China Study Problems of Interpretation

The China study was an observational study that collected a massive amount of information about diet and health in 65 different rural regions of China. It's been popularized by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, who has argued that the study shows that plant foods are generally superior to animal foods for health, and even a small amount of animal food is harmful. Campbell's book has been at the center of the strict vegetarian (vegan) movement since its publication.

Richard from Free the Animal just passed on some information that many of you may find interesting. A woman named Denise Minger recently published a series of posts on the China study. She looked up the raw data and applied statistics to it. It's the most thorough review of the data I've seen so far. She raises some points about Campbell's interpretation of the data that are frankly disturbing. As I like to say, the problem is usually not in the data-- it's in the interpretation.

One of the things Minger points out is that wheat intake had a massive correlation with coronary heart disease-- one of the strongest correlations the investigators found. Is that because wheat causes CHD, or is it because wheat eating regions tend to be further North and thus have worse vitamin D status? I don't know, but it's an interesting observation nevertheless. Check out Denise Minger's posts... if you have the stamina:

The China Study: Fact or Fallacy

Also, see posts on the China study by Richard Nikoley, Chris Masterjohn and Anthony Colpo:

T. Colin Campbell's the China Study
The Truth About the China Study
The China Study: More Vegan Nonsense

And my previous post on the association between wheat intake and obesity in China:

Wheat in China

Who are I?

Image by xrrr

I'm far too much of a blogger newbie to do the "who are you, dear readers?" meme, since I think there are only about four of you who read this :-), so instead I'll do a reverse one, FAQ-style.

Who are you exactly?

I'm trying this pseudo-anonymity thing. I think it's probably ludicrous, because there are just so few academic female computer scientists I'm sure I'll be outed one day by some clever, bored black hatter, but hey, worth a shot.

What is your background?

I worked in industry for quite awhile, and was really enjoying it, but I felt like career-wise I had two choices in front of me: either become a manager or become a super-code-monkey. To do the former, I felt like I had to start building sentences that contained the words "synergistic leverage goals", and no matter how many fancy titles they give you I just didn't see being a code-monkey a sustainable career.

Code Monkey? Don't you mean "software engineer"?

Oh, right, sorry. Would you prefer Software Simian?

So why academia?

I wanted a career-path change. I decided if I got a PhD and became a professor, I could research whatever I wanted and (sort of) be my own boss. Most importantly, I wouldn't ever have to use the word synergy if I didn't want to.

Why do you blog?

After reading this book, I decided to get a TT job I'd need lots of (good) publications. So I spent a lot of my time early on focusing on that. Then I started talking to people who said, "Ha ha, big deal. Everyone has lots of publications. You'll also need a network of Turing Award winners to get you a job in this market."And so on. So I realized there's a lot of these little things no one tells you but you absolutely need to know to make it. I figured I'd share those things with the masses in case they were useful to others, and hope that they'll share some back.

Oh, and also, I was mad at John Tierney.

things are still chaotic....but these five minutes sitting here staring at pictures, listening to pandora (brandi carlile) is the BEST ever.

back to reality....

*images courtesy of ruby press, compulsively compiled, oh hello friend, apartment 34, renae moore blog

KEMBANG TELENG(Clitoria ternatea L.,)

KLASIFIKASI – Kembang Telang biasa disebut Clitoria ternatea L., termasuk famili tumbuhan Papilionaceae. Tanaman ini dikenal dengan nama daerah Bunga biru, Kembang teleng, bunga talang atau bisi.

SIFAT KIMIAWI - Memiliki berbagai kandungan kimia, yang sudah diketahui a.l : Saponin, flavonoid, alkoloid, ca-oksalat dan sulfur, khusus daunnya : kaemferol 3-glucoside serta triterpenoid. bunganya mengandung delphinidin 3.3′.5′ serta triglucoside, fenol. Akarnya beracun.

EFEK FARMAKOLOGIS
Akar : Toksik (beracun), laxative (pencahar), diuretik, perangsang muntah, pembersih darah.
Daun : Mempercepat pematangan bisul
Biji : Obat Cacing, pencahar ringan

BAGIAN TANAMAN YANG BERGUNA - Efek farmakologi ini diperoleh dari penggunaan seluruh tanaman.

Penyakit yang dapat disembuhkan dan cara penggunaannya.

1.Abses, bisul :
- Bunga berwarna biru ditumbuk halus, ditambahkan gula jawa secukupnya dipakai menutup bisul/abses.
- Minum air godokan kembang telang putih untuk pencuci darah.
- Setengah genggam daun kembang telang dicuci bersih lalu digiling halus dan tambahkan garam secukupnya untuk ditaruh di bisul.

2.Radang mata merah : Rendam bunga berwarna biru sampai airnya biru dan gunakan sebagai pencuci mata.

3.Busung perut, pembesaran organ perut : Ekstrak akar 5 – 10 gram dalam alkohol.

4.Sakit Telinga : Daun dicuci bersih lalu dilumatkan, air perasannya ditambah garam, hangat-hangat dioleskan kesekitar telinga yang sakit

5.Menghilangkan dahak pada bronchitis kronis : minum godokan akar.

6.Demam: akar kering 0.3 gram, direbus dengan 4 gelas air sampai menjadi 2 gelas, dinginkan lalu saring dan minum 2 x 1 gelas.

7.
Iritasi kandung kemih dan saluran kencing : aturannya sama dengan no 6.


BUDI DAYA – Perbanyak tanaman dengan biji. Biji disemai kemudian tanaman muda dipindahkan ketempat penanaman. Pemeliharaan tanaman ini mudah, seperti tanaman lain dibutuhkan cukup air dengan penyiraman atau dengan menjaga kelembabab tanah. Disamping itu juga dibutuhkan pemupukan terutama pupuk dasar.

Sumber :http://tanamanherbal.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/kembang-teleng/

NB: Sudah tersedia tetes kembang teleng, harga 30rb/botol. Info pemesanan : budi_prakoso98@yahoo.com atau 081310343598

Just a guy from New Hampshire

I was flipping through the June issue of the IEEE Women in Engineering magazine, and came across an interview with Dean Kamen. Kamen is a really fantastic (albeit eccentric) inventor, responsible for: the first stair climbing wheelchair, the segway, the first insulin pump, and other neat things. The article was focused on his recent novel inventions for extremely efficient power generators and water purifiers to be given to people in developing countries. I absolutely loved this quote:

Image by James Young Art

He has been called an idealist, an optimist, and occasionally even naïve for his big ideas about fixing the world’s problems. Kamen says he sometimes even wonders himself. 'I think, well, if with all their resources the United Nations and everyone can’t do it, I must really be nuts trying to do it myself—I’m just some guy from New Hampshire.'"

The article goes on to discuss his efforts in STEM outreach and education. I liked this quote too:

"'You get what you celebrate' is a common catchphrase of Kamen’s. He has noticed a crisis in United States culture: young kids are growing up excited about being football stars and actors, not engineers or scientists. Despite the one-in-a-million chance of succeeding in show business or professional sports, our society encourages kids to prioritize these dreams over other options. Celebrating Britney Spears and Shaquille O’Neal over our inventors, scientists, and engineers skews too many kids away from careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, resulting in a nationwide shortage of engineers and scientists and a drop in our global standing in technology development. The solution, obviously, is to change our culture."

Indeed! (Though I'm not sure I buy the shortage part. IEEE has a bit of a bias here.)