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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Telephone exchange fire cuts off communication

In one of the most severe outages in Australia in recent memory, a fire at the Warrnambool telephone exchange in southwest of the state of Victoria, caught fire early on Thursday affected 60,000 people over a wide area.

All Telstra services outside of Warrnambool from the towns of Lismore right through to Hamilton, Edenhope and Portland were out of action including landlines, internet connection and mobile phones including fire fighting paging services.

While the resources of amateur radio through WICEN (Vic) were put on alert, only minimal use was made of its emergency communication services before the official stand down order was received.

With no phone or internet access, businesses closed, trains were cancelled, firefighters had been unable to communicate, and some residents unable to contact the emergency services.

Mobile phones are being progressively restored, but it could be weeks before all of landlines are operating again.

Specialised equipment is to replace damaged components at the parent node for smaller exchanges throughout the region and experts in the field have arrived to restore services.

Jim Linton VK3PC
Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee.

Source: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/november2012/telephone_exchange_fire_cuts_off_communication.htm

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Gas blast at Mass. strip club under investigation

Gas company workers stand where a building once stood, which was leveled by an explosion in downtown Springfield, Mass. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Springfield Republican, Don Treeger)

Glass and debris litter a street after a nearby building was leveled by an explosion Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in downtown Springfield, Mass. (AP Photo/Springfield Republican, David Molnar) MANDATORY CREDIT

A firetruck is parked next to a damaged building after a nearby gas explosion leveled another building in downtown Springfield, Mass. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Springfield Republican, David Molnar)

An injured firefighter is wheeled from the scene after a building was leveled by an explosion in downtown Springfield, Mass. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Springfield Republican, Don Treeger)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) ? Officials had already evacuated part of the entertainment district in one of New England's biggest cities because of a gas leak and odor report before a natural gas explosion leveled a strip club and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings, including a day care. Eighteen people were injured, many of them first responders.

Investigators were trying to figure out what the caused the Friday evening blast that could be heard for miles and left a large hole in the ground where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood and debris scattered over several blocks.

Teams of inspectors on Saturday were scheduled to assess the level of damage to other buildings in downtown Springfield. Some controlled demolition was expected.

Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers were in the area filled with commercial properties and residences after responding to a gas leak and odor reported about an hour before the explosion.

"It really is a miracle and it's an example of our public safety officials, each and every day, putting themselves in harm's way, taking what could have been considered a very routine call of an odor of gas, but they took the proper precautions," State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said. "And thanks to God that they did."

Officials also marveled how the 5:30 p.m. blast occurred when a day care center next door was closed. The center's building was heavily damaged.

"This is a miracle on Worthington Street that no one was killed," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said at a news conference. Murray and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno were attending a tree-lighting ceremony when the explosion occurred. Sarno said some people mistakenly thought the boom was part of the holiday event.

The explosion blew out windows in a three-block radius, leaving at least three buildings irreparably damaged and causing emergency workers to evacuate a six-story apartment building that was buckling, police said. Pieces of broken glass littered streets and sidewalks. It was unclear how many residents had been evacuated. A shelter was set up at a school.

Coan said his office has begun an investigation into the cause of the blast, as well as the possible origin. The state's Department of Public Utilities was also investigating.

Sheila Doiron, a spokeswoman for Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, said the company will continue to monitor for any potential leaks within several blocks of the blast site. She said the company had already scanned the area and had not yet found any measurable readings.

Doiron said the company scanned its records and did not find any gas odor calls to the area where the strip club was located. She said the company does not yet know the source of the leak.

The victims were taken to two hospitals in the city. None of their injuries was considered life-threatening, officials said. Those injured were nine firefighters, two police officers, four Columbia Gas workers, two civilians and another city employee.

Springfield, which is 90 miles west of Boston and has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not in the vicinity of the blast.

The city has been rebuilding from damage it sustained in a June 2011 tornado.

On Friday night, residents milled around the neighborhood where the explosion occurred, stunned by the destruction and confused by the cordoned-off area, which grew as crews continued to search for gas leaks. The mayor warned against looting, saying police would be out in force.

Wayne Davis, who lives about a block away from the destroyed building, said he felt his apartment shake.

"I was laying down in bed, and I started feeling the building shaking and creaking," he said.

