Friday, November 06, 2020

#FURFARMING

Coronavirus: Denmark imposes lockdowns amid mink covid fears

Published: 14 hours ago

Extinction Rebellion hits out at Scotland's climate change citizen assembly

Published: 16 hours ago

What is a citizens' assembly?

The basic idea is for members of the public to be selected, much like a jury, to listen to evidence from all sides of the debate.

Then they make recommendations - in this case, on what Scotland should do to tackle climate change.

The idea is that this "direct democracy" will help to restore people's trust in the political process by involving ordinary people - rather than politicians, parties and other vested interests.

Scotland's Climate Assembly is due to hold its first meeting this weekend.

What do Extinction Rebellion want?

Extinction Rebellion (XR) campaigners want governments to declare a "climate and ecological emergency" and take immediate action to address climate change.

The group describes itself as an international "non-violent civil disobedience activist movement".

Recently 12 people were arrested when they staged a protest outside the Grangemouth oil refinery.

And last year police made 29 arrests after about 300 protesters blocked one of the main roads into Edinburgh's city centre.

The group say tough choices will have to be made to tackle climate change, and XR think they should be made by citizens' assemblies.

These gatherings are "crucial", so much so that the campaigners say they "cannot endorse one that is not good enough".

What do they say is the problem with the citizens' assembly?

XR Scotland says it has decided to leave the assembly's stewarding group - which advises on the running of the assembly.

It has also withdrawn its endorsement of the citizens' assembly - saying it is "no longer a good enough response to the climate emergency".

This is because it says the assembly has been "blinkered" and therefore cannot come up with radical enough solutions to climate change.

XR claims the secretariat - responsible for organising and running the assembly - has "actively resisted" including views of certain experts "because of their association with XR".

Despite initially being open to the assembly setting its own ambitions the secretariat has started to insist that any recommendations are actionable by the Scottish government, XR claims.

And the civil servants seconded to the assembly use "government processes, ways of working and attitudes towards the scale of the crisis".

Its campaigners say they will now try to make a difference from outside the assembly.

What are the climate assembly and the government saying?

The climate assembly spokesman said they wanted to hear from a range of experts.

"We invited Extinction Rebellion to join our stewarding group in the spirit of transparency and to ensure a range of perspectives informed the assembly design," he said.

"They provided some constructive insight, and we are disappointed they have decided to leave.

"Our first commitment is always to our assembly members. We must ensure they hear balanced evidence from a range of experts that allows them to discuss and make recommendations on how Scotland should change to tackle the climate emergency in an effective and fair way."

A spokesman for the government said the assembly was independent and it had no influence over the content of its meetings.

"The assembly will be a crucial part of involving citizens in our transition to net zero," he added.

"Being a member will be both a privilege and a responsibility. People will be asked to learn from experts and each other; to deliberate and to be respectful of others' views in making recommendations that will impact almost every aspect of our future as we become a net-zero society."

Zinc-embedded polyamide fabrics are effective in absorbing and inactivating SARS-CoV-2

By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Nov 4 2020

An international team of scientists has recently demonstrated that zinc-embedded polyamine fibers can effectively absorb and inactivate human respiratory viruses, including influenza A virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Thus, a face mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE) made from this fiber is expected to provide better protection against viral transmission. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

Since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in late December 2019, the highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected nearly 48 million people and claimed more than 1.22 million lives globally. Until the development of specific therapeutics or vaccines, proper implementation of non-pharmacological measures, such as wearing face masks or the use of other PPE, frequently washing/sanitizing hands, and movement restrictions, are believed to be the best possible way to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Although face masks can protect the respiratory system from direct viral infection, viruses can remain active for hours on the PPE surface. In such circumstances, there is always a risk of further viral transmission if the PPE/face mask is not discarded appropriately after use.

In the current study, the scientists aimed to construct a special type of zinc-embedded fabric and determine its efficacy in absorbing and inactivating human respiratory viruses, such as influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2. Several studies have shown that metals, such as copper and zinc, are effective in inactivating viruses. This is most likely because of metal ions' ability to trigger RNA hydrolysis, membrane disruption, or viral protein degradation.

