Mumbai - July 2008

These beautiful pictures were taken by my daughter Shalina, at south mumbai in July 2008. Its a picture of the Taj Hotel, the Gateway of India and a two shots of everyday life in this bustling city.

Countries and places I have visited

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MyHealthMatters

MyHealthMatters a blog on Health and Medical Professional Issues in Malaysia is written by Dr David Quek a cardiologist in private practice from Malaysia. He is currently the President-elect of the Malaysian Medical Association 2008-2009 and most importantly the past-editor-in-chief of the MMA News (Berita MMA) (1996-2007).

He writes very well, factual and balanced and does not shy away in putting to "paper" his views.

HAZE-OC!

HAZE-OC! - Update October 2006

"There can no great smoke arise, but there must be some fire"
Euphues and his Euphœbus, page 153.

It's that time of the year again, when the politicians, environmentalist, you name it, start screaming at the senseless burning which is creating "haze-oc" (haze havoc) in this region. Different people shouting but same problem!

Since 1997, basically nothing has changed. We can almost say come August-October it is hazy season in this region.

I have been a keen follower of the haze in this region since 1997, see (http://www.vadscorner.com/haze.html) the haze web site. What has happened to the "Regional Haze Action Plan"?* The primary objectives of which were...
to prevent land and forest fires through better management policies and enforcement;
to establish operational mechanisms to monitor land and forest fires; and
to strengthen regional land and forest fire-fighting capability and other mitigating measures.
* The Regional Haze Action Plan was endorsed by the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Haze (AMMH) in December 1997.

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was signed by ASEAN Member Countries on 10 June 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Agreement contains provisions on monitoring, assessment and prevention, technical cooperation and scientific research, mechanisms for coordination, lines of communication, and simplified customs and immigration procedures for disaster relief. The Agreement also provides for the establishment of an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control. The Agreement entered into force on 25 November 2003. There is no mention whether Indonesia rectified this agreement.
If we cannot tackle the haze problem with our neighbours, I shudder to think of the potentially greater threat we face with a possible outbreak of a deadly avian flu virus from here. A mechanism must be worked out for the greater good of the region.

Tsunami is a natural disaster, but the current haze is a man made disaster. Are we addressing this issue on a cyclical trend? A wake up call only when it gets hazy? Can we sue our neighbour for compensation? They can recover this from the perpetrators of this act. Then probably we will see some results.

One thing I am glad for is the release of the API (Air Pollution Index). I still cannot imagine that we were in denial for so long before that. So credit to the government for maintaining the release of the API!

My last article was just over a year ago, and among my suggestion was the possibility of having the "World Largest Waterbomber" . Maybe we could have a couple in this region to have a quick global/local response action in putting out fires.

Will it work? I don't know but I sure would like to try.

Before I sign off, read an interesting document - "The Impacts of Transboundary Haze Pollution of the 1997/98 Fires Episode on Health". A collaboration between University Putra (UPM) and Global Change Impacts Centre for Southeast Asia (IC-SEA).

Dr Muruga Vadivale a.k.a "Cyberdoc"


Vads Corner Homepage (http://www.vadscorner.com/)

Design of the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC) Clopidogrel Prevention of Early AV Fistula Thrombosis Trial.

Design of the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC) Clopidogrel Prevention of Early AV Fistula Thrombosis Trial.: " Related Articles Design of the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC) Clopidogrel Prevention of Early AV Fistula Thrombosis Trial. Clin Trials. 2005;2(5):413-22 Authors: Dember LM, Kaufman JS, Beck GJ, Dixon BS, Gassman JJ, Greene T, Himmelfarb J, Hunsicker LG, Kusek JW, Lawson JH, Middleton JP, Radeva M, Schwab SJ, Whiting JF, Feldman HI, BACKGROUND: The Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC) was developed to investigate interventions to improve hemodialysis vascular access outcomes. The autogenous arteriovenous fistula created by direct connection of native artery to vein is the recommended vascular access for hemodialysis. However, it fails frequently due to clotting after surgery. PURPOSE: The DAC Early AV Fistula Thrombosis Trial tests the hypothesis that clopidogrel can prevent early fistula failure and increase the number of fistulas that ultimately become usable for hemodialysis access. This is one of two initial and concurrent trials being performed by the DAC. The companion trial investigates pharmacologic approaches to prevent venous stenosis leading to AV graft failure. METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that will enroll 1,284 patients over four years. Patients undergoing creation"

Dengue (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) - Vads Corner

Dengue (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) - Vads Corner Just did this today. Seems to be a world-wide problem and an emerging disease.

AllRefer Health

AllRefer Health has extensive information from trusted sources on over 4,000 topics including diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, surgeries, nutrition, poisons, and special topics. There is also focus on family and community health.
Thanks to Laurie Cooper for this site.

Healthopedia.com - Your Health Encyclopedia

"Healthopedia.com, a medical and health consumer information resource containing comprehensive and unbiased information in patient-friendly language from trusted sources on over 1,500 health topics, 70 focussed health centers, and more than 11,000 drugs and medications. "

Thanks to Laurie Cooper for this site.