July 17, 2016

Amazing results using just food for kitten with seizures

I'm posting this for a new member looking for feedback:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1018&pid=881662

Amazing results using just food for kitten with seizures

Hello - just found this place because there were old posts about seizures in kittens. If anyone knows a more appropriate place to post this info please let me know.

We also just found a black kitten three evenings ago, but in a wood pile on our property. She's probably around 4-weeks old and in great shape. I'm more of a dog person because I have too many lizards, birds, rabbits, and chickens around to trust a cat and I certainly don't want wild cats running around our property. Well, it took about 10 minutes to calm the wildness away and then my 7-year old daughter fell in love with her.

I happen to have had kitten formula because of a recent issue with a baby bunny so I tried to give her some formula that evening. Didn't have much luck and she slept peacefully next to my daughter. The next day we tried a grain free wet food mixed with formula and she took some and that evening gave her more plus about an ounce of formula. She had what looked like a mild seizure a short time after and my daughter started tearing up when she saw the concern in my eyes. That night was awful as the kitten had at least 4 serious seizures lasting about 45 sec to a little over a minute (she meowed/screamed loudly each time at the start) and her box was a mess in the morning.

I'm a biologist so I did some research. Lots of info for seizure with everyone giving drugs as the cure. I am NOT going to give phenobarbital to this cat for the rest of its life. I suspected something in the food or lack of nutrient was the cause because of the peaceful first evening we had. With a little more digging found wonderful case where woman changed diet and added fats/oils (e.g., coconut oil/bacon grease) to help support brain function (also found supporting data on the importance of fats for those with underlying seizure disorders).

The second day we used a grain free hard food (higher protein and fat content than wet food) soaked to mush with just water. I went to work, when I came back family reported just one mild seizure. That evening we added a generous amount of coconut oil to the water/food mush (NOTE: NO kitten formula at all for over 16 hrs now). This morning we are happy to report that it looks like NO seizures occurred. I heard nothing, there was no mess everywhere, my daughter slept next to her and wasn't woken up, and the kitten is calm and alert.

Could it be so simple? I am not going to test my hypothesis that it was the food or formula combo because I don't have the heart to put the kitten back on it. And maybe this is a spurious correlation and tonight will be hell again. The problem is there are no studies out there testing diet against the different types of seizure issues in pets (and why when the drug companies do not want to support the studies). However, surely there are families out there that have litters of kittens with seizure issues (many are genetic and would be easy to get litters for study purposes) and some cat group that would stand behind such a study or someone with the funding to do so? I certainly can assist with proper scientific methodology as that is one of my strengths. Wouldn't it be something if we could discover that one of the main culprits is associated with food and a properly designed diet could get rid of the issue with NO DRUGS? Please pass on this info to whomever can help and to whomever needs the info for their own pet with seizure problems. I'm not saying its a cure but surely it is worth a try. Thanks!

July 14, 2016

Here's why ISIS just blew up 5 of its own oil refineries in Iraq

Five oil wells set on fire is the latest disaster caused by ISIS militants. The de facto rulers of Mosul set the wells on fire in a bid to stop the Iraqi army, which has been steadily advancing to the capital of the terrorist group, Fars News reports. In addition to the well blow-ups, ISIS also mined roads in the vicinity.

The wells were located near the Qayyrah refining complex in the province of Nineveh, where the Iraqi army has been preparing to take on Mosul – the city that fell to the militants in 2014. A day ago the army successfully took control of the Qayyrah airbase, which is 60 miles south of Mosul.

Blowing up the wells is a desperate measure: ISIS relies on oil for its funding and the destruction of refineries and oil tankers in the territories under its control has been a priority for the army. Earlier this month, media reported that the terrorist group is digging pits in the oil fields around Mosul to use as storage, and is also constructing makeshift teapot refineries to process the crude.

The information came from aerial photos taken by Stratfor, showing scores of tiny little refining units. These typically require just a pit for the crude and a portable furnace to separate the fuel fractions.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-blew-up-5-oil-refineries-in-iraq-2016-7



Firefighters try to put out the fire in an oil tank in the port of Es Sider, in Ras Lanuf, Libya after an ISIS attack. Reuters

July 12, 2016

'Lives are going to be shortened:' Fort McMurray firefighters fear for health

Many Fort McMurray firefighters, unable to wear their usual air masks while battling a giant wildfire that attacked the northern Alberta city, are being screened for health problems because they spent several days breathing in hazardous smoke.

Some of the 180 crew have developed a persistent cough, says firefighter Nick Waddington, president of the Fort McMurray branch of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Results of lung and blood tests will be private. But Waddington predicts the firefighters will need ongoing support and possible treatment for serious illnesses over the next 10 to 20 years.

"Realistically, a lot of our guys, their lives are going to be shortened because of this incident," Waddington says bluntly. "When you compound that with everything that we're going to have in our careers, we're definitely going to be in a high risk."


Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/lives-are-going-to-be-shortened-fort-mcmurray-firefighters-fear-for-health/ar-BBucTRs?li=AAggNb9



© Sylvain Bascaron/CBC Edmonton Hundreds of firefighters battled the flames at the Fort McMurray wildfire

July 9, 2016

Climate Change, Bats, And Zika: 2016’s Weirdest Relationship

Particularly if you live in the Northeast, you might notice that it is really hot out. And buggy.

Much of the United States has gotten a lot of rain this summer, too, providing breeding ground for mosquitoes. At some point, it’s expected that some of these mosquitoes could start carrying the Zika virus. Zika’s outbreak, which started last fall in Brazil, has caused at least three infants in the United States — and thousands across South and Central America — to be born with microencephaly, a defect characterized by incomplete growth of the head and brain, and which is linked to many health complications.

