Kate’s Controversies

Last week, I was in a restaurant talking with some people who had recently moved to New York's capital region from Missouri. Their reason for moving here was that their apartment had been flooded. The discussion soon turned to the fact that many people in the East might not realize that flooding occurs in the West. In reality however, the past couple of months have seen extreme flooding in the Midwestern United States that killed at least twelve people.

Are there gender differences in how people respond to flooding? Nine of the twelve people killed were men, which turns out to be a typical ratio for storms. The University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health has conducted a survey of U.S thunderstorm deaths from 1994 to 2000. Their results show that men are more than twice as likely to die in storm-related deaths as women. The study looked at 1,442 deaths, where 70% were men.

During a storm, most deaths occur during flash floods or lightening strikes. According to Time magazine, men are more likely to work outside and take more dangerous risks.

The human brain is not very good as estimating depth of water and strength of its current. The brain has an even harder time calculating the risk of normal operations, such as driving a vehicle. According to the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 6 inches (15 cm) of water is enough to reach the bottom of your car and cause stalling or damage. Additionally, a foot of water is enough to float a car, and two feet can carry away cars, trucks, and SUVs. Driving and walking are also dangerous as flash flooding could occur anytime. Eight of the twelve reported deaths occurred while the person was attempting to drive – only two of these deaths were women.

Today's weather is increasingly unpredictable. Floods are common in many places, and becoming more so in others. Survival doesn't have to be all about luck. Taking precautions in the event of a flood is crucial. Here a few tips from the Web:

- Always try to keep to higher ground.

- Don't try to drive. (See explanation above!)

- If you have to walk, try to walk where the current is not moving. Even in shallow water currents can be dangerous and cause you to fall.

- Don't fight the current. If you have to swim, do it on your back with your feet forward and up to keep from hitting debris or getting pulled down by the current.

Be careful out there!

Resources:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1817603,00.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/19/national/main3949238.shtml

The technologies of today have blurred the line between public and private. For many of us, a review of our emails, Web searches, and text-message inboxes could be used to paint a virtual portrait of our lives. Unfortunately, what many forget is that these logs are not gone when we delete them, nor are we the only people who can see them – depending on who's footing the bill.

I'm very lucky in my job because I get to surf the Internet looking for controversies. I know that not everyone has this luxury. While I'm at work, using a company-provided computer and Internet connection, I know that what I'm doing could be monitored. A lot of people (myself included) have never questioned this idea – until now.

Quon v. Arch Wireless
This week, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled in favor of Jeff Quon, a police officer whose department decided to review the text messages sent from his department-supplied pager. Quon sued the police department, the city, and service provider Arch Wireless for violating his privacy. Quon's lawyer argued that although the police department had supplied the phone, Arch Wireless was an external entity – meaning that without a warrant or employee permission, the department was not entitled to read Quon's messages.

The court ruled unanimously in Quon's favor, explaining that a "reasonable expectation of privacy" is understood when dealing with an outside provider. By seizing the text-message records without a warrant or Quon's consent, the police department and Arch Wireless were said to have violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

But is American case law now clear?

"The extent to which the Fourth Amendment provides protection for the contents of electronic communications in the Internet Age is an open question", admitted Judge Kim Wardlaw. Nevertheless, the Electronic Frontier Foundation claimed that the Quon ruling helps to ensure that the Fourth Amendment "applies to your communications online just as strongly as it does to packages and letters."

But does it?

Privacy at Work
So does privacy exist at work? It depends on the situation. If you're using messaging programs on an internal server, then your employer can investigate what you're sending or searching without your consent. But if doing "business" on a handheld or PDA device through a service provider (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Arch Wireless.), your information is - at least according to the federal appeal court in San Francisco - protected under the Fourth Amendment and the Stored Communications Act

Court cases like the Quon v. Arch Wireless are instructive because they help clarify what is public and what is private. As I mentioned earlier, when I'm at work, I understand that I'm using my employer's computer and Internet connection. So, I save whatever might be considered "inappropriate" for when I'm home.

How about you?

