tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75533988670301694722024-03-08T03:57:05.985-08:00FIRST OPINIONI care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.comBlogger201125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-73642291313202361872021-09-27T05:47:00.003-07:002021-09-27T05:47:41.899-07:00Accidental exposures in medical<p> <span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Accidental exposures in medica</span>l applications of radiation</span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> uses of radiation, particularly
in radiotherapy, can be of concern, w.r.t patient safety, and occupational
exposure considerations. New technologies may bring in improvement to the
therapy. However, these technologies involve increase in the complexities of
the systems, which in turn may cause new types of human error and problems with
the equipment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is very important that any errors leading to or likely to
lead (near misses) to serious consequences need to be investigated in time, and
in detail. Dissemination of the information on these errors is crucial in
preventing re-occurrence. Lessons learnt from accidental exposures form an invaluable
resource for revealing vulnerable aspects of the practice of radiotherapy. For
details refer: ICRP 112. <o:p></o:p></span></p>I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-5061438181422373562021-01-07T05:19:00.002-08:002021-01-07T05:19:57.355-08:00Radon at home<p style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Exposure
to radon has been a major health hazard in uranium mines. Radiological safety
aspects of the mine workers are adequately addressed in ICRP/IAEA/WHO
documents. The issues are discussed in detail in the reference book on
Radiological Protection and Safety - A Practitioner’s Guide.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="hgkelc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Radon is also
found airborne in homes, particularly in dwellings of cold countries, like
United States and Canada where the air in the dwellings and work areas is
recirculated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span class="hgkelc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Radon comes
from the radioactive decay of natural of uranium/radium present in trace
quantities in bricks, soil, rock, and water. Being gaseous, it gets into the
air you breathe. Basement areas are more radon prone due to exhalation of
radon from the floor and walls. Radon typically moves up through the
basement/ground to the air above and into your living areas through cracks and
other cavities in the foundation. There is a guide “Home Buyers and Sellers
Guide to Radon” by US EPA (</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.epa.gov/"><span style="color: black;">www.epa.gov</span></a><span class="hgkelc">) which covers all the radon related issues. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-86248877222001620212020-12-01T04:43:00.002-08:002020-12-01T04:43:52.280-08:00What is radon (Rn-222)?<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Radon-222 is a gaseous radioactive, short-lived (half-life is
3.82d), inert gas produced by the alpha decay of radium-226 in the naturally
occurring uranium-238 series. Radon is ubiquitous.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Uranium and thorium are natural radioactive elements present
in the earth and rocks in very small amounts. Hence, building materials such as
sand, bricks and cement also contain some amount of uranium, thorium,
radium-226 or radium 224. Since they are present in the earth, the water-soluble
elements present, such as uranium and radium in the decay series, get into
water resources and land mass. The gaseous radionuclides radon and thoron seep
out of soil and get mixed with the atmospheric air. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Thus, we get exposed to these gaseous radionuclides in
dwellings as well as outside the dwellings. They contribute maximum to the
radiation dose received by the world population by inhalation of the air
contaminated with these radionuclides. The concentration of these radionuclides
varies from place to place, dwelling to dwelling depending on the
ventilation/air supply available for dilution and dispersion, and the
concentration uranium and thorium in the materials. In cold countries, the
concentration of radon in dwelling is likely to be of concern, since the dwellings
are closed most of the time, and recirculation of the indoor air facilitates
build-up of radon and its daughter products, thus create potential inhalation hazard.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-82154427298600952662020-07-29T02:35:00.000-07:002020-07-29T02:35:28.557-07:00Ignorant members of public - About ionizing radiation <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Let us
frankly expose the TRUTH – Common man (person) including illiterate,
semi-illiterate, and so-called literate or educated, hardly know anything about
ionizing radiation, its benefits, and harmful effects. They only know that
radiation is dangerous, so many thousands have died in the explosions of the atom
bombs in Japan; the exposed person will lose hair and become impotent, etc etc. How
we are going to explain all the benefits we are talking about to such a large percentage, maybe more than 90% of the population who are lacking an
understanding of elementary radiation physics, mathematics, biology and
medicine? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Communication
is the key. All the practitioners of radiation and radiological
protection, facility operators, and the government authorities should focus on ways and means to create awareness amongst the
people about radiation: benefits of low-level exposures; medical uses in
health-care; industry and food preservation; health effects at high levels of
exposures, and how safely the radioactive waste is managed by well-informed experts.
