Saturday, January 03, 2009

Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Public Accessible Research Data

Public Accessible Research Data
Hiking, Backpacking & Camping

General Info
GPS related

Local Info
Inns
  • Hike-Inn: The Len Foote Hike Inn at Amicalola Falls State Park is one of the newest and most unique of Georgia's state park facilities.  If you enjoy wilderness hiking but prefer a soft bed, hot showers, and great food instead of camping, the Hike Inn is for you.
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Boy Scouts of America


The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness.


The organization structure of the BSA
  • The smallest grouping, called 'Unit', is a den for cub scouts or patrol for boy scouts. 
  • The dens are combined into a pack (Pack 1000), while patrols are combined into a troop (Troop 27). 
  • Both packs and troops are assembled a district (Milton District). 
  • Districts are clustered a council (Atlanta Area Council). Councils are grouped into areas. Areas are grouped into regions. 
  • The BSA National Council is in Irving, Texas (BSA).
  • These U.S. boy scout and cub scout units are similar to the organization in other countries, but they may have different names for cub scouts and boy scouts as well as different age or grade breaks. Another major difference is whether scouting is for girls and boys or boys only.
Scout related materials
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The Meaning of the Boy Scout Law
Excerpted from page 47-54, Boy Scout Handbook, 11th Edition,
(#33105), copyright 1998 by BSA, ISBN 0-8395-3105-2
  • A Scout is Trustworthy. A Scout tells the truth. He is honest, and he keeps his promises. People can depend on him.
  • A Scout is Loyal. A Scout is true to his family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and nation.
  • A Scout is Helpful. A Scout cares about other people. He willingly volunteers to help others without expecting payment or reward.
  • A Scout is Friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own.
  • A Scout is Courteous. A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows that using good manners makes it easier for people to get along.
  • A Scout is Kind. A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. Without good reason, he does not harm or kill any living thing.
  • A Scout is Obedient. A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them.
  • A Scout is Cheerful. A Scout looks for the bright side of life. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.
  • A Scout is Thrifty. A Scout works to pay his own way and to help others. He saves for the future. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.
  • A Scout is Brave. A Scout can face danger although he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threaten him.
  • A Scout is Clean. A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean.
  • A Scout is Reverent. A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.
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Outdoor Activity
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    Friday, December 19, 2008

    Happiness Keeps You Sweet

    Happiness Keeps You Sweet,
    Trials Keeps You Strong,
    Sorrow Keeps You Human,
    Failures Keeps You Humble,
    Success Keeps You Glowing,
    But Only God Keeps You Going!!                         - Anonymous     
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    Monday, December 08, 2008

    How to output SAS dataset in Stata readable format

    How to output SAS dataset in Stata readable format

    One of ways is:
            LIBNAME output xport 'c:\Projects\eye.xpt';
            options validvarname=v6;
            proc copy in=work out=output memtype=data;
                    select eye;
            run;
            options validvarname=v7;
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    Sunday, December 07, 2008

    Effects of Cold Weather on Mortality

    Effects of Cold Weather on Mortality

    This is not an article about diabetes, but a different way of thinking about climate change. How about a "1°C" decrease of body weight by the way?

    http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/168/12/1397?etoc
    Weather-related     health effects have attracted renewed interest because of the observed and predicted climate change. The authors studied the short-term effects of cold weather on mortality in 15 European cities. The effects of minimum apparent temperature on cause- and age-specific daily mortality were assessed for the cold season (October-March) by using data from 1990-2000. For city-specific analysis, the authors used Poisson regression and distributed lag models, controlling for potential confounders. Meta-regression models summarized the results and explored heterogeneity. A 1°C decrease in temperature was associated with a 1.35% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16, 1.53) increase in the daily number of total natural deaths and a 1.72% (95% CI: 1.44, 2.01), 3.30% (95% CI: 2.61, 3.99), and 1.25% (95% CI: 0.77, 1.73) increase in cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular deaths, respectively. The increase was greater for the older age groups. The cold effect was found to be greater in warmer (southern) cities and persisted up to 23 days, with no evidence of mortality displacement. Cold-related mortality is an important public health problem across Europe. It should not be underestimated by public health authorities because of the recent focus on heat-wave episodes.

