Interesting Items...

There's a brand new purpose-built Lidl in Bristol (they didn't just move into the Co-Op + other stores it replaced - they demolished and started again) with a huge floor area, and the stuff they have in there knocks the older Lidl stores into a cocked hat.
They are building a new Lidl here (Hythe, Hants) at present. We went to a planning presentation a year or so ago and talking to their people they said that new stores are now being built with less backroom and more sales floor, so you can expect this in future.
 
I have an action (amongst some mates) to find out exactly why there is a shortage (of CO2) and report back.
It seems the main commercial supply of CO2 is as a byproduct of the fertiliser industry, which is suffering its own problems particularly in the UK, in addition to seasonal reductions in fertiliser production (during which they close plants for maintenance) and some unplanned shut-downs due to failure. Apparently CO2 is difficult to ship long distances.

No doubt BOC / Air Products could distil it from the atmosphere, but I don't know whether there would be sufficient capacity and I imagine it would be hugely more expensive than bulk CO2 from Fisons.
 
Very interesting article in the July 2018 issue of Scientific American, about how gene expression is subject to circadian rhythms and the consequences that has on the effectiveness of drugs at different times of the day. The desired effect of a drug may depend on it interacting with enzymes which are not being produced (or not interacting with enzymes that are being produced) at specific times in the daily cycle, potentially with unwanted side effects if the interactions are not as intended, and these effects are not being routinely tested by pharmaceutical companies.

One particular example given is of the pain-killer Acetaminophen, which reacts with a particular enzyme in the liver to produce a toxin, and the toxin is broken down by another enzyme. If Acetaminophen is administered (in sufficient quantity) at a time when enzyme A is being made but enzyme B isn't - that's an emergency hospital admission.

Other examples given include maximising the efficacy of chemotherapy and minimising its side effects.

This all sounds a little esoteric, but here's an example which is significant to a lot of people - those prescribed a precautionary daily aspirin as a counter to high blood pressure, normally in combination with statin (including me):
Scientific American said:
...a 2005 trial in patients with hypertension that showed that taking aspirin before bedtime lowered blood pressure, whereas taking the drug in the morning slightly elevated it. A smaller, randomised human study in 2014 showed that aspirin before bedtime caused a decrease in a kind of blood cell activity that leads to blood clots. Aspirin in the morning did not.

The directions on my packet of aspirin simply instructs me to take one a day, with or after food. I have been taking it after breakfast!
 
The directions on my packet of aspirin simply instructs me to take one a day, with or after food. I have been taking it after breakfast!
The instruction for the aspirin that my mother was prescibed by the hospital after a minor heart problem - "Once in thew [sic] morning". They also say disperse in water - be she never does.
 
The directions on my packet of aspirin simply instructs me to take one a day, with or after food.
Having double checked, the instructions on the packet (as placed there by the pharmacist) says the same. The discharge letter from the hospital is as post #1424.
It's best you do - to avoid it lying in the stomach as a concentrated point.
It's hard enough getting her to remember to take the four tablets she's been prescribed. Complicating it by dispersing the tablet might be a step too far. Not sure the other tablets would respond well to a water bath when she gets it wrong.
 
I can't guarantee I take mine absolutely every time - it's not that rare I find "Wednesday" still there when about to take "Thursday"!
Not helpful when one brand of tablets is day stamped and another isn't. Pharmacist just dispenses what is available. Case in point: Clopidogrel Zentiva - no date; Clopidogrel Mylan - day stamped.:confused: No wonder I've been tasked to make sure she takes the right tablets at the right time. :frantic:
 
Letter to Scientific American, Aug 2018 issue:

Ted Carmely said:
Having retired from designing software systems, I was not a bit surprised by David Pogue's assessment of the sorry state of dashboard controls in "Automotive Touch Screens Are Awful" [TechnoFiles].

I was often struck by the utter arrogance of engineers in my profession when it came to creating user interfaces (UIs). It seemed that the main objective in designing a UI was to produce the cleverest newfangled gadget, without regards to legacy or familiarity on the part of the target users, who were never consulted. Completely forgotten was the idea that a UI should be easily mastered by the most technologically inept operator. I suppose we should be thankful that the steering wheel hasn't yet been replaced by arrows on a touch screen.
 
After reading the test of the latest Peugeot 3008 SUV, this could have been written into the article.
 
I'm not convinced that there are many good UIs for any product - or even software. After all, my attempt at a GUI for the Windows decryption utility is fairly poor. Trouble is, you try to anticipate the inept user and trap dodgy input, only to find out that the less inept actually want to enter strange input. :eek: Who'd be a software designer?:D
 
Spell check.
I started to write this reply, not seeing the massive spelling mistake in bold capitals and ~30pt. (Note to self: new glasses).
I might have expected that from the Gruaniad, but not the Brexcess.

Originally I thought - I'm not sure what you're getting at. Are you having dig at the (possible) replacement for Android by suggesting a spell checker might replace that flower name with a well-known four letter word beginning with f?
 
Back
Top