LANCET'S RIDICULOUS ANTIOXIDANT PAPER

[Guest guest]

LANCET'S RIDICULOUS ANTIOXIDANT PAPER JoAnn Guest Jun 16, 2005 20:56

PDT

" The establishment defends itself by complicating everything to the

point of incomprehensibility. " (Fred Hoyle)

 

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol. 4, No. 22, for October 20,

2004)

" Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A. "

 

Written, edited and copyright 2004 by Andrew W. Saul of

http://www.doctoryourself.com , which welcomes 1.5 million visitors

annually.

Commercial use of the website or the contents of this Newsletter is

strictly

prohibited.

 

IN THIS " REALLY BIG " ISSUE:

LANCET'S RIDICULOUS ANTIOXIDANT PAPER

ASCORBATE: THE SCIENCE OF VITAMIN C

 

OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR. S. HICKEY

" NUTRITION GUIDE " NONSENSE

and, the moment you've been waiting for:

The MEDLINE COMEDY CONTEST ENTRIES!

 

But, as Ed Sullivan said, " Now before we bring on the Beatles, " let's

take a look at

this:

 

LANCET GOES ANTI-ANTIOXIDANT

 

I have received many readers' letters concerning a recent negative

antioxidant

study published in the journal Lancet (Goran Bjelakovic, Dimitrinka

Nikolova,

Rosa G Simonetti, Christian Gluud. Antioxidant supplements for

prevention of

gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Lancet

2004; 364:

1219-28).

 

To put it succinctly, the Lancet study concludes that antioxidant

supplements are

killing people.

 

Hogwash.

 

To say that antioxidants are bad is like saying that oxidants are

good.

That is not

true, and even the giant breakfast cereal companies know it. If a

box of

Calvin's

" Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs "

(http://home.no.net/uffen/calvin/calvin12.htm)

needs antioxidants, so do your tens of trillions of perishable body

cells.

 

The Lancet Anti-antioxidant Study:

Some Cautions for Readers

 

1) Beware the Meta-Analysis: A meta-analysis is not new research,

but a

review

of existing research. It is not a clinical study, but rather a

statistical look at a

collection of studies. If you analyze failed studies, you will get a

negative meta-

analysis.

 

2) Low-dose vitamin studies are the ones that get negative results.

Most

vitamin

research is low-dose. So where's the surprise?

 

3) Specifically addressing the recent Lancet study, Dr. Abram Hoffer

says:

 

" You will note that in every study analyzed, vitamin A and beta

carotene

were

used and according to the analysis, these were the toxic components.

There was

no evidence whatsoever that vitamin C was harmful. The authors must

have

 

included the Finnish smoking studies, which were huge, or else they

could not

have found as many subjects. I have previously criticized the Finnish

studies

(Hoffer A. Editorial: The Finnish antioxidant and lung cancer study.

Journal of

Orthomolecular Medicine, 1994. Vol 9, Second Quarter, 67-70.) because

even

though it was randomized, it turns out that the group given

beta-carotene all had

been smoking one year more than any of the other groups. That extra

year

could

account for the slight increase in incidence of cancer in this group.

Therefore, the

Finnish cancer studies alone could account for the entire difference

they found in

the Lancet analysis. "

 

4) Picking up on Dr. Hoffer's comment, I'd like to add that all bets

are

off when

you introduce pitifully low doses of antioxidants into the

contaminated

body cells

of long-time smokers. I call it " physiological food riot syndrome. "

 

Imagine if Queen Marie " Let Them Eat Cake " Antoinette had gone out

alone

into

the poverty-ridden streets of pre-revolutionary Paris, armed with

nothing but a few

dozen loaves of bread. I think there would have been a mob scene, and

more

people hurt from the scuffle than nourished by the bread. Tossing a

token amount

of some food to a starving crowd will not work. Giving inadequate

doses

of

vitamins to the desperate body cells gasping away inside heavy

smokers

won't

work, either. If you want to spend your time and go and analyze the

failure, be my

guest.

 

But I think the Lancet would have done better to take a stab at

publishing some

productive research, or, at the very least, a meta-analysis of high-

dose

nutrition

therapy.

 

More of my hints on How to Spot Anti-Vitamin Biases in a Scientific

Study will

be found at http://www.doctoryourself.com/antivitamin.html.

 

More of Dr. Hoffer's thoughts on this are posted at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_factoids.html

 

ASCORBATE: THE SCIENCE OF VITAMIN C

Hickey S and Roberts H. Ascorbate: The science of vitamin C. 2004.

ISBN

1-

4116-0724-4. Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com. http://www.lulu.com

 

No medical professional's bias or belief system can long withstand

Steve

Hickey

and Hilary Roberts' new and absolutely first-rate presentation of the

safety and

effectiveness of megadoses of vitamin C. There are only two possible

reader

responses to this book: persuasion or dismissal. Ascorbate: The

Science

of

Vitamin C is a thorough review (575 references) of what, at least

until

now, has

appeared to be a controversial topic. Along with Dr. Tom Levy's book,

Vitamin C,

Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable (reviewed at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/levy.html), it ranks among the absolute

best.