Absorption and release of IAV and SARS-CoV-2 from fabrics. A) Photographs of cotton control, PA66 and polypropylene fabric samples. B) Schematic of the experimental procedure for exposing and isolating RNA virus from fabrics. C) Analysis of virus medium retention by fabrics per volume of input medium. Values were obtained by weighing each fabric before and after the addition of virus medium, and after removal of the virus medium. D) Analysis of virus medium retention by fabrics normalized by dry weight of each fabric. Values were obtained by weighing each fabric before and after the addition of virus medium, and after removal of the virus medium. E) Plaque assay of IAV present in virus medium after removal of the medium from each fabric. F) Quantitation of the amount of virus remaining on each fabric, normalized by the dry weight of each fabric. G) Effect of different tween-80 concentrations on IAV plaque assay read-out. H) Effect of 0.05% tween-80 in PBS on the amount of virus released from each fabric. I) Quantitation of IAV titers after absorption of the virus to the fabrics and washing of the fabrics with PBS or PBS containing different concentrations of tween-80. J) Quantitation of SARS-CoV-2 titers after absorption of the virus to the fabrics and washing of the fabrics with PBS or PBS containing different concentrations of tween-80. Error bars indicate standard deviation. Asterisk indicates pvalue, with * p<0.05, ** p<0.005, and ns p>0.05.
Current study design

The scientists tested the virus-absorbing ability of different fabrics, including cotton, polyamide 66, and polypropylene. Also, they checked whether zinc ions embedded in the fabrics are capable of inactivating viruses.
Important observations

The ability of fabrics to absorb viruses depends on many factors, such as hydrophobicity, breathability, and electrostaticity. To determine the correlation between moisture retention and virus absorption abilities of fabrics, the scientists sequentially applied liquid samples containing influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 to cotton, polyamide 66, and polypropylene. After 30 minutes of incubation, they checked the liquid retention and virus absorption ability of the fabrics. According to the study findings, cotton and polyamide fabrics retained more liquid and absorbed more viruses than the polypropylene fabric. However, in terms of removing the virus from the fabrics, cotton was found to be less favorable than polyamide fabrics. This indicates that face masks or PPE prepared from cotton or polyamide would be more effective in trapping respiratory viruses.

As an embedding metal, they chose zinc over copper because of the relatively higher zinc tendency to be ionized. This makes zinc rapidly available for reaction. For further experiments, they embedded zinc oxide in the polyamide 66 polymer and checked its ability to inactivate the influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2. According to the study findings, zinc ions significantly reduced the viral titer by destabilizing viral surface proteins, such as hemagglutinin and spike protein. Furthermore, they observed that the maximum reduction in viral titer occurred between 30 seconds and 5 minutes of viral incubation with zinc-embedded polyamide fabric.

Notably, the scientists observed that the zinc-embedded polyamide fabric can effectively inactivate a wide range of viral loads and that the inactivation rate can beat the amount of infectious virus expelled by a cough.
The study significance

The study findings indicate that face masks or other PPE prepared from zinc-embedded polyamide fibers can provide better protection against highly infectious respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus. The study also suggests that cotton masks with higher virus-absorbing and lower virus-releasing abilities may actually increase the risk of viral infection if reused without proper washing. Similarly, polypropylene-based masks with lower virus absorption ability may accelerate viral transmission.
*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Journal reference:
bioRxiv preprint server. 2020. Gopal V. Zinc-embedded fabrics inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.02.365833v2

Written by
Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta is a science communicator who believes in spreading the power of science in every corner of the world. She has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree and a Master's of Science (M.Sc.) in biology and human physiology. Following her Master's degree, Sanchari went on to study a Ph.D. in human physiology. She has authored more than 10 original research articles, all of which have been published in world renowned international journals.

