Now that Facebook's share feature has settled into its own mobile apps, the firm has pushed its native Share Dialog for iOS out of beta, which allows developers to bake the function into their own applications. With just an extra line of code, apps will allow users to share things, tag friends and note their location without having to log into the social network or connect the app to their account first, removing some hassle from the equation. In addition, the built-in sharing options in iOS 6 can be bolstered with Open Graph actions. Click the source link below to snatch Zuckerberg and Co.'s latest SDK for Apple's mobile OS, or hit the second link for the docs.
Markus Rogan, an Austrian swimmer who won two silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and a gold medal for 200 m backstroke at the 2008 World Championships in Manchester, speaks to the West Hollywood City Council. (Photo by Jon Viscott)
West Hollywood?s City Council voted unanimously to move forward with phase two of West Hollywood Park renovations Monday night, including building a new multipurpose recreation center with swimming pools on the roof, and incorporating a National AIDS Monument into the park.
The new five-story, 71,000-square-foot recreation center will be built behind the current five-story library parking deck, where the El Tovar surface parking lot now sits. The facility will have ground-level parking, plus locker rooms, public meeting room space and an interior gymnasium large enough for two basketball courts. Two pools will be on the roof, one for lap swimming and another for recreational swimming. The estimated cost will be $80 million.
The National AIDS Monument will be located near the grand staircase leading from San Vicente Boulevard to the library entrance.
Many local athletes came out to support the plan for the new recreation center, including Jake Mason, who founded West Hollywood Dodgeball, the largest LGBT dodgeball league in the nation. WeHo Dodgeball currently plays its games in the auditorium in West Hollywood Park.
Jake Mason, founder of WeHo Dodgeball. (Photo by Jon Viscott)
A number of athletes urged the council not to tear down the existing auditorium and swimming pool on San Vicente Boulevard until the new facility is completed. Currently, the plan is to have the new facility built and operational before demolishing the current buildings.
Water polo player Michael Crosby, who came dressed in nothing but a Speedo bathing suit, praised plans for the new pool, and emphasized to the council how much money gay athletic events, including aquatic sports, bring to the city.
Hunter Halinick, owner at the Gym Bar in WeHo?s gay bar district, where many athletes go after dodgeball and volleyball games, estimated 40 percent of his business came from those athletes.
The location for the two swimming pools proved to be a sticking point for the council, which considered six phase II construction options presented by Heery International, an architectural firm hired to do a ?feasibility study? on the park for the city.
Water polo player Michael Crosby. (Photo by Jon Viscott)
Councilmembers John D?Amico and Jeff Prang preferred having basketball courts on the roof of the recreation center, and putting the pools at ground level in the northern portion of the park where the two basketball courts are currently located. A separate pool facility would have lowered the overall cost to $75 million.
However, Councilmembers John Duran and John Heilman, along with Mayor Abbe Land favored putting the pools on the recreation center roof.? Those pools will be the same level as the three tennis courts atop the five-story parking garage.
?It?s an exciting and prominent location,? said Heilman.
An exact design for the AIDS monument has not been determined, but it will likely also include an amphitheatre. The monument will memorialize the AIDS epidemic from a West Hollywood/Los Angeles perspective, honoring those who died and those who survived, as well as allies who helped in the fight.
Duran, who is HIV positive, said that 10,000 people in West Hollywood died during the epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s.
?It?s like a bomb, a nuclear bomb, going off in the center of town,? Duran said.
The park renovations will also see the Tiny Tots preschool building and playground area relocated next to the library. The existing playground area will be transformed into open space.
Construction project manager Dan Adams of Heery International said it would take 12 to 15 months before ?ground-breaking? could start and another four years of construction time. The city will issue a ?request for proposals? for designs in the coming weeks.
The council asked city staff members to look at options for making the lap pool deeper than the proposed seven feet in the current plan. Twelve feet is needed if the pool is to have diving, but extra support columns in the building?s gym area would likely be needed to support the extra weight of a deeper pool.
The council also suggested the recreation facility should have public restrooms available for clubgoers returning to their cars in the parking deck late at night. Heilman noted that restrooms might prevent people from urinating in the stairwells of the parking deck, a problem he has complained about in the past.
New method for producing clean hydrogenPublic release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Merritt richard.merritt@duke.edu 919-660-8414 Duke University
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.
The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much lower temperatures than conventional methods, which makes it a more practical option.
Catalysts are agents added to promote chemical reactions. In this case, the catalysts were nanoparticle combinations of gold and iron oxide (rust), but not in the traditional sense. Current methods depend on gold nanoparticles' ability to drive the process as the sole catalyst, while the Duke researchers made both the iron oxide and the gold the focus of the catalytic process.
The study appears online in the Journal of Catalysis, viewable at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951712004204.
"Our ultimate goal is to be able to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells," said Titilayo "Titi" Shodiya, a graduate student working in the laboratory of senior researcher Nico Hotz, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "Everyone is interested in sustainable and non-polluting ways of producing useful energy without fossil fuels," said Shodiya, the paper's first author.
Fuel cells produce electricity through chemical reactions, most commonly involving hydrogen. Also, many industrial processes require hydrogen as a chemical reagent and vehicles are beginning to use hydrogen as a primary fuel source.
"We were able through our system to consistently produce hydrogen with less than 0.002 percent (20 parts per million) of carbon monoxide," Shodiya said.
The Duke researchers achieved these levels by switching the recipe for the nanoparticles used as catalysts for the reactions to oxidize carbon monoxide in hydrogen-rich gases. Traditional methods of cleaning hydrogen, which are not nearly as efficient as this new approach, also involve gold-iron oxide nanoparticles as the catalyst, the researchers said.
"It had been assumed that the iron oxide nanoparticles were only 'scaffolds' holding the gold nanoparticles together, and that the gold was responsible for the chemical reactions," Sodiya said. "However, we found that increasing the surface area of the iron oxide dramatically increased the catalytic activity of the gold."
One of the newest approaches to producing renewable energy is the use of biomass-derived alcohol-based sources, such as methanol. When methanol is treated with steam, or reformed, it creates a hydrogen-rich mixture that can be used in fuel cells.
"The main problem with this approach is that it also produces carbon monoxide, which is not only toxic to life, but also quickly damages the catalyst on fuel cell membranes that are crucial to the functioning of a fuel cell," Hotz said. "It doesn't take much carbon monoxide to ruin these membranes."
The researchers ran the reaction for more than 200 hours and found no reduction in the ability of the catalyst to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the hydrogen gas.
"The mechanism for this is not exactly understood yet. However, while current thinking is that the size of the gold particles is key, we believe the emphasis of further research should focus on iron oxide's role in the process," Shodiya said.
###
The Duke team's research was supported by the California Energy Commission and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Duke postdoctoral associates Oliver Schmidt and Wen Peng were also part of the research team.
