China Covid: Chinese TV Censors Shots Of Maskless World Cup Fans
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These two paragraphs outline China’s censorship of the World Cup.
The phrase “football is nothing without fans” has become so accepted as to be cliché among some commentators. But Chinese state TV has been testing that assumption to its limit throughout the World Cup.
On Monday, as Ghana beat South Korea in a classic World Cup clash, subtle changes to China’s coverage of the match ensured viewers were not exposed to images of maskless supporters – and to a world moving on from Covid restrictions.
Autocratic regimes who act like China and Russia are doing now, have always come to a sticky and violent end.
When will these idiots ever learn?
An Expedition To Muswell Hill To Get Some Lovely Liver
After my plea in Need To Regularly Eat A Large Plate Of Calves’ Liver, I got a recommendation to try The Cilicia at Muswell Hill.
It was delicious and just what my body wanted. The liver had been cooked in sage butter with tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes.
I shall return!
The only problem is that Dalston and Muswell Hill is not the easiest journey to make by public transport.
My route was as follows.
- I took by taking a 141 bus from close to my house to Manor House station.
- I then got a Piccadilly Line train to Turnpike Lane station.
- From there it was a 144 bus to Muswell Hill Broadway.
It took about 45 minutes.
But it might be quicker to take a 102 bus from Bounds Green station.
Or go to the Angel Islington and get a 43 bus from there to Muswell Hill Broadway.
But my route could all have been so different.
This map shows the Muswell Hill branch which was closed by British Rail and has since been mainly built over.
The Muswell Hill branch would have been part of the comprehensive Northern Heights Plan.
- The Northern Line would have been extended from Edgware to Bushey Heath.
- The Mill Hill East branch would have been extended to Edgware.
- If you look at the maps in Wikipedia, the Northern Line would be very different through London.
- The Muswell Hill branch would have given better access to the magnificent Alexandra Palace.
But Austerity after World War II meant the extension never happened.
I can see a case could be made for some parts of the Northern Heights plan, but it is too late now, as viaducts have been demolished and routes have been built over.
My feeling is that if there was a need for the Northern Heights plan in the 1930s, then as London has expanded, that need will need to be fulfilled in the future.
So when Austerity hits as it did after World War II and as it is happening now due to Covid-19 and Vlad’s war in Ukraine, we should make sure we don’t compromise our plans for the future.
I believe that with a small amount of safeguarding in the 1960s, the Northern Line would now have a useful branch to Alexandra Palace and Muswell Hill.
Blackpool Needs A Diamond
Every year there are more and more depressing reports about Blackpool and there was another today.
Something dramatic needs to be done.
One of the successful scientific weapons that has been deployed on any number of problems, including the Covid-19 and malaria, has been the impressive Diamond Light Source at Harwell.
When I talk to researchers at universities in the North, they would love to able to use it more, but it is fully booked and getting access is difficult. There is also the travel problem.
I believe that the solution is to build Diamond 2 in the North. And what better place to build it than Blackpool. The city has good rail and tram links and plenty of accommodation.
Now, that’s what I call levelling-up.
Two Oases In The City
I came across these oases in Temple Avenue in the City of London.
What a good idea! The notice says it’s part of a Covid-19 Street Recovery Scheme
Coeliac Disease And Atrial Fibrillation
I am 75 and coeliac and I had or have atrial fibrillation. Cardiologists tell me that, the atrial fibrillation led to my stroke in 2011.
I should also say, that my father was an undiagnosed coeliac and he died from a stroke younger than I am now.
I typed the title of this post into Doctor Google.
I found this paper on Cureus, which is entitled Celiac Disease and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.
I will show two paragraphs from the Abstract,
This is the Introduction.
Several studies have found celiac disease may be associated with a variety of cardiac manifestations. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common arrhythmias that can cause significant morbidity. However, the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with celiac disease according to epidemiological studies remains unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis study is to assess the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients diagnosed with celiac disease compared to controls.
And this is the Conclusion.
