Seabed sediment and asphalt areas are noteworthy sources of heat energy

Wider use of geoenergy would improve energy self-sufficiency

UNIVERSITY OF VAASA

Research News

IMAGE: ANNE MÄKIRANTA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VAASA CAMPUS. view more 

CREDIT: RIIKKA KALMI

According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, seabed sediment and asphalt areas are noteworthy sources of heat energy also in northern conditions. Sediment heat has been studied in Suvilahti, Vaasa, and asphalt heat in the parking area of University of Vaasa for several years.

- I studied the usability of two new kinds of geothermal heat sources in Finnish conditions, says Mäkiranta, who is defending her doctoral dissertation on 18th December in the University of Vaasa.

A city area accumulates enormous amounts of heat energy into their environments due to buildings, streets, traffic and people. Also the scarcity of vegetation has the impact that it is warmer in a city environment than in the countryside. Heat collects, among other things, below asphalt surfaces and in the substrate of shallow water bodies.

In the study, the renewability of sediment heat was first verified. Undersea sediment is nature's own heat reservoir, so to speak. The sun charges heat into the sediment layer during the summer. The 2008 housing exhibition area of Suvilahti, Vaasa uses this heat reservoir for heating and cooling the houses. Permanent lowering of the sediment's temperature was not observed despite several heating seasons.

Below asphalt, temperatures were found to remain above zero degree in a depth of half a meter from April until December. According to Mäkiranta, because of its seasonal availability, asphalt heat should be stored or used for example to revive a heat well instead of direct use. A particular downside of asphalt heat is heat loss during the night. The usability of asphalt heat can be developed by improving the heat transferability of asphalt by changing the soil structures below the asphalt or by irrigation of the asphalt surface.

Wider use of geoenergy would improve energy self-sufficiency

The wider perspective of the study concerns saving energy and energy self-sufficiency.

- My doctoral thesis studies the possibilities of utilising urban energy right where it is generated. Furthermore, the energy self-sufficiency of our country can be improved by investing in more extensive use of geoenergy than is currently the case. Local energy should be used as extensively as possible instead of transporting energy from long distances, says Mäkiranta.

- Why bring energy for example in the form of heating fuel from far away, when underground local heat and local sources of waste heat are available and usable?

The doctoral dissertation consists of seven part-studies, four of which concern sediment heat and three concern asphalt heat. The part-studies have been published as seven peer-reviewed articles. Research measurements were carried out in the period 2013-2017.

Public defence

The public examination of M.Sc. Anne Mäkiranta's doctoral dissertation "Renewable thermal energy sources: sediment and asphalt energy applications in an urban northern environment" will be held on Friday 18 December 2020 at 12.

The event will be organized online:
https://uwasa.zoom.us/j/64924660831?pwd=cDlaak9QRllXN2RuZlB1ME9wZVpndz09

The field of dissertation is Energy Technology. Professor Markku Virtanen (Aalto University) will act as an opponent and Research Manager, Ph.D. Erkki Hiltunen as a custos. The examination will be held in Finnish.

###

Doctoral dissertation

Mäkiranta, Anne (2020) Renewable thermal energy sources: sediment and asphalt energy applications in an urban northern environment. Acta Wasaensia 454. Doctoral dissertation. University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto.

Publication pdf:
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-476-935-8

More frequent and extreme marine heatwaves likely to threaten starfish

BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Research News

 

IMAGE: FABIAN WOLF WORKING AT ONE OF THE TANKS OF THE KIEL INDOOR BENTHOCOSMS. view more 

CREDIT: CREDIT SARAH RÜHMKORFF

Common starfish cannot survive amplified marine heatwaves projected at the end of the century and experience lasting negative effects from current heatwaves, according to new research being presented on at the British Ecological Society's Festival of Ecology.

In experiments simulating extreme ocean conditions, researchers at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel found that heatwaves of +8 °C, projected by 2100, killed 100% of starfish tested. Heatwaves of this magnitude are only 1 degree warmer than heatwaves recorded in 2018 in the Kiel Fjord, where the research took place.