Citation: "Novel nano-scale Au/alpha-Fe2O3 catalyst for the preferential oxidation of CO in biofuel reformate gas," Titilayo Shodiya, et. al, Journal of Catalysis, DOI 10.1016/j.cat.2012.12.027
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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.
New method for producing clean hydrogenPublic release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Merritt richard.merritt@duke.edu 919-660-8414 Duke University
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.
The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much lower temperatures than conventional methods, which makes it a more practical option.
Catalysts are agents added to promote chemical reactions. In this case, the catalysts were nanoparticle combinations of gold and iron oxide (rust), but not in the traditional sense. Current methods depend on gold nanoparticles' ability to drive the process as the sole catalyst, while the Duke researchers made both the iron oxide and the gold the focus of the catalytic process.
The study appears online in the Journal of Catalysis, viewable at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951712004204.
"Our ultimate goal is to be able to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells," said Titilayo "Titi" Shodiya, a graduate student working in the laboratory of senior researcher Nico Hotz, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "Everyone is interested in sustainable and non-polluting ways of producing useful energy without fossil fuels," said Shodiya, the paper's first author.
Fuel cells produce electricity through chemical reactions, most commonly involving hydrogen. Also, many industrial processes require hydrogen as a chemical reagent and vehicles are beginning to use hydrogen as a primary fuel source.
"We were able through our system to consistently produce hydrogen with less than 0.002 percent (20 parts per million) of carbon monoxide," Shodiya said.
The Duke researchers achieved these levels by switching the recipe for the nanoparticles used as catalysts for the reactions to oxidize carbon monoxide in hydrogen-rich gases. Traditional methods of cleaning hydrogen, which are not nearly as efficient as this new approach, also involve gold-iron oxide nanoparticles as the catalyst, the researchers said.
"It had been assumed that the iron oxide nanoparticles were only 'scaffolds' holding the gold nanoparticles together, and that the gold was responsible for the chemical reactions," Sodiya said. "However, we found that increasing the surface area of the iron oxide dramatically increased the catalytic activity of the gold."
One of the newest approaches to producing renewable energy is the use of biomass-derived alcohol-based sources, such as methanol. When methanol is treated with steam, or reformed, it creates a hydrogen-rich mixture that can be used in fuel cells.
"The main problem with this approach is that it also produces carbon monoxide, which is not only toxic to life, but also quickly damages the catalyst on fuel cell membranes that are crucial to the functioning of a fuel cell," Hotz said. "It doesn't take much carbon monoxide to ruin these membranes."
The researchers ran the reaction for more than 200 hours and found no reduction in the ability of the catalyst to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the hydrogen gas.
"The mechanism for this is not exactly understood yet. However, while current thinking is that the size of the gold particles is key, we believe the emphasis of further research should focus on iron oxide's role in the process," Shodiya said.
###
The Duke team's research was supported by the California Energy Commission and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Duke postdoctoral associates Oliver Schmidt and Wen Peng were also part of the research team.
Citation: "Novel nano-scale Au/alpha-Fe2O3 catalyst for the preferential oxidation of CO in biofuel reformate gas," Titilayo Shodiya, et. al, Journal of Catalysis, DOI 10.1016/j.cat.2012.12.027
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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.
In this Saturday, May 18, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria. The town of Qusair has been besieged for weeks by regime troops and pro-government gunmen backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. The siege is part of a withering offensives forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have been pushing in recent weeks to regain control of the towns and villages along the Lebanese frontier. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)
In this Saturday, May 18, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria. The town of Qusair has been besieged for weeks by regime troops and pro-government gunmen backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. The siege is part of a withering offensives forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have been pushing in recent weeks to regain control of the towns and villages along the Lebanese frontier. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)
This citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels preparing to repel a coordinated attack by government forces, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria, Sunday, May 19, 2013. Syrian troops backed by tanks and warplanes launched an assault Sunday on a strategic rebel-held town near the Lebanese border, pounding the area with airstrikes and artillery salvos that killed tens of people and forced residents to scramble for cover in basements and makeshift bunkers, activists said. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Fierce street fighting in a Syrian town near the Lebanese border has killed at least 28 elite members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, activists said Monday, as Syrian government forces pushed deeper into the strategic, opposition-held town.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's civil war, said that more than 70 Hezbollah fighters have also been wounded in the fighting around the town of Qusair. If confirmed, the casualties would be a significant blow to the Iranian-backed Shiite group, which has come under harsh criticism at home for its involvement in the war next door.
A staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Hezbollah is heavily invested in the survival of the Damascus regime and is known to have sent fighters to aid government forces. The Lebanese group's growing role in the conflict also points to the deeply sectarian nature of the war in Syria, in which a rebellion driven by the country's Sunni majority seeks to overthrow a regime dominated by the president's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The increasingly overt Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian conflict is almost certain to threaten stability in Lebanon, which is sharply split along sectarian lines, and between supporters and opponents of Assad.
The Observatory, which relies on a wide network of activists on the ground in Syria, cited "sources close to the militant group" for the death toll but declined to reveal their identity. It said at least 50 Syrian rebels were also killed in the battle for Qusair on Sunday, including two commanders.
Qusair has been the target of a withering government offensive in recent weeks, and the countryside around the town has been engulfed in fighting as regime troops backed by Hezbollah fighters seized villages while closing in on Qusair itself. The opposition estimates that some 40,000 civilians are currently in the town.
The intensity of the fighting reflects the importance that both sides attach to the area. In the regime's calculations, Qusair lies along a strategic land corridor linking Damascus with the Mediterranean coast, the Alawite heartland. For the rebels, overwhelmingly Sunni Qusair has served as a conduit for shipments of weapons and supplies smuggled from Lebanon to opposition fighters inside Syria.
Regime troops and Hezbollah fighters, who laid siege to Qusair weeks ago, launched an offensive to regain control of the town, with Hezbollah's elite fighters advancing from the east and south, an opposition figure said.
He added that it took Hezbollah troops a few hours to take control of the town's main square and municipal building. By the end of the day Sunday, they had pushed out rebel units, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, from most of Qusair, he said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by both sides.
He said fighting was focused in the northern part of the town on Monday.
The account matched that of Syria's state news media, which said President Bashar Assad's troops took control of most of Qusair on Monday. State-run TV said forces restored stability to the entire eastern front of the town, killing scores of "terrorists" there ? the term used by the Syrian regime to refer to all rebels.
An official in the Homs governor's office told the AP on Monday that more than 60 percent of the city is in government hands after scores of gunmen were killed or surrendered Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give information to the media during an ongoing military operation, said more than 1,500 residents fled the city due to intensified fighting.
Qusair-based opposition activist Hadi Abdullah denied official reports that the army was advancing in the town, saying they were still trying to storm it.
"They go in and out, until now I can say with confidence that they have not been able to enter the town and stay there," Abdullah said.
Hezbollah members have made use of their expertise in guerrilla tactics to significantly boost regime forces in the fight for Qusair. Their presence, along with that of Hezbollah-backed Shiite fighters, is meant to shore up overstretched government troops fighting on several other fronts.
