Nukkad

[Vayutuvan]

KJo, thanks. I am able to and willing to post.

[Marten]

Singha saar, there is probably a gut flora trade-off where we transact bad health in the first five years (thereby accepting malnutrition or stunting) in return for absence or minimized/limited response to allergic triggers. I don't believe we are all free of allergies -- just that we are more accustomed to it and ride over the initial phases of rejection of the allergen. I still suffer bronchitis from dust allergies and have played 4-8 hours in the worst mudflats and bacterial pools in India. My elder brother had both asthma and milk allergies as a kid. So it is probably a genetic streak, that we are convincing ourselves is a response to the environment.

[Javee]

Agree, there is no method to this madness. Just a visit to any children's hospital will open up your eyes. There are hoards of children both born in India and out of India with spacers and wheezing medication. Both my kids had it when we did R2I, the elder one was on medication almost for a year and the younger one for 10 months. They are out of it now and the doc did say that they will mostly grow out of it, but we still carry them just in case. Lactose intolerance could be genetic or it could be people with IBC/IBS, which are again genetic. Nut allergies were very uncommon during my growing years, but now I start seeing them. Something is changing, even in India, dont think there is a definitive pattern to this, else all the goras will come to India for child birth

[Javee]

“We are currently in a state of emergency and our lungs are only indicative of the poison that we are subjecting our bodies to. In the 90’s, doctors would see pink lungs, which is an indication of relatively clean and healthy respiratory system. We would see carbon and other toxic deposits only among smokers. Sadly the trend has changed for the worst. Now we are seeing a sharp rise in lung cancer among women who are non-smokers and also don’t have partners who smoke,” explained the doctor.

“These days there is a sharp rise in the number of patients coming in with throat problems, nasal allergies and chest infections because they are exposed to high levels of smoke. We have patients who have never had asthma but are now experiencing similar symptoms like wheezing and breathlessness. Asthma patients are experiencing aggravation of their symptoms. There is also a sharp rise in viral fever, a direct effect of smoke causing inflammation of the lining of our wind pipe and making us vulnerable to infection,” said Dr. Anil Bansal of the Delhi Medical Association.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Del ... epage=true

Immunity or not, we are slowly poisoning ourselves

[Primus]

Gluten and lactose intolerance is genetic in distribution, has nothing to do with exposure to allergens or clean/dirty environment. The most lactose tolerant people are Scandinavians. The darker the skin color the more likely one is to be lactose intolerant, that is the general distribution in the world population - not always true, but indicates a greater prevalence in the tropical climates.

Peanut and other allergies are on the rise, but two siblings may have an entirely different response to the same allergens, even if brought up in the same environment.

As Javee says, if the so-called 'dirty' air and environment in India was responsible for lesser incidence of Asthma, then the children's wards in India would not be full of the little ones suffering from it and a whole host of other ailments related to unhygienic conditions.

The gut flora is acquired within a few days of birth from the mother and close family. However, we lose it very quickly upon moving to a different environment and thus the 'resistance' to infectious gastroenteritis when we NRIs travel to India is gone after a few months. Those born outside the India seem to be affected even more, but it is easy to acquire the gut immunity after a few weeks/months of being back in India.

The same applies to most of the poorer nations of the world. Thus Americans are prone to Turista in Mexico just as much as they are to Delhi Belly in India, we don't have the resistance to bacteria like e.coli.

[KJo]

Now President George W Bush (92 year old) is accused of sexual harassment of touching a woman's butt and saying dirty jokes!

[Singha]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/25/enter ... index.html

"At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures," McGrath said. "To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely."

[KJo]

Most likely C grade actresses who see #metoo as an easy way to get some fame.

Watch for this by Bollywood copycats like Priyanka and Deepika.

[Singha]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/opin ... ght-region

[KJo]

Seriously, he is 93, has Parkinson's, in a wheelchair. These women have no problems ruining someone's reputation.

[shiv]

Gluten and lactose intolerance is genetic in distribution, has nothing to do with exposure to allergens or clean/dirty environment. The most lactose tolerant people are Scandinavians. The darker the skin color the more likely one is to be lactose intolerant, that is the general distribution in the world population - not always true, but indicates a greater prevalence in the tropical climates.