 

I wish I'd had a book of this caliber back in the 1970's when my kids

were infants,

and there wasn't a doctor in sight that would give our vegetarian and

megavitamin

C lifestyle the time of day. The outlaws, er, ah, in-laws were

against

it, too. Even

so, I raised my kids all the way into college without a single dose

of

any antiviral,

antihistamine, or antibiotic. To put it bluntly: the stuff really

works.

 

Flu season is coming: stock up now, both on the vitamin and the good

books about

it.

 

I am writing a full-length review of Ascorbate: The Science of

Vitamin C

to

appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Orthomolecular

Medicine.

Since

MEDLINE likely won't be indexing it (more on that further below), I

also

intend

to publish the review in the Doctor Yourself Newsletter for my

ever-curious

readership.

 

THE DOCTOR YOURSELF INTERVIEW

with Steve Hickey, PhD, co-author of Ascorbate: The Science of

Vitamin C

 

DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWS: So how did it all start?

 

STEVE HICKEY, PhD: We (co-author Hilary Roberts and I) had been

following

the developments in vitamin C and antioxidants with some concern.

Since

Linus

Pauling's death, there seemed to be a great deal of misinformation

coming into the

area. The NIH had performed some questionable experiments and were

making

the apparently ridiculous statement that blood plasma and tissues

became

 

saturated with low doses of vitamin C. There was no mainstream

research

on high

doses and the establishment was making wild extrapolations from their

low dose

data. We could not see how a clinical trial with 200 mg of vitamin C,

for example,

could be used to suggest that higher doses were not effective.

 

The work of physicians like Bob Cathcart, Archie Kalokerinos and

Abram

Hoffer

was intriguing. The reported effects, especially of intravenous

vitamin

C, were

astounding. It was difficult to find any reason to explain the lack

of

scientific

follow-up. By analogy, it was as if many independent physicians were

each

independently discovering antibiotics and no-one was interested. We

had

friends

and relatives that were sick or dying from diseases that high dose

vitamin C was

claimed to cure. Eventually we felt we had no choice but to write the

book.

 

DY NEWS: What are your past and current occupations or university

appointments?

 

HICKEY: I have a PhD in Medical Biophysics from the University of

Manchester. I spent about ten years in research at the Manchester

Medical School

and associated hospitals. Initially, I had trained as a biologist

specializing in

pharmacology. Later I switched to biomechanics and medical physics.

My

PhD

was on the function of the spine, specifically the aging, development

and

mechanical function of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral

disk.

I was

awarded the Volvo Award for back pain research for the first year of

my

PhD

(jointly with Dr David Hukins) and later won the Annual Award and

Medal

of the

Back Pain Society for MR imaging of the spine. Following my work on

the

spine,

I worked with Professor John Brocklehurst on the biomechanics of the

urethra and

developed a range of conformable catheters. Then I worked on methods

for

ultra

high resolution CT scanning and led the physics group of the first

clinical MR

scanner in Europe. Currently, I am Head of Technology for a company

in

Manchester Science Park and a member of the Biology Department of

Manchester

Metropolitan University.

 

Hilary Roberts' first degree was in Physiology and Psychology, she

has a

Masters

in Computer Science and her PhD was on the effects of early life

malnutrition, at

the Department of Child Health in the University of Manchester. She

spent ten

years in research and teaching at the university. Currently, she is a

freelance

researcher and consultant. She is also working on a second nutrition

book.

 

DY NEWS: How did you happen to meet each other?

 

HICKEY: We met at Manchester Medical School, during our PhD studies.

 

DY NEWS: Advocating megadoses of vitamin C as actual cure for serious

disease

has been a fount of frustration for many an academic (Linus Pauling

coming

instantly to mind), practicing physician or grant-seeking research

scientist. What

heat have you personally been taking from your book?

 

HICKEY: None whatsoever - so far. We have been actively trying to

provoke a

response from the NIH, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and associated

scientists.

I suppose they are trying to ignore us, but they can't hide forever.

I

think it is clear

that the current ideas of plasma saturation are simply wrong and

cannot

be

defended.

 

One or two scientists have tried to support the use of white blood

cells

to estimate

body requirements. This is more central to the IOM's justification of

the RDA than

the plasma studies, but equally silly. Dr Mark Levine told us he used

white blood

cells because they were easy to sample, not because they were

representative of

normal body cells. The RDA committee, using Levine's papers as their

basis,

claimed that these cells were the best model. In giving their

reasons,

the IOM used

a single reference to justify the choice of cell, but that paper did

not

support the

idea that white blood cells are similar to other body tissues. White

blood cells

have special needs for vitamin C. They absorb it actively and have

levels from 25-

60 times the surrounding plasma. Biologically, it is difficult to

think

of cells with

more specialized requirements and uptake mechanisms for ascorbate.

