Daily Archives: November 27, 2021

From Taylor Swift to Thanksgiving, Dear Prudence gives the gift of advice : It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders – NPR

Posted: November 27, 2021 at 5:16 am

Jene Desmond-Harris gives advice as Slate's Dear Prudence columnist. Courtesy of Slate hide caption

Jene Desmond-Harris gives advice as Slate's Dear Prudence columnist.

What better gift to give this holiday season than the gift of... advice? And solicited advice at that! For this episode, Sam is joined by Jene Desmond-Harris, Slate's Dear Prudence advice columnist, to help answer everything from how to deal with a partner's overbearing adult daughter to a boyfriend's recent conversion to becoming a Swiftie (read: a fan of Taylor Swift) to the group dynamics of the Thanksgiving prayer in an atheist household. Happy holidays, everybody.

This episode of 'It's Been a Minute' was produced by Jinae West and edited by Jordana Hochman. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org.

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#BTColumn The God imperative – Barbados Today

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The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Ralph Jemmott

A new group has sprung up in Barbados calling itself Humanists Barbados. Two of the persons I recognise. One is Mr. Peter Wickham and the other is Ms. Maachelle Farley who I think is the daughter of the late Mathew D. Farley, who I knew as a child. She is apparently the President and spokesperson for the body.

I have known three persons who have boldly proclaimed that there is no God. One such person is Mr. Philip Stahl, the physics teacher at Harrison College who once said to a sixth form General Studies class that believing in God was like believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

We once had a conversation where I reminded him that the great thinker Malcolm Muggeridge was a confirmed atheist before he travelled to the Holy Land where he converted to Christianity. Stahl responded that Muggeridge was getting old and foolish, to which I replied: So there is still hope for you, Philip.

At various times I have called myself an agnostic and a sceptic, but never an atheist. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, it is impossible for my puny intellect to comprehend the infinite nature of the entity we call God.

I dont think that God is an entity one can know simply through human reasoning. An understanding of God is a matter either of faith or of some profound experience that fundamentally changes ones life, a kind of Saul on the Road to Damascus, John Wesleys Aldersgate or Saint Ignatius Loyola experience at Manresa. Faith and spiritual vision are both uniquely personal.

Regrettably, I have never had the faith or the profound experience to consider myself a firm believer. For many people who say they believe in God, it appears to be little more than a convention. Invariably their daily lives hardly ever reflect a profound knowledge and spiritual understanding of the Godhead.

The native Indians of North America refer to God as The Great Spirit. The Muslims call him Allah, the Rasta brethren and sistren call him Jah. I personally like the notion of The Great Spirit.

The second reason why I have never been an atheist is a real fear that my grandmother from the Pilgrim Holiness Church would rise up from her grave and bring down the wrath of her God on my heretical head and I might then be cast into the outer darkness. A third reason is that the Bible says the fool hath said in his own heart that there is no God. I am wary of adding another folly to my multiple collection of follies.

For some, the concept of God is problematic. They are confronted by what the Methodist Minister the Rev. Philip Saunders once called the problem of intellectual doubt. A caller to Brass Tacks posed a question that haunts me.

He asked: Are we created in Gods image or do we create a God in our own image? We are told of a jealous God who was known to get angry and destroy hordes of people, Philistines, Hittites and Jebusites, men, women and children. Isnt that a rather silly concept of a God who created the whole universe? Terms like

Humanism are subject to various interpretations.As it emerged in the Renaissance period, humanism implied a greater reliance on mans ability to forge his own destiny.

It stood in opposition to the medieval reliance on God and an authoritarian Catholic Church that claimed infallibility and that did not tolerate heresy.Renaissance humanism did not deny the existence of God, in fact there was a number of humanist scholars like Desiderius Erasmus who adhered to the notion of Christian Humanism which did not question a notion of a Deity, but allowed from greater human agency.

Mr. Wickham is right when he states that one can have sound values and not profess Christianity. By the same token one can profess Christianity and be the devil incarnate. Look at the number of Catholic clerics found guilty of sexual child abuse a heinous crime.