A significant association between celiac disease and risk of atrial fibrillation was reported in this study. There is a 38% increased risk of atrial fibrillation. Additional studies are needed to clarify the mechanistic link between atrial fibrillation and celiac disease. Some of the limitations of this study are that all were observational studies, some were medical registry-based and there was high heterogeneity between studies.
One of the paper’s conclusions is more research needs to be done.
I know that I have a supercharged immune system, in that it seems to protect me from flu and the dreaded covids and it gave the AstraZeneca vaccine a good kicking. Research from Nottingham University has also shown, that coeliacs on a gluten-free diet have a 25 % lower risk of cancer compared to the general population.
So I asked Doctor Google if there was any link between the immune system and atrial fibrillation.
I found this paper on PubMed, which is entitled The Role Of Immune Cells In Atrial Fibrillation.
This was the Abstract.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia, but its mechanisms are poorly understood. Recently, accumulating evidence indicates a link between immune response and AF, but the precise mechanism remains unclear. It should be noticed that the relationship between immune response and AF is complex. Whether immune response is a cause or a result of AF is unclear. As the functional unit of the immune system, immune cells may play a vital role in the immunological pathogenesis of AF. In this review, we briefly highlight the evidence on relationships between immune cells and AF, and discuss their potential roles in AF pathogenesis. We hope this review could provide new orientation and enlightenment for further research on AF mechanism.
One of the paper’s conclusions is more research needs to be done.
Conclusion
I feel a lot of research concerning coeliacs, their immune systems and atrial fibrillation should be done and this could lead to a better understanding of atrial fibrillation.
Why Do More Elderly Men Die Of The Covids Than Women?
I asked this question of the Internet and found this article from The Times, which is entitled Why Are Men More Likely To Die From Covid Than Women?.
These are the first two paragraphs.
On Valentine’s Day last year, researchers at China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention submitted one of the first studies into who was dying of the new coronavirus that was spreading through Wuhan.
Two clear findings jumped out. Firstly, the virus appeared to hit the elderly hardest. Secondly, if you were a man, you were much more likely to die.
The article goes on to say, that men are 24 percent more likely to die.
I am coeliac and here are some facts about coeliac disease.
This page on the NHS web site is an overview of coeliac disease.
There is a sub-section called Who’s Affected?, where this is said.
Coeliac disease is a condition that affects at least 1 in every 100 people in the UK.
But some experts think this may be underestimated because milder cases may go undiagnosed or be misdiagnosed as other digestive conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Reported cases of coeliac disease are around 3 times higher in women than men.
It can develop at any age, although symptoms are most likely to develop:
during early childhood – between 8 and 12 months old, although it may take several years before a correct diagnosis is made
in later adulthood – between 40 and 60 years of age
People with certain conditions, including type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid disease, Down’s syndrome and Turner syndrome, have an increased risk of getting coeliac disease.First-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters and children) of people with coeliac disease are also at increased risk of developing the condition.
The three most important facts in this are.
- The condition affects 1 in every 100 people in the UK.
- Reported cases are three times higher in women than men.
- First degree relatives of coeliacs are at increased risk of developing the condition.
I am sure my father was an undiagnosed coeliac.
When I was born in 1947, there was no test for coeliac disease in children, as one wasn’t developed until 1960.
Testing for many years was by the Gold Standard of endoscopy, which for a child is not an easy procedure.
I’m certain, that in 1997, I was one of the first to be diagnosed in a General Hospital by genetic testing.
At fifty, a locum had given me a blood test and I had been found to be very low on B12. Despite a course of injections, it refused to rise so I was sent to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, where I saw a consultant, who gave me a short chat and then got a nurse to take some blood samples.
Two days later, I received a letter, saying I was probably coeliac and it would be confirmed by endoscopy.
I can’t think how else it was done so quickly, unless they were using a genetic test.
I went gluten-free and the rest as they say is history.
In some ways there’s been two of me.
- BC – Before Coeliac – Frequently unwell, lots of aches and pains and weak mentally.
- AD – After Diagnosis – Healthier, few aches and pains and much stronger mentally.
My immune system appears to be much stronger now!
