running.

last week i decided that i was going to dust off my tennis shoes and start running again. it's been over a yr and a lot has happened in that yr including bed rest and baby #2. i'm not going to lie and say it was a piece of cake. i was actually kind of scared. but i did it w/ baby #2 in tow (i think i prefer running w/ a stroller). and now i am on day 7 of running and i love it. okay, some days i would like to just stay in bed and drink my coffee...and maybe eat a donut w/ chocolate frosting (or two)...but i've got jeans i am trying to fit back into!

*images courtesy of brown button, coco + kelly, stephanie rausser

Women and non-Asian minority CS faculty and PhD student populations (in 2006)

Well, people can say what they like about the NRC rankings, but just looking at the data for the CS departments, I see some pretty graphs here, and some potentially promising correlations.

(See that outlier on the right? Three cheers for Tufts! 56% female faculty, baby.)

(I'm not pleased with that huge cluster of 0% non-Asian minority faculty. But three cheers for FIU, Iowa, and Auburn!)

I haven't yet started removing outliers or doing anything fancy, but for kicks I ran some correlations on these four variables of interest:

For anyone not used to reading ugly SPSS outputs, we find a significant correlation between non-Asian minority CS faculty and non-Asian minority CS PhD students, r = .308, p < .01. We also find a sig. correlation between female CS faculty and female CS PhD students, r = .281, p < .01. And, it turns out if there are non-Asian minority PhD CS students there is also a high likelihood of female PhD CS students, r = .247, p  < .01.

These are not super-huge correlations, and it's likely the outliers are conflating things, but it's still promising just from the graphs. If I have time over the weekend I'll play with the data a bit more formally and see what turns up.

that dog....

i feel like i can relate to the look on that dog's face.....like when i go to my closet to put on my running shoes or when i open my bread box to make a sandwich and only have hot dog buns.....

how genius is that powder room??!! love how they incorporated the window and put the mirror on the side wall.

*images courtesy of pretty world, house and life, things that inspire, moodboard

Vision Unveiled Tuesday 9/28!

The third and final event in the HKHC visioning series will take place tomorrow - Tuesday, September 28, 2010. The event will take place in the Zebro Conference Room (at Roswell Park) on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The Zebro room is on Virginia Street between Ellicott and Elm from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.

We will have great food, a bike raffle for our younger guests, a photography exhibit from the youth participants and brief remarks from members of our community.

Take a look at the vision created by 100+ Buffalonians:

Buffalo is a safe, welcoming community that enhances the physical, social and spiritual well being of its individual residents, families, visitors and communities. By celebrating diversity and building on existing assets, Buffalo fosters a collaborative, fun, healthy environment where youth and adult citizens drive the change we seek.

We are a community where:

• People of all ages, classes, races and ethnicities are well cared for, and there are healthy living choices accessible for all.
• Clean, safe, and accessible places, indoor and out, are available for people to travel, move and play year-round; where parks are well maintained and inviting to all ages, waterways are safe for drinking and recreation, and streets are lively and vibrant with a preference towards human-powered activities and transportation.
• Access to high-quality, nutritious, affordable and culturally meaningful food, sourced from local farms and community gardens when possible, is available within a reasonable distance from all Buffalo homes.
• Abundant education resources are equally accessible to all; with these resources, residents are actively engaged in conscious decisions to live a healthy lifestyle.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at jhersher@bnmc.org. I hope to see you at the event!

monday, monday

here is your set of monday pretties.....i definitely will add this kitchen to my 'list' as well...the star wallpaper i love, and those barn lanterns- yes, please!

*images courtesy of things that inspire, lauren stern design, rikshaw design, a life more fabulous, erin martin

For grad students who want a research career

Following my last post regarding how to get invited to give talks as a graduate student, a commenter asked:

How many days-spent-at-seminar talks+conferences/year is a good number for a grad student interested in a career in research? Obviously it depends on a whole bunch of factors, but just wondering what your best generalized estimate would be.

This is a great question. I may even rephrase it to be, "If I want a research career, what are some good ways to spend my time as a graduate student?"

I have some colleagues who get ideas just sitting in their office, alone, reading papers and thinking. This strategy sometimes works for me, but the truth is, I get more ideas from attending seminars/workshops/conferences and from talking with other people. A recent paper I wrote came entirely from seeing something wild at a conference a few years ago coupled with a recent talk I attended given by someone in a different department at my university. Somehow, these two very different things clicked in my brain, and off I went.

Coming up with research ideas is only half of the problem, though. You also need support to turn them into reality. For this recent project, I consulted with the person from the other department for tips on how to use some specialized equipment which was new to me. I then consulted with another person in his department for ideas on how to formulate my research questions. I ended up with a really solid paper having had these consultations.

So from an idea generation and cultivation perspective, I think spending time attending talks and conferences and chatting with people is a great use of your time(*).

But attending these events are also a great use of your time if you want to get employed some day. :) As I alluded to in the last post, I think being a superstar / having a superstar advisor is rare, and even if you are a superstar, a little extra insurance doesn't hurt. So the other advantage to spending time attending talks and conferences is being able to meet other people.

In many fields, the research world is a small one. That person you chatted with at the coffee break may one day be reviewing your paper/grant proposal, or may one day be offering you a chance to come give a talk at their lab, or even could one day be on the other side of the hiring table. This doesn't mean every interaction with someone matters, it just means more doors may open for you if you put yourself out there.

The goal of attending these things is not to go up to every person you meet and say, "HI GIVE ME A JOB PLEEEEZE". It's a way to casually chat with people and show them that you are a friendly person with good ideas. You form relationships that last throughout your research career. Your advisor may be able to help start you on this path of building these connections, but at some point you need to take initiative yourself. And I think it's good to start building these connections as early on in your career as possible, not two months before you go on the job market.

This all being said, you of course don't want to spend your life on the road. I suppose I did spend a lot of time attending seminars/workshops early on in graduate school, but I was geographically selective. A few times I traveled far, but usually I just went to seminars at my university or at other local universities, or workshops/conferences that were < 5 hours away. Pretty much everything turned out to be useful in one way or another. Even one conference which was a total dud introduced me to a great collaborator who I still work with today, as well as an invitation to give a talk.


