Wann werden die Russen endlich den Größenwahnsinnigen und Kriegsverbrecher Putin der Schreckliche entmachten!
Monday, November 27, 2023
Russland: Schwerverbrecher sind auf freiem Fuss – denn sie sind «Kriegshelden»
The Gap Band - Party Train
Enjoy! Maybe you don't like the music so much, but the video is great! Lot's of 1980s dance moves and beach parties!
Sunday, November 26, 2023
What Joseph Boakai's presidential win means for Liberia
Recommendable! Another peaceful and successful election in Liberia! Despite a very narrow win by the opponent, the losing president conceded defeat and allows for a peaceful transition of power!
How a Taiwanese architecture historian is helping Syrian refugees in Turkey
Very recommendable! Wonderful story!
China, Japan and South Korea hold rare meeting
When will the Korean peninsula be finally reunited! The unification of Germany happened in 1990!
The science behind why doing good makes us feel good with Lorelei
Recommendable! The main person in this video is Lorelei Collins. I could not believe her first name was indeed Lorelei like the very famous rock on the Rhine river in Germany: "Lorelei, siren of Germanic mythology, of great beauty and delicious song, who was placed on a rock on the Rhine and with her song seduced the navigators."
Why was Sam Altman Fired from OpenAI? with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! Except that Palki Sharma too is too pessimistic regarding the future of AI!
A Copper King and the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by Lawrence Reed
Recommendable! Given that the lifelong U.S. Senator and current senile and demented 46th President is possibly also one of the most corrupt, a brief history of the 17th Amendment is not a waste of time.
Who were these voters in Delaware who voted so many times for the head of the Biden clan!
"... . It seems likely that popular election of senators simply transferred corruption from state capitals to Washington. ... A few years ago, a study by George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki concluded there is “no indication that the shift to direct election did anything to eliminate or even reduce corruption in Senate elections.” ..."
Achieving 50:50 Gender quota at the ASTRO 3D research center in Australia. Absurd!
Australian taxpayers pay for this woke nonsense! I would even say this is unconstitutional!
This is socialist central planning!
Science suffers when a gender quota is enforced! Mediocrity wins over meritocracy!
"“Over the course of this Centre, we seek to achieve a fraction of 50% females at all levels including the executive, the Advisory committee, and at all Centre sponsored events (including speakers), as well as equity in salaries and opportunities.”"
"ASTRO 3D is a seven-year $40 million Centre of Excellence project funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council (ARC). The Centre began in June 2017 and will end in June 2024. Our Centre unifies over 250 world-leading astronomers to understand the evolution of matter, light and the elements, from the Big Bang to the present day. We are combining innovative optical and radio 3D technology with new theoretical supercomputer simulations on a massive scale, requiring new big data techniques." (Source)
How this astrophysics center achieved gender parity With a combination of recruitment and retention policies over 5 years, ASTRO 3D reached 50% women scientists
One Stage of Sleep Seems to Be Critical For Reducing The Risk of Dementia
Good news!
Unfortunately, the article is silent on the benefits of naps in this respect!
"Slow-wave sleep is the third stage of a human 90-minute sleep cycle, lasting about 20–40 minutes. It's the most restful stage, where brain waves and heart rate slow and blood pressure drops. ...
Earlier this year, research discovered that individuals with Alzheimer's-related changes in their brain did better on memory tests when they got more slow-wave sleep.
Earlier this year, research discovered that individuals with Alzheimer's-related changes in their brain did better on memory tests when they got more slow-wave sleep.
"Slow-wave sleep, or deep sleep, supports the aging brain in many ways, and we know that sleep augments the clearance of metabolic waste from the brain, including facilitating the clearance of proteins that aggregate in Alzheimer's disease," ...
"However, to date we have been unsure of the role of slow-wave sleep in the development of dementia. Our findings suggest that slow-wave sleep loss may be a modifiable dementia risk factor." ...
By comparing participants' first and second sleep studies, researchers discovered a link between each percentage point decrease in slow-wave sleep per year and a 27 percent increased risk of developing dementia. ..."
From the abstract:
"Importance
Slow-wave sleep (SWS) supports the aging brain in many ways, including facilitating the glymphatic clearance of proteins that aggregate in Alzheimer disease. However, the role of SWS in the development of dementia remains equivocal.
Slow-wave sleep (SWS) supports the aging brain in many ways, including facilitating the glymphatic clearance of proteins that aggregate in Alzheimer disease. However, the role of SWS in the development of dementia remains equivocal.
Objective
To determine whether SWS loss with aging is associated with the risk of incident dementia and examine whether Alzheimer disease genetic risk or hippocampal volumes suggestive of early neurodegeneration were associated with SWS loss.
To determine whether SWS loss with aging is associated with the risk of incident dementia and examine whether Alzheimer disease genetic risk or hippocampal volumes suggestive of early neurodegeneration were associated with SWS loss.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This prospective cohort study included participants in the Framingham Heart Study who completed 2 overnight polysomnography (PSG) studies in the time periods 1995 to 1998 and 1998 to 2001. Additional criteria for individuals in this study sample were an age of 60 years or older and no dementia at the time of the second overnight PSG. Data analysis was performed from January 2020 to August 2023.
