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Category Archives: Transhuman News

How To Stay Famous After You Die. AI Scientists Have An Answer – Forbes

Posted: June 28, 2021 at 10:06 pm

Michael Jackson's casket is brought out during public memorial service held at Staples Center on ... [+] July 7, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Jackson, 50, the iconic pop star, died at UCLA Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest at his rented home on June 25 in Los Angeles, California. AFP PHOTO/ Kevork Djansezian / POOL (Photo credit should read KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AFP via Getty Images)

If you are a young public figure, and will die an unnatural death, then I have good news for you! You will most likely be remembered for a long time after you die. Conversely, if you are older, are not a public figure, and will die of a natural cause, then the odds that you will be forgotten over time are strong.

Remembering those who have passed on from this life has been an important theme throughout human history. Our ancestors used to remember those who died by sharing their memories with the next generation in the form of stories and ballads. They would sit around a fire and exchange memories and hope they would be passed through generations after them. Later when the printing press was invented, humans began to store, collect and spread information on a massive scale. The printing press made it easier to collect and preserve memories of the deceased because it is easier to store written pieces of information. Today, the developments in communication technologies such as the internet have changed how we create, store and retain memories. The internet also allows us to analyze memory through large-scale data in a quantitative framework.

Being remembered after death has been such an important concern throughout history that civilizations such as the Romans considered damnatio memoriae, or being erased from the publics memory, as one of the severest punishments imaginable. At some point, many of us might have wondered how we will be remembered after passing on from this life too.

The h-index, the number of research papers with the same number of citations is one of the common ways to evaluate academic performance. It is a very important number in academia. The mean and median Hindex for all peer reviewed papers at the time of promotion to Professor in the JHU School of Medicineis 25 and 23 respectively. In computer science and math, scientists do not cite each other as often as in biomedicine and there are very few young computer scientists with the H-index of 100. So it is natural to follow them on Google Scholar and learn about their research. One of the scholars I follow is Jure Leskovec (h-index = 117) the co-author of the famous node2vec and an authority on graph neural networks (GNNs).

So imagine my surprise, when I saw the paper by Robert West, Jure Leskovec, and Christopher Potts titled Post-mortem memory of public figures in news and social media in my Scholar feed. I dont know any of the authors personally but based on their work, they are extremely credible, and productive. In this paper the authors identified trends and analyzed how people are remembered in news and social media one year before and after death. It technically answers a question how long will your name last in peoples memory after you die. We know what you needed to do in ancient Greece to make it last (hello, Achilles!) but what about today? So, if you ever wondered how you can stay famous after you die, then this paper is for you!

Robert is an assistant professor in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne where he also leads the data science lab. Jure is an associate professor of computer science at Stanford University. He is also an investigator at nonprofit research organization Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Meanwhile, Christopher is professor and chair of the linguistics department at Stanford University.

Despite their varying backgrounds, the trio have a few things in common: they are experts in the field of artificial intelligence and data analytics.

In this short but fascinating paper, the three scientists tracked mentions of 2,362 public figures in English-language online news and social media (Twitter) one year before and after death. The tracked people died between 2009 and 2014. They then looked at the spike and decay of attention after death and modeled the two as the interplay of communicative memory, which is sustained by the oral transmission of information and cultural memory, which is sustained by the physical recording of information.

In order to track mentions, they combined the Freebase knowledge base with online news and social media compiled through Spinn3r, an online media aggregation service that tracks mentions from a complete set of all 6,608 English-language web domains indexed by Google News as well as media posts from Twitter. For each of the 2,362 people, the scientists tracked the frequency with which they were remembered in the two medias on a daily basis during the year before and the year after death. This allowed them to quantify the spikes and decay of attention that follow the death of public figures.

The analysis of mention frequencies revealed that for most public figures, a sharp increase of media attention followed immediately after death, whereby mention frequency increased by 9,400% in the news and by 28,000% on Twitter in the median. The average mention frequency then declined around one month after death and eventually decayed slowly to the pre-mortem level. These two stages are consistent with the two components of collective memory: communicative memory, which dominates early on and decays quickly, and cultural memory, which dominates starting around two weeks after death and decays slowly.

Based on the study, the researchers concluded that artists remain more present in the collective memory because they tend to leave a legacy that can long survive them, whereas leaders, athletes, etc who are noteworthy for the actions they take during their lifetime, are of decreased interest once they cannot replicate their actions anymore. This is most pronounced for leaders. Artists also stand out with respect to cultural memory, while no notability type stands out with respect to communicative memory. Ceteris paribus, an unnatural death, also increased the rank with respect to the short-term mention. The effect of age at death also was significant. For instance, on Twitter, the post-mortem boost was monotonically and negatively associated with age at death. Likewise, the increased short-term boost associated with unnatural deaths was more pronounced in the news than on Twitter.

Separately, the study also revealed that Twitter users pay less attention when an old public figure or leader died. Deaths of these poor souls were boosted more by the news both in the short and long-term. Additionally, the researchers noted that future studies may also add language, tone and attitude towards public figures one year before and after death to see if the study would come to a different conclusion.

To conclude, the researchers found that the largest post-mortem boost in English-language media attention can be described as an anglophone of any gender who was already well-known before death and died a young and unnatural death. So, try and get famous before you die if you want to be remembered for a long time!

