坐月子科学与传统

生育孩子,对每一个家庭来说都是一件极为重要的事情。对于中国女性,产后"坐月子"更是一件大事。科学松鼠会(www.songshuhui.net)是一个由拥有硕士及以上学位的青年精英组成的团体,力求以简洁、生动、有趣的文字向大众介绍科学知识。时尚育儿·松鼠会合作的"育儿新发现"专栏,让妈妈们了解最新的育儿科学原理。     

有关顺产的8个“传说”你该不该信

臀围大更容易顺页产吗 答：说法较片面。民间一直有言“屁股大的女性好生养”,与之相对的含义就是,臀围小的女性分娩时会存在困难和危险,这让现今许多追求骨感翘臀的孕妈妈打消了顺产的念头。但实际上臀围与顺产的关系并不是表面看起来那样简单,如果女性拥有正常的盆骨形态是可以顺产的,而因脂肪堆积而成的大臀则与生产能力无关。     

关于苏打水的那些“传说”

小编的话时下,应酬就餐时喝苏打水仿佛成为了一种健康时尚。伴随着苏打水销售的升温,它头上的光环也日益闪亮,其种种特殊功效也在社会上流传开来。能治疗痛风、养胃,还能防便秘、美容等功效。那么苏打水的功效究竟是真是假?还有人说苏打水的功效是酸碱中     

处女膜的传说靠谱吗

处女膜,这层膜常常被某些男人当成道德的判断标准。然而性学专家表示,处女膜并不是一层膜,也不是很薄,处女膜孔可以通过一个食指,在有性生活、插入异物、牵拉等情况下均有可能弄破处女膜。所以,单纯以处女膜来评判是否是处女,其结果往往不准确。它在哪儿,长啥样?实际上,处女膜并不是字面意义上所谓的一层膜,它是位于女性阴道口、环绕阴道口的一层薄膜状组织。中山大学附属第     

传说中444岁的老寿星“菜篮公”

几百年来,在福建省永泰县一直流传着一个神奇的故事——梧桐汤埕(原名汤泉乡)人陈俊活了444岁。《清乾隆永泰县志》第八卷(人物)中赫然记载:耆寿陈俊,字克明,汤泉人,生于唐僖宗中和辛丑年(公元881年),历五代及宋,至元泰定甲子年(公元1324年)而殁,历年四百四十四岁。子孙无有存者,皆乡人轮流供养。遗骨     

“三笑石”的传说与养生益寿

春光明媚,我和友人兴致勃勃地游览了驰名中外、全国十大名山之首的东岳泰山。我们既为泰山的雄伟巍峨、气势磅礴所陶醉,又为泰山的诸多美丽传说而神往。这些美丽的传说,富含人生哲理,使人深受启迪。“三笑石”的传说即是精彩的一例。     

酸碱食物的传说与真相

“碱性食物改变酸性体质”“酸性食物不能多吃”是流传甚广的传说。许多医学专业人士科普说“酸碱体质完全是个伪科学概念”,而又有营养界人士说“食物代谢之后确实形成酸性或者碱性产物,所以食物酸碱性的概念是存在的”。于是人们一头雾水：食物到底有没有“酸碱性”,如果有的话,对健康又有什么样的影响呢？     

长期失眠与性生活不足有关

案例:丈夫晚上常失眠,这让阿美很烦恼。一天,阿美巧遇在医院做大夫的同学,向她咨询起丈夫失眠的毛病。老同学直言不讳地问阿美:你能掌握你丈夫的‘性’情绪吗?你确定他的失眠跟你们的性生活无关吗?短短几句话让阿美陷入了沉思。     

那些与幸福有关的小事

对自己说,不要去爱一个完美的人,而是去爱那个不完美的人,然后慢慢让对方感觉到完美,这样才会幸福。——爱情的幸福法则终于找了一个拼命想为他减肥的男人,而他却总是拍拍我的头说,多吃一点,太瘦了不好看。     

与睡眠有关的那些事儿

宁静的夜晚，窗口送来阵阵凉风，人们躺在舒服的床上慵懒地睡去。而在这个万籁俱寂的时刻，身体的一部分“组织”还在紧张地工作着，关于睡眠的趣闻正是由此产生。     

Environmental study of poultry confinement buildings

Environmental measurements were made in three poultry confinement buildings in order to characterize gas and particulate contaminants. Levels of total and respirable dust averaged 4.4 and 0.24 mg/m3, respectively. Particle size distribution as measured by cascade impactors was similar in the three confinement houses with a mass median aerodynamic diameter of about 15 microns and a geometric standard deviation of about 2.2. Ammonia levels measured in the active areas of the buildings averaged about 25 ppm. Ammonia concentration was quite high, however, in an unused and unventilated portion of one of the buildings (mean = 170 ppm). CO2 levels ranged from 0.05-0.1%. Levels of CO, H2S, NO2, NOx, CH4, mercaptan, formaldehyde, and hydrocarbons were all below the limit of detection for indicator tubes. Concentrations of airborne bacteria and fungi were on average about 1.5 X 10(5) and 1.0 X 10(4) colony-forming units/m3, respectively. Endotoxin analysis was also performed on the total and respirable dust samples. Endotoxin levels (expressed in air concentration) ranged from 0.77 to 61 ng/m3 for total dust and from 0.71 to 15 ng/m3 for respirable dust. Endotoxin was also measured on the collection media from the individual impactor stages. Endotoxin was detected in all size ranges with the highest concentration of endotoxin per unit of dust found in the smallest (less than approximately 3.5 microns) size fraction. The endotoxin levels tend to be lower than those previously reported in poultry operations.     

