Nederlandsgirl

Dr. Yeatts, UNC Department of Epidemiology spoke on her project “Respiratory and neurologic effects of indoor SO2, NO2, H2S, CO, and HCHCO in a Gulf Arab Population”.

Dr. Yeatts evaluated human exposure to air pollutants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country comprised of 7 emirates that include the towns of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Due to oil reserves the UAE has gone from a nomadic people to skyscrapers in 40 years. Little to no research has been done on indoor air quality and human health. Using a population based survey strategy, Dr. Yeatts and her colleagues were able to recruit 600 households, a 75% response rate. A team of male and female interviewers assessed health based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), including questions on chronic diseases (heart and lung), diet, lifestyle factors, socioeconomic factors. Each participating household had two visits separated by 7 days. A further 10 homes were chosen for 24-hour sampling of particulate matter, gases, temperature and relative humidity. At an additional 50 homes, outdoor samples were also taken of the 6 gases and particulate matter (PM). Her results are reported in Environmental Health Perspectives May 2012 issue (http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1104090 ).

This study being a first of its kind, just the human information was fascinating. For example, main causes of death were cardiovascular, traffic accidents, and diabetes. By comparison, leading cases of mortality in the US are heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease (CDC 2009). As might be expected, there were important cultural issues that needed to be taken into account for a study of this type. Demographics differences included family sizes, which ranged from 6 to 25 individuals. Households had multiple wives, with the males and females residing in different sections of the house, meeting at a common room where sampling was set up. Only female interviewers (ie, if strangers, only female) were allowed in the common room. One of the main cultural differences was their attitude toward individuals. ‘Individuals as autonomous is not necessarily valid in societies where communal framework is the norm’. Another important difference is the culture of hospitality; interviewers were invited to stay for food, drink, even the night. Dr. Yeatts pointed out that holidays were based on the lunar calendar, so change every year, and no sampling should be done during the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, as the whole society changes its behavior. Returning to the earlier comment about the immense changes over such a short time period, 13% of those surveyed were born nomadic, 50% lived in villas, 32% in government sponsored houses, and 0.8% in palace.

Results
Cooking was done with gas 60%, and 78% of households had a separate building for cooking. 35% of males smoke compared to 5% of women. However 44% of household report burning incense daily. Results show that the gas concentrations were fairly low, PM levels were high in 1/3 of the homes, PM levels lower indoors than outdoors. Health results showed wheezing levels similar to those of the US.

The researchers found some correlations between gas and symptoms, with increased wheezing and doctor-diagnosed asthma with increased gas concentration. No significant results were found between PM and health outcomes. There were however increased neurologic symptoms with increased incense burning or HCHO (formaldehyde) concentrations.

So, in summary, I found this to be a fascinating study, well presented.

My birthday party! We met at Spicey Talk Bistro in Redmond and were there for almost 3 hours. We ate and talked while the sun came down. Amy organized the group (Thanks Amy!) and we had a great time. The waitress very kindly took a group shot, but her camera skills were not the best. Here we all are: blurry photo, happy women, great memories. Maybe next year, hang gliding?

We just got back from Eugene OR, visiting the Ten Brinke grandparents. Our first trip on Amtrak, couldn't have been easier. The train was comfortable, clean and sold-out, up and back. Travel time is about the same as driving, due to getting to the station and such, but much more enjoyable than the stress of driving.

We arrived late Sunday night and immediately went to our rental home, Le Petite Louvre, an artist's tiny house just blocks from my parent's house. The house is a 1920 gem, which the owner has endowed with all sorts of beautiful details: claw foot tub, couches and tables, two ancient sears sewing machines converted to a table and the bathroom sink, architectural details around the house.
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Monday we had amazing luck: not only were my friend Carolyn and her kids off and able to play, but the weather got up to a stunning 65 degrees! We played with our friends all that long, long "day out of time".

Carolyn and I had a good chin-wag.


The kids got a bit squirrley being inside, so


we went off to our favorite park and finished the day of sunshine.


The rest of our time we spent with the grandparents. My mom and I went on walks with the girls, dad and I chatted, the kids were a nuisance inside the tiny (1100 square feet!) house. I dug up a dusty Chinese dragon head that I used to play with when I was their age:


Finally, it was time to say goodbye. Mom and I at enjoyed our time together to the very end. Here we are waiting for our early am train (5:30):



At their ages of 92, every time I get to be with my parents is a gift.

E point blank asked me today, did you spring the trap? Are you Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy? I asked her if she really wanted to know, she said yes, so I told her I was. She didn’t seem too put out. P was around the same age when we had the same conversation. So, that’s it, I thought, all my babies are done with make-believe.

