Category Archives: Life Extension

Shigeaki Hinohara. Kyodo News photo

TOKYO Shigeaki Hinohara, honorary head of St. Lukes International Hospital in Tokyo who continued practicing as a doctor after turning 100 and was a well-respected cultural figure, died from respiratory failure on July 18, the hospital said. He was 105.

During his more than half-century as a physician at one of Tokyos leading hospitals, Hinohara pioneered comprehensive medical checkups, which have today become standard for many middle-aged Japanese, and advocated preventive medicine. Partially based on his experiences in the United States, Hinohara was also a proponent of patients-first medical care and stressed the importance of boosting the quality of life for terminal-stage patients.

In 2000, Hinohara established a movement urging senior citizens to remain socially involved and stressing the contribution they can make. The movement later spread nationwide, and his essay anthology on ways to live well, published the following year, became a bestseller.

An iconic figure representing the active elderly, Hinohara delivered speeches across Japan even after he became a centenarian. Many fans in Japan and abroad were captivated by his talks, which included such uplifting messages as how anyone can change his or her life at any age.

Hinohara died at his home in Tokyo after declining steps to extend his life, Tsuguya Fukui, the current hospital head, told a July 18 news conference. Fukui said the centenarian was suffering from age-related ailments that affected his heart and digestive organs.

Hinohara clearly refused life-extension steps when he was hospitalized in March, Fukui said, adding that within days, he returned to his home, where he spent his last days.

He was completely bedridden in the final week or two, while he had been moving around in his living room or yard by wheelchair until then, according to Fukui.

Hinohara was born on Oct. 4, 1911. A native of Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan, he graduated from the school of medicine at Kyoto Imperial University in 1937 and went on to study at its graduate school. He then began working at St. Lukes Hospital in 1941 as a physician.

A pious Christian, he also studied at Emory University in the U.S. In 1992, he became the head of St. Lukes. He went on to receive the Order of Culture from the government in 2005.

In 1970, he was a passenger aboard a Japan Airlines plane hijacked by members of the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. He later recounted his experience as a captive, saying that the incident drastically changed his view of life and that he decided to dedicate his life to others.

He has made great contributions to the advancement of medicine for a long period of time. He is one of the persons who built the foundations of Japanese medicine, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Touching on the deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, Suga praised Hinoharas decision to accept a number of victims at the hospital, which he was in charge of.

Hinoharas comments made on numerous occasions have inspired many people, as words of wisdom derived from his century-long experience.

Comparing life to a baseball game, Im in the ninth inning but the most important (part of) life will begin now. I would like to continue my work until around the 15th inning for children, he said at a press conference in April 2007 as he was designated an ambassador of the Japan Committee for the United Nations Childrens Fund.

My goal is still far away. I would like to become Japans oldest person on record without retiring, as I will keep working from now on, Hinohara also said after his lecture in October 2014 on his 103rd birthday.

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Shigeaki Hinohara, Japan's centenarian doctor, dies at 105 - Nichi Bei Weekly

By Natasha Vita-More

First published in Cryonics Magazine

If the aging process is controlled in a similar way in worms and humans, then we can use what we learn about worms to speed our study of higher organisms. Cynthia Kenyon

Preserving memory after cryonic preservation is a breakthrough science for cryonics, which has been a huge hurdle for cryonics. The research leading to this breakthrough will help to build momentum toward advanced research on information storage within the brain, as well as short-term behaviors of episodic, semantic, procedural, and working memory.

In this article, I will review how I became involved in this research, the guidance along the way, my initial training at 21st Century Medicine, pitching the research project to Alcor and submitting my proposal to its Research Team. I will then take you into the lab, the process of trial and error in our first trials, developing a protocol based on olfactory imprinting and applying several cryopreservation methods, developing the migration index, and the rewards of working with a lab technician who became an admiral colleague.

From this experience, I am more committed than ever to support and help lead scientific research projects that enrich learning about memory after cryopreservation. But this does not come without the insight to imagine, to speculate, and to hypothesize. Observing a gap in the current state of things triggers a desire to understand why there is a gap and to do something about it. From there we can query until one idea sticks and garnishes enough value to move forward. For me, this one idea was all about memory retention.

