• Changed out of my pajamas into real clothes
• Went to get a chest x-ray
• Read about half of the items that are on my google reader.  So far, I have gone back to May - although I am skipping anything that has to do with babies.
• Listened to a whole lot of Bach this morning...I believe the musician playing it was Rostropovich
• I have washed many many dishes, and cleaned all the counters in my kitchen.  Only because my back hurt from coughing, and laying in bed.  
• Wrote this blog post.

• Read some of the book A Walk in the Woods-by Bill Bryson
• A nap -although I am pretty sure its not going to help
• Watch the movie Dark City, on my computer
• Remake my bed
• Look at some freelancing opportunities
• Try to find something to make for dinner, that isn't going to cause me more pain
• Having yet another shower

• Playing wii
• Watching anything that has to do with the current events or politics
• Talking on the phone
• Cleaning the floors in my apartment.

Before:

After:

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The Army began X-raying soldier body armor plates in Kuwait on Oct. 6 in an effort to improve how the service inspects soldier armor for battle damage.

Read More at DefenseNews

So last week we noticed that Cooper, our pet turtle, had an eye infection.  It did not go away on its own in a couple of days so we made an appointment at Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals in Grafton Massachusetts, one of the few experts in the area.  Tufts is a teaching hospital and locally is highly respected for their caring expertise and 24 hour emergency services.  Locally if you have an animal emergency any time of day or night, they are the people you go to.

Now when I started having a Turtle as a pet the thought never crossed my mind that I would have to take him to the vet.  I have always taken very good care of Cooper (He has a very cool set up, seen below), and over the course of many many years never once has he been ill (until now).

Murphy's Law, by the time Friday rolled around his eye infection had cleared up, but to err on the side of caution we decided to take him in for a work up anyway.  

It seems that the turtles they see in the "Exotics" department usually are much LARGER than Cooper, they commented several times that he was so little, he is about 4 inches in diameter.  As well the turtles that they usually see in the "Exotics" department are of the more exotic variety, Cooper is just a common Eastern Painted Turtle.   I am sure though that the Wildlife Department sees their share of Coopers kind.

He cooperated (no pun intended) by being pulled into his shell the entire time and was moved around like a lump of rock.  He had two x-rays that indicated that his lungs looked "fluffy", possible sign of infection. (I wish we could get copies of the x-rays because they were really neat!)  So then they drew blood-work.      

Diagnosis: Cooper has an upper respiratory infection that requires antibiotics.  So we have to jab him in the front arm/leg  with a syringe every 72 hours (10 times = 1 month), injecting a teeny weeny amount of medicine.  The first time we did it really sucked, he flailed his little arms about I think I stuck him three or four times before I got the needle in deep enough to dose him.  Today went smoother, but you still gotta feel bad for the little guy when you put him back into the water and he holds the arm that you stuck in. 

Needless to say this little adventure was expensive, but as a responsible loving pet owner it was worth every penny.  I took on the responsibility many years ago and am in charge of his care.   It does not matter that he does not have fur & does not snuggle.  He deserves the respect, care and love that any member of our family does, we try to treat everyone equal around here.    

It has been a learning experience too, we also found out that Cooper "Male" is more than likely  "Cooperette" Female!  They could not tell us for sure without running a DNA test (not necessary & very expensive).  Apparently her long claws and flat bottom shell are indicators of her femininity.  Collectively we decided that she can remain "Cooper" and we will try our darnedest to break the "he" habit.  Now go through the entire post again and replace all the hes with shes.

• June 2007:  Had my fifth open heart surgery (as a result of a birth defect) which came along with some complications, like the need for leg surgery.  If you have a LOT of time and absolutely NOTHING to do, my hubby and I kept a ongoing blog about that time here if you just really want to check it out.  LOL 
•  June 2007-August 2008:  Could only walk on one foot for over a year.  Used a wheelchair and a walker because my foot was angled down like a horse's foot.  Was told by three different doctors that amputation from the knee down was the only answer for me.  Refusing to believe that was the ONLY answer, I was referred to a doctor in Dallas who told me that amputation was the farthest thing from his mind and he COULD help me.  So, since June of this year, I have been in an Illizarov (the contraption, as we called it) for two months, a splint for two weeks, two different casts for about three weeks, and then finally a walking boot for 2-3 weeks.