Resources:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/whos-snooping-on-you-at-work/index.html

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-text19-2008jun19,0,1023202.story?vote40131238=1

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELECTRONIC_PRIVACY?SITE=VASTR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080620-x-rated-sms-case-gives-employees-some-privacy-guarantees.html

In part 1 of this article, I talked about the Ilizarov Method of leg lengthening. This section talks about the second type of surgery offered at the Betz Institute in Germany.

The Betz Institute Procedure

There are six steps to reaching new heights at the Betz Institute: consultation, surgery, hospitalization, lengthening, consolidation, and removal of the device. Much like the preparation stages in the Ilizarov method, the consultation stage at Betz is for an explanation of all aspects of the procedure, a discussion of internal/external lengthening, and to have both X-rays and a physical evaluation.

The surgery at the Betz Institute takes about 4 ½ hours. A small skin incision is made at the head of the femur or tibia. The bone is then cut from the inside with a special intramedullary saw that is inserted through the incision for minimal scarring. A nail is is also inserted through this incision. Once inserted, the nail is secured with interlocking screws at both ends of the bone. After surgery, the patient stays at the Institute for 6 - 10 days for physical therapy that consists of light stretching, strength training, and massage therapy. Before being released from the hospital, the patient is taught how to use crutches properly.

Lengthening begins on the third or fourth day after surgery. As with the Ilizarov method, the bone grows at about 1 mm a day. X-rays are scheduled for every 4 - 5 weeks, and physical therapy 2 - 4 times a week. Once the desired length is achieved, consolidation begins. First, X-rays are used to determine the amount of calcium present in the bone. This process can take about 6-8 weeks. The final stage, removal of the device, involves removing the nail a year or two after lengthening. Typically, this is an outpatient procedure. Patients are able to resume normal activity between the end of consolidation and device removal.

How Far Would You Go?
It has been estimated that around 4,000 people have undergone this risky and painful surgery. It is increasingly popular, especially for "medical tourists" who go to countries like Brazil, China, and Egypt where surgeries are often cheaper. Is paying upwards of $100,000 worth an extra couple of inches? For people with medical conditions, I can understand why this is necessary; however, from a purely cosmetic perspective, I can't understand the reasoning. But I can say that writing this article made me cringe many, many times!

So what do you think?

• What is wrong with being "short"?
• Do you feel that "tall" people are more advantaged?
• Is the "beauty" industry getting out of control?

Resources:
http://www.betzinstitute.com/procedure.htm#1
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/17/elective-surgery-to.html
http://men.style.com/details/features/landing?id=content_6838
http://www.betterhumans.com/blogs/articles/archive/2007/06/26/Make-me-taller.aspxhttp://www.shortsupport.org/Health/Leg-Lengthening/procedure.html

People are willing to go to extremes to be beautiful, and to enjoy the benefits of confidence. Whether or not you agree with conventional notions of what makes someone "attractive", there are certain ideas of how people should appear. In American culture, women are said to seek "tall, dark, and handsome", while men are assumed to search for the "tall, model-type" woman. These are just stereotypes, of course, but some people take them to heart.

Dealing with the genes we're dealt is no longer necessary. With advances in cosmetic surgery, you can change anything about yourself that you find unflattering - whether it requires a nose job or calf implants. Now, you can change even your height by going under the knife. Limb lengthening is a complex procedure that was reserved originally for children with disproportionate leg lengths. It was also an option for people born with dwarfism, and to give people with Constitutional Short Stature extra inches of height. Constitutional Short Stature affects people who were born in the bottom fifth percentile of height (in their region), but who do not display the characteristics associated with dwarfism.

There are two types of limb lengthening: the Ilizarov method out of China, and a newer procedure at the Betz Institute in Germany. [Author's note: if you have a weak stomach (like me), you might not want to read the full explanation of these surgeries]

The Ilizarov Method
The Ilizarov method has four stages: preparation, surgery, lengthening, and strengthening. The preparation stage involves consulting with a physician to have X-rays taken. The X-rays allow a custom Illizarov external-fixator device to be built for the patient.

