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Kamila Valieva's doping test still remains a mystery to all

Kamila Valieva's doping test revealed the presence of three substances to improve the heart function, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said. According to The New York Times, these drugs can be aimed at increasing endurance, if used in combination. According to USADA's chief Travis Tygart, Kamila Valieva's doping test revealed the presence of trimetazidine, L-carnitine and hypoxen. Of these three drugs, it is only trimetazidine that is included in the list of drugs prohibited for athletes. "It's a trifecta of substances — two of which are allowed, and one that is not allowed. The benefits of such a combination "seem to be aimed at increasing endurance, reducing fatigue and promoting greater efficiency in using oxygen," Travis Tygart said.




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USA can still crush Russia, but it can also save the world from chaos

The United States has been losing its global hegemony. The non-western world is opposed to the concept of global hegemony. Everything will happen within the next decade, Western analysts predict. Nevertheless, the Americans still have a chance to achieve the world order that suits them, if they make certain concessions, Jorgen Erstroem Moeller, former State Secretary of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in an article for The National Interest. Moeller drew attention to Vladimir Putin's announcement of partial call-up of reservists, the referenda and saw a threat of the use of nuclear force. The situation is indeed very alarming, but the United States could now take the world out of chaos that was created by Russia and the United States. At the same time, chances for Washington to demonstrate common sense are slim as the US has contributed greatly to the current crisis as well. 




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DPRK Foreign Minister assures Pyongyang will be helping Moscow until victory day

DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived in Vladivostok, Russia, on October 29. From Vladivostok, the minister traveled to Moscow, a message posted on the official Telegram channel of the Russian Embassy in North Korea said. The North Korean Foreign Minister is visiting Russia as part of the strategic dialogue that took place between the leaders of the two countries in the June 2024 summit. Choe Son-hui's visit to Moscow is taking place in the midst of discussions in the West about the alleged involvement of DPRK military personnel in combat operations in Ukraine. On October 18, South Korean intelligence said that 1,500 North Korean soldiers were already at Russian training grounds in the Far East, from where they would be sent to Ukraine. The intelligence service later reported a larger number — 3,000 soldiers.




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Health Care Provider Boot Camp Day 5: Preauthorization; Medical Necessity and Utilization Review

Health Care Provider Boot Camp Day 5: Preauthorization; Medical Necessity and Utilization Review




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Getac enhances its range of versatile Android devices with launch of AI-ready fully rugged tablet

Getac has introduced the AI-ready ZX80, a brand new 8-inch fully rugged tablet, powered by the versatile Android operating system.




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Ikea extends trademark rights in Russia until 2033

IKEA extended the right to its trademark in Russia until August 2033. The IKEA trademark package included: the yellow-blue logo, a full list of company services and the right to officially sell its products in Russia. The headquarters of the corporation in the Netherlands submitted an application to Rospatent on August 1, 2023. The application was approved on February 2.




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Lexmark’s 9-Series printers and MFPs – Versatile, simple to use and built to last

Lexmark has introduced the 9-Series printers and MFPs, built with versatility, sustainability and ease of use in mind. They are also reliable, durable, affordable and Secure by Design. Built by evolving Lexmark’s renowned A4 technology, the 9-Series is squarely focused on delivering versatility, simplicity and sustainability.



  • Print and Label

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Perguntas e Respostas da Mayo Clinic: Utilizando radioterapia para tratar tumores cerebrais

A radioterapia tem sido usada para tratar o cancer desde o inicio do seculo 20. Este tipo de tratamento continua sendo um dos tratamentos mais eficazes para tumores cerebrais cancerigenos (malignos) e nao cancerigenos (benignos). A forma como ele e ministrado -- e a tecnologia utilizada -- continuou evoluindo e melhorando.




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Only Half of Young Cancer Patients Report a Discussion on Fertility Preservation

Only half of people with early-onset cancers reported discussing fertility preservation options prior to their oncology treatments, according to results of a cross-sectional study published Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open.




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The Role Utility Companies Could Play in Stopping Wildfires

Coordinated power shutoffs could help control the wildfires spreading across New York and New Jersey, according to a Virginia Tech expert. These shutoffs could mitigate the risk posed by unseasonably dry conditions and challenging terrain, both of which have made containment efforts especially difficult, said Professor Ali Mehrizi-Sani, a Virginia Tech electrical engineering researcher.




