Apple has posted iBooks Update 1.0.1 for Mac users who are using OS X 10.9 Mavericks. The update is available through Software Update.
The update sports typically terse Apple release notes:
This version of iBooks includes bug fixes and improvements to performance and stability.
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Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters
NFL players are different than the rest of us. They are bigger, faster, and stronger. They get paid to damage each other, damage that gets inflicted in front of an audience of millions. They’re always at risk of losing their jobs—if it doesn’t happen on account of dropping a ball or missing a tackle, it will come when those hits take their inevitable toll. Those of us who work in an office, and who collaborate with people who aren’t trying to rupture other men’s spleens, don’t know what it’s like to inhabit a pro football locker room. According to several members of the Miami Dolphins, that means we’re in no position to judge what goes on inside of one.
Over the last few days, Dolphins players have fought back against the allegation that offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was bullied, and that his teammate Richie Incognito was the leader of the brawny cabal that drove Martin to leave the team. They’ve been making two different arguments. The first is that the NFL’s social code is the product of pro football’s unceasing intensity. “I don't want to call it hazing,” said defensive end Cameron Wake. “I mean, that's—rite of passage—in this league. It's a group of elite men. It's a fraternity, it's a brotherhood. It's a lot of things. And there's a membership. You have to pay your dues to get certain privileges.” The second is that there’s a right way to deal with problems in that culture, and that Jonathan Martin’s preferred approach was very, very wrong. “I think if you have a problem with somebody—a legitimate problem with somebody—you should say, ‘I have a problem with this,’ and stand up and be a man,” said offensive lineman Tyson Clabo.
These Dolphins are half right. The life of a pro football player is almost unbearably stressful both on and off the field, and we shouldn’t expect the game that invented the horse-collar tackle to abide by white-collar norms. But what they don’t seem to understand is that today’s NFL culture is not some immutable law of the gridiron. The traditions and hierarchies that flourish in the Miami locker room, and no doubt across the league, haven’t been passed down from player to player because this is the way a football team has to operate. They’ve been passed down because players and coaches have long believed it’s the way teams should operate. And that can change, if only those players and coaches wanted it to.
Instead of thinking through the rules and rituals by which football teams operate, Martin and Incognito’s current and former teammates have been trying to justify them. In an essay for the MMQB, ex-Miami lineman Lydon Murtha wrote that Martin “came off as standoffish and shy to the rest of the offensive linemen” and “did something I’d never seen before by balking at the idea of paying for a rookie dinner.” Murtha, who says he paid $9,600 for a dinner his rookie season, can’t understand why Martin didn’t fall in line. His argument here—everyone else was doing it, so he should have too—is a remarkably blinkered one. Martin, by contrast, seems to have been an independent enough thinker to raise the more pertinent question: In what universe do “grown-ass men,” in Murtha’s parlance, convince themselves that it’s totally rational for rookies to drop $10,000 to fill veteran players’ bellies with booze and steak?
Murtha went on to say that “Incognito took [Martin] under his wing,” and that part of that mentorship included “giv[ing] him a lot of crap” if the young lineman wasn’t playing well in practice. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill said that Incognito gave Martin “a hard time. He messed with him. But he was the first one there to have his back in any situation." Murtha noted that the “crap he would give Martin was no more than he gave anyone else, including me. Other players said the same things Incognito said to Martin, so you’d need to suspend the whole team if you suspend Incognito.”
This is the definition of narrow-mindedness: When their team fractured, the Dolphins sided with the mold rather than the player who broke it. It’s this kind of thinking that breeds athletes who mistake machismo for toughness and hectoring for leadership. By the logic of the NFL, if someone has a problem with the way players talk to and treat each other, then they’re the ones with the problem.
What recourse did Jonathan Martin have? According to Pro Football Talk, Miami general manager Jeff Ireland allegedly told the lineman’s agent that he should resolve his issues by punching Incognito. If Ireland indeed suggested fisticuffs as the best possible remedy, you can understand why Martin felt his only choice was to walk away. By questioning the logic by which football teams work, and by leaving the team when it didn’t work for him, Martin was a leader. The Dolphins, though, are outraged that he wasn’t a follower—they want him to be just like them. Incognito, a member of Miami’s so-called “leadership council,” guided his teammate by sending him voice mails and texts full of threats and racial slurs. Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline said on Wednesday that Martin was “laughing about this voice mail at one point and time.”
For Hartline, Martin’s laughter makes a louder noise than a player calling a teammate a “half n----- piece of s---” and saying, “F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you.” When you play for the Dolphins, I guess, this is the kind of language that’s expected to draw chuckles. And if you stop laughing, then you’re just not man enough to play a game for a living.
Hartline explained his thinking on Martin and Incognito this way: “The people who can hurt you the most in this world are the people closest to you. When you mistake one for the other, that's when you find problems.” What’s terrifying is that Hartline was referring to Martin as the one who caused the hurt here.