(*) I should note, some departments will only fund attendance at conferences/workshops if you have a paper accepted. And if you're a first or second year graduate student, you may not have had any time to do anything publishable yet. However, it's super easy to get a short ideas-only paper accepted at a workshop so long as you can write coherently.  (e.g., a 2-4 pager like - "Here's an idea on X. Here's some background which makes us think X is true. We're going to implement and test X in the coming months"). Also, many big conferences have doctoral consortia, poster submissions, works in progress, etc. These are also definitely worth trying for, because it gets you a plane ticket. Most university accountants aren't going to realize/care that the poster acceptance rate was 99% while the conference acceptance rate was 12%. :-)

Potatoes and Human Health, Part II

Glycoalkaloids in Commonly Eaten Potatoes

Like many edible plants, potatoes contain substances designed to protect them from marauding creatures. The main two substances we're concerned with are alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, because they are the most toxic and abundant. Here is a graph of the combined concentration of these two glycoalkaloids in common potato varieties (1):

We can immediately determine three things from this graph:

• Different varieties contain different amounts of glycoalkaloids.
• Common commercial varieties such as russet and white potatoes are low in glycoalkaloids. This is no accident. The glycoalkaloid content of potatoes is monitored in the US.
  
• Most of the glycoalkaloid content is in the skin (within 1 mm of the surface). That way, predators have to eat through poison to get to the flesh. Fortunately, humans have peelers.

I'll jump the gun and tell you that the generally accepted safe level of potato glycoalkaloids is 200 mcg/g fresh weight (1). You can see that all but one variety are well below this level when peeled. Personally, I've never seen the Snowden variety in the store or at the farmer's market. It appears to be used mostly for potato chips.

Glycoalkaloid Toxicity in Animals

Potato glycoalkaloids are undoubtedly toxic at high doses. They have caused many harmful effects in animals and humans, including (1, 2):

• Death (humans and animals)
  
• Weight loss, diarrhea (humans and animals)
  
• Anemia (rabbits)
• Liver damage (rats)
  
• Lower birth weight (mice)
  
• Birth defects (in animals injected with glycoalkaloids)
  
• Increased intestinal permeability (mice)

However, it's important to remember the old saying "the dose makes the poison". The human body is designed to handle a certain amount of plant toxins with no ill effects. Virtually every plant food, and a few animal foods, contains some kind of toxic substance. We're constantly bombarded by gamma rays, ultra violet rays, bacterial toxins, free radicals, and many other potentially harmful substances. In excess, they can be deadly, but we are adapted to dealing with small amounts of them, and the right dose can even be beneficial in some cases.

All of the studies I mentioned above, except one, involved doses of glycoalkaloids that exceed what one could get from eating typical potatoes. They used green or blemished potatoes, isolated potato skins, potato sprouts or isolated glycoalkaloids (more on this later). The single exception is the last study, showing that normal doses of glycoalkaloids can aggravate inflammatory bowel disease in transgenic mice that are genetically predisposed to it (3)*.

What happens when you feed normal animals normal potatoes? Not much. Many studies have shown that they suffer no ill effects whatsoever, even at high intakes (1, 2). This has been shown in primates as well (4, 5, 6). In fact, potato-based diets appear to be generally superior to grain-based diets in animal feed. As early as 1938, Dr. Edward Mellanby showed that grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin A deficiency in rats and dogs (7). This followed his research showing that whole grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin D deficiency due to their high phytic acid content (Mellanby. Nutrition and Disease. 1934). Potatoes were also a prominent part of Mellanby's highly effective tooth decay reversal studies in humans, published in the British Medical Journal in 1932 (8, 9).

Potatoes partially protect rats against the harmful effects of excessive cholesterol feeding, when compared to wheat starch-based feed (10). Potato feeding leads to a better lipid profile and intestinal short-chain fatty acid production than wheat starch or sugar in rats (11). I wasn't able to find a single study showing any adverse effect of normal potato feeding in any normal animal. That's despite reading two long review articles on potato glycoalkaloids and specifically searching PubMed for studies showing a harmful effect. If you know of one, please post it in the comments section.

In the next post, I'll write about the effects of potatoes in the human diet, including data on the health of traditional potato-eating cultures... and a curious experiment by the Washington State Potato Commission that will begin on October 1.


*Interleukin-10 knockout mice. IL-10 is a cytokine involved in the resolution of inflammation and these mice develop inflammatory bowel disease (regardless of diet) due to a reduced capacity to resolve inflammation.

How to get invited to give talks

It's good to give talks at other institutions as a graduate student. You get to meet new people, learn about new research areas, swap ideas, get feedback on your work, get practice giving talks, etc. And it looks nice on your CV.

As far as I can tell, there are about four ways to get invited to give talks:

Photo by Husky

1) Be a superstar, and people will just invite you to give talks all the time

This is pretty unlikely as a graduate student, unless you're like my friend Hedy, who seems to get talk invitations all the time. She also is often asked to serve on program committees, submit journal papers, etc. Her research is just that smoking.

2) Have an advisor who is good at networking

I'm sorry to say odds are stacked against you if you're a Computer Scientist, because we all know how the joke goes: "The introverted Computer Scientist looks at their own shoes while talking, and the extroverted Computer Scientist looks at yours." Lots of truth there.

Some people get lucky, and if they don't get advisors who are good at networking they at least get ones who are superstar researchers. What happens in this case is the superstar advisor is so busy being awesome they have no time to accept all the invitations they get, thus passing them on to you.

For those of us who are (not yet) superstars, and/or have shy advisors, how do you get talk invitations? Well, I've found two tricks to work pretty well -

3) Talk swap

The idea here is you know someone who is doing neat research, and they either live close to your institution or they will be visiting some time soon. So you invite them to come give a talk. Often times, they will return the invitation. A colleague and I did this once recently. His institution is an hour away from me. So he gave a talk in my research group, and a few weeks later I traveled to give a talk at his research group.

4) Invite yourself

Academics, at least Computer Scientists, love to be entertained. So when we have someone who says, "Hi, I'm doing research in area X. I'm going to be in town the last week of November, can I come give a talk?" most places are very happy to have you. Especially if you come on someone else's dime. I've never done this cold - I've always at least known someone who knew someone - but I know people who have and I think it's perfectly acceptable.

You can do this if you're traveling for academic reasons (e.g., conference, project meeting), but you can also do it when you're going somewhere for a vacation. Though do keep in mind you're more likely to receive a "yes" if you offer to come during the fall or spring semester. Winter break and summer are usually not the best time to go give talks, at least at my university, because many people are away.