• I finally have been to the point where I felt some normalcy in my life again.  I was walking again without the help of any equipment (walker or wheelchair); I could take a shower again and be able to get my leg wet (not hanging out of the tub because of a cast, splint or hunk of metal on it); I could walk side-by-side with my husband again and hold his hand (kind of hard to do that when you have to hold on to a walker or roll yourself along in a wheelchair); I could go up and down the stairs normally (not hopping down on one foot or crawling up the stairs like before); I had started back to work part-time and was slowly working towards working longer hours and more days; the list goes on and on....
• Fast forward now to Friday, September 26th (one week ago).  I was out with some friends and introducing our new little dog, Bean to some people who hadn't met him yet.  My BFF Kara and I were headed back to my house.  It was around 9:00 pm or so and I had Bean on a leash.  As I was getting out of her car and trying to manage Bean, my cell phone starts ringing, and I'm trying to carefully walk around in the grass to get to the sidewalk.  Kara's dog, Kandi, was still in the backseat and I didn't notice Bean trying to run back towards the car.  I tripped right over his leash and landed right on my bad leg!!!  I just laid there and cried for a moment and then tried to get up.  Kara took Bean's leash as I tried to get up to my feet.  I knew the moment that I put weight on my leg that something was wrong.  I managed (somehow) to get up to my front door.  I took my boot off to see if I could see anything wrong, but couldn't.  Lance then came home and I told him that I thought I needed to go to the ER to get an x-ray of my leg.  The pain was excruciating!!!
• Off we went to the ER.  After several x-rays were taken, they came back in and told me that I fractured my tibia (the weight-bearing bone in your leg) and couldn't walk on it for 8-9 weeks.  :(    So, Wednesday, October 1st, I went to see my orthopedic doctor about what he thought I should do.  He put me in a cast (a red one this time) and told me that while my bone was fractured all the way through, it had not separated.  If it separates, I will have to have surgery in order to place a pin between the bones to hold them together.  So, my week has pretty much been spent laying around the house with my leg elevated and doped up on pain medicine.  While I am still in pain, it's not as bad as it was before I got the cast. 

Can you believe it?  When I watch my soap opera on TV, I think, "How can all of these things happen to ONE character?"  While I don't have buildings coming down on me, attempted to be killed by five different people, or attempted marriage with my husband for the third time (to the same man); I do feel like everything I have been through this past year or so sounds like it's taken right out of a soap opera plot!!  LOL

So, if you haven't had communication from me during the past week, now you know why...While I have been sitting around not doing much, the pain pills that I have been taking make me sleepy, so I have been doing a LOT of sleeping.  LOL...How pathetic is that???!!!

Concerned? You should be. Last time I checked the people working at the airport were high school drop outs getting paid the minimum wage. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Virtual strip searches + camera phone + celebrities = YouTube fame. Before you know it virtual strip searches won't be invasive enough and actual physical strip searches will become necessary. Strangely only the attractive people will get searched ... I'm going to fill out an application to be an airport screener right now.

再一次和醫學博士相談
………
又患...病

Coughing was returned ……
it becomes strongly　……

..................X-RAY

能照透我的心情嗎？..................

Snaps of Sunday

走遍兩個內裝場所……......
重要關頭，如果可以的話……便盡力完成
我對給別人“slip” 懷有大恐慌
被別人破壞項目最後階段的感覺是….........….......疼痛的、遺憾的、不健全的…….....
絕不會讓這局面支配

嚇人的 mannequin

PEACE

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Thursday, September 25, 2008

By Robin Lloyd

An analysis of the gut contents from an exceptionally well-preserved juvenile dinosaur fossil suggests that the hadrosaur's last meal included plenty of well-chewed leaves digested into tiny bits.