At this point, we haven’t heard from nearly every member of the Dolphins team. It’s possible that there’s a silent majority—or at least a silent handful—who don’t see Martin as a betrayer, and are willing to think about what his departure means about what’s right and what’s wrong in an NFL locker room. I’ve never played in a pro football game. But I feel very comfortable saying that no amount of stress, and no amount of testosterone, can justify a system in which colleagues belittle each other in the crudest possible terms and are expected to work things out with a punch to the face. Rather than face up to a culture that breeds this kind of inhumanity, too many of the Miami Dolphins are blaming the victim. They should be blaming themselves.
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Kevin Punsky
punsky.kevin@mayo.edu
904-953-2299
Mayo Clinic
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Use of a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to remove superficial, early stage esophageal cancer is as effective as surgery that takes out and rebuilds the esophagus, according to a study by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The research, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, examined national outcomes from endoscopic treatment compared to esophagectomy, surgical removal of the esophagus.
It found that endoscopic therapy offered long-term survival rates similar to those for esophagectomy, says lead author, Michael B. Wallace, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.
"Endoscopic resection in the esophagus is similar to how we remove polyps in the colon, although it is much more technically complex. Esophagectomy is a major surgical procedure that cuts out the entire esophagus, and pulls the stomach into the neck to create a new food tube," Dr. Wallace says.
"Our study on national outcomes, as well as our own experience with the procedure at Mayo Clinic in Florida, suggests that both offer the similar changes for cure and long-term survival," he says. "Patients now have the option to preserve their esophagus when only early stage cancer is present."
The research looked at national outcomes from the two procedures in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, the most common type of esophageal cancer in the United States. The research team examined data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.
They identified 1,619 patients with superficial, early stage esophageal adenocarcinoma who had endoscopic therapy (19 percent) or surgery (81 percent) from 1998 through 2009. Many of these patients were treated for cancers that arose from Barrett's esophagus, a condition in which the cells in the lower part of the esophagus morph into a precancerous state.
The researchers collected survival data through the end of 2009, and found that endoscopy therapy increased progressively from 3 percent in 1998 to 29 percent in 2009 and was more often used in older patients. After adjusting for patient and tumor factors, the researchers concluded that patients treated by endoscopy had similar overall survival times compared to surgery.
"Endoscopy therapy for early stage esophageal cancer is becoming an acceptable method for all patients with very early esophageal cancer," Dr. Wallace says. He adds that because of its complexity the procedure is generally offered at centers of endoscopic excellence, such as Mayo Clinic in Florida, that have extensive experience in a multidisciplinary approach to endoscopic therapy.
###
Co-authors included Mayo Clinic gastroenterologists Saowanee Ngamruengphong, M.D., and Herbert Wolfsen, M.D.
The study was funded by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.
Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.
VIDEO ALERT: Video resources including an interview
with Dr. Wallace describing the study can be found on the Mayo Clinic News Network.
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Kevin Punsky
punsky.kevin@mayo.edu
904-953-2299
Mayo Clinic
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Use of a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to remove superficial, early stage esophageal cancer is as effective as surgery that takes out and rebuilds the esophagus, according to a study by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The research, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, examined national outcomes from endoscopic treatment compared to esophagectomy, surgical removal of the esophagus.
It found that endoscopic therapy offered long-term survival rates similar to those for esophagectomy, says lead author, Michael B. Wallace, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.
"Endoscopic resection in the esophagus is similar to how we remove polyps in the colon, although it is much more technically complex. Esophagectomy is a major surgical procedure that cuts out the entire esophagus, and pulls the stomach into the neck to create a new food tube," Dr. Wallace says.
"Our study on national outcomes, as well as our own experience with the procedure at Mayo Clinic in Florida, suggests that both offer the similar changes for cure and long-term survival," he says. "Patients now have the option to preserve their esophagus when only early stage cancer is present."
The research looked at national outcomes from the two procedures in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, the most common type of esophageal cancer in the United States. The research team examined data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.
They identified 1,619 patients with superficial, early stage esophageal adenocarcinoma who had endoscopic therapy (19 percent) or surgery (81 percent) from 1998 through 2009. Many of these patients were treated for cancers that arose from Barrett's esophagus, a condition in which the cells in the lower part of the esophagus morph into a precancerous state.
The researchers collected survival data through the end of 2009, and found that endoscopy therapy increased progressively from 3 percent in 1998 to 29 percent in 2009 and was more often used in older patients. After adjusting for patient and tumor factors, the researchers concluded that patients treated by endoscopy had similar overall survival times compared to surgery.
"Endoscopy therapy for early stage esophageal cancer is becoming an acceptable method for all patients with very early esophageal cancer," Dr. Wallace says. He adds that because of its complexity the procedure is generally offered at centers of endoscopic excellence, such as Mayo Clinic in Florida, that have extensive experience in a multidisciplinary approach to endoscopic therapy.