And if you are interested in ways to avoid dying prematurely and gaining some time to become famous, consider finding more ways to live longer and attending the 8th Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference organized by University of Copenhagen and Columbia University. I am sure that one way to become famous in late life is to set a longevity record, currently held by Jeanne Calment (122.5).

aging process, young woman become old

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HHS report says nursing home deaths rose by 32 percent due to COVID-19 | TheHill – The Hill

Posted: at 10:06 pm

A new report underscores the devastating toll COVID-19 took on nursing home residents, outlining an overall increase in the mortality rate of nursing home residents by 32 percent in 2020 compared to year-over-year data.

Released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the report looks at 2020 data on the number of nursing home residents and Medicare beneficiaries who were either diagnosed with or likely had COVID-19, as well as those who died from causes related to the virus.

The results indicate that the overall mortality rate rose by 32 percent, and numerical death statistics showed that in April 2020 alone, as the pandemic peaked in the U.S., 81,484 Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes died.

This amounts to a 1,000-person increase in fatalities per day compared with April 2019 rates.

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Among those in nursing homes and on Medicare who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020, 51 percent were Black, compared to 41 percent who were white.

Hispanic and Asian residents also experienced a higher chance of testing positive for the virus than their white counterparts. This coincides with national data noting Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are more likely to suffer severe illnesses related to COVID-19, part of longstanding racist disparities in access to health care.

The authors noted that this data can help illustrate how to handle future outbreaks among nursing home residents and staff to better prevent high mortality rates.

We knew this was going to be bad, but I dont think even those of us who work in this area thought it was going to be this bad, David Grabowski, a Harvard health policy professor, told The Associated Press.

One of the first COVID-19 outbreaks to occur on U.S. soil was at the Kirkland Nursing Home outside of Seattle, Washington. There 35 people, workers and residents, died from COVID-19, and roughly 66 percent tested positive for the virus.

Inspector General Nancy Harrison, who helped author the report, said that the country needs to learn from the disproportionate impact COVID-19 had on nursing homes.

Hopefully, COVID will go away, she said to AP reporters. But once that happens, there will always be infectious diseases, and we all need to ask ourselves what we can do to protect vulnerable nursing home residents going forward.

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How the performing arts discovered a new channel during the pandemic – TRT World

Posted: at 10:06 pm

Covid-19 has reshaped the way actors express themselves and the way audiences experience and receive live performances.

What was thought to go away in a couple weeks, in the months of March and April 2020, an unheard of virus completely disrupted every rehearsal room and live show, which in turn grounded every performer and entertainment company to an unexpected halt.

After the blow of it all, creatives slowly found themselves gravitating towards technology to connect with their audiences, which unexpectedly came through for them in unique, and quite positive and enriching ways.

Whether it was to simply keep human contact alive, read plays together, brainstorm ideas (and once those ideas were sourced and deliberated on, they were executed and presented on the very same platform) for their audiences, family and friends, albeit predominantly from home due to restrictions and national lockdowns globally.

Over a year later, we now see theatres, creatives and performers slowly planning an in-person return this summer and autumn, with social distancing measures in place.

Last week, I was invited to see a first rehearsed reading on stage at Londons Almeida Theatre in Islington, and it was the most exhilarating experience, to say the least. To be in the room again and to take it all in as well as observe others take it all in, was certainly like a recalibrated, cleansed palate experiencing taste for the first time again.

An even more crucial point in the evening was the post-show discussion with the panel of artists and the socially-distanced audience questioning and discussing our humanity, and what the play meant to everyone individually. There were moments and minutes when the entire room just sat in silence taking in what was said. You could sense the unease of certain topics and subject matters, the shuffling of discomfort, as well as some feeling the relief and ease to express how they were digesting what they just had witnessed on stage.

When talking to audiences who have seen shows online this past year, some of the feedback of the digital experience included comments like, "It somehow lacked the eeriness of being in the physical presence of the art for me!".

Others shared, "I felt disconnected at moments because ultimately the screen reminded me it was a virtual experience and I wasn't in the room with the others to feel the tangible things you feel when you're in the room. But I must say in the stage productions that were filmed specifically for online viewers, the camera made me feel welcomed and in the room".

What we now know is that the uncertainty of the past year has changed the way creatives, performers and performance companies approach their craft. What is even more striking is the change in the way we all have had to relate to our audiences.

Take my very first performance of this year in January,Borders and Crossings, written by Nigerian playwright Inua Ellams and directed by Bijan Sheibani for Under The Radar Festival. Produced by the Public Theater New York and the UKs Fuel Theatre, it was technically brought to you through my laptop, the hand delivered ring light, studio and mic setup, in my shared sitting space within my small London flat in the midst of a harsh winter. We were given the freedom to choose our wardrobe and do our own hair and makeup, which was a fun experience in itself, given I got to dress my own character, for once.

My fellow actor, Sope Dirisu, in the Borders and Crossings performance was also in his flat on the other side of London; and yet the audiences around the globe experienced our unique rapport and story-telling, making them feel like they were right there, in the same room with us, sat right next to each other escaping from Eritrea by foot and then managing to get on a lorry through the Sudan desert to Libya, followed by another journey on a boat to Lampedusa, Italy.

If you saw the performance, you would have seen that our characters made new friends on their journey for a better life, friends from Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Syria. They also sadly lost some friends to the sea or as they called it, the blue desert.

Every night, after every performance, we held a live Q&A with audiences that hailed to be tuning in from New York, Medellin, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Asmara, Lagos, Beirut, Dubai, Hanoi, Istanbul, Berlin, Madrid, among many more cities worldwide with such emotionally filled reactions, responses and feedback.

Who would have thought a performer can reach an audience from their home, in fact every continent? Is this what a digital platform can provide for the experience of the performance arts? No one had to book a flight and come to the US to watch our show, they only needed access to the internet with a free Zoom account to connect to the live-stream. How did that feel for the audience member, in place of an in-person attendance?

The overall sentiment appeared to be one of gratitude. Audience members were grateful for access but agreed it did not replace the visceral experience of a live performance.

What about the actor? The creative? The performer? What does it feel like not having their audience there with them in-person? Experiencing and feeling their energy, tics, and reactions?

After speaking with many fellow performers, writers, directors, and producers around the world, it appears that they agree the physical presence of a live show cannot be replaced. Yet it still has somehow provided a sharing of stories as well as a way of continued living with purpose, and making ends meet.

Many artists shared the curiosity of simply wanting to know to what extent new ways of performing will remain - for both performers and audiences - after the pandemic.

What enhanced it even more was artists continuously inspiring and supporting each other.

One wonderful artist I met (just after the second national lockdown was easing up again) was international award-winning, South African rising star Kgole Giggs. His poetic pieces of art really showed me the essence of the adversities we face right now around the world.

The world slowing down has allowed me to reflect more on where I come from in order to understand more where I would love to see myself and work this coming decade, he said.

Our serendipitous meeting happened thanks to Signature African Art gallery, which was exhibiting his work at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and we are now in the works of putting an original collaboration together towards the end of the year.

One thing artistic directors and producers shared with me is that now a lot of time is saved not having to fly artists in, which additionally meant there were less scheduling conflicts. Many producers I spoke to really like the idea of now being able to extend access to everyone that may not be able to attend a show in-person and can then watch it online and also pay less for a ticket.

Technology is certainly here to stay and evolve. As a result of the global restrictions over the past year, there has been a push to think outside the box and try new things. However, does this new channel have longevity in the years to come?

These new forms of live shows and performances the pandemic has given birth to has allowed audiences to continue to engage with performers; however the majority agree if you can be in the room, go! The adrenaline, anticipation, affection, the community and engagement we all receive from being together in-flesh appears to be irreplaceable.

Either way, what is a performer without its audience? And is not the audience non-existent without the performer?

Hope is perhaps the ultimate resource of what keeps us all going during these strange times.

I leave you with Joy Williams beautiful words expressing the worlds never ending hunger for the performing arts:

Hungry, I come to you

For I know You satisfy

I am empty but I know

Your love does not run dry

So I wait for You

So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees

Offering all of me

You're all this heart

Is living for

Broken, I run to You

For Your arms are open wide

I am weary but I know

Your touch restores my life.

Source: TRT World

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50 years of Greenpeace: Q&A with Rex Weyler – Greenpeace International

Posted: at 10:06 pm

With Greenpeaces 50th anniversary on the horizon, I was asked to host a series of virtual mailbag calls connecting activists across generations and regions. The outpouring of interest and questions from those at Greenpeace today was moving.

While I could not address all the great questions and comments in one article or one call, here is the first batch. These are my thoughts and ideas. Someone else might have different ideas. I make no claim to arriving at complete and definitive answers to these questions.

I was fortunate as a young child to live in natural settings, with rivers, forests, hills, and ocean to explore. However, as a child, I didnt know how vulnerable all this was. Later, I witnessed pristine natural settings obliterated for shopping malls, highways, and parking lots. Rachel Carsons Silent Spring taught me more about the crisis, and in 1969 when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught on fire from pollution, I realized the urgency of the crisis. From Gregory Bateson, Arne Naess, the Taoist writers, and my Indigenous friends, I began to learn a deeper respect for how to think and live the way nature works. I recently wrote about this for Greenpeace.

Sort of. In the 1970s, we set out to create a global ecology movement, which did not exist at the time, and we expected that the movement would expand around the world. In the beginning, I think most of us were more interested in a global movement than in a global organization. We wanted people to rise up everywhere and defend biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems. Friends of the Earth and other organizations arose at the same time. As Greenpeace offices sprang up all over the world, to maintain clear communications about our work, we had to create a global structure, and thus we created Greenpeace International in Amsterdam in 1979. The movement is strong enough now, that it will continue with or without any single organization. Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion are examples of how the movement evolves. This is more or less what I hoped would happen.

There are many fond memories, and most are linked to the camaraderie of working with people to achieve something larger, more important than ourselves: Sailing on the fish boat in 1975, at night under the stars as if adrift in the universe, playing music, learning maritime skills, the day we found the whalers, the shared euphoria, the shared heartbreak at witnessing the slaughter, the shared satisfaction when our pictures and story circled the globe, and the feeling that we had achieved something significant.

