LASER HAIR REMOVAL RISKS

LASER HAIR REMOVAL RISKS                                Paula Camps García

Article:  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/laser-hair-removals-risks/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The New York Times                                                                                                              
January 6, 2014

The treatment of laser hair-removal can cause burns in sensitive areas, disfiguring injuries or rarely, even death.

An unknown number of procedures are performed each year by non-physicians who may have minimal training. And according to a study in JAMA Dermatology, the percentage of demands over laser surgery involving a non-physician operator has increased from 36% in 2008 to 78% in 2011.

People think that anyone can do laser procedures. Dr Tina Alster said that every week she sees a complication from a laser. Physicians are worried about “Medical Spas” which offer laser treatments and other cosmetic treatments but may not have licensed medical personnel working which is really dangerous.

A Brooklyn woman, aged 26, in, ended up with burns in her skin her third laser session, which persisted for weeks and then stripes among the backs of her legs appeared. Her laser operator, who was not a doctor, repeated the treatments on her legs 4 weeks apart and the recommendation is between 10 and 12 weeks.

The laser treatment is considered to be the practice of medicine in 35 states, whereas in 26 states, nonmedical personnel offer the treatment with medical supervision. Some states protect patients, but a great number do not. A laser operator with no medical training may treat something that looks like a sun spot when it is skin cancer.

There is little oversight of medical laser Spas, patients should do some research and consider some factors before taking the treatment.

Article

A Bizarrely Fitting Finale Yields a Most Unexpected Champion

The New York Times

Miguel García Díaz

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/sports/tennis/wawrinka-defeats-an-ailing-nadal-to-win-australian-open.html?ref=sports

This saturday Wawrinka won over an ailing Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open in Melbourne. Nadal was the favorite to win the tournament but the excelent play of Wawrinka and the pain that Nadal suffered in his back made Wawrinka to be the lowest-ranked man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 2004.

Wawrinka beated Nadal in four sets (6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3)

In the warm-up Nadal appeared to throw out his back and needed a medical timeout; he played with a permanent grimace. In first set Wawrinka pushed Nadal around. In the second set Nadal moved better, and Wawrinka came undone and in the last two sets Wawrinka defeated an ailing Nadal.

I admire both players Nadal and Wawrinka, I admire Nadal because he played a whole match with an injury in his back and despite the fact being injured he won a set. I admired Wawrinka because he is not the best tennis player but he played really well and he fighted a lot.

School Experiment Goes Wrong. (article)

SCHOOL EXPERIMENT THAT BURNED BOY WAS FOCUS OF FEDERAL WARNING.

I was so shocked when I first read this article. It refers to an accident that took place in a Manhattan high school science lab: An experiment went wrong and it left a boy with life-threatening burns and two other students with minor burns. But this hasn't happened only once, there have been at least seven more similar accidents in the country with the very same experiment.

“The rainbow demonstration” it is called. A very common experiment in high schools in which you see a different color depending on the substance that you burn. I suppose children enjoy that combination of flashes and colors but if there have been students that have ended up injured, why do they keep on doing the same experiment? I can't understand why this continues to happen.

The United States Chemical Safety Board and other agencies are helping to make people aware of this by sharing videos that show the horrible consequences of this experiment going wrong. But I think they would do better either forbidding it or providing the highest safety measures.

Better prevent than regret.

Link to the original article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/nyregion/school-experiment-that-burned-boy-was-focus-of-federal-warning.html?_r=0

United States Chemical Safety Board's video:

http://www.csb.gov/videos/

NELSON MANDELA

ARTICLE REVIEW

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela_obit.html?_r=0

This article talks about a death that happened a while ago in South Africa. It was Nelson Mandela, the famous South African politician, whose life tragically came to an end. Jacob Zuma, the current president of South Africa, anounced his death the morning after.

Despite the fact that Mandela had announced that he wanted a quiet death, his last months had been quite the opposite. A crowd of news-hungry journalists tried to get in his hospital room in Pretoria every day. Mandela´s remains were buried in the town where he was raised, Qunu, as he had wished.

If something about Nelson Mandela makes South African black people consider him a hero, it is his achievements in life. He was radically against racial discrimination. So radically that he spent 27 years in prison because he started a revolution and refused to change his mind about racial discrimination. When he came out of jail, he became a candidate for being the president of South Africa. He won and spent his 5 years of presidency trying to make the country equal for black and white people.

In my opinion, Nelson Mandela is a person that we should admire a lot, because he gave his life for his country and for his people, and he succeeded with perseverance and hard work.

The Muslim Brotherhood, back in a fight to survive

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is unhappy about the new government in their country, who is considering them terrorists and is imprisoning most of their members. The problem is that the brotherhood, in order to try to change this situation, is joining protests which are causing a serious number of deaths.