###
Co-authors included Mayo Clinic gastroenterologists Saowanee Ngamruengphong, M.D., and Herbert Wolfsen, M.D.
The study was funded by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.
Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.
VIDEO ALERT: Video resources including an interview
with Dr. Wallace describing the study can be found on the Mayo Clinic News Network.
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Sharon Osbourne has no desire to take a moment and enjoy The View. In fact, she has some pretty harsh words for her ABC chat-show rivals.
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/sharon-osbourne-curses-out-ladies-view/1-a-552461?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Asharon-osbourne-curses-out-ladies-view-552461GIFs are the twitchy, loopy language of the modern memorific web. Once you’ve come upon a GIF that expresses the real deep-down you—be it via a Michael Scott moment, a clip from Step Brothers, or a totes adorbes kitteh—you’ll want to share it with others!
But sometimes those little pieces of bitmapped magic need just a wee tweaking before they’re ready for primetime in an email or on Tumblr.
There are a number of programs and apps that will allow you to create your own giffy goodness, but if you just need a quick easy fix for a pre-existing gif, EZgif.com is a free one-stop shop.
EZgif’s easy web suite of editing tools.The site offers a straightforward GIF tool belt, which allows you to crop, resize, optimize, and otherwise “fix” a GIF—all without the need to purchase any software or have any graphics training.
You can choose which tool you want to use by clicking on any of the tabs at the top of the site’s page. You can then upload the file from your computer or directly from an existing URL.
For example, here’s a familiar friend captured in looping animated form, which I found on one of the many online repositories.
One caveat: When using the cropping function, it’s annoyingly unclear how to proceed once you’ve uploaded a file, but trust us, it gets more intuitive from there.
First, you hit the “set” button. You’ll then be presented with a small box in the corner of the image. Click and drag that to reveal a scalable, moveable box that you will use to mark your crop’s perimeter.
Once you find the perfect crop, hit the “Crop it!” button. EZgif will process it and you’ll be good to go. This process can take a few minutes—it depends on the size of your GIF. You will then have the option to manipulate the image further by clicking any of the options at the bottom of the screen, or downloading it by hitting the green “save” button.
The new, improved (or, at least, cropped) gif.Below your scaling window, you’ll notice the pull-down menu with two options: Gifsicle and ImageMagick. Every EZgif function has various “engines” it utilizes as it processes the GIF. Due to the vagaries of gifdom, one engine will—on occasion—mangle your GIF. If that happens, simply begin again and try another option in the pull-down menu.
The “GIF Resize” option allows you to—wait for it—resize your GIF. Simply hit your new size based on number of pixels. If you leave either the width or height blank, the GIF will be scaled. Hit “Resize it!” and it will process the new gif below.
You get the point of how it works.
The “GIF Optimizer” option will allow you to shave down some of the data size of your gif by utilizing pre-calibrated optimization methods. The “GIF Effects” option gives you access to a few pre-selected effects like a sepia tone, black and white, or making the gif run in reverse.
Or you can create types of wholly unnecessary combination of filters as shown below:
Probably too many.Finally, the “GIF Split” option will separate the gif into all its component slides and allow you to re-order them as you see fit. But that’s probably a more-advanced option than you want to take on if your only goal is a small change.
Now go out there and make the web a more seizure-inducing place.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Eileen Leahy
jdsmedia@elsevier.com
732-238-3628
Elsevier Health Sciences
Philadelphia, PA, November 7, 2013 New research from a team of researchers in Taiwan indicates that a peptide fragment derived from cow's milk, known as lactoferricin B25 (LFcinB25), exhibited potent anticancer capability against human stomach cancer cell cultures. The findings, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, provide support for future use of LFcinB25 as a potential therapeutic agent for gastric cancer.
"Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, especially in Asian countries," says Wei-Jung Chen, PhD, of the Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science of National Ilan University, Taiwan Republic of China. "In general, the main curative therapies for gastric cancer are surgery and chemotherapy, which are generally only successful if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage. Novel treatment strategies to improve prognosis are urgently needed."
Investigators evaluated the effects of three peptide fragments derived from lactoferricin B, a peptide in milk that has antimicrobial properties. Only one of the fragments, LFcinB25 reduced the survival of human AGS (Gastric Adenocarcinoma) cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.
Under a microscope the investigators could see that after an hour of exposure to the gastric cancer cells, LFcinB25 migrated to the cell membrane of the AGS cells, and within 24 hours the cancer cells had shrunken in size and lost their ability to adhere to surfaces. In the early stages of exposure, LFcinB25 reduced cell viability through both apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagy (degradation and recycling of obsolete or damaged cell parts). At later stages, apoptosis appeared to dominate, possibly through caspase-dependent mechanisms, and autophagy waned.