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Only Half of Young Cancer Patients Report a Discussion on Fertility Preservation

Only half of people with early-onset cancers reported discussing fertility preservation options prior to their oncology treatments, according to results of a cross-sectional study published Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open.




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Viscose: A Versatile Fabric With Sustainable Potential

Viscose, a semisynthetic fiber, is the most common type of rayon fabric. It's become a staple in the textile industry due to its versatility and affordability. Derived from cellulose and wood pulp, viscose can mimic the luxurious feel of silk while offering the practicality of cotton.





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Superstructure reflections in tilted perovskites

The superstructure spots that appear in diffraction patterns of tilted perovskites are well documented and easily calculated using crystallographic software. Here, by considering a distortion mode as a perturbation of the prototype perovskite structure, it is shown how the structure-factor equation yields Boolean conditions for the presence of superstructure reflections. This approach may have some advantages for the analysis of electron diffraction patterns of perovskites.




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Crystallographic fragment screen of the c-di-AMP-synthesizing enzyme CdaA from Bacillus subtilis

Crystallographic fragment screening has become a pivotal technique in structure-based drug design, particularly for bacterial targets with a crucial role in infectious disease mechanisms. The enzyme CdaA, which synthesizes an essential second messenger cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP) in many pathogenic bacteria, has emerged as a promising candidate for the development of novel antibiotics. To identify crystals suitable for fragment screening, CdaA enzymes from Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium were purified and crystallized. Crystals of B. subtilis CdaA, which diffracted to the highest resolution of 1.1 Å, were used to perform the screening of 96 fragments, yielding data sets with resolutions spanning from 1.08 to 1.87 Å. A total of 24 structural hits across eight different sites were identified. Four fragments bind to regions that are highly conserved among pathogenic bacteria, specifically the active site (three fragments) and the dimerization interface (one fragment). The coordinates of the three active-site fragments were used to perform an in silico drug-repurposing screen using the OpenEye suite and the DrugBank database. This screen identified tenofovir, an approved drug, that is predicted to interact with the ATP-binding region of CdaA. Its inhibitory potential against pathogenic E. faecium CdaA has been confirmed by ITC measurements. These findings not only demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for identifying lead compounds for the design of novel antibacterial agents, but also pave the way for further fragment-based lead-optimization efforts targeting CdaA.




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Understanding secondary order parameters in perovskites with tilted octahedra

A symmetry guide for the secondary structural degrees of freedom and related physical properties generated by tilts of BX6 octahedra in perovskites is proposed.




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Understanding secondary order parameters in perovskites with tilted octahedra

In the family of perovskite materials, the tilts of BX6 octahedra are the most common type of structural distortion. Conventionally, the formation of low-symmetry perovskite phases with tilted octahedra is analyzed by considering only primary order parameters. However, octahedral tilting also gives rise to secondary order parameters which contribute to additional atomic displacements, ordering and lattice distortions. Our study highlights the significant impact of secondary order parameters on the structural formation and emergent physical properties of perovskites. Through group-theoretical and crystallographic analyses, we have identified all secondary order parameters within Glazer-type tilt systems and clarified their physical manifestations. We explore the fundamental symmetry relationships among various structural degrees of freedom in perovskites, including tilt-induced ferroelasticity, correlations between displacements and ordering of atoms occupying different positions, and the potential for rigid unit rotations and unconventional octahedral tilts. Particular emphasis is placed on the emergence of secondary order parameters and their coupling with primary order parameters, as well as their symmetry-based hierarchy, illustrated through a modified Bärnighausen tree. We applied our theoretical insights to elucidate phase transitions in well known perovskites such as CaTiO3 and RMnO3 (where R = La and lanthanide ions), thereby demonstrating the significant influence of secondary order parameters on crystal structure formation. Our results serve as a symmetry-based guide for the design, identification and structural characterization of perovskites with tilted octahedra, and for understanding tilt-induced physical properties.




