#Problematic professor particle

[fountainpenguin]

130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash

🤎 Tan Train

(July 2016 - Ongoing)

"What have I told you about destroying my art? Look upon him! A masterpiece of expert vanishing cream, blush, foundation, gloss, and eyeliner! You cannot simply waste such perfection in your silly games! Find a clone that I did not spend my entire morning beautifying!" "Sploosh, sploosh!" "How can you even SAY that! He doesn't look anything LIKE Clone 99!" "Splurrrrsssh!" "Oh burn, oh man! Super Toilet, you rascal! You can't say that in front of little kids! Tone down the potty mouth… You and Jim-Jim are gonna land us a T rating."

- Mostly Fluff and Angst; potential Drama

- Prompts related to, well... everybody else!

Summary

The catch-all collection for 130 Prompts that don't fit the big story arcs... We've got Imaginary Gary, Flappy Bob, Jorgen, and lore from ancient times. These works are still under the Cloudlands AU umbrella, so Tan Train differs from Off the Rails, which contains only non-Cloudlands AUs.

Rated Gen and T

Read on FFN | Read these works on AO3

130 Sums | Full 130 Prompt Series (AO3) | Other Arcs

Cloudlands AU - Detailed warnings & other AU info

#130 arc guides - More posts like this

More Fairly OddParents 'fics

Highlights of this arc:

- 18-year-old Flappy Bob spends another birthday talking to police and ignoring magic seltzer bottles. - Young Sheldon Dinkleberg is oblivious. Especially at the funeral for Timmy's Dad's Mom. - Young Jorgen prepares to cut off his wings like the rest of his family. - Jorgen and the Tooth Fairy talk about kids... and what it means for their respective bloodline responsibilities. - Binky and Jorgen check up on Unwish Island. Come say hi to Nega-Timmy, Imaginary Gary, Timantha, Super Bike, Super Toilet… and Evil Jimmy Neutron.

Read on FFN | Read these works on AO3

"We gonna party; make this moment last forever! We gonna party like our life has just begun... I feel swagnificent!" (x)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago

Researchers show the Lafayette Meteorite was exposed to liquid water while located on Mars

An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue and is one of the few meteorites that can be traced directly to Mars. This meteorite was rediscovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and therefore named the Lafayette Meteorite. 

During early investigations of the Lafayette Meteorite, scientists discovered that it had interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Scientists have long wondered when that interaction with liquid water took place.  An international collaboration of scientists including two from Purdue University’s College of Science have recently determined the age of the minerals in the Lafayette Meteorite that formed when there was liquid water.  The team has published its findings in Geochemical Perspective Letters.

Marissa Tremblay, assistant professor with the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) at Purdue University, is the lead author of this publication. She uses noble gases like helium, neon and argon, to study the physical and chemical processes shaping the surfaces of Earth and other planets. She explains that some meteorites from Mars contain minerals that formed through interaction with liquid water while still on Mars.

“Dating these minerals can therefore tell us when there was liquid water at or near the surface of Mars in the planet's geologic past,” she says. “We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago. We do not think there was abundant liquid water on the surface of Mars at this time. Instead, we think the water came from the melting of nearby subsurface ice called permafrost, and that the permafrost melting was caused by magmatic activity that still occurs periodically on Mars to the present day.”

In this publication, her team demonstrated that the age obtained for the timing of water-rock interaction on Mars was robust and that the chronometer used was not affected by things that happened to Lafayette after it was altered in the presence of water.

“The age could have been affected by the impact that ejected the Lafayette Meteorite from Mars, the heating Lafayette experienced during the 11 million years it was floating out in space, or the heating Lafayette experienced when it fell to Earth and burned up a little bit in Earth’s atmosphere,” she says. “But we were able to demonstrate that none of these things affected the age of aqueous alteration in Lafayette.”

Ryan Ickert, senior research scientist with Purdue EAPS, is a co-author of the paper. He uses heavy radioactive and stable isotopes to study the timescales of geological processes. He demonstrated that other isotope data (previously used to estimate the timing of water-rock interaction on Mars) were problematic and had likely been affected by other processes.

“This meteorite uniquely has evidence that it has reacted with water. The exact date of this was controversial, and our publication dates when water was present,” he says.

Found in a drawer

Thanks to research, quite a bit is known about the Lafayette Meteorite’s origin story. It was ejected from the surface of Mars about 11 million years ago by an impact event.

“We know this because once it was ejected from Mars, the meteorite experienced bombardment by cosmic ray particles in outer space, that caused certain isotopes to be produced in Lafayette,” Tremblay says. “Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planetary bodies, but only a handful will eventually fall to Earth.”

But once Lafayette hit Earth, the story gets a little muddy. It is known for certain that the meteorite was found in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931. But how it got there is still a mystery. Tremblay and others made strides in explaining the history of the post-Earth timeline in a recent publication.

“We used organic contaminants from Earth found on Lafayette (specifically, crop diseases) that were particularly prevalent in certain years to narrow down when it might have fallen, and whether the meteorite fall may have been witnessed by someone,” Tremblay says.

Meteorites: time capsules of the universe

Meteorites are solid time capsules from planets and celestial bodies from our universe. They carry with them bits of data that can be unlocked by geochronologists. They set themselves apart from rocks that may be found on Earth by a crust that forms from its descent through our atmosphere and often form a fiery entrance visible in the night’s sky.

“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are present in them and the relationships between these minerals inside the meteorite,” says Tremblay. “Meteorites are often denser than Earth rocks, contain metal, and are magnetic. We can also look for things like a fusion crust that forms during entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Finally, we can use the chemistry of meteorites (specifically their oxygen isotope composition) to fingerprint which planetary body they came from or which type of meteorite it belongs to.”

An international collab

The team involved with this publication included an international collaboration of scientists. The team also includes Darren F. Mark, Dan N. Barfod, Benjamin E. Cohen, Martin R. Lee, Tim Tomkinson and Caroline L. Smith representing the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of St Andrews, the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow, the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, and the Science Group at The Natural History Museum in London.

“Before moving to Purdue, Ryan and I were both based at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, where the argon-argon isotopic analyses of the alteration minerals in Lafayette took place” Tremblay says. “Our collaborators at SUERC, the University of Glasgow, and the Natural History Museum have previously done a lot of work studying the history of Lafayette.”

Dating the alteration minerals in Lafayette and, more generally, in this class of meteorites from Mars called nakhlites, has been a long-term objective in planetary science because scientists know that the alteration happened in the presence of liquid water on Mars. However, these materials are especially difficult to date, and previous attempts at dating them had either been very uncertain and/or likely affected by processes other than aqueous alteration.

“We have demonstrated a robust way to date alteration minerals in meteorites that can be applied to other meteorites and planetary bodies to understand when liquid water might have been present,” Tremblay says.

IMAGE: An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue and is one of the few meteorites that can be traced directly to Mars. This meteorite was rediscovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and therefore named the Lafayette Meteorite. During early investigations of the Lafayette Meteorite, scientists discovered that it had interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Scientists have long wondered when that interaction with liquid water took place.  An international collaboration of scientists including two from Purdue University’s College of Science have recently determined the age of the minerals in the Lafayette Meteorite that formed when there was liquid water.  The team has published its findings in Geochemical Perspective Letters. Credit Purdue University

[nuadox]

Researchers conceive smallest semiconductor laser

- By ITMO University -

An international team of researchers led by researchers from ITMO University announced the development of the world's most compact semiconductor laser that works in the visible range at room temperature. According to the authors of the research, the laser is a nanoparticle of only 310 nanometers in size (which is 3,000 times less than a millimeter) that can produce green coherent light at room temperature.

The research article was published in ACS Nano.

This year, the international community of optical physicists celebrates the anniversary of a milestone event: 60 years ago, in the middle of May, American physicist Theodor Maiman demonstrated the operation of the first optical quantum generator - a laser. Now, Sixty years later, an international team of scientists published a work where they demonstrated experimentally the world's most compact semiconductor laser that operates in the visible range at room temperature. This means that the coherent green light that it produces can be easily registered and even seen by a naked eye using a standard optical microscope.

It's worth mentioning that the scientists succeeded in conquering the green part of the visible band which was considered problematic for nanolasers. "In the modern field of light-emitting semiconductors, there is the "green gap" problem," says Sergey Makarov, principal investigator of the article and Professor at the Faculty of Physics and Engineering of ITMO University. "The green gap means that the quantum efficiency of conventional semiconductor materials used for light-emitting diodes falls dramatically in the green part of the spectrum. This problem complicates the development of room temperature nanolasers made of conventional semiconductor materials."

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from St. Petersburg has chosen halide perovskite as the material for their nanolasers. A traditional laser consists of two key elements - an active medium that allows for generation of coherent stimulated emission and an optical resonator that helps to confine electromagnetic energy inside for a long time. The perovskite can provide both of these properties: a nanoparticle of a certain shape can act as both the active medium and the efficient resonator.

As a result, the scientists succeeded in fabricating a cubic-shaped particle of 310 nanometers in size, which can generate laser radiation at room temperature when photoexcited by a femtosecond laser pulse.

"We used femtosecond laser pulses to pump the nanolasers," says Ekaterina Tiguntseva, a junior research fellow at ITMO University and one of the article's co-authors. "We irradiated isolated nanoparticles until we reached the threshold of laser generation at a specific pump intensity. After that, the nanoparticle starts working as a typical laser. We demonstrated that such a nanolaser can operate during at least a million cycles of excitation."