The lingering concern: How can something that cannot be demonstrated be scientific? found in the Alcor FAQ has now been demonstrated. While the larger question of how can a persons identity be sustained after cryonics has not been conclusively answered; however, it is a fact that long-term memory is retained in a simple animal. It causes me to think back on Neil Armstrong stated after the Apollo 11 Mission. Certainly not as grand, but nevertheless, This is one small step a [nematode], but a giant leap for [cryonics] (Vita-More in conversation, 2015).

This research was to put into motion as a project I had been musing about for many years that concerns the outstanding issue of cryonics and memory retention. While the science and technology of cryopreservation has advanced over the past decades, there had been no evidence that an animal could be suspended, revived, and tested for memory retention. During the 25 years I have been a member of Alcor, I have listened to the internal conversations among cryonicists and read public commentary about the viability of cryonics. A core question has been: Will you remember who you are if and when you are revived? While this question can only be answered definitively once the first cryopreserved person is revived, it seemed logical that there needed to be small, baby steps along the way. Several people had begun projects to explore this area, but none had been conclusive, let alone published.

The project I put into action that I was slowing developing over the span of a decade. As a bit of background, no biodesign experiments within the field I pursued my Doctorate in had been developed in the field of cryonics. My colleagues Dr. Edwardo Kac had developed the transgenic GFP Bunny, Stelarc succeeded in cloning and transplanting his ear onto his arm, and Dr. Ionat Zurr with Oron Catts had developed tissue culture as semi-living sculptures. Yet, there was an identifiable lack of exploration and experiments in the biodesign field of human enhancement and life extension that linked directly to cryonics.

Dr. Greg Fahy, leading cryobiologist, had been an exceptional mentor since the inception of this project. He had told me about a researchers work that captured stunning visuals of glycerolized human sperm as they were absorbed and obfuscated by ice formations, and which movements began after the ice receded. Inspired by this, I set out to study what types of life forms I could work with and which exhibited unique physical movement. Based on Dr. Fahys advice, I decided to work with C. elegans, a tiny nematode worm that is approximately 1 mm in size. My aim was to learn about this worm and then to explore research that identified its ability to learn and retain information. I also learned about cryopreservation protocols for C. elegans that had been successful.

Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the most important models used in biology and neurology1 and has countless applications in the area of biological sciences. The simplicity of its size (1mm), the transparency of its neuronal network (hermaphrodites contain 302 neurons),5 and its short but complex life cycle make C. elegans of potential value to studies of memory retention after cryopreservation (Vita-More & Barranco, 2014).

C. elegans can be trained through nonassociative learning, associative learning, and imprinting. They can habituate to chemical stimuli and learn smells, tastes, temperatures and oxygen levels. They also respond to vibrations, such as tapping on the petri dish. In regards to cryonics, C. elegans have high survival rates, with little to no cryoprotectant, when using ultra-rapid cooling and warming methods. By providing a case where I could use a viable learning environment for the worms, cryopreserve them with their efficacy intact, revive them, and then test their memory of the learning behavior, I might be able to add significant research to the field of cryonics. I spent the next year or so looking for grant money to support the research. Eventually persistence paid off, and Fahy was consequential in my obtaining the grant from Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

Memory models that are amendable to testing after cryopreservation are not plentiful. The best test of memory is behavioral, but thereare no easily accessible organisms more complicated than C. elegansthat can be cryopreserved whole to enable behavioral tests after rewarming. So I think Natashas proposal is appropriate for pushingthe envelope given the constraints involved. Perhaps success inthis project could serve as a jumping off point to testing polarinsects or Siberian salamanders down the line, but first thingsfirst. You have to walk before you can fly (Fahy, 2013).

The question I asked in this research was whether memory could be retained after cryopreservation. The single question became the object of the research. To attempt to answer this question, the C. elegans was the model organism for testing because it is a known model used in biology and neurology, the simplicity of its size, and it had already been successfully vitrified and trained, but there had been no research experiments combining both vitrification and cryopreservation and also training and testing memory after reviving. In short, it was the only simple animal where cryopreservation and revival had been demonstrated and a well-defined assay of learning had been completed.

Starting with the completed research performed in these two areas, my team sought to build upon these experiments in forming what we call the Persistence of long-Term Memory in Vitrified and Revived C. elegans.