The fossil, Brachylophosaurus canadensis aka "Leonardo," is the second well-substantiated case in which the gut contents of a plant-eating dinosaur have been revealed, said Justin S. Tweet, who was a graduate student at the University of Colorado at Boulder when he studied the fossil with colleagues there including paleontologist Karen Chin.

The dino, found in what geologists call the Judith River Formation, in Montana, will go on display to the public Friday at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's "Dinosaur Mummy CSA: Cretaceous Science Investigation" exhibition.

"Our interpretation suggests that the subadult Judith River Formation brachylophosaur had a leaf-dominated diet shortly before its death," the authors write in the September issue of PALAIOS, the journal of the Society for Sedimentary Geology.

Skin and scales

Leonardo is a 77-million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur whose remains are covered with patterned fossilized skin. The specimen has given scientists a rare peek inside a dinosaur. Digital technology and X-ray scans, some of which were conducted at NASA Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field facility in Texas, has helped paleontologists reconstruct what Leonardo looked like in life, what it ate, its muscle mass and its limb movements.

An analysis of pollen found in the specimen's gut region revealed a variety of plants, including ferns, conifers and flowering plants. Although the pollen could have been ingested when the dinosaur drank water, the tiny leaf bits, under 5 millimeters (a quarter-inch) in length, indicate that Leonardo was a big browser of plants, Chin said.

Hadrosaurs were certainly capable of processing food into tiny bits in part with their continually replacing teeth and grinding jaws.

The tricky part with the analysis was building a case that the plant matter found inside the gut came from the dinosaur's last meal, not from material that penetrated the body or flowed into the area after death. The case was helped by the fact that Leonardo was buried quickly and undisturbed by scavengers, and its body cavity appears to be undisturbed. At least 12 percent of the gut contents in the carcass included organic matter, such as leaves. The rest was clay and grit. Some of the inorganic stuff probably flowed into the body after death, Tweet said.

Overall, the most exciting part of the research was working with material that could actually be gut contents, Tweet said.

"This is very rare for dinosaurs, where we usually have to settle for generalizations of feeding behavior based on skull anatomy," he told LiveScience.

The research was funded by grants through the University of Colorado and its Museum of Natural History and a Geological Society of American Graduate Student Grant.

'Cranial Cuisinart'

Houston Museum of Natural Science Curator of Paleontology Robert T. Bakker, one of the first scientists to work on the fossil, said that duckbill dinosaurs like Leonardo had large bills and jaws full of tiny teeth, about 800 of them, that ground and chopped tough plants and plant parts, including conifer needles, bark and twigs, like a "cranial Cuisinart."

The contents of the gastrointestinal tract then were processed by digestive juices and gut microbes.

Leonardo has a pebbly skin texture, like the lower leg of an ostrich or another big bird, Bakker said, but on the front of Leonardo's ankle and shin, the skin becomes very thick like armor which helped it move through the underbrush.

The fossil was discovered in the summer of 2000 during an expedition to a cattle ranch about 15 miles north of Malta, Mont. Leonardo was named after graffiti found on a nearby rock that read: "Leonard Webb loves Geneva Jordan 1916."

The Houston exhibition will also feature an icthyosaur "mummy," which has contents of her intestines and four babies preserved inside her body, and the only mummified Triceratops skin ever found. The exhibition's opening was delayed a week as a result of conditions and power losses in the Houston area after Hurricane Ike, including five days without primary power at the museum. Leonardo and other exhibition specimens were unharmed, a museum spokeswoman said.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Evolution & Paleontology Center.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428023,00.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Probable Gut Contents Within A Specimen Of Brachylophosaurus Canadensis (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) From the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation Of Montana

Justin S. Tweet, Karen Chin, Dennis R. Braman, and Nate L. Murphy
PALAIOS 2008 23: 624-635. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]  