 

Many of the people whose work we have respected for years have

welcomed

the

book, which is encouraging. Those on the opposite side have tended to

ignore it,

which is disappointing, but unsurprising. We have taken time and

effort

to seek

out and email the establishment scientists that support the low-dose

ideas, but

none have chosen to defend these ideas.

 

DY NEWS: Your book carefully examines the Moertel-Pauling vitamin

C/cancer

controversy. I understand Moertel died the same year Pauling did, but

was nearly

thirty years younger. Does that hit a nerve of the ascorbate

researcher?

 

HICKEY: We are obviously delighted that Pauling lived such a long

life

and was

productive until his death, aged 93. Everyone benefited from his

work.

Charles

Moertel died in his sixties and they both died of cancer. Ironically,

recent results

suggest that if Dr. Moertel had performed his vitamin C and cancer

experiments

with more of an open mind, the results might have saved his life.

 

DY NEWS: In spite of so much modern research confirming that he was

right,

Pauling is still vilified by some. Why do you think this is? What is

it

about this

little molecule, C6H8O6, that so ticks off the medical professions?

 

HICKEY: Pauling was one of the greatest scientists who have ever

lived.

Anyone

has the right to criticize his science if it is incorrect. However,

the

criticism

directed at him in connection with vitamin C has often been personal

and

this is

not acceptable. Pauling's achievements are greater than are those of

his

detractors:

it sounds like sour grapes to attack him on a personal level.

 

The medical establishment's response to vitamin C seems bizarre. They

have

denigrated its use in high doses but have not responded to reports of

efficacy by

independent physicians. The reasons for this are not scientific.

Pharmaceutical

companies have a great financial interest in ensuring that high dose

vitamin C

continues to be seen as ineffective. The existence of the tobacco

companies

demonstrates that some companies value profits more highly than

health.

If the

claimed benefits of high-dose vitamin C can be demonstrated, its use

would

greatly reduce the profitability of the medical industries.

Furthermore,

if vitamin

C were shown to have these properties, we might expect people to

start

asking

whether other antioxidant supplements could have similar effects.

 

The medical establishment gives the appearance of avoiding high-dose

vitamin C

experimentation. They seem to confuse nutritional doses, between 200

mg

to 10

grams, with necessarily much higher pharmacological doses. For

example,

they

might perform a clinical trial using a dose of less than 400 mg for

heart disease

and, finding no response, suggest that vitamin C is useless. A

nutritional dose of

400 mg of vitamin C is not likely to reverse heart disease, but this

experiment has

no bearing on whether or not higher doses might be more effective.

 

Pharmacological doses start at a minimum of 10 grams for treating

disease. Dr

Robert Cathcart (http://www.orthomed.com) and others have given daily

doses of

several hundred grams for serious illnesses. Cathcart classifies the

severity of viral

disease in relation to the vitamin C bowel tolerance level, so he

might

describe a

" 40-gram cold " or a more severe " 120-gram cold. " The medical

establishment has

been negligent in failing to investigate such doses.

 

DY NEWS: I noticed that your book properly zeroes in on intravenous

administration of vitamin C. Many of my readers are vexed that their

local

hospitals and doctors will not provide this. Your comments?

 

HICKEY: It is possible that many physicians are worried about

litigation

when

giving therapies that are not in the accepted mainstream. Dr Tom Levy

trained in

law as well as medicine and his book, " Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases

and

Toxins, " (http://www.doctoryourself.com/levy.html) was written in

part

to help

with this situation. Patients might consider getting a copy of his

book

for their

physician. (Editor's note: A sample chapter is posted at

http://www.tomlevymd.com/vcfour.htm)

 

DY NEWS: Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C, even with its 575

references,

might be described as just slightly controversial. What parts of your

book are your

critics attacking you over, specifically?

 

HICKEY: This is quite strange. One critic suggested that we were too

harsh in

describing cold fusion as an example of pseudoscience. A professor

did

not like

one of the chemical diagrams. That is it, as far as criticism goes.

The

medical

establishment have been unable or unwilling to respond to the

important

points

made in the book.

 

DY NEWS: As you cite them, can you please tell us about your

experiences,

discussions or contacts with Dr. Bob Cathcart, Dr. Abram Hoffer, and

Dr.

Tom

Levy?

 

HICKEY: They were an inspiration. Robert Cathcart read the whole

book in

early

draft form and provided us with feedback and helpful suggestions.

Abram

Hoffer

read sections of the manuscript and was most encouraging, as was Tom

Levy,

who told us about his plans for future research. The book owes a

great

debt to the

work of Cathcart, Hoffer, Levy and other physicians, who have risked

their

reputations and careers in the hope of getting orthomolecular therapy

considered.

 

DY NEWS: To that, I can only say, Hear, hear! How much attention is

Ascorbate:

The Science of Vitamin C receiving in your country, a nation under

the

imminent

threat of CODEX and the EU supplements directive?

 

HICKEY: I think the Codex and EU legislation has European nutrition

professionals and supplement takers in a panic. Stopping the Codex

will

be

difficult and the current emphasis is on a legal challenge in the

European Court of

Human Rights. I will be assisting Patrick Holford in a presentation

to

the UK

House of Commons in October.