Residents on the Lebanese side of the border just across from Qusair reported seeing more than 30 plumes of smoke billowing from inside Syria and hearing the heavy thud of artillery and airstrikes late into the night Sunday and on Monday morning.
"Nobody could sleep last night from the sounds of battle," said Ali Jaafar, deputy mayor of the Lebanese border town of Hermel, adding that residents did not send children to school Monday for fear of fighting spilling over into Lebanon.
Lebanese security officials confirmed at least four funerals were being held Monday morning for Hezbollah fighters or their supporters killed in Syria. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.
Army units "restored security and stability" to most of the city on Monday and killed "many terrorists," the majority of them foreign fighters who have been fighting alongside opposition forces, the state news agency said. The military also destroyed rebel hideouts and seized "large amounts of weapons and ammunition," it said, adding that government troops are fighting pockets of resistance in southern and northern districts of Qusair Monday.
The Syrian regime claims there is no civil war in the country but that the army is fighting foreign-backed terrorists trying to topple Assad's government.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011.
At least 1.5 million Syrians have sought shelter in neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, while millions more have been displaced inside Syria and are in urgent need of basic aid, according to the United Nations.
The international aid organization Oxfam appealed for more funds to help Syrian refugees, saying warmer weather will increase health risks due to lack of shelter, water and basic sanitation in Lebanon and Jordan. The Britain-based group said in a statement Monday that diarrhea and skin infections have already been noted among refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The two countries host the bulk of 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
In addition to funds, aid organizations have also complained of a lack of access to civilians in areas most affected by fighting, saying that government bureaucracy often delays convoys for weeks from reaching civilians in dire need of basic supplies.
In a statement Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the killing of a driver for the group's affiliate branch in northern Syria. The ICRC said Abdo Darwish, a driver for the Red Crescent Society in Hassakeh was killed May 14 on his way to work. He was wearing his Syrian Red Crescent uniform, "clearly indicating his affiliation with the Movement, when he was targeted by snipers," the ICRC said.
Syria's civil war has claimed the lives of 20 Red Crescent volunteers, the statement said, adding that all of those who died had been killed while carrying out their humanitarian duties.
___
Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
The mammoth's lament: UC research shows how cosmic impact sparked devastating climate changePublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tom Robinette tom.robinette@uc.edu 513-556-1825 University of Cincinnati
Herds of wooly mammoths once shook the earth beneath their feet, sending humans scurrying across the landscape of prehistoric Ohio. But then something much larger shook the Earth itself, and at that point these mega mammals' days were numbered.
Something global-scale combustion caused by a comet scraping our planet's atmosphere or a meteorite slamming into its surface scorched the air, melted bedrock and altered the course of Earth's history. Exactly what it was is unclear, but this event jump-started what Kenneth Tankersley, an assistant professor of anthropology and geology at the University of Cincinnati, calls the last gasp of the last ice age.
"Imagine living in a time when you look outside and there are elephants walking around in Cincinnati," Tankersley says. "But by the time you're at the end of your years, there are no more elephants. It happens within your lifetime."
Tankersley explains what he and a team of international researchers found may have caused this catastrophic event in Earth's history in their research, "Evidence for Deposition of 10 Million Tonnes of Impact Spherules Across Four Continents 12,800 Years Ago," which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The prestigious journal was established in 1914 and publishes innovative research reports from a broad range of scientific disciplines. Tankersley's research also was included in the History Channel series "The Universe: When Space Changed History" and will be featured in an upcoming film for The Weather Channel.
This research might indicate that it wasn't the cosmic collision that extinguished the mammoths and other species, Tankersley says, but the drastic change to their environment.
"The climate changed rapidly and profoundly. And coinciding with this very rapid global climate change was mass extinctions."
PUTTING A FINGER ON THE END OF THE ICE AGE
Tankersley is an archaeological geologist. He uses geological techniques, in the field and laboratory, to solve archaeological questions. He's found a treasure trove of answers to some of those questions in Sheriden Cave in Wyandot County, Ohio. It's in that spot, 100 feet below the surface, where Tankersley has been studying geological layers that date to the Younger Dryas time period, about 13,000 years ago.
About 12,000 years before the Younger Dryas, the Earth was at the Last Glacial Maximum the peak of the Ice Age. Millennia passed, and the climate began to warm. Then something happened that caused temperatures to suddenly reverse course, bringing about a century's worth of near-glacial climate that marked the start of the geologically brief Younger Dryas.
There are only about 20 archaeological sites in the world that date to this time period and only 12 in the United States including Sheriden Cave.
"There aren't many places on the planet where you can actually put your finger on the end of the last ice age, and Sheriden Cave is one of those rare places where you can do that," Tankersley says.
ROCK-SOLID EVIDENCE OF COSMIC CALAMITY
In studying this layer, Tankersley found ample evidence to support the theory that something came close enough to Earth to melt rock and produce other interesting geological phenomena. Foremost among the findings were carbon spherules. These tiny bits of carbon are formed when substances are burned at very high temperatures. The spherules exhibit characteristics that indicate their origin, whether that's from burning coal, lightning strikes, forest fires or something more extreme. Tankersley says the ones in his study could only have been formed from the combustion of rock.
The spherules also were found at 17 other sites across four continents an estimated 10 million metric tons' worth further supporting the idea that whatever changed Earth did so on a massive scale. It's unlikely that a wildfire or thunderstorm would leave a geological calling card that immense covering about 50 million square kilometers.
"We know something came close enough to Earth and it was hot enough that it melted rock that's what these carbon spherules are. In order to create this type of evidence that we see around the world, it was big," Tankersley says, contrasting the effects of an event so massive with the 1883 volcanic explosion on Krakatoa in Indonesia. "When Krakatoa blew its stack, Cincinnati had no summer. Imagine winter all year-round. That's just one little volcano blowing its top."
Other important findings include:
Micrometeorites: smaller pieces of meteorites or particles of cosmic dust that have made contact with the Earth's surface.
Nanodiamonds: microscopic diamonds formed when a carbon source is subjected to an extreme impact, often found in meteorite craters.
Lonsdaleite: a rare type of diamond, also called a hexagonal diamond, only found in non-terrestrial areas such as meteorite craters.
THREE CHOICES AT THE CROSSROADS OF OBLIVION
Tankersley says while the cosmic strike had an immediate and deadly effect, the long-term side effects were far more devastating similar to Krakatoa's aftermath but many times worse making it unique in modern human history.
In the cataclysm's wake, toxic gas poisoned the air and clouded the sky, causing temperatures to plummet. The roiling climate challenged the existence of plant and animal populations, and it produced what Tankersley has classified as "winners" and "losers" of the Younger Dryas. He says inhabitants of this time period had three choices: relocate to another environment where they could make a similar living; downsize or adjust their way of living to fit the current surroundings; or swiftly go extinct. "Winners" chose one of the first two options while "losers," such as the wooly mammoth, took the last.