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    Wednesday, November 26, 2008

    RESEARCH AND MEDICINE

    RESEARCH AND MEDICINE - JAMA November 26, 2008, 300 (20): 2435

    http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/300/20/2435?etoc
    "Research signifies effort directed toward the discovery of laws and
    principles through the systematic collection of new and better
    correlations of existing data. It means the utilization of hitherto
    latent or wasted energy. The aims of research are not culture, not
    miscellaneous information, not a mode of leisurely meditation on the
    origin of things, but mainly utility and service to mankind."

    These statements by Theobald Smith, while general, apply especially to
    research in the field of medicine. Research is too often considered as
    peculiarly difficult, requiring unusual and special qualifications and
    only to be indulged in by a certain few whose sole ambition is to gain
    fame by making some important discovery. This is by no means true. The
    methods are straightforward, natural, simple, common-sense methods, but
    complete, thorough, orderly and precise. Research is work in which
    absolute honesty is demanded on every hand, for lacking this its very
    purpose is defeated.

    The great discoveries and generalizations in science and medicine have
    been made usually after years of systematic and conscientious labor. As
    a rule they evolve rather than flash into existence in a moment.
    Twenty-three years elapsed from the time Darwin first published notes on
    the evolutionary theory till it emerged in its complete form-"The Origin
    of Species." It is said that Bacon delayed the appearance of the "Novum
    Organum" for twelve years, and each year added something. Harvey
    withheld the publication of his views on the circulation for twelve
    years.

    All research profits and is made possible by work that precedes it. This
    work may be of little significance and of no practical value in itself,
    but taken in relation with other facts it may help to solve the most
    mysterious and difficult problems and be of the greatest practical
    importance. It is never safe to predict in regard to the significance of
    facts. There is only one safe method and that was used by Darwin,
    namely, to note every detail carefully, feeling sure that in the final
    causal interpretation of phenomena each and every one of these details
    will find its place and there be of great significance. The question is
    too often asked: Of what use is this or that piece of work? If the
    practical side is not clearly evident the whole is considered a waste of
    time and worthless. The important questions to ask are: Is it true? Are
    these statements of facts? Are these true principles? If so, the work is
    amply justified. Of course there is a scientific perspective. All facts
    are not of equal importance. Some stand prominently in the foreground;
    others are mere subsidiary detail; but in the final picture, in the
    complete interpretation, all are essential.

    At present many physicians look on the work in the laboratory as
    scientific because certain phenomena are here more carefully analyzed
    perhaps than seems possible in a clinic or at the bedside. But the
    spirit of true practical medicine is scientific. Its aims are utility
    and service to mankind. Facts are being observed and correlated and
    their meaning determined. The apparatus may be different, but the
    methods are fundamentally the same as those of the laboratory. Why
    should an accurate physical examination of a patient be less scientific,
    for instance, than the chemical analysis of the blood or observations on
    the biology of the tubercle bacillus? The ultimate aim is the same, and
    though the end in view in the former is more immediate than in the
    latter the difference is not as to justify calling one scientific and
    the other non-scientific. Scientific medical research must not be
    confined altogether within the walls of the laboratory; a large part of
    it must necessarily be done there, for medicine draws on the more
    fundamental sciences for aid, and this requires more or less elaborate
    laboratory facilities. What is desired is the greater use by physicians
    at the beside of the general methods in vogue in scientific
    laboratories, where are demanded careful observations, painstaking
    analysis, logical reasoning, accurate and systematic records.

    "No great discovery in science is ever without a corresponding influence
    on medical thought, not always evident at first, and apt to be
    characterized by the usual vagaries associated with human effort"
    (Osler1). Laboratory workers and practicing physicians should come
    nearer together and attempt to understand each other better. Often pure
    scientists and experimenters are inclined to be radical, sometimes
    impractical, and liable to be carried away by fanciful theories. And
    sometimes they are justified in letting their imaginations soar to
    heights which physicians perhaps dare not attain; this not infrequently
    leads to valuable working hypotheses that may bring forth important
    facts.

    On the other hand, the scientific man, the laboratory worker, should
    realize that physicians must have at least one foot on solid ground;
    they must be conservative yet tolerant of new ideas, always willing to
    consider and apply them in legitimate ways; they must be sympathetic
    toward the new, knowing that in time the grain will be sifted from the
    chaff and truth appear.

    1. The Growth of Truth. Harveian Oration, London, 1906.

    JAMA. 1908;51:1700

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