 

DY NEWS: How are what I understand to be your strong efforts to

increase

the

US RDA and other government nutrient intake standards progressing?

 

HICKEY: I must mention the sterling work that Bill Sardi, Medical

Journalist, has

been undertaking in this area. If we are successful in getting the

RDA

increased, it

will certainly owe a lot to his persistent efforts. I have received

no

credible

scientific response to the challenge, from either the NIH or the IOM.

There

appears to be no defense to the plasma " saturation " claims. However,

the

IOM

have just claimed that they actually based the RDA on levels in white

blood cells,

rather than plasma saturation. This was probably their best attempt

at a

reply. As

we pointed out in " Ascorbate, " the evidence for the use of white

blood

cells is at

least as silly as that for the use of plasma levels. White blood

cells

are not a

suitable model for the whole body: they are unusual and specialized

in

their use of

ascorbate.

 

DY NEWS: To date, where has you book been reviewed?

 

HICKEY: I don't have a full list, but there are readers' reviews on

Amazon.com,

Lulu.com and the Vitamin C Foundation website

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org . Dr Richard Passwater reviewed the

book for

WholeFoods Magazine (Sept. 2004). The latest reviewer is Dr Sandra

Goodman,

author of " Vitamin C the Master Nutrient, " for Positive Health

magazine.

The

reviews we have seen have been positive. We had expected a lot of

negative

feedback and disinformation from the establishment but, so far, this

has

not

materialized.

 

DY NEWS: How do both of you get along with your personal physicians?

 

HICKEY: Very well; our physicians are helpful and open. They have

some

coverage of alternative medicine and include acupuncture as a

therapy.

Neither of

us has needed to visit since the Ascorbate book was published.

 

DY NEWS: Because of how much vitamin C you take, perhaps? How much

vitamin C do you take daily? How about your families; children?

 

HICKEY: It varies - several grams a day at least, more if we feel

under

the

weather. We take it at intervals throughout the day. My (grown-up)

children take

similar amounts. Hilary's father, a skeptical, retired surgeon, has

also

been on

vitamin C for about 20 years, since having a heart bypass operation.

I

think he

started it as a placebo, as supplementing was easier than dealing

with

the repeated

suggestions that he needed it! However, from a recent scan, his

arteries

are clear

and, now he has read the book, he is starting to think there might be

something in

it after all.

 

The Doctor Yourself Newsletter thanks Dr. Hickey for this interview,

and

wishes

him and Dr. Roberts all success with their very valuable and timely

book.

 

ANTIOXDANTS VILIFIED

by Michael Jolliffe, UK

 

Here in England this week there has been much furor about a study

published in

the Lancet (mentioned previously: Bjelakovic G et al. Antioxidant

supplements

for prevention of gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and

meta-analysis.

Lancet 2004; 364: 1219-28) claiming to show that antioxidant

supplementation

may exacerbate gastrointestinal cancer. UK nutritionist Patrick

Holford

responded

by describing the report as " one of the most biased and

unsubstantiated

reports on

antioxidants I've ever read. "

(http://www.patrickholford.com/content.asp?id_Content=1193)

 

The front cover of the Lancet contains a quote from the article

suggesting that

" The prospect that vitamin pills may not only do no good but also

kill

their

consumers is a scary speculation given the vast quantities that are

used

in certain

communities. " The motivation for this scary speculation becomes

clearer

on

turning the journal over to the BACK cover. The Lancet's entire back

cover is

filled with an image of an empty pill bottle, labeled: " Last year

millions died from

a drug problem. They couldn't get any. " Pharmaceutical companies are

clearly

bringing out the heavy artillery in order to spin the anti-vitamin

myth,

and put

doubts in minds.

 

Yet, however much we deride the antiquated " drug for a bug " tactics

of

the

medical profession, they wouldn't be so much a cause for concern, and

the clear

bias shown against nutritional medicine not nearly so incredulous, if

the patients

receiving treatment from our National Health Service were being well

educated on

their own health needs. This is emphatically not the case. The

following

link is to

an advice booklet given to cancer patients at my local hospital:

(http://www.kentandmedway.nhs.uk/pdf/Local_services/Nutrition_for_the

_cancer

 

_Patient.pdf)

 

Its recommendations are astonishing (and, unfortunately, not

atypical).

The

booklet begins with the sound advice that " it is important to eat as

well as you

can, " but goes on to suggest " nourishing drinks " such as " After

Eight "

chocolates

with 2 tablespoons of cream and 60 g of ice cream (page 23) and

a " Tipsy

 

Special " (p 3) containing honey with whiskey or brandy. Recommended

snacks

include ice cream, chocolate mousse and shortbread, chocolate

biscuits

(cookies)

(p 5) and glasses of sherry before meals to increase appetite (p 5).

 

The following would be a feasible day's menu for a cancer patient,

adhering

closely to the advice provided in the booklet:

 

Breakfast:

Cereals (e.g. Rice Crispies, p 21) with added honey, sugar and/or

jam (p

10).