"Whatever this was, it did not cause the extinctions," Tankersley says. "Rather, this likely caused climate change. And climate change forced this scenario: You can move, downsize or you can go extinct."
Humans at the time were just as resourceful and intelligent as we are today. If you transported a teenager from 13,000 years ago into the 21st century and gave her jeans, a T-shirt and a Facebook account, she'd blend right in on any college campus. Back in the Younger Dryas, with mammoth off the dinner table, humans were forced to adapt which they did to great success.
WEATHER REPORT: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF EXTINCTION
That lesson in survivability is one that Tankersley applies to humankind today.
"Whether we want to admit it or not, we're living right now in a period of very rapid and profound global climate change. We're also living in a time of mass extinction," Tankersley says. "So I would argue that a lot of the lessons for surviving climate change are actually in the past."
He says it's important to consider a sustainable livelihood. Humans of the Younger Dryas were hunter-gatherers. When catastrophe struck, these humans found news ways and new places to hunt game and gather wild plants. Evidence found in Sheriden Cave shows that most of the plants and animals living there also endured. Of the 70 species known to have lived there before the Younger Dryas, 68 were found there afterward. The two that didn't make it were the giant beaver and the flat-headed peccary, a sharp-toothed pig the size of a black bear.
Tankersley also cautions that the possibility of another massive cosmic event should not be ignored. Like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, these types of natural disasters do happen, and as history has shown, it can be to devastating effect.
"One additional catastrophic change that we often fail to think about and it's beyond our control is something from outer space," Tankersley says. "It's a reminder of how fragile we are. Imagine an explosion that happened today that went across four continents. The human species would go on. But it would be different. It would be a game changer."
BREAKING BARRIERS AND WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD REAL CHANGE
Tankersley is a member of UC's Quaternary and Anthropocene Research Group (QARG), an interdisciplinary conglomeration of researchers dedicated to undergraduate, graduate and professional education, experience-based learning and research in Quaternary science and study of the Anthropocene. He's proud to be working with his students on projects that, when he was in their shoes, were considered science fiction.
Collaborative efforts such as QARG help break down long-held barriers between disciplines and further position UC as one of the nation's top public research universities.
"What's exciting about UC and why our university is producing so much, is we have scientists who are working together and it's this area of overlap that is so interesting," Tankersley says. "There's a real synergy about innovative, transformative, transdisciplinary science and education here. These are the things that really make people take notice. It causes real change in our world."
###
Additional contributors to Tankersley's research paper were James H. Wittke and Ted E. Bunch, Northern Arizona University; James C. Weaver, Harvard University; Douglas J. Kennett, Pennsylvania State University; Andrew M.T. Moore, Rochester Institute of Technology; Gordon C. Hillman, University College London; Albert C. Goodyear, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Christopher R. Moore, University of South Carolina, New Ellenton; Randolph I. Daniel Jr., East Carolina University; Jack H. Ray and Neal Lopinot, Missouri State University; David Ferraro, Viejo California Associated; Isabel Israde-Alcntara, Universidad Michoacana de San Niclas de Hidalgo; James L. Bischoff, U.S. Geological Survey; Paul S. DeCarli, SRI International; Robert E. Hermes, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Han Kloosterman, Exploration Geologist; Zsolt Revay, Technische Universitt Mnchen; George A. Howard, Restoration Systems; David R. Kimbel, Kimstar Research; Gunther Kletetschka and Ladislav Nabelek, Czech Academy of Science of the Czech Republic; Carl Lipo and Sachiko Sakai, California State University; Allen West, GeoScience Consulting; James P. Kennett, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Richard B. Firestone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Funding for this study was partially provided by the Court Family Foundation, UC's Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, the University of Cincinnati Research Council, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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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.
The mammoth's lament: UC research shows how cosmic impact sparked devastating climate changePublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tom Robinette tom.robinette@uc.edu 513-556-1825 University of Cincinnati
Herds of wooly mammoths once shook the earth beneath their feet, sending humans scurrying across the landscape of prehistoric Ohio. But then something much larger shook the Earth itself, and at that point these mega mammals' days were numbered.
Something global-scale combustion caused by a comet scraping our planet's atmosphere or a meteorite slamming into its surface scorched the air, melted bedrock and altered the course of Earth's history. Exactly what it was is unclear, but this event jump-started what Kenneth Tankersley, an assistant professor of anthropology and geology at the University of Cincinnati, calls the last gasp of the last ice age.
"Imagine living in a time when you look outside and there are elephants walking around in Cincinnati," Tankersley says. "But by the time you're at the end of your years, there are no more elephants. It happens within your lifetime."
Tankersley explains what he and a team of international researchers found may have caused this catastrophic event in Earth's history in their research, "Evidence for Deposition of 10 Million Tonnes of Impact Spherules Across Four Continents 12,800 Years Ago," which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The prestigious journal was established in 1914 and publishes innovative research reports from a broad range of scientific disciplines. Tankersley's research also was included in the History Channel series "The Universe: When Space Changed History" and will be featured in an upcoming film for The Weather Channel.
This research might indicate that it wasn't the cosmic collision that extinguished the mammoths and other species, Tankersley says, but the drastic change to their environment.
"The climate changed rapidly and profoundly. And coinciding with this very rapid global climate change was mass extinctions."
PUTTING A FINGER ON THE END OF THE ICE AGE
Tankersley is an archaeological geologist. He uses geological techniques, in the field and laboratory, to solve archaeological questions. He's found a treasure trove of answers to some of those questions in Sheriden Cave in Wyandot County, Ohio. It's in that spot, 100 feet below the surface, where Tankersley has been studying geological layers that date to the Younger Dryas time period, about 13,000 years ago.
About 12,000 years before the Younger Dryas, the Earth was at the Last Glacial Maximum the peak of the Ice Age. Millennia passed, and the climate began to warm. Then something happened that caused temperatures to suddenly reverse course, bringing about a century's worth of near-glacial climate that marked the start of the geologically brief Younger Dryas.
There are only about 20 archaeological sites in the world that date to this time period and only 12 in the United States including Sheriden Cave.
"There aren't many places on the planet where you can actually put your finger on the end of the last ice age, and Sheriden Cave is one of those rare places where you can do that," Tankersley says.
ROCK-SOLID EVIDENCE OF COSMIC CALAMITY
In studying this layer, Tankersley found ample evidence to support the theory that something came close enough to Earth to melt rock and produce other interesting geological phenomena. Foremost among the findings were carbon spherules. These tiny bits of carbon are formed when substances are burned at very high temperatures. The spherules exhibit characteristics that indicate their origin, whether that's from burning coal, lightning strikes, forest fires or something more extreme. Tankersley says the ones in his study could only have been formed from the combustion of rock.
The spherules also were found at 17 other sites across four continents an estimated 10 million metric tons' worth further supporting the idea that whatever changed Earth did so on a massive scale. It's unlikely that a wildfire or thunderstorm would leave a geological calling card that immense covering about 50 million square kilometers.
"We know something came close enough to Earth and it was hot enough that it melted rock that's what these carbon spherules are. In order to create this type of evidence that we see around the world, it was big," Tankersley says, contrasting the effects of an event so massive with the 1883 volcanic explosion on Krakatoa in Indonesia. "When Krakatoa blew its stack, Cincinnati had no summer. Imagine winter all year-round. That's just one little volcano blowing its top."
Other important findings include:
Micrometeorites: smaller pieces of meteorites or particles of cosmic dust that have made contact with the Earth's surface.
Nanodiamonds: microscopic diamonds formed when a carbon source is subjected to an extreme impact, often found in meteorite craters.
Lonsdaleite: a rare type of diamond, also called a hexagonal diamond, only found in non-terrestrial areas such as meteorite craters.
THREE CHOICES AT THE CROSSROADS OF OBLIVION
Tankersley says while the cosmic strike had an immediate and deadly effect, the long-term side effects were far more devastating similar to Krakatoa's aftermath but many times worse making it unique in modern human history.
In the cataclysm's wake, toxic gas poisoned the air and clouded the sky, causing temperatures to plummet. The roiling climate challenged the existence of plant and animal populations, and it produced what Tankersley has classified as "winners" and "losers" of the Younger Dryas. He says inhabitants of this time period had three choices: relocate to another environment where they could make a similar living; downsize or adjust their way of living to fit the current surroundings; or swiftly go extinct. "Winners" chose one of the first two options while "losers," such as the wooly mammoth, took the last.
"Whatever this was, it did not cause the extinctions," Tankersley says. "Rather, this likely caused climate change. And climate change forced this scenario: You can move, downsize or you can go extinct."
Humans at the time were just as resourceful and intelligent as we are today. If you transported a teenager from 13,000 years ago into the 21st century and gave her jeans, a T-shirt and a Facebook account, she'd blend right in on any college campus. Back in the Younger Dryas, with mammoth off the dinner table, humans were forced to adapt which they did to great success.
WEATHER REPORT: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF EXTINCTION
That lesson in survivability is one that Tankersley applies to humankind today.
"Whether we want to admit it or not, we're living right now in a period of very rapid and profound global climate change. We're also living in a time of mass extinction," Tankersley says. "So I would argue that a lot of the lessons for surviving climate change are actually in the past."
He says it's important to consider a sustainable livelihood. Humans of the Younger Dryas were hunter-gatherers. When catastrophe struck, these humans found news ways and new places to hunt game and gather wild plants. Evidence found in Sheriden Cave shows that most of the plants and animals living there also endured. Of the 70 species known to have lived there before the Younger Dryas, 68 were found there afterward. The two that didn't make it were the giant beaver and the flat-headed peccary, a sharp-toothed pig the size of a black bear.
Tankersley also cautions that the possibility of another massive cosmic event should not be ignored. Like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, these types of natural disasters do happen, and as history has shown, it can be to devastating effect.
"One additional catastrophic change that we often fail to think about and it's beyond our control is something from outer space," Tankersley says. "It's a reminder of how fragile we are. Imagine an explosion that happened today that went across four continents. The human species would go on. But it would be different. It would be a game changer."
BREAKING BARRIERS AND WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD REAL CHANGE
Tankersley is a member of UC's Quaternary and Anthropocene Research Group (QARG), an interdisciplinary conglomeration of researchers dedicated to undergraduate, graduate and professional education, experience-based learning and research in Quaternary science and study of the Anthropocene. He's proud to be working with his students on projects that, when he was in their shoes, were considered science fiction.
Collaborative efforts such as QARG help break down long-held barriers between disciplines and further position UC as one of the nation's top public research universities.
"What's exciting about UC and why our university is producing so much, is we have scientists who are working together and it's this area of overlap that is so interesting," Tankersley says. "There's a real synergy about innovative, transformative, transdisciplinary science and education here. These are the things that really make people take notice. It causes real change in our world."
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Additional contributors to Tankersley's research paper were James H. Wittke and Ted E. Bunch, Northern Arizona University; James C. Weaver, Harvard University; Douglas J. Kennett, Pennsylvania State University; Andrew M.T. Moore, Rochester Institute of Technology; Gordon C. Hillman, University College London; Albert C. Goodyear, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Christopher R. Moore, University of South Carolina, New Ellenton; Randolph I. Daniel Jr., East Carolina University; Jack H. Ray and Neal Lopinot, Missouri State University; David Ferraro, Viejo California Associated; Isabel Israde-Alcntara, Universidad Michoacana de San Niclas de Hidalgo; James L. Bischoff, U.S. Geological Survey; Paul S. DeCarli, SRI International; Robert E. Hermes, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Han Kloosterman, Exploration Geologist; Zsolt Revay, Technische Universitt Mnchen; George A. Howard, Restoration Systems; David R. Kimbel, Kimstar Research; Gunther Kletetschka and Ladislav Nabelek, Czech Academy of Science of the Czech Republic; Carl Lipo and Sachiko Sakai, California State University; Allen West, GeoScience Consulting; James P. Kennett, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Richard B. Firestone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Funding for this study was partially provided by the Court Family Foundation, UC's Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, the University of Cincinnati Research Council, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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The CDC did its first study on the mental health of children ages 3-17 and found that 20 percent of US children are dealing with more on their plate than just their vegetables.
"Millions of children in the U.S. have mental disorders that affect their overall health and present challenges for their loved ones. In addition, the financial costs of childhood mental disorders are at least an estimated $247 billion each year," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC.?
"We are working to both increase our understanding of these disorders, and help scale up programs and strategies to promote children's mental health so that our children grow to lead productive, healthy lives," Frieden said.
The mental health disorders commonly cited were ADHD, austism spectrum disorders, behavior disorders, mood and anxiety disorders and substance abuse problems.
ADHD is most prevalent, affecting 7 percent of US children, according to the report.?
The report gathered data with the help of several health agencies from 2005 to 2011 to learn how many children were diagnosed with mental health disorders during that time period.
Depression is becoming a larger issue. In 2010, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among American children between the ages of 12 and 17.
Almost 2 million American adolescents between 12 and 17 admitted that for more than half of the previous month, they routinely had felt sad, angry, disconnected, stressed out, unloved or possibly willing to hurt themselves -- or others, according to the LA Times.?
Researchers believe the causes may stem from environmental factors such as poverty, family environments and other changes to their personal lives.?
Gail-Joon Ahn is at work on a ?mobile wallet? that can protect individuals? ?digital presence? and other personal information stored a mobile digital devices.
Posted on May 20, 2013
Arizona State University computer scientist Gail-Joon Ahn has been granted a U.S. patent for a novel identity management system that helps protect personal identity information stored on digital devices.