Canada's top doctor now recommends three mask layers masks for COVID-19 protection
'This is an additional recommendation, just to add another layer of protection,' says Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam

a day ago By: Sarah Grochowski

Photo: Face masks / Getty Images

The nation’s top doctor updated her non-medical mask recommendations Tuesday, saying they should now be made of at least three layers, one acting as a filter.

Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, is stressing the importance of extra protection against COVID-19 as the country heads indoors for winter.

“We’re not necessarily saying throw out everything that you have,” Tam said during a news conference.

"This is an additional recommendation, just to add another layer of protection."

People currently using two-layered masks do not need to throw them in the trash but should purchase a disposable filter to insert between the layers, she said.

The fit is the most important thing, emphasized Tam.

This includes full coverage of the nose and mouth as well as comfort, breathability, and ideally, a nose pinch option.

Face coverings should be made of two layers of tightly-woven fabric like cotton or linen, plus a third layer of a filter-type material such as polypropylene, according to The Public Health Agency of Canada.

This article was originally published by Vancouver Is Awesome.

RNC Promoted A Voter Fraud Hotline On Twitter

And It Totally Backfired

Lee Moran
·Reporter,
HuffPost

Fri, 6 November 2020,

The Republican National Committee on Wednesday promoted a voter fraud hotline on Twitter. But it was soon swamped with replies from people claiming to have reported President Donald Trump for election misconduct.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the democratic process and falsely declared premature victory over Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 election, even with four states yet to be called and votes still left to count. The president has also baselessly accused Democrats of “trying to steal” the White House.

“I reported a mad man on Twitter that is demanding we stop counting the votes, and is threatening lawsuits if we don’t,” one person replied to the RNC.

Added another: “The call is coming from inside the house.”

BASF, partners put $4 billion India chemical complex on hold due to COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: Flags of the German chemical company BASF are pictured in Monheim

Thu, 5 November 2020

BERLIN (Reuters) - German chemicals maker BASF <BASFn.DE> said on Thursday that its plans to build a petrochemicals complex in India worth up to $4 billion (3.07 billion pounds) with partners had been put on hold due to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group and Borealis AG in October 2019 to evaluate a collaboration to build the chemical site in Mundra, in India's Gujarat state.

"The global economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic have led the partners to review the timing for undertaking this investment," BASF said in a statement.

"Despite all attempts to optimize the scope and the configuration, the project has been put on hold."

BASF in April scaled back its investment budget as the coronavirus crisis hit automakers, the chemicals giant's biggest customers.

Profits in the chemicals industry react strongly to a downturn because of the industry's exposure to cyclical sectors such as carmakers, while massive overheads prevent swift cost cutting.

Under the India plan, the partners wanted to build a plant to produce propylene from propane gas to be supplied by ADNOC.

It would have been the first plant in the world to be fully powered by renewable energy and BASF's biggest investment so far in India.

BASF said the partners remained convinced that India was a good place to invest and had agreed to periodically explore market conditions and discuss any opportunity that might arise over time.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Michelle Adair and Susan Fenton)

Bitcoin hits highest level since January 2018

amid post-election volatility

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are seen in this picture illustration

Anna Irrera
Thu, 5 November 2020

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin's <BTC=BTSP> price rose to more than $14,900 on Thursday, its highest level since January 2018, amid volatility caused by the U.S. election and investor hopes that more central bank stimulus to support economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will push up the value of digital assets.

The biggest cryptocurrency has surged more than 10% since the day of the presidential election, with Democrat Joe Biden edging closer to victory over President Donald Trump.

Bitcoin was last trading 5.4% higher at $14,930.

World tech stocks and bond markets also extended their rally on Thursday.

"Bitcoin is the big winner from the current macro environment" said Anthony Pompliano, a co-founder and partner at cryptocurrency investment firm Morgan Creek Digital Assets. "As we saw coming out of the 2008 liquidity crisis, inflation hedge assets do very well when the Fed steps in with QE."

The Bank of England added 150 billion pounds to its asset purchase programme on Thursday, and the Federal Reserve is expected to signal later that it will do whatever it can to help the U.S. economy.