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Periodic diffraction from an aperiodic monohedral tiling – the Spectre tiling. Addendum

This article describes the diffraction pattern (2-periodic Fourier transform) from the vertices of a large patch of the recently discovered `Spectre' tiling – a strictly chiral aperiodic monotile. It was reported recently that the diffraction pattern of the related weakly chiral aperiodic `Hat' monotile was 2-periodic with chiral plane-group symmetry p6 [Kaplan et al. (2024). Acta Cryst. A80, 72–78]. The diffraction periodicity arises because the Hat tiling is a systematic aperiodic deletion of vertices from the 2-periodic hexagonal mta tiling. Despite the similarity of the Hat and Spectre tilings, the Spectre tiling is not aligned with a 2-periodic lattice, and its diffraction pattern is non-periodic with chiral point symmetry 6 about the origin.




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Sub-micrometre focusing of intense 100 keV X-rays with multilayer reflective optics

A high-flux sub-micrometre focusing system was constructed using multilayer focusing mirrors in Kirkpatrick–Baez geometry for 100 keV X-rays. The focusing mirror system had a wide bandwidth of 5% and a high peak reflectivity of 74%. Performance was evaluated at the undulator beamline BL05XU of SPring-8, which produced an intense 100 keV X-ray beam with a bandwidth of 1%. When the light source was focused directly in both vertical and horizontal directions, the beam size was measured to be 0.32 µm (V) × 5.3 µm (H) with a flux of 1 × 1012 photons s−1. However, when a limited horizontal slit was used to form a secondary source, the focusing beam size decreased to 0.25 µm (V) × 0.26 µm (H) with a flux of 6 × 1010 photons s−1. The 200 nm line and space patterns of a Siemens star chart made of tantalum were clearly resolved by the absorption contrast of the focused beam. This 100 keV focusing system is applicable to various fields of nondestructive analyses with sub-micrometre resolutions.




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Investigation of structural and reflective characteristics of short-period Mo/B4C multilayer X-ray mirrors

The results of a study of the structural and reflective characteristics of short-period multilayer X-ray mirrors based on Mo/B4C at wavelengths 1.54 Å, 9.89 Å and 17.59 Å are presented. The period of the samples varied in the range 8–35 Å. The average widths of the interfaces were ∼3.5 and 2.2 Å at one and the other boundaries, with a tendency for weak growth with any decrease in the period. The interlayer roughness was ∼1 Å. The research results indicate promising prospects for the use of multilayer Mo/B4C mirrors for synchrotron applications.




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Roentgenoscopy of laser-induced projectile impact testing

Laser-induced projectile impact testing (LIPIT) based on synchrotron imaging is proposed and validated. This emerging high-velocity, high-strain microscale dynamic loading technique offers a unique perspective on the strain and energy dissipation behavior of materials subjected to high-speed microscale single-particle impacts. When combined with synchrotron radiation imaging techniques, LIPIT allows for in situ observation of particle infiltration. Two validation experiments were carried out, demonstrating the potential of LIPIT in the roentgenoscopy of the dynamic properties of various materials. With a spatial resolution of 10 µm and a temporal resolution of 33.4 µs, the system was successfully realized at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility 3W1 beamline. This innovative approach opens up new avenues for studying the dynamic properties of materials in situ.




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A versatile sample-delivery system for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of in-flight aerosols and free nanoparticles at MAX IV Laboratory

Aerosol science is of utmost importance for both climate and public health research, and in recent years X-ray techniques have proven effective tools for aerosol-particle characterization. To date, such methods have often involved the study of particles collected onto a substrate, but a high photon flux may cause radiation damage to such deposited particles and volatile components can potentially react with the surrounding environment after sampling. These and many other factors make studies on collected aerosol particles challenging. Therefore, a new aerosol sample-delivery system dedicated to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of aerosol particles and gas molecules in-flight has been developed at the MAX IV Laboratory. The aerosol particles are brought from atmospheric pressure to vacuum in a continuous flow, ensuring that the sample is constantly renewed, thus avoiding radiation damage, and allowing measurements on the true unsupported aerosol. At the same time, available gas molecules can be used for energy calibration and to study gas-particle partitioning. The design features of the aerosol sample-delivery system and important information on the operation procedures are described in detail here. Furthermore, to demonstrate the experimental range of the aerosol sample-delivery system, results from aerosol particles of different shape, size and composition are presented, including inorganic atmospheric aerosols, secondary organic aerosols and engineered nanoparticles.