This prospective cohort study included participants in the Framingham Heart Study who completed 2 overnight polysomnography (PSG) studies in the time periods 1995 to 1998 and 1998 to 2001. Additional criteria for individuals in this study sample were an age of 60 years or older and no dementia at the time of the second overnight PSG. Data analysis was performed from January 2020 to August 2023.
Exposure
Changes in SWS percentage measured across repeated overnight sleep studies over a mean of 5.2 years apart (range, 4.8-7.1 years).
Changes in SWS percentage measured across repeated overnight sleep studies over a mean of 5.2 years apart (range, 4.8-7.1 years).
Main Outcome
Risk of incident all-cause dementia adjudicated over 17 years of follow-up from the second PSG.
Results
From the 868 Framingham Heart Study participants who returned for a second PSG, this cohort included 346 participants with a mean age of 69 years (range, 60-87 years); 179 (52%) were female. Aging was associated with SWS loss across repeated overnight sleep studies (mean [SD] change, −0.6 [1.5%] per year; P < .001). Over the next 17 years of follow-up, there were 52 cases of incident dementia. In Cox regression models adjusted for age, sex, cohort, positivity for at least 1 APOE ε4 allele, smoking status, sleeping medication use, antidepressant use, and anxiolytic use, each percentage decrease in SWS per year was associated with a 27% increase in the risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.06-1.54; P = .01). SWS loss with aging was accelerated in the presence of Alzheimer disease genetic risk (ie, APOE ε4 allele) but not hippocampal volumes measured proximal to the first PSG.
From the 868 Framingham Heart Study participants who returned for a second PSG, this cohort included 346 participants with a mean age of 69 years (range, 60-87 years); 179 (52%) were female. Aging was associated with SWS loss across repeated overnight sleep studies (mean [SD] change, −0.6 [1.5%] per year; P < .001). Over the next 17 years of follow-up, there were 52 cases of incident dementia. In Cox regression models adjusted for age, sex, cohort, positivity for at least 1 APOE ε4 allele, smoking status, sleeping medication use, antidepressant use, and anxiolytic use, each percentage decrease in SWS per year was associated with a 27% increase in the risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.06-1.54; P = .01). SWS loss with aging was accelerated in the presence of Alzheimer disease genetic risk (ie, APOE ε4 allele) but not hippocampal volumes measured proximal to the first PSG.
Conclusions and Relevance
This cohort study found that slow-wave sleep percentage declined with aging and Alzheimer disease genetic risk, with greater reductions associated with the risk of incident dementia. These findings suggest that SWS loss may be a modifiable dementia risk factor."
This cohort study found that slow-wave sleep percentage declined with aging and Alzheimer disease genetic risk, with greater reductions associated with the risk of incident dementia. These findings suggest that SWS loss may be a modifiable dementia risk factor."
Why Is EU Trying to Block Poland’s Move Toward Clean Nuclear Energy?
Recommendable! Is Poland being punished by the EU for choosing U.S. contractors to build two of their new nuclear power plants?
Brexit is such a blessing!
"... Coal, natural gas, and oil have provided the preponderance of Poland’s energy for decades, and coal specifically remains the primary fuel for the electricity sector, providing around 72% of the nation’s electricity. This energy mix has been a winner for Poland with life expectancy as well as per capita GDP dramatically increasing since the end of the Cold War.
Despite efforts to the contrary, Poland is being forced to change what works by the European Union and its drive toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to fight so-called climate change. The EU requires a series of complicated mandates, directives, and carbon credit systems. ...
The Polish government understood that it would be necessary to collaborate with foreign reactor companies to construct the new plants, so it began communications with French, South Korean, and American firms. Upon consultation, the Polish government chose the American firms Westinghouse and Bechtel as partners for the initial plant construction. ...
In total, Poland plans to build two nuclear power plants with three large reactors at each plant for a total of 6-9 gigawatts of electricity. For comparison, a gigawatt is roughly enough power to supply a medium-sized city. Poland hopes to get its first new plant online by 2033, with subsequent reactors beginning operations every two to three years afterwards. ...
The European Union is now threatening to block Poland’s nuclear plans behind accusations that Poland may not have followed European competition rules, which require multiple bidders be considered and treated equally. ..."
What would a real and reasonable two-state solution for Israel look like?
I recently blogged here about the outdated insanity called two state solution repeated so often again and again. Several decades ago or following World War II this was perhaps a reasonable idea. Time and history have moved on!
Let's be very clear that the so called Palestinian Arabs are being used as political pawns by Arab states and others for several decades!
Why not have these so called Palestinian Arabs move to Jordan, Lebanon, or Egypt!
Why not make Gaza a part of Israel! Gazan citizens will be allowed to choose to become Israeli citizens or move away!
Perhaps create a new state for the so called Palestinian Arabs out of the West Bank!
Jordan is Palestine, claims Dutch politician Geert Wilders
Looking at the history of Israel and Jordan in the 20th century, then Wilders is not totally off the mark!
Healthy plants grown in lunar soil for the first time
Amazing stuff! Or lunacy? Maybe next time you point your telescope to the moon you will see a green house. (just kidding)
Did the researchers also test whether these bacteria would survive the moon atmosphere or lack thereof?
"Researchers ... have figured out a way to increase the amount of soluble phosphorus in lunar soil and drastically improve its fertility using bacteria.
They used their method to grow benth (Nicotiana benthamiana) plants in a lunar soil simulant and, guess what — the plants not only grew but also developed healthy stems, roots, and leaves. ..."
