Saturday, July 21, 2007
The available information about the phosphorous cloud following the railway accident in the Ukraine last Monday is becoming more and more cryptic.
The political involvement of most media and other factors are causing contradictions among official sources that are making press work extremely hard. Moreover, no one is permitted to enter the accident location. The site of the accident was closed to visitors following the injury of three TV journalists who got too close.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Space Shuttle Discovery has successfully launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning mission STS-124. Discovery will deliver the main pressurised module of the Japanese Experiment Module to the International Space Station. Lift-off occurred at 21:02:12 GMT this evening, with the ascent to an initial sub-orbital trajectory lasting approximately eight and a half minutes. Orbital insertion occurred shortly afterwards, with a circularisation burn which concluded at 21:42 GMT.
This is the third Space Shuttle mission of 2008. STS-124 is the second of three missions to assemble the Japanese Experiment Module, also known as Kibo. The JEM Pressurised Module (JEM PM or JPM) is the largest laboratory module of the International Space Station, and one of the largest payloads ever launched by the Space Shuttle. The main Japanese robot arm, or RMS, will also be launched on this mission. Discovery’s mission is scheduled to last for fourteen days, however it can be extended by two days if necessary. Three spacewalks, or EVAs, are planned to be conducted.
STS-124 has a crew of seven astronauts; Mission Commander Mark E. Kelly, Pilot Kenneth Ham, Mission specialists Karen L. Nyberg, Ronald J. Garan, Michael E. Fossum and Akihiko Hoshide, and Expedition 17 crewmember Gregory Chamitoff. All crewmembers are American, except Hoshide, who is Japanese. The astronauts were awoken at 11:30 GMT on launch day, and began preparations for their launch. This is the first spaceflight for Ham, Nyberg, Garan, Hoshide and Chamitoff, the second for Fossum, and the third for Kelly. The launch coincides with Kelly’s father’s birthday.
Preparations for launch had been underway for several months. The External Tank arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in late March. Following tests in a checkout cell, it was mated with two solid rocket boosters which had been assembled on a Mobile Launch Platform. Discovery was then rolled from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with the External Tank and boosters. Rollover occurred in late April, and was followed by rollout to the launch pad about a week later.
The Kibo pressurised module arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2003 by ship. It was then moved to the Space Station Processing Facility. Electrical interface tests with the Harmony node were conducted in August 2003. At the end of April 2008, the module was placed in a transportation canister, and moved to the launch pad. The payload arrived at the launch pad about a week ahead of the Shuttle. Once Discovery arrived at the launch pad, the module was placed into Discovery’s payload bay. Owing to the size of the payload, there was no room in Discovery’s’ payload bay for the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), a safety device used primarily to inspect the Shuttle Orbiter’s heat shield. As a result of this, Endeavour left its OBSS at the International Space Station, during the last Shuttle Mission, STS-123. Discovery’s crew will collect this during an EVA.
Fueling of Discovery’s External Tank in preparation for launch began at 11:50 GMT. By 12:50, it had been confirmed that initial tests on Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors in the External Tank had been conducted successfully. ECO sensor failures had caused a number of delays to recent Shuttle launch attempts, and STS-124 is the first mission to use a modified tank, which is intended to eliminate such faults. At the time at which tanking began, weather forecasters predicted an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions at the scheduled launch time. Fuelling was completed, and topping up of cryogenic propellant began, at 15:36. In addition to the ECO sensor modifications, this was the first mission to use an External Tank manufactured after the Columbia accident in 2003, and therefore the first tank to have all safety enhancements built into it, rather than retrofitted.
The terminal countdown resumed after a planned hold at T-3 hours, at 17:07 GMT. Crew walkout from the Operations and Checkout building at the Kennedy Space Center occurred at 17:12. Following walkout, the crew boarded a bus known as the “astrovan”, which was used to transport them to the launch pad. The crew arrived at the launch pad at 17:31, and began boarding Discovery at 17:38. As Mission Commander, Mark Kelly was the first to board the orbiter. He was followed by Chamitoff at 17:42, Ham at 17:52, Fossum at 17:55, Nyberg at 18:08 and Hoshide at 18:11. Ron Garan was the last to board the orbiter at 18:21. Pad technicians known as the closeout crew, assisted the astronauts with boarding the Shuttle, and getting strapped in. The pad technicians were cleared to close the orbiter’s access hatch at 19:02 GMT, and the hatch door was closed two minutes later at 19:04. Sealing the hatch was completed at 19:54.
A scheduled ten-minute hold at T-20 minutes began at 19:47 GMT. During this hold, the closeout crew put thermal insulation plugs into screwholes on the orbiter’s hatch, removed protective covers, and disassembled the white room, a collapsible structure at the end of the crew access arm which is used to access the spacecraft. The countdown resumed at 19:57. At that time, no problems were being worked.
The final built in hold, at T-9 minutes and lasting for 45 minutes and 12 seconds, began at 20:08. During this hold, flight controllers set the exact launch time to be 21:02:12 GMT, and confirmed that the launch window would end at 21:08:59 GMT. The countdown was set to resume at 20:53:12. Shortly before the end of the hold, the launch director described conditions as a “gorgeous day to launch”, and wished the crew “good luck and Godspeed”. Mark Kelly thanked him, and replied “whilst we tend to live for today, Discovery, with Kibo, will certainly deliver hope for tomorrow”. Countdown resumed on time at the end of the hold, and the automated Ground Launch Sequencer was initiated.
When giving clearance to retract the Orbiter Access arm from the Shuttle, seven minutes before launch, the Orbiter Test Conductor wished the crew “best of luck delivering JEM to the International Space Station”. Four minutes before launch, the engines were purged of gasses, and tests of the flight control surfaces began. Liquid hydrogen tanks were pressurised shortly after at T-3 minutes, and the fuel vent cap was retracted. Two minutes before lift-off, the crew were instructed to close and lock their visors, and the liquid oxygen tank was pressurised. At T-50 seconds, the orbiter switched to internal power, and the Shuttle’s flight computers took over control of the countdown at T-31 seconds.
Launch occurred on schedule at 21:02:12 GMT. The Solid Rocket Boosters separated about 120 seconds into the flight, and around eight and a half minutes after launch, the Main Engines (SSMEs) shut down, and the External Tank was jettisoned. At this time, Discovery was on a 65km x 217km x 51.6° sub-orbital trajectory. Orbital insertion followed about thirty minutes later, with a firing of Discovery’s OMS engines. This burn started at 21:39 GMT, and ended at 21:42, lasting two minutes and 44 seconds.
At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, South-East of Canada. Following launch, a fault was detected with the backup electrical system controlling the left OMS engine gimbal actuator. As it was a backup, flight controllers predicted that it would have no effect on the mission, and all scheduled burns will go ahead. The fault was later traced to the failure of both transducers in the unit, and it was reported that the problem was probably due to an equipment malfunction as opposed to a faulty sensor. When asked about the faulty actuator, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin stated that at the “worst case it would be a loss of redundancy but we will still be able to use that system”. Discovery’s payload bay doors were opened at 22:35 GMT. At 23:09, the crew were cleared to begin on-orbit operations.
Processing and countdown progressed smoothly, and were described by Discovery’s processing and launch flow director, Stephanie Stilson, as being “a very clean flow”. Mission Commander Mark Kelly remarked that there had been a “historic low on spacecraft issues”. Around four hours prior to launch, Stilson remarked that there had been 73 anomalies detected so far. The smallest number of anomalies during the countdown for a previous mission was 76, for STS-103.
Moron AFB in Spain was considered the primary transoceanic abort landing (TAL) site, should an engine failure, or other major problem have occurred during early ascent. Istres in France was considered the backup TAL site. The weather at both of these sites was good, however no abort was required during the launch.
This is the 123rd Space Shuttle mission, and the 35th to be flown by Discovery. Ten further missions are planned, including two contingency logistics flights, prior to the Shuttle’s retirement in 2010. Discovery is assigned to three of these missions. It is next scheduled to fly in early 2009, on mission STS-119. The next Space Shuttle mission will be conducted by Atlantis, which will fly STS-125, the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the fourth manned, and 27th orbital launch of 2008.
At a press conference following launch, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin stated that it was “a huge day for the space station partnership”, and that the International Space Station was “a place in orbit where we can learn to live and work in space”. He congratulated JAXA on the launch of the Japanese Experiment Module, saying that “Japan has now built a first class laboratory…which is capable of supporting humans in space”, and that “with this step Japan has shown itself to be capable of performing at the highest levels of space exploration”. Griffin also stated the STS-124 is “an essential step” in the Space Station programme. When asked by a reporter how he felt about recent NASA successes, including the STS-124 launch, and the landing of the Phoenix probe on Mars last Sunday, he joked that it felt “so great that not even having to do a press conference, two press conferences in a week can ruin it”. When asked about the difficulty of what NASA was doing, he remarked that flight controllers “make it look easy”, but “it is so far from being easy that I could talk until 6am tomorrow, and I wouldn’t touch on how difficult it is”.
NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier said that it was “a great day for the launch”, and described STS-124 as a “pretty challenging mission”. Gerstenmair stated that five foam debris impacts had been identified during ascent, but that NASA “don’t consider this a big deal, they were all late”. When asked what he meant by ‘late’, he explained that after 123 seconds into the flight, pieces of falling foam debris “can’t build up enough velocity to hit the orbiter, or if they hit the orbiter they will just bounce off” He went on to say that “things look really well and look really good”, and that NASA have “no concern” about foam, “It’s not an issue to us”.
Launch Integration manager LeRoy Cain described it as a “flawless countdown and a flawless launch”. He said that STS-124 is “a big milestone for us”, and went on to explain that “this is the most important mission we have going right now”. He also stated that the “tank’s performance looks really good”.
Launch Director Mike Linebach stated that it was a “Fantastic launch”, that was tying for the lowest faults during a countdown, with 74 issues reported. Stephanie Stilson has previously stated that the record was 76 issues, so it is unclear whether STS-124 has set a new record, or is tying with the previous record. Linebach went on to describe the launch as “outstanding”.
Keiji Tachikawa, the President of JAXA said that he “was very delighted to see the Shuttle Discovery successfully launched”. He stated that the Kibo module would “significantly enhance the capability to perform experiments in orbit”, and that experiments conducted aboard the Space Station, and the Kibo module, would lead to “better daily lives for the people of our planet”. He also expressed his “profound appreciation to NASA, and all international and domestic organisations” involved in the launch, explaining that the mission is “very significant to Japan”.
byAlma Abell
There is something for everyone in the Lincoln Park area of the great city of Chicago. If you are looking for some fun locations where you can spend some vacation time in Lincoln Park, here are a couple of ideas.
ComedySportz Theatre
One entertainment venue for those who enjoy improv is the ComedySportz theatre. Different nights feature different shows for all ages, and classes in improv are also offered for those willing to push their nerves out of the way and go for it. Whether you choose to take a class, or simply watch, those looking for a fun night and a good laugh will find it at the ComedySportz Theatre Lincoln Park.
Steppenwolf Theatre
For those appreciate the art of theatre, the Steppenwolf Theatre is just one theatre of many in Chicago’s version of Broadway. There are currently shows playing through the end of this month, and shows coming up include a play version of “Animal Farm” as well as titles “Marie Antoinette” and “The Herd.” So, if you’re looking to see something original, and cinemas are just not doing it for you, look up shows and times at the Steppenwolf Theatre.
Lincoln Park Zoo
Animal-lovers looking for something to do should check out the Lincoln Park zoo. It is a large zoo, and sure to show you a number of animals that you have likely never seen in real life including dwarf mongooses, Klipspringers, and sand cats. A myriad of reptiles, fish, birds, and amphibians are present as well. If animals fascinate you, consider spending an afternoon in the Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the few Chicago vacation ideas in Lincoln Park.
The Boka and the The Butcher and the Burger
If you’re hungry and looking for Chicago vacation ideas in Lincoln Park, should check out the Boka. The menu items have a range of poultry, beef, and seafood, including duck breast, lamb shoulder, and monkfish. The price range is a bit higher here, so be ready to spend at least upwards of $70 for two. For a lower price, consider an evening out at The Butcher and The Burger. There is a variety of restaurants in Lincoln Park for all price ranges, so grab some food and spend some quality time with loved ones!
Chicago actually can be a cool vacation spot. If you are going to Chicago in the near future, consider the exciting venues above. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The US-based Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is expected to statically display seven of its aircraft and a mock-up of its latest business jet large cabin concept at the 47th International Paris Air Show, dubbed the LCC.
The seven aircraft expected to be on display are the Citation CJ2+, Citation Encore+, Citation XLS, and Citation Sovereign business jets, a Grand Caravan, a 206 Stationair, and a 172 Skyhawk single engine piston aircraft.
Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton said of the exhibit, “There is so much synergy now with other companies under the Textron corporate banner – companies like Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems – that we felt it made sense for us to return as an exhibitor to the Paris Air Show… We are particularly excited to have our large cabin mockup as the highlight of our exhibit.”