If you are shy yourself, it can be a bit nerve wracking to invite yourself somewhere, but it's worth doing. The worst that happens is someone will say "No thank you," but it's really a small risk and can pay off handsomely. I've made a lot of fantastic contacts and met quite a few collaborators due to giving talks at their institutions, and learned about new areas of research which later fed into my own work.

yippee...

it's the weekend and i couldn't be happier.....date night tonight, the library's annual book sale (children's books galore) and a great community yard sale tomorrow! that's my idea of a perfect weekend :)

*several people asked about the warehouse sale i went to in charleston....it's the lux sale and if you are in the market for deals on furniture/ lighting/rugs, you should check it out!

*images courtesy of the neotraditonalist, stepmodo

Chinoiserie....

my heart tends to flutter when i look at pictures of amazing chinoiserie wallpaper....it's so classic and timeless. i think one of my favorite pics is the one of the nursery- how brilliant is that and so unexpected (i'm sure she won't be a diva). i think that is why my heart skipped a beat when i found this....and if there is any left, i'm totally using her ;)

*images courtesy of gracie, mary mcdonald, de gournay, tory burch/vogue, domino

For all the Gleeks out there

This interactive video, 8-bit Glee, is absolutely brilliant, and will bring back memories if you enjoyed playing Zelda back in the 80s. :)

yes please.

seriously, i love these images. that kitchen is super high up on my "one day" list. i am loving everything about it...the cabinet color, the marble up the wall....and that wallpapered closet- HELLO beautiful!!

*images courtesy of ruthie sommers, apartment #34, from the desk of annie, mod girl

More "levity"

Lately I've been reading some papers within a particular humanities discipline due to a very tiny bit of crossover with a new research area I am exploring. I read one paper where the author used quotation marks like they were going out of style. It was something like this:

The "green" tree was in the "park", as was the "balloon". This raises "interesting questions" for "park management".

I thought this was really funny, because as far as I'm aware, in Computer Science we only use non-quotation quotes when we want to be sarcastic. So for us it would be like this:

Compared to Linux, the Blackberry OS's "memory management" is like a herd of lemmings running into a tar pit.

So with this bouncing around my head, you can imagine my delight yesterday as I passed a new sign in front of a local restaurant which said:

Now serving "Authentic Indian Cuisine".

Ah, pseudo-food. Yum!

Potatoes and Human Health, Part I

Potatoes: an Introduction

Over 10,000 years ago, on the shores of lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, a culture began to cultivate a species of wild potato, Solanum tuberosum. They gradually transformed it into a plant that efficiently produces roundish starchy tubers, in a variety of strains that suited the climactic and gastronomic needs of various populations. These early farmers could not have understood at the time that the plant they were selecting would become the most productive crop in the world*, and eventually feed billions of people around the globe.

Wild potatoes, which were likely consumed by hunter-gatherers before domestication, are higher in toxic glycoalkaloids. These are defensive compounds that protect against insects, infections and... hungry animals. Early farmers selected varieties that are low in bitter glycoalkaloids, which are the ancestors of most modern potatoes, however they didn't abandon the high-glycoalkaloid varieties. These were hardier and more tolerant of high altitudes, cold temperatures and pests. Cultures living high in the Andes developed a method to take advantage of these hardy but toxic potatoes, as well as their own harsh climate: they invented chuños. These are made by leaving potatoes out in the open, where they are frozen at night, stomped underfoot and dried in the sun for many days**. What results is a dried potato with a low glycoalkaloid content that can be stored for a year or more.

Nutritional Qualities

From a nutritional standpoint, potatoes are a mixed bag. On one hand, if I had to pick a single food to eat exclusively for a while, potatoes would be high on the list. One reason is that they contain an adequate amount of complete protein, meaning they don't have to be mixed with another protein source as with grains and legumes. Another reason is that a number of cultures throughout history have successfully relied on the potato as their principal source of calories, and several continue to do so. A third reason is that they're eaten in an unrefined, fresh state.

Potatoes contain an adequate amount of many essential minerals, and due to their low phytic acid content (1), the minerals they contain are well absorbed. They're rich in magnesium and copper, two minerals that are important for insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health (2, 3). They're also high in potassium and vitamin C. Overall, they have a micronutrient content that compares favorably with other starchy root vegetables such as taro and cassava (4, 5, 6). Due to their very low fat content, potatoes contain virtually no omega-6, and thus do not contribute to an excess of these essential fatty acids.

On the other hand, I don't have to eat potatoes exclusively, so what do they have to offer a mixed diet? They have a high glycemic index, which means they raise blood sugar more than an equivalent serving of most carbohydrate foods, although I'm not convinced that's a problem in people with good blood sugar control (7, 8). They're low-ish in fiber, which could hypothetically lead to a reduction in the number and diversity of gut bacteria in the absence of other fiber sources. Sweet potatoes, an unrelated species, contain more micronutrients and fiber, and have been a central food source for healthy cultures (9). However, the main reasons temperate-climate cultures throughout the world eat potatoes is they yield well, they're easily digested, they fill you up and they taste good.

In the next post, I'll delve into the biology and toxicology of potato glycoalkaloids, and review some animal data. In further posts, I'll address the most important question of all: what happens when a person eats mostly potatoes... for months, years, and generations?


* In terms of calories produced per acre.

** A simplified description. The process can actually be rather involved, with several different drying, stomping and leaching steps.

Academic titles for women, take two!

A male colleague and I once wrote a paper for a journal. I was first author, he was second author. We are both (still) PhD students, though he is perhaps slightly closer to finishing than I am. We mutually agreed he would be second author because I did the lion's share of the idea generation, research, paper writing, etc. Our websites both clearly indicate we are PhD students, as do our bios in the article.

Recently, one of the journal's editors contacted each of us individually to review a newly submitted article.

Here's the invitation to me:

Dear Ms. Ada Lovelace,

The following paper has been submitted for publication at Our Fantabulous Journal. Can you review it?

Thank you,

Journal Editor

Yet, here is the invitation to my fellow grad student:

Dear Dr. Charles Babbage, 

The following paper has been submitted for publication at Our Fantabulous Journal. Can you review it?