We should use mass media communication systems and school/college syllabus to the maximum possible extent. Desist from use of words, like probability, ALARA, risk
analysis, etc when communicating with members of the public. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-22802363515087238702020-05-28T01:13:00.000-07:002020-05-28T01:13:10.876-07:00Integrated risk assessment – radiation and chemicals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Occupational
workers work in an environment where there are mixed pollutants, some of them
are cancer-causing and some may cause non-cancer diseases. For worker’s overall
safety considerations, it may become necessary to assess health risks from
individual pollutants, as well as combined risk from all the pollutants
existing in the work environment. The pollutants may include chemicals,
radiation, physical pollutants, etc. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Health
effects of radiation or chemicals are classified as acute or chronic. Acute affects
results from a single exposure to a high radiation dose rate or exposure to a high
concentration of a chemical. The effect, deterministic in nature sets in
rapidly and could be mild to severe. The dosage of chemicals or radiation plays
a significant role in the level of severity of the effect. Chronic effects
develop over a long period of exposure to a low concentration of chemical or
low dose rate of radiation. The effect may remain invisible for a relatively long
period, called the latent period. Carcinogenicity is included in chronic effects,
which are stochastic in nature.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a given end-point, say cancer, the risk
from the exposure/intake may be added to get an integrated risk, which may be
expressed in terms of the risk equivalent radiation dose. As of now, ICRP assumes a total
lifetime stochastic risk of 0.01 per Sievert of radiation dose received as tolerable.
This is in the absence of ALARA. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
An
integrated risk assessment system needs to be in place to have an overall risk
perspective for the benefit of policymakers and decision-makers to try to
achieve risk reduction of the workers in totality – from radiation as well as
chemicals. Thus, the total detriments will have different components. Once the risk from exposure to all the pollutants is quantified for a given end-point by
some acceptable methodology, it can be expressed in terms of Risk Equivalent
Radiation Dose (RERD). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Dose
reductions for radiological safety in occupational scenarios can consider
the risk of both the radiation and possible presence of chemical pollutant in
the work environment. Similarly, environmental safety should take into
account the ambient levels of chemical pollutants and the corresponding risk to the members of the public. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Additional
small contributions to the environmental pollution by the discharges from
nuclear industry cause negligible risk as compared to the multiple chemicals
risks, as seen by the calculated RERD values. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 188.0pt; text-align: justify;">
[More
details, references in Harmonization of Risk Management Approaches-Radiation
and Chemical Exposures, Pushparaja, and P. Srinivasan, Proc. IRPA 11, Madrid,
Spain, 2011]. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-44298507363293707852018-12-30T21:29:00.000-08:002018-12-30T21:29:06.779-08:00At the end of 2018 - good news to curb CO2 emissions <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It is well know that powders like finely divided
carbon, silica, etc can adsorb gaseous matter on their surface to a great
extent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Professor Zhongwei Chen, at the University of Waterloo
in Canada has developed optimized carbon powders (spheres) to absorb carbon
dioxide, which is the main gaseous emission which is linked to the on-going climate
change. Work is going on to further increase
the efficiency of the adsorption process by increasing the size and
concentration of pores on the carbon material. Carbon is cost effective,
environmental friendly and can be used in any shape and size, like columns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The ultimate use is to employ the material at the
carbon dioxide discharge lines of fossil fuel burning power plants to capture the
CO2 gas. After saturation, the carbon can be stored deep underground, at
geological formations to prevent its escape into the environment – in competition
to disposal of high level radioactive waste in geological formations! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The system needs to be developed in massive
industrial scale to make any significant effect to control climate change.
