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March 31[edit]

Lupus causes and diagnosis's[edit]

we cannot offer advice about a person's diagnosis or prognisis

The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

Good afternoon! I would like to ask, well, I guess this is a sort of medical condition. This is not mine, but my mother's.

She had a lupus, it wasn't diagnosed yet. We, the family involved, were only doing vivid searching on the net. Then came here which I saw the disease called lupus together with its signs and symptoms. She is having a medication until now with her doctor on the bone. Because earlier this year, she was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Actually, my question is: "What type of doctor is liable to determine the illness of my mother?"

The surrogate question is: "If the complications due to lupus wasn't yet as severe, as I could assess. Is it necessary to take a lifetime medication?"

Thank You in advance! --AUTHOR UNKNOWN. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.198.77.28 (talk) 07:29, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Apologies, but the Reference Desk can't give medical advice. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 09:19, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Actually any competent doctor should be able to diagnose an illness (I assume by liable you mean able). You'll have to discuss the second question with a physician.--Auric talk 21:08, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

That's a massively broad statement, Auric. Lupus erythematosus is ~~so named (from "wolf in sheep's clothing", lupus being the Latin word for wolf) because it is~~ exquisitely elusive to diagnose. Sufferers will typically be diagnosed with various other conditions and spend literally years and many $$ in treating them fruitlessly, before lupus is finally diagnosed, if it ever is. Apart from that, no doctor on Earth can diagnose 100% of all conditions their patients present with, and it's an absurd and childish attitude to assume that doctors are somehow above mere mortals and have special powers of infallibility. They struggle as much as you and I do. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:26, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I see I was wrong about the etymology. Systemic lupus erythematosus says In the 18th century, when lupus was just starting to be recognized as a disease, it was thought that it was caused by the bite of a wolf. This may have been because of the distinctive rash characteristic of lupus. (Once full-blown, the round, disk-shaped rashes heal from the inside out, leaving a bite-like imprint.) -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:45, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I doubt any type of doctor would diagnose it as seen above. I know there's an aspect of a neurological disorder in Lupus, so it might be a neurologist. If your family doctor suspects lupus, they will give you a referral to a specialist who can diagnose it. Ryan Vesey 23:04, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
See talk. This is rather clear-cut, we cannot confirm a patient's diagnosis nor give a lifetime prognosis from a computer. μηδείς (talk) 03:21, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Painting on computers[edit]

See this painting? http://alicexz.deviantart.com/art/Virtuoso-256536410?q=gallery%3Aalicexz%2F42416920&qo=2 And how it was made? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIhh9-sRNB8 Do they made all those outlines with a mouse?? How is it possible to control the motions of the pointer with such a great degree of accuracy? Like drawing with an actual pencil? Or do they have some special sort of instrument for drawing on a computer? 14.99.163.86 (talk) 09:39, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The video description says he used a Wacom Cintiq drawing tablet. I used to use a 12x12 inch Wacom tablet way back in the 1990s, and it was a joy to draw with. I can only imagine how great the large, high-quality ones today are. Pfly (talk) 09:50, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Bah. Yes I've got a small Wacom tablet but you've revived my envy of the Cintiq and Intuos systems again. Dmcq (talk) 12:29, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yea, I have a small one too but don't use it much--it's nowhere near as pleasant to use as my old big Intuos. That Cintiq looks cool--like an ipad but touch and pressure sensitive and so on? Rather expensive though! Pfly (talk) 18:28, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen digitizing tablets the size of drafting tables (used to digitize old drawings). StuRat (talk) 05:14, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Big drafting table size digitizers were also used to convert paper maps into digital data, especially back in the late 80s and early 90s when cartography was transitioning from mainly paper-based to digital/computer. The one at the GIS lab where I was a student back in the day was enormous, so as to be able to handle large-format maps. Instead of a stylus it had what was called a "rat" (a big mouse), with a bunch of buttons on it and a little window with crosshairs. This pic isn't exactly what the one I used was like, but is similar (tilting table, the "rat", etc): http://www.electricity.gg/about/companyhistory/chap12003.jpg ...and a close up of the "rat": http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~rdatta/gis2/lectures/Lecture4/fig4-9_digitizing%20Pluck.jpg Pfly (talk) 09:50, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

As much as I like the term "rat", we called ours "pucks". StuRat (talk) 02:59, 6 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Wacom tablets don't just digitise position. The cheaper versions are pressure sensitive and the Intuos has multi touch plus pens that are pressure, tilt and angle sensitive. The extra capability allows them to simulate traditional artists tools or be programmed flexibly for special effects. Dmcq (talk) 21:06, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

shipping history[edit]

Discuss the value of historic of shipping cycle patterns to predicting future markets ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.225.249.7 (talk) 14:08, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Homework? RudolfRed (talk) 16:59, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Even if it isn't, we don't really have an article on the subject. Maritime history is entirely about Naval history, even though we have a separate sub-stub Naval history article. History of international trade is just a list of (more-or-less unrelated) events. Ship transport seems to be written for an 8-year-old audience. International trade is probably the only remotely usable article we have, and it doesn't cover the history of shipping in any way. If we do have a decent article on historic shipping, I've been unable to find it. Tevildo (talk) 21:19, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Reading this question carefully, especially noting the words cycle and patterns, I wonder whether Baltic Dry Index, this article about it, and this link to historical data might be more relevant links. Marco polo (talk) 19:12, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

ResCap aka Gmacm[edit]

When should ResCap aka Gmacm be out of bankruptcy — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.123.237.100 (talk) 15:27, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Recent news stories say they are due to file a reorganization plan in May, so any prediction at this time would be speculative. (That's GMAC ResCap, by the way. Looie496 (talk) 20:54, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How[edit]

How the fuck did Aho–Corasick string matching algorithm become the most watched article of the past week? I find this difficult to grasp according to User:West.andrew.g/Popular pages. Pass a Method talk 15:33, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Puzzling. The page view stats popped up abruptly on March 19 and have stayed very high since then. There have not been any developments that I can spot. Looie496 (talk) 21:01, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have a feeling its some automated bots. Maybe we should contact village pump? Pass a Method talk 21:45, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You realise, don't you, that raising this question can only have the effect of increasing the number of hits? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:14, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

From 100,000 to 100,030, maybe? Looie496 (talk) 02:40, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You seriously misunderestimate the readership of these pages. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 02:49, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

After a little Google-snooping, I found a website for architects, and on March 19th - the day the peak started - they had a Question of the Day (or week, maybe) about this algorithm. It may or may not be related, as over one million views is a bit excessive. I'll go with the bot theory, as you're the second person to mention that to me today. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 23:28, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'm more concerned about Cat anatomy having so many hits. Either it's final exams in all vet schools throughout the country, or there are too many sickos around indeed.Asmrulz (talk) 02:24, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It is also interesting to see there is a lot of talk about cats on the RefDesks these past two days - far more than normal. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 12:36, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Cat anatomy: 'To see this muscle, first remove the extensive aponeurosis situated on the ventral surface of the cat'. Definitely sick, or copied from a mouldy century-old encyclopedia. Henry ^Flower 12:55, 4 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]