The uniqueness of the developed nanolaser is not limited to its small size. The novel design of nanoparticles allows for efficient confinement of the stimulated emission energy to provide a high enough amplification of electromagnetic fields for laser generation.

"The idea is that laser generation is a threshold process," explains Kirill Koshelev, a junior research fellow at ITMO University and one of the article's co-authors. "i.e. you excite the nanoparticle with a laser pulse, and at a specific "threshold" intensity of the external source, the particle starts to generate laser emission. If you are unable to confine the light inside well enough, there will be no laser emission. In the previous experiments with other materials and systems, but similar ideas, it was shown that you can use Mie resonances of the fourth order or fifth order, meaning resonances where the wavelength of light inside the material fits the resonator volume four or five times times at the frequency of laser generation. We've shown that our particle supports a Mie resonance of the third order, which has never been done before. In other words, we can produce a coherent stimulated emission at the conditions when the resonator size is equal to three wavelengths of light inside the material."

Another important thing is that there is no need to apply external pressure or very low temperature for the nanoparticle to work as a laser. All the effects described in the research were produced at a regular atmospheric pressure and room temperature. This makes the technology attractive for specialists who focus on the creation of optical chips, sensors and other devices that use light to transfer and process information, including chips for optical computers.

The benefit of lasers that work in the visible range is that with all other properties being equal, they are smaller than red and infrared sources with the same properties. Thing is, the volume of the small lasers generally has a cubic dependence on the emission's wavelength, and as the wavelength of green light is three times less than that of infrared light, the limit of miniaturization is a lot greater for green lasers. This is essential for the production of ultracompact components for future optical computer systems.

Full Research: “Room-Temperature Lasing from Mie-Resonant Non-Plasmonic Nanoparticles”, ACS Nano.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c01468

Source: ITMO University

Read Also 

Terahertz quantum cascade lasers could lead to data transfer at 100 Gbit/s

[dragonclef1]

Sarms Enterprises Limited

Structure.

Content

Puori Cp1 Pure Collagen Peptides (300g).

Call Us Regarding This Innovation.

Required Info.

What Are The Side Effects Of Sarms?

The S glycoprotein is activated and also cleaved by host proteases, such as transmembrane protease serine 2 as well as TMPRSS11D, which enables cell surface area non-endosomal virus access at the plasma membrane. CoVs then release the viral genome RNA into the cytoplasm as well as the uncoated RNA converts 2 polyproteins, pp1a as well as pp1ab. Comprehensive autoproteolytic processing of pp1a as well as pp1ab by primary protease and also 3C-like protease create mature non-structural healthy proteins, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase as well as helicase necessary for duplication. RdRp, NSps and host aspects put together right into membrane-bound replication-transcription complexes to manufacture viral RNA. Recently created genomic RNA, nucleocapsid proteins and also envelope glycoproteins assemble as well as form viral fragment buds that fuse with the plasma membrane to release the infection. Enter your email address listed below to register for normal updates on all our latest offers, skin treatment recommendations as well as new item launches, plus receive an exclusive 10% OFF code.

Host defence peptides are produced by a large range of immune and epithelial cells in the body and also can be shared constitutively or generated during infection. They are also thought to be among one of the most old types of immune support.

Global Biosimilar Therapeutic Peptides Market Report 2020-2030 - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Manchestertimes

Global Biosimilar Therapeutic Peptides Market Report 2020-2030 - ResearchAndMarkets.com.

Posted: Fri, 08 Jan 2021 12:22:16 GMT [source]

Glucagon-like peptide 1 comes from a family of hormonal agents called the incretins, supposed since they enhance the secretion of insulin. Glucagon-like peptide 1 is a product of a particle called pre-proglucagon, a polypeptide which is divided to generate lots of hormones, including glucagon. Due to the fact that they originate from the same source, these hormones share some similarities, so are called 'glucagon-like'. Cells located in the lining of the tiny intestinal tract (called L-cells) are the major resource of glucagon-like peptide 1, although it is also produced in smaller sized amounts by the pancreas and the main nerves. Glucagon-like peptide 1 encourages the release of insulin from the pancreas, boosts the volume of cells in the pancreatic that create insulin and also holds back glucagon release. Glucagon-like peptide 1 additionally increases the sensation of volume during and also between meals by acting upon cravings centres in the brain as well as by slowing down the emptying of the stomach.

Puori Cp1 Pure Collagen Peptides (300g).

Unique peptides which assist to part the trend for the remainder of the 30% peptide mix solution to penetrate with the skin. MATRIXYL ™ 3000tricks skin cells into producing even more collagen, while Argirelox blocks signals for contraction to minimise the look of expression creases. Each "designer" peptide can be created to particularly activate a younger element of skin, as an example a peptide to make more collagen, or shut down a trouble in skin, like stop making so much unusual melanin. Hey there, I'm Paula Begoun, founder of the skincare line Paula's Option, and also today I begin my function as the Marie Claire Skincare Master. In my columns I will certainly be de-bunking skin myths, allowing you in on skin care tricks and telling you exactly which active ingredients the skincare industry is currently stressed with and why.

This is what causes the skin becoming thinner as well as tackling a crepey, extra wrinkled appearance.

As you age, protein production in the skin weakens as a result of both age as well as external environmental factors.

Numerous peptides can be incorporated in one product, as well as the majority of are discovered in anti-ageing products for skin that has actually started to show a decline in the production of those vital healthy proteins.

Various kinds of peptides have different impacts, from smoothing creases or fixing obstacle function to enhancing firmness and also hydration.

In skincare peptides are made use of to aid reinforce those proteins normally happening in the skin, consequently renewing and preserving it.

There are so many different kinds of peptide that it's hard to popularize, but some may trigger irritation for certain skin types - so do your study prior to investing, as products including them can be expensive.

On collaborating using highgrade-labs UK s4 andarine Sarms look for words that finish in "peptide"-- numerous additionally begin with "palmitoyl".

This regularly up-dated page offers a summary of the artificial processes involved in manufacturing of stomach peptides, and guideline of these procedures. Pharmaceutical items which resemble the effects of endogenous peptide ligands are call peptidomimetics. Some instances of peptidomimetics and also their matching endogenous ligand consist of desmopressin-- vasopressin, octreotide-- somatostatin, and insulin glargine-- insulin. Medicines which block the receptors for endogenous peptide ligands can be peptide or non-peptide molecules.

Call Us About This Technology.

In the context of a peptide, the amide group (Carbon Monoxide-- NH) is referred to as the peptide group. CoVs enter the host cell by means of the endosomal path and/or the cell surface area non-endosomal path and release their genome right into the target cell. The S glycoprotein assists in viral entry right into host target cell by directly binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 cellular receptor. ACE2 is a zinc metalloenzyme and also carboxypeptidase which is very expressed lungs, kidney, endothelium as well as heart.

The peptides can also be made use of to deliver cytotoxic agents to tumours with profound effectiveness. Incredibly, the peptides show very rapid tumour penetration as well as retention coupled with quick clearance from systemic blood circulation. Professor David Craik offered an interesting presentation on cyclotides - cyclic peptides generated by a selection of plants.

Required Information.

Subsequently, permitted ɸ worths will be fairly limited compared with other amino acids. The peptide bonds that connect amino acid residues in a polypeptide are developed in a condensation response in between the acidic carboxyl group of one amino acid and the basic amino group of an additional amino acid.

Eyebrows have actually grown back out and also I think it's to do with the peptides. Extra pricey that TO items but it is worth it, it's much better than the initial Buffet serum. Collagen as well as elastin production is enhanced, great lines as well as wrinkles are smoothed and also the skin's natural shops of hyaluronic acid rise.

What Are The Side Effects Of Sarms?

A beta sheet types as a result of hydrogen bonding interactions in between peptide foundations of parallel or antiparallel beta strands, which as the name recommends are primarily linear. On the other hand, the 'polar zipper' system refers to hydrogen bonding communications between the amino acid side chains on nearby beta strands. In 2019 Vapourtec developed a cooperation towards peptide synthesis with Teacher Peter Seeberger and also his Team at Max Slab Institute, Berlin. This work has actually been published in the paper shown right away listed below. The side-chain of proline is covalently bound to the N of the amino team, so in polyproline, there will certainly be much less freedom of rotation regarding the Cα-- N bond than with various other amino acids.

Extremely efficacious, its sheer power is maximised by a cutting-edge drone-based shipment system that guarantees every peptide is activated within the layer of skin that it is needed most. This packed, 30% peptide mix utilizes an introducing drone shipment system to target visible indicators of skin ageing. Neuropeptides are little proteinaceous cell-cell signaling molecules created and also launched by nerve cells. They vary from peptide hormonal agents because they are secreted from nerve cells and also act in your area on neighbouring neurons, whereas peptide hormones are secreted in to the blood by neuroendocrine cells and act at distant sites. Neuropeptides are one of the most diverse class of indicating particles in the brain, and are involved in a wide range of mind functions, consisting of analgesia, recreation, learning and also memory, benefit, food consumption and more.

Ostarine.

These peptides, consisting of three disulphide bonds that form a "knot", are both different and also durable. Prof. Craik provided a summary of these peptides and also their utility as a foundation for the shipment of therapeutic peptide epitopes. The peptides can surviving the digestion system, making oral shipment of peptide drugs a genuine possibility, although presently the bioavailability of such orally-administered peptides is reduced. If you have any inquiries or worries about the services and products provided on connected 3rd party sites, please speak to the 3rd party straight.

