#US mortality rates

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Modern day YouTube au where Xie Lian is infamous on the internet for his catastrophic cooking channel.

[halorvic]

The danger is clear and present: COVID isn’t merely a respiratory illness; it’s a multi-dimensional threat impacting brain function, attacking almost all of the body’s organs, producing elevated risks of all kinds, and weakening our ability to fight off other diseases. Reinfections are thought to produce cumulative risks, and Long COVID is on the rise. Unfortunately, Long COVID is now being considered a long-term chronic illness — something many people will never fully recover from. Dr. Phillip Alvelda, a former program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office that pioneered the synthetic biology industry and the development of mRNA vaccine technology, is the founder of Medio Labs, a COVID diagnostic testing company. He has stepped forward as a strong critic of government COVID management, accusing health agencies of inadequacy and even deception. Alvelda is pushing for accountability and immediate action to tackle Long COVID and fend off future pandemics with stronger public health strategies. Contrary to public belief, he warns, COVID is not like the flu. New variants evolve much faster, making annual shots inadequate. He believes that if things continue as they are, with new COVID variants emerging and reinfections happening rapidly, the majority of Americans may eventually grapple with some form of Long COVID. Let’s repeat that: At the current rate of infection, most Americans may get Long COVID.

[...]

LP: A recent JAMA study found that US adults with Long COVID are more prone to depression and anxiety – and they’re struggling to afford treatment. Given the virus’s impact on the brain, I guess the link to mental health issues isn’t surprising. PA: There are all kinds of weird things going on that could be related to COVID’s cognitive effects. I’ll give you an example. We’ve noticed since the start of the pandemic that accidents are increasing. A report published by TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit, found that traffic fatalities in California increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022. They also found the likelihood of being killed in a traffic crash increased by 28% over that period. Other data, like studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came to similar conclusions, reporting that traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high across the country in 2021. The TRIP report also looked at traffic fatalities on a national level and found that traffic fatalities increased by 19%. LP: What role might COVID play? PA: Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.

[...]

LP: You’ve criticized the track record of the CDC and the WHO – particularly their stubborn denial that COVID is airborne. PA: They knew the dangers of airborne transmission but refused to admit it for too long. They were warned repeatedly by scientists who studied aerosols. They instituted protections for themselves and for their kids against airborne transmission, but they didn’t tell the rest of us to do that.

[...]

LP: How would you grade Biden on how he’s handled the pandemic? PA: I’d give him an F. In some ways, he fails worse than Trump because more people have actually died from COVID on his watch than on Trump’s, though blame has to be shared with Republican governors and legislators who picked ideological fights opposing things like responsible masking, testing, vaccination, and ventilation improvements for partisan reasons. Biden’s administration has continued to promote the false idea that the vaccine is all that is needed, perpetuating the notion that the pandemic is over and you don’t need to do anything about it. Biden stopped the funding for surveillance and he stopped the funding for renewing vaccine advancement research. Trump allowed 400,000 people to die unnecessarily. The Biden administration policies have allowed more than 800,000 to 900,000 and counting.

[...]

LP: The situation with bird flu is certainly getting more concerning with the CDC confirming that a third person in the U.S. has tested positive after being exposed to infected cows. PA: Unfortunately, we’re repeating many of the same mistakes because we now know that the bird flu has made the jump to several species. The most important one now, of course, is the dairy cows. The dairy farmers have been refusing to let the government come in and inspect and test the cows. A team from Ohio State tested milk from a supermarket and found that 50% of the milk they tested was positive for bird flu viral particles.

[...]

PA: There’s a serious risk now in allowing the virus to freely evolve within the cow population. Each cow acts as a breeding ground for countless genetic mutations, potentially leading to strains capable of jumping to other species. If any of those countless genetic experiments within each cow prove successful in developing a strain transmissible to humans, we could face another pandemic – only this one could have a 58% death rate. Did you see the movie “Contagion?” It was remarkably accurate in its apocalyptic nature. And that virus only had a 20% death rate. If the bird flu makes the jump to human-to-human transition with even half of its current lethality, that would be disastrous.

[lotus-pear]

regret

[dirtymortalkombatconfessions]

[sleepyorchidmonster]

One thing that I really like about Book 1 and the Epilogue is how they establish the game's main formula and themes (also a solid start for the story) while also adding a bunch of mysteries.

The first one that comes to mind is the mines and the phantom dwarves, but also Grim's Chimera form and Riddle's Overblot.

About Riddle's case, that's the only time where a victim's eyes change colour during an overblot, not to mention how he's being suspended by blot strings like a puppet.