From the abstract:
"In-situ utilization of lunar soil resources will effectively improve the self-sufficiency of bioregenerative life support systems for future lunar bases. Therefore, we have explored the microbiological method to transform lunar soil into a substrate for plant cultivation. In this study, five species of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria are used as test strains, and a 21-day bio-improving experiment with another 24-day Nicotiana benthamiana cultivation experiment are carried out on lunar regolith simulant. We have observed that the phosphorus-solublizing bacteria Bacillus mucilaginosus, Bacillus megaterium, and Pseudomonas fluorescens can tolerate the lunar regolith simulant conditions and dissociate the insoluble phosphorus from the regolith simulant. The phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria treatment improves the available phosphorus content of the regolith simulant, promoting the growth of Nicotiana benthamiana. Here we demonstrate that the phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria can effectively improve the fertility of lunar regolith simulant, making it a good cultivation substrate for higher plants. The results can lay a technical foundation for plant cultivation based on lunar regolith resources in future lunar bases."
Fig. 7: The photography of partial plants in two control groups and four treatments.
Is Russia Trying to Weaponise Its Border With Finland? with Palki Sharma
Concerning! A case of hybrid warfare! Stalin tried to invade Finland in 1939 just shortly after the outbreak of WWII. Looks like the work of the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible!
Saturday, November 25, 2023
How Israel Developed Nuclear Weapons in Secret with Palki Sharma
Very recommendable! What a great story! I knew only a few parts of it.
Perhaps, the only major nuclear bomb test was maritime and occurred off the coast of South Africa in 1979.
Scientists can now tell where you're looking by listening to your ears
Amazing stuff!
"Back in 2018, scientists at Duke University discovered that each time our eyes move, our ears make an imperceptible squeaking noise. Now, the researchers have developed a method of telling where a person is looking by analyzing those sounds. ...
Lead scientist ... believes that they may occur as eye movements trigger the brain to contract either the middle ear muscles or the hair cells – doing the former helps dampen loud noises, while doing the latter amplifies quiet ones.
This arrangement could help us make sense of our surroundings, by automatically adjusting the sensitivity of our hearing based on what we're looking at. ..."
"... The exact purpose of these ear squeaks is unclear, but [researcher]’s initial hunch is that it might help sharpen people’s perception. ...
Just as the eye’s pupils constrict or dilate like a camera’s aperture to adjust how much light gets in, the ears too have their own way to regulate hearing. ..."
Just as the eye’s pupils constrict or dilate like a camera’s aperture to adjust how much light gets in, the ears too have their own way to regulate hearing. ..."
From the significance and abstract:
"Significance
... Here, we show that the small sounds generated within the ear by the brain contain accurate information about contemporaneous eye movements in the spatial domain: The direction and amplitude of the eye movements could be inferred from these small sounds. The underlying mechanism(s) likely involve(s) the ear’s various motor structures and could facilitate the translation of incoming auditory signals into a frame of reference anchored to the direction of the eyes and hence the visual scene.
Abstract
Eye movements alter the relationship between the visual and auditory spatial scenes. Signals related to eye movements affect neural pathways from the ear through auditory cortex and beyond, but how these signals contribute to computing the locations of sounds with respect to the visual scene is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the information contained in eye movement-related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs), pressure changes recorded in the ear canal that occur in conjunction with simultaneous eye movements. We show that EMREOs contain parametric information about horizontal and vertical eye displacement as well as initial/final eye position with respect to the head. The parametric information in the horizontal and vertical directions can be modeled as combining linearly, allowing accurate prediction of the EMREOs associated with oblique (diagonal) eye movements. Target location can also be inferred from the EMREO signals recorded during eye movements to those targets. We hypothesize that the (currently unknown) mechanism underlying EMREOs could impose a two-dimensional eye-movement-related transfer function on any incoming sound, permitting subsequent processing stages to compute the positions of sounds in relation to the visual scene."
Your Eyes Talk to Your Ears. Scientists Know What They’re Saying. A new finding that eye movements can be decoded by the sounds they generate in the ear reveals that hearing may be affected by vision.
IDF is following Hamas leaders around the world, spokesperson warns
That is a very serious warning! Remember what happened to Nazi perpetrators like Adolf Eichmann around the world after 1945!
Hopefully, these cowards will not sleep very well anymore!
Hamas in the West Bank executes three West Bank Palestinians for 'spying for Israel' in the streets of Tulkarm city
What do you expect from cowardly mass killers! Was there a fair trial by any chance?
"... A Palestinian mob can be seen in the videos abusing the bodies and hanging them on an electric pole as crowds surrounded the area, screaming "You traitors!" N12 reported. ..."
Bacteria Can Store Memories And Pass Them on For Generations
Amazing stuff!
"... The ubiquitous bacterium, Escherichia coli, is one of the most well-studied life forms on Earth, and yet scientists are still discovering unexpected ways that it survives and spreads. ..."
"... Researchers ... found that E. coli bacteria use iron levels as a way to store information about different behaviors that can then be activated in response to certain stimuli. ..."
From the significance and abstract:
"Significance
... We report here a multigenerational memory in Escherichia coli swarming motility, where bacteria “remember” their swarming experience for several generations. We show unambiguously that the molecular basis of this memory is the levels of available cellular iron. The act of swarming “conditions” the cells with this memory. Given the central role of iron in cellular metabolism, an iron-based memory might offer the advantage of providing a hub connecting various stress responses such as antibiotic survival and biofilms.