Better option still will be to exploit solar power or wind power to a much
larger extent. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span>It is well know that powders like finely divided
carbon and silica can adsorb gaseous matter on their surface to a great extent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-44162049768124251582018-04-12T05:54:00.000-07:002018-04-12T05:54:10.488-07:00Use of chemical weapons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">As
per the Geneva Protocol 1925, the use of chemical weapons, through the
implementation of the provisions of the </span>“CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE
DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, STOCKPILING AND USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND ON THEIR
DESTRUCTION 2005” <span style="font-size: 12pt;">is prohibited world-wide as a method of warfare for the
benefit of mankind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are many toxic chemicals /gases which can create devastation/death in areas
where the chemical weapons are used. However, chemicals are used often by some governments
and other terror organizations to strike terror and induce fear amongst the
public at large. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often, we hear of accidental
toxic gas leak causing death of people in the vicinity. Recently, in Douma, Syria
chemical weapon was used and so many deaths. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It
is time that the UNSC urgently step-in and enforce the provisions /obligations of
the Convention in letter and spirit and ensure that the chemical weapons are never
used as a means of warfare or civil war to destroy population groups. The
incidents of use of chemicals/chemical weapons should be investigated by UN
authorities. Adequate resources for monitoring and for providing medical care for
affected should be provided by the rich nations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 363.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-48511895552746858262017-07-30T02:39:00.000-07:002017-07-30T02:39:12.788-07:00Moral decisions and Artificial Intelligence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; tab-stops: 337.5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is reported that Driverless cars (Self
driving cars) are expected to be on Britain’s roads by 2025. The cars can make
“life and death” decisions on the roads! How?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; tab-stops: 337.5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So far, robots and other artificial intelligence
based systems are being used in hospitals for surgery and other interventional
procedures. Now, </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">driverless</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> cars on the roads to take moral decisions in
situations where a collision with human being on the road is unavoidable! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; tab-stops: 337.5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A neuroscientist Leon Sutfeld and Prof. Gordon
Pipa at the University of Osnabruck, Germany who are working on driverless
cars, is stating that Human behavior in dilemma situations can be modeled by a “simple
value of life based model that is attributed by the participant to every human,
animal or inanimate object”. (Ref. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2017,
11, DOI:10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00122).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; tab-stops: 337.5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">The ethical aspect is
questionable? </span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">Can machines take
human-like moral decisions?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 17.25pt; tab-stops: 337.5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is true that everybody is expected to follow traffic rules
strictly. However, can a driverless car run over a child running on to the road
rather than crashing on to an adult standing on the footpath while trying to
save the child? Any answers?</span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-55558460292839274192017-07-09T00:24:00.001-07:002017-07-09T00:24:45.074-07:00“Designer babies” in 30 years?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As per a
professor from Stanford University, One need not have sex to procreate! (TOI
News dated 5<sup>th</sup> July). Parents can choose from a range of embryos
created in a lab with their DNA! Body organs can be created in the labs or
regrow damaged organs or tissues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The embryos can
be screened for any potential diseases, and can have choice on the color of the
hair or the eyes. Certain diseases can be avoided in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now, where are we
heading? No need to marry and gets tied up with one another for life. Already, some studies have indicated that
number of times the married couples having sex has decreased drastically and as
of 2014, the number is just 55 times a year. Couples are busy with mobiles or
laptops. . Marriage will lose its importance and divorce rates will go up
fighting for the type of child the couples would like to have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Technology
can be misused to create monsters or children without any emotional quotient.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is time that
international organizations such WHO, United Nations wake up to this reality of
the technological advances and regulate such activities so the world will not
have emotionless monsters, and marriage as an institution will remain for some
more time. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-26458511732770327352017-06-13T07:17:00.000-07:002017-06-13T07:17:42.327-07:00Breath test for alcohol – Airline pilots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Airline
pilots are routinely checked for alcohol (ethanol) content in the breath. Any BAC
(breath Alcohol Content) reading above 0.08% (0.08 g in 100 g of blood) is
taken as “Under the influence of alcohol” and they are not allowed to fly
aircraft and putting so many lives at risk. However, there are a lot of factors
that affect BAC such as body weight, fatigue and stress factors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">The
public understand that many a times pilots fail this test. What happens after
testing positive is anybody’s guess! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">I have
a few queries:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">Whether
due to acute shortage of senior or junior pilots, the “drunk” pilots are
allowed to fly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">What
are the responsibilities of the regulators in such cases? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">Ø<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">What
happens if the regulators are hand-in-glove with the operation staff? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: AdvTimes; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: AdvTimes;">Only
way to safeguard the safety of passengers is to ensure that the regulators are
beyond corruption, and provide incentives to the young Indians to take the
profession of airline pilots so that at any given time we have enough number of
pilots available for recruitment by airlines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-42838495288982800672017-02-27T06:49:00.000-08:002017-02-27T06:49:29.137-08:00Air purifiers – HEPA system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">In India, air pollution
in cities is a major public health concern. Most of the time the levels are
reported to be 3 o 4 times higher than the permissible limits. The situation is
very grave. <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Refer today’s TOI news on
air purifiers. <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Generally, pollution in
the air is made up of a lot of gaseous chemicals -oxides of nitrogen sulphur
and carbon, trace elements, some of them are toxic or carcinogenic. There are
particulate matter of different sizes (PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>) there
are chemicals, Greenhouse gases (CO<sub>2</sub>) vehicular exhausts-mostly
organics, smoke particulates, heavy metals etc, etc. The concentration of the
pollution in air varies from place to place depending on the location of sources
of the pollution, wind velocity and wind direction.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It should be borne in
mind that there is no single filter which can remove all these pollutants from
the air. High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters are available in the
market today to remove about 99% of the particulates of sub-micron size. The
so-called advertised HEPA air purifiers are expensive and available for use at
home. There are many brands coming in the market. Consumers will be taken for a
ride by the advertisements and marketing strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As a consumer, one should
ask the following questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">HEPA is a particulate filter. How it is
going the remove gaseous and organic pollutants?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The filter is highly efficient. Due to
high dust load, the filter is going get choked within a few days. Replacement
of the filters will be very expensive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In a practical sense, one has to close all
windows and doors in rooms, put on AC and then use the HEPA filtration system.