After receiving the grant to commence the research, the Alcor team worked with me to locate a work area, hood, and then I started ordering supplies. Hugh advised me about basic chemistry and we determined an aluminum mini-dewar was best for holding the liquid nitrogen, we also prototyped several methods for detecting worm migration on plates and petri dishes. Steve Graber created the lab area and set up the hood, and worked with me to test microscopes for depth of field, lens magnification and video recording. Dr. Mike Perry met with me to discuss statistical analyses of trained and tested worms.

Through a colleague of Fahy, Dr. Ramon Risco, I was provided with a particular method for vitrification, known as the slush method. This method uses quartz capillaries that have a specific diameter and require a slush making apparatus. Hugh ran with this and started to build a slush making apparatus.

While we were excited to move forward on the project, one core issue from the beginning of my study was that I needed to hire a lab technician to work with me, since I was not an expert technician. I contacted Crish Rasch, who I knew had worked with C. elegans in the past and invited him to work with me in the lab to test learning protocols for raining the worms, from tapping on petri dishes, to using lighting effects for stimulation, and also chemical attractants.

While we were making some progress, one core issue from the beginning of my study was that I needed to hire a lab technician to work with me, since I was not an expert technician. I was introduced to PhD candidate Daniel Barranco, an expert in the cryotop method of embryo freezing. Since Barranco lives in Seville, Spain and the phone calls and Skype meetings were becoming lengthy, we invited him to work with me in the lab at Alcor. His strong skill set was a key factor in our iterative process of exploring options and testing, retesting, and finally determining both our memory retention protocol and our cryopreservation and vitrification methods.

The research established two groups, the control group and the experimental group. For the control group, we formed eight studies. For the experimental group, we formed two studies. Each of the ten studies contained 100 or more worms (See Table 1).

Our methodology was based on what was already known in the field and what might be the most effective tools and techniques to use. After much deliberation, we decided to incorporate an established method for learning, several methods for cryopreservation, and a chemotaxis assay for observing whether or not the worms had remembered what they learned at the early L1 stage and after cryopreservation and reviving at the adult stage.

1. Learning Method: Using the method of olfactory imprinting method of Remy and Hobert, we established a protocol using the chemical benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO). The studies focused on olfactory imprinting of the nematodes at the L2 stage. This a very early age, just after the nematode develops from the larvae stage. The nematodes were placed in petri dishes, some with the chemical benzaldehyde and some with only water swiped on dish lids where food was placed. In the studies, the benzaldehyde was used as an attractant, which developed an association between food and the chemical smell. The aim was to establish whether or not the nematodes could retain the imprinted experience of the chemical smell of benzaldehyde with food into its adult stage, identifying long-term memory.

2. Vitrification and Cryopreservation Process: The traditional methods for cryopreserving biological samples is through slow freezing and through vitrification, which have different cooling and the warming rates. For our researchs vitrification, we applied the known method of Cryotop, used in the freezing of embryos. While our research experiments studies included several methods for cryopreservation, our central focus was the Cryotop protocol indirectly submerging the nematodes into liquid nitrogen using a straw device. One worm at a time was carefully pulled into the straw from the petri dish. From this, we established the effective use of the SafeSpeed closed device, a new technology for ultra-fast warming rates.

3. Testing Results of Long-Term Memory. We used a chemotaxis assay five days after olfactory imprinting, when worms reached the adult stage. Marking 1212 square agar plates, we drew lines marking off areas with assigned values of from -6 to 6 on the outside of the plates. In the first area of the plates, at value -6, we issued three drops of sodium azide at equal spacing into the agar. In the same areas, with the same equal spacing but on the lid of the plates, we issued three drops of plain water. On the other side of the plate, at value 6, we issued the same three drops of sodium azide at equal spacing; but on the lid of this area, we issued three drops of benzaldehyde, instead of water (Figure 2).

As series of processes included using a platinum wire to pick up revived worms from the petri dish with food, to a petri dish without food, and after numerous minutes, transfer them onto the square plate to time and observe where they migrated to. This was the Migration Index (MI). The statistical analysis for each study was tested with the Levene test, ANOVA test, and Tahame test (Table 2).