Abstract
The importance of memory in bacterial decision-making is relatively unexplored. We show here that a prior experience of swarming is remembered when Escherichia coli encounters a new surface, improving its future swarming efficiency. We conducted >10,000 single-cell swarm assays to discover that cells store memory in the form of cellular iron levels. This “iron” memory preexists in planktonic cells, but the act of swarming reinforces it. A cell with low iron initiates swarming early and is a better swarmer, while the opposite is true for a cell with high iron. The swarming potential of a mother cell, which tracks with its iron memory, is passed down to its fourth-generation daughter cells. This memory is naturally lost by the seventh generation, but artificially manipulating iron levels allows it to persist much longer. A mathematical model with a time-delay component faithfully recreates the observed dynamic interconversions between different swarming potentials. We demonstrate that cellular iron levels also track with biofilm formation and antibiotic tolerance, suggesting that iron memory may impact other physiologies."
A heritable iron memory enables decision-making in Escherichia coli (no public access)
Bacterial swarm on a laboratory plate
When olives rot on the trees while the olive branch is broken
There are reports that the harvest of olives in northern Israel is in jeopardy due to the Israel Hamas War.
The people living on the northern border with Lebanon were evacuated. Arab (Palestinian) and Thai farmhands are missing. Know you know why so many Thais were among the hostages.
Credits: Wenn die Oliven an den Bäumen verdorren – der Gaza-Krieg setzt Israels Bauern schwer zu
The olive branch is a symbol of peace. It is associated with the customs of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and is connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. Likewise, it is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean Basin and has become a near-universal peace symbol in the modern world. (Source)
When the political pendulum swings
Recent election results in democratic countries from South America to Western Europe leave little doubt that something momentous is happening.
As they say elections have consequences!
There is good reason to believe that citizens in various democratic countries are finally fed up with leftist and greenish ideology and incompetence!
Did Israel make a ‘bargain with the devil’
Recommendable! Here is a critical take on a bad deal! I previously blogged here about it.
I had almost forgotten that Western countries vowed a long time ago not to negotiate with hostage taking terrorists. Well, that once touted tough policy apparently is totally out of the window!
The interviewee also points to a previous, similar even more grave mistake by Benjamin Netanyahu! The release of Gilad Shalit!
"... A second big issue is the question of precedent. What kind of precedent are they setting by being willing to negotiate? For many years, the United States government took the position that it would not negotiate with terrorists to try to release kidnap victims. And there was a lot of tension [between the government and victims’ families]. The stated policy was often informally violated by the U.S. government, that is, they sometimes did participate. And in fact, it turns out that European countries were negotiating with various — often Islamic — terrorist groups in the last decade, were paying money to get people released. The United States wasn’t and it changed its formal policy. ...
You wrote an op-ed critical of the decision in 2011 by an earlier Netanyahu government to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and held hostage in Gaza. What made you call that a “crazy deal” and what might be different about the current situation?
There were lots of things wrong with that deal. First, the price was absurdly high. Second, it set a terrible precedent. And third, as it turns out, that deal strengthened Hamas and weakened the Palestinian Authority, because the Israeli government was negotiating with Hamas, who made sure the Palestinian Authority would get no credit. And comparatively few of the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners were released. And finally, it turns out of course, that among those released are at least some who now are apparently leaders of Hamas. ..."
Robert Mnookin directs the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School.
A Jewish family Levy owned the Monticello estate for 89 years, longer than Thomas Jefferson did
Who preserved Monticello before the Thomas Jefferson Foundation took over in 1923?
Please note Monticello is one of a few national monuments not run by the National Park Service, but by a private foundation.
"As an early champion of religious freedom in the United States, Thomas Jefferson’s regard for and relationship with Jews has been well-documented. But the Jewish history of Jefferson’s famous Monticello home is less known.
Enter the documentary “The Levys of Monticello,” which hits streaming platforms Friday and tells the story of the Jewish family that owned the estate for 89 years — longer than Jefferson did himself.
From Menemsha Films, the documentary chronicles Uriah Phillips Levy and his nephew, Jefferson Monroe Levy, descendants of Sephardic Jews who fled Portugal during the Inquisition. The elder Levy served in the Navy and was the first Jew to achieve the rank of commodore when he fought in the War of 1812.
In 1834, Levy bought Monticello for $2,700 and, along with 20 slaves, worked to repair the house and maintain the grounds. ..."
Members of the Levy family owned Monticello for 89 years, longer than Thomas Jefferson and his descendants
The linguistic abuse of survivor
It has been going on for some years now. This represents a dubious proliferation and inflation.
The media and others are very quick to call someone a survivor no matter what the underlying cause or circumstances.
Contrast victim and survivor.
Arkansas female teacher (age 30) sent nude photos to male teen student (age 14) in exchange for his nude photos
Another Me Too event! Child molestation in the age of gender equality!
Ex-officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd’s killing, stabbed and seriously injured in prison
Life in prison is probably not easy for convicted police officers! Like a double punishment. Other inmates may come after a former police officer.
The timing of his stabbing is very suspicious! Just five days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the police officer. Just when the 2022 book titled "They're Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd" by Liz Collin appears to get more publicity.