Awful things have been done in the name of Christianity and religion generally, including slavery and colonialism. In Africa the missionaries came first and softened up the heads of the blacks with talk of turning the other cheek and the meek inheriting the earth. Then the white settlers came and they inherited the earth. Many blacks suffered and died, inheriting only six feet of Gods good earth.

Historic Christianity tied to intolerance has produced tyrannies from persons convinced of their own dogmatic certainties, many claiming to know the will and hear the voice of God.

On 27 October 1553 the great Protestant reformer John Calvin had Michael Servetus burned at the stake for formulating heretical and dangerous ideas concerning the nature of the Holy Trinity. On the Catholic side, the Spanish and Roman Inquisitions were committing similar atrocities all in the name of God.

In my text An Uncommon Currency I included at the very end an article entitled, O Magnum Mysterium: Religion and Transcendence in a Secular World. I contended: The great religions of the world were all attempts to define the purposeful life in the face of the dreaded contingencies of human experience in particular the numbing universality of death and decay. All of these faiths hold to some notion of the moral life, what is good and what is bad.

God as the symbol of the GOOD is an imperative because without God as a representative of what is good in human nature and human experience, we would be lower than the animals. As Dostoievski said, without God anything is possible.

The second imperative is that without a belief in God, we would be without hope. Life would indeed be in Hobbesian terms poor, nasty, brutish and short not to mention, pointless.

Barbados is a society whose corpus of moral values are based on the Christian faith. With GOD still on the peoples side, those values have served us well in the past. Why are the likes of a young Farley suggesting that the coming Republic should be based on non-Christian values or that religious values should not be taught in schools at a time when we need to hold on to values more than ever before.

If we dont try to teach values based on our majority Christian faith, where will our children obtain a moral compass? Perhaps on the ZR vans? Maachelle Farley demonstrates an immaturity beyond her years. Barbadians have to be careful of neophytes seeking the spotlight and wanting to define our upcoming Republic in their own image and in keeping with their own untutored propensities. It has been suggested that the separation of state and church and the disappearance of religion from American schools is a key factor in the degeneracy of American youth that leads to the plethora of school shootings and other juvenile criminalities.

We dont miss Lord Nelson and in time, we wont miss the Queen as she passes on. Her heirs and successors may not be worth the allegiance, but leave God alone however you conceive him or her to be.

Ralph Jemmott is a respected retired educator.

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Pope Francis embraces people on the margins. Will his church follow? (Guest Opinion by Stephen Bowman) – syracuse.com

Posted: at 5:16 am

Stephen Sarsfield Bowman is president of Peregrine Senior Living, based in Syracuse.

As a recovering atheist, I am a keen observer of religion. I recently read with dismay that for the first time in U.S. history, fewer than 50% of Americans are members of a church, synagogue or mosque. Not sure if the cause is secularism, materialism or rapidly moving technology, but to me, the decimation of faith seems most pronounced in the Catholic Church, where I worship.

According to the Syracuse Diocese, last year 20 of our priests passed away, but only four were ordained, and that was a record high. Nationally, there are over 3,500 parishes without active priests. To paraphrase Lincoln, we need leaders that have the courage to face the arithmetic, or the Catholic Church might soon suffer the same fate that befell the Shakers; greatness behind us but possibly now only a ghostly future.

When Pope Francis took the name of the saint from Assisi, I believe that like his namesake, he wanted to rebuild the church. But I think he wants to reconstitute the church in the progressive spirit of Vatican II and not the conservative direction taken by Pope John Paul II. His acceptance of gay rights and passion for and social justice are telling examples of his aspiration for love over fear.

In 2013, Pope Francis created an uproar over gay rights, when he famously asked rhetorically, Who am I to judge the gay lifestyle and spiritual potency of their lives. As if to underscore his respect, he recently wrote a letter to an American gay activist Michael OLoughlin, praising his LGBTQ ministry during the AIDS pandemic. And in 2015, some will remember Pope Francis gave his blessing to a gay couple for the first time.

These gestures all coming at a time when the official teaching of the church is to condemn homosexuality as depraved and abhorrent, claiming homosexuality as intrinsically immoral, its acts objectively disordered.