But the Muslim brotherhood is not responsible for all these deaths. Almost in every demonstration they make, the military turn up causing the death of many protesters and innocent people. For instance, on  August  14, hundreds of members from the brotherhood were killed during a demonstration.

The brotherhood wants Mr Morsi, the ex Egyptian president, to be the president again. But nowadays all they can fight for is to resist, because they know that the government is trying to arrest them any way they can. This is the main reason why many members of the brotherhood leave the brotherhood, but some members say that it also has a positive effect in the group, as all the members are more focused on protesting than on anything else.

The New York Times

Doctors Say Racing’s Schumacher Is ‘Fighting for His Life’

 December 30.2013

Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One champion who retired in 2012 for the second time, “is fighting for his life” say his doctors, as he is in critical condition after having brain injuries last Sunday when he fell and struck his head while skiing in the French Alps, near the Italian border.

Schumacher had been skiing for hours with his 14 year-old son, Mick, in an off-trail area between two of the resort’s main ski runs, when he fell and hit his head on a rock. He had been wearing a helmet and if he hadn’t taken it, he would not be here now because it split by the force of the impact. Resort officials described the site of his accident as being part of a wide, treeless snowfield, known for its deep snow and for the challenges it presents for experienced skiers.

Just after his fall, Michael was airlifted rapidly by a helicopter, initially to a small hospital in the surroundings where he received a superficial medical assessment. Then he was taken another time by helicopter to a larger hospital at Grenoble, where he is still convalescent in coma. Schumacher is in a stable condition, with no significant changes since the reporters and camera crews interviewed the doctors on Tuesday.

Here is the link to the article:

New York Times

 

ARTICLE REVIEW

Doctors are trying to prevent him from dying, but still it's really difficult, and they aren't sure whether he is going to survive.

Schumacher hit the right side of his head with a rock while he was skiing off-piste with his 14-year-old son. He was the one who asked for help.

He suffered a serious brain injury, even though he was wearing a helmet when he hit the rock.

Personally I think that skiing off-piste is something really dangerous, even if you wear a helmet or any other equipment and olso it's dangerous for expert skiers. You can hit a rock with your head or an avalanche can crush you.

No one can stop you from skiing off-piste, so if you want to risk your life, you'd better be careful. I like skiing off-piste, but I'm really careful when I do this.

Homeless man charged in N.Y. Christmas Eve killing (USA Today) /Colegio Base/

ARTICLE

From USA Today

Homeless man charged in N.Y. Christmas Eve killing

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — A 43-year-old homeless man was arrested Friday on charges of raping and murdering a 55-year-old woman who cared for a blind man at the Lakeview Village housing complex where she lived.Spring Valley police said Juan Perez-Coira Jr. knew Deborah Burns from the housing complex where both of their families lived.

Perez-Coira and Burns met on Christmas Eve and walked to a multifamily house where Burns was found dead, Detective Sgt. James Noble said. She was killed about 7:30 p.m.

"They knew one another," Noble said. "We don't know the extent of their relationship. He apparently didn't know her last name. They met up on Christmas Eve and he ended up taking her to 16 Lafayette St., where the rape and subsequent murder     took place outside at the garage."

Saul Navarro, a longtime village resident who lives at 16 Lafayette St. and knows Perez-Coira, told police he witnessed the killing.

According to a statement read at Perez-Coira's arraignment, Navarro told officers he saw Perez-Coira rape the victim, put his hands around her neck and choke her until she was unconscious.

Noble said the incident was not reported as a rape or murder and that police found Burns after she had been reported missing.

On Friday morning, blood could be seen on a white headboard just outside the garage.

The building's porch had yellow police tape around it, and tape also had been stretched across the intersection of Lafayette and White streets. Lafayette Street is a small block off Clinton Street and Bethune Boulevard in the Hill section of the village.

Navarro told The Journal News that Perez-Coira showed up from time to time at the Lafayette Street house to cook dinner, drink beer and keep warm. He said he would see Burns on the porch at the house occasionally as well.

"It's a shame this kind of stuff happens," Navarro said. "Who knows a killer? I'm blown away by this."

Police charged Perez-Coira with second-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree criminal sex act. The murder charge carries a prison sentence from 15 to 25 years to life.

Village Justice Djinsad Desir ordered Perez-Coira held without bail in the county jail after the morning arraignment. The muscular suspect appeared in court with his hands cuffed behind his back, dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans.

The judge said Perez-Coira would be assigned a public defender and adjourned the case until Jan. 2 for a preliminary felony hearing, although a grand jury is expected to hear the evidence next week. An indictment would cancel the felony hearing and move the case to City Court in New City.

Toxicology tests were done on both Perez-Coira and Burns.