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Controlling cantilevered adaptive X-ray mirrors

Modeling the behavior of a prototype cantilevered X-ray adaptive mirror (held from one end) demonstrates its potential for use on high-performance X-ray beamlines. Similar adaptive mirrors are used on X-ray beamlines to compensate optical aberrations, control wavefronts and tune mirror focal distances at will. Controlled by 1D arrays of piezoceramic actuators, these glancing-incidence mirrors can provide nanometre-scale surface shape adjustment capabilities. However, significant engineering challenges remain for mounting them with low distortion and low environmental sensitivity. Finite-element analysis is used to predict the micron-scale full actuation surface shape from each channel and then linear modeling is applied to investigate the mirrors' ability to reach target profiles. Using either uniform or arbitrary spatial weighting, actuator voltages are optimized using a Moore–Penrose matrix inverse, or pseudoinverse, revealing a spatial dependence on the shape fitting with increasing fidelity farther from the mount.




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MLgrating: a program for simulating multilayer gratings for tender X-ray applications

Multilayer gratings are increasingly popular optical elements at X-ray beamlines, as they can provide much higher photon flux in the tender X-ray range compared with traditional single-layer coated gratings. While there are several proprietary software tools that provide the functionality to simulate the efficiencies of such gratings, until now the X-ray community has lacked an open-source alternative. Here MLgrating is presented, a program for simulating the efficiencies of both multilayer gratings and single-layer coated gratings for X-ray applications. MLgrating is benchmarked by comparing its output with that of other software tools and plans are discussed for how the program could be extended in the future.




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Development of an advanced in-line multilayer deposition system at Diamond Light Source

A state-of-the-art multilayer deposition system with a 4200 mm-long linear substrate translator housed within an ultra-high vacuum chamber has been developed. This instrument is engineered to produce single and multilayer coatings, accommodating mirrors up to 2000 mm in length through the utilization of eight rectangular cathodes. To ensure the quality and reliability of the coatings, the system incorporates various diagnostic tools for in situ thickness uniformity and stress measurement. Furthermore, the system features an annealing process capable of heating up to 700°C within the load-lock chamber. The entire operation, including pump down, deposition and venting processes, is automated through user-friendly software. In addition, all essential log data, power of sputtering source, working pressure and motion positions are automatically stored for comprehensive data analysis. Preliminary commissioning results demonstrate excellent lateral film thickness uniformity, achieving 0.26% along the translation direction over 1500 mm in dynamic mode. The multilayer deposition system is poised for use in fabricating periodic, lateral-graded and depth-graded multilayers, specifically catering to the beamlines for diverse scientific applications at Diamond Light Source.




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Indirect detector for ultra-high-speed X-ray micro-imaging with increased sensitivity to near-ultraviolet scintillator emission

Ultra-high-speed synchrotron-based hard X-ray (i.e. above 10 keV) imaging is gaining a growing interest in a number of scientific domains for tracking non-repeatable dynamic phenomena at spatio-temporal microscales. This work describes an optimized indirect X-ray imaging microscope designed to achieve high performance at micrometre pixel size and megahertz acquisition speed. The entire detector optical arrangement has an improved sensitivity within the near-ultraviolet (NUV) part of the emitted spectrum (i.e. 310–430 nm wavelength). When combined with a single-crystal fast-decay scintillator, such as LYSO:Ce (Lu2−xYxSiO5:Ce), it exploits the potential of the NUV light-emitting scintillators. The indirect arrangement of the detector makes it suitable for high-dose applications that require high-energy illumination. This allows for synchrotron single-bunch hard X-ray imaging to be performed with improved true spatial resolution, as herein exemplified through pulsed wire explosion and superheated near-nozzle gasoline injection experiments at a pixel size of 3.2 µm, acquisition rates up to 1.4 MHz and effective exposure time down to 60 ps.




