Remember Ogopogo's Revenge?

The search back through my archives to find the 1964 Eastern Camp pictures triggered another round of scanner activity. I'd like to have a slide show (maybe even with narration?) put together for Saturday at H&Rs' place. Some samples from 1983...Camping in the Foothills of Alberta...... and bathtime for Matthew...... and weighing the cherries? Good thing they didn't put the kids on the scales before and after! We soon learned about Ogopogo...Wonder why?

Another Farewell

I last saw Bob in 2004, at his mother's funeral, at the calling hours. It had been over 35 years since we had seen each other last. The photo was taken as we were returning from a hike to the lake; Bob was watching the softball game in progress. For that matter, I don't think I've seen Dennis since that summer in '64. The last time I saw Ed was bout 1970, and he's my second cousin (Aunt Annie's grandson). We do lose touch with people.

"Robert L. Haley I, 59, went home to be with the Lord January 15, 2008. Bob was born in Akron to the late Ruth and Thomas. He was a 1966 graduate of Kenmore High. He served in the Marines from 1969 to 1971. He was father to Robert (Debra), and Michael (Gucela); brother to Julie, Lilly, and Thomas; loving husband to Beth. Family will receive friends 6 p.m. Saturday, January 26, 2008 at The Chapel, 135 Fir Hill, Akron, with a memorial service at 7 p.m."

Enough ... for now ...

I think we have had enough worms for a while. There are more, but maybe only if I get desperate or something.

Laura Ofobike had a good piece in the Beacon on Tuesday (1-15-08) about global efforts at disease control. I am of the opinion that all "global" efforts really boil down to local implementation of solutions.

Vaccination campaigns against disease do work. Preventive campaigns work better. You do have to keep in mind that for all the faults associated with Darwinism, the basic principle he put forward, that traits which help a species survive tend to be perpetuated, is sound. We cannot forget that successful parasites do not kill their hosts. If we eradicate the most virulent forms, and vaccinate to the highest level possible to achieve our own comfort level with whatever is left, do we produce unintended side effects?

People today seem to have allergies and other immune system problems that were not observed in times past. If our immune systems are deactivated by lack of exercise against some of the "childhood" diseases, do they react in unexpected ways against other factors in life? Does an immune system with nothing else to do turn on its own body? Is there an unintended bad consequence to being entirely disease-free? Obviously, chronic illness is not a good thing, but could it be that a certain low level of disease is necessary to keep us healthy?

While we ponder that, don't neglect to wash your hands and vegetables and cook your food.

The Dog Tapeworm(one of them, anyway...)

Causal Agent: Dipylidium caninum (the double-pored dog tapeworm) mainly infects dogs and cats, but is occasionally found in humans.Life Cycle: Gravid proglottids are passed intact in the feces or emerge from the perianal region of the host [1]. Subsequently they release typical egg packets [2]. On rare occasions, proglottids rupture and egg packets are seen in stool samples. Following ingestion of an egg by the intermediate host (larval stages of the dog or cat flea Ctenocephalides spp.), an oncosphere is released into the flea's intestine. The oncosphere penetrates the intestinal wall, invades the insect's hemocoel (body cavity), and develops into a cysticercoid larva [3]. The larva develops into an adult, and the adult flea harbours the infective cysticercoid [4]. The vertebrate host becomes infected by ingesting the adult flea containing the cysticercoid [5]. The dog is the principal definitive host for Dipylidium caninum. Other potential hosts include cats, foxes, and humans (mostly children) [6], [7]. Humans acquire infection by ingesting the cysticercoid contaminated flea. This can be promulgated by close contact between children and their infected pets. In the small intestine of the vertebrate host the cysticercoid develops into the adult tapeworm which reaches maturity about 1 month after infection [8]. The adult tapeworms (measuring up to 60 cm in length and 3 mm in width) reside in the small intestine of the host, where they each attach by their scolex. They produce proglottids (or segments) which have two genital pores (hence the name "double-pored" tapeworm). The proglottids mature, become gravid, detach from the tapeworm, and migrate to the anus or are passed in the stool [1].