Thank you,

Journal Editor

I am intrigued. Why am I a "Ms." but he's a "Dr."? Is this one of those cases where the editor saw my colleague's name as second author and assumed he was the "senior author"? Even still, for a two-author publication, I'm not sure one can automatically assume the first author is PhD-less and the second author is PhD-full.

I guess this is better than the editor assuming I'm male.

Funny thing, though - a different (female) editor at the journal recently corresponded with us on another matter, and addressed me as "Professor Lovelace," and didn't address my co-author at all. We both found this highly amusing.

gotta love the dot.

have a happy weekend . dot . dot . dot .

*images courtesy of where the sidewalk begins, martha stewart, flouish design + style, toms

Mengenal Wasir dan Faktor Pemicunya

JAKARTA – Mereka yang menghabiskan waktu seharian dengan duduk lama harus waspada. Terlebih lagi kalau mereka ini hanya mengonsumsi sedikit air dan sayuran. Bukan apa-apa, kalangan inilah yang berpotensi besar terserang penyakit wasir atau ambeien.

Menurut Dr. Sutanto Gandakusuma, Ahli Bedah Rumah Sakit (RS) Husada, Jakarta, hampir 70 persen manusia dewasa mempunyai wasir, baik wasir dalam, wasir luar maupun keduanya. Namun tidak semua penderita wasir ini memerlukan pengobatan. Hanya sebagian kecil saja yang memerlukan pertolongan medis, yakni mereka yang mengeluhkan pendarahan, adanya tonjolan dan gatal-gatal.
”Penyebab wasir sebenarnya sederhana, yakni saat susah buang air dipaksakan mengeluarkan kotoran,” ujar Sutanto dalam sebuah seminar mengenai wasir di RS Husada, Jakarta, akhir pekan silam. Penyebab susah buang air ini adalah kurang minum, kurang makan serat, kurang olah raga atau banyak duduk dan mengangkat yang berat-berat.
Solusi penyakit ini sebenarnya cukup gampang, yakni mengubah pola hidup. Bagi mereka yang dalam profesinya banyak duduk seperti sekretaris atau supir disarankan melakukan gerakan-gerakan lain, bukan hanya duduk saja. Karena itu, menurut Sutanto, waktu istirahat alias coffe break sangat penting dimanfaatkan.

Prosedur Pengobatan
Namun kalau sudah telanjur terserang wasir, apa boleh buat, harus segera menjalani terapi yang diberikan ahli medis. Pada stadium wasir ringan, dokter akan memberi obat-obatan jenis phlebodinamic seperti ardium dan daflon atau memberi salep. Tujuannya tak lebih adalah melancarkan sirkulasi darah di daerah anus dan menghilangkan tonjolan, bengkak dan pendarahan.
Salep bertujuan mengurangi sakit, bengkak dan mencegah infeksi. Apabila kondisi tidak juga membaik maka disarankan kembali ke dokter. Menurut Sutanto, dengan ke dokter maka akan bisa dipastikan bahwa penyakit ini memang benar wasir, bukan penyakit yang lebih serius seperti kanker.
”Tidak semua pendarahan dari dubur adalah hemorhoid atau wasir,” jelas Dr. Lie Agustinus Dharmawan, Kepala bagian Bedah RS Husada dalam kesempatan serupa. ”Setiap pendarahan dari dubur harus ditanggapi serius.” Bisa saja pendarahan ini berasal dari saluran cerna seperti usus halus, usus besar, mulut, kerongkongan dan lain-lain. Bila pendarahan berasal dari sini maka bisa saja disebabkan oleh tukak lambung, kerusakan pembuluh darah, kanker dan sejenisnya.
Untuk memastikan adanya kelainan-kelainan ini perlu diadakan diagnosa, mengetahui riwayat penyakit, inspeksi serta penginderaan melalui endoskopi dan angiografi.
Setelah dipastikan bahwa seorang pasien memang menderita wasir maka dokter bisa mengambil tindakan seperti penyuntikan. Tindakan lain adalah ligasi atau pencekikan wasir dengan gelang karet.
Dengan dicekiknya wasir tersebut maka wasir akan mati dan rontok. Menurut Sutanto, tindakan ini tepat untuk wasir yang berada di dalam dan berukuran agak besar. Jika pasien atau dokter sama-sama bersedia melakukan prosedur operasi, maka bisa dilakukan operasi.
Baru-baru ini telah dikembangkan alat operasi baru yakni stapler yang dapat memotong dan menjahit sekaligus usus di atas wasirnya, sehingga wasir secara otomatis terangkat ke atas. Tindakan ini hanya untuk wasir dalam saja. Keuntungan pemakaian stapler adalah penderita sama sekali tidak merasakan nyeri.
Makanan Berserat
Walau bisa diatasi, tentu saja tidak seorang pun bersedia mengalami pelbagai tindakan ”mengerikan” seperti ini. Ada baiknya jauh-jauh hari, di saat kondisi masih normal, orang menghindari faktor penyebab wasir.
Sebenarnya, apa faktor terbesar dari pemicu wasir? Menurut Dr. Ekky M. Rahardja, Unit Gizi Medik instalasi Gizi RS Husada, wasir kerap dihubungkan dengan kelemahan bawaan dinding vena, penekanan oleh rahim selama kehamilan, dan terhambatnya aliran darah vena oleh kontraksi otot dinding rektum selama buang air besar.
Karena itu, mereka yang punya keluhan sulit buang air besar biasanya diikuti dengan gejala wasir. Solusi satu-satunya adalah mengubah pola makan dari rendah serat ke makanan kaya serat.
Serat makanan adalah substansi makanan berasal dari nabati yang tidak dapat dicerna oleh enzim pencernaan manusia. Substansi tersebut berasal dari dinding sel atau bagian lain.
Meski tidak tergolong sebagai zat gizi, makanan berserat merupakan komponen penting dalam makanan sehari-hari. Ini disebabkan serat bisa menjaga kesehatan gusi dan gigi, mengendalikan berat badan, mengendalikan kadar gula dan lemak darah, meningkatkan penyerapan kalsium dan memperlancar buang air besar. Yang terakhir ini paling erat hubungannya dengan wasir.
”Setelah sebagian besar zat gizi diserap usus halus maka residunya dipindahkan ke usus besar di mana terjadi proses fermentasi feses atau kotoran ke bagian distal,” jelas Ekky yang juga dosen Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Tarumanegara ini dalam kesempatan sama.
Pada kondisi kekurangan serat, massa feses menjadi terlalu sedikit untuk dapat didorong keluar oleh gerak peristaltik usus. Oleh karena itu makanan sehari-hari harus mengandung cukup serat disertai cukup minum. Konsumsi serat yang dianjurkan adalah sekitar 30-35 gram per hari.
Konsumsi serat sehari-hari dianggap cukup kalau seseorang sama sekali tidak menderita gangguan buang air besar. Aktivitas buang air besar yang normal adalah dilakukan sedikitnya sekali dalam sehari dan sama sekali tidak mengalami kesulitan apa-apa, yakni tanpa disertai rasa sakit.
Bagi pasien penderita wasir, perlu diberikan makanan serat ekstra. Konsumsi air minum sedikitnya dua liter atau delapan gelas dalam sehari. Ditambah menu makanan yang kaya serat seperti sereal dan umbi dari beras tumbuk, beras merah, ketan hitam, gandum, havermouth, jagung, ubi dan singkong. Sumber serat lain adalah kacang-kacangan, sayuran hijau, buah-buahan yang dimakan bersama kulitnya dan jelly atau agar-agar.(mer)