There is a strong presumption that had there been no riots and had the truth about the career criminal and drug addict George Floyd fully come out, the sentence of this police offer would have been quite different.
In this case, the police officer was made the villain for political expediency! What a mistrial!
"Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. ...
Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder."
How China’s economic slowdown is rippling across Asia
Recommendable! Is e.g. Indonesia the next new China?
Friday, November 24, 2023
Pro-China Taiwan Opposition Splits | Boost for Ruling Party with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! When will China become a democracy? The world would be a much better place!
Why Does Pakistan Want to Join the BRICS? with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! Does the West pay enough attention to BRICS?
Most slippery surface ever inspired by new understanding of surface roughness
Caution slippery when wet! Amazing stuff!
"The slipperiness of a surface can be tuned by tweaking its molecular-scale roughness, researchers in Finland have shown. This helps to explain why water droplets can easily slide off hydrophilic surfaces if they are chemically homogeneous, and also opens up new possibilities for the design of low-friction surfaces – allowing the researchers to produce what they believe is the most slippery surface ever created. Such surfaces could be used in self-cleaning coatings. ...
In the highly hydrophobic case, a water droplet touches the surface at a very steep angle, so only a relatively small area of the droplet made contact and slides off easily. This principle of texturing a surface to reduce a droplet’s contact area is well known and routinely exploited in superhydrophobic surfaces. The other cases surprised the researchers more. In the low-coverage, hydrophilic case, water spread out to form a thin film that covered the surface. Other water droplets formed large interfacial contacts with this layer, but as it was highly mobile it lubricated their passage across the surface. In the intermediate case, however, this hydrophilic surface effect was broken up by the hydrophobic islands. Instead of skating across the surface of a contiguous layer of water or skimming on a hydrophobic surface, water droplets were repeatedly puddling. ...
The researchers extended their work to make a super-slippery superhydrophobic surface. They grew their hydrophobic monolayer on top of a layer of aluminium oxide-covered black silicon, which was textured at the micrometre scale to minimise the droplet contact area and create an exceptionally superhydrophobic surface. ... Here, however, the researchers combined both physical and chemical hydrophobicity. ‘The contact area is very small, and where it does contact the surface you have this lubricating effect,’ ... The result, they believe, is the most slippery surface ever created. ... believes the approach is scalable ..."
From the abstract:
"Friction determines whether liquid droplets slide off a solid surface or stick to it. Surface heterogeneity is generally acknowledged as the major cause of increased contact angle hysteresis and contact line friction of droplets. Here we challenge this long-standing premise for chemical heterogeneity at the molecular length scale. By tuning the coverage of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), water contact angles change gradually from about 10° to 110° yet contact angle hysteresis and contact line friction are low for the low-coverage hydrophilic SAMs as well as high-coverage hydrophobic SAMs. Their slipperiness is not expected based on the substantial chemical heterogeneity of the SAMs featuring uncoated areas of the substrate well beyond the size of a water molecule as probed by metal reactants. According to molecular dynamics simulations, the low friction of both low- and high-coverage SAMs originates from the mobility of interfacial water molecules. These findings reveal a yet unknown and counterintuitive mechanism for slipperiness, opening new avenues for enhancing the mobility of droplets."
Fig. 1: Controlling CLF [contact line friction ] by tuning surface hydrophobicity with OTS SAM.
The role of foreign influencers in China’s propaganda system
When will China finally become a democracy! The world would be a much better place!
"... the CCP also actively cultivates a rising group of foreign influencers with millions of fans, which endorses pro-CCP narratives on Chinese and global social-media platforms. ...
As we outline in this report, foreign influencers are involved in a wave of experimentation and innovation in domestic (and external) propaganda production that’s taking place at different levels around the PRC as officials heed Xi Jinping’s call to actively participate in ‘international communication’. ...
This report examines how a growing subset of foreign influencers, aware of the highly nationalistic online environment and strict censorship rules in China, is increasingly choosing to create content that aligns more explicitly with the CCP’s ‘main melody’. ...
This research also reveals that the CCP is effectively co-opting a widespread network of international students at Chinese universities, cultivating them as a talent pool of young, multilingual, social-media-friendly influencers. ...
The CCP is using foreign influencers to enable its propaganda to surreptitiously penetrate mainstream overseas media, including into major US cable TV outlets ... Chinese authorities use vlogger, influencer and journalist identities interchangeably, in keeping with efforts aimed at influencing audiences, rather than offering professional or objective news coverage. ..."
The CCP is using foreign influencers to enable its propaganda to surreptitiously penetrate mainstream overseas media, including into major US cable TV outlets ... Chinese authorities use vlogger, influencer and journalist identities interchangeably, in keeping with efforts aimed at influencing audiences, rather than offering professional or objective news coverage. ..."
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Image of the day
Taxes are too high in the UK. The lower tax regime during the government o Prime Minister Margret Thatcher (1979-1990) were undone!
Was the UK not a quasi socialist country when it came out of WW II? Compare the level then with now.
Who are the 150 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel?
How many criminals are among them? How many will pose again a threat to Israelis?
"... The government has attempted to assuage fears that terrorists who committed murder will be released. The government released a 300-person list of possible prisoners to be released, of which 17 were attempted murderers. ..."
Have you ever wondered who supplies illegal drugs to prison inmates?