Geographic Distribution: Worldwide. Human infections have been reported in Europe, the Philippines, China, Japan, Argentina, and the United States.
Above from : http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Dipylidium.htm

For some gruesome, try :

"Hazards of dogs licking humans' faces"

Or, if you have room on your wall for a trophy,A nine year-old Brazilian boy, displaying the hookworms and tapeworms he expelled when treated by the Rockefeller Foundation staff.
Above from : http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/VV/B/B/J/C/

On BEEing Important...

I found this article in Bee Culture. Makes me want to go play with the girls in the hive...
[n.b. : my bolds]
----------------------------
"For many years now, my job has been to work with people who keep bees and with the bees themselves, but I actually spend more time with bee people than with bees. Don’t take this next statement as anything but positive, but I must admit that we are an eccentric lot. After all, we keep bees intentionally. Most people do all they can to get away from bees. In my experienced and confident state, I long ago embraced the fact that, as a group, we are different. So just as I was mentally recovering from the reevaluation of the hobby designation, I was shocked a second time when one of the reviewers bluntly said, 'Yep, beekeeping has an image problem.'

The reviewer continued her thought by saying that her take on our industry was that beekeepers and their bees were contributing to a vital pollination need but we kept referring to the process being a hobby. The public then, too often, sees our hobby as being the harboring of dangerous stinging insects more than the culturing of valuable pollinating insects. While so much media energy has been given to the issue of disappearing bees, presently, two Ohio communities are considering ordinances against beekeeping. Alternatively, Winnie the Pooh and the ambience that beekeeping provides is the opposing 'warm, fuzzy' aspect of beekeeping. Bees adorn nearly everything from nursery room toys to crafts and pottery. Honey is used in innumerable food and cosmetic items. The question is begged, 'Does the public generally see bees as ally or pest?'

Beekeepers are part of the problem. We consistently use the terms honey and pollination in the same breath as though somehow they are similar. Honey is only a small byproduct of pollination. If we strip away all the trappings, pollination is the fundamental relationship between bees and flowers – not honey production. The problem is that honey is so easy to quantify. We can price it per pound. We measure the sucess of a bee season by our honey crop. We invest in complicated honey processing machinery. We have a National Honey Board, but we don’t have a National Pollination Board so honey must be more important. It is as though we admire a row boat (honey) while standing by an ocean-going cruise ship (pollination).

Pollination phenomena are simply not as visually fulfilling as full honey supers. No one ever says, 'My bees pollinated over 300,000 blossoms today!' but some of us put our colonies on scales to monitor our incoming honey production. When doing pollination work, we can’t say that we charge by the apple or even the apple tree. We know pollination is important, but it is so vague – so innocuous – so difficult to measure.

The numbers I am about to present are truly general estimations, but the numbers do show the scope of the pollination value that bees provide. It has been estimated that the value of commercial crops requiring pollination in Ohio to be about $86 million dollars. Ohio currently has about 3300 registered beekeepers; therefore, each Ohio beekeeper is unintentionally contributing about $26,000 per beekeeper to commercial fruit and vegetable production1. Each Ohio colony (50,000 – 70,000) is contributing about $1200-$2400 per colony toward the production of commercial fruit and vegetables. Ohio honey production is about 50# per colony or about $150 per colony (@ $3.00 per pound)2. Importantly, these estimations don’t reflect any backyard garden pollination value, ornamental flower pollination, or pollination value ascribed to non-commercial plants of ecological importance. It could be argued that the pollination value of a 'hobby' beekeeper’s single hive equals the honey value of 10-15 hives. While I have used Ohio numbers available to me, similar estimations would be expected from any other U.S. state."

