Learning

Adrienne Cannon writes: I am thinking of the various trips I have taken as a solo traveler when I awaken in a strange location with no companion to talk to. Then I learned to quietly observe life around me (often quite different to my “American” background) even though I wasn’t part of it. Instead of feeling sad about my solitary state I began to treasure those calming moments of contemplation and observation. When I had to schedule appointments during pandemic lockdown and I was one of the few people in a pool, in a class, in the locker room or other places where few people were admitted at the same time, I began to understand that being solitary is not the same as being sad or lonely. In the past, I have made friends on those solo trips by reaching out after too much solitude. And so it seems during those lonely days I have made new acquaintances. They are often a little younger than I am and I happily call on them to join me in my active hours that sometimes outstrip the energies of many of my contemporaries. more »

To conduct the study, the team examined data from more than 8,000 visits to dermatology clinics by both adults and children between October of 2015, 2016 and 2018 and each February of the year that followed. They found that, during the Camp Fire, clinic visits for atopic dermatitis and general itch increased significantly in both adult and pediatric patients. “Fully 89% of the patients that had itch during the time of the Camp Fire did not have a known diagnosis of atopic dermatitis, suggesting that folks with normal skin also experienced irritation and/or absorption of toxins within a very short period of time,” Wei said. more »

Wearing face masks, particularly surgical masks, is truly effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in community settings, finds a new study led by researchers from Yale University, Stanford Medical School, the University of California, Berkeley, and the nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). The study, which was carried out among more than 340,000 adults living in 600 rural communities in Bangladesh, is the first randomized trial to examine the effectiveness of face masks at reducing COVID-19 in a real-world setting, where mask use may be imperfect and inconsistent. more »

Since 1917, when Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress, a total of 395 women have served as U.S. Representatives, Delegates, or Senators. This Web site, based on the publication Women in Congress, contains biographical profiles of former women Members of Congress, links to information about current women Members, essays on the institutional and national events that shaped successive generations of Congresswomen, and images of each woman Member, including rare photos. more »