 

Lunch:

Corned beef (p 11) white bread sandwich (p 21) with cake (p 12).

 

Supper:

Sherry (p 5)

Hotdog sausages with instant mash potato (p 11) and stewed

vegetables (p

5).

 

Followed, of course, by a Tipsy Special.

 

The title of the booklet " Nutrition for the Cancer Patient " is

clearly a

misnomer

because, hard as one may try, it is very difficult to find any

nutrition

in such a

menu. It could be argued that the advice is aimed at the nauseous,

post-

chemotherapy cancer patient looking for easy, palatable, convenience

food. Yet,

surely that is the very reason itself that good, simple nutritional

advice needs to be

offered. If the unfortunate individual is so weakened by the disease,

why are they

being told to eat chocolate mousse? No one would deny a suffering man

(woman,

or child) going through the distress of radiation therapy a

comforting

bowl of ice

cream IF they were being otherwise properly nourished.

 

The fact, however, cannot be ignored that the same medical

profession,

standing

up against the use of antioxidants and other nutrients that

indisputably

help to

prevent illness, is singularly failing to educate its cancer patients

beyond eating

tinned soup and drinking cocoa (p 12). All this, while simultaneously

offering

reassurance that people eating such balanced diets " should have no

need

for

vitamin and mineral supplements " (p 4).

 

Comments about the booklet, or suggested responses are welcomed to

m.jolli-. If enough are received, I will look

at offering

the collective response to the hospital.

 

EAT, EXERCISE, EXCEL

 

" The educational, 28 minute VHS video entitled " Eat, Exercise,

Excel " is

now

available free of charge at our website: www.brightspot.org. It

provides

a great

nutrition-based alternative to the standard approach of police in

schools at high

cost. "

 

" Sincerely,

" Hugh D. Riordan, M.D. "

(3100 North Hillside Avenue, Wichita, KS 67219 U.S.A.)

 

SEARCHING AT DOCTORYOURSELF.COM?

Atomz, our free search engine, now contains advertising. It is not my

idea, but

keeping my 1.5 million word website easily searchable, and free, is.

 

DOCTOR YOURSELF DANISH WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

http://www.mayday-info.dk/335.0.html

contains an outstanding English-language orthomolecular bibliography

of

150

important nutritional research studies. Much of the rest of the site

is

also available

in English as well. http://www.mayday-info.dk/50.0.html is definitely

worth a

click.

 

AND AWAY WE GO!

 

Yes, Here Are the Entries Received for the Doctor Yourself News'

MEDLINE COMEDY CONTEST!

 

CAUTION: This portion of the Doctor Yourself Newsletter is rated PG-

13

for

Strong Suggestive Scientific Content. Parental Guidance is

Recommended.

 

Thanks to all for filling this wonderful grab bag. OK, OK! No more!

The

contest

is now officially over, and the winning Medline citation will be

announced . . . in

our NEXT issue.

 

I really did learn a lot from Ed Sullivan.

 

Rules Reminder: In a case when more than one reader sent in the same

entry, the

one received first gets consideration. And remember: Our decision is

final, secret,

and arbitrary.

 

Just like MEDLINE.

 

And yes, these papers are all indexed by your taxpayer-supported

National Library

of Medicine.

 

Heated socks maintain toe temperature but not always skin blood flow

as

mean

skin temperature falls. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2003 Aug;74(8):891-

3.)

 

Treatment techniques for the recycling of bottle washing water in the

soft drinks

industry. Water Sci Technol. 2004;50(2):107-12. Ramirez Camperos E,

Mijaylova

Nacheva P, Diaz Tapia E.

 

Bite mark or bottle top? J Forensic Sci. 2004 Jan;49(1):119-21.

James H,

Cirillo

GN. Forensic Odontology Unit, University of Adelaide, SA 5005,

Australia.

 

" An alleged assault was reported by a 42-year-old female, with

initial

medical

examination revealing an apparent bite mark on the right buttock.

Odontological

examination, including visual assessment, full history and

photographs

showed

that the injury did not meet the class characteristics of a human

bite.

Subsequent

digital overlay production showed that the injury pattern was

consistent

with a

corrugated bottle top. This case highlights the need for careful

assessment of

injuries alleged to be caused by human teeth. "

 

Animal waste: the smell of success or the stench of trouble? Herrick

JB.

J Am Vet

Med Assoc. 1995 Jan 15;206(2):162-3.

 

The eyebrow frown: a salient social signal. Tipples J, Atkinson AP,

Young AW.

Emotion. 2002 Sep;2(3):288-96.

 

" Seven experiments investigated the finding that threatening

schematic

faces are

detected more quickly than nonthreatening faces. Threatening faces

with

v-shaped

eyebrows (angry and scheming expressions) were detected more quickly

than

nonthreatening faces with inverted v-shaped eyebrows (happy and sad

expressions). In contrast to the hypothesis that these effects were

due

to perceptual

features unrelated to the face, no advantage was found for v-shaped

eyebrows

presented in a nonfacelike object. Furthermore, the addition of

internal

facial

features (the eyes, or the nose and mouth) was necessary to produce

the

detection

advantage for faces with v-shaped eyebrows. Overall, the results are

interpreted as

showing that the v-shaped eyebrow configuration affords easy

detection,

but only

when other internal facial features are present. "

 

J Vector Ecol. 1998 Dec;23(2):186-94. Olfactory responses and field

attraction of

mosquitoes to volatiles from Limburger cheese and human foot odor.