They also found that present day heatwaves of +5 °C - experienced in summer months - negatively affected starfish feeding. If the heatwave was short, star fish were able to recover, but during extended heatwaves, starfish were unable to recover and lost weight.

Fabian Wolf, who is presenting the research, said: "Our findings showcase that extreme environmental conditions such as marine heatwaves may temporally exceed a species tolerance limit with potential implications for populations at these shallow coastal depths."

The researchers also tested the combined effects of other extreme events. In each treatment, heatwaves were followed by a simulated hypoxic upwelling event, a phenomenon where coastal water becomes colder, more saline, more acidic and higher in CO2.

Fabian explains: "During spring and summer, plankton blooms (which often benefit from global warming) sink to the sea's bottom as dead material. Here, bacteria degrade this material, consuming oxygen and producing carbon dioxide. In coastal areas, particularly strong and persistent winds may push the surface water away from land, while deep (acidified and hypoxic water) is shoaled up the shores."

The researchers found that starfish that didn't experience a heatwave were more affected by a subsequent hypoxic upwelling event, with a significant reduction in their activity. They propose that the first stressor, the heatwave, could provide resilience for the starfish that enables them to better cope with the second, the upwelling event.

"Our results emphasise that it is crucial to study different stressors in combination and not isolation as stressors naturally occur in succession, meaning that they are never independent of each other." said Fabian.

Common starfish, which are found widely throughout the North-East Atlantic and are a familiar fixture of UK rockpools, are known as a keystone species, characterised by their high importance in the ecosystem. As a predator, common starfish prey on blue mussels and control their population size.

"If the common starfish is lost from a relatively species-poor system, blue mussels may grow uncontrolled and form monocultures. Other habitat-forming species like seagrass and seaweed could be lost in the process of blue mussel propagation." said Fabian.

"It must also be considered that other, non-native species may come and fill these gaps, as can be seen by several recently introduced crab species to the Western Baltic Sea that have blue mussels as their preferred prey."

Even if common starfish are not killed outright by heatwaves, the researcher's findings that they lose weight in extended heatwaves could alter the prey they're able to eat. This is because starfish select prey based on its size comparative to them. If smaller starfish are only able to feed on juvenile blue mussels, populations might get older, impacting the ecosystem.

The researchers ran the experiments in a state-of-the-art facility consisting of large experimental tanks, the Kiel Indoor Benthocosms at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. These specialist tanks allowed the researchers to apply upwelling conditions and heatwaves of varying intensity and duration over 63 days of total experimental time.

To measure the effects these conditions had on the starfish, the researchers recorded their feeding rate (on blue mussels), their activity (time it took them the right themselves when tipped onto their backs) and weight change.

The researchers acknowledge the limitations in drawing conclusions on whole ecosystem impacts. Fabian said: "The impacts of marine heatwaves and hypoxic upwelling events on the blue mussel prey were neglected from the present study, limiting the conclusions to a top-down effect.

"Yet, in mussel-dominated ecosystems prey populations will be highly controlled by starfish and any implication for their performance will translate into ecosystem-level impacts."

In addition, this study does not factor in species behaviour in the natural environment. Starfish may avoid heated surface waters by moving to deeper water. But these waters may be hypoxic during summer months, shrinking their viable habitat.

The researchers hope that future work will help to reveal the underlying physical mechanisms behind their findings, such as the production of special proteins which help starfish deal with heat stress.

They also want to explore the impacts of extreme marine events on other species in coastal ecosystems. Fabian said: "Elucidating the overall impact of ocean change on mussel reefs may need to include all other predators in the system, and their responses to these simulated events."

CAPTION

Starfish feeding on a blue mussel in its separated replicated unit.

CREDIT

Credit Sarah Rühmkorff

###

Fabian Wolf will present the work the Festival of Ecology and his talk is available on demand during the conference. This work is unpublished and has not been through the peer-review process as of yet. This online conference will bring together 1,400 ecologists from more than 50 countries to discuss the most recent breakthroughs in ecology.

- Ends -

Silica the best environmental alternative to plastic microbeads, finds study

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Research News

 

Following bans on plastic microbeads in wash-off cosmetics, a new study weighs up the environmental costs of alternatives.