Bitcoin has been on an upswing over the past few weeks, after digital payments company PayPal Holdings Inc <PYPL.O> announced it would enable purchases with virtual coins on its platform.

The news bolstered long-standing expectations that bitcoin and its rivals could become a more viable form of payment, a goal that has been elusive.

HOPES PINNED ON FURTHER PRICE INCREASES

Bitcoin investors and enthusiasts are also pinning their hopes of further price increases on more clarity from global financial regulators on rules for cryptocurrencies and increased adoption by mainstream finance firms.

"The once dismissed asset is now acknowledged by traditional finance," said Dave Chapman, a Hong Kong-based executive director at OSL, a cryptocurrency brokerage. "It's not going away, and it has now been afforded the regulatory clarity from regulators, globally."

Blistering rallies are not uncommon in cryptocurrencies, and are generally followed by equally steep crashes, with many experts at a loss to identify a clear cause for changes of direction.

The price of bitcoin soared to more than $20,000 in December 2017 and crashed 50% the following month.

"Bitcoin doesn't go up or down for macroeconomic reasons, like QE or real investor decisions," said David Gerard, a cryptocurrency expert and author of recent book on Facebook-led virtual coin Libra.

"The market is thin and manipulated, and every price change is fully explained by internal market issues."

(Reporting by Anna Irrera, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Denver overturns pit bull ban after more than 30 years

IT'S THE OWNER NOT THE BREED
Phil Helsel
.

© Provided by NBC News

The vote has not been certified, but the measure Ballot Measure 2J had more than 65 percent of voters approving it, according to the city's elections division.

The ordinance banning ownership of pit bulls was enacted in 1989 after a number of people had been attacked.

The city council voted to end it in February, but that was vetoed by Mayor Michael Hancock, who cited concerns if someone were hurt following a repeal.

The group Replace Denver BSL in a Facebook post Thursday hailed the result as "an absolutely historic win." BSL stands for breed specific legislation.

While the repeal doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, the city published requirements for pet owners.

Dog owners in Denver are limited to two pit bulls and must get a special permit, which involves showing the animals are microchipped and vaccinated. If there are no incidents like a charged dog bite in three years, the special restrictions can be dropped.

Denver’s ordinance was first enacted after 20 people were attacked by pit bulls in Colorado between 1984 and May 1989, according to a history of the law published in 2005. A 3-year-old was fatally attacked in Denver in October 1986.

A spokesperson for the mayor told NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver in an email that "while Mayor Hancock has always been forthright in sharing he could not, in good conscious, sign the bill to overturn Denver’s pit bull ban, he has also been very clear he supported putting this decision in the hands of Denver voters."

THE MARK OF THE BEAST
DNA might replace barcodes to tag art, voter ballots: study

Thu, 5 November 2020

The DNA-based tagging method is cost-effective for the first time, said the researchers at University of Washington and Microsoft.

Easy-to-remove barcodes and QR codes used to tag everything from T-shirts to car engines may soon be replaced by a tagging system based on DNA and invisible to the naked eye, scientists said Thursday.

The DNA-based system could help anti-forgery efforts, according to researchers who said thieves struggle to find or tamper with a transparent splash of DNA on valuable or vulnerable items, such as election ballots, works of art, or secret documents.

In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft said that the molecular tagging system, called Porcupine, is -- unlike most alternatives -- cost-effective.

"Using DNA for tagging objects has been out of reach in the past because it is expensive and time consuming to write and read, and requires expensive lab equipment," lead author and a Washington University doctoral student Katie Doroschak told AFP.

Porcupine gets around this by prefabricating fragments of DNA that users can mix together arbitrarily to create new tags, the researchers said.

"Instead of radio waves or printed lines, the Porcupine tagging scheme relies on a set of distinct DNA strands called molecular bits, or 'molbits' for short," the University of Washington said in a statement.

"To encode an ID, we pair each digital bit with a molbit," explained Doroschak.