The Navy veteran said the boom from the explosion was louder than anything he'd ever heard, including the sound of a jet landing on an aircraft carrier.

The blast was so loud it was heard in several neighboring communities. Video from WWLP-TV showed the moment of the explosion, with smoke billowing into the air above the neighborhood.

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy and Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-24-Massachusetts%20Gas%20Explosion/id-10e8bfcb3942489fa05e291f512d438e

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Anne Hilker: Chivalry is Dead -- And So Is Facebook

On the 16th of November I deactivated my Facebook profile. I had been contemplating whether to do so for a while, and so I hit the deactivation button. I know, deactivate Facebook? Why would you do that, aren't you going to be disconnected? I deactivated it for my own good; I have come to realize that liking profile pictures and looking at pictures of people holding red Solo cups is not the best way to occupy myself. Facebook used to be a fun place to share posts, but it has changed into a black hole of stalking, hundreds of likes on profile pictures, and chaos in one social media site.

I have wanted to deactivate my Facebook for a while. I realized that it wasn't really keeping me connected to anyone and the only reason I stayed was to have a way to see who my friends were crushing on, or to wish my cousins a happy birthday. I am going to honest. My friend would tell me that she/he likes a certain person from another town or school. The first thought that would occur to me is "Does he have a Facebook?" I mean, I need to make sure this person isn't a creep, so I stalk him. I go on Facebook around 7 p.m. and the next thing I know, it's 10:30 and I've come to the conclusion that I'm the one who's the creep. Facebook to me was not a way to stay connected but instead a giant way for me to creep myself out.

Another reason why Facebook died in my eyes is that everyone on Facebook has 100+ likes on their profile picture. When I'm scrolling down my news feed and see that a certain person has that many likes, I feel pressured to like it as well. My thought process is along the lines of "I could've sat sort of close to you in that class, maybe." I feel compelled to compliment your perfect picture and it just increases the awkwardness of the situation -- I don't even know you. When I like your picture, I feel like I am asking you to be my best friend! It doesn't make sense at all!

I got my Facebook account in seventh grade. It was a huge deal and I remember feeling so cool -- I had a Facebook! Four years later Facebook has lost its sparkle. I found myself sitting on my computer for hours looking at peoples' posts, not exactly finding intellectual inspiration in updates like "OMG it's so cold!" It just seems to me that over the years Facebook has evolved into a place for eighth graders to post statements of the obvious and achieve new records for most likes on a profile picture.

Instead of stalking people, I've found new ways to spend my time. One thing I have begun that I believe will help me in my future is learning American Sign Language online. I learned the alphabet and how to say "I don't understand." With my newfound knowledge, I can have conversations consisting of "A, B, C... I don't know." But at least I can have them in person.

I also started signing petitions on whitehouse.gov. Texas is one signature closer to being its own country! (Just kidding!) But I feel it's important to have your say in our government by signing petitions that could be the next story you see on CNN. The last thing that consumes me now is a website called Polyvore. It has many clothes from stores from all around the world and you can put them together any way you want. You become a stylist by simply making an account.

So Facebook, until I reactivate my profile to resume my stalking expeditions and awkward Internet moments, good-bye.

Sincerely, your signing, politically active stylist,
Anne.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-hilker/chivalry-is-dead-and-so-i_b_2168154.html

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Transforming 'noise' into mechanical energy at nanometric level

ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2012) ? A team of researchers at the Freie Universit?t Berlin, co-ordinated by Jos? Ignacio Pascual*, have developed a method that enables efficiently using the random movement of a molecule in order to make a macroscopic-scale lever oscillate.

The research was published in Science.

In nature, processes such as the movement of fluids, the intensity of electromagnetic signals, chemical compositions, etc., are subject to random fluctuations which normally are called 'noise'. This noise is a source of energy and its utilisation for undertaking a task is a paradigm that nature has shown to be possible in certain cases.