Peanut and other allergies are on the rise, but two siblings may have an entirely different response to the same allergens, even if brought up in the same environment.

As Javee says, if the so-called 'dirty' air and environment in India was responsible for lesser incidence of Asthma, then the children's wards in India would not be full of the little ones suffering from it and a whole host of other ailments related to unhygienic conditions.

The gut flora is acquired within a few days of birth from the mother and close family. However, we lose it very quickly upon moving to a different environment and thus the 'resistance' to infectious gastroenteritis when we NRIs travel to India is gone after a few months. Those born outside the India seem to be affected even more, but it is easy to acquire the gut immunity after a few weeks/months of being back in India.

The same applies to most of the poorer nations of the world. Thus Americans are prone to Turista in Mexico just as much as they are to Delhi Belly in India, we don't have the resistance to bacteria like e.coli.

Funnily enough milk (lactose?) intolerance and intolerance to "something in wheat products", may not be Gluten, are both rampant in India. It does not help that "wheat" is a useless term for Indians who use atta, maida and rava as different products. Patients here have to be told specifically to avoid all three.

I have never seen groundnut allergies in India and this might be anecdotal - but there is something there that no one knows much about and it is probably guesswork to say that the absence of adequate bacterial contamination of the gut in childhood leads to peanut allergies in the west. No one really knows what sort of contamination is "good contamination"

I have come to believe that there is a bell curve of "goodness and utility" in allowing exposure to environmental bio-contaminants which, after a while gets balanced out by negatives like death from infection. You save lives by avoiding contamination but pay a price later in unexpected ways. Contamination now leads to some deaths, or morbidity, but those who survive are protected in unexpected ways.

I read a few days ago that there was a serious outbreak of Hepatitis A in the US and several deaths. This surprised me. The common knowledge here in India is that Hepatitis A is rarely fatal. Of course many of us have suffered from Hep A as children and for over a decade now HepA vaccination has been considered "routine" along with Hep B.

A cousin of mine had consulted me about her son in the US about 3-4 years ago. Apparently he had severe jaundice and was transferred to a speciality hospital for liver transplant if need be. Turns out that he had Hepatitis A (he had been born in India and had visited India shortly before the event). His enzymes were in the thousands - which is routine in Hepatitis A and as expected his recovery was uneventful.

I used to admire the public health and water supply systems in developed nations in their role preventing Hepatitis A. But I wonder if the lack of long term low dose infection leads to very severe disease. I don't know. Out of my line of work. Is Hepatitis A inoculation "routine" in the US?

[Marten]

Now President George W Bush (92 year old) is accused of sexual harassment of touching a woman's butt and saying dirty jokes!

W is Dubya. Senior is Herbert Walker i.e. George HW Bush.
Poor chap managed to stay clean all his life (even sleazy Bill got a free pass), and gets nailed at 93. Not a fan of the man, but he deserves a break.

[Singha]

he has been living a quiet retired life in kennebunkport maine for a long time now. not known as a colourful player remotely of the kilton sir mould.

[Singha]

swiss couple brutally attacked by youngsters in fatehpur sikri
http://www.news18.com/news/india/swiss- ... 57453.html

teasing, unwanted attempt to get friendly and heckling of goris happens all over india, but this escalation into rapid and direct violence is a feature of some areas in narth onlee

a lot of violent perverts fed on a staple of porn and armed with smartphones are on the prowl these days.

[Mahakala]

No place is safe. No friendly neighbourhood spiderman to save us in the dark alleys of the cities

[Mahakala]

On an average india is much filthier than first world countries/cities. General cleanliness should play a major impact in reducing illnesses. Just yesterday i read an article in the hindu about toxic deposits in lungs of non smokers in delhi and how rapid deterioration in air quality shows.
Basic cleanliness like keeping streets clean, city drains and canals clean and food production clean is appalling here. In case of an outbreak given our pop density we have a wider infection risk. Lower pop density perhaps precludes such a wider spread in first world countries. Even h1n1 way back in 08/09 didn't cause many fatalities iirc in the us.

Keep things clean but don't go overboard?

[Primus]

Funnily enough milk (lactose?) intolerance and intolerance to "something in wheat products", may not be Gluten, are both rampant in India. It does not help that "wheat" is a useless term for Indians who use atta, maida and rava as different products. Patients here have to be told specifically to avoid all three.

