Friday, November 10, 2006
In an internet-based study published today on the website of the British Medical Journal, Australian investigators tested how well Googling could help to establish a difficult diagnosis. The search results met against their criteria in 15 out of 26 cases.
Previous anecdotes of the use of Google in reaching a difficult diagnosis are presented in the paper. In a case described in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), a physician diagnosed IPEX syndrome after submitting the typical diagnostic clues to the search engine. A patient’s father replied to doctor’s saying that his son had acute subclavian vein thrombosis of unknown origin: “But of course hehas Paget-von Schrötter syndrome.”
Hangwi Tang and Jennifer Hwee Kwoon Ng from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane selected clinical cases from the NEJM blind to the correct diagnosis. They selected 3 to 5 rather specific features, searched Google, and selected the 3 disorders from the results that seemed to fit the case best. If one of those was right, Google was said to be “right”.
The scientists admit that an internet search probably works better with specific symptoms rather than with phrases such as “fever ill pain”. Also, the percentage may depend on the operating physician’s knowledge base, and the test was not double-blind.
Experts commented that the internet is not a replacement for doctors, but should be seen as a way of supporting doctors and patients. A spokeswoman for the Patient Association added that “a lot of sites are not credible. There are lots of good sites out there, but we also know that there are many that are not credible.”
By Adriana Noton
Accessories for model scale cars are fun to look at on the Internet if you know little about the hobby of collecting these precisely miniaturized replicas, because it gives you a glimpse into what is actually another world, populated by tiny metal and plastic people, their cars, and their support systems. Life size people obviously great great pleasure out of setting up this mini world.
Scale models are called that because they are ‘made to scale’; in other words, they are as precise in measurement as the original car, tool, or person they ‘model’, or represent in miniature. This is the real fascination of these small images. They look just like the original, can operate just like it if you care enough to build them that way, and can be customized or repaired with parts that actually fit.
There are really great accessories for collections of scaled down cars. To begin with, there are display platforms that simply hold the car, or that can rotate it so you can show off all sides, or that can mirror it with or without the rotation. Glass or clear plastic cases can protect a single car or a collection from dirt, dust, and fingerprints. Display shelves can turn a collection into wall decor, and keep them out of reach while still open to admiration.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uri-SJ1y_gM[/youtube]
A showcase can also be a diorama, and they are really neat. There are roadside stands just waiting for you to park your ’50s Chevy out front, or garages with mechanics ready to help, or rustic two-car garages with room for two antique vehicles to back in. There are also plain white buildings you can detail yourself, as anything you think will complement your collection. Body shops, diners, country scenes, and urban environments are all waiting for you to order complete or custom design.
The accessories for the accessories are amazing. You can take a stock scale model and turn it into a customized hot rod, with a Hemi engine and monster tires. The entire process can be detailed, with mini engine lifts, spare batteries, teeny tiny socket sets, ramps, jacks, battery powered lifts, air tanks, tire irons, and more. Really, just picture a real shop, vintage or up to date, and equip your site just the same.
Then there are the people who can do the work, if your imagination is not enough to shrink you down to size. Figurines of mechanics (with name tags and in various postures from kneeling to loosen tire nuts to recumbent to fit the slider), the boss complete with coffee cup and clipboard, onlookers, sheriffs, policeman, families, carhops, farmers, rockers and mods, and others can populate the scenes.
Fun things like vintage gas pumps, Snap-on tools, welding equipment, yard tools (wheelbarrows, shovels, ladders, paint cans), orange road cones, car trailers, Airstream camper pull-behinds, car show trophies – the variety is amazing. You can see why this collecting business can become absorbing. An online search can keep you browsing for hours.
This has not even mentioned the whole arena of slot cars. Here’s where the rubber really meets the road, since the craze for speed leads to customizing both the power base and the race-cars. Newsletters and pdf files tell all about changing stock tires for real racing treads; revving up the engines for competition; changing the suspension or the drive train, the axles or the hubs, the nuts or the bolts! You can put disc brakes in the cars, stops on the track, install bridge timer scorers to judge race results, work from a hand controller or a control tower, get farther away with extension cords, and repair the damage to anything after a spectacular crash.
Trust me. If you have not searched accessories for model scale cars, try it. It’s better than TV.
About the Author: Looking to collect that Diecast Model Car that you’re missing form your extensive collection? Then visit your local antique car specialists for the highest quality and highest variety Diecast Models Cars!
Source: isnare.com
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