The research led by Jos? Ignacio Pascual and published in Science, focused on a molecule of hydrogen (H₂). The researchers placed the molecule within a very small space between a flat surface and the sharp point of an ultra-sensitive atomic force microscope. This microscope used the periodic movement of the point located at the end of a highly sensitive mechanical oscillator in order to 'feel' the forces that exist at a nanoscale level. The molecule of hydrogen moves randomly and chaotically and, when the point of the microscope approaches it, the point hits the molecule, making the oscillator or lever move. But this lever, at the same time, modulates the movement of the molecule, resulting in an orchestrated 'dance' between the point and the 'noisy' molecule. "The result is that the smallest molecule that exists, a molecule of hydrogen, 'pushes' the lever, that has a mass 10¹⁹ greater; ten trillion time greater!," explained Jos? Ignacio Pascual.

The underlying principle is a mathematical theory known as Stocastic Resonance which describes how random movements of energy are channelled into periodic movements and, thus, can be harnessed. With this research, it has been shown that this principle is fulfilled at a nanometric scale.

"In our experiment, the 'noise' of the molecule is made by injecting electric current, and not temperature, through the molecule and, thus, functions like an engine converting electric energy into mechanical," stated Jos? Ignacio Pascual. Thus, one of the most promising aspects of this result is that it can be applied to the design of artificial molecules, which are complex molecules designed to be able to oscillate or rotate in only one direction. The authors do not discard, moreover, that this molecular fluctuation can be produced by other sources, such as light, or be carried out with a greater number of molecules, even with different chemical compositions.

*current leader of the Nanoimagen team at CIC nanoGUNE

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Basque Research.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

C. Lotze, M. Corso, K. J. Franke, F. von Oppen, J. I. Pascual. Driving a Macroscopic Oscillator with the Stochastic Motion of a Hydrogen Molecule. Science, 2012; 338 (6108): 779 DOI: 10.1126/science.1227621

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/djPy1GihU7M/121122095313.htm

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Cheap? Suh's cleat hits Schaub below the belt

By LARRY LAGE

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:30 p.m. ET Nov. 22, 2012

DETROIT (AP) - The left cleat of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh connected with Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in his groin area in their Thanksgiving game.

It wasn't clear on replays Thursday whether it was intentional.

"I really don't have anything to say about that play or that person," Schaub said.

Suh was on his chest, taken down by an offensive lineman, when he extended his left foot below Schaub's belt. Suh didn't talk to reporters after the game.

Last year on Thanksgiving, Suh was ejected for stomping on the right arm of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and was suspended for two games.

Suh has been fined in previous seasons for roughing up quarterbacks: Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Chicago's Jay Cutler and Cleveland's Jake Delhomme.

---

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

More newsAl Messerschmidt / Getty Images Contributor

Texans win in OT again (thanks refs)

PFT: With help from a terrible referee mistake, and coach Jim Schwartz's mental blunder, Houston improves to 10-1 and extends Detroit's Thanksgiving skid to nine years.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49934797/ns/sports-nfl/

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Man in naked standoff on statue in central London

A naked man sits on top of a statue of George, Duke of Cambridge in Whitehall, London, Friday Nov. 23, 2012. Police and eyewitnesses say a naked man has climbed atop an equestrian statue in the heart of Whitehall, London's government district. A Scotland Yard spokesman said that the man, believed to be in his 30s or 40s, has been sitting atop the statue for the better part of two hours. He said Friday: "We're still talking to him. We're still trying to get him down without causing any injury to him." (AP Photo/ Stefan Rousseau/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

LONDON (AP) ? A naked man clambered atop a large equestrian statue in the heart of London's Whitehall government district Friday, striking a variety of precarious poses before being coaxed down by police nearly three hours later.

London police said that the man, believed to be in his 30s or 40s, first climbed atop the massive bronze statue of the 19th-century duke of Cambridge around noon.

He climbed up and down the statue in the late autumn chill, at one point balancing himself on the duke's head.

The man eventually came down after police and emergency services cordoned off the area, which is home to several government buildings including the prime minister's official residence.

Scotland Yard said the man was detained under Britain's Mental Health Act.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-23-Britain-Naked%20Man/id-ba0b40e7c64b4776968bb630bd0cf3ab

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Need a lot of sleep? An antidote for hypersomnia

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2012) ? Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that dozens of adults with an elevated need for sleep have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid that acts like a sleeping pill.

The results are scheduled for publication online November 21 by the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Some members of this patient population appear to have a distinct, disabling sleep disorder called "primary hypersomnia," which is separate from better-known conditions such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy. They regularly sleep more than 70 hours per week and have difficulties awakening. When awake, they still have reaction times comparable to someone who has been awake all night. Their sleepiness often interferes with work or school attendance, and conventional treatments such as stimulants bring little relief.