I have never seen groundnut allergies in India and this might be anecdotal - but there is something there that no one knows much about and it is probably guesswork to say that the absence of adequate bacterial contamination of the gut in childhood leads to peanut allergies in the west. No one really knows what sort of contamination is "good contamination"

I have come to believe that there is a bell curve of "goodness and utility" in allowing exposure to environmental bio-contaminants which, after a while gets balanced out by negatives like death from infection. You save lives by avoiding contamination but pay a price later in unexpected ways. Contamination now leads to some deaths, or morbidity, but those who survive are protected in unexpected ways.

I read a few days ago that there was a serious outbreak of Hepatitis A in the US and several deaths. This surprised me. The common knowledge here in India is that Hepatitis A is rarely fatal. Of course many of us have suffered from Hep A as children and for over a decade now HepA vaccination has been considered "routine" along with Hep B.

A cousin of mine had consulted me about her son in the US about 3-4 years ago. Apparently he had severe jaundice and was transferred to a speciality hospital for liver transplant if need be. Turns out that he had Hepatitis A (he had been born in India and had visited India shortly before the event). His enzymes were in the thousands - which is routine in Hepatitis A and as expected his recovery was uneventful.

I used to admire the public health and water supply systems in developed nations in their role preventing Hepatitis A. But I wonder if the lack of long term low dose infection leads to very severe disease. I don't know. Out of my line of work. Is Hepatitis A inoculation "routine" in the US?

It has become very fashionable in the US to claim 'gluten sensitivity' especially among the overachieving young women. I know a medico who claims she gets neurological symptoms even with the tiniest grain of gluten in the food, and goes around with a list of brands of sauces and other additives that do NOT contain gluten and are thus safe. She avoids everything else.

In most of these instances there is no diagnosis of Celiac disease, rather a 'sensitivity' to gluten which nobody knows what the heck it means. Many of these people suffer from irritable bowel but claim it is from gluten and their symptoms continue even on a strict gluten-free diet. It is pointless to reason with them.

Re immunization. Sadly there is no 'program' to vaccinate people against hepatitis A or B in the US. The bigger problem here is fatty liver. However, when indicated, people do get both hep A and B together as a single vaccine.

It is an interesting concept that chronic exposure to low levels of bacterial and other allergens in early life protects against life-threatening reactions to nuts and such later. One classmate of mine (used to be my roommate) has a son who is severely allergic to peanuts and develops severe anaphylaxis even with the slightest exposure. He walks around in life with an Epipen every day. He was born and brought up in Canada.

The water supply system in most cities and towns in the US is very carefully protected and yet of course you get places like Flint in Michigan. Where I live the tap water is perfectly fine to drink. However, we are so paranoid when we travel abroad that we even use bottled water to brush our teeth.

You always give up something to get something else in life. The Western traveler is the most likely to fall ill outside the comfort zone of his home environs. OTOH, the Indian is perhaps the least likely to have a problem going to Africa or the far east.

And then of course you have people going and deliberately contaminating themselves with parasites to help heal their inflammatory bowel disease.

[Singha]

fecal transplant infusion has shown good results for gut bacteria problems...maybe better than usual lactobaccilus pills or enterogerma type vials?
i understand there are 150+ types of useful bacteria in our gut and what this gatbandhan does is around 70% of our total immune response. they not like ANYTHING about what they see, they push the red button and inflict pain.

makes you wonder who is in charge of the asylum? we or them? they have a permanent boot on our throat and our reason for living is provide a warm soothing colony in there, raise untold generations of their kids, feed them, massage them and attend to their every complaint ? our brains and hence thoughts and feelings are their mercy as well...though they cannot move out of the gut...they release chemicals in the blood stream to remote control our brains like when they need sugar ... we are nothing but a receptacle , a vehicle for these legions of micro-organisms who are all over us and the world in general. a large violent fairly irrelevant ape. we can destroy them only if we destroy the whole world and even then someone will crawl up from 700C lava flows and begin anew.

micro organisms and arachnids truly rule the planet.

[Mort Walker]

For those in Khanland.