From : "The Passing Of The Hobby Beekeeper", Bee Culture, September 01, 2007
Dr. James E. Tew, State Specialist, Beekeeping, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691

Sushi Worms (Part 2)

********************************
The Fish Tapeworm!!!
30 feet long!!
Nearly an inch wide!!!
********************************

Causal Agents: The cestode Diphyllobothrium latum (the fish or broad tapeworm), the largest human tapeworm. Several other Diphyllobothrium species have been reported to infect humans, but less frequently; they include D. pacificum, D. cordatum, D. ursi, D. dendriticum, D. lanceolatum, D. dalliae, and D. yonagoensis.

Life Cycle: Immature eggs are passed in feces [1]. Under appropriate conditions, the eggs mature (approximately 18 to 20 days) [2] and yield oncospheres which develop into a coracidia [3]. After ingestion by a suitable freshwater crustacean (the copepod first intermediate host) the coracidia develop into procercoid larvae [4]. Following ingestion of the copepod by a suitable second intermediate host, typically minnows and other small freshwater fish, the procercoid larvae are released from the crustacean and migrate into the fish flesh where they develop into a plerocercoid larvae (sparganum) [5]. The plerocercoid larvae are the infective stage for humans. Because humans do not generally eat undercooked minnows and similar small freshwater fish, these do not represent an important source of infection. Nevertheless, these small second intermediate hosts can be eaten by larger predator species, e.g., trout, perch, walleyed pike [6]. In this case, the sparganum can migrate to the musculature of the larger predator fish and humans can acquire the disease by eating these later intermediate infected host fish raw or undercooked [7] . After ingestion of the infected fish, the plerocercoid develop into immature adults and then into mature adult tapeworms which will reside in the small intestine. The adults of D. latum attach to the intestinal mucosa by means of the two bilateral groves (bothria) of their scolex [8]. The adults can reach more than 10 m in length, with more than 3,000 proglottids. Immature eggs are discharged from the proglottids (up to 1,000,000 eggs per day per worm) [9] and are passed in the feces . Eggs appear in the feces 5 to 6 weeks after infection. In addition to humans, many other mammals can also serve as definitive hosts for D. latum.

Geographic Distribution: Diphyllobothriasis occurs in the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, newly independent states of the former Soviet Union [NIS], North America, Asia) and in Uganda and Chile. Freshwater fish infected with Diphyllobothrium sp. larva may be transported to and consumed in geographic areas where active transmission does not occur, resulting in human diphyllobothriasis. For example, cases of D. latum infection associated with consumption of imported fish have been reported in Brazil.

Above information from : http://www.dpd.cdc.gov

Clinical Manifestations : Infection with Diphyllobothrium latum is usually asymptomatic, although occasional diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, vomiting, dizziness, or numbness of fingers and toes may be present. Eosinophilia develops during the early stages of worm growth.

Structure: Diphyllobothrium latum is the largest parasite of humans, reaching lengths up to 10 m and consisting of a chain of 3,000 to 4,000 segments, each up to 2 cm wide. The adult worm, a member of the order Pseudophyllidea, is characterized by a scolex with a pair of linear sucking grooves instead of suckers and hooks, and by having a rosette-shaped uterus connected to the outside by a uterine pore through which the eggs are passed. Hence, mature segments produce eggs until they die and are shed, rather than by breaking off as intact egg-filled segments, as in Taenia. Up to a million eggs can be produced daily. The developmental stages are (1) the ciliated, swimming coracidium that hatches from the egg, (2) the procercoid that develops in the copepod primary host, and (3) the plerocercoid (or sparganum), a nonencysted, nonsegmented larval worm, 20 mm or more in length, found in the fish secondary hosts. The plerocercoid develops into the adult tapeworm in the small intestine of a fish-eating final host, such as human, cat, dog, or bear.

