Health Tip: Benefitting From Cross-Training

Data: No spillover violence in U.S. border cities

(CBS News)?

Despite the colorful and headline-grabbing statements of politicians about a rising "spillover" effect of Mexican drug cartel violence within the United States, an analysis of federal crime statistics show border cities are safer than other areas of the states along the U.S. southern border - and are even safer than the U.S. national average.

Writing in USA Today, Alan Gomez, Jack Gillum and Kevin Johnson report that such talk of an "out of control" area likened to a war zone does not match the data.

The paper analyzed detailed crime data from the past decade from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and found that U.S. border cities were statistically safer on average than other cities in those states, and had lower crime rates than the national average. Murder rates were lower, as were robbery rates, and kidnapping cases have been on the decline.

Rather than seeing a spike in violence in the border region (Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, at a May 2011 congressional hearing: "It has never been more violent or dangerous than it is today. Anyone who lives down there will tell you that"), the crime rate has been falling for years - predating the expansion of security assets along the border.

The paper notes that while the rhetoric of border violence may not match the reality, it has nonetheless helped drive the national debate on such issues as immigration and the expenditure of federal dollars on security.

Yet the perception among the majority of Americans that violence in border cities is higher than the country in general is high (83 percent, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll).

Criminologist and University at Albany-SUNY sociology professor Steven Messner calls the results of the analysis "contrary to conventional speculation that the border is an out-of-control place."

Others read the numbers as proof the issue of "spillover violence" from Mexico is being exaggerated and used as an impetus for anti-immigration legislation and stepped-up federal and state funding to law enforcement agencies along the border.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, told USA Today that the analysis illustrates "the ugliest version of the politics of fear that our country has seen for quite a while."

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Some local law enforcement officials concurred with USA Today's report. "Over the last five years, whether you take a look at violent crime or property crime, we've seen a 30 percent decrease," said Chula Vista (Calif.) Police Chief David Bejarano.

In Arizona, the epicenter of the immigration debate since the state passed a tough immigration enforcement law last year, some police officials are frustrated by the rhetoric.

"Everything looks really good, which is why it's so distressing and frustrating to read about these reports about crime going up everywhere along the border, when I know for a fact that the numbers don't support those allegations,"

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villase?or said it was "frustrating" to read reports of rising crime along the border, "when I know for a fact that the numbers don't support those allegations,"

But not all local officials buy the data's findings.

"Don't tell me that the violence isn't spilling over," Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu told the paper. "When you have American citizens who don't feel safe in their own home or free in their own country, this should be appalling to everyone."

For more on the story and how the data was analyzed, visit USA Today.

Skin Lesions Often Misdiagnosed as Spider Bites

Doga: Aligning mind, body - and paws?

Yoga has been around for over 5,000 years. Dogs have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years. What happens when you put the two together? The newest exercise craze that's sweeping Hong Kong - doga.

Doga is a way for owners to use the ancient exercise of yoga to achieve harmony with their pets - through mediation, stretches, and massage. Some say it's a good way to stay healthy. Experts have long touted the health benefits of yoga, including a stronger core, better posture, lower blood pressure, and less stress. It can also help with asthma, back pain, multiple sclerosis, and insomnia, according to WebMD.

In this photo, yoga student Oksana Maxwell and her dog perform exercises at a studio in Hong Kong on July 14, 2011. Keep clicking to see doga in action...

Credit: AP

Do tea, coffee drinkers have lower "superbug" risk?

A barista prepares a coffee drink in in Bogota, Colombia June 3, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Fredy Builes

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK | Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:24am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who regularly drink tea or coffee may be less likely to carry the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" MRSA in their nostrils, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of more than 5,500 Americans in a government study, those who drank hot tea or coffee were about half as likely as non-drinkers to harbor MRSA bacteria in their nostrils.

Exactly what it all means, though, is unclear.

MRSA (pronounced "mersa") stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacteria that causes staph infections that are resistant to several common antibiotics. In hospital patients, MRSA can cause life-threatening pneumonia or blood infections. In the general public, it typically causes painful skin infections, but those can sometimes develop into serious invasive infections.

A small segment of the population -- about one percent -- carries MRSA in the nose or on the skin but does not get sick.

For the new study, reported in the Annals of Family Medicine, researchers looked at whether coffee or tea drinkers were any less likely than other people to harbor MRSA in the nose.

The idea for the study came from the fact that, in both the lab dish and in humans, topically applied or inhaled tea extracts have shown some anti-MRSA activity, explained lead researcher Dr. Eric M. Matheson, of the University of South Carolina, Charleston.

Less research has been done on coffee compounds, he told Reuters Health, but there is some evidence of antibacterial powers there as well.

Matheson's team found that, indeed, tea and coffee drinkers were less likely to carry MRSA.

Overall, 1.4 percent of the study group harbored the bacteria in their noses. But those odds were about 50 percent lower among people who said they drank hot tea or coffee, versus non-drinkers.

The big caveat, though, is that the link does not prove that tea or coffee, themselves, are the reason for the lower risk.

The study shows an association between the two, Matheson said, "but you never can conclude causation from an association."

"I can't tell you that this finding isn't just a coincidence," he said.

The researchers tried to account for several other factors -- like whether differences in age, income or self-rated health explained the difference between tea or coffee drinkers and non-drinkers. And the beverages were still linked to lower odds of being a MRSA carrier.

But, Matheson said, there could still be other explanations for the connection.

For now, he stopped short of recommending that people start drinking coffee or tea in the hopes of fending off MRSA.

"Based on one association study, that would probably be saying too much," Matheson said.

