Monday, March 21, 2016

Quiz March 22

Thanks for your questions for an E.R. social worker, please keep them coming.

NOTE: The exam originally scheduled for the 29th will be postponed.
==

1. What disappointed Biss about the immuno-semiotics conference?

2. What game metaphor does Biss prefer, to describe our immune systems and viral pathogens?

3. What caused the fatal form of croup that has virtually disappeared in this country since the '30s?

4. What caused the spread of puerpal sepsis ("childbed fever")?

5. Who were the Polio Pioneers? OR, Where is polio now endemic?

6. What does Arthur Caplan see as the biggest problem with the "restaurant model" of health care? 99

BONUS: What did Andrew Wakefield do to get branded "irresponsible and dishonest" by the British General Medical Council?

BONUS: A popular theory of disease among "people like [Biss]" blames ____, rather than filth or germs.

BONUS: "Most problems will get better if left alone" is an argument for what, according to Biss?

BONUS: What's wrong with "Dr. Bob's world"?

DQ:
1. Is immunity mostly a metaphor? Is it correctly characterized by metaphors of war? Do you agree with the perspective of alt-med practitioners on this point? 57

2. Is parenting, with its attendant decisions impacting the future health of children, more "like time travel" than making health decisions for oneself? What do you make of the Star Trek example? Who in the present anti-vaxx scenario is "heroically return(ing) to the past to die"? 66

3. Why do you think women healers historically were regarded as witches, albeit "good" ones? Are women fully welcome in the ranks of professional medicine today?

4. Are there modern-day equivalents of "heroic" medicine (bleeding etc.)? Does it have a legitimate place in professional practice?

5. Are we overly obsessed with "purity" and with avoiding toxicity? Are we never cleaner than our environment at large?

*6. Should human breast milk be commodified? If so, how should it be regulated?

7. What can be done by western health workers to gain the trust of African and Muslim countries?

8. Is capitalism inherently inhumane? 95

10. Is maternalism in medicine preferable to paternalism?

Feeling Distracted or Scattered?
Join Dr. John Ratey, Harvard Medical School, to hear how to
SPARK your brain through exercise and physical activity
Mar. 21, 2016, 6pm
Student Union Ballroom
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The Distinguished Lecturer Series, TAHPERD, TN Coordinated School Health, Health and Human Performance and Psychology Departments are pleased to announce a speaking engagement open to all MTSU students and members within the community that are interested in the effects of physical activity on the brain and the impact on emotional, behavior, and cognitive health.  Best-selling author, John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and 8 books including the “Driven to Distraction” and "Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain." Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection.  A highly sought after speaker, he has embarked on a world-wide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health.
==
An intervention to switch on my emotions succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, but it turned my life upside down. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/an-experimental-autism-treatment-cost-me-my-marriage/?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

Dr Ellie Cannon (@Dr_Ellie)
When I say "vaccinations save lives" and you tweet back at me with some guff, here, this is for you pic.twitter.com/A1sDnoLo5q

FRONTLINE (@frontlinepbs)
Coming 3/24: Should vaccinating children be a choice? bitly.com/1BA1V0E #VaccineWarpic.twitter.com/MbdYbUYceM

43 comments:

  1. On Immunity p 110-134

    FQ

    1. What does vigilante vaccination refer to?( p. 117)
    Answer: Variolation in the past

    2. What does Kant say about conscience?(p. 120)
    Answer: We have a duty to figure it out. In the courtroom of conscience, self is the judge and judged

    DQ: Should we be too afraid of everything to where we cant enjoy life?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a link I found that contains a news story with a video of one of the original Polio Pioneers speaking out on his opinion of the recent measles outbreak around the US. He points out that the anti-vaccination people of today do not know what it is like to live in fear of the viruses and that he hopes that they will never have to find out. There is also an interesting look into parents compensated from vaccine "complications" and also a vaccination rights attorney gave a few of his points concerning the matter as well. Definitely interesting...