Multiplication and Life Cycle: Diphyllobothrium latum is the only adult cestode of humans that has an aquatic life cycle. Eggs are passed in feces of an infected human (or bear, dog, cat, wolf, raccoon, or other freshwater fish-eating reservoir host). If passed into lake or pond water, the eggs develop in 2 or more weeks (varying with the temperature) and hatch, releasing the spherical ciliated coracidium that contains the oncosphere. When ingested by an appropriate water flea (copepods such as Cyclops or Diaptomus), the coracidium sheds the ciliated coat, penetrates into the hemocoel, and changes in 2 to 3 weeks into the 0.5 mm, tailed second-stage embryo, the procercoid. If the infected copepod is then ingested by a minnow or other fish, the procercoid penetrates the fish gut in a few hours and later develops into a third-stage larva, the plerocercoid or sparganum. Usually, these small infected fish are eaten by larger ones; in each new fish host, the plerocercoid penetrates into the fascia or muscles. Eventually, a large game fish, such as a perch or pike, is infected; after being eaten by a human, the fish releases its tapeworm passenger, which attaches and begins adult life. In a few months, the worm is 5 to 10 m long.

From : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=mmed.section.4713

Sushi Worms (Part 1)

Causal Agents: Anisakiasis is caused by the accidental ingestion of larvae of the nematodes (roundworms) Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens.
Life Cycle : Adult stages of Anisakis simplex or Pseudoterranova decipiens reside in the stomach of marine mammals, where they are embedded in the mucosa, in clusters. Unembryonated eggs produced by adult females are passed in the feces of marine mammals [1]. The eggs become embryonated in water, and first-stage larvae are formed in the eggs. The larvae molt, becoming second-stage larvae [2a], and after the larvae hatch from the eggs, they become free-swimming [2b]. Larvae released from the eggs are ingested by crustaceans [3]. The ingested larvae develop into third-stage larvae that are infective to fish and squid [4]. The larvae migrate from the intestine to the tissues in the peritoneal cavity and grow up to 3 cm in length. Upon the host's death, larvae migrate to the muscle tissues, and through predation, the larvae are transferred from fish to fish. Fish and squid maintain third-stage larvae that are infective to humans and marine mammals [5]. When fish or squid containing third-stage larvae are ingested by marine mammals, the larvae molt twice and develop into adult worms. The adult females produce eggs that are shed by marine mammals [6]. Humans become infected by eating raw or undercooked infected marine fish [7]. After ingestion, the anisakid larvae penetrate the gastric and intestinal mucosa, causing the symptoms of anisakiasis.

Geographic Distribution : Worldwide, with higher incidence in areas where raw fish is eaten (e.g., Japan, Pacific coast of South America, the Netherlands).

Above from : http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Anisakiasis.htm

Summary of Anisakiasis.
From the article "Anisakiasis" by J A Sakanari and J H McKerrow
Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco 94143.

Abstract : Anisakiasis is a zoonotic disease caused by the ingestion of larval nematodes in raw seafood dishes such as sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and pickled herring. Symptoms of anisakiasis include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Because symptoms are vague, this disease is often misdiagnosed as appendicitis, acute abdomen, stomach ulcers, or ileitis. Endoscopic examination with biopsy forceps has facilitated the diagnosis of gastric anisakiasis. Worms can be removed and identified, and a definitive diagnosis can be made. Patients generally recover with no further evidence of disease. Worms can become invasive, however, and migrate beyond the stomach, penetrating the intestine, omentum, liver, pancreas, and probably the lungs. Surgery is often necessary for treatment of invasive anisakiasis. With the increase in popularity of eating lightly cooked or raw fish dishes, the number of cases of anisakiasis may be expected to increase.

Source : http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=358121

Wishing You a Prosperous 2008

So 2007 is a year in our past. I remember when it was only a year in science fiction.

Jim Jr. says I need to stick around another 30 years or so. We'll see. I wonder what the year 2037 would be like? Would stem cell transplants be available to rebuilt worn out body parts? Would selective memory wipes be available to make room for new neural associations ( while keeping the best memories of the past)? Will there be human colonies on the Moon or Mars? Will Jesus have returned, or will He be waiting until He can actually call His Chosen from the farthest parts of the heavens?