I felt most at risk the first time we actually maneuvered our Zodiacs between the whales and the whalers in 1975. During the previous two years of organizing this campaign, and two months at sea looking for the whaling fleets, I had not thought about the consequences of what we planned. However, once I stood in the bow of the Zodiac, with the whales in front of us and a harpoon boat behind, it occurred to me that if we were hit by one of these 200-pound exploding harpoons, we would be instantly killed. I suddenly felt a chilling tremor of fear, but with no alternative but to stay in place. That remains the most frightening moment of my Greenpeace experience.

I would advise my younger self to pay more attention to the relationships, internal and external, to be more aware of others motivations and intentions. I believe I was sometimes naive and perhaps too tolerant of big egos. I would also advise more modesty in the face of the challenge we set for ourselves. Confidence is helpful, but overconfidence is not. I was unaware of how easily our stated values and visions for an ecological society could be misunderstood and even subverted. I would also advise more boldness and less compromise in certain cases. We often made compromises to appease other factions in society and in the environmental movement. Sometimes those compromises might have been helpful, but in some cases, we may have allowed our message to be blunted.

The 1970s whale campaign was probably the most successful because it achieved two significant goals: It led to the 1982 whaling moratorium and many populations of whales began to recover. We also had the intention that this campaign would help launch an ecology movement, which it did.

One of my favorite campaign actions, however, was our test blockade of a supertanker. In 1981, as we were working in our Vancouver office, Rod Marining read in the newspaper that in three days, an oil tanker was going to enter the Salish Sea between Seattle and Vancouver, loaded with water, as a test to demonstrate how easily an oil tanker could maneuver in these inside waters, promoting an oil port. We were discussing what we might do when our office manager Julie McMaster said casually, You should do a test blockade.

This made us laugh, and we thought: This is perfect! We promptly announced to the media that we were going to do a test blockade of the oil tanker test run. We knew we were onto something when the reporters laughed. We phoned our friend Dennis Feroce, who agreed to pilot his boat, The Meander, to take us to the entrance of Juan de Fuca Strait, where the tanker would have to enter. Three days later, we sat ready in the water with our Zodiacs and a small flotilla of sailboats, as television camera crews flew overhead in helicopters. We stopped the tanker dead in the water, film and photographs went all over the US and Canada, and we got arrested by the US coast guard and taken to jail in Everett, north of Seattle. The media followed us, as we told the police that it was just a test. We made jokes about testing the handcuffs, testing the jail, and the police also laughed. Everyone was on our side. When an officer brought us our meal (fast food burgers), she dropped the bag on the table in the cell and said test this. The entire campaign was hilarious, and the oil port never got built. This is one of my favorite campaigns because we pulled it off in three days, everyone had fun, and the idea came not from a seasoned activist or a campaign committee, but from our unassuming office manager, Julie.

To shift the needle in social action, one has to be creative and do something that is not expected. When environmental groups do what everyone expects them to do, nothing changes. For example, regarding global warming, I would suggest dont do the predictable thing and go to the next climate conference. Flip the script. Boycott the climate conference. Explain why: Because the next conference in Glasgow in October will be the 34th international climate conference since the first one in 1979, and these conferences have achieved nothing significant.

Thirty-four climate conferences in 42 years, and during that time human carbon emissions have doubled. Atmospheric CO2 levels have gone from 337 parts per million (ppm) to 420 ppm; the oceans are choked with acidification, the coral beds are dying, forests are burning, and the worlds politicians are burning jet fuel to twiddle their thumbs at these climate meetings. I would suggest: Stop validating this nonsense. Boycott. Organize the ecology groups to boycott together, and state the reasons. Hold your own separate meetings regionally and on the internet. Denounce the phoney and hollow promises by governments. Go instead to every major seaside city on Earth and paint the future waterline on buildings to depict sea rise after the Antarctic and Greenland ice melts. Give people a new picture, not the failing routine.

The great social movements of history that have actually changed things have been able to find a way to do the unexpected, to blow up the prevailing paradigm, to make people think in new ways.

The pandemic is linked to human overshoot, our occupation of wild habitats, our destruction of biodiversity, our growth and consumption beyond the capacity and limits of the global ecosystems. So, yes, the conditions for the swift transmission of this pandemic are created by human activity. However, nature does not really fight back. Evolution does not appear to have goals or preferences, and does not hold grudges. Nevertheless, pandemics will likely continue to be one consequence of neglecting our ecological crisis.

I dont assume that Greenpeace can or should do everything that needs to be done. I know from experience that people project onto Greenpeace the responsibility for every environmental urgency, an impossible expectation for a single organization. Thus, I think of this question more as What do I wish the environmental movement would do that it isnt doing?

I wish the ecology/environmental movement was more realistic about our real, fundamental crisis: Ecological overshoot and the conditions that create it, namely: unfettered growth. Overshoot is natural. Most successful species overshoot their habitats, a pack of wolves will overshoot the capacity of a watershed, algae will overshoot the capacity of a lake, and we can see in our own gardens how everything grows into its neighbours, tangling and pushing the limits of space and resources. Natural evolution teaches all species how to grow, reproduce, and consume, but evolution does not teach species when to stop, when to restrain itself.