    http://www.kshb.com/news/health/polio-pioneer-looks-to-past-during-measles-outbreak

    ReplyDelete
  3. Quiz Question:

    "Where the word ___ once suggested, with its moralist air, the evils of flesh, the word ___ now condemns the chemical evils of our industrial world."

    pp.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Discussion Question:

    Do you think the reason so many people are becoming anti-vaccine is because they do not know a world that is ravaged by these viruses or are not affected by the diseases first hand? Are the unknown, possible effects of a vaccine more worrisome than the known, deadly effects of diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella?

    ReplyDelete
  5. 3. Why do you think women healers historically were regarded as witches, albeit "good" ones? Are women fully welcome in the ranks of professional medicine today?

    Women were regarded as witches for healing for a good many reasons. Firstly, pagan healers were regarded as competition to the medical doctors, which the christian church could not stand for as it swept across the lands stomping out any opposition to it being the only religion. Secondly, the men couldn't bare competing with a mere woman and furthermore, being able to call a woman a witch was very convenient. It served as a method of control, give me what I want or I'll call you a witch. The witch hunt was more about religion and domination than anything, but many men used it for all it was worth. Thirdly, women in the bible are inherently sinful. A woman who heals must certainly be in league with the devil, it's not like she could have just learned it on her own. It all comes down to sexism firmly rooted in a religious belief mixed in with a wish to destroy the other dominant religion.

    http://www.thenazareneway.com/dark_side_of_christian_history.htm

    I do not believe that women are fully welcome in the ranks today, but I do believe that we are changing that very quickly in much the same way as has been done to us throughout history. We are taking over in great numbers throughout many scientific fields, we are filling classrooms and soon, we'll be incredibly welcome due to sheer numbers. We will make at least half the decisions and at least half of the rules, it cannot be stopped at this point and I am glad of that. We've been thought of as too emotional and irrational or incapable for far too long now and we've finally stopped believing it. We're rattling the cages and cleaning up the dust, proving our value and our worth. Still, there are a few dinosaurs to deal with.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html?_r=0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How are women inherently sinful in the bible?

      Delete
    2. Eve ate of the apple and brought it to Adam. The first sin, ever, was brought about by the woman who was fooled and lured in by the evil serpent. Part of the punishment for this was painful child birth: "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you,'" (Genesis 3:16).

      The punishment was not just for Eve but for every woman after her. Woman brought death, punishment and rejection from God. Furthermore:

      "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean." (Leviticus 12:2)

      "But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days." (Leviticus 12:5)

      Giving birth to a girl makes a woman twice as unclean. And, of course:

      "Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (I Timothy 2:11-14)

      Women very clearly inherited the weight of Eve's sin, thereby being inherently sinful, or at least are to be treated as such. I'm not saying that was the "author's" intent, but that was how it was interpreted, especially during the time period I'm discussing.

      Delete
    3. While all that is true men also inherited Adam's sin (technically you could say both were from Adam but anyways) Men also were made unclean through ejaculation Lev 15:16, 15:18, and 15:32 so you could also say that men are just inherently unclean. However, because of Jesus these are no longer in effect. I agree with your statements on sexism's effect on women and that there were agenda's involved but most of the actions initiated by Roman Catholicism were not biblical in any way and were largely political as well as methods of theft, deception, and extortion

      Delete
    4. As for the Timothy verse i am honestly still doing my own research on that topic and couldnt give any type of answer.