I keep reading obituaries of people in the 50-59 year old range, and I count myself fortunate to have seen the dawn of 2008. Will I celebrate New Years 2009? Only my Maker knows for sure.

There is always the factoid that very few people over 100 years old die in a given year.

Enjoy your New Year. I have serious doubts that parallel universes exist, or that it would be possible to transition between them, or that time travel to the past is even possible, so keep moving forward. Despite the fact that evil men and seducers will always become worse and worse, keep trying to make this world a better place for the next generation.

So for my part, I planted a plum tree today [snuck it in before the ground freezes up, as it is scheduled to do overnight]. Maybe I will live long enough to make some slivovitz. We can have a party : kobasa and slivovitz. And don't tell me I should spell it "kielbasa". Uncle Sam's and Cousin Jaroslav's recipes are nothing like the recipes I see for "kielbasa". (That's Polish sausage -- full of black pepper. I want stuff with spicy paprika). They are more like Bako Jeno's salami. Or Al's. And if you party with that stuff, the world will always be a better place. Or so it will smell.

Pozdravy!!

Worms #2.

Roundworms - Ascaris
********************************
These are some of the critters commonly found in dog FECES. (That word should make HP feel more comfortable). Remember, 20 - 30 cm is about 8 - 12 inches.
********************************
Causal Agent: Ascaris lumbricoides is the largest nematode (roundworm) parasitizing the human intestine. (Adult females: 20 to 35 cm; adult male: 15 to 30 cm.)

Life Cycle: Adult worms [1] live in the lumen of the small intestine. A female may produce approximately 200,000 eggs per day, which are passed with the feces [2] . Unfertilized eggs may be ingested but are not infective. Fertile eggs embryonate and become infective after 18 days to several weeks [3] , depending on the environmental conditions (optimum: moist, warm, shaded soil). After infective eggs are swallowed [4] , the larvae hatch [5] , invade the intestinal mucosa, and are carried via the portal, then systemic circulation to the lungs [6] . The larvae mature further in the lungs (10 to 14 days), penetrate the alveolar walls, ascend the bronchial tree to the throat, and are swallowed [7] . Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms [1] . Between 2 and 3 months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition by the adult female. Adult worms can live 1 to 2 years.

Geographic Distribution: The most common human helminthic infection. Worldwide distribution. Highest prevalence in tropical and subtropical regions, and areas with inadequate sanitation. Occurs in rural areas of the southeastern United States.(Above courtesy of Centers for Disease Control)

Note from the above -- when in doubt, it is safer to spit than to swallow.

Gruesome Photos: Too gruesome. I won't post them here, but you can see them at :

http://curezone.com/image_gallery/parasites/infected/default.asp?i=0&n=15

and

http://curezone.com/image_gallery/parasites/infected/default.asp?i=15&n=15

Complications : Complications related to typical ascariasis are rare. However, potentially dangerous complications can develop if you have a heavy infestation.

• Nutritional deficiencies. Children with ascariasis are especially at risk of nutritional deficiencies. Loss of appetite and insufficient absorption of digested foods can occur as a large number of parasites take nourishment from the host's body.
  
• Intestinal blockage and perforation. In heavy ascariasis infestation, a mass of worms can block a portion of the intestine, causing severe abdominal cramping and vomiting. The blockage can even perforate the intestinal wall or appendix, causing hemorrhage or appendicitis.
  
• Allergic reactions. Some people develop allergic reactions to the ascaris worm's metabolic excretions and secretions, or to dead and dying worms. These reactions can cause signs and symptoms such as asthma, insomnia, eye pain and rashes.

(Courtesy of MayoClinic.com)

Worms #1.

