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Geologists have mapped the recent earthquakes in California and Mexico and have found a pattern called the Mogi doughnut. The concept of mapping, originally from Japan, shows that earthquakes occur in a circular pattern over decades – building up to one very large quake in the middle of the doughnut hole. Geologists believe that the recent quakes in California and Mexico, combined with seismic events including the 1989 and 1994 quakes, could be the precursors to a far larger rupture. Experts have been predicting for years that it will happen – we just don’t know when.
The idea behind the doughnut is simple. Earthquakes in California are caused by tectonic movements in which the Pacific plate slides northwest relative to the North American plate. As the plates move, stress builds along both sides of the Earth’s crust. The stress casuses smaller faults at first, as they need less pressure to break and thus produces small earthquakes. As the stress moves to bigger faults that need more pressure to erupt, larger and larger earthquakes will happen until the “Big One” happens.
Whether the doughnut concept is true or not, the reality is that westcoast is shaking more than in recent years.
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A stroke can happen to anyone, from newborns, to children to adults. It is NOT an elderly person’s disease. Most people are unaware that the faster they have treatment, the better chances for full recovery.
Stroke is the #1 cause of disability, the #2 cause of dementia, and the #3 cause of death in Canada.
The Heart & Stroke Foundation of B.C. and Yukon has launched a campaign to familiarize people with the five signs of stroke:
- rapid onset of weakness
- speech impairment
- vision problems
- sudden severe headache
- sudden dizziness
- fewer than 54 percent of British Columbians can name two of the five stroke warning signs
- About 1,500 people (one third of stroke victims) in B.C. die within a year of their stroke
- Dealing with the annual costs of strokes in B.C. costs roughly $330 million
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Just because you work in the office doesn’t mean that you can’t be injured on the job.
Office workers face the following possible hazards:
- slips, trips, and falls
- strains from sitting for long periods of time or working in awkkward positions
- strains from lifting awkward or heavy objects
- MSIs from performing repetitive manual tasks
- eye strain
- illness due to poor indoor air quality
- allergic reactions
- mental stress
- a possible fall injury from heavy items stored on the top shelf of a filing cabinet
- office machinery that catches on hair, fingers, etc;
- office equipment (paper cutters, staplers, pens) that can strike, jab, or cut
What office workers should do:
- ensure your workstation has adequeate leg room
- use a font size of 12 or more
- maintain a good sitting posture with your back fully supported; use arm and wrist supports
- stretch
- report spills leaks, loose tiles/carpet
- display emergency and first aid contacts
- be aware of building evacuation procedures
- know where the fire extinguishers are
- wear appropriate slip-safe footwear
- learn about your office health & safety committee
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WorkSafeBC imposed a record total penalty of more than $4.4 million against employers last year for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and the Workers Compensation Act, according to the agency’s 2009 Penalty Report. Over the past several years, WorkSafeBC and the Ministry of Labour have been increasingly proactive with companies that don’t measure up to health and safety and employment standards rules and regulations. The ministry has undertaken more health and safety and employment standards inspections and audits, increased fines and penalties, and introduced various aggressive enforcement techniques. You have most likely felt the pressure to react and get your workplace and employees prepared for an audit. SOS Technologies can assist you with understanding the regualtions and ensuring that you have the appropriate supplies on hand.
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A new five-step assessment might help family doctors rule out heart disease in people with chest pain, German researchers propose.
Chest pain is common but pose a challenge for primary care doctors, who must be able to reliably distinguish whether or not the chest pain is associated with heart disease and minimize the number of patients referred to cardiologists unnecessarily.
In Monday’s issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Stefan Bösner of the University of Marburg in Germany and his colleagues describe a clinical assessment method they developed called the Marburg Heart Score.
“Our findings show that the use of a simple prediction rule based exclusively on symptoms and signs can help to rule out coronary artery disease in patients presenting with chest pain in a primary care setting,” the study’s authors concluded.
The rule uses five factors that are easy to identify during a medical visit:
- Age and gender.
- Known clinical vascular disease.
- Pain worse with exercise.
- Patient assumes pain is cardiac related.
- Pain not reproduced with palpitation.
When fewer than three of the five factors are found in a patient, coronary artery disease should be ruled out, Bösner’s team suggests.
Stevens and Lasserson said the new assessment method shows promise for improving the diagnosis of coronary heart disease but that more research is needed to confirm it can be safely applied without missing more severe manifestations of the disease.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/07/05/heart-disease-chest-pain-rule.html?ref=rss#ixzz0sptCjrVd