Supposedly, prisons have a steady supply of illegal drugs for inmates.
How about lawyers? How about prison guards? How about medical staff etc.?
"The arrest of a Houston lawyer and new evidence that authorities are looking for others in connection to the smuggling of drug-laced paper into the Harris County Jail has revealed how investigators uncovered the flow of contraband into the facility, according to court records. ..."
Volkswagen to develop and launch China-specific entry level electric platform in Hefei, China
Volkswagen is going to China with its development of electric vehicles!
Could be a smart move, we will find out! Or is it just another sign confirming that Germany has become a banana republic?
"Volkswagen said on Friday it will develop a new platform for entry-level electric vehicles in China and use more local components to lower costs, as the German company seeks to regain lost ground in the world's biggest auto market.
The new architecture, known as the A Main Platform, will be made specifically to Chinese consumer tastes with regards to the battery, electric drive and electric motor ...
Chinese new car buyers are younger, tech savvy and like a immersive digital experience from their cars ..."
In April of this year VW announced:
"Volkswagen is investing around 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in a new development and procurement centre for electric vehicles in Hefei, China, the company said on Tuesday, in a bid to better adapt its cars to Chinese customers' tastes.
The aim of the centre, dubbed "100%TechCo", will be to reduce development times for new products and technologies by around 30%, involving suppliers at the early stages of product development to accelerate the time to market. ..."
Interactive map of the October 7 Massacres by Hamas
This mass massacre committed by Hamas was actually a series of smaller massacres spread out over a large area.
"On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas led a simultaneous wave of assaults on Israeli civilian communities and military posts. The dawn attack began when Hamas launched over 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, then used these strategic barrages as cover to breach the border. In this massive surprise onslaught on southern Israel, Hamas terrorists committed unfathomable atrocities that have reverberated globally.
The attacks claimed the lives of more than 1,194 individuals, of which 843 of the identified bodies are civilians. They left over 4,834 wounded, and resulted in 240 people being taken hostage. Additionally, some of the bodies remain unidentified due to substantial mutilation. ..."
Blue whales return to tropical haven by the Seychelles
Good news! This video is way too short! Shame on BBC!
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Was Cutting Edge AI Project Q* a Reason for Sam Altman's Ouster? with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! How much progress has OpenAI made on artificial general intelligence (AGI)?
Mysterious Pneumonia Spreads in China affecting primarily children: Cases Surge with Palki Sharma
Certainly concerning! And again China is not cooperating like during the global Covid-19 pandemic!
Putin "Ready for Talks" as Ukraine Makes Battlefield Gains with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! The pressure on Putin the Terrible is rising! Huge military losses in the Ukraine, a tanking Russian economy and so on. Maybe the Russian people are finally tired of this war.
Grenzübertritte: Sind illegale Migranten Vergeltung für Finnlands Nato-Beitritt?
Putin der Schreckliche am Werk! Eine 1,300 Km lange, weitgehend grüne Grenze zwischen Finnland und Russland!
Blogger annoyances
Because I just blogged here about a job board website for adult jobs! I have published almost 17,700 posts. I believe, this is the first such warning by Blogger! It is pretty ridiculous!
Genomic study of over 1 million individuals links cannabis abuse to multiple health problems and its inheritability
Modesty and common sense are good for your health!
Unfortunately, besides lung cancer risk (well known) no other health problems are mentioned except substance use disorder.
"... For the study, researchers examined a genome-wide set of genetic variants in individuals from multiple ancestry groups enrolled in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program, one of the world’s largest genetic databases, and incorporated additional information from several other genomic databases. They were able to identify dozens of genetic variants linked to cannabis use disorder and a variety of behavioral and health issues associated with cannabis use disorder. ...
Previous research has shown that roughly one-third of people who use marijuana develop cannabis use disorder, which is defined as a problematic pattern of cannabis use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. ...
variants of genes that encode for three different types of receptors on neurons were associated with elevated risk for developing cannabis use disorder. ..."
Previous research has shown that roughly one-third of people who use marijuana develop cannabis use disorder, which is defined as a problematic pattern of cannabis use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. ...
variants of genes that encode for three different types of receptors on neurons were associated with elevated risk for developing cannabis use disorder. ..."
From the abstract:
"As recreational use of cannabis is being decriminalized in many places and medical use widely sanctioned, there are growing concerns about increases in cannabis use disorder (CanUD), which is associated with numerous medical comorbidities. Here we performed a genome-wide association study of CanUD in the Million Veteran Program (MVP), followed by meta-analysis in 1,054,365 individuals (ncases = 64,314) from four broad ancestries designated by the reference panel used for assignment (European n = 886,025, African n = 123,208, admixed American n = 38,289 and East Asian n = 6,843). Population-specific methods were applied to calculate single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability within each ancestry. Statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability for CanUD was observed in all but the smallest population (East Asian). We discovered genome-wide significant loci unique to each ancestry: 22 in European, 2 each in African and East Asian, and 1 in admixed American ancestries. A genetically informed causal relationship analysis indicated a possible effect of genetic liability for CanUD on lung cancer risk, suggesting potential unanticipated future medical and psychiatric public health consequences that require further study to disentangle from other known risk factors such as cigarette smoking."
The Old-School Artillery Shell Is Becoming High Tech
Expensive missiles versus precision guided rocket propelled artillery shells.
