Sunday 17 April 2011

No System Sounds on XP? Buttons greyed-out?

Kerrie "did something" to her fiancée's lap-top resulting in the loss of all Windows System sounds, also all sound using Firefox, though iTunes & RealPlayer produced sound just fine.

On Start >> Settings >> Control Panel >> Sounds, the Play button for System sounds was greyed-out. The record & play buttons on Sound Recorder were also greyed-out.

After many hours of unsuccessful tinkering, the problem was eventually solved HERE.

K-Lite Codec Pack 7.1.0 STANDARD version also contains a very nice Media Player.

Saturday 16 April 2011

The Vitamin D Association is organising 2 conferences in London in May

that might be of interest to you and your colleagues:

May 17 Vitamin D & Obstetrics – Improving Pregnancy & Childbirth

Some of the world’s foremost experts will show the strong evidence that higher levels of Vitamin D lead to easier conception, easier pregnancy, less gestational diabetes, less pre-eclampsia, reduced risk of emergency C-sections and an easier delivery, followed by less depression in the mother and a larger, healthier baby. There is also evidence that the risk of Type-1 Diabetes in the child is reduced and that the child will have stronger bones and teeth.

Professor Bruce Hollis will discuss findings from his recent Trials on vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and breastfeeding. He is the director of Paediatric Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina and has studied vitamin D metabolism and nutrition for the past 35 years. He has published significant scientific papers on the biomarkers of Vitamin D in the body as they relate to a number of illnesses

Professor Reinhold Vieth is Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada. His current research focuses on the roles played by vitamin D in many illnesses and especially gestational diabetes, plus toxicity and safe blood serum levels.

Professor Hollis and Professor Vieth will release findings of their recent work on what mothers and health professionals need to know about vitamin D – information that they hope will help clarify new guidelines for safe sun exposure, supplementation and suitable dietary sources of vitamin D.

More at: www.vitamindassociation.org/events

May 18 Vitamin D & Cancer – Treatment & Prevention

Long-term Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many cancers, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, insulin resistance, hypertension, heart disease, respiratory infections, muscle weakness, mood and cognitive function and infectious diseases such as influenza.

There is strong evidence that high levels of Vitamin D both help the body recover from cancer and also play a major part in preventing cancer.

Professor Joan Lappe is professor of medicine at Creighton University in USA. She will report on the results of a major Level 1 Randomised Controlled Trial that showed the preventive actions of Vitamin D and calcium against cancer.

Dr. Enikö Kállay will provide practical advice for Oncologists and other medical professionals about the latest genetic tests for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. She is Assistant Professor at the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Patho-physiology and Allergy Research, where she studies the role of Vitamin D and dietary calcium in the prevention and pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, with special emphasis on the CYP24 gene.

More at: www.vitamindassociation.org/events

Friday 8 April 2011

Vitamin D Experts' Forum at the Wellcome Trust in London, England on Thursday 7 April 2011

I was there! See below.

The Vitamin D Association is running a major event in London designed to give an overview of the range of illnesses and treatments where Vitamin D is involved.

Speakers include Dr. Michael F. Holick, Dr. Reinhold Vieth, Dr. William B. Grant, Carole Baggerly, and Dr. David Grimes.

There will be ample time allocated to participate in open discussion about new treatment guidelines and protocols and to share your knowledge and clinical experiences.

The event is targeted at senior medical personnel, general practitioners, nutritionists, dieticians and other health care professionals.

Timetable

08:30 Registration
09:30 Chairman’s opening remarks. Rufus Greenbaum (Vitamin D Project Manager, Systems Biology Laboratory)
09:35 Vitamin D: A D-lightful story for good health. Dr Michael F Holick
10:30 UK Overview – Statistics about Vitamin D in the UK. Rufus Greenbaum
10:45 Discussion
11:00 Break
11:15 The Impact of improving Vitamin D levels – health & financial outcomes. Dr William B Grant
11:45 Vitamin D & Cancer – current trials and evidence. Carole Baggerly
12:15 Discussion
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Public Policy on Vitamin D. Dr Oliver Gillie
2:00 Clinical experiences in a UK hospital. Dr David Grimes
2:30 Discussion
2:45 Break
3:00 Treatment & Toxicity – Benefits and dangers of supplementing with Vitamin D. Dr Reinhold Vieth
3:30 Discussion – All
4:30 Closing Remarks. Mike Fischer, Director, Systems Biology Laboratory

Here's a graphic from the Forum:-


What I found interesting is the fact that some medical conditions follow a J curve vs serum 25(OH)D level. This suggests that people may be suffering from deficiencies in some of the other fat-soluble vitamins (A, E's & K's) due to the modern fad for low-fat diets. Hypovitaminosis K2 results in inappropriate calcification at high serum 25(OH)D level, which increases the risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease.

Unfortunately, the fact that highish (greater-than 50nmol/L, or 20ng/mL) serum 25(OH)D levels can cause harm, results in continuing Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt about Vitamin D and "expert" (e.g. the US Institute Of Medicine) advice that 600iu/day is sufficient for optimum health. See 7th April 2011: Vitamin D - Experts' Forum for more info'.


Anyway, here's me and my God-daughter Kerrie getting some free Vitamin D on Wednesday evening!


Cheers!

Saturday 2 April 2011

Has anybody seen my tinfoil hat?

This morning, I left two comments on Peter (Hyperlipid)'s blog. The second one has disappeared. EDIT: It went into the spam filter. It's visible again.

Some time later, Jay Bryant phoned me and asked me where my blog had gone.

"It's still there" I said, then refreshed the page. "Shit, it's gone!"

I managed to reinstate my Blog but apparently, there has been "unusual activity" on it. Hmmm. I just noticed that I'm following my own blog! How did that happen? Spurious follow now deleted.

This calls for a music video...