, the new Global Differential GPS system provides an instantaneous position to within 10 centimeters (14 inches) horizontally and 20 centimeters (8 inches) vertically anywhere needed for the farm land areas which lack signage and location markers. You will find this brief but interesting article "Satellite Technology Helps on the Farm" in NASA’s Aerospace Technology Innovation, v. 9, no. 4, July/August, 2001, page 12-14 at http://www.nctn.hq.nasa.gov/innovation/index.html.
September 21, 2001
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0107.html