The memory retention protocol we used for learning is known as olfactory imprinting. We distinguished this protocol by using the chemical benzaldehyde for phase-sense imprinting on the young worms, just after the larvae stage. Olfactory imprinting has been studied in many species, including primates, mammals and humans. The key to successful olfactory imprinting is that to be successful, its effect is relative to the period of time (or window of opportunity) when the organism can develop a long lasting learned response. For this research, it was introduce early on so that the worm associated food with the smell of benzaldehyde. This phase-sense imprinting was performed by swiping a very small amount of benzaldehyde on the inside of the petri dish lid every hour for eight hours for worms that were being trained.

Memory retention was validated through a chemotaxis assay of the migration index. The trained worms migrated to areas of the petri dish where the benzaldehyde drops were placed. This showed that they preferred areas of the dish were the chemical smell was detected. Because there is a native reaction to benzaldehyde, the untrained worms preferred other areas of the dish. In sum, the response of the trained worms was double that of the untrained worms, whether they were cryopreserved or not.

The research shows the first results related to persistence of long-term memory of C. elegans after vitrification and reviving. I, along with Daniel Barranco, describe the results in our paper, in Rejuvenation Research (October issue):

The survival rates for our study did not show deviation from the expected original slow freezing method of Brenner2 or the SafeSpeed method of Barranco. 32 The survival rate for slow freezing with L2-L3 worms was 20%, and for vitrification was 100% (Vita-More & Baranco, 2015).

I would like to see the Alcor Research Center work with researchers to develop projects relative to cryonics, since we now have a working lab at Alcor.1 With this, I would like to lead a team or advise a team who are far more skilled at the hands-on experiments than I am. The microscopic size of the C. elegans nematode requires agility, patience, and very good vision. Getting one single microscopic worm into a tiny straw is a challenge.

As for extending C. elegans research, I would like to explore alternative learning methods at different maturity stages of the worm. Also, more work is needed to find out if a few or all memory mechanisms are unaffected by the Benzaldehyde and/or vitrification.

Beyond this, I am more interested in testing memory on larger organisms with a more complex central nervous system and leave others to continue the research that I and Barranco completed.

Worm submerged in liquid nitrogen (Vita-More, 2014.)

I would like to research cold-tolerant species that live suspended in a frozen state during winter seasons and thaw in the warmer seasons. The Greenland Woolly Bear Caterpillar is a species that is active for a mere 30 days of the full 365 days a year, and then goes dormant in self-made cocoons. These cocoons are cleverly attached to rocks and the cocoon coverings form tiny biosphere greenhouses. Another species is the Alaskan Wood Frog, an amphibian that freezes solid through the winter and defrosts in the spring. Nevertheless, after working with C. elegans, who naturally have rhythmic movements that are visually pleasing and emotionally alluring, it would be difficult to work with a leech, which is another option. The ozobranchid leech, is a parasite that attaches itself to freshwater turtles is a highly tolerant organism to freezing conditions and thawing, repeatedly. The downside is that these leeches can carry viruses that form cauliflower-like tumors on the turtles, impeding on their health and survival rate. Here is a note of caution; however, they are known not to affect humans.

The first couple of weeks, there were over 11,600 downloads of our paper. I would have been delighted if 600 people downloaded. There is a lot of interest, to be sure. I hope to take the video footage and create a graphic documentary. For more information, download the paper or subscribe to the Rejuvenation Research periodical.

Vitrified and revived worm in orange food coloring (Berranco, 2014).

An unexpected result from the research was watching a revived worms eggs hatch before our eyes. This was one of the most thrilling moments for me personally. We had thought the four oval shapes in the dish were air bubbles and that I had mistakenly emitted them from the straw when I took the vitrified worm I had placed from the warming solution to the petri dish. As I was watching the behavior of the worm to follow its movements and determine if it was surviving the process, I noticed the oval shapes started moving. Then over the next minute or so, all four larvae had hatched and were healthy looking new baby worms.

C. elegans lays four eggs after vitrification and reviving. (Vita-More 2014)

1 Alcor provided a generous grant for this research project. Alcor personnel, including Hugh Hixon, Steve Graber, and Mike Perry worked with me to build a lab that can be used by others in the coming years.

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PERSISTENCE OF LONG-TERM MEMORY: in Vitrified and Revived Simple Animals - h+ Magazine

Reprinted with the kind permission of Life Extension.

July 7 2017.The July 2017 issue ofAtherosclerosispublished an article by Swedish researchers which describes an anti-inflammatory effect for the carotenoid lutein in patients withcoronary artery disease.