Vertical migration of radionuclides in the vicinity of the chernobyl confinement shelter

Studies of vertical migration of Chernobyl-origin radionuclides in the 5-km zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) in the area of the Red Forest experimental site were completed. Measurements were made by gamma spectrometric methods using high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors with beryllium windows. Alpha-emitting isotopes of plutonium were determined by the measurement of the x-rays from their uranium progeny. The presence of 60Co, 134,137Cs, 154,155Eu, and 241Am in all soil layers down to a depth of 30 cm was observed. The presence of 137Cs and 241Am was noted in the area containing automorphous soils to a depth of 60 cm. In addition, the upper soil layers at the test site were found to contain 243Am and 243?m. Over the past 10 years, the 241Am/137Cs ratio in soil at the experimental site has increased by a factor of 3.4, nearly twice as much as would be predicted based solely on radioactive decay. This may be due to "fresh" fallout emanating from the ChNPP Confinement Shelter.     

Elevation of blood lead concentration by confinement in the rhesus monkey

Summary Rhesus monkeys were exposed to lead (Pb) acetate under various regimens during the first 12 months of life. At 30 months of age, these animals and unexposed controls were confined to an unfamiliar experimental chamber for one week. Serum cortisol concentration and Pb concentration in whole blood (PbB) were measured prior to, during, and after this confinement. Cortisol concentrations rose 60–90% within 2 hours of confinement, and declined to baseline levels after 98 hours of confinement. Mean baseline PbB levels reflected the state of clearance of the previously-ingested lead, rose 25–35% within 2 hours of confinement, and reached mean maximum levels as much as 100% above baseline after 98 hours of confinement. The data are discussed in terms of hormonal mobilization of Pb stored in bone, and subgest (1) that this storage is multicompartmental, (2) that more than one process is probably involved in its mobilization, (3) that cortisol probably does not directly affect PbB levels, and (4) that stress should be considered a potential factor in determining the PbB in studies of Pb metabolism.     

Respiratory health of workers exposed to swine confinement buildings only or to both swine confinement buildings and dairy barns

Swine building workers (N = 488) and nonfarming neighborhood referents (N = 216) were enrolled in this study. There was a slight but significant increase in the prevalence of chronic bronchitis (17.49 versus 11.57%) and more evidence of airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity 0.75 versus 0.78) among the swine workers when they were compared with the referents. The subjects who spent more than 3 h/d in the swine buildings had a higher prevalence of chronic bronchitis (21.94 versus 13.25%) and airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity 0.75 versus 0.76) than those with shorter daily contact. Swine building only workers had no precipitins to antigens found in their environment and no clinical evidence of extrinsic allergic alveolitis. The number of years on the farm, dual exposure with dairy cattle, positive skin prick tests, type of piggery, and type of feeding did not add to the respiratory health impact of swine buildings.     

Bacterial plume emanating from the air surrounding swine confinement operations

The objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of bacteria in the air plume immediately upwind at 25 m and downwind at locations 25 m, 50 m, 100 m, and 150 m from a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). It was hypothesized that this would give insight into determining the maximal distance that bacterial organisms release from a CAFO could travel, which would be important in determining the optimal siting distance for future CAFO in relation to high population areas. The Andersen two-stage sampler was used to collect all of the bacterial samples from the animal confinement facilities. The data show a marked increase in bacterial CFUs/m3 inside the facility (18,132 CFU/m3 average) versus upwind (63 CFU/m3 average) anda steady down wind decrease out to approximately 150 m. Staphylococcus aureus was found to account for 76% of the organisms recovered. We conclude that the optimal placement of a swine CAFO would be at least 200 m from a residential area.     

Characterization of dusts collected from swine confinement buildings

As part of a project to evaluate health hazards for workers in swine confinement buildings, the air in 21 different buildings was sampled with 37 mm cassette filters with and without cyclone preselectors and with cascade impactors. Filter results yielded a mean total aerosol of 6.3 mg/m3, a mean respirable aerosol of 0.5 mg/m3; the geometric mean diameter was 2.9 microns. Cascade impactor measurements revealed a mean total aerosol of 7.6 mg/m3, a respirable aerosol of 2.5 mg/m3 and a mass median diameter of 9.6 microns. The two major constituents in these aerosols were grain particles and dried fecal matter. The grain particles were larger than fecal particles and proportionately more abundant in finishing buildings where 50 kg X 100 kg animals are housed. Therefore the respirable fraction was less in finishing buildings than in farrowing and nursery buildings. Culturing of settled dusts yielded six different mold species, with the highest counts for Verticillium sp. (5 X 10(2) cfu/mg dry dust) grown at 37 degrees C. Thermophilic Actinomycetes and both gram negative and gram positive bacteria were isolated. Azocasein proteinase activity was found in most dust samples analyzed. This dust had a protein content of about 23% and a mean adsorbed ammonia content of 0.4%.