"This is the first report describing interplay between apoptosis and autophagy in LFcinB-induced cell death of cancer cells," says Dr. Chen.
The research also suggested a target, Beclin-1, which may enhance LFcinB25's cytotoxic action. Beclin-1 is a protein in humans that plays a central role in autophagy, tumor growth, and degeneration of neurons. In this study, the investigators found that cleaved beclin-1 increased in a time-dependent manner after LFcinB25-exposure, suggesting to the authors a new approach in drug development that may boost the anticancer effects of LFcinB25.
"Optimization of LFcinB using various strategies to enhance further selectivity is expected to yield novel anticancer drugs with chemotherapeutic potential for the treatment of gastric cancer," concludes Dr. Chen.
###
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Eileen Leahy
jdsmedia@elsevier.com
732-238-3628
Elsevier Health Sciences
Philadelphia, PA, November 7, 2013 New research from a team of researchers in Taiwan indicates that a peptide fragment derived from cow's milk, known as lactoferricin B25 (LFcinB25), exhibited potent anticancer capability against human stomach cancer cell cultures. The findings, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, provide support for future use of LFcinB25 as a potential therapeutic agent for gastric cancer.
"Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, especially in Asian countries," says Wei-Jung Chen, PhD, of the Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science of National Ilan University, Taiwan Republic of China. "In general, the main curative therapies for gastric cancer are surgery and chemotherapy, which are generally only successful if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage. Novel treatment strategies to improve prognosis are urgently needed."
Investigators evaluated the effects of three peptide fragments derived from lactoferricin B, a peptide in milk that has antimicrobial properties. Only one of the fragments, LFcinB25 reduced the survival of human AGS (Gastric Adenocarcinoma) cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.
Under a microscope the investigators could see that after an hour of exposure to the gastric cancer cells, LFcinB25 migrated to the cell membrane of the AGS cells, and within 24 hours the cancer cells had shrunken in size and lost their ability to adhere to surfaces. In the early stages of exposure, LFcinB25 reduced cell viability through both apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagy (degradation and recycling of obsolete or damaged cell parts). At later stages, apoptosis appeared to dominate, possibly through caspase-dependent mechanisms, and autophagy waned.
"This is the first report describing interplay between apoptosis and autophagy in LFcinB-induced cell death of cancer cells," says Dr. Chen.
The research also suggested a target, Beclin-1, which may enhance LFcinB25's cytotoxic action. Beclin-1 is a protein in humans that plays a central role in autophagy, tumor growth, and degeneration of neurons. In this study, the investigators found that cleaved beclin-1 increased in a time-dependent manner after LFcinB25-exposure, suggesting to the authors a new approach in drug development that may boost the anticancer effects of LFcinB25.
"Optimization of LFcinB using various strategies to enhance further selectivity is expected to yield novel anticancer drugs with chemotherapeutic potential for the treatment of gastric cancer," concludes Dr. Chen.
###
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
We cast Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and even Ghost Rider and Punisher.
By Alex Zalben
Ben Affleck as "Daredevil"
Photo: 20th Century Fox
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Jason Socrates Bardi
dfdmedia@aps.org
240-535-4954
American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics
WASHINGTON D.C. Nov. 7, 2013 -- Although we don't often think about it, fluid dynamics touches almost every aspect of our lives, from a billowing breeze that buffets a flag, to swirling river currents that shape canyons to the surging blood that sustains our lives. One of the basest of bodily functions -- urination -- is governed primarily by the equations of fluid motion.
Later this month, at the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., two teams of researchers reveal new insight into the physics of peeing.
In the laboratory of Georgia Tech's David Hu, scientists and engineers look to nature for engineering ideas. In work that could help in the design of scalable hydrodynamic systems, researchers from the Hu lab recently filmed the urination habits of 16 animals of varying sizes five mice, five rats, one dog, two goats, two cows, and one elephant. The results? Size matters. Although small animals such as mice and rats take about 2 seconds to pee, urination "events" in animals larger than about 5 kilograms consistently clocked in at an average of 21 seconds.
"An elephant has a large bladder and a urethra with dimensions comparable to a household pipe," says graduate student and study leader Patricia Yang. As gravity pulls fluid down to the bottom of the urethra, Yang explains, the flow speed increases, causing urine to be eliminated more quickly than in a medium-sized animal, like a dog, which has a shorter urethra and gets less of a boost from gravity. The dog, however, has a smaller bladder, and "this is why an elephant and a dog empty their bladder in the same time," she says.
When it comes to urination accuracy, however, speed and size are less important than angle, says fluid dynamicist Randy Hurd of Brigham Young University, who will present a study of the dynamics of urinal use. Hurd and his graduate advisor, Tadd Truscott, got the idea for the work during a caffeine- and sugar-fueled midnight road trip from San Diego following last year's DFD meeting. The two were brainstorming about new and creative projects for Truscott's "Splash Lab," which uses high-speed imaging techniques to study fluid behavior.