"“Do I need a missile that costs 500,000 euros each when we can do it with an artillery shell?” Arms manufacturer Armin Papperger [Rheinmetall], referring to the equivalent of around $547,000. Companies are increasing artillery shells’ range, precision and lethality after decades of minimal change. The advances make some shells similar to missiles—but cheaper and more speedily manufactured. Shells that use satellite navigation to reach targets and mini-rocket engines for propulsion have been deployed in Ukraine and Israel."
Solid Rocket Motors With experience dating back to the late 1940s, Nammo is today one of the leading companies within design, development and production of solid rocket motors for air-to-air, surface-to-air and air-to-surface applications.
Nammo AS With more than 100 years of experience, Nammo is considered one of the world's leading providers of ammunition.
SexyJobs.com - No jobs for prudish people
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Catholic All-Women College in Indiana Will Admit Men Who Identify as Women
Apparently, this traditional school, founded in 1844, has become progressive! It is also notable that this school says little or nothing about its history on its website.
Motto of the school: "Saint Mary's College is about one thing: making you stronger, more confident. Powerful. Empowering women is what we stand for. Assuring your success in life. For the rest of your life."
But they also promote "This commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] ..."
The school also has an LGBTQ+ Center!
"Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, will begin allowing men who identify as women to enroll at the college in the fall of 2024, an email obtained by The Daily Signal shows.
President Katie Conboy told faculty in an email sent Tuesday afternoon that “Saint Mary’s will consider undergraduate applicants whose sex assigned at birth is female or who consistently live and identify as women.” ..."
Mehr als 15.000 Restaurants in Deutschland droht die Insolvenz. Wirklich!
Wird das nicht schon seit Jahrzehnten immer wieder beschrieben das Sterben der Gaststätten in Deutschland? Ist das nicht auch so ein Dauerbrenner Thema?
China continues to shutter, raze, and alter Mosques in north-central Muslim provinces
That is what communist dictators do! It is called atheism! Repugnant!
"... Since 2017, Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have damaged or destroyed two-thirds of the region’s mosques, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). About half have been demolished outright. ...
In Ningxia, Human Rights Watch has verified and analyzed videos and pictures posted online by Hui Muslims and used satellite imagery to corroborate them in order to examine the policy’s implementation in two villages. Of these villages’ seven mosques, four had significant destruction: three main buildings had been razed and the ablution hall of one was damaged inside. The authorities have removed the domes and minarets of all seven mosques. ...
In a forthcoming research report, two scholars on Hui Muslims ... have estimated that one-third of mosques in Ningxia have been closed since 2020. A March 2021 Radio Free Asia report estimated that between 400 and 500 mosques faced closure in Ningxia, which had 4,203 mosques as of 2014. ..."
In a forthcoming research report, two scholars on Hui Muslims ... have estimated that one-third of mosques in Ningxia have been closed since 2020. A March 2021 Radio Free Asia report estimated that between 400 and 500 mosques faced closure in Ningxia, which had 4,203 mosques as of 2014. ..."
What Causes Itch?
Good news! Scientists at Harvard Medical School have shown for the first time that a common skin bacterium — Staphylococcus aureus — can cause itch by acting directly on nerve cells.
PragerU: Which is a Greater Threat: Nuclear War or Climate Change? Question for UCLA students
Some of the students at UCLA are so shockingly stupid! Too bad, the interviewer did not ask what these students were studying!
How Walmart Is Automating Its Supply Chain to Deliver the Perfect Order same day
Recommendable! Competition is good! More competition is better!
Zambia's New Debt Restructuring Plan Vetoed by China-headed Committee with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! Zambia owes about $4 bn to China.
Trump-like 'shockwave' moment in the Netherlands punches at left-wing tyranny after Argentina
Recommendable! Incredible! Who would have believed that Geert Wilders could finally win an election and in a landslide in the Netherlands?
Hamas is 'crazy, theological cult': Netanyahu warns of global 'barbarism', new 'Nazis'
Recommendable! "Nothing will stop us!" (to finish Hamas)
He gave me an unusual humble impression in this interview. Maybe he has become older and wiser. Who takes a 10 month old baby hostage?
The Arab countries understand very well that if Hamas wins their days are numbered.
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Myanmar: Soldiers Surrender to Rebels Without a Fight with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! India is concerned with an increased inflow of refugees, deserting soldiers etc. from neighboring Myanmar.
Sam Altman to Return as OpenAI CEO | OpenAI Board Overhauled with Palki Sharma
Recommendable! Get latest inside scoop of this AI thriller!
Azerbaijan: France Setting the Stage for Another War in the Caucasus with Palki Sharma
Recommendable & concerning!
Image of the day
The Argentinian Mao Zedong thanks to generative AI! Glad, comrade Sergio Massa did not win!
Credits: The Batch by Andrew Ng
Johns Hopkins University: Transgender Health in Jeopardy. Transphobia everywhere! Really!
The obsession with transgender people continuous! What a celebrity culture! What a mania! And how expensive in terms of money is this obsession to the general public?
How much of it is driven by individual fame, fortune, publicity, attention and other ulterior motives?
For several decades, we were to accept and embrace homosexual individuals in our society. Not enough. For some time now, we are to believe that individuals are born with the wrong gender and to accept gender fluidity.
"For transgender people, job discrimination, housing insecurity, inadequate health care, and the stress of living in a world rife with transphobia all exact a toll on health. ..." Really! What a myth! What a fake cause!
