November 21, 2008
Daily Word Quiz: calumny
Your great-grandmother's calumnies are legendary in the family. Yes sir, she sure had...
Paper-thin sheets of dried seaweed that can range in color from dark green to dark purple to black. They have a sweet ocean taste and are popular at Japanese meals. Nori is generally used for wrapping sushi and rice balls. When finely cut it serves as a seasoning or garnish. It can be purchased toasted (labeled yakinori); if purchased plain, it is usually lightly toasted before being used. Nori that has been brushed with soy sauce is called ajijsuke-nori. Japanese markets and some supermarkets carry nori either in plastic packaging or canned. All nori is very rich in protein, vitamins, calcium, iron and other minerals.
(© Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)
(© Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)
November 20, 2008
Snowblindness
Snowblindness: A burn of the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye) by ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Also called radiation keratitis or photokeratitis.
The condition typically occurs at high altitudes on highly reflective snow fields or, less often, with a solar eclipse. Artificial sources of UVB can also cause snowblindness. These sources include suntanning beds, a welder's arc (flash burn, welder's flash, or arc eye), carbon arcs, photographic flood lamps, lightning, electric sparks, and halogen desk lamps.
Symptoms include tearing, pain, redness, swollen eyelids, headache, a gritty feeling in the eyes, halos around lights, hazy vision, and temporary loss of vision. These symptoms may not appear until 6-12 hours after the UBV exposure.
Treatment consists mainly of keeping the eye closed with patches, after instilling a few drops of ophthalmic antibiotic solution, such as sulfacetamide sodium 10% with methylcellulose or gentamicin. Vision usually returns after 18 hours. The surface of the cornea usually regenerates in 24 to 48 hours.
Prevention involves sunglasses with adequate UVB protection and full coverage of the eyes (side shields).
MedTerms (TM) is the Medical Dictionary of MedicineNet.com.
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2008 is:
non sequitur • \NAHN-SEK-wuh-ter\ • noun
1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises *2 : a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said
Example sentence:
The professor's lecture was a jumble of non sequiturs and irrelevant observations.
Did you know?
In Latin, "non sequitur" means "it does not follow." The phrase was borrowed into English in the 1500s by people who made a formal study of logic. For them it meant a conclusion that does not follow from the statements that lead to it. But we now use "non sequitur" for any kind of statement that seems to come out of the blue. The Latin verb "sequi" ("to follow") has actually led the way for a number of English words. A "sequel" follows the original novel, film, or television show. Someone "obsequious" follows another about, flattering and fawning. And an action is often followed by its "consequence."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
November 19, 2008
Becker muscular dystrophy
Becker muscular dystrophy: A chronic, progressive muscle degeneration disease. A form of muscular dystrophy that is quite similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, except that patients with Becker do produce some of the key protein, dystrophin, whereas those with Duchenne do not. Progression of the disease in Becker type is slower than in Duchenne, and symptoms may appear as late as the mid-twenties.
Becker muscular dystrophy is a mild version of Duchenne. Both diseases result from mutations in the huge gene in region Xp21.2 on the X chromosome that encodes dystrophin. (The other principal form of X-linked, late-onset muscular dystrophy is Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, which results from mutation in the gene encoding emerin on Xq28.)
MedTerms (TM) is the Medical Dictionary of MedicineNet.com.
We Bring Doctors' Knowledge To You
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2008 is:
gravid • \GRAV-id\ • adjective
*1 : pregnant 2 : distended with or full of eggs
Example sentence:
“The film is about the world of mixed martial arts, a subject gravid with possibilities.” (Allen Barra, The New York Sun, April 29, 2008)
Did you know?
"Gravid" comes from Latin "gravis," meaning “heavy.” It can refer to a female who is literally pregnant, and it also has the figurative meanings of "pregnant”: “full or teeming” and “meaningful.” Thus, a writer may be gravid with ideas as she sits down to write; a cloud may be gravid with rain; or a speaker may make a gravid pause before announcing his remarkable findings.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