Is it practical? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What will be the operational cost per month
for say 4 hours a day use? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What happens when the person goes out for daily
walk or travel in a car or bus? He will be exposed to the same polluted air
outside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Health issues will be more when you expose
your biological systems to very clean air inside a room and highly polluted air
outside routinely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
only way to solve this problem is to reduce the pollution levels below the
permissible levels. Every one of us should focus on reducing pollution at the
source rather than spending hard-earned money on such air purifiers. </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span></h2>
<h2>
<br /></h2>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-38727104479775724222017-02-02T03:16:00.000-08:002017-02-02T03:16:08.858-08:00Age-wise distribution of cancers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #151515; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">It is reported that (TOI, 31<sup>st</sup> Jan, 2017) half the cancer
patients are in 60 plus age group. It is not unexpected. Cancer is a known old
age disease. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #151515; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">There is large increase in the life expectancy of population over the
years, i.e., the 2014 world average life expectancy is 71.5years compared to
the 1950 world average life expectancy of 48years. Since the latency period (waiting
period from induction to development of malignant tumour) of cancer is 20 to 40
years, cancer is seen, in general, after well past 50 years of age. Cancer
fatality rate is thus increased, numerically!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-23523756485018927732016-01-05T01:24:00.000-08:002016-01-05T01:24:10.036-08:00Use of suphur or phosphorus in production of sugar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There was a news item in
the Sunday Express dated January 3, 2016 on use of sulpur in the production of
white sugar. In the process, SO2 is introduced to affect pH control and for clarification
/ purification of the sugarcane juice. Later in the production, SO2 is used as
bleaching agent to get white sugar. Excess SO2 is taken out of the process. However,
traces of sulphur is left behind in the sugar. Intake of higher levels of sulhur
is known to cause respiratory diseases. Due to this, the production of white
sugar using suphur is banned in some countries and the process is carried out
using CO2 (carbonation process) using trace amounts of phosphoric acid.