Another question is, even if coffee and tea drinkers do have a lower chance of carrying MRSA, are they any less likely to get sick? Matheson said there is still debate about whether MRSA carriers are at increased risk of developing an active infection.

It's estimated that in 2005, MRSA caused severe infections in 95,000 Americans, killing nearly 19,000.

The rate of hospital infections has gone down in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but MRSA infections in the general population have been on the upswing since the 1990s and have shown no reversal yet.

To cut the risk of contracting the superbug, experts advise that people regularly wash their hands, keep skin wounds covered, and avoid sharing personal items like towels, washcloths and razors.

And those preventive steps are key, Matheson noted, whether you're a java lover or not.

SOURCE: bit.ly/qA66m7 Annals of Family Medicine, July/August 2011.

Bard Catheter for Immediate Relief From Overflow Incontinence

It is usually the elderly people who are prone to develop the problem of 'overflow incontinence' consequent upon the enlargement of their prostrate glands. It so happens that when the prostrate gland (which encircles the urethra at the outlet of the bladder) gets enlarged, it depresses the urethra and thus hinders the free outflow of urine from the urethra. As the obstruction becomes more acute, a condition develops in which not all of the urine is emptied from the bladder at the time of voiding. When such a condition of obstruction progresses, there comes a time when the person can no longer empty his bladder at all. The bladder continues to fill, producing distention and considerable discomfort. This type of complete urinary retention constitutes an emergency. A bard catheter is, therefore, inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain away the impounded urine and thereby provide immediate relief to the patient from an otherwise grave situation.

Self-catheterization:

In an emergency situation, when the availability of a doctor or trained professional poses another problem, it is possible to use the catheter by yourself to draw out the accumulated urine from the bladder. However, the following things must be procured before beginning the operation:

i) A bard catheter-it is available in both latex and non-latex variety because some people are allergic to latex.
ii) Drainage bag-for receiving the urine drawn from the bladder.
iii) Sterile lubricant-for lubricating the tip end of the catheter.
iv) Elastic leg strap-for strapping the drainage bag to your leg.
v) Genital cleansing solution.
vi) Irrigation syringe-for filling the balloon at the tip of the catheter with distilled water.

Anti-bacterial soap, medical tape, paper towels and sterile gloves may also be kept handy.

Step by step procedure:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with anti-bacterial soap.
2. Dry your hands with clean towel and put on the sterile gloves.
3. Fill the irrigation syringe with 10 cc of distilled water for later use.
4. Lubricate the tip of the catheter to a few inches below-with sterile lubricant.
5. Get yourself comfortably seated. Note that you should be able to spread your legs with ease.
6. Clean your genital area meticulously with genital cleansing solution.
7. You may then start inserting the catheter into your urethra-gently and slowly.
8. When the catheter has reached the outlet of the bladder (sometimes called the neck of the bladder), you may then inject distilled water into the small tube at the upper end (which is also the drainage end) of the catheter. This is to inflate the balloon at the tip of the catheter. The inflated balloon is meant to keep the catheter firmly in place.
9. Gently tape the upper end of the catheter to your body so that any unnecessary movement may be avoided.
10. Attach the drainage bag to the upper end of the catheter and strap it to your leg with the help of the elastic strap.

Post-insertion Precautionary Measures:

It is advisable for those using bard catheters to ensure sufficient intake of water or fruit juices daily. Minimum 8 ounces of water - every 2 to 3 hours is recommended. Sufficient daily intake of fluids is essential for: making the urine dilute and keeping the catheter drained at all times. Catheter users are also advised to avoid taking Tea, Coffee, Alcohol, and even soft drinks-as these drinks might irritate the bladder and aggravate the situation.

Looking for high quality, reliable and affordable incontinence products or bard catheters? Look no further! Our top quality products are simply perfect for everyone.

1888 Edison recording may be 1st talking doll

By Edecio Martinez Topics Tech Talk Thomas Edison

(Credit: AP Photo, file)

(CBS/AP) - Scientists using advanced imaging technology have recovered a 123-year-old recording made by Thomas Edison that is believed to be the world's first attempt at a talking doll and may mark the dawn of the American recording industry.

Pictures: Edison's talking doll record plays 123 years later

In the sound recording, a woman can be heard reciting a verse of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Historians believe Edison hired the woman to make the recording less than two years before he unsuccessfully put the first talking doll on the market.

"Based on the date of fall 1888, it is the oldest American-made recording of a woman's voice that we can listen to today," said Patrick Feaster, a historian at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Feaster pored through historical documents and 19th-century newspaper reports to piece together the story behind the recording. Edison hoped to mass-produce the toys, but the era's rudimentary technology meant that to make 100 dolls, Edison would have to get artists to recite the lullaby 100 times.

"They must have been hired and paid to do this," Feaster said. "These were presumably the first professional recording artists."

The small piece of ring-shaped tin bearing the woman's voice never made it into a doll because wax records replaced metal ones by 1890, when Edison started selling his first talking dolls. Those fragile and easily broken toys were a market flop.

Yet almost 80 years after the mystery woman lent her voice to Edison, the recording showed up in 1967 in the archives of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, having been recovered from a secretary's desk drawer in Edison's laboratory.

"It was clear from looking under the microscope that it had a sound recording on it. Phonograph grooves have a familiar shape," said Jerry Fabris, a museum curator with the National Park Service.

But the metal ring - about 2.5 inches around and half an inch wide - was so bent and damaged that scientists couldn't play it.

More than four decades later, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California used image analysis in May to create a digital model of the record's surface. That model was then used to reproduce the recording as a digital file, not unlike the modern technology behind the voice that emerges from today's talking dolls.

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