While both elements can be justified due to their symbolism to Riddle's story (Idia being connected to his Phantom as a way to represent his grief, for example), or maybe just an early design choice that wasn't used with the other overblots, the fact still stands that this was the FIRST overblot we saw, at the QUEEN OF HEARTS dorm, in a game called Twisted WONDERLAND. Also Yana is great at foreshadowing.

With Book 7 bringing back the overblots, I can't help but wonder if those details will come into play in the story. Maybe we'll have to fight Riddle's overblot to free him from the strings so he can fight on his own, or the red eyes show that SOMEONE is watching and this can be the first time we meet the mastermind behind the overblots (we need something to worry about in Book 8, why not set up a final future boss right before the big Malleus fight)

Playful Land is also focusing on puppets, so there's that too...

[ryuki-draws]

Ghosts of N°1 and N°2 in the data storm: Are we a joke to you?

@sharpdistances As an EVA enjoyer I can only confirm it bleeds all over my EPs interpretations and headcanons in this AU :'D

[vintageseawitch]

abortion bans in any way - whether they make exceptions or none at all - is the state getting away with raping you. forced birth is quite literally torture. abortion is healthcare & communities with access to safe abortions are healthier for it.

[glass-warehouse]

kenshi plays uno like he's trying to read the tarot for the pile.

cards face down flat on the table, in a line, hand hovering over the tops, moving back and forth.

everyone at the table is stunned every time he picks one, and that it's also always playable. it never wears off.

you know that after he's invited, but before he turns up, kenshi's just kneeling in the middle of his room — holding tightly onto sento — with a calm voice "i will explain the honor code of uno, with which you must abide by"

[racke7]

It's more than an hour past my bedtime but I FUCKING DID IT!

[meteortrails]

my latest affectionate gripe about fanfiction/media portrayals of biology: holy GOD does the average person not really get how prevalent a complication/disease has to be to be Seriously concerning??? which is fair probability is hard but like. if a healthcare professional says there’s a 50% chance for life threatening complications and/or death, they should be extremely concerned when they say it!!!! you wanna know other things that have a ~50% mortality rate??? TETANUS. SEPTIC SHOCK. if they’re trying to calm people down after mentioning the possibility of deadly complications, they are Not going to start with ‘not more than 50 percent likely!’ GIRL THATS SO FUCKING HIGH OH MY GOD.

[canichangemyblogname]

I’m gonna be honest with y’all. It’s ultimately gonna be fine for most of you. I’m convinced many of y’all aren’t aware of 1.) how decentralized government in the US is or the sheer number of units of government, and how this makes it difficult to control, standardize, or dictate any uniform policy across this country; 2.) how difficult it is to pass any legislation, ever because the process is so long and convoluted and varied; 3.) how dysfunctional the Republican caucus has always been; they’ll be largely unable to achieve much as different extreme factions continue to squabble; 4.) just how much big money interests will prevent Trump from enacting—like—so much of what he’s promised, especially regarding medicine, pharmaceuticals, and food. (You think big Ag is gonna let people drink raw milk? You think they’d let him repeal such a regulation, opening themselves to lawsuit—among other issues? You think they’d even provide it; that there’d be a large market for bullshit? The crunchy moms and Trad Cath dads are quick gonna realize that none of the social scripts they want to force our society to obey are possible to implement.); and 5.) how many organizations are doing good work providing for the disadvantaged and marginalized in the ground, and how many influential organizations with lots of resources are fighting for civil rights. Doomerism is such a wack (and oft white) thing to do. Makes no sense.

Yeah, Trump smashes and wrecks things. He’s unstable. He revels in cruelty. He’s unable to successfully run or organize anything. He’s selfish and every policy and action he makes is for his benefit and his alone, often to the detriment of others. But the US isn’t going anywhere, and we’re not headed for any radical change. Things will become more challenging or differently challenging than they were before, yes. But not much in this country is likely going to change. Trump represents nothing if not stagnation and the death throes of what was.

[sadaveniren]

How old are you?

As someone who began using the Internet in the early 2000s I learned very quickly/was taught never to share my age, name, or location on the internet and even in this day of social media I still maintain that privacy by not publicly posting my exact age, birthday, legal name, or location✌🏻

[sukimas]

interesting how for sale baby shoes never worn has gone from a nigh-universal human experience to something few people living in wealthy nations will ever encounter even obliquely in their lives

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

I don't know whether I'll continue to work on this, because as it is I'm surprisingly happy with it, and my skill doesn't extend much beyond this at this point.