Microbeads have been included in personal care and cosmetic products ranging from toothpastes and sunscreen to body scrubs and industrial hand cleaners, usually to improve qualities like abrasiveness.

Microbeads are small, manufactured plastic pellets, typically measuring less than 0.5 millimetres (500 micrometres) in diameter. In many products they are designed to be washed off, where they pass through wastewater treatments plants and end up in marine ecosystems. Here, they can accumulate and be ingested by and cause harm to marine organisms.

This has led to them being banned in wash-off cosmetics in many regions, including the UK. Now, a research team from Imperial College London have assessed 29 alternatives to microbeads for their environmental impact.

They found that silica, a naturally occurring and abundant mineral, was the best alternative, performing overall better than plastic microbeads across all categories. The results are published today in Nature Sustainability.

Lead researcher Professor Nick Voulvoulis, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: "Banning microbeads based on evidence of their long-term environmental impacts is a good step, but there may be unforeseen environmental impacts unless substitutes are chosen carefully. Not every apparently 'natural' alternative is desirable, so care is needed in selecting new cosmetic formulations."

The team evaluated 29 alternatives to microbeads, including different plastic formulations, minerals like silica, salt and pumice, and plant and animal-derived products like almond shells, oats and pearls. For each alternative, the researchers considered the environmental impact of their 'life cycle' - from extraction and manufacture to end use and disposal.

For each stage they evaluated different factors affecting environmental and human health, such as toxicity, ozone depletion, and use of scarce resources.

They found that two major factors influence the environmental credentials of the materials: the amount of energy-intensive processing they require (creating greenhouse gases), and, for plant-based materials, the amount of land and water they require.

This analysis showed that almond shells, often considered a desirable 'natural' alternative, require a lot of land and water to grow, and when grown in water-scarce areas, represent a poor environmental alternative. Citric acid requires far less water and land, but is heavily processed, requiring a lot of energy for manufacture.

The best-performing alternative, silica, is chemically inactive, non-toxic and naturally occurring, making it easy to source and process and unlikely to cause long-term negative effects.

However, the team also note that the 'best' alternative depends on the context. For example, titanium dioxide, used in toothpastes, has a relatively high environmental impact - but it is also used in sunscreens, where alternatives may not have the same health benefit of preventing skin cancers.

First author Claire Hunt, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: "The ban on microbeads was largely driven by concern about the long-term impacts on marine ecosystems. We instead looked for the potentially hidden environmental costs of alternatives. "This approach could be replicated in other areas looking to eliminate plastic waste and pollution, such as packaging alternatives using plant-derived materials or biodegradable plastics."

###

LED lights found to kill coronavirus: Global first in fight against COVID-19

Tel Aviv University finding suggests technology can be installed in air conditioning, vacuum, and water systems

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have proven that the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). They believe that the UV-LED technology will soon be available for private and commercial use.

This is the first study conducted on the disinfection efficiency of UV-LED irradiation at different wavelengths or frequencies on a virus from the family of coronaviruses. The study was led by Professor Hadas Mamane, Head of the Environmental Engineering Program at TAU's School of Mechnical Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. The article was published in November 2020 issue of the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.

"The entire world is currently looking for effective solutions to disinfect the coronavirus," said Professor Mamane. "The problem is that in order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall, or plane by chemical spraying, you need physical manpower, and in order for the spraying to be effective, you have to give the chemical time to act on the surface. Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilize the air sucked in and then emitted into the room.

"We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light," she explained. "We killed the viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs, which consume little energy and do not contain mercury like regular bulbs. Our research has commercial and societal implications, given the possibility of using such LED bulbs in all areas of our lives, safely and quickly."

The researchers tested the optimal wavelength for killing the coronavirus and found that a length of 285 nanometers (nm) was almost as efficient in disinfecting the virus as a wavelength of 265 nm, requiring less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of the coronaviruses. This result is significant because the cost of 285 nm LED bulbs is much lower than that of 265 nm bulbs, and the former are also more readily available.

Eventually, as the science develops, the industry will be able to make the necessary adjustments and install the bulbs in robotic systems or air conditioning, vacuum, and water systems, and thereby be able to efficiently disinfect large surfaces and spaces. Professor Mamane believes that the technology will be available for use in the near future.

