Surveyer Of Shipping For Trinity House

Prescription drugs scarce in Birmingham, US

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Birmingham-area hospitals and pharmacies are facing severe shortages of drugs used to fight cancer and other serious diseases, a situation which poses risks to patient health and could boost costs.

Shortages of drugs in Alabama and across the nation are forcing doctors and pharmacists to find alternative drugs or tell patients they can not be processed in time. And even if they find another medicine that works, studies show that the shortage may increase the risk of errors, mistakes or near adverse drug reactions.

"It just puts clinicians in a quandary because they can effectively manage their patients," said Maisha Kelly Freeman, Professor Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy and Director of Global School Information Service drugs.

The shortages are caused by a variety of factors such as concerns quality raw materials, medicines recall, natural disasters and regulatory issues, said Freeman. Shortages vary, and while some are drugs for attention deficit disorders or high blood pressure, others are used in chemotherapy.

A study by the Premier, an alliance of Charlotte-based health care providers, more than 240 drugs have been rare or totally absent in 2010 - more than triple the number in 2005.

According to the American administration of food and drugs, about 180 drugs are scarce this year. This includes antivenin for black widow spider bites and a vaccine for hepatitis B. Others include the muscle relaxant succinylcholine used in surgery and an injection of epinephrine used in a cardiac emergency.

Last month, UAB Hospital received a note from Johnson & Johnson that the manufacturer would not be shipping Doxil, a drug used to treat ovarian and breast cancer, at a time. The hospital said he had been able to find the drug when other major academic medical centers could not, but he informed the 19 patients at different stages of treatment he would not have the drug available as August 29.

The Ghost Of U-Boat 33: German Sub Sunk In 1918 Threatening To ...

Stalked the seas - sinking at least 13 craft as it marauded across the English Channel and North Sea in search of Allied vessels. Finally, the hunter met his late owner of Eight miles off Dover in 1918. But now, 89 years later, the ghost of the submarine threat of rising from the depths - to pose a new danger to cargo ships, tankers and ferries in the Channel, the way the world's busiest shipping. Lying in shallow waters, the wreck of the UB-33 was disrupted by the passage of ships, raising fears it could break free of the seafloor and float to the surface.Thus, a rescue operation was launched to prevent it from hitting hundreds of ships that cross the Channel each day. The saga began when UB (Unterseeboot) 33 was sunk with all hands 28, 11 April 1918, after hitting a mine in the sand Varne Bank in the Strait of Dover. He was armed with six torpedoes, two already loaded in its forward tubes.The area is directly beneath the shipping lane now used by ferries at Calais and Boulogne and much of the movement of the wreck was caused by the turbulence of the ships that travel over Currently, the UB-33 lies 77ft down, but the official minimum clearance depth is 87ft. Trinity House - the institution which marks shipping lanes and maintains lighthouses - has temporarily parked on a ship in place to warn ships. It was orginally thought the wreck could simply be destroyed. However, this can be done because of the condition of the ship as a registered war grave.Another option is to mark its position with a large buoy. But the Bank Varna area is so busy that one shipping source said it would be like "putting a speed bump in the fast lane of the M4 motorway." A spokesman for Trinity House said there are now alternative plans to gently move the UB-33 to deeper water. "He was long gone, but now the wreck has started to move and is of concern because it has again become a danger to navigation," explained Vikki Gilson.

Of mice and men

Little House in the Big Woods

House Rules, A Novel

Water for elephants, a novel

Cutting for Stone