Kline

DL.

 

A study of diurnal variation in wrinkles on the human face. Arch

Dermatol Res.

2004 Aug 20. Tsukahara K, Moriwaki S, Hotta M, Fujimura T, Kitahara

T.

 

" We recently evaluated diurnal variations in facial skin elasticity

and

thickness

and reported a decrease in skin thickness and an increase in skin

elasticity in the

afternoon compared with the morning. This phenomenon may be

associated

with

the effect of gravity on dermal fluids. There have been no reports on

the diurnal

variation in wrinkles on the face, and we now describe such a

study. . .

The

results of skin thickness and skin elasticity were in agreement with

those of our

last study. Swelling tended to occur in the morning due to the

effects

of gravity

during sleep. Therefore, wrinkles may be swollen in the morning.

Furthermore,

repeated movements of the face due to changes of facial expression

may

gradually

increase wrinkle formation and depth from the morning to the

afternoon. "

 

Patterson S. Windy babies. Med J Aust. 1966 Mar 19;1(12):506-8.

 

Jones FA. Burbulence. A fresh look at flatulent dyspepsia.

Practitioner. 1967

Mar;198(185):367-70.

 

Wigs, laughter, and subversion: Charles Busch and strategies of drag

performance. J Homosex. 2004;46(3-4):35-53. Niles R.

 

" This paper examines the strategies of drag performer/ playwright

Charles Busch.

His performance aesthetic is explored and shown to be subversive even

though its

initial impulse is to entertain. Basing my arguments on the work of

Judith Butler,

Elin Diamond, and others, I argue that drag queens like Busch can not

only

entertain but also make audiences question and criticize through

drag's

power to

create a Brechtian alienation effect and historicize the

subject . . .

By examining

the performance of Busch and his fellow actors, I demonstrate how a

contemporary relevancy is achieved by having the roles played by a

female

impersonator whose acting choices are filtered through a gay

sensibility. The

ongoing dialectic between spectator and performer creates a

historicized

moment

in performance that underscores the gender dynamics in unexpected and

stimulating ways. "

 

Respiration. 2004 Jan-Feb;71(1):104. Chin stimulation: a trigger

point

for

provoking acute hiccups. Todisco T, Todisco C, Bruni L, Donato R.

 

Psychophysiology. 2004 Mar;41(2):281-7. Staring at one side of the

face

increases

blood flow on that side of the face. Drummond PD, Mirco N.

 

" To investigate the effect of observation on blushing, an

experimenter

sat next to

28 participants and looked closely at one cheek while the participant

sang

(embarrassing) or read aloud (not embarrassing). Increases in cheek

temperature

were greater on the observed than the unobserved side during both

tasks.

Changes

in cheek temperature were symmetrical when the experimenter sat next

to

another

23 participants and looked straight ahead, as well as when the

experimenter stared

at one side of the participant's face through a glass window while

the

participant

sang. However, increases in cutaneous blood flow were greater on the

observed

than the unobserved side of the forehead during singing. These

findings

suggest

that staring at one side of the face triggers an ipsilateral

increase in

facial blood

flow. "

 

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Apr;25(4):590-2. Thinness and

body

shape

of Playboy centerfolds from 1978 to 1998. Katzmarzyk PT, Davis C.

 

Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004 Sep;30(9):1186-97. Playboy Playmate

curves:

changes in facial and body feature preferences across social and

economic

conditions. Pettijohn TF 2nd, Jungeberg BJ.

 

" Past research has investigated ideals of beauty and how these ideals

have

changed across time. In the current study, facial and body

characteristics of

Playboy Playmates of the Year from 1960-2000 were identified and

investigated

to explore their relationships with U.S. social and economic factors.

Playmate of

the Year age, body feature measures, and facial feature measurements

were

correlated with a general measure of social and economic hard times.

Consistent

with Environmental Security Hypothesis predictions, when social and

economic

conditions were difficult, older, heavier, taller Playboy Playmates

of

the Year with

larger waists, smaller eyes, larger waist-to-hip ratios, smaller

bust-to-waist ratios,

and smaller body mass index values were selected. These results

suggest

that

environmental security may influence perceptions and preferences for

women

with certain body and facial features. "

 

J Clin Psychiatry. 1995 Feb;56(2):56-9. Rhinotillexomania:

psychiatric

disorder or

habit? Jefferson JW, Thompson TD.