Abstract - An exceptionally preserved subadult specimen (JRF 115H) of a hadrosaurid, Brachylophosaurus canadensis, from the Judith River Formation near Malta, Montana, contains abundant plant fragments concentrated within the body cavity. We examined the taphonomy of the carcass and analyzed the gut-region material to test whether the organic remains represent fossilized gut contents. The dinosaur was buried in a fluvial channel setting, and the excellent articulation, integument impressions, and lack of scavenging indicate rapid burial. The organic material occupies a volume of at least 5750 cm³, and comparable material is not found outside the carcass. The carcass contents include about 63% clay, about 16% undetermined matrix, about 12% organic matter, and about 9% larger inorganic clasts—mostly 50–100 µm quartz grains. Most of the organics appear to be mm-scale leaf fragments. The most parsimonious explanation for the presence and composition of the gut-region material is that much of the plant fossils represent reworked brachylophosaur ingesta influenced by flowing water that entered through openings in the carcass and introduced clay. The evidence strongly suggests that the hadrosaurid ate significant quantities of leaves and processed them into small pieces. This study provides baseline information for analyzing other cases of putative gut contents in herbivorous dinosaurs.

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The 35cm x 43cm wireless portable detector is helping radiographers easily acquire images from traditionally awkward situations, such as trolley trauma, lateral spinal work, standing feet and ankles and examinations using the erect bucky. The detector can be positioned under the patient, on trolleys or behind wheelchairs, reducing patient discomfort as they do not need to be moved onto the bucky table. Examination times have also been greatly reduced due to the image previews being delivered in 5 seconds. The system also means that radiographers do not need to leave the room to view images and can retake an X-ray instantly if required.

Excellent image quality without the need for a high amount of dose has been highlighted as a major benefit by radiographers. Dose is reduced due to the comprehensive coverage the Ysio wi-D offers, making it possible to view a wide range of anatomical variations in one exposure. This has been seen in examinations of the lateral hip, where only one exposure, instead of two, is needed to acquire all necessary images, including that of the femoral shaft.

The system has been installed with 'DiamondView' an application that optimises image quality through intelligent noise reduction and edge enhancement. Detailed contrast in bones, soft tissue and the skin line can be viewed for an entire body region, meaning radiographers can obtain images that were previously difficult to acquire.

So in the same week I allowed my son to be put on antibiotics for a "possible strep throat" and and X-Ray for maybe a broken bone. I know that if Rick had been there it would have been earier for me to protest... While thinking about Sam in the X-Ray room I thought it may happen that the doctors wouldn't allow me in the room with him and even still would strap him to a board. I was so relieved when I could be in there and hold his leg myself that I didn't notice that the radiology tech FORGOT TO GIVE HIM A LEAD APRON!!!  As I picked Sam up from two X-Rays he said that he didn't like my big, bulky lead apron and then I realized that he didn't have one on. Just the the tech came over and put an apron on him exclaiming in a cutesy, little voice, "Whoops! I should have put this on earlier." I can hardly keep myself from screaming even now. While looking at the X-Rays later to show Sam how cool it was I got a GOOD PICTURE of his testicles in the X-Ray.

There were other concerns on my mind, however, and my mind must have classified the concern because for the rest of the night I only hardly thought about it. When I went to work the next night a certified nurse an aother dieticin that I work with (can you tell it's a night job for stay-at-home moms?) were freaked. Then I realized the hugeness of this. I called the ER when I got home and the nurse told me it was no big deal. I called the radiology department of another hospital to find out the laws regarding this tye of ting and she said that to cover a child's gentials is a "standard of care", not a law.

Tomorrow I will see Sam's doc as a follow up to his poor, baby legs and hopefully I will get more info. But be warned: YOUR CHILD SHOULD ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE A LEAD APRON OVER HIS OR HER GENITALS FOR ANY TYPE OF X-RAY. SPEAK UP FOR YOURSELF. NOW YOU KNOW!!!

I have no control over what was done with my son now and even if there were damages we don't believe in suing. But because the nurse told me that he got no more radiation from the two X-Rays than from standing in front of the microwave, I took our microwave out of use! LOL Officially. Rick gave me a week. If we really don't need it, we're selling it and buying a toaster oven. Check out more on this over at Keeper of the Home.

Be blessed. And well.