Pinworms
Causal Agent: The nematode (roundworm) Enterobius vermicularis (previously Oxyuris vermicularis) also called human pinworm. (Adult females: 8 to 13 mm, adult male: 2 to 5 mm.) Humans are considered to be the only hosts of E. vermicularis. A second species, Enterobius gregorii, has been described and reported from Europe, Africa, and Asia. For all practical purposes, the morphology, life cycle, clinical presentation, and treatment of E. gregorii is identical to E. vermicularis.

Eggs are deposited on perianal folds [1] . Self-infection occurs by transferring infective eggs to the mouth with hands that have scratched the perianal area [2]. Person-to-person transmission can also occur through handling of contaminated clothes or bed linens. Enterobiasis may also be acquired through surfaces in the environment that are contaminated with pinworm eggs (e.g., curtains, carpeting). Some small number of eggs may become airborne and inhaled. These would be swallowed and follow the same development as ingested eggs. Following ingestion of infective eggs, the larvae hatch in the small intestine [3] and the adults establish themselves in the colon [4]. The time interval from ingestion of infective eggs to oviposition by the adult females is about one month. The life span of the adults is about two months. Gravid females migrate nocturnally outside the anus and oviposit while crawling on the skin of the perianal area [5]. The larvae contained inside the eggs develop (the eggs become infective) in 4 to 6 hours under optimal conditions [1]. Retroinfection, or the migration of newly hatched larvae from the anal skin back into the rectum, may occur but the frequency with which this happens is unknown.

Geographic Distribution: Worldwide, with infections more frequent in school- or preschool- children and in crowded conditions. Enterobiasis appears to be more common in temperate than tropical countries. The most common helminthic infection in the United States (an estimated 40 million persons infected). (Above courtesy of Centers for Disease Control)

Pinworm. Adult female worms of Enterobius vermicularis collected from a 2-year-old girl in a Korean orphanage after treatment with pyrantel pamoate 10 mg/kg, November 24, 1975.
(Courtesy of www.emedicine.com/med/topic1837.htm).

Complications : Typical pinworm infections don't cause serious problems. In rare circumstances, complications can develop from a heavy infection, including:

• Urinary tract infection. More common in females, urinary tract infections sometimes are caused by heavy pinworm infestation. The parasite can also migrate to the bladder, causing cystitis.
  
• Infection of the peritoneal cavity. In women or girls, the parasite may travel from the anal area up the vagina to the uterus, fallopian tubes and the area around the pelvic organs. This can cause vaginitis, endometritis or other problems.
  
• Dientamoeba fragilis infection. This parasite, which lives in human intestines, is often spread through contaminated food or water. Although scientists are not sure, it appears that you also may be able to contract this parasite by swallowing pinworm eggs — which may contain the fragile parasite. Signs and symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, weight loss, loss of appetite and fatigue. You can prevent pinworm-related infection by washing your hands frequently and thoroughly to make sure you don't swallow pinworm eggs that may be on your hands.
  
• Weight loss. When a large number of adult pinworms are living in your intestine, they can cause enough abdominal pain and take enough nutrients that you will lose weight.

(Courtesy of MayoClinic.com)

How to Be Hated (just say what nobody wants to hear)

So here I am, back in my Biology teacher outfit...

I have been mocked and called a killjoy for my phobia regarding dirt and bugs in food (and in contact with the skin, for that matter). My insistence that animals belong out-of-doors has made me persona non grata in some homes (and in others, depending on the circumstances, the home is locus non grata to me!). All this because I have had the opportunity to study pathological organisms up close and in real-time. OK, folks, here's another goodie to make you dislike my depressing attitude.

It seems that the Pharisees might have had some good points with respect to their frequent washing. Remember -- Jesus' words were to do as they said and not as they did. Here is a cute little article, an interview with a leading wormologist, Dr. Peter Hotez :

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0307/ijge/hall.htm

following this Christmas present of an article via Reuters :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071226/hl_nm/diseases_neglected_usa_dc

My children (the older ones) had plenty of opportunity to observe roundworms and tapeworms in dogshit when we lived in Northern Saskatchewan. The educational value of steaming piles with wriggling critters is enormous. Just because the ascarids and fish tapeworms were in the local dogs did not mean they were not ready to take up residence in a careless person. The article above provides a wake-up call :

"I feel strongly that this is such an important health issue and yet because it only affects the poor it has been ignored," Hotez said via e-mail.