But I believe Pope Francis takes a welcoming view towards gays, despite the objections from his church, because he doesnt find the Bible very convincing on the subject. The verses usually pointed to for renouncing homosexuality are vague at best. The story of the sin of Onan could easily be understood as the sin of masturbation. The tale of Sodom and Gomorrah as the sin of rape. And 1 Corinthians 6, which does condemn homosexuality, also condemns premarital sex, worshipping other false religions, drunkards, misers, and slanders, all in one breath, and treated equally.

Maybe Pope Francis is thinking that possibly in the past 2,000 years that we have learned something about love, and that love is about touching souls, not sex. After all, I love my wifes soul, not because she is a woman. I think this view is taken as common sense in the world I live in today, as we embrace our gay family members and dear friends.

This hypocrisy has personal relevancy for me. Growing up, I had a dear woman friend who was so moved by the Mass that she cried through the service. She probably should have become a priest, but of course that was not an option. Years later she realized she was gay and married a beautiful woman and adopted two children. I ran into her recently and asked if she still cried through Mass. She said, Are you kidding me, I havent been to church in 30 years because of the sexism and homophobia. I thought what a profound loss for the church, and for the millions she represents.

Another example of the conflict between the church establishment and more marginal members of our flock occurs in the area of social justice. Recently, to mark the Catholic Churchs world day of the poor, Pope Francis traveled to Assisi to greet 500 pilgrims that had been drug addicts, refugees, homeless and disabled. It was a true poor peoples march. He said the poor are often seen as an annoyance and we want to blame the poor for their condition, so we dont have to carry out an examination of our laws and injustices. He went on to say he wanted a poor church, and for the poor.

But just last month, Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops railed against new social justice movements that rose out of the murder of George Floyd, decrying them as pseudo-religious. He argued that many of these protests are profoundly atheistic and grow out of many historic heresies, but not the Christian faith. But of course, he ignores the fact that in 2020 Pope Francis wrote a book called Let Us Dream, where he expressed unambiguous support for the protesters and their compassionate vision.

Pope Franciss ambition for a welcoming and non-judgmental church I take very close to heart, for I am a lapsed Catholic, many times over, yet I love to go to Mass now for the first time in many years. I have come to believe that the truly fully human life is a spiritual life. While my faith is not dependent on the miracles of Jesus, like St. Francis, as he expressed in his famous Breastplate, where he worshipped Brother Sun and Sister Moon, I do marvel at the miracle of the universe, and the great mystery of life. I suppose I am a bit of a mystic now, that loves to celebrate Mass humbly with my parish community and our common humanity, and in awe of the world we share. Thank God.

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Lord Patten on Ealing history teacher who helped influence his life – Ealing Times

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LORD Patten of Barnes told pupils, staff and parents of St Benedicts School, Ealing, this week of the lasting influence teachers can have on their students.

He was presenting the Patten Scholarship awards as a former pupil and now patron of the Roman Catholic independent day school.

Lord Patten stressed the vital role staff play in an individuals formation.

He contrasted his St Benedicts history teacher a Christian socialist - with the Marxist atheist historian Christopher Hill, who interviewed and later taught him at Oxford.

While Hill had been an outstanding historian and teacher, he didnt make the young Patten a Marxist atheist.

On the current debate around free speech on university campuses, Lord Patten said it was "important to appreciate the difference between an argument and a quarrel.

Three of this years five Patten scholars also spoke, describing how St Benedicts had encouraged them to read widely, to be intellectually curious and open to learning about a wide range of subjects.

This years award for the most successful scholar went to Niall Wynne (Year 13), who intends to read physics at university and has been researching Airborne Wind Energy.

Lord Patten attends the Academic Scholars Evening at St Benedicts each year. He is Chancellor of Oxford University, a crossbench member of the House of Lords and the last British Governor of Hong Kong.

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Covid 19 Delta outbreak: NT authorities awaiting sequence to rule out positive case has Omicron variant – New Zealand Herald

Posted: at 5:15 am

World

27 Nov, 2021 04:41 AM3 minutes to read

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: There were 173 new cases in the community today. Video NZ Herald

Authorities are waiting on test results of a positive case who returned from South Africa to find out if the newest Covid-19 variant of concern has arrived in Australia.