The patent is the result of a 10-year project Ahn began in 2003 as an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte (UNC Charlotte), where he was the founding director of the Center for Digital Identity and Cyber Defense Research.
Ahn is an associate professor and a Fulton Entrepreneurial Professor in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, one of ASU?s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
He?s also founder and chief technology officer of GFS Technology, an ASU-incubated company set up to commercialize his mobile security technologies.
GFS Technology focuses on identity management solutions and also works on a platform for mobile users whose mobile devices are used for work, eCommerce, financial transactions and Internet use.? The technology protects against insecure connections, hackers, phishers and identity thieves by targeting four layers of vulnerability: networks, applications, services and data.
Ahn?s platform stems from a more ambitious project to produce a ?mobile wallet? that can safely store a person?s ?digital presence? and other personal information on a mobile device.
?This invention is just one piece,? Ahn says. ?There are a lot of other applications for this technology.?
GFS Technology?s solutions can be used for anything from ensuring confidential business transactions to securely purchasing groceries at the supermarket.
?This invention can create a new paradigm in terms of purchasing transactions in the mobile computing community,? he explains.
Ahn led a research project on the identity management solution for Bank of America for five years when he was at UNC Charlotte, but due to economic restrictions at the time Bank of America could not afford the technology. When Ahn came to ASU in 2008, he brought his security research project with him.
The Open Invention Network (OIN), a North Carolina-based company, purchased and licensed Ahn?s work at ASU in 2009, including an invention that protects customers? identity. The company?s clients include large corporations such as IBM and Cisco. Through the licensing, Ahn has so far brought $200,000 in royalty payments to ASU.
When Open Invention Network licensed Ahn?s work, the company filed seven patent applications in his name. ?ASU realized it was very valuable,? Ahn says, and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) ? the university?s intellectual property management and technology transfer organization ? then helped to develop GFS Technology.
GFS Technology chief executive officer and founder Ken Petzoid and director James Power now work out of the business park SkySong ? The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center.
The patent on the identity management system is the first Ahn has received. He has six pending patents for the digital security platform, along with two other security patents pending on systems that focus on picture-password authentication and Internet security.
The political turmoil engulfing many Muslim-majority countries has left many people wondering, what does the ideal Muslim leader look like? Tyrants like Saddam Hussein and Muammar al-Gadhafi have demonstrated the depths of human cruelty, while elected leaders like Mohamed Morsi struggle to maintain their legitimacy in the wake of increasing democratization. While classical Islamic political theory focuses on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his successors (usually caliphs or imams, depending on Islamic sect) as political exemplars, I believe that the story of Dhul-Qarnayn in The Holy Quran also provides insight into the characteristics of an ideal leader.
Dhul-Qarnayn, translated as "the possessor of the two horns," is a legendary king mentioned in Chapter 18 of The Quran, Sura al-Kahf ("The Cave"). The Quran narrates the story of how Allah establishes Dhul-Qarnayn as a powerful ruler on earth and allows the king the freedom to do with his subjects as he pleases. Immediately, Dhul-Qarnayn creates a straightforward legal code wherein the righteous will be rewarded and praised, while the evil will be punished. However, he also acknowledges that punishments on earth can be imperfect, and that Allah is ultimately the final judge of mankind. In this way, Dhul-Qarnayn demonstrates humility, an essential quality of an ideal leader. He recognizes that his power and authority come from God, and that his kingdom on earth is an ultimately flawed attempt to replicate the justice of the Kingdom of Heaven. If only real-world leaders could follow this example. Even though the concept of God's judgment is not universally applicable in the modern world, politicians should acknowledge that virtually every political system is flawed in some way. An ideal modern ruler would understand that his/her political power -- regardless of its origin -- ultimately carries with it a responsibility to establish justice and improve the existing system.
Dhul-Qarnayn exemplifies other good leadership qualities in his dealings with a nation being terrorized by the monsters Gog and Magog (N.B.: these monsters are also referenced in the biblical books of Ezekiel and Revelation). First, when the people offer Dhul-Qarnayn tribute in exchange for helping them, he responds that God's rewards are better than earthly ones. He exhibits self-restraint and does not succumb to greed. Since God has already blessed him with a powerful kingdom, Dhul-Qarnayn considers the tribute unnecessary and decides to help this nation solely due to his sense of justice. However, Dhul-Qarnayn motivates the people to help themselves rather than allowing them to accept a handout. While he supplies the technical expertise necessary to forge a barrier preventing the entry of Gog and Magog, he instructs the people to bring their own raw materials and aid in the construction. In this way, Dhul-Qarnayn models the importance of collective action in tackling nationwide problems. In the modern world, it is clear that governments are not the solution to all societal ills; instead, people from all walks of life must work together to resolve these issues. Politicians may be necessary to supply the required leadership or expertise, but in many cases, the will of a nation's people will dictate an initiative's success or failure.
Dhul-Qarnayn's story ends rather abruptly after the above example, but Quranic exegesis and analysis reveal other important features of his leadership. Since Dhul-Qarnayn is alleged to be a historical figure, scholars over the centuries have continuously debated his identity. Interestingly, a large number of scholars agree that he was a pre-Islamic figure not associated with Jews or Christians, the traditional "Peoples of the Book." In fact, most schools of thought consider him to be either Alexander the Great, a pagan, or Cyrus the Great, a Zoroastrian. In any case, this means that Dhul-Qarnayn's principles of good governance are widely applicable to diverse societies, not only Abrahamic ones. This also references a message of religious pluralism; even though Dhul-Qarnayn may not have been one of the "People of the Book," he still exhibited traits like justice and humility that are central to Islam.
Was Dhul-Qarnayn actually Alexander, Cyrus or a completely different person? We may never know. But since his true identity is a mystery, we can analyze his actions without historical bias. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself must have believed that Dhul-Qarnayn's story was worthy of frequent reading and reflection, since he strongly recommended that believers read Sura al-Kahf every Friday. Indeed, Muslims can be inspired by Dhul-Qarnayn's respect for God's justice and his pious commitment to God's commands. Even non-Muslims (and the non-religious) can learn from this legendary king by striving to emulate his personal qualities of humility, self-restraint and his commitment to justice.
As the "Arab Spring" and its aftermath continue to upset the historical order in many countries, future Muslim leaders would do well to follow the example of Dhul-Qarnayn. Acknowledging the limits of their own political systems and promoting collective action are central to good governance in this increasingly pluralistic age. While it is impossible for anyone to be a perfect leader, Muslims everywhere can benefit from a sincere commitment to Dhul-Qarnayn's governing ideals. After all, The Quran declares, "Let there arise out of [mankind] a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones [who] attain success" (3:104).
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Follow Aamir Hussain on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AamirNHussain
New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton, right, shoots under Indiana Pacers forward Paul George during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton, right, shoots under Indiana Pacers forward Paul George during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, left, dunks over New York Knicks guard James White during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) is fouled by New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, right, as he shoots in front of Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler (6) reacts after being called for a foul by referee Ken Mauer, left, during the first half of Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, May 18, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (7) shoots against Indiana Pacers' Roy Hibbert (55) and George Hill, right, during the first half of Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series Saturday, May 18, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana spent the entire season perfecting its defense.