We are additionally offering expedited distribution times for Covid-19 related projects. Whilst the generation and also distribution of peptide rehabs represent significant difficulties, the easy storage space of peptides can be problematic. Hao Luo from Merck clarified the trouble of peptide fibrillation as well as methods for alleviating the dangers of fibrillation. It ends up that a super-fast heat and also high pH treatment making use of circulation chemistry can dramatically postpone the onset of fibrillation with no significant deterioration of the peptide. The generation of new highly discerning peptide-based medicines is being resolved by Bike Therapeutics Ltd as well as Liuhong Chen gave understandings right into the exciting advancement of Bicycle peptides. These bicycle-shaped peptides can be generated in chemically-constrained phage-display libraries, which makes it possible for the selection of peptides with high target specificity. Conjugation of the peptides to imaging representatives enables high-contrast, tissue-selective imaging.

Host support peptides are additionally referred to as anti-microbial peptides, although more lately they have actually been revealed to demonstrate a number of other immunomodulatory functions. They were initially recognized as having antibiotic results on a variety of germs, fungis as well as infections. Many HDPs are cationic, and also this is believed to moderate their anti-microbial activity by hindering microbial membrane layers.

The Best Peptide Skincare Products to Help Build Collagen and Elastin - Coveteur

The Best Peptide Skincare Products to Help Build Collagen and Elastin.

Posted: Wed, 23 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Generally, attempt to liquify peptides in sterile pure water or clean and sterile dilute acetic acid (0.1%) remedy to give a stock solution at a greater concentration than that required for subsequent usage. If the peptide persists as visible bits, sonication might confirm of help as it boosts the price of dissolution. If, after sonication, the 'solution' has actually gelled, has a persistent haziness, or has a scum floating on the surface, the peptide has actually probably not liquified but is simply finely put on hold. Never be without your much-loved Boots products with our international delivery choices. UK rad 140 testolone Sarms which is anti-bacterial, making it really good for oily, spot-prone skin types, as well as any slightly a lot more fungal-type problems. I have actually written extensively concerning my love for NIOD CAIS, yet it is that excellent-- copper peptides are likewise anti-bacterial and also splendidly revitalizing on the skin. A safety peptide that is normally created in the body, carnosine blocks skin-damaging sugars from binding to collagen in the skin, protecting against the development of creases.

Nonetheless, they are additionally able to secure host tissues from proteases and also control innate as well as adaptive immunity using both pro- and anti-inflammatory activities. These activities include immune cell activation, recruitment, chemoattraction as well as guideline of immunomodulatory particles such as cytokines and also complement. Peptides help to bolster the performance of this retinol night lotion. Packed with a rich mix of ceramides, peptides and oligopeptides this glamorous moisturiser assists enhance the skin's structure while reducing the appearance of great lines as well as wrinkles. Created with a mix of 9 peptides, this giant moisturiser restores diminished and tired skin to its previous splendor. " Peptides are pieces of protein and it's these healthy proteins that are the foundation of the skin," states Dr Ewoma Ukeleghe, medical and cosmetic doctor at SKNDOCTOR. Zentraxa uses the power of engineering biology to make peptides which are as well challenging or pricey to create utilizing existing innovations.

Can you mix retinol and peptides?

Do Mix: Retinoids + Peptides Dr. Mariwalla says it's a great idea to use both a retinoid- and peptide-based night cream at bedtime. “You get the collagen-building effects of the retinoid, but it also works to improve the penetration of the peptide cream, which can help improve skin's firmness,” she explains.

The patented microbial platform presents modifications in the peptide series and also prevents several of the constraints of existing artificial chemical as well as completing biological techniques. This enables quick turnaround of new peptide layouts in addition to budget-friendly scale-up. Crucially it likewise provides the opportunity to find previously inaccessible biosuperiors. The worldwide peptide therapeutics market is anticipated to be worth $24 billion by 2020.

Serums have a lightweight structure as well as a high percentage of energetic ingredients, so they're a wonderful means to obtain a dose of peptides, attempt Radical Skin care Advanced Peptide Antioxidant Lotion. A fine example is copper-- a normally taking place mineral within our body that assists to bind collagen and elastin with each other. A copper peptide is a peptide, combined with a trace quantity of copper, which, when related to skin can help to boost the recovery procedure by delivering copper where it's needed to restore damaged skin.

[killervibe]

They both always end up getting into huge debates during lectures/class/conferences (whatever?), and sometimes it gets really heated and things will be thrown, and people will be kicked out. :)

School Of Thought 

A/N: A flclet she said. It will be short she said. Yeah, so, I opened a can of worms with this one. Oops. You may or may not see the finished ending on ao3 within the next month. 

Cisco slid into the last seat in the back of the conference room and pulled out his laptop from his bag. He startled as he looked at his hands typing at his keyboard, realizing he forgot to take off his Vibe gloves. He yanked them off, stuffing them into the bottom of his bag.

Cisco thought…He wasn’t sure. When he first started to fight crime as Vibe while finishing his degree, he promised himself to separate Superheroing and school. He wouldn’t be late or skip class during the day in lieu of grappling with the latest supervillain like some Peter Parker level of yikes, but, that seemed easier said than done. He also made a promise not to draw attention to himself, and yet, that seems to be impossible in this class.

“Mr. Ramon. Glad to see you made an appearance.”

The class of twenty or so all turned their nosy heads to look at him.

He winced. “Uh,” he said. “Sorry. I had a doctor’s appointment.”

That seemed to appease his prof, and the class resumed.

When he signed up for Central City’s Topics in Molecular Biology, he had no clue the topic would be on Metahumans. To say the least, he got triggered very quickly, and it would’ve probably had been wise to drop it and find a more suitable, less stressful, or invasively personal subject to study, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but argue and nitpick, setting the record straight with the multiple problematic opinions that arose during discussions.

His prof droned on about metahuman genetic theory, half of it wrong, until he opened the floor to his students. “My question to you is…” His prof drawled, “…In light of the ramifications of dark matter on human organisms, is it safe to assume it alters DNA to induce criminality or even alter the functions of the prefrontal cortex to reduce executive functions?”

Cisco frowned at his open google doc, offended that he even had that written on his screen.

He raised his hand.

“Mr. Ramon?”

“There’s no proof that dark matter induces criminality, which is culturally relative, by the way, on the molecular level. It mutates cells already in one’s body to create new functions, right? So, last time I checked, DNA  was made up of adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine not evil.”

Someone scoffs from the front of the room.

Cisco narrowed his eyes as Caitlin Snow flipped her perfect hair over her shoulder to raise her hand as the rest of the class groaned.

 Of course. Cisco was not surprised.

 Half of the time he felt this entire seminar was just them debating over everything.

“I have to disagree. It was established in 2015 that dark matter was dark. Why? Because the colour is black? No. It’s matter. The general consensus is that the spillage from the particle accelerator explosion has negatively impacted our biodiversity. More people than ever are pouring into emergency rooms with frightening abilities with no semblance of control. The other half reported with changed physiology are either in prison or at large.”

Cisco balked. “Excuse me? Is that not metahuman discrimination? Like it or not,” he laughed humorlessly, “everyone in the world is given a choice to do right or wrong, powers or no. Cesare Beccaria, rational choice theory, look it up.”

The professor snapped his fingers. “Mr. Ramon, please be respectful or I will have to ask you to leave.”

“This is not a psychology class!” Caitlin retorted angrily, and Cisco really didn’t get what her problem was. 

Sure, she was sharp and was entitled to her opinion, but it was all theory to her. She didn’t live it like he did. Had to avoid doctors and hospitals out of fear of being caught like he did. Had to Youtube how to treat himself after nasty fights and learn how to take care of his new self like he did. Cisco was the actual metahuman in the room, not like he could announce that to the class without revealing his secret identity, but it was clear that Caitlin had no idea what she was talking about.

“Sociology, actually,” Cisco corrected, “but I’ll let that slide.”

“You’re unbelievable,” She muttered, quiet, maybe, if they were in a lecture hall. They weren’t. 

“Do you really think that every metahuman The Flash has caught doing crime were bad? That they have any choice? Sometimes there is no choice! It’s a biological subatomic mutation, Cisco. Permanent. It’s not like a tumor you could remove or a wound you can cover that will suddenly make it better. It’s in their genes. In their blood. In their cells. Not in their minds.”  

Cisco stood up from the back of the class. “You know what? No. You don’t get to say that. Science is science is science and until you can empirically prove that the genetic alteration induced in metahumans have created a new isolated gene for criminality, then I call bullshit!”

“It is shit!” Caitlin yelled, and threw her notebook on the ground. “Science was science. But multiverses? Dr. Stein’s time travel theorem? It throws it all out the window! You can’t assume every person hit was affected the same way. Trust me, if it did, we would all be The Flash or Vibe. It sucks. Okay? It sucks. But I’m willing to learn and be open to new possibilities. Why do you think I’m here?!?”

Every jaw in the room dropped open.

Caitlin’s eyes widened with horrified realization at what she just said. The professor stood paralyzed at his podium and the temperature dropped.

Cisco’s eyes locked with Caitlin’s for the longest second of Cisco’s life. And then she bolted.

Cisco seized his bag and ran after her.