At the Splash Lab, Hurd and his colleagues created an artificial male urethra on a 3D printer. The urethra a cylinder with a 8 mm x 3 mm elliptical channel running down the center was attached with tubing to a pressurized container, allowing it to deliver a steady stream of dyed water at 21 milliliters per second, the expected flow rate for a healthy, middle-aged male. High-speed cameras were used to visualize the flow as it struck both a solid surface (representing the porcelain back wall of most urinals) and a "free" surface (representing standing water); white paper was placed below the surfaces to track where splash droplets ended up.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the researchers found that it is indeed possible to use a urinal without splashing onto yourself or your own clothing. The key? Angle.
"For typical male urination, the stream breaks up into droplets before impacting the urinal wall or the water surface," he says. Significant splash-back occurs if that stream is angled perpendicular to the urinal wall, down to angles of about 45 degrees. But when this impact angle becomes very small, "it is much easier for the droplets to only slightly change direction, and slide along the porcelain surface without generating large splashes," says Hurd, who hopes to eventually create an optimization function to find the ideal approach for urinal usage.
"Although reducing the impact angle would also work in traditional toilets, these angles tend to only present themselves around the rim of the bowl, simultaneously increasing the chances of missing the bowl entirely," says Hurd. "I wouldn't recommend this approach to anyone but military snipers."
###
The presentation, "The Hydrodynamics of Urination: to drip or jet," is at 5:24 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Room 333. ABSTRACT: http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/DFD13/Event/202555
The presentation, "Urinal Dynamics," is at 5:11 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Room 333. ABSTRACT: http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/DFD13/Event/202554
MEETING INFORMATION
The 66th Annual Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting will be held at David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from November 24-26, 2013. More meeting information: http://www.apsdfd2013.pitt.edu
REGISTERING AS PRESS
Any credentialed journalist, full-time or freelance, may attend the conference free of charge. Please email: dfdmedia@aps.org and include "DFD Press" in the subject line. Workspace will be provided on-site during the meeting, and the week before news, videos and graphics will be made available on the Virtual Press Room: http://www.aps.org/units/dfd/pressroom/press.cfm
ABOUT THE APS DIVISION OF FLUID DYNAMICS
The Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) of the American Physical Society (APS) exists for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the physics of fluids with special emphasis on the dynamical theories of the liquid, plastic and gaseous states of matter under all conditions of temperature and pressure. DFD Website: http://www.aps.org/units/dfd/index.cfm
Share
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Nov-2013
ShareContact: Jason Socrates Bardi
dfdmedia@aps.org
240-535-4954
American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics
WASHINGTON D.C. Nov. 7, 2013 -- Although we don't often think about it, fluid dynamics touches almost every aspect of our lives, from a billowing breeze that buffets a flag, to swirling river currents that shape canyons to the surging blood that sustains our lives. One of the basest of bodily functions -- urination -- is governed primarily by the equations of fluid motion.
Later this month, at the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., two teams of researchers reveal new insight into the physics of peeing.
In the laboratory of Georgia Tech's David Hu, scientists and engineers look to nature for engineering ideas. In work that could help in the design of scalable hydrodynamic systems, researchers from the Hu lab recently filmed the urination habits of 16 animals of varying sizes five mice, five rats, one dog, two goats, two cows, and one elephant. The results? Size matters. Although small animals such as mice and rats take about 2 seconds to pee, urination "events" in animals larger than about 5 kilograms consistently clocked in at an average of 21 seconds.
"An elephant has a large bladder and a urethra with dimensions comparable to a household pipe," says graduate student and study leader Patricia Yang. As gravity pulls fluid down to the bottom of the urethra, Yang explains, the flow speed increases, causing urine to be eliminated more quickly than in a medium-sized animal, like a dog, which has a shorter urethra and gets less of a boost from gravity. The dog, however, has a smaller bladder, and "this is why an elephant and a dog empty their bladder in the same time," she says.
When it comes to urination accuracy, however, speed and size are less important than angle, says fluid dynamicist Randy Hurd of Brigham Young University, who will present a study of the dynamics of urinal use. Hurd and his graduate advisor, Tadd Truscott, got the idea for the work during a caffeine- and sugar-fueled midnight road trip from San Diego following last year's DFD meeting. The two were brainstorming about new and creative projects for Truscott's "Splash Lab," which uses high-speed imaging techniques to study fluid behavior.
At the Splash Lab, Hurd and his colleagues created an artificial male urethra on a 3D printer. The urethra a cylinder with a 8 mm x 3 mm elliptical channel running down the center was attached with tubing to a pressurized container, allowing it to deliver a steady stream of dyed water at 21 milliliters per second, the expected flow rate for a healthy, middle-aged male. High-speed cameras were used to visualize the flow as it struck both a solid surface (representing the porcelain back wall of most urinals) and a "free" surface (representing standing water); white paper was placed below the surfaces to track where splash droplets ended up.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the researchers found that it is indeed possible to use a urinal without splashing onto yourself or your own clothing. The key? Angle.
"For typical male urination, the stream breaks up into droplets before impacting the urinal wall or the water surface," he says. Significant splash-back occurs if that stream is angled perpendicular to the urinal wall, down to angles of about 45 degrees. But when this impact angle becomes very small, "it is much easier for the droplets to only slightly change direction, and slide along the porcelain surface without generating large splashes," says Hurd, who hopes to eventually create an optimization function to find the ideal approach for urinal usage.
"Although reducing the impact angle would also work in traditional toilets, these angles tend to only present themselves around the rim of the bowl, simultaneously increasing the chances of missing the bowl entirely," says Hurd. "I wouldn't recommend this approach to anyone but military snipers."
###
The presentation, "The Hydrodynamics of Urination: to drip or jet," is at 5:24 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Room 333. ABSTRACT: http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/DFD13/Event/202555
The presentation, "Urinal Dynamics," is at 5:11 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Room 333. ABSTRACT: http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/DFD13/Event/202554
MEETING INFORMATION
The 66th Annual Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting will be held at David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from November 24-26, 2013. More meeting information: http://www.apsdfd2013.pitt.edu
REGISTERING AS PRESS
Any credentialed journalist, full-time or freelance, may attend the conference free of charge. Please email: dfdmedia@aps.org and include "DFD Press" in the subject line. Workspace will be provided on-site during the meeting, and the week before news, videos and graphics will be made available on the Virtual Press Room: http://www.aps.org/units/dfd/pressroom/press.cfm
ABOUT THE APS DIVISION OF FLUID DYNAMICS
The Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) of the American Physical Society (APS) exists for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the physics of fluids with special emphasis on the dynamical theories of the liquid, plastic and gaseous states of matter under all conditions of temperature and pressure. DFD Website: http://www.aps.org/units/dfd/index.cfm
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FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student's lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade as nutritionists have criticized them and local governments have banned them. The Food and Drug Administration is now finishing the job as they announce Nov. 7, 2013, that it will require the food industry to gradually phase out trans fats, saying they are a threat to the health of Americans.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student's lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade as nutritionists have criticized them and local governments have banned them. The Food and Drug Administration is now finishing the job as they announce Nov. 7, 2013, that it will require the food industry to gradually phase out trans fats, saying they are a threat to the health of Americans.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade. Now, the Food and Drug Administration is finishing the job.
The FDA announced Thursday it will require the food industry to gradually phase out artificial trans fats, saying they are a threat to people's health. Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the move could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year.
Hamburg said that while the amount of trans fats in the country's diet has declined dramatically in the last decade, they "remain an area of significant public health concern." The trans fats have long been criticized by nutritionists, and New York City and other local governments have banned them.
The agency isn't yet setting a timeline for the phase-out, but it will collect comments for two months before officials determine how long it will take. Different foods may have different timelines, depending how easy it is to find a substitute.
"We want to do it in a way that doesn't unduly disrupt markets," said Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods. Still, he says, the food "industry has demonstrated that it is, by and large, feasible to do."
Though they have been removed from many items, the fats are still found in processed foods, including in some microwave popcorns and frozen pizzas, refrigerated doughs, cookies, biscuits and ready-to-use frostings. They are also sometimes used by restaurants that use the fats for frying. Many larger chains have phased them out, but smaller restaurants may still get food containing trans fats from suppliers.
Trans fats are widely considered the worst kind for your heart, even worse than saturated fats, which also can contribute to heart disease. Trans fats are used both in processed food and in restaurants, often to improve the texture, shelf life or flavor of foods. Diners shouldn't be able to detect a taste difference if trans fats are replaced by other fats.
To phase them out, the FDA said it had made a preliminary determination that trans fats no longer fall in the agency's "generally recognized as safe" category, which is reserved for thousands of additives that manufacturers can add to foods without FDA review. Once trans fats are off the list, anyone who wants to use them would have to petition the agency for a regulation allowing it, and that would likely not be approved.
The fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it more solid, which is why they are often called partially hydrogenated oils. The FDA is not targeting small amounts of trans fats that occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, because they would be too difficult to remove and aren't considered a major public health threat on their own.
Scientists say there are no health benefits to trans fats and say they can raise levels of so-called "bad" cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease — the leading cause of death in the United States.
Many companies have already phased out trans fats, prompted by new nutrition labels introduced by FDA in 2006 that list trans fats and an by an increasing number of local laws that have banned them. In 2011, Wal Mart pledged to remove all artificial trans fats from the foods the company sells by 2016.