Sumber : http://www.sinarharapan.co.id


Obat Alami untuk atasi wasir :
1. Lhiroid, 3x1
2. Rumput mutiara, 3x1

JIka ingin pesan herbal yg sdh dikemas dalam kapsul tsb silahkan contact :
1. email : budiprakoso98@gmail.com
2. YM : budi_prakoso98
3. HP : 081310343598

GONDOK/HIPERTIROID/TIROID

Pembesaran kelenjar gondok pada laki-laki sebagian besar adalah kanker ganas tiroid

Kelenjar gondok atau disebut kelenjar tiroid, adalah kelenjar yang normalnya berlokasi dibagian tengah-depan dari leher kita. Ada tiga bagian yaitu : lobus kanan, lobus kiri dan lobus intermedius yang menghubungkan lobus kanan dan lobus kiri.

Dalam keadaan normal, kelenjar tiroid berukuran kecil, dengan berat hanya 2-4 gram posisinya dileher depan bagian tengah dan tidak teraba. Sehingga pada leher orang normal tidak tampak tonjolan atau massa yang mengganggu pemandangan seperti apa yang kita lihat pada penderita gondok.

Fungsi kelenjar tiroid yaitu mengatur metabolisme tubuh, sehingga segala sesuatunya berjalan lancar dan normal didalam tubuh seseorang. Maka dikenal beberapa istilah seperti : eutiroid, hipertiroid dan hipotiroid.

Eutiroid adalah keadaan dimana besar dan fungsi kelenjar gondok dalam keadaan normal. Hipertiroid, berarti kelenjar gondok bekerja melebihi kerja normal sehingga biasanya kelenjar gondok membesar dan juga akan didapatkan hasil laboratorium untuk hormon TSH, T3 dan T4 yang berada diatas ambang normal. Hipotiroid kebalikan dari hipertiroid, disini kelenjar gondok bekerja dibawah normal, sehingga ketiga hormon tadi kadarnya didalam serum dibawah angka normal. Apa gejala dan dampak dari kelainan kelenjar gondok ini ?

Gejala hipertiroid biasanya : si penderita hiperaktif, tidak bisa diam. Badan berkeringat berlebihan, suhu tubuh hangat, jantung berdebar-debar, tangan sering gemetar, bola mata agak menonjol. Banyak bicara susah diam, makan banyak akan tetapi badan tetap kurus dan seterusnya.

Penderita hipotiroid umumnya badan suhunya dingin, lembab. Orangnya rada obese, malas bergerak dan malas bicara. Biasanya lidahnya tampak besar dan tebal. Makan tidak banyak, akan tetapi tubuhnya tambun. Semuanya kebalikan dari gejala hipertiroid.

Pada hipertiroid , peradangan kelenjar tiroid maupun adanya neoplasma atau tumor kelenjar gondok, maka kelenjar itu akan membesar, berupa benjolan atau massa yang bisa diraba pada leher tengah bagian depan. Ciri khasnya : benjolan itu akan turut bergerak saat penderita melakukan gerakan menelan. Artinya bila penderita disuruh melakukan gerakan menelan, maka si benjolan tadi bergerak keatas dan kebawah, sesuai dan mengikuti irama gerakan menelan si penderita.

Sakitkah benjolan tadi ? Jawabnya : ada yang sakit dan ada yang tidak. Tergantung jenis kelainan yang ditemukan, biasanya bila akibat peradangan akan dirasakan sakit atau nyeri. Nyeri disini bisa nyeri spontan, artinya nyeri tanpa dilakukan penekanan terhadap benjolan. Dan atau nyeri tekan, yaitu nyeri bila benjolan ditekan pada saat dilakukan pemeriksaan.

Apakah penderita merasakan demam ? Jawabnya : bisa ya dan bisa tidak. Biasanya demam dirasakan pada awal kemunculan massa di kelenjar gondok itu dan demam biasa dijumpai pada kasus peradangan. Sedangkan pada neoplasma atau tumor kelenjar tiroid, biasanya penderita tidak akan merasakan nyeri maupun demam.

Mengenai tumor tiroid, kita mengenal ada yang jinak dan ada yang ganas. Neoplasma jinak biasanya jenis struma adenomatosa dan adenoma folikuler tiroid. Sedangkan neoplasma ganas umumnya yang tersering adalah karsinoma tiroid papilliferum.

Penderita kelainan kelenjar gondok biasanya 80-90 persen adalah kaum hawa. Sedangkan laki-laki sangat jarang. Namun demikian, prosentase keganasan pada penderita kaum adam cukup tinggi sekitar 60-70 persen dari seluruh kasus penderita kelainan tiroid pada laki-laki.

Karena itu, khusus kepada kaum adam, sering-seringlah memeriksa leher bagian depan anda. Bila dicurigai ada yang tidak beres, segera kunjungi dokter terdekat agar segera dapat dilakukan pemeriksaan lab dan lain-lain. Apabila fasilitas ada, dokter yang paling tepat menangani kelainan pada kelenjar gondok ini adalah dokter spesialis penyakit dalam (internist), sub-divisi Endokrinologi.