[reno2ndgun]

shooting star :)

Reno remembers the first time someone had called him a comet, a shooting star. He’d still been a Student at ShinRa Academy. He hadn't thought much of it at the time on the track when he blitzed past SOLDIERs in a full sprint. What was a shooting star? He'd never seen one before. Later during class he steals a dictionary to find out more...

shoot·ing star /ˈˌSHo͞odiNG ˈˌstär/

noun 1. a small, rapidly moving meteor burning up on entering the Gaia's atmosphere. 2. a plant of the primrose family, with white, pink, or purple hanging flowers with backward curving petals. The flowers are carried above the leaves on slender stems and turn to face up following fertilization. Not that one...

And down the rabbit hole he went. A meteor. What the fuck was a meteor? He searched through the pages for the word, curiosity peaked.

meteor 1 : an atmospheric phenomenon (such as lightning or a snowfall) 2a : any of the small particles of matter in the solar system that are directly observable only by their incandescence from frictional heating on entry into the atmosphere. b : the streak of light produced by the passage of a meteor.

Red brows furrowed and he looked to the professor who was packing his things, "I'll bring this back!" Reno didn't give the man a chance to argue before the dictionary was in his basic black pack and dashing out the door to the Astronomy class. The class was just ending by the time he arrived and he walked right in like he belonged there as everyone was leaving. 

"Excuse me Miss, I had some questions." 

"I don't accept late homework, the paper is due tomorrow."

 Reno willed himself to hold still and stern, to keep from fidgeting. "It's not about the paper. I'm not actually in your class miss."

 The woman with a stern no nonsense gaze and dark hair looked up and then took pause at the sight of the last person she expected to see here. Reno.

She'd heard talk of the troublemaker in the staff lounge. He's the only one in the school with a shock of Vibrant red hair and a visible drug addiction in his pallor. She'd been of a mind that he should have been expelled after ONE student had been hospitalized from being in a fight with him, let alone half of the senior class, Turk cadet or no. But he was...so small and sickly looking? However staring at him now she's shocked into continued silence by his next words. 

"Someone called me a comet out on the track but I have no clue what that is. The dictionary says this but....it's not the same as firsthand knowledge and I was hoping you could tell me more about them. I was curious. . ."

 He pulled the dictionary out of his bag to show her what little info he'd found, using his arm with the cast along the forearm. It doesn't take two seconds to see the horrible things written there, likely by other people, or that he hasn't bothered to scratch any of them out, or the bruises peeking out from beneath dark blue uniform.. She had expected someone bigger, meaner. A bully. While she considered herself close to her colleagues, he’s just too small to be as problematic as the staff are insisting and she concedes that many of the staff at Academy are Parents. She changed her demeanor and moved to the bookshelf the grab an educational text on all things atmospheric. “This should cover it. “Come tell me your progress in a week! Bring a list of questions, as I'm sure you’ll have some.” Reno beams and snugs the book to his chest as he turns to dart out of the class. “thank you M’am!!! I’ll bring it back!” “Ah, Cadet Reno?” Reno stops and turns, squinting, “How the heck do all of the Professors know my name before I’ve said it?” “You’re the only Redhead in School. all the same I owe you an apology.” Reno turned to face her, confused. “Oh....yeah ok that’s fair. I’m Kinda hard to miss. Wait....You....do?” “I believed some of the horrible things people have been saying about you. Angry spiteful parents and colleagues of mine. Bully. Trouble maker. Dangerous. I apologize for not giving you a chance. You’ve been nothing but polite and sweet.” “I am dangerous, that one is true. Don’t worry about it. You never took it out on me so...I was never hurt by it. They’re just thoughts. Don’t worry about it so much. Thanks for the book!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reno walks through the halls looking over scorecards from the academy. He SHOULD be resting, as he’s still wounded, but instead he’s working and chain smoking to keep his energy up. He catches a FIGHT in the hall way and stops dead in his tracks. One student goes to grab a young woman’s ass and HOGOLLY, him and all nine of his friends are dirtnapping pretty fucking quick. Brows furrow and Reno steps forward. “Atten-tion!” Reno barked as he stepped up. The Cadet that had just walloped the SHIT out of ten others stood Ramrod straight in a perfect salute. He looked through the scorecards, then to the young blonde lass in front of him. She seemed familiar... He held on of the scorecards up to compare the profile picture...Elena, he read across the top...Emma’s sister? “you’re Emma’s sister, aren’t you?” “Sir, yes sir!” “You’ve been picked early to join the Turks. Congrats. Your scorecard was impressive.” “What?! B-but I still have a quarter of a semester left!” “Not anymore. C’mon. Lets get you fitted for your uniform.” Reno would have to remember to tell Elena someday that she reminded him of a shooting star when she fought. A refusal to be outdone or outshined by anything save the sun itself. “Sir what about them?” “Not our job to pick up someone else’s trash. Just ShinRa’s.”

[fenton-bus]

Sagan's Comet

(a prologue)

   ∞

2020

 If there is a causal relationship between the popularity of Barry Eisenberg's autobiography and the complete loss of journalistic integrity exhibited by the Manhattan press no one acknowledges it. In spaces formerly occupied by actual news, one can now find awed descriptions of the fun way the eighteen year old Portland native verbally decimates the Buzzfeed contributor brave enough to cross the threshold of his lair. Articles dedicated to examining the significance of his hoodie collection (consisting solely of secondary colors) are written with the zest and intensity of individuals delivering the defining information of the age. Between covering Syrian conflicts and Zayn's solo career these adults with journalism degrees they allegedly worked hard for print wild speculation about what Barry's digital watch says about him as a person, maps his evolution from monosyllables to making a Newsweek reporter cry whilst thanking him for the opportunity through her tears, and publishes three thousand word think pieces heavily suggesting that he is the voice of his generation.

Two months into his junior year at Columbia, Barry becomes a meme.

According to the lanky, mustachioed Starbuck's barista (who enjoys all the benefits of tumblr fame for two glorious minutes before he's brought down by an old "problematic" Burning Man post.) he waits in line every other Thursday before his Applied Calc class, and one morning he is informed-with an unfathomable regret-that they are currently out of bran muffins.

Barry allegedly makes a face that defies the descriptive power of the written word.

Skylar totally believes in fate. He was meant to come in that day, despite dancing on the precipice of being fired for coming to work after ingesting some "herbal refreshment". He was meant to get dragged behind the counter to fix the espresso machine, meant to turn around to grab the wrench at the exact moment Barry made That Face. He grabs his phone, snaps a pic and before Todd can offer the dude a blueberry substitute, twelve hundred people have added gross looking block text to Skylar's post. That Face becomes a universal constant just as relevant when describing reactions to sexism (When ur in a patriarchal society ) as it is to receiving troubling medical news (TMW UR DOCTORS ALL: GENITAL WARTS!!!?!1) . Kids aim That Face at unprepared parents in the aisles of Toys R Us. Girls just trying to enjoy happy hour with their besties clock the dudes halfway across the bar with The Face and the "you're the only ten I see" dies in the bros' throats. Tired moms schlepping their kids from one hellish interpretative dance class to another collapse against the seats of their Subaru Foresters and That Face all over the traffic cop worried about his quota and are let on their merry way with a stern warning. After announcing a pop quiz in Applied Calculus Professor Bevens is hit with sixty-two different versions of That Face.

The effect is so powerful\disturbing the professor decides to take lunch in his office that day.

When Mike Wallace asks Dr. Josef Stenberg why we, as a culture, are so fascinated the noted historian and scholar replies that The Face "effortlessly and intrinsically captures the depth of the human experience."

∞

There is a three day period wherein The New York Times makes a genuine attempt at substance before all parties involve realize how difficult it actually is and decide that mining Barry's first two years at MIT for scandal is much more creative use of their time.

The seven article series proves so popular the rate of traffic often causes the site to crash, to the point where the NYT puts an ad for a new head of IT in its own newspaper. (An error brought to their attention by the former IT supervisor as she storms out of their office making two very rude gestures with both of her hands.) The articles come dangerously close to reporting the significance of the solar ray that's currently powering the campus greenhouses and the fifteen classroom\lecture halls running on fossil fuels before remembering it's audience and veering back to the good stuff: in addition to campaigning long and hard to get one of his professors fired, (because the individual is a plaintiff in a current lawsuit his name has been redacted from all documentation in order to protect his identity. In any further documentation he shall be referred to as Mr. S.) Barry starts a (still active) war between the physics and computer science majors, stages a ninety-day sit in at Lanctom Hall and refuses to attend class until the United States converts to the metric system, attends seven out of his ten classes in his pajamas, builds a Death Ray, stages his own funeral, and has regular off-campus lunches with Neil Degrasse-Tyson where (according to an unnamed source) they discuss plans to reanimate Carl Sagan.

The Times receives countless emails from current and former MIT professors the content of which ranges from "Come on guys" to paragraphs of legal jargon, but because facts are annoying and can easily ruin a good time, they only publish one. For Mr. S who is, at this very  moment, teaching a remedial chemistry class in a Hoboken public school, seeing his words in print gives him the necessary courage to take out an entire page of the Op Ed column for the sole purpose of calling Barry an "odious, mouth-breathing cretin" (among other, more foul monikers) and insist that his time at MIT is "the most convincing super villain origin story I've ever seen." Buried in the seventh paragraph under piles of incoherent rage is a fairly lucid comparison to Lex Luthor, which all things considered, Barry rather likes.

At six-thirty the following morning,

Don't you have young minds to compromise?

appears in the comments section of Mr. S's article. The user name is something banal and forgettable, but the 25 x 37 armadillo icon is responsible for the overjoyed intern's giggle snort and the frantic search for a 2013 Scientific American article in which Barry mentions that armadillos are often underestimated because of their size and deceptively docile demeanor.

∞

2017

So.

Barry wakes up in Naldo's body, which because he invents time travel when he's fifteen and perfects localized teleportation over summer break his freshman at year at MIT isn't even the weirdest sentence he's ever had to type. It isn't even the strangest thing that happens that year, (that literal prizes goes to Sergey Abermoff a stunningly mediocre marine biologist who wins the Noble Prize for his contributions to Alaskan Puffer Fish research. From March to August Barry is engaged in a furious letter-writing campaign to the Academy because seriously? Dr. Gloria Hernandez discovers and isolates what appears to be a second God particle but generous funds are being allocated to his dad's favorite Red Lobster entree? No.) While he makes a concentrated effort to document his daily experiments, and somewhat less dedicated attempts to record his thoughts about more personal subjects (he objects to the use of the word "personal" in this context because it implies a mutual exclusivity between the personal and the scientific where no such distinction exists, but he digresses) spontaneous ionic transference is apparently unworthy of documentation. Reading through the accounts of the incidents of that spring, scholars and historians alike are surprised to find only the briefest, most perfunctory outline of events.

It's an odd, tangential footnote in most textbooks, and even the larger more expansive biographies tend to refer to it transiently. One of the foremost examples of this phenomenon being Edgar Chen's Event Horizon which glosses over the events in a way Joan Collins of the New York Times calls "whimsically dismissive". Of the archived articles, research papers, essays, books, films, digital recordings and miscellaneous sundries that number in the thousands only two hundred and eighty-six contain references to the events of the spring of 2017. Of that number one hundred and thirty-seven are passing references, eighty-five are footnotes, five are visual references ( two screen grabs, a gif, and two vague scenes in the Cern documentary and the feature film Singularity, all of which are subject to intense and varying interpretation) forty- two are allusions in popular fiction,  twelve are auditory, and seventeen are references to supplementary reading material that contain descriptions of the events so vague they border on unintelligible. In chapter four of Jackie Iron's (famed director of the Crabnormal Behavior Octo-thrilogy) tell-all Shellin' Out, Barry writes:

"I've never been fond of the "body-swap" trope. At best it's a cheap device used to create a sense of empathy between two characters possessing diametrically opposing viewpoints. At worst it's a study of the traumatic power of unrelenting body horror, a state of such brutal, paradigm-shifting physical and emotional dissonance that it's difficult to imagine surviving the encounter without constantly testing the tensile strength of  reality for the remainder of one's natural life. Why would a writer subject their audience to something so terrible?"

Strangely, Barry's autobiography makes only a passing reference to the event. He glosses over his years at Columbia (there are a few offhand references to a Washington think tank he attends in the summer of 2017) but expands upon graduate school in such unrelenting, excruciating detail that chapters forty-seven through fifty-three are known to make a few students nauseous. The clinical, almost detached narrative  prompts  Melanie Fung, freshman human interest columnist of the Columbia Daily Spectator, to write: "The text habitually  bathes Eisenberg in the soft light of scientific heroism, but the more personal, and possibly, more interesting threads of the narrative are glaringly absent."

It isn't until Jill Suarez publishes The Eisenberg Principle that the personal elements of Barry's life-coming out to his parents, the bullying he experiences in school, the two week period he spends in Renaldo Montoya's body-are recounted in detail.

[your-dietician]

11 Things That Make Sleep Apnea Worse

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/11-things-that-make-sleep-apnea-worse/

11 Things That Make Sleep Apnea Worse

Sleep invader It’s estimated that as many as 24 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea, and for…

Sleep invader

It’s estimated that as many as 24 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea, and for the majority who suffer from the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing, it goes undiagnosed.

Untreated, sleep apnea has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, memory loss, obesity, parasomnias (or involuntary behaviors like sleepwalking) and insulin resistance, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. And research shows a link between severe sleep apnea, the repeated drops in blood oxygen levels and premature death.

The ensuing daytime sleepiness can also be a “public health hazard, if you happen to be an airline pilot or a 16-wheel truck driver who is sleeping at the wheel,” says Dr. Alex Chediak, a sleep medicine specialist and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Snore loudly? Feel exhausted despite a “good night’s rest?” It could be time to discuss symptoms with a doctor. You might be referred to a sleep specialist to undergo a complete sleep evaluation.

Treatment options may include a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which creates a column of air that keeps the airway open, an oral device or surgery.

Meantime, here’s what sleep doctors say can exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea or put people at risk for the nighttime breathing disorder:

Anatomy

With sleep apnea, throat muscles, which are usually tense while awake, relax during sleep, allowing the airway to collapse or become plugged by the tongue. As with a kinked hose, the flow stops, sometimes for 10 seconds or more.

As the brain senses distress, people may bolt upright and gasp for air, or they may simply snort and go back to sleep, experts say. This can go on hundreds of times a night, without the person realizing it.

For some people, an anatomic abnormality may be the culprit. Enlarged tonsils, a deviated septum or a smaller-than-normal airway are among them, says Dr. David Schulman, a sleep medicine specialist with Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.

COVID-19

Another condition that affects breathing — COVID-19 — doesn’t bode well for people with sleep apnea. They tend to have more severe infection, with increased intensive care unit transfers and increased need for intubation, according to a meta-analysis of evidence published May 13 in the journal CHEST Physician and co-authored by Dr. Ashima Sahni, an assistant professor of clinical medicine and associate program director of the sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, triggers an increased inflammatory response in the body,” Sahni says. “When your body is deprived of oxygen at nighttime, that in itself triggers an inflammatory response. So you can imagine that patients who have obstructive sleep apnea — especially when untreated — tend to have lower oxygen levels to begin with. And if they do contract COVID, we would think that these patients will have more severe COVID infection and will tend to have worse outcomes.”

Sahni’s recommendation for avoiding COVID-19 complications: “Vaccination and CPAP usage are super-important.”

CPAP and COVID-19

Sleep apnea patients who regularly use their CPAP may actually reduce their risk of COVID-19 infection. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea with the least use of CPAP therapy had a 2.1% risk of acquiring COVID-19 in a study using data from nearly 83,000 patients in Southern California.

However, for patients who were using CPAP at least four hours nightly, the risk of getting COVID-infection dropped to 1.3%, according to the study presented at the American Thoracic Society conference in May 2021.

While it’s difficult to prove cause-and-effect, Sahni notes, “As a sleep physician, and for the community at large, we do want to consider obstructive sleep apnea as a chronic medical condition that could be considered a risk factor for severe COVID infection.”

Because CPAP creates aerosol when used, there could be tiny particles suspended in the air for a longer time than otherwise, Sahni explains. Some of her patients have expressed fears that if they were infected by COVID-19, they could increase their family’s risk of exposure to the virus. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine offers patient information for those who have sleep apnea and are infected with COVID-19, including safe CPAP use.

Obesity

“The main factor that contributes to sleep apnea is obesity,” says Dr. Asha Singh, director of the Oregon Health & Science University Sleep Medicine Program in Portland. Although thin folks can develop apnea, more than 50% of people who have the condition are overweight, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Nearly 2 billion people worldwide have obesity, according to the World Health Organization, and almost 1 billion people worldwide are estimated to have sleep apnea, Sahni points out. “It’s a huge connection, and it’s underdiagnosed,” she says.

Here’s how the obesity-sleep apnea relationship works: “There is increased fat deposition around your neck area, which can make your upper airway and your windpipe area more vulnerable to collapse at nighttime,” Sahni explains. “And on the other side, you can have increased fat deposition around your abdomen, which can increase your abdominal girth.”

Eventually, she says, “That could reduce your lung volumes and impact the collapsibility of your upper airway. All these factors combine together to increase your risk of having obstructive sleep apnea.”

Weight gain

Frustratingly, sleep apnea may also contribute to weight gain. There is evidence to suggest that it may lead to an increase in appetite for unhealthful foods. For instance, a study in the January 2019 issue of the journal Sleep found that people with severe forms of the disorder were more likely to make poor food choices than those who were unaffected or had mild cases.

“If you have sleep apnea, there’s definitely increased sleep disruption,” Sahni says. “Studies have shown that increased sleep disruption leads to increase in a hormone in our body that is an appetite-stimulating hormone. And it reduces the appetite-suppressing hormone — and you end up having increased cravings for calorie-dense food.”

In addition, she says, “Patients with sleep apnea tend to be sleepier and more fatigued, which eventually will make you less physically active, which, again, can compound your risk of gaining weight. It’s a vicious cycle.”

If you’re obese and struggling with sleep apnea, weight loss is crucial. “In any way or form, weight-loss management will be essential,” Shani says. “If it is challenging, considering weight-loss surgery would be another alternative.”

Alcohol

“Alcohol increases muscle relaxation, and that’s true for the muscles of the throat — and actually the tongue muscle,” says Dr. Kathleen Yaremchuk, chair of otolaryngology and a sleep specialist at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. This makes the airway more vulnerable to obstruction during sleep.

Though alcohol’s effect usually dissipates as it clears the body throughout the night, cutting down may help.

Medications

Prescription medications can also create a double whammy. “If you’re taking muscle relaxants, you’re going to expose yourself to greater snoring and sleep apnea,” Chediak says, and “the vast majority of sleeping medications have a muscle relaxant property.”

In addition, sleeping pills make it harder to arouse from sleep. A noise must be louder. A pain must be sharper. Likewise, an episode of sleep apnea must last longer because “more respiratory compromise” is needed to wake the brain up to restore normal breathing, he says.

Painkillers can also be problematic, experts say, particularly opioids, which cause respiratory suppression and add to breathing difficulties a person may face overnight.

Other medical conditions

Other medical problems can worsen sleep apnea. Most significantly, these include diabetes and high blood pressure, which raise a person’s cardiovascular risk and are associated with higher sleep apnea rates.

“About 30 to 40% of adults with high blood pressure also have sleep apnea, which is more prevalent in those with drug-resistant hypertension,” Singh says. “So, approximately 80% of patients that don’t respond to hypertensive medication have some apnea. Adhering to sleep apnea treatment is a proven means of decreasing blood pressure.”

About 7 in 10 people with Type 2 diabetes also have obstructive sleep apnea, Singh says. The severity of the sleep disorder directly impacts diabetes symptoms; and, conversely, poor glucose control is linked with more severe sleep apnea.

Treatment underuse

If you have sleep apnea, it’s important to follow through with your treatment plan. Using CPAP less often than prescribed or skipping it altogether keeps sleep apnea from improving.

“If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, consult your primary doctor, find a sleep physician, get tested and make sure you’re on therapy,” Sahni says. “If you already have a diagnosis of sleep apnea, I would strongly recommend: Try to use your PAP therapy consistently, at least or more than the four hours that we usually recommend at nighttime or whenever you’re sleeping.”

Not everyone is able to use CPAP. In those cases, “definitely talk to your doctor and try to find alternatives,” Sahni says. “Healthy eating habits, exercising, adequate sun exposure, good sleep hygiene: All of those will help you.”

Sleep position

Typically, sleeping on your back makes sleep apnea worse, and sleeping on your side makes it better, Schulman says. That has to do with how and where weight falls on the airway.

“Sleeping on your back makes the tongue relax back further, and that tends to make sleep apnea worse,” Singh adds.

Using positional therapy devices that make you sleep on your side can help with treating sleep apnea, she says. Options like slumberBUMP, which is essentially a belt with a pillow attached to the back, make it uncomfortable for individuals to sleep on their back, so they stay in a lateral position during their sleep, Singh explains.

Sleep deprivation

It’s thought that the body craves the deepest kind of sleep when sleep deprived and will launch into it to make up for lost shuteye, Schulman says. But sleep apnea tends to be worse during that deep-sleep period, called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, owing to its heightened state of relaxation, he explains. Thus, carving out adequate time for a night’s rest is important, he says. On the other hand, sleep deprivation is often a consequence of sleep apnea, which may create a cruel cycle.

Smoking

Need yet another reason to quit smoking? Smoking can raise your risk for developing sleep apnea and compound breathing problems for those suffering from it. Cigarettes are direct irritants to the upper airway, the throat, the uvula, the soft palate and the tongue, and over time can make the area swell.

Smoking is also the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and a powerful trigger for symptoms of asthma, which also narrows and inflames a person’s airways.

Making sleep apnea worse

If you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, these factors can increase its impact on your health:

— Anatomy.

— COVID-19.

— Obesity.

— Weight gain.

— Alcohol.

— Medications.

— Other medical conditions.

— Treatment underuse.

— Sleep position.

— Sleep deprivation.

— Smoking.

More from U.S. News

Questions Doctors Wish Their Patients Would Ask

Foods to Avoid Before Bed

Ways to Boost Your Immune System

11 Things That Make Sleep Apnea Worse originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 08/23/21: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

Source link

[fountainpenguin]

Love how Timmy froze time because he loved spending time with his godfamily and Jimmy Neutron froze time because he wanted new encyclopedias.

[gnusnoteunuchs]

i was talking with my waste incineration professor about research and stuff and he mentioned that he works/has worked with PIV (which i’m most familiar with out of any fluid visualization technique) including hypersonic PIV(!!!) 

i was really stunned by the idea of hypersonic PIV because of a couple considerations. first, to get any usable results with any good degree of spatial/temporal resolution, you need tracers that will actually faithfully follow the flow; for lower-speed, largely incompressible flows that isn’t hard (at least for fluids, gases can be difficult to seed appropriately afaik), but for hypersonic flows you’re guaranteed compressibility effects as well as very large velocity gradients that could probe problematic for tracers. i was concerned that across shockwaves (which are strong, nearly instant discontinuities in velocity, pressure, and density) the tracers might not be able to actually follow the fluid. before and after the shockwave i’m sure it wouldn’t be an issue, since fluid flow is smoother there, but to the best of my understanding you wouldn’t really be able to get useful interrogation data for the shockwave because the particles would either be doing whatever the fuck they wanted or just not following the fluid at all.

so on my way home i looked up hypersonic PIV and i found a paper abstract that talked about this! and guess what, they mentioned that tracer particle selection and motion interrogation fidelity across shocks were two major considerations for hypersonic PIV, so i guess i was on to something

[selfcaredoc]

Your Wellness WFH Space

"My home is my 'wellness' castle."

 What have you learned after working for almost a year from home? How has your at-home classroom transformed in this time? Has your home transformed from a place where you rest your head at night to your sanctuary? What have we learned from this transformation? Perhaps that we all want our homes to be as healthy as they can be? Our WFH office space and makeshift classrooms to be our daily wellness spaces? What would they look like? How would they feel? I hope to paint a picture for you in 7 easy steps.

 Breathe of Fresh Air

Air quality is one, if not, the major pathway that toxic chemicals and particulates enter our bodies to cause innumerable health concerns. This is why when we go out we are mandated to wear a mask in public. What about the air quality in our WFH office or classrooms? This is a problematic issue as many times we feel ineffective in helping or improving the problem overall.

One simple solution is air-purifying houseplants. These plants promote air quality as well as beautify your space. Don’t have a green thumb? Try a Golden Pothos or a Snake Plant. These plants are very hardy and easy to propagate.

An air purifying system is an investment in your home and your health that will serve you for years especially when dealing with allergens. Even further, “Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents non-communicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly...”, says Dr. Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General Family, Women, and Children’s Health. 

My recommendation is the Kenko Air Purifier from Nikken. The KenkoAir® Purifier is designed to combat allergy and harmful causing particles and enhance the negative ion content of the air we breathe. The KenkoAir® Purifier utilizes an H3 multi-stage Hepa filtration process that eliminates 99.9% of air particles as small as 0.3 microns. The negative ion generator does not produce ozone as seen with many other air filtration systems on the market. The KenkoAir® Purifier and the replacement filters are recyclable making this a sustainable, conscious choice.

 Missing the Water Cooler Chats?

Think of it this way… sitting for an extended period of time has negative effects on our health. Standing up and taking a quick stroll for a glass of water has innumerable health benefits not just physically but also offer a much-needed mental break.

This is a good time to check in with friends, family, or yourself and of course hydrate. Water is vital for the functioning of all of your organs, and it’s a huge part of keeping your immune system functioning at an optimal level,” says Dr. Jyothi Tirumalasetty, assistant professor of medicine at UCLA Health Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergies.

Good quality water is also imperative. I recommend the PiMAG Waterfall from Nikken for several reasons.

·      You can enjoy clean, filtered, and enhanced drinking water for a fraction of what bottled water costs.

·       The PiMAG Waterfall works without electricity or plumbing, it can be used in any location.

·       The PiMAG Waterfall is 3rd Party Validated

·       The PiMAG Waterfall is constructed of sustainably sourced materials that are 100% recyclable.

 Stay Grounded

  As I compose this post I can look out my window at the beautiful, sunny, somewhat blustery Northern California day, however, the central and now east coast of the U.S. are being pelted by a huge winter storm so naturally, we are all spending more time indoors losing our connection to Mother Nature. A simple solution is to get outside, barefoot, or at least touch nature in some way, every day to take in vitamin D, detox EMFs, and increase our overall sense of well-being.

When this is impractical the KenkoGround from Nikken serves as an indoor and portable way to reconnect with Mother Nature. Simply plug it into a grounded outlet (does not use electricity) and use it under your feet while working, I use mine on my desk under my bare wrists, on your mattress while you sleep, or even draped around your shoulders. Direct contact with the skin is recommended for the best results.

 Stand and Deliver

Bad back, weight gain, incorrect posture … are some of the things we can eliminate by standing up. I recently heard this thing called the 52:17 rule. You work on a project for 52 minutes then take a 17-minute break. I have been trying this since the new year and love it. I bang away at the keyboard for 52 minutes then I spend 17 on my feet. I unload the dishwasher, dust, clean the floors… just walk. Anything that takes me away from the desk and gets’s me mobile.

 Feeling Blue? Block it.

 While research on blue light blocking glasses is very new and inconclusive I find that they help me greatly reduce eye fatigue. These glasses work if you are wearing contacts and work for precious little peepers attending virtual class. I picked mine up on Amazon for around $50. At that price, they are worth a shot.

 Level Up Your Tidiness

 I am one of those people that have a place for everything and everything must be in its place otherwise I am less productive. For years I worked with a very untidy person (at least by my standards) but it worked for her. Everything had a pile and that pile made sense to her. Tidiness is bio-individual but necessary for productivity. I use those 17 minutes I mentioned earlier to tidy my WFH office and living space. I also find unique accents that are pretty, novel, travel souvenirs, create a unique workspace that is mindful and meaningful to me.

 De-Stress

De-stress your muscles and ease tension with an effective at-home deep-tissue massage. Massage is an effective way to ease aching muscles. A deep-tissue massage can help loosen tight muscles, ease discomfort and relieve stress. A good massage can produce positive results even for those who enjoy excellent health. The KenkoTouch® is a unique advanced pulsating, system that gives you a heightened magnetic massage experience that you can use on your body in your home.

  Respiration, hydration, grounding, movement, protection, organization, and relaxation the bare necessities of a wellness WFH office or classroom. Be Healthy by Choice.

What are your favorite wellness WFH tips or products? Please share in the comments below.

   .

[jenyfly]

One drawback of the inflationary theory is that if it is true, no consequence of anything existing before the inflation can ever be observed. They are forever beyond our horizon of invisibility. The problem is similar to that raised by Yoichiro Nambu about quarks: "If a particle cannot be isolated or observed, even in theory, how will we ever be able to know it exists?" On the other hand, the inflationary model has a splendid virtue. Because it treats matter as a positive form of energy and gravity as a negative form of energy, everything that exists can be canceled out by something else that exists. The sum is breathtakingly elegant but in a way that might have made D'Arcy Thompson unhappy: zero. Having quoted with approval a suggestion that the universe originated "as a quantum fluctuation from absolutely nothing," Guth and Steinhardt add in their 1982 article that it is "tempting to go one step further and speculate that the entire universe evolved from literally nothing." Guth has gone the extra step. "It is said," he once remarked, "that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the universe is the ultimate free lunch."

O. B. Hardison, Jr., Disappearing Through the Skylight

Readily accept that a book that is thirty years old, written by a white male English professor, and was subsequently ripped apart by Michiko Kakutani (who I only know by reputation, and not by extension of agreement) may be problematic in multiple ways; still, parts of this book are absolutely killing me.

[thelibertinelibrary]

Lessons Unlearned.

The Dalaran library was rather vacated at this early hour, a few magisters stuck in their own head on one subject or another wandered about, seeking answers to their personal conundrums in the musty pages of so many old tomes. The sun cast in through the stained glass windows, creating a spectrum of light shafts that appeared to swirl lazily with the ever-present dust particles drifting through the air. Ethyn looked, perhaps, slightly out of place in relation to the other finite tenants in the room; he wandered the tall rows of books with his oversized azure scarf wrapped around his neck and quietly hummed a simplistic melody to himself. He found himself unable to sleep and had ventured to the floating city seeking...something. He wasn’t particularly sure what.

When he had first begun writing, attending classes with the other well-funded savants at the Silvermoon Conservatory, his work had always received criticism in (what he thought to be) the most petty of ways. He lingered too long on the form and creation of characters. He used humor to deflect from the reality.  Created scenarios that perhaps were too provocative. None of these were exactly problematic to him, especially the most latter, having found some perverse pleasure in making his elder professors uncomfortable with the description of a well-shaped rump or the way someone’s skin tasted. His normally upturned lips slide even farther so as the memories of stern lectures and shocked eyes came to the forefront of his mind, getting momentarily lost in his head and not on the multitude of bound texts to either side of him. It was only when he bumped into the side of a heavily-robed fellow male sin’dorei that he snapped out it and immediately cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “-Do- wake up before walking through the doors!” the older gentleman snapped, not giving him the time of day otherwise. Ethyn immediately recognized the voice, the expression on his face rather akin to one who was witnessing a ghost. It was as if his memories summoned one of the specters, staring a hole into the side of his teacher’s face. “S-sir. It’s Ethyndrial. I took your courses on writing.” He never used his full name these days and even speaking it aloud felt foreign to the tongue. “I’m sorry, my mind was miles away.”

The mature elf snuck a glance at the name, turning more fully to address him once his recollection caught up. He looked decidedly unchanged, though there were perhaps a few more white hairs in his long mane and sprouting wrinkles adorning his forehead.

“Not much different than it was in those days, then,” he began with a derisive tone. “What’s become of you since then, I wonder. Did you decide writing wasn’t your calling after all? It’s been, what, five years or so?”

That voice, even though he was far past the days of shrinking student, still gave Ethyn a foul taste in his mouth as it dried up. It stood there holding the eye of the other, brain reeling with discordant responses, excuses and fumblings. Thankfully, his capricious nature won out over all else, straightening himself up and adopting a rather haughty demeanor. “Actually, I am self-published now,” he started. “Still a work in progress, but thus far I’ve been well received.” He opened the flap on his bulky messenger bag, pulling out a copy of “Daisie and Goliath”, the black velvet cover looking sharp on the mint condition novel. It gave no indication of what laid between the bindings, which made for an even sweeter sensation when the man accepted it with slight trepidation.

“My my, I--”

Ethyn didn’t linger to hear the end of it, reversing his path with a calculated spin on a heel. If nothing had changed, he knew that the book would be read just for the sake of the old man’s ego. It would be too tempting not to, gaining some modicum of self-delight in having another published alumnus. As the ginger-headed male strolled to the far back of the library, he couldn’t resist the smirk that teased at one corner of his boyish mouth, wishing he could see the exasperation in that professor’s face when he got to the -really- spicy chapters.

Writing erotic novels wasn’t perhaps the most fame-gathering or noble, he knew, but it sure as shit made his heart sing. Perhaps his previous instructor would be learning some new notes tonight.

[fountainpenguin]

“We're gonna party; make this moment last forever!”

---

New 130 Reasons Why I’m Fairy Trash update today!

Fairly OddParents || One-Shot - “Swim”

Read on FFN || Read on AO3

---

Well, it's that time of year again... the time when all the unwished wishes of Unwish Island need to be tallied and accounted for. Also an evil genius clone has moved in, so that's gonna be extra paperwork.

Anyway, just leave it to Binky! He and Jorgen are on the case!

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

54. Swim (Three weeks before "Anti-Poof")

Wednesday May 21st, "2008"

Year of Breath; Spring of the Frozen Planet

---

"This is nice!" Binky chirped, breaking his chocolate-drizzled croissant in half. Still warm… It smelled sort of like pudding in his hands. Crisp. Fresh. Wasn't that nice? You know, microwaves were underrated; he needed to get one for his house. All in all, eating at an outdoor café table had been a fantastic idea. Even in a city like this one, Earth always smelled so fresh and green. The fairy leaned back in his chair, bringing the croissant to his tongue. "You know, it really is too bad we never hang out anymore… Let's do brunch again sometime!"

He received no response from the two fairies sitting across from him. In fact, neither of his companions - one with curly purple hair, the other with waves seafoam green - had spoken the entire lunch. Oh, they'd both tried… They'd also both tried to eat, though were shaking apart with coffee cups in hand right about now. Chrysalis kept one hand on his bowtie, practicing breathing exercises that were meant to help him maintain his human form. Minty had already replaced her earrings twice because she jittered so much, they kept falling out. Neither had touched their own croissants. Binky gazed back at his friends in silence, chewing on his treat. Then he tilted back his head. Ah. Right… Wednesday. You know, when you spent every hour of your work day under Jorgen von Strangle's shadow, sometimes you really could forget the man was always there. He loomed behind Binky with a hoagie in one hand, his "walking stick" in the other. Jorgen still looked beefy in his human disguise, with nothing much about him changing besides his crown. Binky reached for a napkin and dabbed at the crumbs along his lips.

"How is your godkid?" he asked the two fairies. "Your current one's named Annie, right?"

"Y-y-yeah," Chrysalis squeaked, fighting not to spill his drink. "She's… she's, uh…"

"She's taking care of the class rabbit this weekend," Minty put in. "Mr. Cuddles is such a, um… sweetie."

Binky nodded and glanced at his watch. According to his friends, their godchild was taking a final exam and would be busy for another 40 minutes. Funny… They certainly looked like they had somewhere else they wanted to be. Errands? Yeah, maybe. They likely didn't get enough time for themselves, what with the new godkid. Maybe he should wrap this up. It seemed a little mean to keep them in their seats. They clearly had to go.

"How's your brother?" he asked Minty anyway. Just one or two more questions. Just to be polite. He didn't want to cut their brunch too short, just in case they found that rude. "Is he a doctor yet?"

"Y-y-y-yes," she stuttered back. In the sunlight, the tips of her hair were starting to turn white. She did not elaborate. Binky ate his chocolate croissant in silence.

Brunch ended shortly after. Binky tossed away his napkin, hugged them both, and bid his friends farewell. Chrysalis and Minty didn't stick around any longer than they had to. As soon as they were in the clear to poof, they raised their wands and disappeared. Binky set his hands to his hips and gave a long sigh.

"I never see those two anymore since their new godkid. I do hope things are all right at home."

Behind him, Jorgen let out a husky laugh and Binky glanced up again. Jorgen was a purebred fairy, his thick muscles bulging with a hundred plus generations of magical strength. He dwarfed most fairies by a long shot, but here on Earth, he'd needed to do very little to blend in among humans. Binky had lengthened his own legs and slightly squared his shoulders (not to mention swapped his purple tunic out for a neatly pressed shirt). Jorgen? He stood over Binky in his usual sweat-stained tank and camouflage army pants. In one hand, he gripped the giant star-tipped staff he always kept around as the Keeper of Da Rules. Around the humans, he'd disguised it as a rather plain walking stick. "Ha," he snorted. "Their cowering in fear is because of me."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Binky brushed crumbs off his slacks and glanced about the road. No one in the nearby shops had reacted to Chrysalis or Minty poofing off in a cloud of dust. Were they good to leave? Or should they wait here a few minutes before making a move?