The Rockland Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy, but Burns' official cause of death and other information will not be released until after next week's grand jury review of the case, Noble said.

Noble said the investigation leading to Perez-Coira's arrest took some time after Burns' body was found.

"We've been working 17-18 straight hours" leading up to the arrest, Noble said.

No one answered the door at Perez-Coira's mother's Lakeview Village apartment on Friday afternoon.

John King, who takes care of an elderly woman at the complex, was saddened by Burns' death. "I'm upset the girl is gone," he said.

The homicide is the fifth in Rockland this year and the second in Spring Valley, where police recently charged a mother with murder in the strangulation death of her newborn son.

Comment

Some days ago, I was reading the USA Today newspaper when I came across this astonishing article titled: “Homeless man charged in N.Y. Christmas Eve killing”.

 It explains how a 43-year-old man, Juan Perez-Coira Jr., rapes and kills a woman, Deborah Burns, on Christmas Eve. Apparently Perez-Coira took her to 16 Lafayette St, there, concretely in his garage, the murder took place.

Some neighbours witnessed the homicide and know with detail how Perez-Coira did it. They are still appalled by the terrible news.

After arrested, the criminal was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree criminal sex act, which carries a prison sentence from 15 to 25 years to life.

As it is of concern, the case will be move to City Court in New City. There he will be assigned a public defender and will be judge by a grand jury. As a result, he will not have many opportunities to win the trial.

Most people agree that, increasingly, we are more accustomed to hearing news like this in the USA. Every now and again there is an imposing murder, an important rape… but apart from getting upset, the government does not do anything.

There are huge problems in the country that need to be sorted out, but nobody seems to do it. It is believed that politicians should be more aware about the needs of the people.

Article Review

This is my review on this article written by Henry Fountain on the 29th of December of 2013 in The New York Times

The writer talked about a Russian ship, named Shokalskiy, which is stuck in Antarctica, near Cape de la Motte, and the icebreakers, which are trying to help it move.

The Shokalskiy became stuck last Tuesday because of the strong winds. There are 74 people in the boat, all of them desperate to be rescued, however none of the icebreakers have managed to approach the Shokalskiy. The first icebreaker was the Chinese Xue Long, but unfortunately, it couldn’t get to the boat because of the thick ice. Now an Australian icebreaker, named Aurora Australis is on its first attempt to rescue the crew, mainly formed by scientists and tourists.

Experts say that if the Australian boat was unable to break the ice and had to leave the area, a helicopter would be sent from Xue Long to rescue the crew.

What’s sure is that the whole crew will be rescued either by boat or by helicopter.

 By Federico Herrero

This is my review on The Times (thetimes.co.uk) article published in December 2013. Here's the link to the article: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Health/article1359530.ece

CRASH DIET IS CURE FOR DIABETES

After reading this headline you must ask yourself the same thing I did: what is a crash diet? Well, after doing some research I finally understood the meaning. The crash diet is a type of diet that has an extreme lack of nutritional contribution and restricts the amount of calories that a person takes. It is not meant to last longer than 2 or 3 weeks and it is used to lose weight rapidly. But, what most people don’t know is that this diet is not healthy at all. It is also not useful in achieving a loss of weight that remains after the person quits the diet. It can become a vicious circle because, frequently the weight that is regained is more than the lost one, but as the diet restarts, the weight is lost once again.

This article explains how British scientists have discovered a way to help all the type 2 diabetics get their natural insulin levels back. All they have to do is follow a crash diet for a really short time. This has already been tried with 11 overweight patients. Doctors put them through a special diet. During that period of time, they could only take 800 calories per day. This discovery could help a lot of people who suffer obesity-induced diabetes.

I really liked this article because I find it very interesting that the cure to an illness can be as easy as changing your diet for a short period of time.

Chinese Helicopter Rescues 52 Passengers From Ship in Antarctic Ice

In one of the world’s most remote and inhospitable places, a red-and-white Chinese helicopter on January 2nd rescued 52 passengers trapped for more than a week aboard a Russian ship in Antarctica, ferrying them to an Australian icebreaker.

The Russian ship was surrounded by such dense ice that it could not move.

Before the operation began, rescuers said they were worried that the weather would turn bad and prevent the helicopter from flying. The helicopter captain, Jia Shuliang, told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua that the rescue would take five or six flights and last three or four hours if conditions were good.

“We must be patient and wait until the adverse weather improves, as poor visibility could lead to tragedy under the current conditions of limited navigation,” he said before the first flight.

But, a few hours later, Dr. Turney sent another message on Twitter saying, “We’ve made it to the Aurora Australis safe and sound.” The Australian Maritime Safety Agency, which coordinated the rescue, said the crew of the Aurora Australis had confirmed that the 52 passengers were on board.