The article, unfortunately, does not say how long Renee Lau was married to his wife before his coming out and divorce. However, it is hardly credible that the wife did not notice anything or did she silently accept it, maybe even support it in some way. The divorced wife apparently was not interviewed for this article.
"Renee Lau knew from age 6 that she should have been female, but she couldn’t say so in her parents’ strict religious household in suburban Baltimore. Assigned male at birth, she spent more than five decades suppressing her authentic gender identity until, with the encouragement of a therapist, she came out to her wife in 2017. A cascade of calamities followed: Her wife filed for divorce, her employer went bankrupt, and she was treated for bladder and prostate cancers. Despite being “broke and homeless,” as she puts it, she began her transition, which presented a new quandary: Baltimore had housing for transgender people, and assisted living housing for seniors, but nothing that accommodated senior trans people with medical needs such as Lau’s, which included aftercare for her bladder cancer. For nearly a year, she was forced to hide her true self in order to qualify for senior housing, living as a man in a homeless shelter designated for men. ...
Lau’s health care provision must account for the nuances of her identity, history, and anatomy: She is a female survivor of prostate cancer, an older adult in need of trans-friendly housing, and a potential vaginoplasty patient with a reconstructed bladder from her cancer treatment. ...
Lau’s health care provision must account for the nuances of her identity, history, and anatomy: She is a female survivor of prostate cancer, an older adult in need of trans-friendly housing, and a potential vaginoplasty patient with a reconstructed bladder from her cancer treatment. ...
Life at nearly every level is more complicated for transgender people. ..."
The Journey to Thrive Transgender people live in an often-hostile world. Can community, research, and resilience reduce the threats to their health?
Japan looks to wean Kyrgyzstan off reliance on China, Russia
Good news! Japan is going out of its way? Or is Kyrgyzstan desperate?
Kyrgyzstan's economy is heavily reliant on its natural resources. Gold is the primary mineral mined in the country, accounting for more than 90% of the total.
"Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to deepen cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in infrastructure and other areas in a meeting with the country's president on Monday, seeking to help the Central Asian nation reduce its dependence on China and Russia. ..."
Japan's Fumio Kishida, right, and Kyrgyzstan's Sadyr Japarov met in Tokyo on Nov. 20, ahead of a planned visit to Central Asia by the Japanese leader next year.
The deafening silence about the many foreigners among the hostages held by Hamas
It is very surprising and disturbing that so little is said and done about the many foreigners among the about 1,200 hostages held by Hamas.
What is e.g. Germany doing about the fact that 12 Germans are also held hostage!!!
"... According to the Israeli government, 138 of the hostages have foreign passports, including 54 Thais, 15 Argentinians, 12 Germans, 12 Americans, six French, and six Russians. There is also one Chinese hostage, one Sri Lankan, two from Tanzania, and two from the Philippines. ..." (Source)
Israel approves deal with Hamas to free at least 50 hostages in exchange for pause in fighting. A bad deal?
I am not sure this is a good deal for Israel! Is too much Western weakness and pressure to blame?
What do you expect from a senile, demented and corrupt 46th U.S. President! Failure and lack of leadership!
Four days long cease fire? Too much!
Three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage? Too much!
"... Under the reported deal, 50 hostages will be released over four days starting on Thursday or Friday. Afterward, Hamas can extend the truce by releasing an additional 10 hostages a day. Up to 80 of the estimated 240 hostages in Gaza could be released. The deal does not include the release of Israeli soldiers taken captive, nor does it involve the release of foreign nationals. ...
In exchange, Israel will release three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage released, 150 for the initial group released in the coming days, and up to 240 Palestinians in total. That represents only a tiny fraction of the approximately 5,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons on security offenses prior to Oct. 7.
Israel is also agreeing to pause its offensive in Gaza for at least four days and to suspend aerial surveillance for six hours a day during that time, in part so Hamas can locate additional hostages. Israeli soldiers will remain in northern Gaza, which they invaded last month, during the pause. ..."
Bundespräsident überreicht sechs amtierenden Ministerpräsidenten das Bundesverdienstkreuz
Seltsame Vorgänge in der Bananenrepublik D.! Macht wieder mal deutlich was für ein Idiot dieser Steinmeier eigentlich ist!
Was für ein politischer Filz! Selbstbedienung!
So kann man das Bundesverdienstkreuz auch entwerten! Ich empfehle jedem noch lebenden Träger des Bundesverdienstkreuzes dieses zurückzugeben!
10-minute procedure may repair distorted sense of smell in patients with long COVID
This seems a bit unusual!
"A new minimally invasive procedure may restore COVID-related impaired sense of smell ...
Researchers ... performed computed tomography (CT)-guided stellate ganglion block (SGB) in 54 patients who had long-term parosmia (impaired sense of smell that can lead to a distaste for once-like foods and drinks). ...
Previous treatments unsuccessful
The stellate ganglia, part of the autonomic nervous system, are nerves located on the sides of the neck that deliver signals to the head, neck, arms, and parts of the upper chest.
SGB takes less than 10 minutes and doesn't require sedation or intravenous pain management. The procedure has been used with different degrees of success to treat conditions such as cluster headaches, phantom limb pain, Raynaud's and Meniere's syndromes, chest pain, and abnormal heart rhythms. ..."
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