 

" BACKGROUND: Conditions once considered bad habits are now

recognized as

 

psychiatric disorders (trichotillomania, onychopagia). We

hypothesized

that nose

picking is another such " habit, " a common benign practice in most

adults

but a

time-consuming, socially compromising, or physically harmful

condition

(rhinotillexomania) in some. METHODS: We developed the

Rhinotillexomania

 

Questionnaire, mailed it to 1000 randomly selected adult residents of

Dane

County, Wisconsin, and requested anonymous responses. The returned

questionnaires were analyzed according to age, sex, marital status,

living

arrangement, and educational level. Nose picking was characterized

according to

time involved, level of distress, location, attitudes toward self and

others regarding

the practice, technique, methods of disposal, reasons, complications,

and

associated habits and psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: Two hundred

fifty-four

subjects responded. Ninety-one percent were current nose pickers

although only

75% felt " almost everyone does it " ; 1.2% picked at least every hour.

For

2

subjects (0.8%), nose picking caused moderate to marked interferences

with daily

functioning. Two subjects spent between 15 and 30 minutes and 1 over

2

hours a

day picking their nose. For 2 others, perforation of the nasal septum

was a

complication. Associated " habits " included picking cuticles (25%),

picking at skin

(20%), biting fingernails (18%), and pulling out hair (6%).

CONCLUSION:

This

first population survey of nose picking suggests that it is an almost

universal

practice in adults but one that should not be considered pathologic

for

most. For

some, however, the condition may meet criteria for a

disorder-rhinotillexomania. "

 

Sud Med Ekspert. 2004 Jul-Aug;47(4):38-40. [The role of carrier-

object

in

investigations of cigar-butts] [Article in Russian] [No authors

listed]

 

" A comprehensive series of experiments was undertaken to find the

reasons why

the cigar-butt stuff, removed from accident places for investigation

at

forensic-

biological laboratories, affects different sera. A number of such

reasons were

established. Methods are suggested to eliminate the cigar-butt impact

with the aim

of ensuring the most accurate results while determining the group

adherence of

saliva on the cigar-butts. "

 

Psychophysiological responding during script-driven imagery in people

reporting

abduction by space aliens. Psychol Sci. 2004 Jul;15(7):493-7. McNally

RJ, Lasko

NB, Clancy SA, Macklin ML, Pitman RK, Orr SP.

 

[No authors listed] Coca-Cola Space Can undergoes successful test by

cosmonauts

onboard Soviet space station Mir. AIAA Stud J. 1992 Winter;29(4):14-

5.

 

Hong CY, Shieh CC, Wu P, Chiang BN. The spermicidal potency of Coca-

Cola

 

and Pepsi-Cola. Hum Toxicol. 1987 Sep;6(5):395-6.

 

Spina MB. " ...Nothing beats stamp collecting... " (Dr. Alan Drinnan).

TIC. 1979

Aug;38(8):12-5.

 

Total infarction of the penis caused by entrapment in a plastic

bottle.

Urologe A.

2004 Jul;43(7):843-4. [Article in German] Maruschke M, Seiter H.

 

An objective evaluation of the waterproofing qualities, ease of

insertion and

comfort of commonly available earplugs. Clin Otolaryngol. 2004

Apr;29(2):128-

32. Chisholm EJ, Kuchai R, McPartlin D.

 

" Earplugs are commonly recommended to protect the middle ear from

water

in

patients with exposed middle ears. This study assessed the

waterproofing

 

qualities, ease of insertion and comfort of six commonly available

earplugs. Ten

subjects (20 ears) were assessed by placing a pre-weighed

neurosurgical

pattie in

their cleaned ear canal under microscope guidance. The subjects

underwent a

standardized head wetting regime. The outer ear was dried, earplug

and

pattie

removed and pattie reweighed. The difference in weight was

calculated.

The

subjects were also asked to score the difficulty of insertion and

comfort of the

earplugs on a visual analogue scale. The results show a significant

difference in

the waterproofing qualities of the various types of earplugs. Cotton

wool with

petroleum jelly was the most effective (P < 0.001). It was also the

easiest to insert

and the most comfortable for the subject (P < 0.001). "

 

Tickle. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2004 Jan;50(1):93-7. Selden ST.

 

" Tickle is a familiar sensation that may have two components: a

light or

feather-

type noxious sensation termed by Hall and Allin as knismesis, and a

heavy or

laughter-associated sensation termed gargalesis. Studies on the

sensation of tickle

have generally been on one sensation or the other, but not on

both. . .

It is unclear why some skin sites are more ticklish than other

sites. .

.. "

 

The four 'Vs' for foot care. Vaseline, vegetable shortening, vinegar

and

Vicks

VapoRub. Adv Nurse Pract. 2004 Jun;12(6):67-70, 84. Kelechi TJ,

Stroud

S.

 

Using current on-line carcass evaluation parameters to estimate

boneless

and

bone-in pork carcass yield as influenced by trim level. Berg EP,

Grams

DW,

Miller RK, Wise JW, Forrest JC, Savell JW.