The IRS has increased employee 401K limit to $18,500/yr for 2018. An increase of $500. However, the over 50 age additional contribution still remains at $6,000/yr.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Singha]

Wapo reports second meetoo on bush senior

On Wednesday night, another actress came forward with a similar story about the former president. Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin that she was working on a production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in Maine in August 2016, near the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, when Bush came backstage during intermission and grabbed her as they posed for a picture.


“He reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!’ ” Grolnick said.

The other ladies in the picture laughed uncomfortably while Barbara Bush made a remark like ‘He’s going to get himself put into jail!” Grolnick said. Grolnick, who posted a photo of the moment on her Instagram account, according to Deadspin, said she had been warned by other actors not to stand next to Bush.

[Singha]

Looks like he has turned wheelchair into a useful tool
Of the trade .

[KJo]

Vinod Dua's daughter is accusing Akshay Kumar or "crass behavior"

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/ ... 189-129783

Comedienne Mallika Dua, who has hit out at Bollywood star Akshay Kumar for a remark aimed at her during a shoot, says she wanted to start a dialogue about etiquette at the workplace, where big shots often cannot differentiate between "charm and harm".

Mallika took to Twitter on Thursday to post snapshots of an open letter, in which she has addressed the issue.

It reads: "Is Kareena Kapoor not entitled to speak about things because she played Chameli? Is Vidya Balan not entitled to speak about things because she did 'The Dirty Picture'? The people who shame us for the characters we play are the same people who make it okay for a Bhupendra Chaubey to speak to Sunny Leone the way he did. Shame on you. Fortunately, you can't stop us."

A video has surfaced on the internet in which Akshay is seen saying "Aap bell bajao, main aap ko bajata hun (You ring the bell, I will bang you)" to Mallika during the shooting of comedy show "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge".

While many came to Mallika's support, many questioned the timing as Mallika is no longer part of the show, which is aired on Star Plus.

Mallika says "this isn't about Akshay Kumar".

[saip]

For those in Khanland.

The IRS has increased employee 401K limit to $18,500/yr for 2018. An increase of $500. However, the over 50 age additional contribution still remains at $6,000/yr.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Limit is increased for 457B also (for govt employees). Some may be able to contribute to both. But Trumps Tax plan MAY reduce the limits even though it may keep both the plans.

[Primus]

fecal transplant infusion has shown good results for gut bacteria problems...maybe better than usual lactobaccilus pills or enterogerma type vials?
i understand there are 150+ types of useful bacteria in our gut and what this gatbandhan does is around 70% of our total immune response. they not like ANYTHING about what they see, they push the red button and inflict pain.

makes you wonder who is in charge of the asylum? we or them? they have a permanent boot on our throat and our reason for living is provide a warm soothing colony in there, raise untold generations of their kids, feed them, massage them and attend to their every complaint ? our brains and hence thoughts and feelings are their mercy as well...though they cannot move out of the gut...they release chemicals in the blood stream to remote control our brains like when they need sugar ... we are nothing but a receptacle , a vehicle for these legions of micro-organisms who are all over us and the world in general. a large violent fairly irrelevant ape. we can destroy them only if we destroy the whole world and even then someone will crawl up from 700C lava flows and begin anew.

micro organisms and arachnids truly rule the planet.

So true, the bolded part at least
Fascinating book on this called 'A Planet of Viruses'. I read the older edition a few years ago, quite interesting.

There is a theory that higher life on our planet evolved through the action of a virus(es) that enabled the synthesis of the enzyme reverse transcriptase by primitive cells.

And of course you are correct, these little buggers indeed do control our psyche, our emotions, our intellect and our very personalities! No wonder so many of the media people like Dukhta Butt look so constipated all the time

[KJo]

I was going through my Linkedin list to pare it down. At one time it had reached about 1700 people. I want to get it down to below 1000 to make them "high quality" connections rather than just anyone I met once.

Found a few people who had died (like the CEO of a former employer) and I don't have the heart to remove them from the list. Then a few women whose last names had changed. One desi former classmate had moved to India and now I see her with a different last name. I remember her husband's name and check to see that he is in the US while she is in India. Maybe they got divorced. One of the risks of "high powered couple" where both husband and wide are super driven and career focused and no one cares about keeping home. Too bad, she was a pretty Punjabi kudi.