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Utilizing anomalous signals for element identification in macromolecular crystallography

AlphaFold2 has revolutionized structural biology by offering unparalleled accuracy in predicting protein structures. Traditional methods for determining protein structures, such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, are often time-consuming and resource-intensive. AlphaFold2 provides models that are valuable for molecular replacement, aiding in model building and docking into electron density or potential maps. However, despite its capabilities, models from AlphaFold2 do not consistently match the accuracy of experimentally determined structures, need to be validated experimentally and currently miss some crucial information, such as post-translational modifications, ligands and bound ions. In this paper, the advantages are explored of collecting X-ray anomalous data to identify chemical elements, such as metal ions, which are key to understanding certain structures and functions of proteins. This is achieved through methods such as calculating anomalous difference Fourier maps or refining the imaginary component of the anomalous scattering factor f''. Anomalous data can serve as a valuable complement to the information provided by AlphaFold2 models and this is particularly significant in elucidating the roles of metal ions.




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Structural analysis of nanocrystals by pair distribution function combining electron diffraction with crystal tilting

As an important characterization method, pair distribution function (PDF) has been extensively used in structural analysis of nanomaterials, providing key insights into the degree of crystallinity, atomic structure, local disorder etc. The collection of scattering signals with good statistics is necessary for a reliable structural analysis. However, current conventional electron diffraction experiments using PDF (ePDF) are limited in their ability to acquire continuous diffraction rings for large nanoparticles. Herein, a new method – tilt-ePDF – is proposed to improve the data quality and compatibility of ePDF by a combination of electron diffraction and specimen tilting. In the present work, a tilt-series of electron diffraction patterns was collected from gold nanoparticles with three different sizes and a standard sample polycrystalline aluminium film for ePDF analysis. The results show that tilt-ePDF can not only enhance the continuity of diffraction rings, but can also improve the signal-to-noise ratio in the high scattering angle range. As a result, compared with conventional ePDF data, tilt-ePDF data provide structure parameters with a better accuracy and lower residual factors in the refinement against the crystal structure. This method provides a new way of utilizing ePDF to obtain accurate local structure information from nanoparticles.




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Texture tomography, a versatile framework to study crystalline texture in 3D

Crystallographic texture is a key organization feature of many technical and biological materials. In these materials, especially hierarchically structured ones, the preferential alignment of the nano constituents heavily influences the macroscopic behavior of the material. To study local crystallographic texture with both high spatial and angular resolution, we developed Texture Tomography (TexTOM). This approach allows the user to model the diffraction data of polycrystalline materials using the full reciprocal space of the crystal ensemble and describe the texture in each voxel via an orientation distribution function, hence it provides 3D reconstructions of the local texture by measuring the probabilities of all crystal orientations. The TexTOM approach addresses limitations associated with existing models: it correlates the intensities from several Bragg reflections, thus reducing ambiguities resulting from symmetry. Further, it yields quantitative probability distributions of local real space crystal orientations without further assumptions about the sample structure. Finally, its efficient mathematical formulation enables reconstructions faster than the time scale of the experiment. This manuscript presents the mathematical model, the inversion strategy and its current experimental implementation. We show characterizations of simulated data as well as experimental data obtained from a synthetic, inorganic model sample: the silica–witherite biomorph. TexTOM provides a versatile framework to reconstruct 3D quantitative texture information for polycrystalline samples; it opens the door for unprecedented insights into the nanostructural makeup of natural and technical materials.




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A short note on the use of irreducible representations for tilted octahedra in perovskites

It is pointed out that many authors are unaware that the particular choice of unit-cell origin determines the irreducible representations to which octahedral tilts in perovskites belong. Furthermore, a recommendation is made that the preferred option is with the origin at the B-cation site rather than that of the A site.




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Novel high-efficiency 2D position-sensitive ZnS:Ag/6LiF scintillator detector for neutron diffraction

Scintillator-based ZnS:Ag/6LiF neutron detectors have been under development at ISIS for more than three decades. Continuous research and development aim to improve detector capabilities, achieve better performance and meet the increasingly demanding requirements set by neutron instruments. As part of this program, a high-efficiency 2D position-sensitive scintillator detector with wavelength-shifting fibres has been developed for neutron-diffraction applications. The detector consists of a double scintillator-fibre layer to improve detection efficiency. Each layer is made up of two orthogonal fibre planes placed between two ZnS:Ag/6LiF scintillator screens. Thin reflective foils are attached to the front and back scintillators of each layer to minimize light cross-talk between layers. The detector has an active area of 192 × 192 mm with a square pixel size of 3 × 3 mm. As part of the development process of the double-layer detector, a single-layer detector was built, together with a prototype detector in which the two layers of the detector could be read out separately. Efficiency calculations and measurements of all three detectors are discussed. The novel double-layer detector has been installed and tested on the SXD diffractometer at ISIS. The detector performance is compared with the current scintillator detectors employed on SXD by studying reference crystal samples. More than a factor of 3 improvement in efficiency is achieved with the double-layer wavelength-shifting-fibre detector. Software routines for further optimizations in spatial resolution and uniformity of response have been implemented and tested for 2D detectors. The methods and results are discussed in this manuscript.