I wish the ecology movement would more directly address the fact that humanity has overshot Earths capacity. Calculated estimates range from about 50% overshoot (Footprint Network) to 100% or more. The significant point is that all pathways out of overshoot for any species anywhere, no exceptions involve contraction: The wolves die back until their game recovers; the algae die back to the limit of available nutrients; plants push back on each other until they reach a new dynamic homeostasis. We make a mistake if we behave as if humanity does not have to also get smaller in numbers and consumption, the two issues we tend to avoid. Government, industry, and even some environmental groups focus on new technologies and a presumed green growth, avoiding the inevitable contraction of human economic activity, numbers, and consumption.

Addressing the frivolous, wasteful consumption of the rich is a good place to start, but not the full story. To actually reverse overshoot, we also need to address the global economic system of capitalism, which requires unrealistic, endless growth; we need to address equitable ways to reverse human population growth (womens rights and accessible contraception); and we need to be realistic about what is required to clean up our technologies. I would like to see the environmental movement be more active and serious about all three of these necessary steps to reversing overshoot.

There is a huge difference between a movement and an organization. The movements for peace, civil rights, womens rights, and others have survived for centuries because they have a robust constituency and clear goals that have not yet been fully achieved. Similarly, the ecology movement will likely endure long into the future.

Organizations, on the other hand, can come and go. Social organizations gain support and prominence because they address an issue that people care about and they appear effective. I say appear because an organization may endure, through reputation and self-promotion, even if it becomes less effective than its supporters believe. For an effective social organization to endure, however, requires a constituency that believes the organization plays an essential role, that the leadership has integrity, and that it can achieve genuine change.

Typically, successful organizations arise because some group of people have a creative idea about how to address a problem about which the public is generally aware. Creativity is essential in the birth and growth of an organization. However, as an organization grows and becomes more structured, it is possible that creativity is stifled rather than encouraged. Maintaining creativity is a key quality of successful organizations. By definition, there is no formula for creativity. Rather than attempt to formalize creativity, successful organizations learn to create the conditions for creativity, to overcome bureaucratic roles, and allow new ideas to flourish at every level of the organization.

This is a popular question these days, I believe because so many of us feel the concern about humanitys future. We meet discouraging obstacles, resistance, subversion, and indifference, so we naturally seek hopefulness. Hope is a good frame of mind, because it opens paths to action, but hope is not a strategy. To solve problems, one must deeply understand the problem, the conditions, and appreciate the larger systems and forces at work. Delusional hope is definitely not helpful.

Humanity exists now in a tremendous bind. The powerful and wealthy have plundered the Earth to enrich a few, while billions live on the edge of starvation. Meanwhile, species diversity plummets, the atmosphere fills with carbon-dioxide, the oceans turn acidic and are choked with plastic, and we face myriad ecological tragedies. I do not find hope in political conferences, governments, corporations, nor in appeals to the general good of humanity. In my experience, most people are decent and fair, but greed, fear, and ignorance can create chaos and harm.

I find hope in nature itself, in the wild world, in the power of life to create new conditions, in the shared learning and co-evolution of all nature. This is where, I believe, humanity has to turn. We are not solving our problems with conferences, technologies, space travel, or economic growth. These delusions create more problems. I believe we have to rejoin the ecological community. We have to become apprentices to nature and learn how the natural world actually endures and survives as a living system. I believe we have to shed our human pride and re-align ourselves with all our relatives, with the systems and processes of the entire natural Earth. Im with the Taoists and certain Indigenous teachers on this: We have to learn to respect our Mother Earth, the source of all life.

Nothing survives alone. We only survive in relationship with the living matrix. That is where I look for hope.

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Weeping Eczema: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and Prevention – Greatist

Posted: at 10:00 pm

Eczema is itchy plain and simple. Your skin dries out, and it might even crack, flake, scale, or do any number of irritating and uncomfortable things. Plus, if you keep scratching it and dont seek treatment, you could make it weep. Ugh.

Weeping doesnt mean your skin will react like it just watched The Notebook. Cracked, open skin can play host to infections that can make your skin blister, ooze, and crust. Welcome to weeping eczema. Your day just got a whole lot more painful and unsightly. Great.

Before you and your eczema start crying together, read on to get the 411 on all things weeping eczema.

Weeping eczema appears on the infected areas as inflamed, red or purple sores and blisters that ooze and weep pus. When the pus dries, it leaves behind a yellow crusty layer on your skin. So, no. Not your average Disney sh*t.

Weeping eczema may exhibit some or all of the following symptoms:

Weeping eczema can develop on any part of your body that shows the signs of eczema. It may be super severe or bothersome when it shows up on more sensitive areas like your face, hands, or feet. Because ow.

Heres a pic of weeping eczema to show you how it can look and help you spot it in your own life.

Occasionally, eczema becomes so severe that it cracks. In other instances, it may be so itchy that you scratch or rub it until it breaks or becomes an open wound.

This creates the potential for bacteria and infection to enter. People with eczema face an increased risk of bacterial and viral infections.

Staphylococcus aureus (staph to its friends) is a type of bacteria that causes infections in eczema-affected skin. Its the most common culprit for weeping eczema. Staph spreads quickly, so when your skin barrier breaks and becomes vulnerable, staph quickly infiltrates and infects. Thanks, staph, you asshole.

About 90 percent of those with eczema who then experience weeping eczema have staph to blame.

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) is a viral infection that often finds its way into open breaks on eczema-affected skin. HSV1 is the same virus that causes cold sores.

When it infects eczema, it takes on the name eczema herpeticum, which sounds more like a Harry Potter spell than it should, given how nasty it is. Without treatment, the virus can cause severe complications like meningitis, encephalitis, or sepsis.

Other prominent infectious causes of weeping eczema include variants of hand, foot, and mouth disease and poxviruses.

Infecto patronum!

Treatment for weeping eczema depends on the type of infectious agent thats penetrated your skin.

Your doc will likely perform a culture test to examine the ooze for the type of bacteria, virus, or fungus. Theyll then perform a physical examination or maybe a biopsy to determine whats cracking or weeping, more accurately. Based on the diagnosis, theyll prescribe the best course of treatment.

In the case of a bacterial infection like staph, a doctor prescribes antibiotics. Certain types of penicillin are effective at treating staph-induced weeping eczema. The antibiotics may be topical or oral, and your doctor may prescribe them alongside a steroid medication.

Aside from pharmaceuticals, diluted bleach baths may help your skin feel a little relief.

If youve got a viral infection thats causing weeping eczema, you may need antiviral therapy in the form of oral medication. However, depending on the severity of the condition, doctors may opt to administer your antiviral drugs intravenously.

Antifungal creams or ointments are also helpful in treating weeping eczema when it stems from a fungal infection like ringworm.

Home remedies can help soothe the symptoms of weeping eczema. Because weeping eczema is an infection, however, the only thing that will resolve it completely is a prescription medicine.

You can integrate these home remedies into your prescription treatment routine to help relieve unpleasant side effects and assist the healing process.

You can use home remedies as part of a treatment plan for weeping eczema. Be sure to discuss any home medicine plans you have with your doctor to rule out the possibility of any adverse reactions.

Weeping eczema is no joke and certainly nothing to make light of. Ominous as it may be, you can treat it and see it on its way. Early detection and prompt treatment are the keys to successfully eliminating the infection behind your weeping eczema.

Once youve had some medical attention to stop the infection, weeping eczema should clear right up in 7 to 14 days, depending on the severity of the outbreak. More severe cases may leave behind scarring.

Untreated weeping eczema is serious and can lead to other, severe infections. If you suspect that you have a case of weeping eczema, dont delay seeking medical attention.

Sometimes, you cant prevent eczema. Certain skin types are just more prone to dry skin and the conditions that stem from it, like eczema.

However, eczema doesnt have to deteriorate to the extent that it becomes infected and starts weeping. Preventing weeping eczema is all about disciplined skin care and careful eczema management.

Here are some ways to do that.

If youre doing all the above and your eczema is still getting worse, talk with your doctor about more aggressive measures to prevent the onset of weeping eczema.

Weeping eczema occurs when typical eczema becomes infected. The infection causes blisters that weep and ooze yellow pus that then dries and crusts.

You must treat weeping eczema aggressively because it can progress to more serious infections. Seek medical attention right away if you suspect youve got a case of weeping eczema. Its better to be safe than sorry.

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Eczema from Cats: The Connection and Tips for Treatment – Greatist

Posted: at 10:00 pm

Your cat is a pure love muffin and your best friend, how could they ever hurt you? But now that you think about it, your eczema has been flaring since you adopted that snuggle buddy.

Heres how to tell whether your feline friend has anything to do with it.

Even if your cat is the diabolical type to knock glasses off of tables for giggles, theyre prob not trying to make you itchy and miserable. And the jurys out on whether they could even if they wanted to. Researchers arent sure how or if cat companionship affects eczema.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) seems to be affected by a bunch of factors (including genetics, immunity, and the environment). Theres also some debate about whether eczema is primarily a problem with inflammation or dysfunction of your skins ability to create a barrier.

Cases of AD are on the rise. Some researchers think that environmental factors are triggering more flares in people who were already likely to develop AD anyway. Environmental factors that have been studied in relation to AD include:

Evidence about the relationship between cats and eczema is far from conclusive. Heres what some studies have found.

So, essentially science isnt sure yet.

Cat allergens (like saliva, dander, and urine) could make eczema worse. Thats because they cause an allergic antibody response that can trigger eczema symptoms. Two recent studies found a relationship between living with a cat and worse AD symptoms.

You mightve heard that early exposure to allergens in childhood could make people less likely to develop allergies. What does that mean for kids who live with cats? It means they might be at a lower risk of developing eczema.

A study of more than 1,000 children in Sweden found that living with cats and dogs in their first year of life was linked with a lower risk of developing asthma, allergy, and eczema between the ages of 7 and 9.

How? The theory is that children who live with pets early in life are desensitized to pet allergens and pollen. Living with animals may also affect the microbes that children are exposed to, strengthening their immune systems.

If you think your cat might be triggering your eczema symptoms, you dont have to kick the kitty out. Heres how to live a little more comfortably with your cat.

PSA: If you love cats, it might be tempting to believe that you can get a special breed that wont trigger eczema flares. But totally hypoallergenic cats arent really a thing. Some breeds may have less fur to shed, but their saliva is still an allergen.