I believe my son was also coeliac.
Undiagnosed coeliacs tend to have poor immune systems and he died of pancreatic cancer at just 37, because he refused to get himself tested.
As there was no test for coeliac disease in children until 1960, anybody over sixty has a higher chance of being coeliac with a poor immune system and be at higher risks from both the covids and cancer.
It should be noted that according to the NHS, there are three times more female coeliacs than male.
Could this be explained by the fact that undiagnosed coeliac disease can be a cause of female infertility? So when a lady has difficulty conceiving, doctors test for it. So perhaps, by the time they get to 70 a higher proportion of female coeliacs have been diagnosed, compared to male ones, which may explain why more elderly men than women die of the covids.
More research needs to be done.
Face Coverings Your Choice
In England from today, you don’t legally have to wear masks.
This notice was on the door of Marks and Spencer at The Angel.
These are the words at the bottom.
Face coverings are not legally required but the Government recommends them in indoor crowded areas. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 please refrain from entering the store.
How sensible!
It will be interesting to analyse the takings of Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsburys as they are all close together on Liverpool Road.
I was standing outside Marks & Spencer, when I took the picture.
Should We Be Given More Discretion Over Mask Wearing?
I am a bad breather and have been so for most of my life.
I suspect, it’s because I grew up in London smogs and that ruined my breathing.
But my father and his father were also bad breathers and my grandfather died before he was forty of pneumonia.
So when I go on public transport, I find the following.
- I have difficulty climbing stairs with my mask on.
- I can’t wait to get out of the station or bus to take off my mask and put it in my pocket.
- Often in London during the day, there is only a few people on the bus or train and we are all sitting there quietly at least three or four metres apart.
- If I explain my breathing to staff, they will let me remove my mask. I have done this a coule of times, when I have to climb stairs to get out of a station.
Sometimes too, I’ll be on a crowded Underground train for part of my journey, but at other times, I’ll be one of perhaps three in an air-conditioned bus.
As of Thursday rules will say, that we don’t need masks in England, but the Mayor has said we must wear them on public transport in London.
I would like to see some personal discretion, so that some like me would feel more comfortable on public transport, when it is less busy.
Covid Leaves Wave Of Wearied Souls In Pandemic’s Wake
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on The Times.
It is the usual excellent article by Tom Whipple and it discusses long covid.
I haven’t knowingly had long covid or even common-or-garden short covid for that matter.
The Asian Flu of 1957-1958
But go back to 1957-1958 and the outbreak of Asian Flu.
This was another present from China to the world. Wikipedia says this about its severity.
The number of excess deaths caused by the pandemic is estimated to be 1-4 million around the world (1957–1958 and probably beyond), making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.
According, to this page on Wikipedia, deaths from Covid-19, were approaching 5,500,000 at the first of January 2022.
But then the world population is now 7.9 billion as opposed to 2.8 billion in 1957. This is 2.8 times bigger.
If the Asian Flu of 1957-1958 had had a Covid-19 death rate around two billion would have died.
Was There A Long Form Of The Asian Flu?
In Long Covid And Coeliac Disease, I started the post like this.
I recently heard an interview with Adrian Chiles on Radio 5 about the so-called long covid
I am 73 and the more I read about Long Covid, the more I think I had something similar around 1958, when I had just started Minchenden Grammar School, where I missed most of the Spring Term. This was at the time of the 1957-8 flu pandemic., which killed between one and four million people worldwide.
This article on New Decoder is a personal memory of that pandemic, from an experienced journalist called Harvey Morris.
Last night, I was listening to another program about kids with long covid and they seemed to be describing how I felt all those years ago.
One of those two programs, also said that one doctor tested patients for coeliac disease.
So did I have a long form of Asian Flu which kept me off school for a long time?
I can remember a conversation between my late wife and my mother that took place before we got married in 1968.
My mother described how I was badly ill at around ten and how our GP, the excellent Dr. Egerton White kept coming to see me, whilst I was recovering at home, as he couldn’t fathom out what was wrong with me.