"A considerable number of patients who have experienced myocardial infarction still have low-level chronic inflammation in the body, even after receiving effective treatment with revascularization, drugs and lifestyle changes, remarked lead researcher Lena Jonasson, who is a professor in the Department of Medical and Health Sciences at Linkoping University. We know that chronic inflammation is associated with a poorer prognosis."

The study included 59 patients with acute coronary syndrome and 134 patients with stable angina. Blood samples were analyzed for interleukin-6, a marker of inflammation, and the carotenoids lutein plus zeaxanthin, alpha and beta carotene, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin. In 42 patients, plasma levels of these factors were reanalyzed three months after coronary intervention to open narrowed blood vessels. Additionally, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (types of white blood cells) from stable angina patients were treated with lutein for 24 hours followed by incubation with an inflammation-inducing compound and measurement of markers of inflammation.

In the heart disease patients, having a lower level of lutein plus zeaxanthin was associated with a higher level of interleukin-6 before and after coronary intervention. "The patients were receiving the best possible treatment for their disease according to clinical guidelines, but even so, many of them had persistent inflammation," Dr Jonasson observed.

In peripheral blood mononuclear cells, lutein pretreatment was associated with a reduction in interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

"Our study confirms that one particular carotenoid, lutein, can suppress long-term inflammation in patients with coronary artery disease, concluded first author Rosanna Chung. We have also shown that lutein is absorbed and stored by the cells of the immune system in the blood."

Original post:

Study finds anti-inflammatory effect for lutein - ProHealth

WEST LAFAYETTE - Purdue Extension has released two new publications in the Protecting Pollinators series: The Complex Life of the Honey Bee and Biology and Control of Varroa Mites in Bee Hives.

These new publications provide information on honey bee biology, how to promote promoting healthy hives and current issues in pollinator research.

Biology and Control of Varroa Mites in Bee Hives focuses on one of the greatest threats to North American honey bees - the pesky varroa mite. These mites cause massive winter losses in hives by infecting brood cells. The publication provides details on the biology of the infestation and methods used to reduce mite populations and prevent honey bee die-offs. The publication is available as a free download from Purdue Extensions the Education Store at edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=POL-8.

The Complex Life of the Honey Bee is a detailed guide to the species and its management. The publication provides insight on the environmental, biological, and chemical challenges of colony health. It also includes an emphasis on the balance between pesticides and pollinators, an important issue today. Print versions of The Complex Life of the Honey Bee are available for $5.50 each from The Education Store at edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=PPP-116.

Fred Whitford, director of the Purdue Pesticide Programs and senior author of The Complex Life of the Honey Bee, said the publication is designed to promote deeper discussion and greater awareness of the species.

We want people to be involved in the discussion, understand the circumstances, and take action, Whitford said. The publication tells us how a colony works, how individual bees operate, how they feed and how pesticides are affecting them. We need an in-depth understanding of these topics to tackle the issues.

Nine publications are now available in the Protecting Pollinators series. The series provides practical tips for protecting the habitats of honey bees, mason bees, bumble bees, flies, moths, butterflies and hummingbirds as well as other threatened pollinator species.

Members of Purdues Protecting Pollinators development team were recently honored with the 2017 Entomology Educational Project Award from the Certified Entomologists of Mid-America for their efforts to help educate the public, farmers and agrochemical professionals about vital pollinator species.

Theres an important national debate taking place over threats to our pollinator communities. Lack of food, diseases, and other insects are contributing to their decline, Whitford said. These publications are designed to provide important information about pollinator survival to beekeepers, gardeners, farmers, professional applicators and anyone else interested in the survival of these vital species.

Other publications in the series are:

* Protecting Pollinators in Home Lawns and Landscapes

* Protecting Pollinators in Fruit and Vegetable Production

* Tips for Commercial Agricultural Pesticide Applicators

* Recommended Indiana-native Plants for Protecting Pollinators

* Why Should We Care About Pollinators?

* Protecting Pollinators in Agronomic Crop Production

* Best Management Practices for Indiana Pollinator Habitat

For more information on the series and pollinator issues, visit the Purdue Extension Entomology site at https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/index.html.