Cessna originally announced plans for a new large model of business jet for the Citation range at last year’s annual National Business Aviation Association meeting, and the idea has been in development since, culminating in the new large cabin concept design. The mock-up at the Paris Air Show includes a large galley, seating for nine passengers, a toilet and a dummy flight deck.
Cessna claim the new design, which outsizes their previous large cabin and long-range business jets, would “set a new standard for performance, cabin comfort, passenger amenities and environmental friendliness,” if launched.
Cessna refuse to release details such as exact internal design specifications and manufacturers of avionics and engines unless the new model actually enters production. Cessna Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Roger Whyte told reporters that preliminary wind tunnel testing had “fully met… expectations” and that they had “received extremely positive reaction to the performance parameters as well the cabin design of the proposed aircraft from our customer base”, although he warned that there are still a number of processes to be completed before Cessna actually decide whether or not to launch the new model.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The family of murdered UK thirteen-year-old Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by journalists of the News of the World, have been offered £3 million compensation by Rupert Murdoch’s News International, in settlement negotiations currently under way.
UK newspaper The Guardian revealed the phone hacking earlier this year. After Dowler was reported missing in 2002, her voicemail messages were listened to and several deleted, creating the impression she might still be alive.
The £3 million on offer reportedly includes £1 million to charity. The rest would go directly to the family. The Guardian reports the Dowler’s lawyers were believed to be looking for about ?3.5 million.
News International stated they were “in advanced negotiations” and “hope to conclude the discussion as quickly as possible.”
Rupert Murdoch personally met with the Dowler family earlier in the year to offer them his apologies for the actions of his News of the World paper. News of the World ceased publishing after discovery of the Dowler hacking and other similar incidents.
By Bello Gbenga
Horse chestnut, which is also known as Aesculus hippocastanum or Venastat, is an herb that strengthens and increases the tone of the walls of the veins of the body, it also reduces swelling in the legs.
Although this herb is very popular in Europe, it is yet to be officially approved for use by the FDA in the USA, however not withstanding this fact, many hemorrhoid sufferers that have used this drug have found it to be very useful in relieving their symptoms.
European studies on horse chestnut found that it increased blood flow in veins and strengthened connective tissue. Aescin, which is the major ingredient of horse chestnut helps to strengthens venal walls, reduce inflammation, and improve blood circulation.
How can you use horse chestnut?
– It can be taken orally in capsular forms of 50- 300 mg twice daily or 600 mg of chestnut extract daily.
– It can be applied as horse chestnut cream topically to the hemorrhoid swelling.
You should never consume or use the raw nut form of horse chestnut, it is very poisonous. The most common form is horse chestnut seed extract standardized at 16-20% aescin.
What are the precautions you must take when you are using this herb?
1 – You should not consume the raw forms of horse chestnuts. The seeds, flowers, leaves, and bark contain a poisonous ingredient called esculin. This highly toxic form of horse chestnuts can lead to poisoning and death.
These are the symptoms of horse chestnut poisoning that you must watch out for: vomiting, diarrhea, headache, paralysis, coma, confusion and coordination problems, muscle twitching.
2 – This herb should not be taken with drugs that increase the risk of bleeding, for example, aspirin ibuprofen, and other blood thinners as the raw horse chestnut further increases the risk of excessive bleeding.
3 – Do not give this herb to children under the age of 18 years, some children have died after eating raw horse chestnut seeds or tea made from horse chestnut leaves and twigs.
4 – Do not give the herb to pregnant women, do not give the herb to women with a history of infertility.
5 – Do not use the herb when you are breast feeding.
6 – Horse chestnut has also been associated with liver and kidney toxicity. If you suffer from any kind of blood disorder, or are prone to bleeding, don’t take this herb without the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.
7 – If you suffer from diabetes, hypoglycemia, or other low-blood-sugar related conditions, don’t take horse chestnut without the supervision of a qualified healthcare provider
8 – When properly processed, horse chestnut seed extract contains little or no esculin. Only take high-quality, or a standardized grade, horse chestnut seed extract purchased from a reputable health supplements supplier. Then, read the directions on the label and follow them. Don’t exceed the recommended dosage.
Because of the many precautions and the potential side effects associated with taking horse chestnut seed extract, it is highly advisable that you discuss with your healthcare provider before you use it. Even the properly processed and standardized extract can result in side effects, such as itching or nausea, it can also cause allergic reactions characterized by dizziness, difficulty in breathing, itchy rash, or swelling.
Although the use of horse chestnut is very good natural piles remedy, it should be used the right way to prevent further worsening of the condition of the sufferer.