We get it, you love your cat and will snuggle them even if you are raw and itchy. Here are some tips for soothing your eczema symptoms.

Pro tip: You might also want to consider allergy shots if living with cats is a long-term arrangement. One small study showed that this can be effective.

Part of living with eczema is learning what triggers your flare-ups. Cats probably arent a cause, but they could be one of your triggers. This is even more likely if youre allergic to cat dander or saliva. Luckily, there are ways you can live happily with cats and soothe your skin.

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Stress Eczema: Why It Happens and How to Deal – Greatist

Posted: at 10:00 pm

Stress is bad enough. But a stress + eczema combo pack? The WORST. Skin and stress can go hand-in-hand, but dont worry, fam were here to help you get your glow back.

Heres how stress can trigger eczema, plus some top tips to get you feeling fresh again.

Theres def a direct link between stress and eczema breakouts. Studies have found that stress can screw with the top layer of your skin (aka the epidermis). This can make you more vulnerable to allergens, bacteria, and irritants, and all those things can cause a flare-up.

Stress might also make it harder for your skin to bounce back after a flare-up. This means your symptoms can last longer which can increase your stress which can cause more flare-ups which can increase your stress The vicious cycle of stress and scratching continues.

Eczema isnt a one-size-fits-all kind of skin sitch. Symptoms and triggers can vary from person to person. Here are some common culprits.

Smoking isnt just bad for your lungs. According to a 2016 research review, cigarettes can spark a serious eczema flare-up, whether youre actually smoking or just exposed to secondhand smoke. Some research, including a 2002 report, also suggests that smoking hookah can be a trigger.

Theres also a chance that e-cigarettes or vaping can trigger atopic dermatitis, but we need more research to know for sure.

Folks with dry or sensitive skin should steer clear of chemicals that can cause an eczema flare-up. Ditch shampoos, conditioners, body washes, lotions, and perfumes that contain artificial fragrances or preservatives.

Pro tip: Wear latex-free gloves when using household cleaning chemicals like bleach or ammonia.

Allergic eczema happens when your skin makes contact with an allergen or irritant. Typical triggers include fragrances, preservatives, dyes, metals, and adhesives.

FYI: You might not notice any symptoms for a day or two after contact. This can make it hard to pinpoint the substances youre sensitive to. Thankfully, an allergist can give you a patch test to help figure it out.

A 2010 study found that chronic eczema can be set off by anxiety. So theres a chance your eczema flare-ups are more about anxiety than stress. (And yes, theres a difference between the two.)

Stress is usually the result of external factors like work, school, relationships, or life events. Anxiety is more persistent than stress and can be harder to manage without medication or professional therapy.

The bad news? Eczema can be tough to deal with. The good news? There are lots of effective ways to prevent future flare-ups.

Reducing your stress levels can help stave off scratch attacks and other annoying eczema symptoms. Here are some great ways to relax:

Sometimes your skin just needs a little extra TLC. Heres how to pamper your eczema-prone skin like a pro:

Stress-induced eczema is a tricky beast because you cant always avoid stress. But there are some great ways you can keep your stress (and skin) under control. Avoid your triggers, moisturize, and skip harsh products that can lead to a flare-up.

P.S. When in doubt, talk with a dermatologist.

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$ 4.3 Billion growth expected in Global Eczema Therapeutics Market 2021-2025 | Technavio – PRNewswire

Posted: at 10:00 pm

The eczema therapeutics market will witness a neutral impact during the forecast period owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth is likely to increase in 2021 as compared to 2020.

Key Considerations for Market Forecast:

Major Five Eczema Therapeutics Market Participants:

AbbVie Inc.:The company offers eczema therapeutics under the brand name RINVOQ.

Alliance Pharma Plc:The company offers eczema therapeutics under the brand name Hydromol.

Bausch Health Companies Inc.:The company offers eczema therapeutics under the brand name DUOBRII Lotion.

Bayer AG:The company offers eczema therapeutics under the brand names Bepanthen and Canesten.

Eli Lilly and Co.:The company offers eczema therapeutics under the brand name OLUMIANT.

Eczema Therapeutics Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Eczema therapeutics market is segmented as below:

The eczema therapeutics market is driven by the high prevalence of atopic dermatitis, strong pipeline landscape, and increasing product launches. In addition, other factors such as increasing healthcare expenditure and geopolitical uncertainties are expected to trigger the eczema therapeutics market toward witnessing a CAGR of over 9% during the forecast period.

Get more insights into the global trends impacting the future of the eczema therapeutics market.Request Free Sample @https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40707

Related Reports on Healthcare Include:

GlobalAllergy Immunotherapies Market- Global allergy immunotherapies market is segmented byproduct (SCIT and SLIT) and geography (Europe, North America, Asia, and ROW).Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

GlobalAllergy Rhinitis Drugs Market- Global allergy rhinitis drugs market is segmented byproduct (antihistamines, intranasal corticosteroids, immunotherapies, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW).Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

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About UsTechnavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

ContactTechnavio ResearchJesse MaidaMedia & Marketing ExecutiveUS: +1 844 364 1100UK: +44 203 893 3200Email: [emailprotected]Report: http://www.technavio.com/report/eczema-therapeutics-market-industry-analysis

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$ 4.3 Billion growth expected in Global Eczema Therapeutics Market 2021-2025 | Technavio - PRNewswire

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Review Finds Several AD Treatment Options, More to Come – AJMC.com Managed Markets Network

Posted: at 10:00 pm

AD is more common in children than in adults, with as many as 1 in 5 children globally affected by the condition compared with about 10% of adults. It can also affect infants, although systemic therapy is rarely utilized in such cases, the authors wrote.

