Month: April 2021

Swollen Lymph Nodes After COVID Vaccine May Mean Previous Infection

/ Terry Hill, PhD

An earlier COVID-19 infection, but not what’s known as “long-haul COVID-19,” was associated with increased risk of swollen lymph nodes after receiving the vaccination.
— Read on www.medscape.com/viewarticle/950221

Teaching children to play chess found to decrease risk aversion

/ Terry Hill, PhD

Teaching children to play chess found to decrease risk aversion
— Read on phys.org/news/2021-04-children-chess-decrease-aversion.html

My findings from a project paper I did for my Master’s degree in education, showed that risk aversion in chess playing decreased with age. I compared a university student cohort of chess players to a randomized group of senior (over 60) chess players, and found that along with taking more time to play but with greater accuracy, seniors were more risk averse. In other words, more familiarity breeds more careful play, and this seems intuitively true if a young player played a senior player – each with the same ICF ranking. Strategic decision making capability is a function – mostly, but not always – with age (as ‘wisdom’).

Opinion: Nurses are an essential resource. When they burn out, patients suffer – The Globe and Mail

/ Terry Hill, PhD

Many nurses are working under conditions that are brutal and unsustainable which can lead to burnout. But the weightiest burden will undoubtedly be suffered by patients themselves
— Read on www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-nurses-are-an-essential-resource-when-they-burn-out-patients-suffer/

Spot on. It’s time we all mustered the courage then the resources, to assist Nurses as much as possible to overcome burn-out. This includes incentives, a much lightened patient load, positive feedback for work well done, and time off to regain the strength to carry on.

Sarcosine as an add-on treatment to antipsychotic medication for people with schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials – PubMed

/ Terry Hill, PhD

Background: N-methyl-glycine (sarcosine) may improve symptoms of schizophrenia via NMDA-receptor modulation. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the short- and long-term effectiveness of sarcosine for schizophrenia. Research design and methods: The databases …
— Read on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33538213/

Lakehead University president says change to NOSM may destabilize medical education – TBNewsWatch.com

/ Terry Hill, PhD

Moira McPherson warns that making the medical school a university has potentially serious impacts.
— Read on www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/lakehead-university-president-says-change-to-nosm-may-destabilize-medical-education-3649434

The Board of Governors at LU should be publicly supporting the President. Clearly a working compromise between LU and NOSM can be arranged?

Province proposes independent university status for Hearst, Northern Ontario medical school | The Star

/ Terry Hill, PhD

The move comes as the Ford government is under fire after massive cuts at Laurentian University, especially to French-language programs.
— Read on www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2021/04/15/province-proposes-independent-university-status-for-hearst-northern-ontario-medical-school.html

This has been a blindsided blow to Lakehead University, and will not end well for students nor their communities. ‘Boomerang’ planning from ‘knee-jerk’ decision-making will most definitely come back to haunt the government.