So are there other safer and effective natural cures for piles?
About the Author: Yes there are, and you are invited to
hemroidsolution.blogspot.com
to discover safer and more effective natural hemorrhoid remedies. Finally
click here
to download a free book on natural hemorrhoid cures.
Source:
isnare.com
Permanent Link:
isnare.com/?aid=952537&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet
Friday, November 3, 2006
On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 25). Three candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include John Blair, Robertson Boyle, Tony Dickins, Cliff Jenkins (incumbent), and Peter Kapsalis.
For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Recently, Finnish open-source video game developer Perttu Ahola discussed Minetest, his “longest ever project”, with Wikinews.
Started in October 2010, Minetest was an attempt by Ahola to create a sandbox game similar to Minecraft. Minecraft is a multi-platform commercial game, which was in alpha version when Ahola challenged himself to create something similar to it from scratch, he told Wikinews.
Minetest is an open-source game, which is free for anyone to download and play. It is written in the C++ programming language, and the source code is available on code-hosting site GitHub. According to Ahola, Minetest attempts to run on older hardware, with limited graphics, but to be accessible to more people: those who have outdated technology, and making it available for no cost. Minecraft, on the other hand, is a paid game, currently costing USD 26.95 for its computer version. Minecraft is currently owned by Microsoft, and performs poorly on older hardware.
A correspondent from French Wikinews contacted Perttu Ahola via Internet Relay Chat a few weeks ago, discussing Minecraft. This interview is built on top of the previous interview, as we take a deeper dive into knowing more about this free game which is about to turn ten years old in a few months.
By Guy Long
Working your muscles against a force of resistance, simply known as resistance training, helps develop the strength and size of your skeletal muscles. It uses the force of dumbbells, barbells, weighted bars and weight stacks to oppose the force generated by large muscle groups through eccentric or concentric contraction.
Resistance training helps add muscle mass to your body, improves the strength of your muscles, increases the size of your large muscle groups and improves your performance. These exercises demand you to supply your body with protein, amino acids, carbohydrates and vitamins on a regular basis. Protein and amino acids make the structural core of the human body and they are required for growth and repair of tissues. Moreover, amino acids help in the transportation of oxygen and nutrients. Carbohydrates help replace the glycogen after hard resistance training exercises, which gives muscle tissue energy and lean mass.
Protein-rich foods include lean meats such as chicken, fish and turkey, nuts, whole grains, yogurt, fortified cereals and pulses. You should get the recommended daily allowance of carbohydrate from the brown rice, potatoes, sugar beets, sweet potatoes and fortified cereals. For vitamins and minerals, consume fresh fruits and green vegetables on a regular basis. Drink plenty of water daily to detoxify your body.
Many regular gym users love to train their biceps as large and muscular biceps are seen as a symbol of strength and power by others. There are numerous resistance training exercises that target specifically the biceps. Among those exercises, Side Hammer Preacher Curl is a magnificent resistance training workout that defines your biceps. This exercise also targets the side of your bicep.
This exercise is known as Preacher Curl because you perform it on a preacher. In order to start this exercise, you need to grab a dumbbell in your hand and place that very arm on the preacher in a diagonal direction. Next step is to bring the dumbbell down and then raise it up to complete one rep. Make sure that you perform 3 sets of about 10 reps each. Now, switch to your other arm and repeat the same process.
When you bring the weight up, make sure that you squeeze the inside of your bicep to put maximum stress on the muscle. It is also important that you flex your bicep when you bring the weight down. Control the movement of the dumbbell and maintain a steady posture. Make sure that you don’t jerk the weight as doing this can lead to a severe bicep injury.
If you are not sure about how to perform the Side Hammer Preacher Curl, then you should look for the services of a professional gym trainer in your vicinity. This would help you reap the maximum benefits from the resistance training exercises as a fitness trainer will carefully monitor your technique and will guide you on how to execute exercises safely. Moreover, he or she will suggest you a right combination of resistance training exercises keeping in view your weight-training objectives and body needs.
About the Author: Guy Long is a
Personal Fitness Trainer in Elsternwick
and runs
Health Clubs in St.Kilda
where he specializes in resistance training, body transformation, weight control, and overall muscular strength for local residents.
Source:
isnare.com
Permanent Link:
isnare.com/?aid=741631&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet
Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.
The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.
“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.
“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.
“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.
“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”
The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.
Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”
The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.
“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.
The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:
“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”
Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.