However, the sugar produced in this process is brown in color and not white. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now why in India, people
are crazy to buy white sugar? Brown sugar is good for the health and the
government should insist on not using SO2 for sugar factories. Sulphur is a
critical nutrient and daily dietary intake is around 800 to 900 milligram per
day. Higher intakes may be prescribed for patients with arthritis Sulfur-rich
foods include meat, eggs, whole grains, garlic, onions, Brussels sprouts, and
cabbage. Excess intake may cause stomach problems, embarrassingly, flatulence
and kidney problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Phosphorus is the second
plentiful mineral after calcium in the body. It is required for many functions
in the body such as filtering waste and repairing tissue and cells. Certain
health conditions (such as diabetes and alcoholism) or medications (some
antacids) can cause phosphorus levels in your body to drop too low. Phosphorus
levels that are too high or too low can cause medical complications, such as
heart disease, joint pain, or fatigue. If one replaces sulphur with phosphorus,
and the residual phosphorus in the sugar too can cause health issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Comment:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The quality assurance
during the production of sugar, in either case, is necessary to ensure that
residual sulphur or phosphorus in the final product should be within the
permissible levels. If such levels are not available, it is time that such
limits should be prescribed by the authorities and enforced in the sugar
factories. CO2 is a by-product in the distilleries normally attached to the
sugar factories. The additional benefit of using carbonation process is the use
of CO2 (a greenhouse gas) in the process! </span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-61610307181127774842015-12-27T04:04:00.001-08:002015-12-27T04:04:50.019-08:00The Paris Agreement-2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-line-height-alt: 15.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Paris Agreement, following the 2015 Paris Climate Conference 2015 is
about UN negotiated agreement on climate with the aim of keeping the average
global warming below 2°C, above the pre-industrial levels. France played a key
role in hosting this conference to save the world from the repercussions - risks
and impacts of climate change. It is the aim of the conference to restrict the
warming at 1.5°C. The countries participated presented their own National
Climate Action Plans to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The progress
made by the countries will be tracked through a robust accountability and transparency
system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Governments have agreed to strengthen societies’ ability to deal with
the impacts of the climate change, and developing countries will be provided
with international support for adaptation of the Agreement by the developed
countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Developed countries will support developing countries by mobilizing
funds of of USD 100 billion per year collectively, until the 2025. The
Agreement will be ratified by 55 countries, (giving voluntary target for
emission reduction) which account for 55% of the world’s GHG emissions The
Agreement is due to enter into force in 2020. Meet every 5 years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The top 6 countries which are emitting GHG are: China, United Sates,
European Union, India, Russian Federation and Japan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">If France could manage have carbon free electric grids in just 11 years,
why not other countries? Policy makers should say NO for fossil-fuel based
power. USE ONLY RENEWABLE ENERGY mix, sources, viz. solar, wind and hydro. Until
such time, use standardized, modular nuclear power plants and go for nuclear
power (fission or fusion) which is also a clean energy source. Enough research
is done, now the time to scale-up the technology and implement in a massive
scale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-8980614379804955032015-12-27T00:05:00.001-08:002015-12-27T00:05:27.802-08:00Water management issues, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">90% of India’s water withdrawal is
for use in agriculture and livestock, often extracted by tube wells powered
from the grid and drawing from groundwater reserves.</span> <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">High rates of population and economic
growth, along with highly inefficient patterns of water use in the agricultural
sector, are putting severe strain on India’s water resources. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Major policy decision needs to be
taken to improve upon or preserve the water resources. Some of the actions may
be: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Compulsory rain water harvesting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Recycling of water <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Connecting the rivers to take water
from the northern rivers (normally flooded due to melting of ice during summer) to southern states which suffer from water shortage during summer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 54.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">Judicious use of water in
agricultural sector. </span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-61381178968758427712015-11-21T06:35:00.002-08:002015-11-21T06:35:50.360-08:00Plastic waste management-A new study <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;">Millions of tonnes of plastic waste, mainly package material is
generated world-wide. About 10% of the waste gets recycled and the rest
presents an environmental challenge in terms of water contamination and animal
poisoning. Plastic is not degradable and hence needs to be stored for longer
periods of time and is not environmental friendly. The major constituent in
plastic material is polystyrene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;">A Stanford Report (Sept. 29, 2015) indicates that an ongoing
research in collaboration with researchers in China on plastic-eating worms may
offer a solution for safely biodegrade various types of plastic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;">The tiny worm, which is the larvae form of the darkling
beetle can survive on a diet of Styrofoam and other types of polystyrene.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background-color: #fbfbf9; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px;">The study has opened a new door to the management of global plastic waste problem. It is long time to go before the research (in milligram levels) can be put into actual application in massive scale for plastic waste management. This needs to be addressed quickly to protect our environment, including marine life</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-45214342931509343282015-11-20T01:46:00.000-08:002015-11-20T01:46:07.857-08:00University of Texas cancer study links meat to kidney cancer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;">Dr. Xifeng Wu</span> and her team at the University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre investigated the effect of grilled or barbecued
meat on the increased risk of kidney cancer. Grilling and barbecuing meat
produces carcinogenic organic compounds which increases the kidney cancer risk.
It is estimated that 61,000 Americans will be diagnosed with kidney cancer
yearly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #232323; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt; line-height: 107%;">American Cancer Society points out the recent IARC
(International Agency for Research on Cancer) report that processed meats such
as sausages and bacon cause cancer. There is also a genetic component of
population groups with high risk of kidney cancer and the meat eating only
increases the risk. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; line-height: 107%;">This is an important finding which is going to be
discussed for a while. The western countries where grilled and barbecued meat
is increasingly used will find it difficult to stay away from this dietary component
and will continue with the habit. Like alcohol which is proven carcinogenic but
still used worldwide, eating processed meat also will be continued knowing that
they are cancer causing! Who cares for the research findings? </span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-57921915427327263842015-11-17T01:56:00.000-08:002015-11-17T01:56:18.727-08:00Wireless pacemaker – a new development<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 style="background: white; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">A pacemaker is used to restore
heart’s rhythm by sending tiny electrical impulses to the heart. Millions of
people world-wide who are suffering from slow or irregular heart rhythm, are
able to live more active lives due to the restoration of heart rhythm. Roughly
200,000 people in US alone get a pacemaker. These pacemakers have wires (one or
two insulated leads) which carry impulses from the pacemakers implanted by
surgical incision outside the heart, under the skin.</span></h1>
<h1 style="background: white; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The new development is a miniature pacemaker (typically Micra
TPSystem) fully self-contained, has no leads. and can easily implanted in the
heart, with minimum invasive surgery. It is delivered through a catheter inserted
in the femoral vein to the inside of the heart. International clinical trials
demonstrates high implant success.</span></h1>
<h1 style="background: white; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Questions to be answered are: the cost, failure rate, removal
of the failed pacemaker from the heart and the actual battery life. This is a
very good development and efforts should be made to make this novel device affordable,
cost-wise. <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<br />
<h1 style="background: white; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(This is only for information, <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Always
talk to your healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your
specific medical needs</span>). </span><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-75082543760001940652015-10-25T00:41:00.001-07:002015-10-25T00:41:50.009-07:00Rent-a-womb tourism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">As per the India’s
new draft law, Assisted Reproductive Technology (regulation) Bill 2014, only
Indian couples or a foreigner married to an Indian citizen can opt for paid surrogacy.
By using the word couple, whether homosexuals and people in a live-in relationship
are excluded by passing the Bill? Whether this will be in conflict with other
provisions of law? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">India will be no
longer a fertility tourism hot spot! But there is a positive side to this. As
reported in the media, ruthless exploitation of the surrogate mothers rampant in
some part of the country, will be curtailed. There is a need for strong
regulation to prevent any unethical practices, including responsibility for post-delivery
complications. Breakers of the law should be prosecuted and put behind bars. Women’s
rights group must take active lead in ensuring strict regulation to protect surrogate
mothers rights and bring-in awareness of the health risks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-18331247685705050752015-10-07T03:36:00.000-07:002015-10-07T03:36:23.403-07:00It’s getting hotter by the day! What next?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">America’s Clean
Power Plan launched recently can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal/gas
based power plants by 870 metric tonnes by 2030. Similarly, Brazil pledged to
reduce carbon emissions by 43% by 2030. These reductions are with respect to
the levels in 2005. China which contributes major part of the global emissions,
is taking steps to reduce emissions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Global carbon
emissions are higher by 58% in 2012 as compared to the level seen in 1990.
Today, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is 400 parts per million. At
the present rate of emissions, the global average temperature may rise by 4.5 degree
C and if countries cooperate, the temperature my still rise by 3-5 degree C by
2100. As per the meteorological agency reports, the deviation from the average
global air-surface temperature is 0.75 degree C warmer as compared to 1950
data. Oceans are getting warmer, glaciers are melting and the complexity of changing
ocean currents and atmospheric pressure differentials are causing catastrophic
effects such as storms, floods, forest fires, crops damage, droughts, etc, etc.
The effects of the climate change are seen everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The next climate
change talks will be held in Paris this year end. There will be tussle between
developed and developing countries on the quantum of reduction in the
greenhouse gas emissions. There is a necessity of a huge global climate fund to
compensate poor nations from not using greenhouse gas emitting technologies for
their development. Who will contribute and how much? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">If the nations
which have good reserves of oil, coal and gas are not able to sell or use them
for industrial development, what will happen to the world economy? Who will buy
the fossil fuel which will not be allowed to burn? Solar/Fusion power may be
the answer! </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-48205903319754319522015-08-14T02:51:00.000-07:002015-08-14T02:51:54.165-07:00Currency notes carry diseases-A study by IGIB, CSIR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Members of the
public were looking for this study since people always have been doubting the
potential of the notes and coins to spread disease-causing micro-organisms,
carriers of diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Everyone is aware
of this serious issue but no quantitative study was made or reported for the
information of the public. The scientists at the Institute of Genomics and
Integrative Biology should carry out this study in much more detail, including its
potential to infect people with the diseases, and come out with some
recommendations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">The scientists
found traces of DNA footprints of 78 disease-causing micro-organisms on the
notes. Some of the bacteria on the notes can cause dysentery and TB!! What
about the coins? It may be worse! (Source: The Indian Express, August 13,
2016).</span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-66973677184520102742015-08-08T23:54:00.000-07:002015-08-08T23:54:05.543-07:00US has plans to reduce carbon emission by 32% by 2030!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Finally, there is
a good news for the environmentalists. Before the forthcoming talks on climate
change in Paris, the US has most ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions by
32% by 2030. USA is one of the lost industrialized countries in the world and
the largest greenhouse gas emitting nation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Carbon dioxide is
one of the important greenhouse gas and it is produced while burning coal or
gas. Thermal power plants use fussil fuel such as coal or gas to generate electricity.
In recent years, China and India contribute significantly to the global warming
through industrialization and emission of carbon dioxide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The movement
worldwide against global warming is looking at USA to lead from the front by
reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama’s plans to reduce emissions
by 32% by 2030 is praiseworthy. Before the actual climate change talks in
Paris, let us wish that the country prepone the deadline for the reduction by 5
years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">One of the serious
repercussions of global warming is increase in the sea level and submerging of low-lying
coastal areas around the globe. Controlling global warming at this stage is a
challenging task to succeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The least we all
can do is to stop right away the use of fussil fuel for industrial
applications. Let us go to cleaner energy sources like wind, solar or nuclear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-60094916781626841602015-01-08T01:16:00.000-08:002015-01-08T01:16:29.667-08:00There is a video in YouTube.com showing an adhesive patch thermometer for measuring sick baby’s temperature for 24 hours. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As per the
report, I quote: “<span style="color: #111111;">TempTraq is a Bluetooth-enabled wireless adhesive patch
thermometer that can be applied underneath the arms of babies. The device is
designed for 24 hour continuous monitoring of temperatures, allowing trend
visualization to see if a fever is going up or down. The single-use device
records temperatures between 86.0ºF and 108.3ºF, and syncs the data to an iOS
or Android device, up to 40 feet (12 meters) away. Readings are
color-coded to give parents a quick glimpse into how high the temperature
actually is, and can send notifications whenever the child’s temperature rises
past a user-specified red zone. The app also has note-taking abilities to
record when the child eats, drinks, or takes medication. The data can be sent
via email to family members or the family doctor”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
have a few queries/comments that someone can answer:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">Will the adhesive tape affect
the skin area where it is stuck on the child’s skin? For how long it can be
used on the body, safely? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">How much radiation is emitted
by the Bluetooth device? It uses radio
waves to transmit signals. Radio waves are part of electromagnetic radiation
spectrum, similar to other non-ionizing radiations. However, the energy levels,
may be in milli-watt level, should be known and should be declared on the
device. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">Whether US-FDA has approved
the use of this radiation emitting device on children continuously? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14pt;">Controversy
continues about possible non-heating effects of low-power non-ionizing
radiation, such as non-heating microwave and radio wave exposure!!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-71769974416689340662015-01-06T23:56:00.000-08:002015-01-06T23:56:15.536-08:00Why Polonium is Highly Radiotoxic?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Polonium (named after
Poland, the native country of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie" title="Marie Curie"><span style="background: white; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Marie
Curie</span></a>) <span style="background: white; color: #252525;">is a<span class="apple-converted-space"> rare and highly radioactive element (</span>symbol<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Po</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_number" title="Atomic number"><span style="background: white; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">atomic number</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #252525;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #252525;">84). It was discovered in 1898 by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie" title="Marie Curie"><span style="background: white; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Marie
Curie</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #252525;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #252525;">and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Curie" title="Pierre Curie"><span style="background: white; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Pierre Curie</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #252525;">. Chemically, polonium is similar to Bismuth. It is one of
the radioactive daughter products of uranium (U-238) series and hence occurs in
uranium ores, along with another alpha emitter of Radium isotope, Ra-226. </span><span style="color: #252525;">It is found in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium" title="Uranium"><span style="color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">uranium</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>ores at about 0.1 mg per<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_ton" title="Metric ton"><span style="color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">metric ton</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(1 part in 10<sup>10</sup>),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>which is approximately 0.2% of the amount
of radium found in the ore. Because of its small abundance, the separation of
polonium is very difficult. However, it can now be produced by irradiation of bismuth
(Bi-209) by high energy neutrons. Major part of the legal Po-210 available is
produced in Russia. <o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></h1>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The time required for the decay
of one-half of the Po-210 activity (called half-life) is 138 days. It emits
alpha particles during decay and the decay product is stable lead isotope – Pb-206.