As a result of the local and federal efforts and many companies' willingness to remove them, consumers have slowly eaten fewer of the fats. According to the FDA, trans fat intake among American consumers declined from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to around one gram per day in 2012.
Dr. Leon Bruner, chief scientist at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said in a statement his group estimates that food manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amount of trans fats in food products by 73 percent.
The group, which represents the country's largest food companies, did not speculate on a reasonable timeline or speak to how difficult the move may be for some manufacturers. Bruner said in a statement that "consumers can be confident that their food is safe, and we look forward to working with the FDA to better understand their concerns and how our industry can better serve consumers."
FDA officials say they have been working on trans fat issues for around 15 years — the first goal was to label them — and have been collecting data to justify a possible phase-out since just after President Barack Obama came into office in 2009.
The advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest first petitioned FDA to ban trans fats nine years ago. The group's director, Michael Jacobson, says the move is "one of the most important lifesaving actions the FDA could take."
He says the agency should try to move quickly as it determines a timeline.
"Six months or a year should be more than enough time, especially considering that companies have had a decade to figure out what to do," Jacobson said.
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Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcjalonick
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-11-07-FDA-Trans%20Fats/id-26773dba998a47c388bc1d3b1148cead
Not super thrilled with the prospect of using iCloud for your web storage needs? Google Drive presents an ever-improving alternative to Apple's in-house solution, and today's iOS app update brings a couple of new features into the fold. The app now supports multiple accounts, so you can access your ...Rafael Cavalcante (11-4-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Igor Pokrajac (25-10-1, 4-5-1 UFC), at UFC Fight Night 32
Midway through the main card Saturday night we will have 2 protégés of MMA royalty set to duke it out. Cavalcante a.k.a. “Feijao” is a longtime friend and training partner of the Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva while Igor has been kicking it with CroCop for years.
Take a look up and down the resume of Feijao and you should notice a trend immediately, knockouts. Win or lose Feijao fights almost always end dramatically with a knockout. When you consider the man’s skill set it becomes clear why this is so. For starters he is a huge light heavyweight (formerly a HW) fighter and has plenty of physical strength to accompany all that size. Add to that the fact that he has been training his submission and takedown defense for years with perhaps the best MMA grappler in history in Big Nogueira and we have another piece of the puzzle. And finally there is the issue of Feijao’s striking, which is just nasty. To sum him up, we have a very big, very strong, muay thai practitioner with plenty of ability to keep the fight upright. Now it should be clear why he has never been submitted and why he has never submitted anyone else, and why he his fights always end in a KO (aside from one of his 2 fights that ended in a DQ). Now for the details; when Feijao is faced with an opponent he feels may try to wrestle him he starts with whipping powerful kicks at the other guy’s lead leg. After about a half dozen of these have landed the once formidable takedown threat is now as good as neutralized. What follows are straight right hands to the chin or the infamous thai plum and follow up knees to the head and body. When Cavalcante is at his best he executes all this in a manner which is both lethal and a joy to watch. In the fights that Feijao has lost he has been given a taste of his own medicine and knocked out. This is due more to the fact that he was hit cleanly by some of the hardest hitters in the game than it is an indication that he has a week chin. When Mike Kyle, Dan Henderson, and Thiago Silva connect it’s almost always a wrap for the other guy so Feijao should not get too bummed out about these losses. If there is one other area Feijao should tighten up it is his cardio as he has been known to slow down late in fights at times. Much of this is owed to the simple fact that he is a big muscular guy and these types of athletes by nature are rarely cardio machines. Factor in the weight cut and his conditioning issues start to make more sense. However it is never a bad idea to devote more time to cardio training and if Feijao does this it could pay dividends as he faces tougher competition in the UFC.
Igor “The Duke” Pokrajac is a decently well rounded mid level UFC light heavyweight. He has been this way since he debuted with the UFC back in late 2009 and has struggled to take things up to the next level. He did hit a nice stride for a while there with a 3 fight winning streak by the time May of 2012 rolled around. And then when Igor had just broken through to a winning UFC record he goes on a 3 fight losing streak until his loss to Joey Beltran was reverted to a no contest. So you could say Pokrajac is at somewhat of a crossroads in his career. Another loss and I would not be at all surprised if he was sent packing. Igor at his best is a tough sprawl-n-brawler with the power in his hands to make his foes pay for those failed clinch and takedown attempts and enough submission skills to submit guys that are not quite at his level of MMA. Unfortunately it seems that if Igor is not totally on his A game he gets beat handily. He comes in good shape and does not mentally break often. When he is not at his best he lacks the sense of urgency and killer instinct necessary to win consistently. This is a problem when there are no easy fights in the UFC, especially at 205 lbs. For Igor to remain or regain relevancy he better come in Saturday with his best look to date.
