Science – Page 34 – David Bradley

Adverse effects of hydroxychloroquine

UPDATE: If you have been prescribed this drug for another condition, do not stop taking it without consulting your GP. Your GP will have prescribed it for a good reason and will know your medical history and undertaken a risk-benefit assessment before signing your prescription. The majority of the side-effects are rare and it is generally safe to use for the approved conditions if heart problems and other underlying possible complications and contraindications have been ruled out for you.

In case you were ever stupid enough to follow Trump’s lead you would have already injected ultraviolets in your eyeballs by now to save you from Covid and maybe bathed in Domestos or sulfuric acid or both! Anyway, his latest bullshine claim is that he’s been taking the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to keep Covid at bay.

Well, for starters there is no evidence that this drug acts as a prophylactic against infection with SARS CoV-2 or indeed any pathogen other than the causative agent of otherwise drug-resistant malaria. It’s primary use is in treating lupus. There was some testing done weeks ago to see whether it might work against SARS-CoV-2, it almost certainly doesn’t, there will be actual antivirals to try and some being developed as we speak.

Either way, did anyone actually do a benefit-risk balance assessment for him or has he self-medicated on a whim? I strongly suspect that he is not taking it at all and that there is some hidden agenda. As with everything else he says bullshit or otherwise a political or financial incentive is often at the front of his frothing, festering mind.

The US Food and Drug Administration warns against taking this drug outside the clinical environment because it can cause serious and potentially lethal heart problems”. If you were thinking of taking inspiration from The Trunt listen to the FDA or maybe have a look at the huge list of post-approval adverse reactions and side-effects already reported for hydroxychloroquine:

Bone marrow failure, anemia, aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia, hemolysis in people with G-6-PD enzyme deficiency, Cardiomyopathy and fatal cardiac failure, ventricular arrhythmia, Vertigo, tinnitus, nystagmus, nerve deafness, deafness, eye irreversible retinopathy with retinal pigmentation changes (bull’s eye appearance), visual field defects, and visual disturbances, macular degeneration, corneal edema and opacity, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, fatigue, liver failure, urticaria, angioedema, asthma, poor appetite, hypoglycemia, porphyria, weight loss, sensorimotor disorder, skeletal muscle myopathy or neuromyopathy leading to weakness and muscle wasting, failing tendon reflexes and abnormal nerve conduction, headache, dizziness, seizure, ataxia and dystonia, dyskinesia, and tremor, emotional problems, nervousness, irritability, nightmares, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, rash, pruritus, pigmentation disorders in skin and mucous membranes, alopecia, skin eruptions, toxic epidermal necrolysis, photosensitivity, psoriasis…

The complete, detailed list of ADRs and side-effects can be found here.

Pine Hawk-moth in the garden

I have written about the Hawk-moths (Sphingidadae) several times during my short time mothing with an actinic lure in our back garden. We have seen a fair selection of the species present in the British Isles. My photos are in the HM section of my Mothematical Gallery.

So far in 2020, Lime HM, Eyed HM, and Poplar HM have made appearances. Morning of 19 May 2020, a new one for the garden – Pine Hawk-moth, Sphinx pinastri (Linnaeus, 1758).

Grey/Dark Dagger agg with Pine HM. The Dagger is about 18mm long

Handgel and hot cars

There’s some deceived wisdom doing the rounds about not leaving bottles of 60% alcohol hand sanitizer in your car when it’s hot because it could spontaneously burst into flames. There are pictures of the damage apparently caused by the hand gel burning through the dashboard.

This is not at all likely to happen at the temperatures you’re like to reach in the passenger compartment of a car. Moreover, if the interior of your car were to reach the necessary temperature for spontaneous combustion of hand sanitizer, that little bottle of gel is the least of your worries.

The flashpoint for 60% ethanol in water, may well be low (about 23 Celsius), but you need something to *ignite* the liquid, it won’t spontaneously burst into flames. Even petrol cannot spontaneously combust until it’s above 280 Celsius, hence the spark plugs to ignite it (an electric spark will peak at about 4500 Celsius).

However, the handgel may well get very hot and opening the lid might lead to it spurting out and scalding you. There is also the issue of putting handgel on your hands while smoking or holding a candle…that would be risky-ish.

Bombus pratorum on Cynoglossum officinale

This is an “Early Bumblebee”, Bombus pratorum, feeding on a kind of borage (Boraginaceae) but with puce flowers, Cynoglossum officinale, on the flood plain of the Old West River, a couple of miles North of Cottenham. It’s growing wild and free and in abundance there.

The plant has several common, folk, or vernacular, names among them houndstongue, houndstooth, dog’s tongue, gypsy flower, and “rats and mice” due to its odour).

Also sighted there this morning, first Common Blue butterfly of the year for me, a male Polyommatus icarus. Lots of the white-flowered wildflower around, but not entirely sure of the ID on that, yarrow? Saxifrage? Other…

Friends of mine had mentioned seeing a particular wildflower, Scarlet Pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis, recently (poor man’s barometer, it’s sometimes known, presumably it’s a folksy indicator of changeable weather). I hadn’t realised which species they mean until I happened to photograph some this morning and looking it up in colour-coded Collins Wildflowers, Lippert and Podlech.

Then there were the Kingfishers, Alcedo atthis, which were the primary target of my photographic trip.

Another night’s mothing in time of covfefevirus

Not quite as active a night in nor around the actinic lure as it gradually got windier. But, still a reasonable number of specimens seen and a couple more NFYs.