      Delete
  6. Quiz Question: What Vaccine component can be found in fruits, cereals and breast milk? pg 74

    ReplyDelete
  7. After thinking on this, i think it would be best if breast milk was not commodified primarily because it would take away from the infants it is designed for. Once there is monetary gain involved, the health benefits of would-be breast fed infants would be sacrificed in order to fulfill a new outlet of greed. While I think there could potentially be a great economic boost from commercializing breast milk, the lines that would be crossed in the name of ill gotten gain may not be worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here's a cool video giving details on the croup infection which i had heard about till now

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxvtY2hUzWw

    ReplyDelete
  9. Reading about the polio pioneers got me thinking and I decided to look further into it. I found this link from CBS news, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-salk-polio-vaccine-greatest-public-health-experiment-in-history/ that talks about the Salk polio vaccine. It's the second part of a two part series but includes the link to the first for a full read. One group of children got a placebo and the other got the vaccine. This article includes pictures of the children, as a mother, I find it quite frightening but then, I suppose I'd be desperate too.
    I also found this link http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/1954-polio-pioneer, which leads to a blog post where many of these polio pioneers actually responded and talk about having gone through this test. It's a worth a read, most of them are quite proud of participating but I find some of it disturbing. The children all thought they were getting the real vaccine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I found this video on Diphtheria, after some browsing, that provides a lecture explaining it in detail as well as pictures to help you understand what it is. After coming to understand that this caused croup, I wanted to know more about it. It's only about 5 minutes long but it gives you a much better idea of what diphtheria actually is and what tests might be used to test for it. If you want a more retro look, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcNtrESZhTE

    ReplyDelete
  11. DQ: Should human breast milk be commodified? If so, how should it be regulated?

    Answer: Discussions centered on commodification are touchy and result in heated arguments that go unresolved. Ethically speaking, the issue surrounding commodified breast milk is one that I find troublesome due to the degree of insult that it can bring to some women who unknowingly donate such property in exchange for another of lesser value, if they become aware of it thereafter. It may be true that in some cases money is a factor, but upon research I found that often times African American women and financially distressed women are the targets of such issue. Reason for this is generally due to the idea that women from these groups are not as knowledgeable or caring as women of other races and social classes. I find this to be disturbing because such females are only being taken advantage of and fail to realize soon enough just how valuable their breast milk is: it serves as a nutrient-rich product for infants while also supplying them with antibodies. Additionally the online selling of breast milk can go unregulated and unscreened leaving hazards including contamination and tampering to remain in the product. Without proper verification of where one’s purchase of breast milk via the internet is coming from, people may be bringing harm to themselves and others that can result in unexpected—or intended—diseases and fatalities from third parties.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Attached below is a recent article that discusses the issues and ethics of breast milk commodification:

    https://voicesinbioethics.org/2015/03/31/the-commodification-of-breast-milk-recent-issues-ethical-concerns-and-a-call-for-regulation/

    ReplyDelete
  13. According to Biss's friend, how are antibiotics and vaccines like time travel?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. “You go back in time and you’re able to prevent a catastrophe, but who knows how you have irrevocably altered the future? I love my babies, and I go back in time (vaccinate) in order to prevent the catastrophe I can see, but then I risk the catastrophe I can’t see.”

      Delete
    2. “You go back in time and you’re able to prevent a catastrophe, but who knows how you have irrevocably altered the future? I love my babies, and I go back in time (vaccinate) in order to prevent the catastrophe I can see, but then I risk the catastrophe I can’t see.”

      Delete
  14. DQ. Is capitalism inherently inhumane?

    I think that capitalism is humane because it recognizes that one of our human flaws is laziness and therefore does not create a system that incentivizes laziness (like communism and socialism to a lesser extent) but rather creates a system that incentivizes hard work. This has proven to increase the productivity and standard of living of numerous societies throughout history, whereas socialism/communism has consistently proven to fail over time.

    I personally don't think we should be moving towards a socialist society because it reduces incentives for working hard, it is unfair, and it slows economic growth and prosperity (just look at Europe).

    Socialism is inherently inhuman because you are really stealing people's money through taxation and giving it to those you are not just using it to get out of poverty in the short-term, but are staying below the poverty line for their whole lives. This is obviously not an working system.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is an informative infographic that shows the huge number of lives saved each year by vaccines. Anyone who is against vaccines should be fine with their child being killed by one of these diseases.