When these 2 men meet in the cage on Saturday night it should become apparent rather quickly what kind of fight is about to play out. And that depends largely on how Feijao looks, if he is sharp and in good shape it does not bode well for Igor. Even if Cavalcante comes out not looking his best I still see him winning it just may take a little longer. Either is a possibility seeing as how Igor has never been finished in round 1, but when you consider Igor’s age (34) and recent decline and Feijao’s disappointing UFC debut, it’s looking like a win for Feijao either way. Igor has heart and is a skilled fighter but each time he’s faced a fighter of Cavalcante’s caliber he has lost decisively. Look for Feijao to open up with his Muay Thai and get a 2nd round stoppage or decision win.
Front-Page Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sometimes the best isn't good enough: Most American fourth and eighth graders still lack basic skills in math and science despite record high scores on a national exam.
Yes, today's students are doing better than those who came before them. But the improvements have come at a snail's pace.
The 2013 Nation's Report Card released Thursday finds that the vast majority of the students still are not demonstrating solid academic performance in either math or reading. Stubborn gaps persist between the performances of white children and their Hispanic and African-American counterparts, who scored much lower.
Overall, just 42 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the proficient level in math. In reading, 35 percent of fourth graders and 36 percent of eighth graders hit that mark.
Still, as state and federal policies evolve in the post-No Child Left Behind era, the nation's school kids are doing better today on the test than they did in the early 1990s, when such tracking started, with more improvement in math than in reading. Students of all races have shown improvement over the years.
The results come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, which is given every two years to a sample of fourth and eighth graders.
This year's results, compared to results in 2011, show average incremental gains of about one or two points on a 500-point scale in math and reading in both grades, although the one-point gain in fourth grade reading was not considered statistically significant.
"Every two years, the gains tend to be small, but over the long run, they stack up," said Jack Buckley, commissioner of the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics.
Buckley said he was "heartened" by some of the results, "but there are also some areas where I'd hoped to see improvement where we didn't."
Today, President W. Bush's landmark education law No Child Left Behind, which sought to close achievement gaps among racial groups and have every student doing math and reading at grade level by 2014, has essentially been dismantled.
After Congress failed to update the law before it was due for renewal in 2007, President Barack Obama allowed states to get waivers from it if they showed they have their own plans to prepare students. Most states took him up on the offer.
Meanwhile, a majority of states are rolling out Common Core State Standards with the goal of better preparing the nation's students for college or a job. The states-led standards establish benchmarks for reading and math and replace goals that varied widely from state.
Academic scholars have long debated what effects the law and other state-led reforms have had on test scores.
This year, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, which have both launched high-profile efforts to strengthen education by improving teacher evaluations and by other measures, showed across-the-board growth on the test compared to 2011, likely stoking more debate. Only the Defense Department schools also saw gains in both grade levels and subjects.
In Hawaii, which has also seen a concentrated effort to improve teaching quality, scores also increased with the exception of fourth grade reading. In Iowa and Washington state, scores increased except in 8th grade math.
Specifically pointing to Tennessee, Hawaii and D.C., Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on a conference call with reporters that many of the changes seen in these states were "very, very difficult and courageous" and appear to have had an impact.
Chris Minnich, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, said the biggest problem revealed in the results is the large gap that exists between the performances of students of different races.
There was a 26-point gap, for example, between how white and African American 4th graders performed on the math section. In eighth grade reading, white students outperformed Hispanic students by 21 points.
"We still have a situation where you have kids that are left behind. They aren't given the same instruction. They aren't given the same expectations as other kids," Minnich said. He said it's time for "doubling down and making sure the gaps get smaller."
Duncan said too many African-American and Hispanic children start kindergarten a year or two behind and that early childhood programs are key to leveling the playing field. Duncan and Obama have lobbied for congressional passage of a preschool-for-all program.
This test specifically looked at the performance of American children, but the results from other recent assessments and studies have shown American children and adults scoring below peers in many other countries.
The exam was given this year to about 377,000 fourth graders and 342,000 eighth graders in public and private schools. However, state-specific numbers are only from public schools.
In math, students were asked to answer questions about topics such as geometry, algebra and measurement. In reading, students were told to read passages and recall details or interpret them.
Among the other results:
—More boys than girls scored at or above the proficient level for both grades in math. In reading, more girls than boys scored at or above that mark.
—Twenty-five out of the 52 states or jurisdictions measured had a higher average score in 2013 than in 2011 in at least one subject and grade.
—Five states had a lower score than two years ago in at least one subject and grade: Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
—Hispanic students were the only racial or ethnic group that saw improvements in math scores in both fourth and eighth grades; Asian/Pacific Islanders students had the highest percentage of students performing at or above the proficient level in both math and reading.
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Online: http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013
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Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling
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If the SSD in your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is squeezed for space, this clever device sits nearly flush in your SD card slot and adds 128GB of extra storage. Today's $98 price is over $20 less than the previous low.
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