13 November 2014 (Thursday) - Dur !!!



Is this true?






….. The 44 percent of people who tested positive for the virus performed 7 to 9 points lower on IQ tests…..



Seems somewhat strange… I can’t think of any causative mechanism. But it’s food for thought. If true it makes you wonder what else viruses might do.



And perhaps you *can* fix stupidity…?

4 November 2014 (Tuesday) - Nasal Polypectomy


 
Nasal polyps are growths of abnormal tissue that form in the nose or deeper sinuses. They are usually benign, but larger polyps can block nasal passages causing breathing difficulty and sleep apnoea. It's quite amazing just how much sinus space one has, and how blocked they can become.   

If conservative treatment for nasal polyps is not successful or if polyps are problematical a consultant may recommend a nasal polypectomy. This is (usually) performed under general anaesthetic and takes about 30 minutes. The surgeon will access polyps through the nostrils so there will be no incision. Polyps will be removed using special suction and instruments.
After surgery the nose is packed with dressing to help control any bleeding.
Nasal polypectomy is usually done as a day case however sometimes an overnight stay is necessary.

There is a world of difference between reading these dull dry words and having one's sinuses surgically ravaged....



1 November 2014 (Saturday) - The Error Budget (?)

Food for thought...

When you set a financial budget, you know that if you spend too much in one place, you run over your budget. The analogy for lab tests is an ‘error budget.’ We know we have certain sources of error like precision and inaccuracy. How much of the budget gets spent by different error sources, and is it possible that we will overrun the budget if a problem occurs?”

Well, we have information on that, in the form of what quality is required for the test. If you define that in your budget, then you can measure the errors for your methods in the laboratory to be sure they fit within the budget. That should be an ongoing part of quality management: keeping track of how big these errors are and how they relate to the amount of error that is allowable.”
An interesting interview with one of the leading lights in the QC analysis world... http://www.captodayonline.com/lab-qc-much-room-improvement/