But he did seem to take particular care of me, even coming to visit me in hospital, when I had my tonsils out at around five. Could it be, that as he had brought me into this world, that he felt differently about me? It should be noted that he was probably from the Caribbean and either black or mixed-race.
Is Long Covid Linked To Undiagnosed Coeliac Disease?
As I said earlier that one doctor tested long covid patients for undiagnosed coeliac disease, at least one doctor must believe so.
Looking at the statistics in The Times article, I can make the following deductions.
- 42 % of sufferers from long covid are over fifty?
- 58 % of sufferers from long covid are female?
- It is not stated how many sufferers had been diagnosed as coeliac and were on a long-term gluten-free diet.
These statistics would fit roughly with the statistics for coeliac disease.
- According to the NHS, there are more female coeliacs as male.
- There was no test for coeliac disease in children until 1960, so it is likely, that many undiagnosed coeliacs are over 60.
- Since around 2000, coeliac disease is tested for by means of a simple blood test.
- Doctors understand coeliac disease better now, so I suspect more coeliacs under about thirty have been diagnosed.
I am certainly led to the conclusion, that undiagnosed coeliac disease could be a factor in long covid.
Treating Long Covid
The article on The Times has a section which is entitled How Do We Deal With It (1)?, where this is said.
One of the great challenges of pathology is that you have to know what you are looking for before you can find it.
“People with long Covid go to the clinician, give blood, and none of the results that come back show that these individuals are sick,” says Resia Pretorius, from Stellenbosch University. The doctors look through the metabolites in their blood, seeking something unusual, and find nothing. “The end result is their clinician tells them it’s psychology — go for a run or whatever. Some of these patients can’t even walk up a set of stairs. They think: are we mad?”
She had an idea. What if it was about the blood structure, as much as its composition? Her laboratory has looked at the blood of both acute Covid patients and long Covid sufferers. They have found tiny clots.
Something in the disease seems to cause malformation, and they can’t be removed.
They have also found preliminary evidence that treating patients with antiplatelet and anticoagulants leads to significant improvement. Although, she stresses, it’s a risky procedure that requires careful monitoring, in case people bleed dangerously.
When I read the bit about anticoagulants, the bells in my head started ringing.
I am a coeliac on a long-term gluten-free diet, who suffered a serious stroke in 2011, from which I made a remarkable recovery. I am now on Warfarin, which is the old-fashioned anti-coagulant and test myself regularly with a meter, so I don’t bleed dangerously.
Note remarkable is not a word of my choosing, but one that has been used several times by doctors referring to the recovery in my stroke. But then there are masses of Jewish, Huguenot and Devonian survival genes in my cells.
At the time of the panic about blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine I wrote A Danish Study On Links Between Coeliac Disease And Blood Clots, of which this is an extract.
This morning I found on the Internet, a peer-reviewed Danish study which was entitled
Coeliac Disease And Risk Of Venous Thromboembolism: A Nationwide Population-Based Case-Control Study
The nation in the study was Denmark.
This was the introductory paragraph.
Patients with coeliac disease (CD) may be at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), i.e. deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its complication pulmonary embolism (PE), because they are reported to have hyperhomocysteinaemia, low levels of K-vitamin-dependent anticoagulant proteins, and increased levels of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor.
One thing in this summary screams at me. The mention of vitamin-K!
Ten years ago, I had a serious stroke, that because of modern clot-busting drugs failed to kill me.
I am now on long-term Warfarin and know I have to eat a diet without Vitamin-K.
There are too many coincidences in all this for me not to shout, “Do More Research!”
Ikea Cuts Sick Pay For Unvaccinated Staff Forced To Self-Isolate
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Ikea has cut sick pay for unvaccinated staff who need to self-isolate because of Covid exposure and in some cases for workers who test positive.
The article also says that Wessex Water and several major US companies have started penalising unvaccinated workers.
I agree with Ikea’s policy, as in a society, there are some rules that we must follow for the good of everybody.
If people don’t want to be vaccinated, they should either work for a company where everybody is unvaccinated or work at home.
The Anonymous Widower 