"These individuals report feeling as if they're walking around in a fog -- physically, but not mentally awake," says lead author David Rye, MD, PhD, professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine and director of research for Emory Healthcare's Program in Sleep. "When encountering excessive sleepiness in a patient, we typically think it's caused by an impairment in the brain's wake systems and treat it with stimulant medications. However, in these patients, the situation is more akin to attempting to drive a car with the parking brake engaged. Our thinking needs to shift from pushing the accelerator harder, to releasing the brake."

In a clinical study with seven patients who remained sleepy despite above-ordinary sleep amounts and treatment with stimulants, Emory researchers showed that treatment with the drug flumazenil can restore alertness, although flumazenil's effectiveness was not uniform for all seven. Alertness was gauged through the psychomotor vigilance test, a measurement of reaction time.

Flumazenil is usually used in cases of overdose of benzodiazepines, a widely used class of anesthetics and sedatives such as diazepam (Valium) and zolpidem (Ambien). Evidence in the paper suggests that the sleep-inducing substance in patients' cerebrospinal fluid is not a benzodiazepine drug, even though flumazenil counteracts it. Identifying the mysterious "somnogen," which appears to be produced by the body, could give scientists greater insight into how our brains regulate states of consciousness such as alertness and sleep.

"Primary hypersomnias are disabling and poorly understood. This study represents a breakthrough in determining a cause for these disorders and devising a rational approach to therapy," says Merrill Mitler, PhD, a program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health." Further research is required to determine whether or not the results apply to the majority of patients."

The team of researchers involved in this effort includes Rye; Andrew Jenkins, PhD, Emory assistant professor of anesthesiology; and Kathy Parker, PhD, RN, FAAN, previously at Emory and now at University of Rochester Medical Center.

The paper describes how samples of patients' cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contain a substance that enhances the effects of the brain chemical GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid). GABA is one of the main inhibitory chemicals of the nervous system -- alcohol, barbituates and benzodiazepines all enhance the effects of GABA. In the laboratory, the size of the effect on GABA receptor function is more than twice as large in the hyper-sleepy patients, on average, than in control samples.

"In some of the more severely affected patients, we estimated the magnitude of the GABA-enhancing effect as nearly equivalent to that expected for someone receiving sedation for outpatient colonoscopy," Rye says. "This is a level of impaired consciousness that many subjects had to combat on almost a daily basis in order to live their usual lives."

The ICSD-2 (International Classification of Sleep Disorders) terms this disorder "primary hypersomnia" and the proposed DSM-V describes it as "major hypersomnolence disorder." Its prevalence is unclear. The Emory team's findings could potentially provide a biological definition and a treatment for an under-recognized sleep disorder.

The patients in the group examined in the paper have received a variety of diagnoses, including idiopathic hypersomnia and narcolepsy without cataplexy. Cataplexy is a sudden loss of muscle tone, sometimes triggered by surprise or strong emotion, characteristic to narcolepsy. Other members of the group are simply considered "long sleepers" (more than 10 hours per day).

In addition, the identity of the GABA-enhancing substance is not yet known, although Rye and Jenkins are devising strategies to pin it down. Based on its size and sensitivity to certain enzymes, it could be a peptide, similar to but not the same as the hormones oxytocin or hypocretin. Jenkins and his colleagues have shown that the sleep-inducing substance can act on GABA receptors that are not sensitive to benzodiazepines.

"Previous studies with flumazenil indicate that it does not have a wake-promoting effect on most people, so its ability to normalize vigilance in this subpopulation of extremely sleepy patients appears genuinely novel," Rye says.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Emory University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

D. B. Rye, D. L. Bliwise, K. Parker, L. M. Trotti, P. Saini, J. Fairley, A. Freeman, P. S. Garcia, M. J. Owens, J. C. Ritchie, A. Jenkins. Modulation of Vigilance in the Primary Hypersomnias by Endogenous Enhancement of GABAA Receptors. Science Translational Medicine, 2012; 4 (161): 161ra151 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004685

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/rJTqOHmbUEA/121121145613.htm

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