The Ilizarov surgery consists of breaking the tibia and fibula bones in each leg. The external fixator is attached to each half of the bone with pins that go through holes in the patient's skin. Over the next few months, the fixator is lengthened and new bone growth occurs slowly (about 1 mm a day). The patient is confined to a wheelchair during this time to prevent putting any weight on the growing bone; however, the patient is also scheduled for a few hours of physical therapy each day.

The final stage of the Ilizarov method is strengthening. The patient remains confined to a wheelchair for the next 3 - 6 months as the new bone gains strength. The external fixator remains on the leg, but is no longer attached. Physical therapy is reduced to three times a week. At the end of this phase, the fixator is removed and the patient can generally walk without assistance; however, a cast is sometimes necessary to protect the leg for an additional month.

Check out part 2 of this article, right here in Kate's Controversies.

For most people, taking care of their children is a priority. You don't want your kids to feel sadness, hurt, or anything else that causes them pain. Having a sick child can be worrisome and frustrating. While you'd like to help them feel better, sometimes you can't until (maybe) now, thanks to Obecalp – cherry-flavored dextrose placebo tablets.

Obecalp (placebo spelled backwards) was invented by Jennifer Buettner, whose niece was suffering from a case of hypochondria. Persons with hypochondria are overcome with excessive worry about having a serious illness, to the extent that they do not believe otherwise. While trying to help her niece, Buettner's mother-in-law (a nurse) told her to give the child a Motrin tablet.

A Mother's Solution

Not completely comfortable with that solution, Jennifer Buettner sent her husband to the store to buy placebo pills. Studies have shown that placebo tablets may reduce high blood pressure, depression, and pain. When her husband came back empty-handed, Buettner said the idea just "clicked" – thus bringing Obecalp to life. Jennifer Buettner and her husband, Dennis, then founded the placebo company "Efficacy Brands". Their goal was to create a product that would allow parents to treat their children for minor ills, while reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics and other medications.

Because Obecalp does not contain an active drug, it will not be sold under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules for medications. Instead, the placebos will be sold as "dietary supplements", meaning that they can be sold at many more stores. According to Jennifer Buettner, Obecalp "is designed to have the texture and taste of actual medicine so it will trick kids into thinking that they're taking something…Then their brain takes over, and they say, 'Oh, I feel better.'"

Do Placebos Work?

"The idea that we can use a placebo as a general treatment method strikes me as inappropriate" says Dr. Howard Brody, a medical ethicist and family physician at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. According to Dr. Brody, placebos can have dramatic effects for some people, while doing nothing for others. Bioethicist Franklin G. Miller agrees with Brody. "As a parent of three now grown children, I can't think of a single instance where I'd want to give a placebo".

The power of placebos lies, of course, in the belief that they'll work. Experts are questioning how effective Obecalp will be, since the people dispensing them out know that they're not real. However, a 2007 study asked parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to replace some medications with placebos. Both parents and children were told that these "dose extenders" contained no drug. Nevertheless, at the end of three months, 80% of the children reported that the placebo had helped them.

Promoting Drug Dependency?

Jennifer Buettner doesn't say explicitly what Obecalp can treat. Rather, she says that "you'll know when Obecalp is necessary". But does administering a placebo each time a child has an ache or pain teach that a cure is always found in a bottle? Dr. Brody worries that "kids could grow up thinking that the only way to get better is by taking a pill. If they do that, they will not learn that a minor complaint like a scraped knew or a cold can improve on its own."

While Dr. Brody believes that Obecalp could entice anyone who has been up all night with a crying child, he claims that medication is not what the child is really looking for. "Does a sick child really want X-rays or M.R.I's of the latest antibiotic? No, all the sick child wants is comforting".

What do you think?

• Are placebos like Obecalp necessary?
• Would you consider giving your child a placebo?
• Could this cause drug dependency, or produce more child hypochondriacs?
• Is giving a child a placebo such as Obecalp lying?

Resources:

http://www.placebostore.com/obecalp-chewable-tablets.html

http://www.inventedbyamother.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriasis

http://www.prnewsnow.com/Public_Release/Medical/186829.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/health/27plac.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1212067961-UFgSRf7wyDtvwGuRSTGmiw

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