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ac/b8/8e/acb88eb4ff62854c5556464f82e29b18.gif

    ReplyDelete
  16. QQ: Who was the chief Polio Pioneer?

    ReplyDelete
  17. QQ: Who was the chief Polio Pioneer?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Quiz Question

    What is "heroic medicine"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. “The pressures of the marketplace, Ehrenreich and English suggest, led to the practice of “heroic” medicine, which relied heavily on dangerous therapies like bleeding. The purpose of heroic medicine was not so much to heal the patient as it was to produce some measurable, and ideally dramatic, effect for which the patient could be billed. Dr. Rush, for one, was accused of killing more patients than he cured.”

      Delete
    2. “The pressures of the marketplace, Ehrenreich and English suggest, led to the practice of “heroic” medicine, which relied heavily on dangerous therapies like bleeding. The purpose of heroic medicine was not so much to heal the patient as it was to produce some measurable, and ideally dramatic, effect for which the patient could be billed. Dr. Rush, for one, was accused of killing more patients than he cured.”

      Delete
  19. Discussion Question

    Comment: "If you want to understand any moment in time, or any cultural moment, just look at their vampires."

    ReplyDelete
  20. Quiz Question:

    What is often viewed as the alternative of paternalism?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Discussion Question: Should human breast milk be commodified? If so, how should it be regulated?

    Comment: I do not believe that breast milk should be commodified. Every child has a mother and I believe those mothers should be the ones that feed their children their own breast milk. Breast milk should only be viewed as a commodity in certain cases in which the birth mother cannot breast feed, or the birth mother is not around the infant and the infant needs breast milk.

    ReplyDelete
  22. DQ:
    During the polio epidemic, two vaccines were created. The Salk vaccine and the Sabin vaccine. Both have been used. What do consider the best vaccine and why?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Here is a little history on the two vaccines for polio.
    http://amhistory.si.edu/polio/virusvaccine/vacraces2.htm

    ReplyDelete
  24. 7. What can be done by western health workers to gain the trust of African and Muslim countries?

    Western health workers can work to better become part of the cultures they are working in rather than bring their cultures with the,. Being a part of the community or area a person is in can greatly help to make people feel more comfortable and trusting.

    ReplyDelete
  25. http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/02/19/a-graphic-that-drives-home-how-vaccines-have-changed-our-world/#afe32d41a6a2

    Really cool graphic that simply shows the effects of vaccines since they started being produced.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Quiz Question:

    According to Karl Marx, what is dead labor, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks?

    (pg. 93)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Is maternalism in medicine preferable to paternalism?

    I do not think that it would matter whether the term maternalism or paternalism is used within the context of medicine. I say this because medicine is a field which usually involves a more equal standing among its associates whether it be informing the patient or prescribing the patient. However, in the context of the terms themselves, I would have to say that maternalism is probably more preferential as it has to deal with a more egalitarian viewpoint as opposed to a more totalitarian viewpoint which would stem from the paternalism viewpoint (if that makes any sense). Anyways, those are just my opinions on this question!

    ReplyDelete
  28. DQ: Are efforts to and capitalism in the US in vain? Should capitalism be ended in the US?

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  29. Today Darcy, Phillip and I continued to discuss commodification of breast milk and cow milk. No one was willing to commodity breast milk or change our milk drinking habbit.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Heather, Sarah, and Addison:
    In today's group discussion, we talked about commodification of breast milk and how we disagree with it due to the milk producing antibodies specifically for the feeding child. There would be a lot of regulations involved as well if it were commodified

    ReplyDelete
  31. Kayleah, Bell, and Shivan:
    We discussed if capitalism is inherently inhuman. We all agreed that it is not but it can be and many people perceive it to be because of past instances.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Michael, Gavin, Robby:

    We discussed the legality of vaccination. Fun stuff.

    ReplyDelete