Alternative sources to maintain your daily radiology case review mix:

• Journal of Radiology Case Reports

Starting with X-rays.  X-rays are a type of invisible radiation, just like infrared, ultraviolet, and radio waves.  X-rays have a very short wavelength and this allows them to pass through objects that are not very dense such as skin and muscle.  Dense objects, such as bone, will reflect X-rays.  By scanning an object with X-rays, one can use the pattern of where X-rays pass unhindered and where they are reflected to create a picture.  The reflected portions are denser material, although an X-ray cannot tell you what that material is.  When imaging a human, it has to be bone because there is nothing denser.  Also, if you take a person apart the X-ray pattern matches the human skeletal pattern.  I don't advise doing this.

An X-ray produces a two dimensional picture.  A three-dimensional picture, however, provides more diagnostic information.  This 3D picture is a CAT or CT scan.  We can use a computer to combine many 2-dimensional X-rays pictures taken from different angles into a full 3D picture.  Essentially, CAT (computed axial tomography) simply means "computer generated picture ("computed") created using an X-ray device ("tomography") rotated around an object ("axial")".   It's simply a three-dimensional X-ray.

An ultrasound is very similar to an x-ray in that it reflects energy waves off of objects and uses the pattern of reflection to create a picture.  Ultrasound waves are much lower in frequency than X-rays.  Because they have a low frequency, they do not penetrate very far into objects.  Thus, they are perfect for imaging things near the skin surface.  Because they are low frequency, they do much less harm to living tissue than X-rays.  The low frequency means they have a low energy content and will interact with tissue in a less destructive manner than X-rays.  This is a major reason why ultrasound is preferred for imaging fetuses.  Like Dave said, this is essentially the same technique used by bats and other critters to echo-locate.  By sending out a sound and listening to the reflection, we (and the bats) can build up a picture of the immediate environment.

Now we get to MRIs.  The true term is NMRI or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.  The word nuclear was removed due to concerns that the public would be unnecessarily fearful.  This scan relies on the fact that the water molecules that make up the human body can be manipulated with a magnetic field.  No- you cannot be controlled against you will in this manner.  The effect is extremely small, but large enough to use for imaging.  An MRI uses a very powerful magnetic field to line up all of the hydrogen atoms contained in the water molecules the field.  A second magnetic field is then used to push some of the hydrogens out of alignment.  As the pushed hydrogen atoms relax and return to their alignment with the original magnetic field, they release energy in the form of radio waves.  (Radio waves are a very low energy, very long wavelength form of radiation).  The energy pattern given off by the relaxing hydrogen atoms is used to produce a picture (just like the way a picture is formed from reflecting radiation during an X-ray).  The usefulness of an MRI comes from the fact that the pushed hydrogen atoms relax at rates in different body tissues (muscle, fat, cartilage, etc).  This means that different body structures (the brain, joints, kidneys, etc) can be imaged in good detail.

A quick note: Dave mentioned that X-rays are ionizing radiation.  This means that the rays are strong enough to knock electrons off of atoms and molecules to create charged particles (ions).  This is not a great thing since ions react with living tissue, often in very destructive ways.  The occasional dental or medical X-ray is nothing to worry about because it's a short, one time dose and is not much more than a few weeks of exposure to normal background radiation.  Whenever possible, the least invasive type of scan is used to minimize ionization and other interactions with healthy live tissue.

Pete Wentz would look like a leprechaun if you dressed him in some Irish greenery.  Aside from the cool album title of their last record, I'm not familiar.

Justin Timberlake makes catchy but not very exciting tunes, awesome commercials, weak movies, and great SNL appearances.  I'd totally hang with him in a bar.

yo science bitches! explain to me the following things, comparing and contrasting as you go:

1) CAT scan
2) MRI
3) Ultrasound
4) X-ray
5) Pete Wentz
6) Justin Timberlake

Now, the first few things are all nicely interrelated: The CAT (now more commonly known as a CT) scan is computed tomography (axial is the missing "A" word in the old name) and uses X-rays send at differing angles to create a three-dimensional picture of the scanned object. X-rays alone are useful as a radiography tool. They are an ionizing radiation that can be deflected by dense objects, which is why they are useful for imaging bones. Soft tissues provide little disruption and is usually "invisible" compared to the bones.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses nuclear magnetic resonance of hydrogen atoms (in most cases) to create a three dimensional picture of a scanned object using a strong magnetic field. It's more effective at soft tissue scanning than a CT scan and lacks the ionizing radiation as well.