But wait. When I went to say goodnight, I found E still working on her trap. In this second trap iteration, she pulls the string by herself. She showed me how she could close the trap fast or slow. What made me laugh was that she had taped the golden coins to the bottom of the treasure chest! The delight in those dancing eyes, as she pointed this out to me.

On 3/8/2012, I went to the UW seminar series, to hear Dr. Alan Hamlet discuss how systems engineering could be applied to environmental health problems. Systems engineering is designed to analyze complex systems with many feedback loops. Such loops allow assessment of imperfectly understood interactions between various components of the system.

A scientist approaches a question with a hypothesis, and investigates how well the data fit to that pre-chosen model. An engineer approaches a problem with a series of pre-determined rules and ends with an evaluation. Therefore, the scientist and engineer begin at the end of each other's approach.

Scientists are trained to first develop a clear hypothesis. Then, after gathering data, a scientist assesses how well the observed data fits the hypothesis. Comparing expected (hypothesis) to observed (data) is called “goodness of fit”. Statistics are used to assess how likely the fit between model and data could have happened by chance alone. For example, how likely is it that asbestos workers who smoke have increased risk for lung cancer? The null hypothesis could say that there is no connection, but the data shows that combination to be highly risky. Is the difference between model and data just by chance? Very unlikely.

Conversely, linear programming (LP) starts with objectives and constraints (data) and ends up with the optimal rule (hypothesis). LP uses decision variables, objective functions, and constraints. An engineer starts with decision variables, or data. Then, objective functions are chosen, what is to be maximized or minimized. Constraints are limitations imposed on the analysis. The researcher may also want include feedback loops or other issues. The computer calculates the solution for which all the inputs are “best”. This last point is important. The solution the computer comes up with will be optimized, ie, the solution will not just be good but “the absolute best”.

Dr. Hamlet gave us specific examples of how LP can be used in public health. In epidemiological analysis of immunization, what is the sensitivity of the system if only some percentage of households ( ½ ?) chose to immunize their children? In another example, farmers can be pressured between the need to grow crops for food versus cash crops. With the LP approach, you first set up the objective: how much of each crop is the best balance. You consider the constraints: malnutrition and cash. Finally, the computer calculates the rules, the “best” solution for the farmers so that a profitable crop can cultivated while still growing enough food.

The LP approach can be very useful for public health, especially where cost issues are involved. Strengths of this approach include the ability to anticipate changes, scenario based planning, anticipation of surprises, and finally the ability to plan for the long haul. Therefore, LP would be useful in many public health issues: water resources planning and management, crop choices for indigenous people, global warming.

It's spring, we're nearing St. Patrick's day, it must be time for the kids to make a “Leprechaun Trap”. This year, E's version of a trap uses a pencil to prop open a little treasure chest she had gotten for a birthday. She put fake gold coins inside the trap, and she wrote this message.

(Free) gold and tracher in here !!!!! It is a party in there.
ps, its not a trap.

Then, she stayed up in her bed, with a line to the pencil, ready to pull it so the chest closed, if she saw one. She said something like ‘I’ll pretend to be asleep to try to get it to go inside. But, I might go to sleep.’

I’ve now been quizzed on music by three generations of my men. Perhaps the music gene comes down the Y chromosome? Even though I’ve played violin and piano, I am aware that I am merely passive when it comes to music. By comparison, three generations of men in my life have a love of music, although extreme variation in type of music. My Dad used to quiz me about whether we were listening to Mozart or Beethoven. (I got that one; Mozart is typically so complex.) Dennis’ favorite question was whether a guitarist we were listening to was Eddie van Halen of Van Halen or Angus Young of AC/DC. (I can’t tell, although I do recognize the drumming from Metallica.) Today P asked me who the vocalist was in the song were listening to: I guessed right, Nicki Minaj. So, I’ve been quizzed on classical, rock, and pop/rap artists. Who knows, maybe P's son will continue the game. Wonder what will be big in about 20 years?

I just had my first experience of selling GS cookies at the local QFC. Angie and I set up a table at our typical entrance, by the dry-cleaners, lined up the cookie boxes on the table. At the beginning E and her friend E merely said very quietly “would you like some girls scout cookies”. Very quickly into the 2 hours, they got much louder. Then, one of the girls unfolded the bottom of the GS cookie box, both girls climbed in, and so began “dinner and a show”. The girls would wait for an exiting victim (we told them only to approach leaving shoppers). At some nonverbal signal 4 arms would go out making a star burst pattern, and the girls would shout “would you like some girls scout cookies”! We moms would stand back and grin, like the kids weren’t really ours. However, their routine certainly put shoppers in a good mood and may have resulted in some sales.