Sumber : http://www.sukmamerati.com

Obat alami untuk atasi Gondok/Hipertiroid/tiroid :
1. Ciplukan, 3x1
2. Mengkudu, 3x1
3. Rumput mutiara, 3x1 - jika ada pembengkakan

JIka ingin pesan herbal tersebut diatas, harga @ Rp.50.000,-//50kpsul. :
1. email : budiprakoso98@gmail.com
2. YM : budi_prakoso98
3. HP : 081310343598

BATU EMPEDU

Kandung empedu merupakan organ berbentuk buah pir kecil yang terletak di
perut sebelah kanan, dan tersembunyi di bawah hati. Kandung empedu
menyimpan cairan empedu yang dihasilkan oleh hati. Selama makan, kandung
empedu akan berkontraksi (menciut) sehingga mengeluarkan sedikit cairan
empedu yang berwarna hijau kecoklatan ke dalam usus halus. Cairan empedu
berguna dalam penyerapan lemak dan beberapa vitamin, seperti vitamin A,
D, E, dan K. Empedu merupakan campuran dari asam empedu, protein,
garam-garam kalsium, pigmen dan unsur lemak yang disebut kolesterol.
Sebagian dari empedu yang memasuki usus halus akan diteruskan dan
dikeluarkan melalui feses.

Kelainan utama yang dapat timbul pada kandung empedu adalah terbentuknya
batu. Hal ini juga dapat terjadi pada saluran empedu. Batu empedu
disebabkan oleh perubahan secara kimiawi pada empedu seseorang. Batu
empedu terbentuk dari endapan kolesterol, pigmen bilirubin dan garam
kalsium yang mengeras, namun kebanyakan batu kandung empedu terbentuk
dari kolesterol. Timbulnya batu empedu akan menjadi masalah bila masuk
ke salah satu saluran yang menuju ke usus halus. Kadang-kadang batu
dapat terbentuk dalam saluran empedu itu sendiri, misalnya karena bekas
jahitan pada suatu operasi.

Pada kandung empedu, batu dapat menyebabkan peradangan yang disebut
kolestitis akut, hal ini karena adanya pecahan batu empedu di dalam
saluran empedu yang menimbulkan rasa sakit. Batu-batu yang melalui
kantong empedu dapat menyangkut di dalam hati dan saluran empedu,
sehingga menghentikan aliran dari empedu ke dalam saluran pencernaan. Di
samping itu, terdapat faktor lainnya yang memulai terjadinya proses
pembentukan batu empedu. Unsur ini bisa berupa protein yang terdapat
pada cairan lendir yang dibentuk kandung empedu dalam jumlah kecil. Hal
ini memungkinkan kolesterol, bilirubin, dan garam kalsium membentuk
partikel seperti kristal padat. Bentuk dari batu empedu bermacam-macam,
yaitu batu yang terbentuk dari kolesterol berwarna kuning dan mengkilat
seperti minyak, batu yang terdiri dari pigmen bilirubin bisa berwarna
hitam tetapi keras atau berwarna coklat tua tetapi rapuh. Ukurannya juga
bermacam-macam dari yang kecil hingga sebesar batu kerikil, tetapi
rata-rata berdiameter 1 - 2 cm.

Meskipun penyakit kantong empedu tidak menunjukkan gejala, pada keadaan
memburuk gejala yang biasa ditimbulkan adalah serangan pada waktu makan
makanan yang mengandung lemak tinggi jika seseorang sudah mengidap batu
empedu. Hal ini terjadi karena lemak tersebut memicu hormon merangsang
kantung empedu berkontraksi sehingga memaksa empedu yang tersimpan masuk
ke dalam duodenum yaitu jalan keluar menuju usus kecil, jika batu
menghambat aliran empedu maka akan timbul gejala seperti sakit yang akut
pada sebelah kanan atas perut dan mengarah ke punggung, antara bahu dan
ke dada depan. Gejala lainnya yaitu kolik, sendawa, gas dalam perut,
gangguan pencernaan, berkeringat, mual, muntah, kedinginan, suhu tubuh
agak tinggi, penyakit kuning (bila batu empedu menghalangi saluran
empedu), dan feses berwarna coklat.

Penyakit batu kandung empedu dan saluran empedu biasanya menyerang
orang-orang berusia antara 20 - 50 tahun. Penyakit ini 6 kali lebih
sering terjadi pada wanita sampai usia 50 tahun. Di atas usia tersebut
sama untuk kedua jenis kelamin. Selain itu, wanita yang mengalami lebih
dari 2 kali kehamilan, maka resiko mendapatkan batu empedu semakin
tinggi. Obesitas/kegemukan mempunyai resiko menderita batu empedu lebih
tinggi dibandingkan dengan yang tidak obesitas. Beberapa upaya
pencegahan terbentuknya batu empedu yang dapat ditempuh antara lain
menjaga berat badan agar tetap normal, menurunkan kolesterol, dan
mengkonsumsi makanan yang banyak mengandung serat. Tetapi di lain pihak,
diet keras untuk menurunkan berat badan dengan cepat dapat merangsang
hati untuk mengeluarkan kolesterol dalam jumlah besar ke dalam cairan
empedu, sehigga dapat menimbulkan batu empedu.

Untuk mengetahui apakah tubuh kita terdapat batu empedu digunakan suatu
alat pendeteksi batu empedu yang disebut ultrasound, yaitu dengan
menggunakan gelombang suara yang tidak dapat didengar telinga. Gelombang
suara ini diarahkan ke tubuh dan pantulan gelombangnya kemudian diolah
komputer yang akan menunjukkan ada atau tidaknya batu empedu. Selain itu
batu empedu dapat diketahui melalui foto sinar X dan pemeriksaan darah
di laboratorium.

Bagi penderita batu empedu, prinsip utama perawatannya yaitu
mengistirahatkan kandung empedu. Hindari makanan berlemak karena lemak
merangsang kandung empedu untuk bekerja keras. Kandungan protein dalam
diet cukup 1 - 1 ½ gram per berat badan setiap hari. Kalori perlu pula
dibatasi, karena kebanyakan penderita batu empedu juga penderita
obesitas. Bahan makanan yang dapat menyebabkan gangguan pencernaan juga
harus dihindari.