I've put this particular piece of art under the cut, because while it's not graphic, it contains (stylised, if that's the word I'm looking for) a depiction of self-harm cuts, otherwise known as 'what my wrist looks like at the moment', although the colouration is for style/effectiveness alone and is not indicative of the damage itself.

It's certainly not gory, but I figured it should be under the cut anyway. I don't know quite what else to say. I don't mind feedback or otherwise. Reblogs are encouraged but not reposts thanks. :)

Actually I would love feedback please and thankyou.

[reasoningdaily]

The US infant mortality rate rose last year. The CDC says it’s the largest increase in two decades

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3% last year — the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC’s report, published Wednesday, also noted larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths — maternal complications and bacterial meningitis.

“It’s definitely concerning, given that it’s going in the opposite direction from what it has been,” said Marie Thoma, a University of Maryland researcher who studies maternal and infant mortality.

Dr. Eric Eichenwald, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, called the new data “disturbing,” but said experts at this point can only speculate as to why a statistic that generally has been falling for decades rose sharply in 2022.

RSV and flu infections rebounded last fall after two years of pandemic precautions, filling pediatric emergency rooms across the country. “That could potentially account for some of it,” said Eichenwald, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee that writes guidelines for medical care of newborns.

Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday. Because the number of babies born in the U.S. varies from year to year, researchers instead calculate rates to better compare infant mortality over time. The U.S. infant mortality rate has been worse than other high-income countries, which experts have attributed to poverty, inadequate prenatal care and other possibilities. But even so, the U.S. rate generally gradually improved because of medical advances and public health efforts.

The national rate rose to 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, up from from 5.44 per 1,000 the year before, the new report said.

The increase may seem small, but it’s the first statistically significant jump in the rate since the increase between 2001 and 2002, said Danielle Ely, the CDC report’s lead author. She also said researchers could not establish whether the 2022 rise was a one-year statistical blip — or the beginning of a more lasting trend.

Overall in the U.S., the death rate fell 5% in 2022 — a general decrease that’s been attributed to the waning impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on people 65 and older. U.S. maternal deaths also fell last year.

More than 30 states saw at least slight rises in infant mortality rates in 2022, but four states had statistically significant increases — Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas.

In numbers, U.S. infant deaths surpassed 20,500 in 2022 — 610 more than the year before nationwide. But Georgia had 116 more infant deaths than the year before, and Texas had 251 more.

“It would appear that some of the states could be having a larger impact on the (national) rate,” Ely said, adding that smaller increases elsewhere also have an effect — and that it’s hard to parse out exactly what places, policies or other factors are behind the national statistic.

[transingthoseformers]

Fun fact! The helplessness of fresh offspring is usually inversely proportional with parental care in nature. Like how kangaroo joeys are breathing jellybeans, meaning their mothers have to carry them around and nurse them for quite a while. Humans are born like 100% undercooked compared to most placental mammals, so (usually) a lot of instinct is dedicated to these screaming shit machines— so much that certain people will lactate if they hear a baby cry. Lizards and sharks on the other hand, those motherfuckers are born running/swimming, lest they get eaten by mama or otherwise spawn killed. Even toed and odd toed ungulates are somewhat in the middle of this graph, with moderate results in each category. Of course, there is individual variation— ie the longstanding practice of dairy cows lacking on the parental details and my colorful slang for human infants.

Of course, there are other factors at play such as offspring mortality rate, how many offspring are had how often versus the 💙quality of offspring💙, how long does the species typically live, are there weird sex based skews and other outside factors. Though, take this post with a grain of salt (meaning, all of this is pulled out of the research stored up my ass)

It is all a balancing act of getting the most bang for your buck. "How can I put the least amount of resources into getting offspring that is likely to survive?" Biology is a bitch like that.

Why is this relevant to the transformers? Because of mechpreg fics and how they depict sparklings. Cybertronians are naturally a long lived species. Longer lived than quite literally anything on earth. In fics, I have seen sparklings being demonstrated as either Super Squishy baby beans, or practically lethal feral animals. I have also seen fics where it's a very rare occurrence to have a sparkling, and I have seen fics where they quickly have a brood (in fact I'll see fics with multiple pairs of twins or triplets)

This decision will have consequences later on

I think you can see exactly where I am going with this. Now, I could write this off as well fanfiction authors not being biologists and wanting some quick fluff in their stories, but no you get Riot being a devious asshole today. If a fic sways towards sparklings that develop rather quickly / are born frequently / often come in multiples or litters, considering the Cybertronian life cycle, wow does nature expect those sparklings to die via intense predation, low parental instinct, or otherwise unstated factors.