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Purdue Extension releases new publications in Protecting Pollinators series - Greensburg Daily News

SaskPower headquarters in Regina. Don Healy / Regina Leader-Post

SaskPower posted a $46-million profit in 2016-17 and executives at the Crown corporation are confident it will reach its goal of producing 50 per cent of power to the province through renewable sources by 2030.

SAskPowers annual report, released Wednesday, showed it invested$866 million in the provinces electricity system over the past year, largely to sustain an aging power grid.

Coal remains a significant source of power for the province: 32 per cent of available power capacity right now is generated from the non-renewable resource.

Natural gas produces 40 per cent of the provinces power, hydro accounts for 20 per cent and wind for five per cent. Other sources make up the last three per cent.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, SaskPower spent $112 million refurbishing three power stations in its coal fleet, in large part, according to the report, because the resource remains a cost-effective supply.

The province has an in-principle agreement to ease the economic impact of new federal coal regulations, but will still need to make significant investments in other power sources in order to meet the 50 per cent target by 2030.

SaskPower is planning to add more wind power capacity to its grid. Wind accounts for 220 megawatts of the Crowns total power mix right now. That number is targeted to grow to 2,100 MW (30 per cent) of the total power mix by 2030 .

Each year from now until then, the province is looking to add roughly 200 MWs in order to reach that goal. A 175 MW wind project in southern Saskatchewan is currently in production and SaskPower has a request for proposal out looking to develop another 200 MW.

A $300-million, 50-year life extension project of six unitsat the E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station also began in 2016-17.

SaskPower also launched a competitive process for the provinces first10 MW, utility-scale solar project, which once built will be the first Canadian project of its size outside of Ontario.

Despite the annual report stating Saskatchewan has the best potential in Canada for solar power, it is taking a back seat to wind.

SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh says this is because the cost of wind is more favourable given current market conditions.

Beyond coal, significant investments continue to be made in other non-renewable resources.

In the last fiscal year, SaskPower started construction of a 350 MW natural gas-fired plant, Chinook Power Station, near Swift Current.

Marsh says that natural gas will be playing a bigger role in 2030, in order to backstop renewable energy sources.

We cannot rely on wind and solar to provide that baseload energy, he said, suggesting a full jump to renewable energy sources may be possible later in the century.

While the federal government has already put forward a plan to phase out conventional coal, there is a growing expectation more restrictions will also be put on natural gas.

Marsh says if that happens it would have an impact on us, in terms of the type of unit we might select for our next gas unit of generation.

Coal is expected to give way to natural gas over the next decade-plus, but during that transition Saskatchewans carbon emissions are expected to reach record-high levels in 2020.

While its going to peak, we have every expectation it will come down after that, said Gord Wyant, the minister responsible for SaskPower.

Marsh says rate increases can still be expected but that the Crown always looks to keep rate increases as moderate as possible.

NDP MLA Carla Beck said she is not terribly confident at all SaskPower will meet its 2030 target and was critical of the Crown increasing rates five times in two years.

It will really have an impact on Saskatchewan people, she said.

dfraser@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/dcfraser

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SaskPower makes profit of $46 million according to annual report ... - Regina Leader-Post

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-- Downtown Indy, Inc., is spearheading a campaign to convince residents and property owners in downtown Indianapolis to voluntarily tax themselves $3 million a year to pay for maintenance and services the citys core demands but the municipal budget cant afford.

The first of three public invitation-only meetings is being held at the Columbia Club this evening to introduce the Economic Improvement District (EID) concept to downtown stakeholders.

The intent of the EID is to raise money within the Mile Square of downtown for projects at the heart of the Crossroads of America to be approved by an appointed board of downtown property owners.

Its a place for most of the commerce that occurs in our regional area. Its also a place for millions of visitors to come on an annual basis, said Sherry Seiwert, President of Downtown Indy, Inc. This is the fastest growing neighborhood in all of Marion County. We also probably need to be thinking about all the amenities that need to be provided to those residents.

The Downtown EID would focus on enhanced safety and security, including addressing Indianapolis homeless and panhandling challenges in the central core of the city, improving streetscape maintenance, beautification and cleanliness, enriching the downtown-user experience and developing marketing and planning strategies.

The difference with an EID is that the revenue that is generated within that footprint is employed back into that footprint and not to the remainder of the county, said Seiwert. We think that it would raise just over $3 million annually and the determination for residents themselves, for resident owners, would be a flat fee of $100 and then for commercial property owners it would be 1/8th of one percent of their assessed value on each parcel that they own.