While there are no direct flights between South Africa - where the Omicron variant originated - and Australia, 20 people were repatriated last week and are quarantining at Howard Springs.

One person has so far tested positive.

Authorities are yet to rule out whether the person has the Omicron variant, which is of such considerable concern to Australia the borders are closed to all flights, and all non-residents coming from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had spoken to his Northern Territory counterpart, and authorities were attempting to pin down the specifics of the case, with an update expected later today.

Hunt said as it stands, there are no cases of Omicron in Australia.

But, authorities are also attempting to track down at least 100 Australians who recently arrived in Australia from the nine African nations without quarantine as is the new norm in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

Those people will need to be tested, and quarantine immediately for 14 days.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said he had been in touch with his state counterparts to enlist their help in mitigating any risk of outbreak.

"I can't give an accurate figure right now, but we're working with jurisdictions and with others to make sure this is the case," he said.

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Hunt said the closing of Australia's borders to non-residents from southern Africa, and the isolating of anyone who had recently arrived, was "early, precautious" action.

The Omicron variant, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation on Friday, has a number of mutations that could make it more infectious than the Delta outbreak.

Authorities are racing to understand the strain, and are considering whether vaccine efficacy will be reduced on this variant.

Professor Kelly said at the moment, the global understanding was that it was "quite different" to previous variants of concern.

"But at this point, other than understanding that it is transmissible between humans and is transmitting particularly in South Africa and those surrounding countries," he said.

"We do not, at this point, have any clear indication that it is more severe, or any definite indication in relation to the vaccine.

"It's the reason why we're taking this precautionary approach, which is proportionate to that risk, and putting in place the measures that the minister has outlined.

" We will get a lot more information in coming days."

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Top five international cruises for your 2022 bucket list – Citizen

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The past two years have seen people from across the globe rethink their way of living and one thing that many realised, was that they hadnt been living life to the full.

Hence, more and more people are now prioritising family and the opportunities to spend quality time together. Is there any better way to spend quality time with family and friends than on a cruise ship?

With Egypt being a trending travel destination, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises recently debuted images of their newest Super Ship, the S.S. Sphinx, which set sail this year as the only river cruise in Egypt. This floating boutique hotel features the signature touches that Uniworlds ships are known for.

The ship operates on the Splendours of Egypt & The Nile itinerary, which is a 12-day adventure-filled sailing to experience Egypt and the Niles top sites, starting and ending in Cairo. On this cruise, you get to explore the Temple of Karnak and temples dedicated to Hathor, Horus and other mythological figures.

You can also pay homage to Egypts first female ruler at the Temple of Hatshepsut, step into the famous Egyptian Museum and more.

Uniworlds cruises are inclusive of all meals onboard, premium spirits and wine, beautifully appointed river view accommodations, offshore excursions, airport transfers, onboard gratuities and Wi-Fi.

The best time to visit Egypt is between October and April, when the temperatures are a little cooler.

ALSO READ: Take a cue from these celebs for your next trip

If an international cruise and seeing the Northern Lights have both been on your bucket list for ages, why not combine the two?

No trip to the Arctic is complete if you havent seen the spectacular Aurora Borealis, natures ultimate light show. Hurtigruten Cruises currently has a Northern Lights Promise offer which is valid until the end of March 2022, where you can get another six- or seven-day Classic Voyage free of charge if the Northern Lights do not appear on your voyage to Norway.

The best time to travel to Norway to see the Northern Lights is between November and March.

If the Seychelles white, outstretched beaches and impressive granite boulders are what youre after for your next trip, Ponant has a variety of cruise ship options to choose from.

Their The Essential Seychelles itinerary allows you to discover the must-see jewels of the Seychelles, including Saint Anne Marine National Park, Remire Island, Curieuse Island, an encounter with the archipelagos unique, giant tortoises and much more.

The best time to visit the Seychelles is between April and May or between October and November.

Departing from Seattle in the United States, Holland Americas seven-day Alaskan explorer trip takes you on a round-trip Seattle adventure. The itinerary includes the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park, whale-watching and stops in rough-hewn Ketchikan, as well as Alaskas capital, Juneau.

The cruise season in Alaska starts in May and runs all the way through to September.

If youre in the mood for some island hopping, Royal Caribbean Cruises seven-night Southern Caribbean Island Hop cruise might just be right up your alley.

The itinerary includes visits to Bridgetown in Barbados, Scarborough in Tobago, the Port of Spain in Trinidad, St Georges in Grenada, Kingstown in St Vincent, Roseau in Dominica and Castries in St Lucia.

The best time to cruise the Caribbean is from November to mid-December (if youd like to avoid the busy season).

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Technology Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

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1 : the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems Recent advances in medical technology have saved countless lives. The company is on the cutting edge of technology.

2 : a machine, piece of equipment, method, etc., that is created by technology The government is developing innovative/advanced technologies to improve the safety of its soldiers. How can we apply this new technology to our everyday lives? The car has the latest in fuel-saving technology.

b : a capability given by the practical application of knowledge a car's fuel-saving technology

3 : the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor educational technology

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6G: Laying the foundation for the future of technology – The Times of India Blog

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The Indian subcontinent has witnessed a deep penetration of technology in the last decade. From intermittent access in the hands of the privileged few, theres been a concerted effort in democratizing technology for the masses. Much of this success can be credited to both PPP model and the enormous competition in the market that has played a significant role in making technology affordable for all. As the country gears up to fully adopt 5G, the world of technology has already started looking towards the future and the role technology will play to transform the business landscape.

With the emergence of new generation of mobile networks, there have been fundamental improvements in data rate, latency, connection density, and processing capabilities. This evolution has brought forth a chance for innovators to introduce newer services and offerings, ushering in a change in consumer behaviour. The journey from 3G to 4G to now the adoption of 5G has led to the development of newer usage trends. The adoption of 5G now opens a window for Indian innovators to explore the next breakthrough in technology 6G which will reshape the way people interact with AI like never before.

Earlier this year, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in webinar outlined the roadmap for 6G technology in India. It delved into areas including intelligent connectivity, deep connectivity, holographic connectivity and ubiquitous connectivity and various international initiatives to realise the vision, that will take centerstage while ushering in 6G in India.

As per industry estimates, the world is looking forward to the implementation of 6G by 2035.

The collaborative research amongst the leading players will play a critical role in setting the standards that globally support the sixth generation of mobile networks andaid the development of a ubiquitous intelligent mobile connected society, bridge the digital divide with affordability, support technologies for personalisation and localisation of services as well as focus on data protection management.

What to expect?

The advent of 6G will be more than just a generational step since it opens a new world of possibilities for the tech industry. Empowered by 6G, smart devices will become crucial catalysts and users of AI, downloading and deploying AI algorithms at different application levels to create new immersive experiences while also constantly collecting data to feed more advanced AI models. 6G will fundamentally revolutionize how AI infers, learns, interacts, and is applied, solving many traditional problems faced in AI development, such as data silos and user privacy. For instance, in the case of autonomous vehicles, 6G networks will assign the most appropriate AI algorithm and the optimal communication connection based on the location of the vehicle and the current physical environment (e.g., time of day, weather). The vehicle will be able to immediately download and run AI algorithms allowing it to provide the safest and most comfortable journey for the passenger.

Who is leading the research?

It is interesting how organizations and government institutions initiating research on the subject are staying ahead of the curve today. There are several key players leading from the front in 6G innovations. Apart from DoT, Indias collaboration with Finland under a digital partnership will focus on the development of 6G technology and the use of digital tools to transform education. Another player leading the development of 6G technology is the government of China, that launched twelve satellites into orbit, one of which was designated for 6G field tests.

Potential for economic growth

Internationally approved unitary 6G standards will reduce costs for businesses, foster higher levels of innovation and reduce inefficiencies within global digital value chains. Major industries such as manufacturing, transport, energy, smart city, health, education, agriculture and defense will bank on 6G technology to not only increase efficiency but also create deeply productive models in the manufacturing chain. The government on its part has also announced an incentive of Rs 12,195 crore for manufacturing of telecom equipment locally. Similarly, its pertinent that governments worldwide contribute towards building common unitary 6G standards and avoid the economic cost that de-coupled standards could bring to society.