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The AUREX cell: a versatile operando electrochemical cell for studying catalytic materials using X-ray diffraction, total scattering and X-ray absorption spectroscopy under working conditions

Understanding the structure–property relationship in electrocatalysts under working conditions is crucial for the rational design of novel and improved catalytic materials. This paper presents the Aarhus University reactor for electrochemical studies using X-rays (AUREX) operando electrocatalytic flow cell, designed as an easy-to-use versatile setup with a minimal background contribution and a uniform flow field to limit concentration polarization and handle gas formation. The cell has been employed to measure operando total scattering, diffraction and absorption spectroscopy as well as simultaneous combinations thereof on a commercial silver electrocatalyst for proof of concept. This combination of operando techniques allows for monitoring of the short-, medium- and long-range structure under working conditions, including an applied potential, liquid electrolyte and local reaction environment. The structural transformations of the Ag electrocatalyst are monitored with non-negative matrix factorization, linear combination analysis, the Pearson correlation coefficient matrix, and refinements in both real and reciprocal space. Upon application of an oxidative potential in an Ar-saturated aqueous 0.1 M KHCO3/K2CO3 electrolyte, the face-centered cubic (f.c.c.) Ag gradually transforms first to a trigonal Ag2CO3 phase, followed by the formation of a monoclinic Ag2CO3 phase. A reducing potential immediately reverts the structure to the Ag (f.c.c.) phase. Following the electrochemical-reaction-induced phase transitions is of fundamental interest and necessary for understanding and improving the stability of electrocatalysts, and the operando cell proves a versatile setup for probing this. In addition, it is demonstrated that, when studying electrochemical reactions, a high energy or short exposure time is needed to circumvent beam-induced effects.




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Mitigation of DMM-induced stripe patterns in synchrotron X-ray radiography through dynamic tilting

In synchrotron X-ray radiography, achieving high image resolution and an optimal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is crucial for the subsequent accurate image analysis. Traditional methods often struggle to balance these two parameters, especially in situ applications where rapid data acquisition is essential to capture specific dynamic processes. For quantitative image data analysis, using monochromatic X-rays is essential. A double multilayer monochromator (DMM) is successfully used for this aim at the BAMline, BESSY II (Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany). However, such DMMs are prone to producing an unstable horizontal stripe pattern. Such an unstable pattern renders proper signal normalization difficult and thereby causes a reduction of the SNR. We introduce a novel approach to enhance SNR while preserving resolution: dynamic tilting of the DMM. By adjusting the orientation of the DMM during the acquisition of radiographic projections, we optimize the X-ray imaging quality, thereby enhancing the SNR. The corresponding shift of the projection during this movement is corrected in post-processing. The latter correction allows a good resolution to be preserved. This dynamic tilting technique enables the homogenization of the beam profile and thereby effectively reduces noise while maintaining high resolution. We demonstrate that data captured using this proposed technique can be seamlessly integrated into the existing radiographic data workflow, as it does not need hardware modifications to classical X-ray imaging beamline setups. This facilitates further image analysis and processing using established methods.




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Mayor Garcetti's Q&A in John's car was almost over... until Hizzoner saw the backgammon game

Off-Ramp host John Rabe and Mayor Eric Garcetti playing backgammon in John’s car. Julian “The First Lady of Off-Ramp” Bermudez in the passenger seat with camera. ; Credit: Andrea Garcia

John Rabe | Off-Ramp®

John Rabe’s last show coincides with Eric Garcetti’s inauguration for his second term as Mayor of Los Angeles. In John's car, the two talked about:

  • The joys of exploring Los Angeles
  • The time the future Mayor's mom and dad took his drivers' license away
  • Where Justin Trudeau should visit when he comes to LA
  • And how the drop in crime has led to more people doing the Off-Ramp thing

The Mayor also did some slam poetry, and then played a competitive game of backgammon. Listen with the audio player to see who was brown and who was white. And listen to Off-Ramp on the radio to find out who won the game! (Saturday at noon/Sunday at 6pm)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Volcano Watch — Tilting towards lava: How tiltmeters monitor volcano activity

Over the past century, technological advancements have vastly improved volcano monitoring. One key innovation was the introduction of modern borehole tiltmeters, devices that measure very small changes in the inclination of the volcano’s surface.  