I was impressed by the number of people who said ‘keep the change’, ie, gave us tips. We were selling on Friday 3:30-5:30, and perhaps because of payday/end of the week, everybody was in a good mood. We sold lots of cookies! The girls were in good spirits for most of the 2 hours; when they started getting whiney, we folded up shop. So, that was a nice first experience of site sales for both of us.

My Tomato Saga has been on-going for 7 years now. Over that time, I’ve tried to achieve home-grown tomatoes by starting them as seeds, starts, whole plants. I’ve put them on one side of the garden, on the other side. One year I actually grew edible fruit, but we were on vacation during the 1-2 week period when there was enough sunshine in the PNW to ripen, so I asked our neighbors to eat them up. In the freezer I have a package of little green frozen cherry tomatoes, because the seeds sowed by E this summer didn't ripen until October, and there just wasn't enough light for them to turn red. Maybe I can put them in a soup .....

My hope springs ever eternal, so this year I’m trying seeds with an inside grow lanp. The Full Option Science System (FOSS) setup of my daughter’s science project got me started. When I went to school a month ago, the teacher had me set up the grow lights: I assembled the PVC tubing frame, hung the lights, helped the kids plant their seeds and observed that the next week in science, their plants had grown. Ding, ding, ding! I figured if they can do it at school, I could do it at home.

Of course, I couldn’t find the FOSS assembly for retail, although the company is on the web, so I had to build it myself. I wasn’t willing to spend the $$ required to get the kit at Molbac’s. How hard can it be to find the pieces and assemble myself? I went to Home Depot, Fred Meyer, various other department stores. The problem is, the fluorescent lights have to contain the full spectrum of light. In the stores, these lights are sold as ‘good for the aquarium’ or ‘good for plants’. However, the lights only come in 2 foot sizes, I wanted something bigger. How about if I bought the light fixtures and the bulbs, at the size I wanted? I found out that size T12 is the shape of the pins that holds the correct kind of lights, but T8 is the current standard. So, I could buy the bulbs or fixtures, but perhaps not both. Finally, the very nice sales assistant at Home Depot sent me to Kelsun Distributors in Bellevue (http://www.kelsun.com/). 4 foot bulbs with fixtures, tad da! The salesman warned me that I would need to buy my own cords (Fred Meyer extension cords) but that it ‘would be easy’ to clip off the end, strip the wires, and wrap the wires to my new purchases.

I took my prizes home (bought 2). Unfortunately, the housing is for electricians, and is built to be bolted into the wall, wired in by an electrician. As I pulled out the housing from the box, there were white, black and green wires, the latter of which I now know is for grounding. I am not knacky with my hands. Luckily, Dennis actually likes this kind of project. He worked with P and made a PVC frame, hung, assembled and connected the wiring, and ordered me a timer. Voila! I have my grow lights. E helped me plant a whole package of tomato plants, and the timer turns the lights on and off to mimic real daylight.

By August I'll know whether it worked.

Saturday I chaperoned at P’s school for a Tolo dance, a girl-invite dance based on Mardi Gras. What neither P or I realized was that it was a dress-up dance: girls in cocktail dresses and boys in nice shirts. P wore t-shirt and jeans, and didn’t enjoy himself. He muttered to me that didn't like to dress up in uncomfortable clothes, and he left early with another mom.

I spent 3 hours watching the doors to make sure no one exited and came back (ie, no going out to drink/do drugs in cars and re-entering the dance), and so observed the genus teenager. With boredom and a continual flow of kids in and out in front of me I had a lot of time to observe. The kids walked from dance floor to lighted hallway to back in again, repeat 10 times/hour x 100 kids. I actually counted feet with and without footwear, over the 3 hours.

My main thought was, those poor girls. A very few of them wore sneakers, the outfits didn’t look great, but the girls seemed okay. Most of the girls came in high heels to go with the nice dresses, and as another mom observed, they were in such pain! Very soon after arrival, the girls started limping. Progressively through the night I observed feet get redder, and blisters form on heels, as skin unaccustomed to the rubbing began to chafe. Finally, there were about 2/10 girls who simply ditched their instruments of torture, walking around in torn panty hose.

Watching the girls, I also observed how poor their posture was! The girls were fairly uniform in slouching. I think this was a combination of how high heels pitch the body forward, and a wish to kind of hide their chests by slumping over. In general the boys were standing more or less straight and tall, maybe simply because of their footwear.

All in all, quite an interesting evening out. Too bad P didn’t enjoy it as much as the fall dance. However, I think both he and I are learning a lot by just being there.