Way Forward

We live through a digital revolution, and 6G will be an intrinsic element of this digital journey. The future with 6G will hold exciting technologies like autonomous vehicles, smartphones which are lightweight glasses and emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) to become a common phenomenon combined into one extended reality (XR) service. Through the rapid development of network and virtual reality technology, it can also be applied in the fields of distance education, telecommuting, and advanced three-dimensional simulation. Technology innovators will continue to conduct pre-research into 6G technology that will assist in the formation of the worlds 6G standards in the near future.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Americans don’t have equal access to mental healthcare but technology is making it more democratic – MedCity News

Posted: at 5:14 am

One of the oldest, yet still unresolved issues plaguing the US health system is the unequal distribution of healthcare. This past August, a new study by JAMA revealed the ongoing disparity in healthcare spending by race. In particular, mental healthcare remains highly inaccessible across the board, but particularly for certain groups. Patients are screened for mental health in less than 5% of primary care visits, and Black people are half as likely to be examined than white people. And the elderly are also half as likely to be screened than middle-aged patients.

However, novel health technologies are allowing us to move into a new era of equality and improved access to healthcare for everyone, eliminating the barriers between people and healthcare, by putting the patient at the center of care versus the provider.

Technologies such as virtual care, personal monitoring devices, improved data analytics, and AI-supported clinical decision support tools are already giving patients more direct and seamless access to healthcare.

This demolition of barriers, including physical barriers, is one of the biggest trends in mental and general health for this and the next generation. This is the vital role technology will play in this emerging scenario.

Smoothing access to emergency psychiatric care

The new age of healthtech isnt just about having Headspace on your phone and telehealth visits with your psychiatrist. Its also about how life-threatening emergencies can be addressed immediately, without being slowed by a saturated hospital system.

For many years, one of the most pressing emergency healthcare problems has been obtaining necessary evaluation and treatment for patients arriving at hospitals with urgent psychiatric conditions such as suicidal ideation or acute psychosis. Because of the shortage of in-patient psychiatric beds, it would often take two to three days before these patients could be transferred to a psychiatric hospital for definitive care.

But by combining on-demand telehealth calls with other critical services, hospitals can now provide almost immediate emergency psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Instead of waiting days, patients can now be evaluated within hours. And, since almost 70% of these patients dont require the prolonged in-patient care in a psychiatric hospital, we now free up those in-patient beds for the patients that do. This is technology facilitating right-size care, through a more patient-centric vs. system-centric approach.

Virtual care bypasses the roadblocks associated with hospitals and clinics, allowing the patient immediate access to care. This technology isnt applicable to all illnesses and conditions, but as new monitoring tools emerge that can assess a broader variety of patient symptoms, technology-powered care will improve access to care for an increasing number of urgent health conditions.

While telehealth technology has been around for a number of years, leaders in the field need to be more proactive in bringing all the stakeholders together from the hospitals to the insurance providers and healthtech companies and fixing the system issues required to implement the technology.

At-home health tracking can improve and speed up care

Care-in-place monitoring technologies have already changed so many lives from glucose monitors for diabetes to pregnancy tests. Still, such technologies are only in their infancy. There is a universe of possibilities for cutting-edge personal tools that can not only save users lives, but can help our clinicians offer us far more accurate care.

Personal monitoring devices allow for monitoring over a period of time vs. the single point-in-time monitoring of most hospital and clinic tests. Such monitoring, when combined with advanced data analytics including population studies, will significantly advance in our ability to accurately diagnose patients.

Mental health disorders are one of the most underdiagnosed and consequently undertreated conditions. An explosion of new AI and ML-supported technologies are making strides to bridge that gap. For example, self-management apps for mental health involving journaling, and monitoring of voice biomarkers are helping to screen for depression, anxiety, and even alzheimers, in a non-invasive way. These innovative tracking technologies can alert the individual before their condition progresses or worsens. In fact, it was recently revealed that Apple is also working on new technology to detect depression and cognitive decline using iPhone sensor data.

