Category: The Other Things
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Evidence that cigarette smoking is associated with lower uterine leiomyomata incidence
A prospective ultrasound study of cigarette smoking and uterine leiomyomata incidence and growth Wesselink AK, Wegienka G, Coleman CM, Geller RJ, Harmon QE, Upson K, Lovett SM, Claus Henn B, Marsh EE, Noel NL, Baird DD, Wise LA. A prospective ultrasound study of cigarette smoking and uterine leiomyomata incidence and growth. Am J Obstet Gynecol.…
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Pharmacologically, nicotine acts on cholinergic (nicotinic-specific) receptors which are depleted in AD and PD. Nicotinic receptors also interact closely with several neurotransmitters including dopamine, which is implicated in both PD and Gilles de la Tourettes’s syndrome
Does nicotine have beneficial effects in the treatment of certain diseases? Birtwistle J, Hall K. Does nicotine have beneficial effects in the treatment of certain diseases? Br J Nurs. 1996 Oct 24-Nov 13;5(19):1195-202. doi: 10.12968/bjon.1996.5.19.1195. PMID: 9006184.
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Three mechanisms predominate for beneficial effects of smoking: the ‘anti-estrogenic effect’ of smoking; alterations in prostaglandin production; and stimulation of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the central nervous system
Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious Baron JA. Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious. Br Med Bull. 1996 Jan;52(1):58-73. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011533. PMID: 8746297.
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Smoking is beneficial against Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, allergic alveolitis, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, fibroids, carcinoma of body of uterus, ulcerative colitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, aphthous stomatitis and ulceration, pemphigus, herpes simplex and acne
Smoking can be good for you Wolf R, Orion E, Matz H, Maitra S, Rowland-Payne C. Smoking can be good for you. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2004 Apr;3(2):107-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2130.2004.00069.x. PMID: 17147565.
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Primary sclerosing cholangitis, like ulcerative colitis, is a disease of non-smokers as the odds of having PSC are significantly decreased among current and former smokers
Cigarette smoking, appendectomy, and tonsillectomy as risk factors for the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis: a case control study Mitchell SA, Thyssen M, Orchard TR, Jewell DP, Fleming KA, Chapman RW. Cigarette smoking, appendectomy, and tonsillectomy as risk factors for the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis: a case control study. Gut. 2002 Oct;51(4):567-73. doi: 10.1136/gut.51.4.567.…
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Smoking cessation significantly raises risk and incidence of type-2 diabetes and obstructive pulmonary disease
Study shows increased risk of diabetes after smoking cessation lasts for 12 years Yeh HC, Duncan BB, Schmidt MI, Wang NY, Brancati FL. Smoking, smoking cessation, and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Jan 5;152(1):10-7. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-152-1-201001050-00005. PMID: 20048267; PMCID: PMC5726255. Smoking cessation treatment is associated with increased…
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Halteres, the dumbbells of Ancient Greece
Halteres (Greek: ἁλτῆρες, from “ἅλλομαι” – hallomai, “leap, spring”; cf. “ἅλμα” – halma, “leaping”) were a type of DUMBBELLS used in Ancient Greece. In Ancient Greek sports, halteres were used as lifting weights, and also as weights in their version of the long jump. Halteres were held in both hands to allow an athlete to jump a greater distance; they may have been dropped after the first or…
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Leavell, B S. “Thomas Jefferson and smallpox vaccination.” Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association vol. 88 (1977): 119-27 and a few notes
Little Turtle, mentioned in the main article, suffered gout and rheumatism before he died in 1812 Wikipedia says Little Turtle, who also met Washington and Adams, made two trips to Washington, D.C., in 1801–02 and 1809–09 to meet with President Jefferson. Little Turtle died on July 14, 1812, and had suffered from gout and rheumatism for some time. He was honored…
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Retinoblastoma protein, dysfunctional in several cancers, belongs to the pocket protein family and is a recruiter of chromatin remodeling enzymes
The retinoblastoma protein (protein name abbreviated Rb; gene name abbreviated Rb, RB or RB1) is a tumor suppressor protein that is dysfunctional in several major cancers. One function of pRb is to prevent excessive cell growth by inhibiting cell cycle progression until a cell is ready to divide. When the cell is ready to divide, pRb is phosphorylated, inactivating it, and the cell cycle is allowed to progress. It is also a…
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Isoleucine, Tryptophol, Sleeping Sickness, The Disulfiram Effect and One Trick Hypnotists From Hell
Isoleucine (symbol Ile or I) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH+3 form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− form under biological conditions), and a hydrocarbon side chain with a branch (a central carbon atom bound to three other carbon atoms). It is classified as a non-polar, uncharged (at physiological pH), branched-chain, aliphatic amino acid. It…
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Albumen prints and egg whites…all the rage back in the day…and a few other things
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was published in January 1847 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative. It used the albumen found in egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper and became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the start…
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p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is a derivative of aniline used in kevlar, hair dye and henna substitutions among other things, the derivatives of which are used in antiozonants among other horrors
p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(NH2)2. This derivative of aniline is a white solid, but samples can darken due to air oxidation.It is mainly used as a component of engineering polymers and composites like kevlar. It is also an ingredient in hair dyes and is occasionally used as a substitute for henna. Production PPD is produced via three routes. Most commonly, 4-nitrochlorobenzene is treated…
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Fossils as thunderstones
In many parts of southern England until the middle of the nineteenth century, another name commonly used for fossil Echinoids was ‘thunderstone’, though other fossils such as belemnites and (rarely) ammonites were also used for this purpose. In 1677 Dr. Robert Plot, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, published his classic book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Plot recorded that in Oxfordshire what are now…
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Thunderstones (and Touchstones) in Asian Tradition
In Burma they are used as a cure and preventative for appendicitis. In Japan they cure boils and ulcers. In Malaysia and Sumatra they are used to sharpen the kris, are considered very lucky objects, and have been credited with being touchstones for gold. A touchstone is a small tablet of dark stone such as slate or lydite, used for assaying precious metal alloys. It has a…
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Thunderstones in European Folklore
In Scandinavia thunderstones were frequently worshiped as family gods who kept off spells and witchcraft. Beer was poured over them as an offering, and they were sometimes anointed with butter. In Switzerland the owner of a thunderstone whirls it, on the end of a thong, three times around his head, and throws it at the door of his dwelling at the approach of…
