Taz

Okay, I have quite a few keloid scars from chicken pox, some I've had treated with steroids, and on some it seemed to work, they've flattened and faded, others it worked (the skin became indented), but over time they are now raised, just as before. Creams and any other kind of ointment have had no effect that I can see, except to keep them hydrated and a bit more flexible, so more comfortable.

I've also read that constant pressure can reduce them. and one where my underwear has been constantly pretty tight against it has also flattened and faded (never treated it with anything else) so that seems like it might work as well.

Finally, I have one on my upper shoulder, usually due to the position of my scars and the abundance of them means I tend to keep pretty covered, but in the last few years I've been growing more confident in showing them in the company of a select few. A couple of summers ago I accidentally got a rosy sunburn on my upper back, and I don't usually look, but I'm sure it was pretty soon after (couple of months) that I noticed it seemed reduced and less purple, and now it's almost completely flat and nearly the same colour as my skin, just slightly shinier.

I've read a few people saying they've noticed that exposure to the sun has reduced the itching and general discomfort they cause, but other people saying that in general scars should not be exposed to the sun due to reduced UV protection.

I want to know if anyone has any expert knowledge on this? Or if there's been any scientific work/published papers on the subject?

So, lysozyme can break down bacteria, and it's in a lot of things we eat - eggs, milk etc. So why doesn't it seem to be detrimental to our gut fauna? All I can think of is either a) it does, but we don't consume enough of it to really have a noticeable/detrimental effect or b) its degraded before it reaches the gut.

For the latter point however, there's a lot of evidence that partial heat degradation at least can improve lysozyme activity, even making gram negative bacteria susceptible due to non-enzymatic effects. Not sure if acidic degradation would have the same affect however.

So....anyone know the answer to this?

I'm using growth rates, using the equation ln(observed/expected) growth rates to determine deviation from expected, but one is negative, how do I do it?

I know that over charging things isn't good for batteries, and my laptop alerts me when the battery is about to run out, but I'm often distracted by work and don't notice when it's fully charged. Is there anyway that I can make it alert me when it's finished charging from the mains so I can unplug it?

Thanks

The question is: a clade of 10 species, 5 have both toxin producing glands and bright patterns. I need to distribute the character states on the branch tips in a way that is supportive that the pattern arose only once, and then toxin glands independently a total of 3 times. O refers to outgroup, show where characters change state on the tree, the solution should be parsimonious, not reversals allowed.

Link to cladogram:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f393/Immortal_Ta...

As far as I can tell they are both non-coding, so what's the exact difference?

It seems to have cut off halfway through the season, what is with that?

I'm planning to spend the second year of my degree studying in Canada, I've sent off for my study permit, but if I wanted to stay for say another month afterwards and travel, will I need another visa to cover it?

Story research; a character was attacked from behind with a knife, slashed across the lower back. They have had medical attention; cleaned and stitched up. But I would like to know how much would the character be able to move without risking further damage and pain, how long would it be before they could move without pain and how long it would take for the wound to completely heal?