"If the digital bit is 1, we add its molbit to the tag, and if it's 0 we leave it out. Then we can dry it until it's ready to be decoded later," said Doroschak.

Once the item has been tagged, it can then be shipped or stored.

When someone wants to read the tag, water is added to rehydrate the molecular tag, which is read by a nanopore sequencer -- a DNA-reading device smaller than an IPhone.

-'Undetectable by sight'-

"The name Porcupine comes from a play on words (PORE-cupine, as in nanopore) and the idea that porcupines can 'tag' objects, and critters that dare to get too close," the lead author said.

Unlike existing systems to tag objects, DNA tags are undetectable by sight or touch, senior author Jeff Nivala said in a press release from Washington University.

"Practically speaking, this means they are difficult to tamper with.

"You could envision molecular tagging being used to track voters' ballots and prevent tampering in future elections," said Nivala.

The DNA-based technology might also be able to tag items that would be difficult to fix a barcode to.

"It is not possible to tag cotton or other fibres with conventional methods like RFID tags and QR codes, but a liquid DNA-based tag could be used as a mist," said Doroschak.

"This could be helpful for supply chains where origin tracing is important to retain the value of the product," she added.

The Number of the Beast (full text) by Robert Heinlein

https://metallicman.com/laoban4site/the-number-of-the-beast-full-text...

2020-05-10 · The Number of the Beast (full text) by Robert Heinlein. This is the full text of a very long full length novel by Robert Heinlein. It is about a “mad scientist” that builds a machine that can enter and leave different world-lines at will. ... The joy of intellectual discovery – the mark of a true scientist.” ...

RSA shares soar on £7bn takeover approach
One of Britain’s oldest insurance firms could fall into foreign ownership after attracting a £7.1bn takeover offer from Canadian and Scandinavian rivals

Michael O'Dwyer
Thu, 5 November 2020

RSA logo

.

Personal and commercial insurer RSA said it has received a potential 685p-per-share cash offer and that its board is minded to accept, sending the stock rocketing 45.8pc.

The FTSE 100 firm said it had been approached by Danish insurer Tryg and Canadian property and casualty insurance business Intact Financial Corporation, acting in partnership.

RSA - which underwrites home and pet insurance offered by the likes of John Lewis, Tesco and Argos - traces its roots back more than three centuries to the original Sun Insurance company set up in 1706 by entrepreneur Charles Povey to protect livelihoods after the Great Fire of London.

The consortium made its approach on Oct 2 but has not tabled a formal bid. Shares leapt to 670p having traded at just above 450p late on Thursday afternoon.

Markets Hub - RSA Insurance Group

The proposed cash offer would hand RSA shareholders 685p per share plus a previously announced 8p per share interim dividend.

Boss Stephen Hester - the former chief executive of bailed-out lender Natwest - would land up to £15.9m from payouts for shares which he owns outright and has coming his way under various bonus schemes if targets are hit.

There is no certainty that the consortium will make a formal bid and any offer would be subject to conditions including a period of due diligence, RSA said as it confirmed the talks following a report by Bloomberg.

The announcement raised the prospect that the company could be split up.

Intact, which has a market value of £12.2bn, intends to retain RSA’s Candian division and its UK and international unit.

Copenhagen-listed Tryg, which is worth £6.8bn, would take over the Swedish and Norwegian operations.

The pair would jointly own RSA’s Danish business, which is being restructured by Tryg's former finance chief.

Philip Kett, an analyst at Jefferies, said that a 685p offer “would represent more than fair value for RSA”. Rival insurer Zurich aborted a £5.6bn bid for the firm in 2015.

The approach was revealed just hours after RSA disclosed that a fall in claims from customers staying at home during the pandemic helped to offset a slump in sales in the third quarter.

Group business operating profit increased in the first nine months of the year helped by strong underwriting, the firm said.

The company sold £4.7bn worth of insurance in the first nine months of the year, 3pc lower than a year ago. It blamed the fall on Covid-19.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment