New Hospice Service For Pets: Pet Peace Of Mind

Jack Black McNac was adopted adopted from Pet Peace of Mind.

What happens to pets when their owners have terminal illnesses? Unfortunately, many of them end up in already overcrowded shelters. But Pet Peace Of Mind, a program developed by the Rev. Delana Taylor McNac for the Hospice of Green County Inc. in Tulsa, has a solution that's good for the patient and good for the pet.

Hospice is a home care concept for those who are terminally ill and prefer to receive palliative care in their homes until their death occurs naturally.

Most of us realize how supportive a pet can be to a terminally ill person. A pet's instinctive knowledge that his owner is sick calls on his most loving instincts to be there for his very special friend.

That's what Rev. McNac realized when she developed the Pet Peace of Mind program. She is a Hospice chaplain and, coincidentally, a former veterinarian. Her new program, which depends only on donations, helps to provide pet supplies, pet care, transportation to pet services, and many other necessary service just for the Hospice patient's companion pet. Though it is encouraged that a patient determines where the pet will go after his death, or that families arrange for a well-matched placement of the pet, Pet Peace of Mind will work will local rescue groups to help place pets after their owners have passed away.

Pet Peace of Mind is up and running in the home town of its originator, Tulsa, OK, and more than 100 Hospice centers are interested in developing the program already. McNac hopes that by this time next year 7 to 10 Hospice programs will have been started.

2ND LD: Japan's 1st case of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 influenza detected+

TOKYO, July 3 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: ADD INFO)

The health ministry said Thursday it has detected a genetic mutation of the new H1N1 strain of influenza A that develops resistance to Tamiflu, marking the first case of the new influenza in Japan that did not respond to the anti-flu drug.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said the Tamiflu-resistant virus was detected in a woman in her 40s infected with the new influenza in Osaka Prefecture.

The first case of HINI that showed resistance to Tamiflu was reported in Denmark at the end of last month.

The patient in Osaka is already recovering after being administered Relenza, another anti-flu drug.

According to the ministry, the female patient had been administered Tamiflu since May 18 as a preventive measure after she was found to have had close contact with another confirmed infected patient the previous day.

She developed a slight fever on May 24 and was confirmed infected with the new influenza on May 28. An analysis of a virus taken from her detected the genetic mutation that does not respond to Tamiflu on June 18.

There is no sign of any further spread of the Tamiflu-resistant virus as no other cases of the HINI influenza were reported around the patient, the ministry added.

30 year old sea turtle rescued on a Granada beach

The injured Loggerhead is believed to have been injured after colliding with a boat

An injured sea turtle is being brought back to health after its rescue by Civil Guard officers near the beach in La Rábita, on the eastern coast of Granada province. It’s believed its injuries could have come from a collision with a small boat, which led the reptile to become disorientated and ending up on the shore.

The turtle is reported by EFE to be a Tortuga boba – a Loggerhead Sea Turtle – which is normally found in the deep waters of the eastern Mediterranean. The rescued reptile is a 120 cm adult and is believed to be around 30 years old.
(typicallyspanish.com)

Caesarean delivery can alter DNA: study

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet believe they have discovered the DNA mutations that explain why children delivered by planned Caesarean are at a higher risk for immunological diseases such as asthma, cancer and diabetes.
The genetic makeup of white blood cells looks different in children delivered via Caesarean compared to that of children born normally, reports Svenska Dagbladet newspaper (SvD).

An explanation for the different DNA sequences might be that those delivered via Caesarean experience greater stress than babies delivered naturally.

While stress builds up gradually during normal birth, the nervous systems of babies delivered via Caesarean are exposed to sudden stress. At the same time, some DNA genes are turned off while others are switched on.

Professor and paediatrician Mikael Norman, one of the researchers involved in the study, explained that stress occurring during vaginal birth is positive and goal-oriented:

“During a Caesarean, the baby is totally unprepared. The stress comes all at once. There are animal experiments that show that negative stress can programme offspring, something that later can play a role in terms of risk of illness.”

The study at Karolinska focused on the white blood cells in the umbilical cords of Caesarean babies and found mutations in their genetic makeup. The researchers noted differences in DNA sequencing of babies delivered via Caesarean and those delivered normally during the first two days after birth.

“We believe it's a pioneering discovery that Caesarean birth can effect genetic makeup up. Previously, the discussions were about the short-term risk for the mother and child,” Norman told SvD.

“This is of an entirely different magnitude and is part of a new way of looking at the side effects of Caesarean birth.”

The Karolinska study is, on one hand, a result of a debate about the health effects of Caesarean delivery and, on the other, a result of the fact that Caesarean as a delivery method has increased from around 5 percent of births in 1973 to 17.5 percent in 2007.
(sweden daily)

Girl killed by 'lover' she met on Internet

A schoolgirl who went to a cake shop to break up with her Internet "lover" died after being taken hostage and stabbed by the man.

The man was shot in a police attempt to save the girl and is recovering in a hospital.
An injured girl is carried to a nearby hospital Monday afternoon after she was rescued from a man who took her in hostage in a food shop in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The girl, surnamed Fang, died in hospital from loss of blood.
The girl, believed to be about 16 years old, met the man in a cake shop near her school around 5:30 on Monday in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

"I was told Fang (the school girl) was there to meet her Internet 'lover', who came to see her from Shenzhen," said a schoolboy surnamed Wang who goes to the same school as the girl. "Don't know what went wrong."

According to police, the man stabbed the girl because she wanted to break up with him.

Fang had previously skipped school to visit the man, said her teacher, who rushed to the scene after receiving a call regarding the incident.

The girl had already been stabbed several times before the emergency call was made, but she was still alive when police arrived. All three shop employees and customers had escaped.

The man held Fang close to his body as a shield and pointed the knife against her throat to resist arrest. Fang had several stab wounds and was bleeding heavily, according to police.

When police were unable to arrest the man, two snipers in position outside the cake shop fired two shots at him around 6:50 pm. Both the schoolgirl and the stabber were then taken to hospital, but Fang was confirmed dead due to excessive blood loss.

Her Internet "lover" was still hospitalized. No other information has been released about him.
(China Daily)

Fashion shows in underground train in Berlin. Cool!!

A model wearing a creation by Savage Wear waits for the start of the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models wearing creations by Alex in Wunderland wait for the start of the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models present creations by X-Tra-X during the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

A model presents a creation by Savage Wear during the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models present creations by X-Tra-X during the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

A model presents a creation by Savage Wear during the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models wait for the start of the "Underground Catwalk" fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models present creations by Models are Rockstars during a fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

A model presents a creation by Alex in Wunderland during a fashion show in an underground train in Berlin, July 2, 2009.

Models present creations by X-Tra-X during a fashion show in an underground train in Berlin July 2, 2009.

A model presents a creation by Pinup Couture during a fashion show in an underground train in Berlin July 2, 2009.

Actress Masami Nagasawa accepts award as 'Best Swimmer 2009'

TOKYO —Actress Masami Nagasawa, 22, was among four celebrities to accept awards recently at the 10th Best Swimmer Awards, held by the Japan Swimming Club Association in Tokyo. The annual awards are presented to celebrities who have contributed to the development of swimming in Japan, and who look good in swimsuits.

Actor Mokomichi Hayami, 24, comedian Koji Higashino, 41, and actress-comedian Shizuyo Yamasaki, 30 from comedy duo Nankai Candies, also accepted awards at the event.

Nagasawa and Hayami received favorable reviews for their performances as a diver and swimmer respectively in the movie “Rough” – released in Japan in August 2006. Nagasawa also spent a month in India in 2007 for the filming of drama special “Butterfly at the Ganges,” in which she swam fully-clothed in the holy river.

Yamasaki, affectionately known as Shizu-chan, said at the event: “I had no idea why I was chosen to accept an award, but it became clear when I lined up next to Masami. When people imagine ladies in swimwear, they think of me and then Masami,” drawing guffaws from the media in attendance. Yamasaki also spoke of her successful 10-meter dive during filming of a variety show recently, saying: “Somehow, I ended up pulling it off.”