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Is This Halted Stock Still a Strong Buy Once It Re-Opens?

Michael Ballanger of GGM Advisory Inc. shares his thoughts on the silver market and shares one copper stock he believes is a Strong Speculative Buy even though the stock is currently halted.




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Maker of products for textile industry locates first US manufacturing facility in Conover

Chinese maker of products for the textile industry has located its first US manufacturing facility in Conover, creating 78 new jobs.




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Catawba County Dir. of Utilities & Engineering wins Energy Leadership Award from Business Journal of Charlotte

Catawba County Director of Utilities and Engineering Barry Edwards has been named one of the winners of the 2013 Energy Leadership Awards by the Business Journal of Charlotte.




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Allowable Levels of Copper in Drinking Water Should Not Be Increased Until Studies Are Done

The federal government should not increase the maximum level of copper allowed in drinking water, because higher levels could lead to liver poisoning in infants and children with certain genetic disorders.




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Antioxidants Role in Chronic Disease Prevention Still Uncertain - Huge Doses Considered Risky

Insufficient evidence exists to support claims that taking megadoses of dietary antioxidants, such as selenium and vitamins C and E, or carotenoids, including beta-carotene, can prevent chronic diseases, says the latest report on Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.




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Need Still Exists for Chemical Pesticides While Alternatives Are Sought

No justification currently exists for completely abandoning chemical pesticides, says a new report from the National Academies National Research Council.




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Young Adults Ages 18 to 26 Should Be Viewed as Separate Subpopulation - In ‘Critical Development Period,’ They Face Economic and Social Challenges While Brain Is Still Maturing, Says New Report

Young adults ages 18-26 should be viewed as a separate subpopulation in policy and research, because they are in a critical period of development when successes or failures could strongly affect the trajectories of their lives, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.




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Report Affirms the Goal of Elimination of Civilian Use of Highly Enriched Uranium and Calls for Step-wise Conversion of Research Reactors Still Using Weapon-grade Uranium Fuel - 50-year Federal Roadmap for Neutron-based Research Recommended

Efforts to convert civilian research reactors from weapon-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels are taking significantly longer than anticipated, says a congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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‘Carbon Utilization’ Technologies Could Reduce Emissions by Turning Greenhouse Gases Into Useful Products - New Report Identifies R&D to Make Technologies More Commercially Viable

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines a research agenda for improving the commercial viability of technologies that turn greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels into useful products such as fuels, construction materials, and chemicals.




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At-Home DNA Tests Still Need the ‘Human Touch,’ Say Panelists at Genomics Roundtable Workshop

When Sara Altschule took a 23andMe ancestry test, the results confirmed what she already suspected - She is 77 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.




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Dr. Laura Castillo-Page Named National Academies’ Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that Laura Castillo-Page will become its first chief diversity and inclusion officer, effective June 1.




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Industry and Government Should Begin Planning Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Circular Economy, Says New Report

As part of the shift to a net-zero carbon emissions economy, industry and government should begin planning for the deployment of carbon dioxide utilization systems to turn captured CO2 into useful products, such as aviation fuel and aggregates for construction.




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Random String Utility

Will's pick this week is Random String Utility by Dan Couture. This is an oldie but a goodie. This submission is from 2012 but still works just fine in R2022b (another testament to the... read more >>




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Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’s

Ratan Tata, the recently deceased patriarch of the Tata Group, symbolized India's industrial evolution and global ambitions. Despite mixed successes in global ventures like Corus Group and Jaguar Land Rover, he pushed for India’s integration into global markets, diverging from the local focus of current government policies.




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AI teaching assistants need to be simple for students' utility: Study

Researchers at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida are investigating how students view teachers who use artificial intelligence, and to make it more utility-driven by simplifying it.