He said the United States spent hundreds of millions of dollars to defend against bio-terrorism threats like anthrax or smallpox or avian flu, which were more a theoretical concern than a real threat at present.

"And yet we have a devastating parasitic disease burden among the American poor, right under our nose," Hotez said.

He noted a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented in November, found that almost 14 percent of the U.S. population is infected with Toxocara roundworms, which dogs and cats can pass to people.

"Urban playgrounds in the United States have recently been shown to be a particularly rich source of Toxocara eggs and inner-city children are at high risk of acquiring the infection," Hotez wrote, adding that this might be partly behind the rise in asthma cases in the country. Up to 23 percent of urban black children may be infected, he said.

"Because of its possible links to asthma, it would be important to determine whether covert toxocariasis is a basis for the rise of asthma among inner-city children in the northeastern United States," he added.

"Cysticercosis is another very serious parasitic worm infection ... caused by the tapeworm Taenia solium, that results in seizures and other neurological manifestations," Hotez wrote.

He said up to 2,000 new cases of neurological disease caused by tapeworms are diagnosed every year in the United States. More than 2 percent of adult Latinos may be infected, and with 35 million Hispanics in the United States, this could add up to tens of thousands of cases, Hotez said.

"In the hospitals of Los Angeles, California, neurocysticercosis currently accounts for 10 percent of all seizures presenting to some emergency departments," he wrote.

Ummm... Taenia solium... that is the pork tapeworm. ["Neurological disease" (transl.) tapeworm cysts in the brain.] Also, I would dispute that it "only affects the poor"; rather, it tends to affect the ignorant, regardless their economic status. (His slanting it toward the "poor" may be a pitch for increased government funding).

The solution to the problem -- prevention -- does not require massive amounts of taxpayer funding. It starts with a few fundamental principles of hygiene :

1. WASH YOUR HANDS before eating.

2. WASH YOUR FOOD before eating raw fruit and veggies. A huge amount of our produce is imported from Mexico and points south, as well as that nice fruit that comes here from southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Orient. Countries that fertilize their soil with human shit are allowed to export the produce to us. Aside from any bacteria or protozoa that might be there, you could also swallow cestodes, trematodes, and helminthes in the form of eggs or cysts.

3. STOP EATING SUSHI. Don't believe me? Try :

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap25.html

or for the REAL gory details, try :

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=358121

(I got a kick out of this part -- "Thorough heating of the fish dish is essential, since anisakid nematodes are reported to have survived after fish was prepared in a microwave oven. Alternatively, seafoods should be frozen at -20C (temperature of most home freezers) for 3 days; a whole fish weighing 4 to 8 pounds should be frozen at -20C for at least 5 days. At room temperature, Anisakis larvae can survive for up to 6 days in 10% Formalin, 112 days in 1% HCl, 51 days in vinegar, 1 day in soy sauce, and 1 day in Worcestershire sauce.")

4. COOK PORK THOROUGHLY. I saw a recent article that said trichinosis was extinct in the USA, to which I would have to say, that is a stupid statement.

4. Keep Fido, KiKi, and their associates out-of-doors. Yeah, they are cuddly and intelligent and good companions. They also lick the hind ends of their fellow four-legged friends, and eat raw critters they find when they go for a walk. For good measure, wash your hands after you pet them, since parasite eggs are frequently disseminated attached to fur.

5. Look back before you flush. I got that tip from the guy I did my student teaching with. He was an amateur parasitologist; he had quite a collection of worms from road kill or otherwise deceased wild animals. One of his more impressive exhibits was a 2-foot long tapeworm he extracted from the intestines of a dead sparrow. A quick peek in the bowl may be the best shot you have at early diagnosis.