It is important to note that it is very dangerous to try to use this method to disinfect surfaces inside homes. To be fully effective, a system must be designed so that a person is not directly exposed to the light.

In the future, the researchers will test their unique combination of integrated damage mechanisms and more ideas they recently developed on combined efficient direct and indirect damage to bacteria and viruses on different surfaces, air, and water.

###

The study was conducted in collaboration with Professor Yoram Gerchman of Oranim College; Dr. Michal Mandelboim, Director of the National Center for Influenza and Respiratory Viruses at Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer; and Nehemya Friedman from Tel Hashomer.

ABOUT TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY

Tel Aviv University (TAU) is Israel's largest public institution of higher learning and is home to 30,000 students, including 2,100 international students from over 100 countries. The University encompasses nine faculties, 35 schools, 400 labs, and has 17 affiliated hospitals in its network.

Compound derived from thunder god vine could help pancreatic cancer patients

TGen-led study indicates drug attacks 'super-enhancers' in the DNA of cancer cells and in the stromal cocoon that hides the tumor from the immune system

THE TRANSLATIONAL GENOMICS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Research News

 

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Dec. 14, 2020 -- The results of a pre-clinical study led by researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, suggest how a compound derived from the thunder god vine -- an herb used in China for centuries to treat joint pain, swelling and fever -- is able to kill cancer cells and potentially improve clinical outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.

The medicinal plant's key ingredient, triptolide, is the basis of a water-soluble prodrug called Minnelide, which appears to attack pancreatic cancer cells and the cocoon of stroma surrounding the tumor that shields it from the body's immune system. Investigators recently published the study results in the journal Oncogenesis.

The study found that the compound's mechanism of action is the ability of triptolide (Minnelide) to disrupt what are known as super-enhancers, strings of DNA needed to maintain the genetic stability of pancreatic cancer cells and the cancer-associated-fibroblasts that help make up the stroma surrounding the cancer.

"The cancer cells rely on super-enhancers for their growth and survival," said Dr. Haiyong Han, a Professor in TGen's Molecular Medicine Division and one of the study's senior authors.

"We found that by disrupting these super-enhancers triptolide not only attacks the cancer cells, but also the stroma, which helps accelerate cancer cell death.

"While triptolide has been known to be a general transcriptional inhibitor and a potent antitumor agent, we are the first to report its role in modulating super-enhancers to regulate the expression of genes, especially cancer-causing genes," said Dr. Han, who also is head of the basic research unit in TGen's Pancreatic Cancer Program.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., annually killing more than 47,000 Americans.

"There is an urgent need to identify and develop treatment strategies that not only target the tumor cells, but can also modulate the stromal cells," said Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen Distinguished Professor and another senior author of the study.

"Based on our findings, using modulating compounds such as triptolide to reprogram super-enhancers may provide means for effective treatment options for pancreas cancer patients," said Dr. Von Hoff, considered one of the nation's leading authorities on pancreatic cancer.

Thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii), also known as léi g?ng téng, is native to China, Japan and Korea. Traditional Chinese medicine has used the vine for more than 2,000 years as a treatment for everything from fever to inflammation and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The chemical compound triptolide is among the more than 100 bioactive ingredients derived from the thunder god vine.

###

The study -- Triptolide targets super-enhancer networks in pancreatic cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts -- was published Nov. 9 in Oncogenisis.

Also contributing to this study were: Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Funding for this study was provided by grants from: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)-Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team; Baylor Scott & White Research Institute; the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Additional support was provided by: the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; the Salk Cancer Center; and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.

About TGen, an affiliate of City of Hope

Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life-changing results. TGen is affiliated with City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases: CityofHope.org. This precision medicine affiliation enables both institutes to complement each other in research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a significant clinical setting to advance scientific discoveries made by TGen. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases through cutting-edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research toward patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and complex rare diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.

