iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

It is unusual to see a barred owl on the ground, especially during the day. But this guy was doing some sort of maintenance in the dust alongside a remote hiking trail. The owl was not injured. It flew away when it saw me, but not before posing for a nice photo. #UnusualBirdBehavior

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Found this advertisement for "Blood Poverty" tonic - "Women naturally suffer more than men" - in a 1925 New Zealand newspaper. While the first recorded use of 'cytopenia' was a 1906 paper per OED, it means 'cell poverty' - from the Greek πενίᾱ (peníā), poverty or lack. @shematologist.medsky.social

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

A small stream runs through the woods behind our house, and this morning “frost flowers” were on the surface.❄️ I’ve never seen them before! They can form on thin ice on chilly, windless days when the air is much colder than the surface ice. Water vapor rising up from the surface quickly refreezes.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Blue skies and blue reflections in suburban Boston this morning ❄️

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

I was walking along a trail yesterday and noticed this Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) - the plant that “vinca alkaloid” anti-cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine were isolated from back in 1961. They’re still used today, especially vincristine for acute lymphoid leukemia and NHL.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Last night I imaged NGC891, the “Silver Sliver” galaxy, an edge-on spiral galaxy with a prominent dust lane about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is sometimes called The Outer Limits galaxy because it appears in the credits of the TV show. #astrophotography #galaxy

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

My latest Mayo Clinic Proceedings stamp vignette on medical history is now online, about the "Dear Doctor" postcards of the 1950s & 1960s. Most were from Abbott Labs, touting sodium pentothal. Author link with 50 days free access to the article" authors.elsevier.com/a/1kN0a5qq8b... #Deltiology

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

How fun to be back @danafarber.bsky.social today (for an SIV). The drive in is just as much of an adventure as it always was… Nice to see friends & former colleagues in person -

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Thought this was interesting: correlation between spleen length by palpation on physical exam in myelfibrosis versus spleen volume by centrally reviewed radiographic imaging, from a clinical trial described at #ASH24 by John Mascarenhas. There's a trend, but exam is not a super accurate measurement.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

The late-breaking abstract session in on-demand video form also makes great "background music" while packing up in your hotel room #ASH24

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Starting the first ever @ash symposium for mid career hematologists #ASH24

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

“The safety profile was generally manageable” is a statement utterly devoid of meaning #ASH24

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

As promised, the answer key to yesterday’s @ash-hematology.bsky.social #ASH24 crossword puzzle - hope you enjoyed it!

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The annual #ASH24 hematology-themed crossword puzzle - the 13th one that @ASH_hematology has asked me to create for the @ash-hematology.bsky.social “ASH News Daily” conference newspaper. I’ll post the answers tomorrow…

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Over the holiday I read this epic 1955 book by famous naturalist & field guide pioneer Roger Tory Peterson & British ornithologist James Fisher about their 30,000 mile journey around North America in 1953, exploring from Newfoundland to the Dry Tortugas, from the Channel Islands to the Pribilofs./1

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving - and if you have a gathering at your home, don’t forget the old rule: the first person to bring up politics has to do the dishes. 😉

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

M31/Andromeda, with a cameo from M110. Not bad for Bortle 6-7 skies (suburban Boston), with only a 50mm lens and 2MP CMOS sensor - the S50’s newish mosaic mode is really cool, and minimizes field rotation effect from the alt-az mount. Processed in Siril & GraXpert.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Common Eiders and American Herring Gulls living in harmony. BHI - Deer Island, November 24.

Herring gulls and Common Eiders. Birds on a beach.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I got too close to this herring gull while it was trying to eat breakfast and it stared me down, "Are you going to let me finish this or not?"

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Photo 1: California Nebula/NGC1499, 800x 10s subs with S50, processed in GraXpert and Siril, Bortle 6 sky. Photo 2: also California Nebula, this time with labels. 😀 If only ξ Persei/Menkib were slightly closer, it would be perfect for Vegas to be represented by a disproportionately bright star.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

JetBlue flight from Jacksonville landing at Logan Airport this morning, photographed from BHI-Deer Island while I was out birding. (Big noisy bird.)

Aircraft landing at airport with city skyline in background

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

This was my first attempt to make an educational #HemSky hematology thread on Bluesky. It seems to work…so-so. Links take up more space, and the thread (23 small posts) got broken up in a way that doesn’t happen on X/Twitter. Will keep working on it - maybe it will be fixed in future updates.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Hematologists & pathologists find these cells fascinating: ring sideroblasts. While most commonly associated with #MDS or inherited genetic disorders like #XLSA or #MLASA, these cells can also result from ethanol or tuberculosis drugs - even hypothermia. They have such an interesting history!/1

Ring sideroblasts (Prussian blue reaction) in a bone marrow aspirate. Image source: @ash-hematology.bsky.social Image Bank

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Snowy memory from #ASH17 in Atlanta, unlikely to be repeated at #ASH24 in San Diego #ASHThrowback @ash-hematology.bsky.social

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Just finished reading this @ash-hematology.bsky.social Blood article about RBC transfusion strategies, arguing imprecise “restrictive”, “liberal” and “transfusion trigger” terms should be retired. It’s interesting how transfusion practice has changed/1 #HemSky ashpublications.org/blood/articl...

ashpublications.org

Hemoglobin-based transfusion strategies for cardiovascular and other diseases: restrictive, liberal, or neither?

Natanson and colleagues provide a timely Perspective discussing the evidence for use of a hemoglobin value as a trigger for red blood cell transfusion in c

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

What is this guy that showed up in the backyard, #BirdSky? Juvenile red-shouldered hawk, or a Cooper’s hawk? iNaturalist Seek app thinks it is a broad-winged hawk, but I don’t think that’s likely; Merlin gave all 4 hawks in this area (suburban Boston) as possible options, including red-tailed.

Juvenile hawk perched on a weather sensor.

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David Steensma, MD @davidsteensma.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Mute swans on a cold late autumn morning at Horn Pond, Woburn, Massachusetts.

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