Ultrasound (ultrasonography) uses high frequency sound (2,000-18,000 Hertz) to penetrate into the body and produce an image. There's a tradeoff between the frequency and resolution. High frequency produces a better resolution but penetrates shallowly into the body. Sonography is useful for soft tissues, looking at lesions (cysts, cancers), and is the common form of imaging for a developing fetus. The technology itself uses, what is essentially echo location. A computer measures the time and intensity of sound echoing off tissues and translates it into an image.

Pete Wentz is a member of the band Fall Out Boy and has little to do with diagnostic imaging. He produces neither a magnetic field (of any useful level) nor ionizing radiation. The band will produce high-frequency sound but the lack of focus and receiving equipment makes FOB a poor choice for sonography.

Justin Timberlake is an unexplanable phenomena.

Left atrium can enlarge in multiple directions.Generally it dilates in the path of least resistance.

• It is believed left atrial appendage  enlargement occur early .  LAA enlargemnet seen as a fullness beneath the pulmonary artery shadow. It may be the earliest finding of LAE in X ray. ( This may appear as straight left heart border , as in classical  mitral stenosis where MPA is also enlarged). The LAA enlargement is not necessarily in  in proportion  with LAE.
• LA could  also enlarge posteriorly by pushing the esophagus towards the spine.This is visible only in barium swallow.
• Then LA can enlarge either to left or right ( Usually towards right) and  reach the right heart border or over shoot it and form the right heart border by itself.This occurs very late in the course.
• The other direction  LA goes on to enlarge is superiorly. When LA enlarges superiorly it hits on the left main  bronchus and lifts it.This is measured by the widened subcarinal angle which is normally less than 75 degrees.
• LA can enlarge anteriorly  sometimes , but it is resisted by right ventricle but rarely right ventricle yields to the LA push and produce a left parasternal lift which could be mistaken  for RV enlargement.
• Inferior enlargement can not happen in a significant way as it is limited by the AV groove and strong fibrous skeleton. 

With the advent of echocardiography X ray assessment of LA is redundant .(Academic value and in fellows training programs).The upper limit of normal LA size is around 4.5cm.

LA enlargement is commonly seen in

• Rheumatic mitral stenosis, regurgitation. Gross enlargement up to 10 cms are common.
• Hypertensive heart disese.
• Cardiomyopathy, especially restrictive where both atria enlarge.

In all these conditions if  atrial fibrillation occurs  LA size increases further.

Yesterday was my second medical review and I had to go for a x-ray to be taken of my skull. The full report will be out today so I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing serious has happened. On the upside, the radiologist said that there are no visible fractures on my skull to which I heaved a huge sigh or relief! Then he went on and gave me a weird look and said that I should consult my doctor when I bring the x-rays to him. Which I did.

When I got to my doctor's office and showed him the x-ray. His expression was somewhat odd. Here's the deal, I am not particularly a medically trained person so I will not be using any medical jargon to half of which I have no clue of but this is what I have gathered from my doctor.

The top bit of my skull is a little unusual. I have two fin like protrusions (think fins of fish) that starts at the top of my head and they work their way down to the back of my head.

The back of my skull has two depressions which are part of my natural skull and highly unusual since most people have a somewhat smoother skull structure.

I have an unusually large sinus cavity about 60% to 70% bigger than normal. Yeah so?

My right nasal passage is deformed and it would seem that I am breathing from my left more than my right even though I never realised that was the case when he asked me. And no, it is not the result of fractured nose. I was just born this way.

My brain is a little larger than normal and tilted a little off the normal axis.

So, what does that make me?

I decided to release only two pictures of my X-Ray rather than the entire lot for posterity's sake. Double Hah!