Tripterygium Wilfordii

Tripterygium wilfordii, or léi gōng téng, sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Salt-tolerant bacteria with an appetite for sludge make biodegradable plastics

Using a bacterial strain found in mangroves, Texas A&M researchers have uncovered a low-cost, sustainable method for producing bioplastics from sewage sludge and wastewater

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

    SHARE

 PRINT  E-MAIL

IMAGE: ZOBELLELLA DENITRIFICANS ZD1 BACTERIA FEED ON SLUDGE (BOTH SHOWN IN TEST TUBE) TO MAKE BIODEGRADE BIOPLASTICS. view more 

CREDIT: DR. KUNG-HUI (BELLA) CHU

The United States generates seven million tons of sewage sludge annually, enough to fill 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. While a portion of this waste is repurposed for manure and other land applications, a substantial amount is still disposed of in landfills. In a new study, Texas A&M University researchers have uncovered an efficient way to use leftover sludge to make biodegradable plastics.

In the September issue of the journal American Chemical Society (ACS) Omega, the researchers report that the bacterium Zobellella denitrificans ZD1, found in mangroves, can consume sludge and wastewater to produce polyhydroxybutyrate, a type of biopolymer that can be used in lieu of petroleum-based plastics. In addition to reducing the burden on landfills and the environment, the researchers said Zobellella denitrificans ZD1 offers a way to cut down upstream costs for bioplastics manufacturing, a step toward making them more competitively priced against regular plastics.

"The price of raw materials to cultivate biopolymer-producing bacteria accounts for 25-45% of the total production cost of manufacturing bioplastics. Certainly, this cost can be greatly reduced if we can tap into an alternate resource that is cheaper and readily obtainable," said Kung-Hui (Bella) Chu, professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "We have demonstrated a potential way to use municipal wastewater-activated sludge and agri- and aqua-culture industrial wastewater to make biodegradable plastics. Furthermore, the bacterial strain does not require elaborate sterilization processes to prevent contamination from other microbes, further cutting down operating and production costs of bioplastics."

Polyhydroxybutyrate, an emerging class of bioplastics, is produced by several bacterial species when they experience an imbalance of nutrients in their environment. This polymer acts as the bacteria's supplemental energy reserves, similar to fat deposits in animals. In particular, an abundance of carbon sources and a depletion of either nitrogen, phosphorous or oxygen, cause bacteria to erratically consume their carbon sources and produce polyhydroxybutyrate as a stress response.

One such medium that can force bacteria to make polyhydroxybutyrate is crude glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel manufacturing. Crude glycerol is rich in carbon and has no nitrogen, making it a suitable raw material for making bioplastics. However, crude glycerol contains impurities such as fatty acids, salts and methanol, which can prohibit bacterial growth. Like crude glycerol, sludge from wastewater also has many of the same fatty acids and salts. Chu said that the effects of these fatty acids on bacterial growth and, consequently, polyhydroxybutyrate production had not yet been examined.

"There is a multitude of bacterial species that make polyhydroxybutyrate, but only a few that can survive in high-salt environments and even fewer among those strains can produce polyhydroxybutyrate from pure glycerol," Chu said. "We looked at the possibility of whether these salt-tolerating strains can also grow on crude glycerol and wastewater."

For their study, Chu and her team chose the Zobellella denitrificans ZD1, whose natural habitat is the salt waters of mangroves. They then tested the growth and the ability of this bacteria to produce polyhydroxybutyrate in pure glycerol. The researchers also repeated the same experiments with other bacterial strains that are known producers of polyhydroxybutyrate. They found that Zobellella denitrificans DZ1 was able to thrive in pure glycerol and produced the maximum amount of polyhydroxybutyrate in proportion to its weight without water.

Next, the team tested the growth and ability of Zobellella denitrificans ZD1 to produce polyhydroxybutyrate in glycerol containing salt and fatty acids. They found that even in these conditions, it produced polyhydroxybutyrate efficiently, even under balanced nutrient conditions. When they repeated the experiments in samples of high-strength synthetic wastewater and wastewater-activated sludge, they found the bacteria was still able to make polyhydroxybutyrate, although at quantities lower than if they were in crude glycerol.

Chu noted that by leveraging Zobellella denitrificans ZD1 tolerance for salty environments, expensive sterilization processes that are normally needed when working with other strains of bacteria could be avoided.