Its parent, Bi-210 has a half-life of 5 days and it emits beta particles. The
energy of the alpha particle emitted by Po-210</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">is 5.3 million electron volts (MeV)!</span></h1>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because of its
shorter half-life, specific activity, i.e., radioactivity per gram of the
material is very high. As a comparison, as small as one milli-gram of Po-210
emits as many alpha particles as 5 gram of Ra-226, with a half-life of 1600
years!. A 1 gram sample of Po-210 will spontaneously get heated up to above 500
degree C, generating about 140 watts of power. The uses of Po-210 are in space
probes, antistatic devices and as neutron and alpha source.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">While handling
polonium, it easily gets airborne. If a polonium sample is heated to 55 degree
C, 50% of the material gets vaporized. This is in-spite of the fact that the
melting point and boiling point of Polonium is high at 254 degree C and 962
degree C respectively. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Polonium is
handled in specially designed air-tight boxes called Glove Boxes, with adequate
negative pressure inside so that the contaminated air inside the box is not
coming out into the working environment. High performance gloves are used to
prevent any possible diffusion of polonium inside the gloves and contaminate
the hands of the working personnel. Use of torn/damaged gloves should never be
used. The inside air of the glove box is double-filtered through high
efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters before its release into the environment.
Appropriate monitoring of the workplace and individual handling polonium are
carried out to ensure radiological safety. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Polonium is
highly radiotoxic in the human body because its high-energy alpha particle
emissions. In the body, there is no biological role for polonium. By mass
basis, Po-210 is 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. The lethal dose
(LD<sub>50</sub>) is as low as 1 micro-gram for an average adult. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Polonium can be
easily absorbed (<span style="color: #252525;">transcutaneous<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion" title="Diffusion"><span style="color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">diffusion</span></a>)</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #252525; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">through intact skin. Other
modes of intake into the body are inhalation of the airborne polonium or
ingestion of the polonium contaminated food or water. The target organ for
polonium in the body, include spleen, liver, bone marrow and thymus. </span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">In view of the
nature of the handling hazard, any work with polonium is strictly regulated by
national regulatory bod</span><span style="font-size: small;">y. </span></div>
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I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553398867030169472.post-90433879215201067162014-12-14T00:32:00.001-08:002014-12-14T00:32:35.877-08:00India is the third largest emitter of green House Gases (GHG) in the world!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">According to the reports appeared in
TOI, India, being a third largest (after US and China) emitter of GHGs, needs
to take lead in accepting key climate targets on curtailing the emissions using
Green Tech for its developmental activities. Use of fossil fuel is the major
contributor for the emissions, the resources of which are not infinite. This
issue is on global scale and threatening the present and future generations. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Impact of climate change is
serious. Every one of us are feeling the temperature rise in the environment, and
suffering the effects like flash floods, poor harvests and water scarcity. Most
of India’s industrial units, particularly the nuclear reactors are located
close to sea and are likely to be affected by rising sea water levels, unless
urgent preventive measures are taken by the government. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Curtailing the GHG emissions is not
the responsibility of the government alone. There are power plants and other polluting
industries in private sector which should also take responsibility to change to
or use green tech. This calls for major challenges in incorporating appropriate
process changes and spent more money in the clean-up of the liquid and gaseous
waste streams before releasing into the environment. The so-called low carbon
economy comes expensive and the products become un-competitive in world
markets. India is likely to lose business to other world competitors like China;
the country which is the second largest emitter of GHGs. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Is India in a position to go for low-carbon
and sustainable development, and compete with China and other developed countries
which are responsible for polluting the environment to the current alarming level
of degeneration? There are also other serious issues in India such as
inadequate healthcare, poverty and malnutrition of children which should be worry
about. What will happen to the “Make in India” slogan of the government of
India? <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
</div>
I care for youhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04693150292373909012noreply@blogger.com0