On Saturday, it produced the biggest payoff for the Pacers in nearly a decade.
Roy Hibbert's block of Carmelo Anthony's dunk attempt midway through the fourth quarter spurred an 11-2 run that rallied the Pacers to a 106-99 victory in Game 6 of their second-round series, sending them into their first Eastern Conference final since 2004.
New York native Lance Stephenson scored nine points in the run, finishing with a playoff career-high 25.
"That's why they pay me the big bucks this summer, so I have to protect the paint," said Hibbert, who signed a $58 million contract last summer. "If all else fails, meaning the offense, I have to protect the paint."
With players from both teams standing on the court as the final seconds ticked off and Pacers fans roaring in appreciation, the sellout crowd wasted little time breaking into chants of "Beat The Heat!"
For Indiana, it sets up a postseason rematch with the defending NBA champs, the team that eliminated them last May after the Pacers had taken a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven semifinals. The Heat wound up winning Game 4 at Indiana and followed that with two more wins as Danny Granger struggled with a knee injury.
Indiana used the lessons from that series as motivation to improve this season and wound up beating the Heat twice at home before losing the third game of the season series at Miami. The Pacers will return to South Florida for Game 1 on Wednesday night.
With Granger missing all but five games this season because of the lingering knee injury, the Pacers put an even greater emphasis on playing defense and it showed.
Indiana led the league in rebounding, defensive field goal percentage and defensive 3-point percentage while finishing second in points allowed per game during the regular season. It was no different in the playoffs, as the Knicks found out.
New York had another subpar shooting night Saturday, making just 40 percent of its shots, and again wound up on the wrong side of a 43-36 rebounding discrepancy. In the paint, New York was outscored 52-20, and Anthony, who finished with 39 points, scored just four points in the final 12 minutes when he went 2 of 7 from the field.
Iman Shumpert added 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and J.R. Smith scored 15. Nobody else was in double figures.
The combination, as it had been in the previous three losses to Indiana, produced the same frustrating result.
"They have a hell of a defense. They hold down the paint. They do a great job, do a hell of a job of controlling the paint, closing it down, making it tough for guys," Anthony said. "You've got to give them guys credit, especially when they got a chance to set. Roy Hibbert gets to sit in the paint, causes havoc."
It's not just that.
The biggest question coming into Saturday's game was whether starting point guard George Hill would play. He took part in the team's morning shootaround, was cleared by the team doctors and wound up returning two days after missing Game 5 with a concussion. His return gave the Pacers a big boost.
Hill finished with just 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting but had five rebounds and four assists, and kept the Pacers composed enough to commit only nine turnovers ? 10 fewer than Thursday night's loss in New York.
The results showed up everywhere on the floor.
Paul George had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. David West added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Hibbert finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, none bigger than the stuff on Anthony that changed the game. Stephenson had 10 rebounds and three assists in his best postseason game ever.
The reason: He wanted to avoid a trip home.
"I just didn't want to go back to New York and play Game 7," Stephenson said. "Just get it done with now and I'd do whatever it takes to do that today. It showed tonight."
The New York native made sure of it.
After George grabbed the rebound off of Hibbert's block, Stephenson took a pass from West and scored on a layup to tie the score at 92 with 4:51 left in the game. Stephenson followed that with a steal and drove in for a layup, drawing a foul and completing a three-point play. After grabbing another rebound and making two more free throws, West tipped in a miss and Stephenson closed the decisive spurt with another layup. Suddenly, the Pacers led 101-94 with 1:53 to go.
New York never got another chance to tie the score or take the lead again despite making a far more typical 13 of 30 from 3-point range.
"It's tough to go out this way," coach Mike Woodson said. "I didn't make it happen for us and that's what's disappointing."
The Pacers have a far different goal now as they get ready to face LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Miami.
"We're not satisfied with where we're at," coach Frank Vogel said. "We feel like there's no ceiling on this team this year."
Notes: New York failed to become the ninth team to rally from a 3-1 deficit. ... Indianapolis 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter made the short trip from the track to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where he is a regular attendee. ... Colts coach Chuck Pagano also attended the game. ... The Knicks were 18 of 18 from the free throw line.
In the age of ubiquitous computing, we've grown fairly used to infrastructure, objects, and even furniture that adapt to the presence of humans. But what if you could control the behavior of a wall or room simply by thinking harder?
Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young childrenPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathaniel Dunford ndunford@Thoracic.org American Thoracic Society
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ? Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.
"The connection between in utero and early life cigarette smoke exposure and adverse infant respiratory outcomes is well-established, but the relation of prenatal ambient air pollution to risk of infant respiratory infection is less well-studied," said lead author Mary Rice, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Our study extends previous findings by showing that proximity to a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with increased risk of subsequent respiratory infection in children."
The study results will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference in Philadelphia.
The study included 1,271 mother-child pairs enrolled during the first trimester of pregnancy between 1999 and 2002 in Project Viva in eastern Massachusetts. The distance from home addresses to the nearest Federal class 1/2A ("major") roadway was calculated using geographic information system software. Respiratory infections were defined as maternal report of any doctor-diagnosed pneumonia, bronchiolitis, croup or other respiratory infection from birth until age 3.
Statistical analyses of the relationship between exposure to a major roadway and respiratory infection were adjusted for gender, birth weight, maternal education, household income, neighborhood income and education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, postnatal household smoking, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, presence of other young children in the household and season of birth.
Of the 1,271 mother-child pairs studied, 6.4% lived less than 100 meters, 6.5% lived 100 to 200 meters, 33.7% lived 200 to less than 1000 meters and 53.4% lived 1,000 meters or more from a major roadway.
By the age of 3, 678 (53.3%) of the children had had at least one doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection. After adjustment for possible confounders and risk factors for respiratory infection, children whose mothers lived less than 100 meters from a major roadway during pregnancy were 1.74 times as likely as those living 100 meters or more from a major roadway to have had a respiratory infection. Those living 100 to 200 meters from a major roadway were1.49 times as likely to have had a respiratory infection.
"In our study, living in close proximity to a major roadway during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection in children, adding to the growing body of evidence linking exposure to traffic with adverse effects on health," said Dr. Rice. "Future research will need to clarify whether the apparent harmful postnatal effects of living close to a major road during pregnancy is due to air pollution from traffic or other exposures related to roads. We plan to further explore this connection using a measure of black carbon, a component of traffic-related air pollution. Using black carbon measures, we also plan to disentangle the associations of pre- vs postnatal air pollution exposures with respiratory infection in early life."
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* Please note that numbers in this release may differ slightly from those in the abstract. Many of these investigations are ongoing; the release represents the most up-to-date data available at press time.