If 51 percent of the property owners and those representing at least 51 percent of the assessed value approve the EID during an upcoming petition drive, the proposal would still require approval by the city county council and the mayor and lead to the naming of a board that would set a budget, file an annual report and undergo a yearly audit.

Seiwert would like the EID to begin work in 2018.

The only other Marion County community to vote itself a tax increase through an EID is the Woodruff Place neighborhood of the near east side.

Residents determined several years ago that the city would not pay for the upkeep and repairs to its 19th century fountains, planters, statuary and ornamental lights.

We got the owners of 76.8 percent of our parcels to approve it so it was pretty overwhelming that people agreed we need to take responsibility financially as well as from a historic statement to take care of our infrastructure, said longtime resident Tom Abeel. I have looked at this always as making life extension investment in the infrastructure.

Abeel said each of the approximately 250 property owners are taxed $165 a year to fund a $45,000 annual budget matched by an equal amount from the city.

The big project for the fountains was we got brand new electricity all the way from the town hall to the middle and the west drive fountains. All brand new electrical. Weve also been able to rebuild the pumps and the pump motors, said Abeel. We kind of knew that at some point it was just a matter of time before another life extending investment would have to be made and the EIDs been a terrific way to do it and the best thing is everybody in the neighborhood participates in it.

Abeel said the greatest challenge to a downtown EID will be setting priorities that reflect both needs of private residents and those of large commercial property owners.

For more information on the Economic Improvement District, click here.

Excerpt from:

Residents in downtown Indy to decide on voluntary tax for maintenance, services - Fox 59

The Trump administration wants to revitalize the coal industry, but they will not do so by imposing regulation on the natural gas industry, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry told reporters July 18 at a joint press conference with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Would the Department of Energy (DOE) be a participant in putting regulations into place to protect a particular energy sector?, Perry said. The answer is no.

Though he firmly stated that DOE will not increase regulation on energy sources that compete with coal, he was unclear about how the administration intends to make coal competitive again.

He seemed to suggest that exports, either of coal or technology, would play a large role in a revitalized coal industry. Noting that coal still accounts for roughly 40% of worldwide energy generation, Perry stated: Its not like coal has been pushed out of the marketplace, I mean you are going to see coal used in the world. Our goal is for us to use the cleanest technology that we can and generally speaking, that technology is going to come from the U.S.

Investments in Technology Will Continue

Perry also stated that the government intends to continue to invest in technology in an attempt to solve the problem of the dying coal industry. I dont think its necessarily governments role to be picking winners and losers, he said. Are we going to spend dollars on technologies to see if they work, to be gap funders, if you will, in places? I dont have a problem with that.

Interestingly, the administrations fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget proposal requested only $280 million, for fossil energy research and development, a decrease of 44% from the fiscal year 2017 omnibus funding level.

As congressional appropriators work through the budget process, however, it seems unlikely that cut will take effect. The House FY18 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, which funds DOE, was reported out of committee on July 12 and would fund the fossil energy program at $635 million, a decrease of $33 million below the fiscal year 2017 enacted level and $355 million above the budget request.

Addressing Loss of Nuclear Should be Priority, Birol Says

While Perry ruminated on the future of coal in the U.S., Birol was more concerned with the future of the nations energy fleet, noting that a loss of zero-emission baseload generation would have a negative effect on the nations emissions track record.

Today about 20% of the electricity in the United States comes from nuclear generation, and the challenge in my view in front of the U.S. government is that a significant amount of them, about 50GW of nuclear power plants, in the next 10 years will come to their time of life extension or not, he said. In the absence of extension of nuclear power plants lifetime, we may well see this encouraging CO2 emissions transformation [in] the United States may take a different shape.

Birol had noted that U.S. emissions have declined more than those of any other nation. The large decline mainly is the result of shale gas, renewables, the [integrated gasification combined cycle] plants, the nuclear power, they all played a critical role here, and as a result of that, the United States brought emissions down by more than 300 million tons, he said.

Abby L. Harvey is a POWER reporter.

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DOE Won't Increase Regulation on Gas to Boost Coal, Perry Says - POWER magazine

Reprinted with the kind permission of LIfe Extension.