Sumber : Hembing

Cara alamiah yang dapat digunakan untuk mengatasi batu empedu yaitu :

1. Minum : Kumis kucing, temulawak dan meniran. Dosis 3x1


2. Minum jus apel sebanyak 4 gelas setiap hari selama 5 hari. Pada hari
ke-6 lakukan puasa, dan pada saat berbuka puasa minum air putih + 30
gram garam inggris, pada pukul 20.00 minum ½ gelas air lemon + ½ gelas
minyak zaitun, aduk lalu diminum.
Catatan : anda dapat menggunakan salah satu cara tradisional di atas,
lakukan secara teratur sehari 2 kali. Dalam melakukan perebusan gunakan
panci enamel atau periuk tanah.

Untuk lihat progressnya disarankan tetap konsultasi ke dokter.

Jika ingin pesan Kumis Kucing, temulawak dan meniran yang sudah bentuk kapsul, harga @ Rp.50.000/45kpsul..silahkan contact :
1. email : budiprakoso98@gmail.com
2. YM : budi_prakoso98
3. HP : 081310343598

BATU GINJAL

Ginjal dalam tubuh berfungsi sebagai filter untuk membersihkan darah/cairan lainnya. Fungsi ini bertujuan agar bahan-bahan kimia yang terkandung dalam darah atau cairan tubuh lainnya tidak terbawa kembali oleh darah dan beredar ke seluruh tubuh. Sebagian kotoran hasil penyaringan ini nantinya akan dikeluarkan melalui ginjal bersama air seni. Namun sebagian lagi mungkin tertinggal dan mengendap menjadi batu ginjal. Apabila endapan ini tidak dikeluarkan, akan menetap di ginjal atau berpindah ke kandung kemih.

Gejala penyakit batu ginjal ini di antaranya pinggang terasa nyeri dan pegal-pegal. Kadang-kadang, penyakit ini tidak menimbulkan keluhan. Rasa sakit akan muncul bila batu merusak jaringan atau terbawa ke saluran kemih hingga menyumbatnya.

Bentuk dan ukuran batu ginjal sendiri bervariasi. Bila batu ini agak besar dan menyumbat, sumbatan tersebut dapat menahan air seni. Jika tidak segera diobati dapat menyebabkan pembengkakan pada ginjal yang akan menimbulkan rasa sakit yang amat sangat. Bila sampai parah, penderita bisa mengalami muntah-muntah.

Pencegahan Dini

Penyakit batu ginjal dapat dicegah sedini mungkin, yaitu dengan menerapkan pola makan yang sehat dan seimbang. Allah telah memberi rizqi dengan berbagai sumber makanan yang dapat kita ambil manfaatnya bagi tubuh, baik itu berasal dari hewan maupun tumbuhan serta air.

Sebagian orang ada yang hanya mengkonsumsi makanan dari hewan dan sejumlah protein dari tumbuhan. Sementara yang lain, ada yang menjadi vegetarian (hanya makan dari tumbuhan saja).

Pola makan seperti itu harus ditinggalkan. Sumber makanan yang berasal dari hewan maupun tumbuhan sama-sama penting bagi tubuh. Untuk itu, kita harus menyeimbangkan pola makan. Tidak asal halal, tapi juga perlu memperhatikan kethoyyibannya (manfaatnya) bagi tubuh.

Untuk mencegah terbentuknya batu ginjal, beberapa petunjuk di bawah ini bisa dilakukan:
1. Minum air putih yang cukup, kurang lebih 8 gelas tiap hari. Tujuannya agar menghasilkan air seni yang cukup untuk membilas zat-zat kimia yang mungkin akan mengendap di batu ginjal.
2. Jangan terlalu banyak mengkonsumsi makanan yang mengandung kalsium (susu, telor, daging, jeroan) dan mengurangi makanan yang terlalu tinggi mengandung asam urat (kangkung, bayam, kembang kol, dan olahan melinjo).
3. Seringlah mengkonsumsi buah semangka, sebab buah ini banyak manfaatnya bagi tubuh terutama ginjal. Buah ini sering disebut sebagai pencuci darah alami.
4. Perhatikan kesehatan gigi, karena gigi yang berlubang atau terkena infeksi bisa berpengaruh pada ginjal.
5. Jangan memanaskan olahan sayur bayam, sebab ini termasuk salah satu pembentuk batu ginjal.
6. Jika memungkinkan, konsumsilah air mineral.

Bila Allah mentakdirkan kita mengidap penyakit ini, segeralah berobat ke dokter agar tidak menjadi parah dan menimbulkan penyakit lain.
Sumber : http://asysyariah.com


Bisa juga melakukan terapi dengan menggunakan obat alami yang efektif mengobati batu ginjal, di antaranya:
1. Meniran,3x1
2. tempuyung,3x1
3. Kumis kucing, 3x1

Info pemesanan :
1. email : budiprakoso98@gmail.com
2. YM : budi_prakoso98
3. HP : 081310343598

HIPOTENSI - tensi rendah

Berbicara hipotensi tentu dalam bayangan kita adalah gejalanya dulu yaitu sering pusing dan jatuh pingsan, hal ini sering banget ditanyakan oleh pasien saya di praktek, ketika mereka datang dengan keluhan pusing pasti yang mereka tanyakan adalah ‘gimana tensi saya dok?, apakah turun?’…menurut catatan yang saya baca, hipotensi (tekanan darah rendah) adalah suatu keadaan dimana tekanan darah lebih rendah dari 90/60 mmhg atau tekanan darah cukup rendah sehingga menyebabkan gejala-gejala seperti pusing dan pingsan…

Jadi tidak salah khan pertanyaan yang diajukan oleh pasien itu?…gejala pusing dan jatuh pingsan merupakan gejala yang paling sering dirasakan oleh pasien hipotensi…gejala ini timbul karena adanya gangguan penghantaran oksigen ke otak…