"Zobellella denitrificans ZD1 natural preference for salinity is fantastic because we can, if needed, tweak the chemical composition of the waste by just adding common salts. This environment would be toxic for other strains of bacteria," she said. "So, we are offering a low cost, a sustainable method to make bioplastics and another way to repurpose biowastes that are costly to dispose of."

###

Other contributors to this research include Fahad Asiri, Chih-Hung Chen, Myung Hwangbo and Yiru Shao from the civil and environmental engineering department at Texas A&M.

This research is supported by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, the Ministry of Higher Education of Kuwait Fellowship and the fellowship from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.

Sweden faces a ‘terrible’ reality as health-care workers quit 

Updated: Dec. 14, 2020 



‘I talked to members in August who said they would resign because it was the only way to get some time off and recover. We see high rates of sickness, symptoms of exhaustion and members who have been infected.’

That’s Sineva Ribeiro, the chairwoman of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, talking to Bloomberg about the “terrible” situation in Sweden as coronavirus infections continue to spread.

She explained that there was “a shortage of specialist nurses, including at ICUs,” even before the pandemic hit back in March. With Stockholm’s intensive care capacity reaching 99% last week, the capital city is calling for outside help to handle the increasing number of patients.

As you can see from this chart, the trend is troubling:



Bloomberg highlighted a survey by broadcaster TV4 showing 13 of Sweden’s 21 regions saw a jump in resignations in the health-care profession from a year ago, at as many as 500 a month.

“In a work environment where you are so tired, the risk of mistakes increases,” Ribeiro said in the interview. “And those mistakes can lead to patients dying.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. still holds the highest case total in the world at 16.26 million, with almost 300,000 deaths, which is roughly a fifth of the global totals, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. There were a record 109,331 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Sunday, topping the record of 108,487 set a day earlier.

Josh Brown wants you to send this election conspiracy chart to ‘the most insane people you know’

 Dec. 15, 2020 By Shawn Langlois

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, saluting in this Caracas mural as the current embattled leader Nicolás Maduro holds a child, has been dead since 2013, yet he plays a role in at least one conspiracy theory about the U.S. election last month. 

FEDERICO PARRA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Dominion Resources→”Minions”→Illumination Entertainment→the Illumanati→”Deep State.” Of course! Just follow the money, the fraud and the fake news. It all makes perfect sense.

At least to “the most insane people you know,” in the words of Ritholtz Wealth Management adviser Josh Brown, who flagged this chart from JPMorgan JPM, +1.71% strategist Michael Cembalest.

Brown described the chart as Cembalest’s “guide to understanding the massive wave of election fraud that’s currently threatening our democracy,” and he urged readers of his popular Reformed Broker blog to “take this seriously before the pizza parlor baby-eaters take over.”

As for Cembalest, well, he was just having some fun.

“To see if I could understand the election process more clearly,” he told clients in a note, “I fed swing-state voter data, news stories and select Twitter feeds into our neural network model.”

While his visual is “obviously satire,” Cembalest acknowledged that he believes the election process still raises some questions that should be answered going forward..

“A post-mortem on how elections are conducted with large absentee ballot shares is a good idea,” he wrote. “And I also think the Supreme Court should clarify what state legislatures and courts can and cannot do regarding election law changes.”

Having said all that, is still possible, even now that the Electoral College has cast 306 votes for Joe Biden and even Mitch McConnell and Vladimir Putin have recognized him as president-elect? “Yes, technically,” Cembalest said, “but it would take a series of highly unlikely and improbable events.”

The Electoral College formally declared Joe Biden president-elect Monday, after California cast its 55 votes for the former vice president and put him beyond the 270 vote threshold needed to secure victory.
.
About the Author

Shawn Langlois is an editor and writer for MarketWatch in Los Angeles.

When you can't afford to go on lockdown

Lower rates of self-isolation were observed in low-income areas

NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

Research News

 

Researchers at HSE University and Lomonosov Moscow State University analyzed data on Russians' movements during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their analysis showed that residents of lower-income municipalities self-isolated less compared to residents of higher-income cities. The findings were published in the journal Environment and Planning A.

Restrictions on population mobility reduce the frequency with which infected people come into contact with uninfected ones, thereby reducing infection rates and the consequences of the pandemic. However, the effectiveness of these measures depends on the extent to which they are observed. The most reliable way to determine this was to assess citizens' levels of mobility.

The researchers decided to find out what impact the level of wages has on citizens' mobility. To do this, they analyzed Yandex data on the share of people leaving the immediate vicinity of their homes from early March to late June. The sample included 308 Russian municipalities, which were divided into 10 groups according to residents' level of wages.

At the end of March, a regime of "non-working days" was introduced in Russia, followed by the closure of most companies and public transport. Already in the first week, the main mobility trend emerged: residents of the richest cities moved around the city 1.5-2 times less compared to residents of the poorest municipalities in the sample.

After the «non-working days» period was extended by a month, isolation rates in high- and middle-income cities fell by a third and the gap between rich and poor municipalities narrowed. It is likely that residents of wealthier areas also started looking for ways to maintain their incomes rather than staying at home. In poorer cities, the decline in mobility was smaller but lasted much longer. This can be explained by the fact that these areas have greater shares of residents working in the public sector, and employees of this sector received compensation from the state for their loss of wages.

When the national "non-working days" period ended, the trend reversed, with residents in wealthy cities returning more quickly to pre-isolation levels of mobility than those in poorer municipalities. As a result, the mobility curve of residents of poor areas is U-shaped, characteristic of protracted crises, while the curves of wealthy medium-sized municipalities are more like V-shaped.

The authors cite weak state assistance for citizens and businesses as a possible reason for these trends.

'The more vulnerable areas were de facto deprived of the opportunity to maintain a safe routine due to the need to maintain a minimum wage level on their own,' says Ruslan Dokhov, Senior Lecturer at HSE University.

###

FTC orders tech giants to provide details of how they collect data, and what effects they have on children

Regulators plan report that ‘will lift the hood on the social media and video streaming firms’

Published: Dec. 14, 2020 By Associated Press

Some of the biggest names in tech are facing further government scrutiny. 

AFP VIA GETTY 

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are ordering Facebook FB, -1.43%, Twitter TWTR, +0.12%, Amazon AMZN, -0.58%, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens.

The Federal Trade Commission’s action announced Monday goes to the heart of the tech industry’s lucrative business model: harvesting data from platform users and making it available to online advertisers so they can pinpoint specific consumers to target.


The agency plans to use the information, due in 45 days, for a comprehensive study.

The other five companies are Reddit, Snap SNAP, +0.30%, Discord, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, and Alphabet’s GOOGL, -0.40% GOOG, -0.34% YouTube.

Regulators and lawmakers are increasingly weaving their concerns over data power and privacy into their investigations of Big Tech companies’ market dominance.

Read: Big Tech has an antitrust target on its back. Here’s why that should concern investors


When the FTC and 48 states and districts filed landmark antitrust lawsuits against Facebook last week, accusing it of abusing its market power to crush smaller competitors, they also alleged that the company’s conduct has harmed consumers’ data privacy.

Facebook, the largest social network, gets the bulk of its revenue — which reached $70.7 billion last year — from online ads.

With its new request, the FTC wants to know how social media and video streaming services collect, use and track consumers’ personal and demographic information, how they decide which ads and other content are shown to consumers, whether they apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information, how they measure and promote user engagement and how their practices affect children and teens.

“Never before has there been an industry capable of surveilling and monetizing so much of our personal lives,” three of the five FTC commissioners said in a statement. They said the planned study “will lift the hood on the social media and video streaming firms to carefully study their engines.”


Twitter said in a statement, “We’re working, as we always do, to ensure the FTC has the information it needs to understand how Twitter operates its services.”

Support has grown in Congress for a national privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the biggest tech companies to collect and make money from users’ personal data. Legislation could gain steam in the new Congress next year with support from the Biden administration.

The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion last year for alleged privacy violations and instituted new oversight and restrictions on its business. The fine was the largest the agency had ever levied on a tech company, although it had no visible impact on Facebook’s business.

Also last year, YouTube was fined $170 million — $136 million by the FTC and $34 million by New York state — to settle allegations that it collected children’s personal data without their parents’ c