July 5 2017.A randomized, crossover trial reported on June 27, 2017 in the journalPLoS Oneresulted in a reduction in symptoms ofdepressionand anxiety among participants who received magnesium for a six week period.

The trial included 126 men and women diagnosed with mild to moderate depression. Sixty-two participants received a daily supplement that contained 248 milligrams elemental magnesium from magnesium chloride for six weeks followed by a six week period during which no supplement was consumed. The remainder of the group received no supplementation during the first six weeks and a magnesium supplement during the latter portion of the trial. Questionnaires in which subjects rated their depression and anxiety were administered at the beginning of the study and every two weeks during the treatment periods.

Six weeks of magnesium supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in depression scores, however, scores did not improve during the control periods. Anxiety also improved during magnesium supplementation, but worsened during the control portion of the trial. In addition, headaches were less likely to be experienced in association with magnesium supplementation in comparison with no treatment.

This is the first clinical trial done on magnesium for depression in the U.S., authors Emily K. Tarleton and her colleagues at the University of Vermont announce. There are many barriers to treatment for depression including stigma associated with diagnosis, cost, side effects, non-adherence, and loss to follow-up. Magnesium supplements do not come with the added stigma associated with other therapies and, while monitoring response is still important, the risk of side effects is not as great as from antidepressants.

Although improvement in symptoms occurred within two weeks and was maintained while on treatment, long-term effectiveness is unknown and longer trials are needed, they conclude.

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Trial finds reduction in depressive symptoms following magnesium supplementation - ProHealth

By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings

The National Weather Service radar system on Mount Ashland will be down for five days this week for system upgrades.

Technicians began installing a new signal processor on the WSR-88D radar dish today, which will improve processing speed and data quality, Weather Service officials reported.

Radar coverage will be available from adjacent radar sites in Eureka, Sacramento, Portland, Pendleton and Reno, but local coverage will be impacted.

"Thats why its good were not expecting a big outbreak of thunderstorms this week," said meteorologist Ryan Sandler. "That would have been bad news."

The work is part of a four-phase, $150 million project spanning five years, intended to extend the life of the 20-year-old dish and 121 other Next Generation Weather Radar NEXRAD facilities across the U.S. into the 2030s. The service-life extension program includes major component replacements on the dishes, including the signal processors, transmitters, pedestals and equipment shelters.

The National Weather Service, U.S. Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration all use the technology.

The Medford NEXRAD system went live in April 1996. The 28-foot dish beneath a white fiberglass globe on Mount Ashland sends out pulses of electromagnetic energy and can gather data from storm clouds that include the intensity and size of rain and hail, air circulation and wind speed.

From 1971 to 1995, the agency used WSR-57, or Weather Surveillance Radar 1957, named for the year the technology was built.

Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or rpfeil@mailtribune.com. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil.

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Weather radar will be down this week for upgrades - Ashland Daily Tidings

BLOOMINGTON Temperatures are expected to reach 85 degrees Monday, but the mercury will steadily rise after that, resulting in highs of around 95 degrees by Wednesday and Thursday.

There is no rain in the forecast until Friday, said forecasters with The National Weather Service in Lincoln. Tuesdays high is expected to be 90 degrees.

The heat index values will range between 100 and 107 degrees Wednesday and Thursday.

It will cool off slightly on Friday, with a high near 90 degrees.

The Doppler radar at the NWS office in Lincoln will be offline on Monday and Tuesday, and perhaps into Wednesday, said NWS.

The $150 million investment is being made by the three organizations that use the radars the NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration. The three other service life extension projects include refurbishing the transmitter, pedestal, and equipment shelters.

A crew will install a new signal processor, which replaces obsolete technology, improves processing speed and data quality, provides added functionality, and increases IT security, said the agency.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites, including Chicago, Davenport, Iowa, St. Louis, Paducah Ky., Evansville Ind. and Indianapolis.

On this date in 1903, several tornadoes moved across northern and Central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening. The two most significant tornadoes touched down in LaSalle County, affecting the towns of Mendota and Streator. Ten people were killed by the two storms. Five of the deaths occurred at a race track, where people were taking shelter under a grandstand when it collapsed.

Follow Kevin Barlow on Twitter: @pg_barlow

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Heat wave to hit Central Illinois | Local News | pantagraph.com - Bloomington Pantagraph