 

" The objective of this study was to develop prediction equations for

estimating

proportional carcass yield to a variety of external trim levels and

bone-in and

boneless pork primal cuts. Two hundred pork carcasses were selected

from

six

U.S. pork processing plants and represented USDA carcass grades (25%

USDA

#1, 36% USDA #2, 25% USDA #3, and 14% USDA #4). Carcasses were

measured (prerigor and after a 24 h chill) for fat and muscle depth

at

the last rib

(LR) and between the third and fourth from last rib (TH) with a

Hennessy

optical

grading probe (OGP). Carcasses were shipped to Texas A & M University,

where

one was randomly assigned for fabrication. . . Total dissected

carcass

lean was

used to calculate the percentage of total carcass lean (PLEAN). Lean

tissue

subsamples were collected for chemical fat-free analysis and

percentage

carcass

fat-free lean (FFLEAN) was determined. Longissimus muscle area and

fat

depth

also were collected at the 10th and 11th rib interface during

fabrication.

Regression equations were developed from linear carcass and OGP

measurements

predicting FLC of each fabrication point. Loin muscle and fat depths

from the

OPG obtained on warm, prerigor carcasses at the TH interface were

more

accurate

predictors of fabrication end points than warm carcass probe depth

obtained at the

last rib or either of the chilled carcass probe sites (probed at TH

or

LR). Fat and

loin muscle depth obtained via OGP explained 46.7, 52.6, and 57.1%

(residual

mean square error [RMSE] = 3.30, 3.19, and 3.04%) of the variation in

the

percentage of BI-FLC trimmed to .64, .32, and 0 cm of s.c. fat,

respectively, and

49.0, 53.9, and 60.7% (RMSE = 2.91, 2.81, and 2.69%) of the

variation in

the

percentage of BL-FLC trimmed to .64, .32, and 0 cm of s.c. fat,

respectively. Fat

and loin muscle depth from warm carcass OGP probes at the TH

interface

accounted for 62.4 and 63.5% (RMSE = 3.38 and 3.27%) of the

variation in

 

PLEAN and FFLEAN, respectively. These equations provide an

opportunity

to

estimate pork carcass yield for a variety of procurement end point

equations using

existing on-line techniques. "

 

Kool-Aid colitis. N Engl J Med. 1990 Apr 5;322(14):1012. Sack J.

 

Effect on tipping of barman drawing a sun on the bottom of customers'

checks.

Psychol Rep. 2000 Aug;87(1):223-6. Gueguen N, Legoherel P.

Laboratoire

GRESICO, IUT de Vannes-Departement TC, Universite de Bretagne-Sud,

France.

 

" Previous research has demonstrated that a pleasant drawing (a

smiling

face) on a

restaurant bill increased the number of tips left by clients. A

similar

experiment

was carried out using a drawing of the sun since it is known that

tips

increase on

sunny days. The experiment was carried out in local bars and involved

clients who

have ordered an espresso coffee. Analysis showed that the drawing of

the

sun led

clients to leave a tip more frequently than when this drawing is not

present. The

size of the tip left was also higher. The hypothesis of the creation

of

a positive

frame of mind by this stimulus is discussed. "

(Publication Types: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial)

 

Health Foodserv Mag. 2000 Winter;10(1):12. Espresso kiosks can be

profitable

addition to hospital foodservice. Myers M.

 

Espresso maker's wrist. Shusterman D. West J Med. 1990 Jun;152

(6):721-2.

 

Comment in: West J Med. 1990 Dec;153(6):664-5.

 

Characterization of particles in cream cheese. J Dairy Sci. 2004

Sep;87(9):2854-

63. Sainani MR, Vyas HK, Tong PS.

 

" Cream cheese is used as a spread and as an ingredient in many food

applications.

A gritty or grainy mouthfeel is an undesirable textural defect that

occurs in cream

cheese. However, the factors that cause the textural defect are not

well

 

understood. The objectives of this study were to isolate and

characterize particles

from cream cheese and to study the effect of particles on cheese

texture. Particles

were isolated by washing cream cheese with water first at 25 degrees

C

and then

at 50 degrees C repeatedly 4 to 5 times. The size of these particles

was

determined

using a particle size analyzer. . . Smooth cream cheese with only 5%

(wt/wt)

added particles was perceived as significantly grittier than the

control

sample.

This experiment also revealed that the perceived grittiness increased

with increase

in amount and size of particles. "

 

Tooth-brushing epilepsy with ictal orgasms. Seizure. 2004

Apr;13(3):179-82.

Chuang YC, Lin TK, Lui CC, Chen SD, Chang CS.

 

" We report a 41-year-old woman with complex reflex epilepsy in which

seizures

were induced exclusively by the act of tooth brushing. All the

attacks

occurred

with a specific sensation of sexual arousal and orgasm-like euphoria

that were

followed by a period of impairment of consciousness. Ictal EEG

demonstrated two

events of epileptic seizure that were provoked after tooth brushing

for

38 and 14

seconds, respectively. . . Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

revealed right

hippocampal atrophy. We suggest that tooth-brushing epilepsy,

especially

with

sexual ictal manifestations, may provide insight into the cerebral

pathophysiology

at the right temporolimbic structure. "

 

How about that.

 

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