Of interest a leucistic male Muslin, Tawn/Marbled Minor agg (NFY), Willow Beauty (NFY).

Also showing up Flame Shoulder, Common Pug(2), Bee Moth, Waved Umber, H&D, SSD, and non-aberrant male Muslin.

I tried to get an open-wing shot of the Pale Prominent sat on my stone staging, but it hopped off quickly and disappeared. Saw it on my office carpet a couple of hours later, let it fly to the window…got a sort of open-wing shot, but it was too flitty for focus.

Mothing in the time of Covid

Thank goodness for mothing…it’s certainly a distraction from the bleak outlook and political bullshine of the coronavirus, Covid-19 debacle. Thing is for much of this year, there haven’t been many moths drawn to actinic light lures that I’ve heard off. Lepidopterists on the various lep Facebook groups and around our county here have been reporting low number and low diversity.

However, that changed somewhat for my lure on the night of the 75th Anniversary of VE-Day. I’d spent much of the time handling virtual online events, such as my #FEVEG20, but by the evening, just after dark and after a couple of celebrater sherbets, the light lure beckoned.

It was a still, balmy evening, it had dropped from 24 degrees to around 15 Celsius at 23h00 and there was quite a bit of activity around the lure. flies, parasitic wasps, Bee Moths, Pugs, a Brimstone…a Pale Tussock, and more. There was a stunningly white with black spots, female Muslin on a California poppy stem next to the pond 5 metres away from the actinic. Intriguingly, some of the moths were more drawn to a bright LED panel I was using to have a quick look at the frogs in the pond (only one of the two has been visible this last week, #PondLife). No sign of any Box-tree Moth, the notoriously virulent beast from the East. They will emerge soon, I have warned neighbours who have planted a Box hedge that they could see it ravaged. They make nice hedges but now that this invasive species taking hold across various parts of the country, those hedges will succumb.

Anyway, the Pale Tussock had been joined by another by morning in the collecting box, there were more pugs, more Bee Moths, and a couple more Brimstone (not to be confused with the Brimstone butterfly). Here’s the full list of the Saturday morning haul; NFY = New for year:

Bee Moth (3), Brimstone (3), Common Pug (4), Cream-bordered Garden Pea (NFY), Argyrotaenia ljungiana (NFY), Eudonia angustea (NFY), Female Muslin, Flame Shoulder (NFY), Freyer’s Pug (NFY), Garden Carpet (2), Grey/Dark Dagger agg (NFY), Heart and Dart (2), Light-brown Apple Moth (2), male Muslin, Notocelia cynosbatella (NFY), Pale Tussock (2, NFY), Rustic Shoulder-knot (NFY, deceased), Shuttle-shaped Dart (12), Waved Umber.

Still hearing from others that they are hardly seeing any moths and yet some people with mercury vapour lures elsewhere in the country are seeing a whole lot more.

Weave your antiviral facemask from cotton and silk

If you’re wondering what materials to use to stitch together your antiviral mask, it seems it could be that you need a couple of different fabrics for it to work best – woven cotton and a piece of silk or chiffon…

Tightly woven cotton acts as a physical barrier to viral particles and droplets carrying the virus. Silk and chiffon can both build up quite a static charge and this will help trap viral particles electrostatically.

Screengrab from OnlineKyne's facemask howto video linked below

Together the materials will reduce the risk of the wearer shedding virus from nose or mouth into the environment and on to other people or surfaces that others might touch. Conversely, the mask will, to some extent reduce the risk of you inhaling viral particles from the air. The researchers say that substituting chiffon or silk for flannel or using a cotton quilt with cotton-polyester backing could be just as effective. But, Sciencebase would add that it’s not so strong a fashion statement

There is also the added benefit of wearing a facemask in that it will reduce how often you touch your nose and mouth with your filthy, disease-ridden hands. Now go and wash them thoroughly with plenty of soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds!

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2020/april/the-best-material-for-homemade-face-masks-may-be-a-combination-of-two-fabrics.html

The research paper is in ACS Nano here. OnlineKyne howto video here

Purple Thorn – Selenia tetralunaria

Mrs Sciencebase spotted this fellow roosting in the garden last night…it was the moth that was roosting, not Mrs Sb. It’s a Purple Thorn. So-called because the larva (caterpillar), which is stick-like in appearance has a spiky projection and the adult has a purple hue to its wings.

Its scientific name (binomial) is Selenia tetralunaria. It has four white crescent moon shapes on its wings, hence the tetralunaria of its binomial. Selenia is the genus and there are a couple of dozen of this type of moth around the world, a fraction of the 180,000 different known moths (and butterflies, same thing)

Birds to listen out for during your exercise allowance

While we’re still allowed out of our homes for a period of exercise each day, have a listen out for some of the birds that are singing and calling right now, various migrants and others you may not have noticed above traffic noise even in the countryside previously:

Swallow

Whitethroat

Buzzard

Reed Bunting

Yellowhammer

Kingfisher

Listen to the birds in an English country garden

People often tell me they don’t know what that bird is they can hear singing or calling but cannot see. There’s an international crowd-sourced project called Xeno Canto that has the calls and songs of almost every bird around the world. But, for local friends and family who might want to know what they can hear in the gardens, here’s a small selection of some of the more likely in England:

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Robin

Blackbird

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Dunnock

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Starling

House Sparrow

Most of these birds will have a song and a call, some of them seem to improvise or do abbreviated versions of their songs and calls. The sound files you can listen to above are just a starting point for learning how to identify birds you might hear in your garden and then associate them with a visual ID.