I won't say here what you should do if your butt itches. Suffice it to say that ascarids (pinworms, notoriously) crawl out at night to lay their eggs around the anal opening and reinfection can occur when hand-to-mouth interfaces take place (see also my comment about Fido's proclivity towards the anal inspections of his friends).

Maybe I should do a series on lifecycles of the critters most animal-lovers never think about.

Steppin' Right Along

Ho, me boyos, time to announce the completion of the bottom rung!

One of the problems with making a silk purse from a sow's ear is collecting enough pig skin. When a ready-made double ended starting step from L. J. Smith costs almost $400 (and that is for a 48" unit, and what the project calls for is a custom made 60" unit) desperate measures are prescribed. We start by gluing together some of those scrap pieces of oak that so many people have been telling me to throw away.

Because the scrap is only 3/4" thick and we need a net 1" thickness, it has to be glued in two layers, and there must be controls to keep the piece from warping while the glue sets.

When the clamps are off, the back side looks really ugly, but we don't care because this stuff has merely been added to generate thickness.

The top side looks prettier... but not by much.

Also, it would be nice to hide the joint in the head-on view, so an additional piece is glued on as a nosing.

Once the stock is planed down to the 5/4 thickness, the step blank must be fitted to the base.

Like so.

Then it is necessary to mark where the radius will be cut. We begin where nobody will ever see it under normal conditions.

Finding the center of the radius...

is a multi-step (ha! a pun!) process...

using such exotic tools as a sheet of paper...

and skill at Origami.

The paper is folded to the step width, then folded in half to find the centerline...

and quartered to find the center of the radius.

We mark the center with a punch. The process is repeated at the other end.

Using a makeshift compass to scribe the outer edge of the radius...

we rough out the cut with the sabre saw.

A custom router plate is required. The distance from the edge of the router blade to the center of the radius is laid out, and a hole drilled to fit a nail as a trammel point.

We are ready to cut...

and so far it looks OK...

but there are some minor items to touch up with the block plane.

Then the edge is rounded over, and the tread is ready to be sanded.

One last check on the custom fit before we sand, stain, and urethane (3 coats).

C'est fini. The tread has been glued to the riser structure with subfloor adhesive. Lots of time and labor invested, but I figure that, had I bought this thing ready made, it would have cost about 500 bucks. Now all I need to do is finish the rest of the stairway!!

Let's riser and shine!

Custom stair parts are fun. They just take time. When you have a rib that designs stuff and you have to figure out how to make her designs work, you have to get creative. The problem at hand is the double ended bottom stair unit. It has to be custom built so that it fits a retro stairway and can take volutes at both sides. After several failures -- bending oak in a tight radius can be tricky -- I hit on the idea of using oak plywood for the riser, and kurfing it to allow for a smooth bend.

I began by setting up the Sawbuck. Removing the 8" blade and inserting a 7-1/4" blade raises it above the table, but a shim has to be used to get the right depth.

In this case, a slab of OSB was run through the planer to the correct thickness.

Then came the layout...

and the distance from the end of the workpiece to the beginning of the radius at the front of the step...

and we are ready to begin cutting.

This takes some patience, and care that chunks are not knocked out each time the blade slides back.

You can see that the thickness of the shim is critical to making sure you have just enough wood left to make a smooth bend and keep the piece from breaking.

There is no sense in making more cuts than you actually need...

and the result is quite flimsy, so be careful moving it.

Now to create the form for the riser. The end pieces will be part of the step; the rest is simply to be the place to rest Archimede's lever.

Here we go...

The kurfs are filled with subfloor adhesive. This will give a solid end, without voids.

Here is a close-up of the end. The excess glue will be trimmed off later, and so will the extra wood. When it has set, we remove the riser from the form, trim off the excess wood, and install the riser around the bottom of the rough framed stairway. (I should have taken more pix!) Then comes the problem of the tread.