The International Eczema Council recommends that physicians look at nontherapeutic solutions, such as avoiding triggers treating coexistent infections or educating parents and caregivers before considering systemic therapy. However, in cases when systemic therapy is warranted, the investigators said physicians and patients have several choices.

CsA, an immunosuppressive agent, has been shown to be effectivedespite symptoms often returning following cessation of the treatment. The investigators said a systematic review of 15 studies including 602 children and adults found a mean clinical improvement of 55% after 6 to 8 weeks of treatment. However, about half of those patients relapsed within 2 weeks of stopping CsA, and 80% had relapsed by 6 weeks.

It has a rapid onset of action and an acceptable short-term adverse effect profile, they wrote. However, relapse is common upon discontinuation of treatment, and potential long-term side effects are concerning.

The purine analog AZA has also been shown to be effective for both adults and children (who are typically prescribed a half-dose); however, the authors said one of the drugs 3 pathways is degrading to inactive metabolites by thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT), which means it is not suitable for all patients.

TPMT activity is controlled by a genetic polymorphism, and patients can have high activity, intermediate activity, or low activity, the authors explained.

Patients with intermediate, low, or absent TPMT activity could be at an increased risk of myelotoxicity, the investigators said. In cases with low or absent TPMT activity, the risk could be life-threatening. Thus, the authors said TPMT genotyping or phenotyping is warranted to identify patients at risk of the complication.

MTX, a folic acid antagonist, has not been studied as extensively as the other therapies, but the authors said it has demonstrated similar efficacy to CsA and AZA. Compared with CsA, they said the improvement comes more slowly with MTX; however, MTX led to more durable responses, according to existing data.

Similarly, MMF has not been widely studied. Existing evidence suggests it can be effective in both children and adults with severe AD and may be better tolerated than AZA.

Lastly, the investigators turned to dupilumab, the only biologic approved by the FDA to treat childhood (ages 6 and above) and adult AD. The drug has performed well in clinical trials and has a favorable safety profile, aside from reports of injection-site reactions and conjunctivitis, the investigators said.

Dupilumab is considered the first-line systemic therapy of choice in the management of AD given its effectiveness upon clinical manifestations, excellent benefit/risk profile, and positive impact upon patients and families quality of life, they said.

The investigators said several other biologics and small-molecule drugs are currently being developed and investigated to treat AD, but that therapies appear to provide meaningful relief for many patients.

Ultimately, the choice of systemic therapy depends on each individual patients needs, and patient education is essential to improve treatment adherence, they concluded.

Reference

Davari DR, Nieman EL, McShane DB, Morrell DS. Current perspectives on the systemic management of atopic dermatitis. J Asthma Allergy. 2021;14:595-607. doi:10.2147/JAA.S287638

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Living without the ability to sweat in Arizona – KGUN

Posted: at 10:00 pm

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) The sun shines over Arizona about 300 days a year, so imagine not being able to sweat or cool down. With temperatures well over 100 degrees in Tucson it leaves most people sweating and finding ways to escape the sun. Thats what Tamela Tibbitts and her family are dealing with every day. Her 8-year-old son Nekoda has ectodermal dysplasia.

We can go outside to the car, and it really wouldnt affect us. He would be red within 2 minutes and then the skin around his mouth would turn yellow. Then he would get sleepy and tired, Tibbitts said.

Tibbitts says if theyre not careful Nekoda can overheat and fast.

Nekoda goes through an entire process before he leaves the house for school or his latest competition. Tamela discovered the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasia when her son was 3 and found out she carries the gene. Other family members are also dealing with the same issue.

"What we do to keep him safe is a lot of water breaks - we have extra cooling equipment. We have large ice packs that we put in his car seat. He has cooling hats. This is his wet vest, which is his favorite, it keeps him cool the longest. The ice vest , we just put the ice packs in, he uses it when it's not too hot and he takes it to school, Tibbitts said.

Tibbitts Family

NFED Executive Director Mary Fete says the condition is rare, and over 180 types of Ectodermal Dysplasias have been discovered so far. The goal of the organization is to educate families and give them the resources they need to stay safe. The disorder affects one in every 10,000 babies.

Symptoms include missing hair, overly thick or thin nails, sweat glands not working properly and missing teeth.

When he was a year old, he didnt have any teeth. By the time he was two no teeth had come in, Tibbitts said. Nekoda wears childhood dentures now.

Fete also says there's a new life-changing clinical trial set for expecting mothers later this year.

This is for moms who are carriers, this is families who know that they are affected. The treatment that will be given before birth into the mom's womb prenatally, and this synthetic protein that they developed, will trigger the signal for the development of normal sweat glands, Fete said.

Tibbitts Family

No matter what youre going through, theres always hope and you can live a full life, Tibbitts said.

For more information on ectodermal dysplasias, visit nfed.org.

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