Sebenarnya tubuh mempunyai mekanisme untuk menstabilkan tekanan darah, kestabilan tekanan darah ini penting sebab tekanan harus cukup tinggi untuk mengantarkan oksigen dan zat makanan ke seluruh sel di tubuh dan membuang limbah yang dihasilkan…jika tekanan terlalu tinggi, bisa merobek pembuluh darah dan menyebabkan perdarahan di dalam otak (stroke hemoragik) atau komplikasi lainnya….jka tekanan terlalu rendah, darah tidak dapat memberikan oksigen dan zat makanan yang cukup untuk sel dan tidak dapat membuang limbah yang dihasilkan sebagaimana mestinya…

dari sekian banyak penyebab hipotensi maka hipotensi karena perubahan posisi tubuh atau hipotensi ortostatik lah yang paling sering terjadi…kapan pasien dikatakan menderita hipotensi jenis ini?…bila dijumpai penurunan tekanan darah sistolik yang menetap di bawah 80 mmHg atau penurunan tekanan darah sistolik lebih dari 30 mmHg yang diikuti oleh gejala klinis saat perubahan posisi tubuh dari tidur ke berdiri secara tiba tiba…

gejala klinis yang terjadi cukup bervariasi acapkali keluhan yang disodorkan penderita lebih merupakan keluhan neuropati autonom seperti mudah lelah, pusing, pingsan, sering menguap, tutur kata yang kabur, penglihatan kabur, wajah pucat, keringat dingin, mual, perasaan tak nyaman di perut, sensasi terceki…keluhan yang muncul ini kadang tidak berhubungan erat dengan kualitas penyakit…ada
kecenderungan peningkatan kualitas gejala saat pagi hari ketika
bangun tidur, makin reda bila hari telah siang atau penderita kembali berbaring…

lalu, apa yang sebenarnya menjadi penyebab dari hipotensi ini?…penyebab disini dapat dikelompokan menjadi tiga yaitu :

* curah jantung berkurang, penyebabnya irama jantung abnormal, kerusakan atau kelainan fungsi otot jantung, penyakit katup jantung, emboli pulmoner…

* volume darah berkurang, penyebabnya perdarahan hebat, diare, keringat berlebihan, berkemih berlebihan…

* meningkatnya kapasitas pembuluh darah, penyebabnya syok septik, pemaparan oleh panas, diare, obat-obat vasodilator (nitrat, penghambat kalsium, penghambat ACE)

so apa yang harus dilakukan pada penderita hipotensi?…beberapa hal yang bisa dilakukan untuk mengurangi gejala hipotensi antara lain :

- aktivitas fisik yang dilakukan secara teratur seperti berjalan cukup mampu mengurangi timbulnya gejala…

- tidur dengan posisi kepala terangkat ± 30 cm dan alas tidur dapat memperbaiki hipotensi ortostatik melalui mekanisme berkurangnya tekanan arteri ginjal yang selanjutnya akan merangsang pelepasan renin dan meningkatkan volume darah…

- menggunakan obat obatan yang dapat menaikan tekanan darah…

Sumber : http://www.blogdokter.net/2007/03/27/hipotensi-tekanan-darah-rendah/


ALTERNATIF HERBAL :
1. Tapak Liman, 3x1
2. Bee Polen , 3x1

Info pemesanan :
1. email. :budiprakoso98@gmail.com
2. YM :budi_prakoso98
3. HP. : 081310343598

LidarK 2.0 released

The second major release of GML LidarK is now available. It reflects our 3-year experience on 3D data processing. The description from the project page:

The LidarK library provides an open-source framework for processing multidimensional point data such as 3D LIDAR scans. It allows building a spatial index for performing fast search queries of different kinds. Although it is intended to be used for LIDAR scans, it can be helpful for a wide range of problems that require spatial data processing.

The API has been enriched with various features in this release. Indeed, it became more consistent and logical. New ways to access data (i.e. various iterators) are implemented. One can now find k nearest neighbours for any point, not just for one that belongs to the index. Since the data structure is a container, we've decided to parametrize it with template parameter. This decision is controversive: one does not need to cast tuples any more, but the code became clumsier and less portable, unfortunately.

The C++/MATLAB code is licensed free of charge for academic use. You can download it here.

Speaking at Wise Traditions 2010

I'm happy to announce that I'll be presenting at the Weston A. Price foundation's 2010 Wise Traditions conference. The conference will be held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Nov 12-14. The theme is the politics of food.

Sally Fallon Morell has invited me to give a talk on the diet and health of Pacific islanders. The talk will be titled "Kakana Dina: Diet and Health in the Pacific Islands", and it will take place on Sunday, November 14th from 4:00 to 5:20 pm. In preparation for the talk, I've read eight books and countless journal articles. Although some of the material will be familiar to people who follow the blog, I will not be rehashing what I've already published. I have nearly an hour and a half to talk, so I'll be going into some depth on the natural history and traditional food habits of Pacific island populations. Not just macronutrient breakdowns... specific foods and traditional preparation methods.

Learn about the health of traditional Pacific island populations, and what has changed since Western contact. Learn about traditional cooking and fermentation techniques. See unpublished photos from the Kitava study, courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg. Learn about the nutritional and ceremonial role of mammals including pork... and the most gruesome food of all.

I hope to see you there!


Kitava photo courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg

purple....

when i was young i always reached for the same crayon....purple. it's funny how little girls are all geared towards pink and purple. seeing these rooms, makes me want to add that color back into my life...but maybe in a more grown up way like as an accent paired w/ gray.

*images courtesy of the scoop, everything fabulous, the diversion project, kelly green interiors, the goop, the scoop

What research pond do you swim in?

The funding / job fairies have come down from the sky and offered you a choice. You can be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond. Which would you choose? (It's not rhetorical - feel free to answer in the comments if you feel like)

Wasted Talent #473: Limitations of Modern
 Medicine, Angela Melick

I have been contemplating this question for awhile. An unusual opportunity presented itself where I'd basically be a bright orange fish in a big pond of purple octopuses. On the one hand, there's a few octopuses who have a *tiny* bit of overlap to my research area, but, really, we're talking seriously different species. I'd definitely be the only vertebrate in the whole pond. (Yes, those other researchers are spineless! har).

On the one hand, you never really have to prove that you're an independent researcher when there is just no other option. But on the other hand, you seriously have to work extra hard to find the other fishies. Which helps you build networking skills, but can be seriously exhausting.

And I suppose it could be fun to get to know the octopuses. Perhaps we will be united by a shared love of Science which transcends the need to be working on similar genres of problems.

But I am unsure. I feel uneasy because in some ways my chosen research area already makes me an outsider within my current pond, but we at least have our fishiness to unite us.

pop of color....

this chandelier is popping up everywhere....and boy, is she a pretty one to look at! the last one is a DIY project- very creative and looks great in the room!

*images courtesy of marjorie skouras design, lauren stern, greige, house beautiful, a penny saved