Understandably, people are worried.

The House of Representatives recently passed a piece of legislation that would allow people to more freely use pesticides — without clearing the use with the EPA. But similar legislation has been introduced in the House five times over the past several years, and opponents say it is less a measure to protect Americans against Zika than a free pass to pollute the country’s water. There are already more than a thousand waterways in the United States that are impaired because of pesticide use. Additional use would likely impact fishing, recreation, and human health.

It’s also hard to believe this bill signifies Congress’ commitment to fighting Zika, since the body hasn’t yet agreed to fund an emergency package.

But it turns out that there is a hero people can turn to: a flying, furry mammal.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/08/3796302/bats-are-the-best/



A worker fogs a residential neighborhood with insecticides to kill mosquitoes.

June 24, 2016

Bernie Sanders returns to Albany on Friday

Future Democratic agenda likely topic of senator's talk

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will appear on Friday at the Empire State Plaza as part of his New York tour addressing the question of "where we go from here."

Sanders will appear at 1 p.m. at the Egg. Doors will open at 11 a.m. The event is open to the public, though RSVPs are encouraged by the campaign at https://go.berniesanders.com/.

While Sanders has not officially dropped out of the race to seek the Democratic nomination for president, Hillary Clinton has wrapped up enough delegates to make herself the likely nominee heading into the July convention.

Sanders was appearing in Manhattan on Thursday night and, in addition to Albany on Friday — a late add by the campaign — he also will appear in Syracuse in the evening.

Campaign spokesman Michael Briggs told USA Today that Sanders' Thursday night focus (likely to be his Friday focus) will be "on policy — from income and wealth inequality to climate change — and how he hopes the Democratic Party will adopt the most progressive platform ever."

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Bernie-Sanders-returns-to-Albany-on-Friday-8321742.php



Bernie Sanders, candidate for the Democratic nomination, addresses his supporters during a rally on Tuesday, April 11, 2016, at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

May 30, 2016

‘I just felt like I needed to’: North Carolina man drives to Edmonton to help fire evacuees

When Jim McGrath heard about the Fort McMurray wildfire, he knew he wanted to do help but what he ended up doing is quite unique.

McGrath hails from near Raleigh, North Carolina. He jumped into his car and drove across the United States and north to Edmonton to volunteer.

“I just felt like I needed to,” he said when asked why he travelled about 4,000 kilometres.

McGrath has no connection to the Fort McMurray fire. He has no friends or family in Edmonton or the rest of the province and has only been to Canada a handful of times.


More (Includes video): http://globalnews.ca/news/2728672/i-just-felt-like-i-needed-to-north-carolina-man-drives-to-edmonton-to-help-fire-evacuees/



He arrived in Edmonton last Wednesday and immediately went to work his first volunteer shift.
Julia Wong/Global News

May 25, 2016

Offshore Drilling Foes Invoke 1953 Law to Prod Obama on U.S. Ban

Environmental activists who dangled from bridges and paddled kayaks around an Arctic rig have a new strategy for stopping oil development off U.S. coasts: persuading President Barack Obama to use a 1953 law to bar offshore drilling permanently.

An obscure provision that’s been used to preserve coral reefs and walrus feeding grounds empowers presidents to exclude waters from future oil and gas development. Environmentalists want Obama to invoke that statute before leaving office to indefinitely block drilling in the U.S. Atlantic and Arctic.

They saw the opportunity after Royal Dutch Shell Plc abandoned Arctic drilling and Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline last year.

"We think this is a moment in time," said Niel Lawrence, Alaska director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The last big thing this administration can do is take off the table the places where the government is not in the oil business, where the communities are not reliant on it, where the infrastructure isn’t in place and where the oil couldn’t come for 25 or 30 years."


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-24/offshore-drilling-foes-invoke-1953-law-to-prod-obama-on-u-s-ban

May 22, 2016

Thanks for the heads up!

May 20, 2016

Hi, Skinner! Question regarding the MIRT forum

As someone who has served on MIRT fairly often, I've found Forum Search and Advanced Search invaluable for doing the job. But I'm wondering why Forum Search isn't available in the MIRT Forum. So often we get a notice about someone we know has come up before, but without being able to search for the previous discussion, it's time consuming to go through the previous pages hoping to find it and sometimes we miss it altogether. Since we like to have as much information as possible before making a decision, Forum Search in MIRT would make this much easier and more efficient. And these days, as you know, we're also seeing a lot of returnees, so we often like to compare what we're seeing to previous discussions. Would it be possible? I've so often wished for it, so decided to finally ask. Thanks!

May 12, 2016

Obama Said to Plan Release of Methane-Limit Rules on Thursday

The Obama administration will unveil on Thursday the first explicit U.S. regulation of methane emissions with a rule designed to reduce leaks of the potent greenhouse gas from oil wells.

The measure will require oil and gas companies to do a better job finding and plugging methane leaks at new wells, pumps, pipes, compressors and other equipment. It will be released by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to three people told of the plans who asked not to be identified prior to the formal announcement.

The primary ingredient of natural gas, methane is pound for pound 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere when measured over two decades. Previous regulations pared traditional air pollutants from some natural gas wells but did not specifically target methane.

"This is an incredibly important step," said Mark Brownstein, vice president of the Climate and Energy Program at the Environmental Defense Fund, in a phone interview earlier this month. "Methane is responsible for 25 percent of the warming that our planet is experiencing right now, and in the United States, the oil and gas industry is the largest source of methane emissions."


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-11/obama-said-to-plan-release-of-methane-limit-rules-on-thursday