Jorgen patted his shoulder in mild sympathy. His clapping touch nearly buckled Binky's knees. "Well, now we have work to do… Are you ready for our next appointment, old friend?"

They'd spent all week combing through Timmy Turner's locker at the Fairy World Giant Unwished Storage facility. Actually, two weeks… though Binky had been out sick for two of those days, so it barely even counted. He liked Timmy well enough on the few occasions they'd crossed paths. Sweet kid. He had a gooey heart… but he did leave behind such a mess of discarded wishes in his wake. Honestly, it's like Cosmo and Wanda didn't know how to say "No" to him!

Most godkids didn't keep their fairies anywhere near as long as Timmy had, and even then, most of their wishes were, well… Pretty standard stuff. New toys. Tickets to amusement parks. The desire for parents to spend a little more time with them. Timmy's the only one who went so overboard, he was wishing up new, creative things every day. Binky always volunteered to help Jorgen when it came to cleaning stinky magic out of Timmy's locker before it could fester. You never knew what you might find in there, and every year, Binky felt a lot better when the work was done. No living creatures fearfully squeaking in need of food, or crushed by heavy books and bikes… No moldy food… It's just so much nicer to float inside a workplace that's been thoroughly scrubbed clean, right?

"If we must," Binky sighed. He picked a crumb from under his ring finger nail and tried to look at least a bit aloof. But, well… Cleaning Timmy's locker did come with certain benefits if you knew how to play your cards right. The trick was to get your supervisor to grant consent for you to check in on all of Timmy's discarded wishes. That way, once the indoor work was done, one lucky sucker could win a week of guaranteed fun on sunny Unwish Island, where the overflow had been relocated. Maybe even too. All counted as paid working hours, of course. Binky leaned back on his heels. "But I do want to poof out and grab milkshakes when we get the chance."

[Cnt'd on FFN / AO3 - Links at top]

[metaphysicalpistolsoraclemine]

On Those Masks You Are Wearing (GO OUTSIDE, VERMONT)

Published by  2ndvtrepublic at  April 23, 2020

Publisher’s Note: Because humans are starting to judge other humans by the masks they wear, or do NOT wear, here’s what Dr. Judy Mikovits, a seasoned virologist, has to say about the mask requirement outside hospitals, plus CDC pre-COVID advice.

YouTube has removed this video for “violating community guidelines.”

Of course. Here’s Dr. Mikovits’ transcript.

The masks on walks outside and while driving in your car is mind blowing to me. Do you not know how unhealthy it is to keep inhaling your carbon dioxide and restricting proper oxygen flow? I honestly cannot believe how non-logical we have become! We as a society seem to just listen to (perceived) authority without question. I don’t see a whole lot of critical thought happening here, I’m sorry to say “Why I opt NOT to wear a mask. Well, let me break it down for you. The body requires AMPLE amounts of oxygen for optimal immune health. Especially during a so-called “pandemic”. Proper oxygenation of your cells and blood is ESSENTIAL for the body to function as it needs to in order to fight off any illness.

Masks will hamper oxygen intake. Unless you are working in a hospital setting, it is NOT necessary.

But go ahead and hold onto to your security blanket if it makes you feel better. I do not listen to the government when it tries to instruct me on how to maintain health, nor do I trust their ‘stats” (which we know are based on unconfirmed numbers). You want to be healthy, then make sure to apply it to all aspects of your life. Stop smoking, change your diet, stop consuming alcohol, turn off your wifi and cell phone, stop getting injected with neurotoxins, stop taking toxic medications, stop using so many chemicals in your everyday life, practice proper hygiene (WASH YOUR HANDS).

Most importantly, go outside and BREATHE DEEPLY, get some sun, drink plenty of (filtered) water, sleep well and learn to LISTEN to your body.”

And from Lynn Landes and Louise Francis‘s web page:

The CDC advises that Americans wear masks when outside, but the CDC article below says face masks (and hand washing) are ineffective.  Face masks have not been shown to protect against viral infection. In fact, face masks can increase the risk of infection, particularly for children.  Any commercial mask could also be treated with harmful chemicals.

“In this review, we did not find evidence to support a protective effect of personal protective measures or environmental measures in reducing influenza transmission…Hand hygiene is a widely used intervention and has been shown to effectively reduce the transmission of gastrointestinal infections and respiratory infections. However, in our systematic review, updating the findings of Wong et al., we did not find evidence of a major effect of hand hygiene on laboratory-confirmed influenza virus transmission…We did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility…It is essential to note that the mechanisms of person-to-person transmission in the community have not been fully determined. Controversy remains over the role of transmission through fine-particle aerosols” Xiao J et al. Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings-Personal Protective and Environmental Measures. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 May 17; 26(5). 

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article

“Use of these masks by the general public may impose pressure on the user’s respiratory system and may cause respiratory diseases among its users. The use of these masks is also strictly forbidden for children,” said Dr Adil Al Sajwani, https://ke.linkedin.com/in/dr-adil-sajwani a family medicine specialist and Ministry of Health and Prevention official, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a video on Twitter. 

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/coronavirus-face-masks-may-do-more-harm-than-good-emirati-health-ministry-says-1.986379

Dr. Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical officer, has warned that it was not a good idea for the public to wear facemasks as the virus can get trapped in the material and causes infection when the wearer breathes in. “For the average member of the public walking down a street, it is not a good idea,” Dr. Harries said. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200315/Wearing-masks-may-increase-your-risk-of-coronavirus-infection-expert-says.aspx

The study found respiratory infection was much higher among healthcare workers wearing cloth masks, with the penetration of cloth masks by particles at almost 97% compared to medical masks with 44%.

 https://globalbiodefense.com/2015/04/28/cloth-masks-increase-infection-risk-for-healthcare-workers 

(However, medical masks could be treated with harmful chemicals)

The source of bacterial contamination in SMs (surgical masks) was the body surface of the surgeons rather than the OR environment. Moreover, we recommend that surgeons should change the mask after each operation, especially those beyond 2 hours. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6037910

“There’s no evidence that wearing masks on healthy people will protect them,” Perencevich said, the publication reported. “They wear them incorrectly, and they can increase the risk of infection because they’re touching their face more often,” says Dr. Eli Perencevich, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, according to Forbes.

 https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article240780786.html. 

Regarding masks, according to former National Institutes of Health (NIH) molecular biologist, Dr. Judy Mikovits, “… if I wear a mask I will simply re-infect myself and … become ill. The last thing I will do is wear a mask.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJb-g8ZB4xo and www.PlagueTheBook.com

“Never reuse, wash or disinfect surgical masks”, 

https://covid19data.com/2020/02/11/never-reuse-wash-or-disinfect-surgical-masks

FDA voluntary guidance on masks looks problematic. These masks could be treated with harmful chemicals. : 

https://www.fda.gov/media/136449/download

WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said “… there is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any particular benefit – in fact, there’s some evidence to suggest the opposite,” he said.

 https://www.wibw.com/content/news/WHO-Face-masks-could-do-more-harm-than-good-if-used-incorrectly–569229971.html

[sciencespies]

Silica particles may lead to new treatments for obesity and diabetes

https://sciencespies.com/biology/silica-particles-may-lead-to-new-treatments-for-obesity-and-diabetes/

Silica particles may lead to new treatments for obesity and diabetes

Silica particle. Credit: Stockholm university

Engineered ingestible molecular traps created from mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) introduced to the gut can have an effect on food efficiency and metabolic risk factors. The results from studies on mice, published in Nanomedicine, demonstrate the potential to reduce the energy uptake into the body and could lead to new treatments for obesity and diabetes.

So far there are no effective treatments for obesity that hinder weight gain or promote weight loss without problematic side effects. Many of the current medications use small pharmacological agents that can affect the body negatively in multiple ways.

“We chose an innovative alternative approach. Mesoporous silica particles (MSP) are a type of ingestible synthetic silica particles that can be produced with a large surface area and a range of pore sizes,” says professor Tore Bengtsson at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University and the one heading the research team behind the study.

The team hypothesized that the particles could be used as “molecular sieves” in the intestine to trap and block digestive enzymes that break down food and thus reduce the energy uptake into the body (measured as food efficiency).

In the study reported in Nanomedicine, mice were fed high fat, high calorific diets, to induce weight gain, mixed with specially engineered MSPs. The results showed that MSPs reduced food efficiency by 33 percent leading to a lower weight gain, and a positive effect on the metabolic profile, as well as significant lower levels of adipose tissue formation and leptin, together with lower levels of circulating insulin.

“The data presented in this study suggest that tailored MSPs could be used to treat obesity and diabetes in humans, especially when taking into account their excellent safety profiles. Since we completed this work, clinical trials have been devised and are now underway,” says professor Tore Bengtsson.

Explore further

Toward a safe antiobesity drug that could block fat absorption

More information: Mia Rinde et al. Mesoporous silica with precisely controlled pores reduces food efficiency and suppresses weight gain in mice, Nanomedicine (2020). DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2019-0262

Provided by Stockholm University

Citation: Silica particles may lead to new treatments for obesity and diabetes (2020, January 14) retrieved 14 January 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-01-silica-particles-treatments-obesity-diabetes.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Biology