Given that the population is aging, and that approximately 80% of people over the age of 65 years of age have at least one chronic disease, and 80% of patients with chronic disease have some degree of depression, it is immediately evident how better mental health screening will reduce unnecessary suffering. Similarly, anxiety disorder is epidemic amongst todays youth it is estimated one in three adolescents now suffers from some degree of anxiety disorder. Early screening for these conditions would aid the many individuals who dont require high-level medical intervention but would still benefit from care such as counseling, peer intervention, or even an app-based intervention that encourages mindfulness and relaxation.

Connecting health data will make care more accurate and reachable

With the digitization of our health information came the promise of better sharing of health data across care providers. But the path to realizing this promise has been slower than hoped for.

Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket by depending on a single clinician, if all historic patient information were unified, and seamlessly be transferred to any clinician, access to care would open up for all the population.

As we connect data across clinics and hospitals, were also generating far more complete and comprehensive health data from our home monitoring tools and wearable devices. That means we can expect to see an exponential increase in knowledge regarding how factors like sleep habits impact our mental well-being, how nutritional intake impacts disease, and much more definitive knowledge on the social factors affecting our health. Forging these connections between patients, providers and health tech will allow for a huge move away from a provider and system centric approach to a patient-centered approach.

We are starting to see the convergence of multiple technologies in health episodic virtual care, personal monitoring devices, clinician support tools, AI, and information transfer. As more progressive technology and businesses emerge, were steadily easing the burden on our overwhelmed healthcare providers and on the patients themselves, while enabling us to reach an unprecedented quality of care and early detection. As a physician, I am incredibly enthusiastic about supporting new innovations, and seeing this generation build a path towards medicine without walls.

Photo credit: Olga Strelnikova, Getty Images

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Conveyor Technology:Designing for the Future by Innovating the Present | Biomassmagazine.com – Biomass Magazine

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Bulk handling is evolving when it comes to safety, efficiency and automation.

Higher production demands across all bulk handling segments require increased efficiency at the lowest cost of operation, in the safest and most effective manner possible. As conveyor systems become wider, faster and longer, more energy output and more controlled throughput will be needed. Add an increasingly stringent regulatory environment, and cost-conscious plant managers must closely review which new equipment and design options align with their long-term goals for the best return on investment.

Safety at Higher Belt SpeedsSafety is likely to become a new source of cost reduction. The percentage of processing facilities with a robust safety culture are likely to increase over the next 30 years to the point where it is the norm, not the exception. In most cases, with only a marginal adjustment to the belt speed, operators quickly discover unanticipated problems in existing equipment and workplace safety. These problems are commonly indicated by the larger volume of spillage, increased dust emissions, belt misalignment and more frequent equipment wear and failures.

Higher volumes of cargo on the belt can produce more spillage and fugitive material around the system, which can pose a tripping hazard. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, slips, trips and falls account for 15% of all workplace deaths and 25% of all workplace injury claims. Moreover, higher belt speeds make pinch and sheer points in the conveyor more deadly, as reaction times are drastically reduced when a worker gets clothing, a tool or a limb caught from incidental contact.

The faster the belt, the quicker the belt wanders and the harder it is for a belt tracker to compensate, leading to spillage along the entire belt path. Caused by uncentered cargo, seized idlers or other reasons, the belt can rapidly come in contact with the mainframe, shredding the edge and potentially causing a friction fire. Beyond workplace safety consequences, the belt can convey a fire throughout the facility at extremely high speed.

Another workplace hazardone that is becoming progressively more regulatedis dust emissions. An increase in the volume of cargo means greater weight at higher belt speeds, causing more vibration on the system and leading to reduced air quality from dust. In addition, cleaning blade efficiency declines as volumes rise, causing more fugitive emissions during the belts return. Abrasive particulates can foul rolling components and cause them to seize, raising the possibility of a friction fire and increasing maintenance costs and downtime. Further, lower air quality can result in fines and forced stoppages by inspectors.

Modern Chute DesignWider and faster conveyors are being deployed to drive down the per-ton cost of conveyed material. Traditional troughed designs will likely remain a standard, but the push toward wider and higher-speed belts will require substantial development in more reliable components, such as idlers, impact beds and chutes.

A major issue with most standard chute designs is that they are not engineered to manage escalating production demands. Bulk material unloading from a transfer chute onto a fast-moving belt can shift the flow of material in the chute, resulting in off-center loading, increasing fugitive material spillage and emitting dust well after leaving the settling zone. The result of off-center loading is mistracking and spillage around the system and walkways.

Newer transfer chute designs aid in centering material onto the belt in a well-sealed environment that maximizes throughput, limits spillage, reduces fugitive dust and minimizes common workplace injury hazards. Rather than material falling with high impact directly onto the belt, the cargos descent is controlled to promote belt health and extend the life of the impact bed and idlers by limiting the force of the cargo at the loading zone. Reduced turbulence is easier on the wear liner and skirting, and lowers the chance of fugitive material being caught between the skirt and belt, which can cause friction damage and belt fraying.

Longer and taller than previous designs, modular stilling zones allow cargo time to settle, providing more space and time for air to slow down, so dust settles more completely. Modular designs easily accommodate future capacity modifications. An external wear liner can be changed from outside of the chute, rather than requiring dangerous chute entry as in previous designs. Chute covers with internal dust curtains control airflow down the length of the chute, allowing dust to agglomerate on the curtains and eventually fall back onto the belt in larger clumps. And dual skirt sealing systems have a primary and secondary sealing strip in a two-sided elastomer strip that helps prevent spillage and dust from escaping from the sides of the chute.

Rethinking Belt CleaningFaster belt speeds can also cause higher operating temperatures and increased degradation of cleaner blades. Larger volumes of cargo approaching at a high velocity hit primary blades with greater force, causing some designs to wear quickly, leading to more carryback and increased spillage and dust. In attempt to compensate for lower equipment life, manufacturers may reduce the cost of belt cleaners, but this is an unsustainable solution that doesnt eliminate the additional downtime associated with cleaner servicing and regular blade changes.

As some blade manufacturers struggle to keep up with changing production demands, industry leaders in conveyor solutions have reinvented the cleaner industry by offering heavy-duty, engineered polyurethane blades made to order and cut on-site to ensure the freshest and longest-lasting product. Using a twist, spring or pneumatic tensioner, the primary cleaners are forgiving to the belt and splice but are still highly effective for dislodging carryback. For the heaviest applications, one primary cleaner design features a matrix of tungsten carbide scrapers installed diagonally to form a 3-dimensional curve around the head pulley. Field service has determined that it typically delivers up to four times the service life of urethane primary cleaners, without ever needing retensioning.

Taking belt cleaner technology into the future, an automated system increases blade life and belt health by removing blade contact with the belt any time the conveyor is running empty. Additionally, it reduces labor for the constant monitoring and tensioning of blades to ensure peak performance.

Connected to a compressed air system, pneumatic tensioners are equipped with sensors that detect when the belt no longer has cargo and automatically backs the blade away, minimizing unnecessary wear to both the belt and cleaner. The result is consistently correct blade tension, reliable cleaning performance and longer blade life, all managed without operator intervention.

Bulk Handling, Safety and Automation in the FutureAutomation is the way of the future, but as experienced maintenance personnel retire, younger workers entering the market will face unique challenges, with safety and maintenance skills becoming more sophisticated and essential. While still requiring basic mechanical knowledge, new maintenance personnel will also need more advanced technical understanding. This division of work requirements will make it difficult to find people with multiple skill sets, driving operators to outsource some specialized services and making maintenance contracts more common. Ultimately, conveyor monitoring tied to safety and predictive maintenance will become increasingly reliable and widespread, allowing conveyors to autonomously operate and predict maintenance needs.

Author: Todd SwindermanCEO Emeritus, Martin Engineeringinfo@martin-eng.com http://www.martin-eng.com

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Conveyor Technology:Designing for the Future by Innovating the Present | Biomassmagazine.com - Biomass Magazine

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