Abstract 43152
Exposure To Traffic And Early Life Respiratory Infection: A Cohort Study
Type:
Scientific Abstract
Category:
06.01 - Air Pollution: Epidemiology and Mechanisms (EOH)
Authors:
M.B. Rice1, S. Rifas-Shiman2, A.A. Litonjua3, E. Oken2, M.W. Gillman2, M.A. Mittleman4, D. Gold3; 1Massachusetts General Hospital - Boston, MA/US, 2Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute - Boston/US, 3Brigham and Women's Hospital - Boston, MA/US, 4Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - Boston/US
Abstract Body
RATIONALE: Case-control and emergency room visit studies suggest that exposure to traffic-related pollutants may increase risk of early life respiratory infection. Using geographic information system (GIS) software to estimate distance from home to the nearest major roadway, we examined whether proximity to a major roadway, a surrogate for traffic-related pollution exposure, increases risk of respiratory infection by age 3 in a pre-birth cohort in the Boston area.
METHODS: We geocoded addresses for each of 1271 mother-child pairs enrolled during the first trimester of pregnancy in Project Viva during 1999-2002. We calculated distance from home address to nearest Federal class 1/2A ("major") roadway by GIS. We defined respiratory infection as maternal report of any doctor-diagnosed pneumonia, bronchiolitis, croup or other respiratory infection from birth to age 3. We used logistic regression models to estimate the association between distance to roadway and odds of respiratory infection comparing 4 exposure categories selected on the basis of prior studies (1000 m from a major roadway). To assess trends, we assigned each exposure category the natural log of the median distance to roadway within that category.
RESULTS: Of the 1271 mother-child pairs, 88 (6.4%) lived 1000m from a major roadway. By age 3, 678 (53.3%) had at least one doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection. In logistic regression models adjusted for gender, birthweight for gestational age, maternal education, household income, neighborhood income, neighborhood education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, postnatal household smoking, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, presence of other children aged 1000m from a major roadway (Ptrend=0.078).
CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort study, living less than 100m from a major roadway during the prenatal period was associated with increased odds of doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection by age 3 years. Further analysis will evaluate whether respiratory infection is associated with traffic-related air pollution estimated by a validated spatio-temporal model for 24-hr measures of black carbon in the greater Boston area.
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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.
Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young childrenPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathaniel Dunford ndunford@Thoracic.org American Thoracic Society
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ? Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.
"The connection between in utero and early life cigarette smoke exposure and adverse infant respiratory outcomes is well-established, but the relation of prenatal ambient air pollution to risk of infant respiratory infection is less well-studied," said lead author Mary Rice, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Our study extends previous findings by showing that proximity to a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with increased risk of subsequent respiratory infection in children."
The study results will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference in Philadelphia.
The study included 1,271 mother-child pairs enrolled during the first trimester of pregnancy between 1999 and 2002 in Project Viva in eastern Massachusetts. The distance from home addresses to the nearest Federal class 1/2A ("major") roadway was calculated using geographic information system software. Respiratory infections were defined as maternal report of any doctor-diagnosed pneumonia, bronchiolitis, croup or other respiratory infection from birth until age 3.
Statistical analyses of the relationship between exposure to a major roadway and respiratory infection were adjusted for gender, birth weight, maternal education, household income, neighborhood income and education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, postnatal household smoking, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, presence of other young children in the household and season of birth.
Of the 1,271 mother-child pairs studied, 6.4% lived less than 100 meters, 6.5% lived 100 to 200 meters, 33.7% lived 200 to less than 1000 meters and 53.4% lived 1,000 meters or more from a major roadway.
By the age of 3, 678 (53.3%) of the children had had at least one doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection. After adjustment for possible confounders and risk factors for respiratory infection, children whose mothers lived less than 100 meters from a major roadway during pregnancy were 1.74 times as likely as those living 100 meters or more from a major roadway to have had a respiratory infection. Those living 100 to 200 meters from a major roadway were1.49 times as likely to have had a respiratory infection.
"In our study, living in close proximity to a major roadway during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection in children, adding to the growing body of evidence linking exposure to traffic with adverse effects on health," said Dr. Rice. "Future research will need to clarify whether the apparent harmful postnatal effects of living close to a major road during pregnancy is due to air pollution from traffic or other exposures related to roads. We plan to further explore this connection using a measure of black carbon, a component of traffic-related air pollution. Using black carbon measures, we also plan to disentangle the associations of pre- vs postnatal air pollution exposures with respiratory infection in early life."
###
* Please note that numbers in this release may differ slightly from those in the abstract. Many of these investigations are ongoing; the release represents the most up-to-date data available at press time.
Abstract 43152
Exposure To Traffic And Early Life Respiratory Infection: A Cohort Study
Type:
Scientific Abstract
Category:
06.01 - Air Pollution: Epidemiology and Mechanisms (EOH)
Authors:
M.B. Rice1, S. Rifas-Shiman2, A.A. Litonjua3, E. Oken2, M.W. Gillman2, M.A. Mittleman4, D. Gold3; 1Massachusetts General Hospital - Boston, MA/US, 2Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute - Boston/US, 3Brigham and Women's Hospital - Boston, MA/US, 4Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - Boston/US
Abstract Body
RATIONALE: Case-control and emergency room visit studies suggest that exposure to traffic-related pollutants may increase risk of early life respiratory infection. Using geographic information system (GIS) software to estimate distance from home to the nearest major roadway, we examined whether proximity to a major roadway, a surrogate for traffic-related pollution exposure, increases risk of respiratory infection by age 3 in a pre-birth cohort in the Boston area.
METHODS: We geocoded addresses for each of 1271 mother-child pairs enrolled during the first trimester of pregnancy in Project Viva during 1999-2002. We calculated distance from home address to nearest Federal class 1/2A ("major") roadway by GIS. We defined respiratory infection as maternal report of any doctor-diagnosed pneumonia, bronchiolitis, croup or other respiratory infection from birth to age 3. We used logistic regression models to estimate the association between distance to roadway and odds of respiratory infection comparing 4 exposure categories selected on the basis of prior studies (1000 m from a major roadway). To assess trends, we assigned each exposure category the natural log of the median distance to roadway within that category.
RESULTS: Of the 1271 mother-child pairs, 88 (6.4%) lived 1000m from a major roadway. By age 3, 678 (53.3%) had at least one doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection. In logistic regression models adjusted for gender, birthweight for gestational age, maternal education, household income, neighborhood income, neighborhood education, maternal smoking during pregnancy, postnatal household smoking, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, presence of other children aged 1000m from a major roadway (Ptrend=0.078).
CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort study, living less than 100m from a major roadway during the prenatal period was associated with increased odds of doctor-diagnosed respiratory infection by age 3 years. Further analysis will evaluate whether respiratory infection is associated with traffic-related air pollution estimated by a validated spatio-temporal model for 24-hr measures of black carbon in the greater Boston area.
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Public release date: 21-May-2013
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