Monday, March 30, 2009

Shoes For Bush

Baghdad (ANTARA News) - Sebuah patung sepatu raksasa dari perunggu telah berdiri untuk menghormati wartawan Irak yang dengan seketika merebut perhatian dunia setelah ia melempar sepasang sepatunya pada mantan Presiden AS, George W. Bush pada tahun lalu.



Sepatu tersebut berdiri setinggi tiga meter di atas tumpuan putih di Tikrit, kota asal diktator Irak yang dieksekusi, Saddam Hussein.

Rumpun mawar tumbuh dekat monumen itu yang didirikan di taman yayasan Irak yang menyantuni anak-anak yang orang tuanya tewas dalam aksi kekerasan di Irak, menyusul invasi pimpinan AS pada Maret 2003.

Pada kaki monumen terdapat puisi yang memuji wartawan Irak itu, Muntazer Al-Zaidi.

Patung ini karya seniman Irak, Laith Al-Ameri.

"Patung sepatu ini merupakan hadiah kepada keluarga Muntazer Al-Zaidi, seorang pahlawan, yang berkat aksinya membuat rakyat Irak bangga," kata seorang pengurus yayasan di depan 400 orang yang hadir dalam peresmian patung, sebagaimana dilaporkan AFP.

Menurut ketua yayasan, Shaha Al-Juburi, pembuatan patung tersebut tidak didukung partai politik atau organisasi apapun.

Al-Zaidi melempar sepasang sepatunya kepada Bush dalam kunjungan perpisahan presiden AS itu pada 14 Desember, dalam aksi yang dipandang sebagai penghinaan berat menurut budaya Arab.
Tindakannya dipuji di dunia Arab sebagai hadiah perpisahan yang ideal terhadap seorang presiden yang sangat tidak populer di kawasan itu.
Zaidi ditahan setelah tindakannya itu dan dituduh "menyerang seorang kepala negara asing dalam kunjungan kenegaraan." Ia menghadapi ancaman hukuman 15 tahun penjara jika terbukti bersalah.


Man OF The Year


And Let the good times roll ...








Not Flower Just Shoes

Ferrari motorcycle


1995 Ferrari motorcycle to be auctioned


Ferrari doesn't make motorcycles. At least, not officially... but that fact hasn't stopped a number of custom cycle makers from taking matters into their own hands. Perhaps the most famous Maranello-inspired two-wheeler was made by Arlen Ness, but that one's not all that practical in conception. We would imagine a Ferrari motorcycle to be a truly sporting machine, equally as comfortable on the race track as the street, or, more realistically, being shown off in one's garage. Ferrari seems to agree, as the only cycle ever created that bears an official Ferrari chassis number -- SF-01M -- has true sporting pretensions.



Built by David Kay Engineering and completed in 1995, this one-and-only Ferrari motorcycle sports a DOHC engine displacing 900cc and putting out 105 horsepower at 8,800rpm. The only styling choice we take exception with are the Testarossa-style strakes on either side, but nothing's perfect, right? So, what's the only officially official Ferrari bike worth? We'll find out for sure when the auction ends on the 20th, but the expected price is between 325,000-375,000 Swiss francs, or around $300K in U.S. dollars.




Lean Machine: Ferrari V4 superbike concept






This may not be the first effort at creating a Ferrari motorcycle, but it may very well be the best. Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, the departed son of company founder Enzo, was said to have raced specially-prepared motorcycles in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Kay Engineering crafted a racing bike, now said to be worth half a million dollars, with full factory backing to honor Enzo Ferrari. In the '80s, legendary motorcycle designer Arlen Ness styled a one-off chopper on the Testarossa, while some guy named George crafted a pair of Ferrari-powered superbikes. Last year someone built a custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper for the retiring Michael Schumacher (who has since been trying his hand at motorbike racing), and earlier this year a collector crafted a model of what a Ferrari sportbike could look like. We're sure some more will be brought to our attention in the comments below, but while some of these creations have been more convincing than others, this one has to be the slickest.


The concept motorbike is the work of Israeli designer Amir Glinik, who centered his design around the theoretical application of the Ferrari Enzo's V12 engine, chopped down to four cylinders and modified to drive just one wheel in a motorcycle frame. Around the V4 engine, Glinik has designed a fluid shape that may appear more futuristic in its styling than inspired by current roadcar designs, but certainly catches your attention. Glinik has even planned out the theoretical controls, which blend elements from an F-16 fighter jet (more common in his home country than Ferraris, anyway) and the Scuderia's high-tech Formula One steering wheel, supplemented by a weatherproof touch-screen LCD atop the fuel tank.

Onetime Ferrari designer Frank Stephenson, now at arch-rival McLaren, was quoted as saying that the closest the average person will get to owning a Ferrari would be a Ducati. True as that may be, what you see here may be the most well thought-out and enticing application of the Ferrari ethos to two-wheeled motoring we've seen yet.




Kawasaki Car




Do you remember the Kawasaki race car? No, I didn’t either. Kawasaki makes powersports products, … motorcycles, personal watercraft, ATVs, they make small engines and power products, industrial equipment, too, … but when did they ever build a race car?

Kawasaki’s Early Years
Few seem to know very much about Kawasaki’s early years in the States. Entering the U.S. in the mid sixties, they were looking for a way to make a profit on the motorcycles they were already building in Japan. They started with a very small core of American employees, only four or five to begin, to build up a dealer base in the U.S. and to give a little guidance to Kawasaki on potential models for this new market. One of those first employees was Darrel Krause. Darrel commissioned an early marketing plan in 1966, went on to set two AMA speed records at Bonneville in 1967 on a Kawasaki 250 and managed their early racing teams in the U.S., too. His many contributions to Kawasaki continued, one of which was to help set up the engine division in Minneapolis around 1970.

Kawasaki Powered Racers
Kawasaki’s small engine division was doing alright making engines for Arctic Cat snowmobiles, which were being successfully raced, but they wanted to expand further. In 1972, as a way to gain positive exposure for their engines, while generating a bit of new demand, they came up with the idea of using these engines in a race car for a whole new special race series, sort of a summer continuation of the winter snowmobile racing. Darrel hired a racer and car builder by the name of Harvey Aschenbrenner to build a car using Kawasaki’s 440cc two stroke two cylinder snowmobile engine. The design concept they had in mind was along the lines of a mini version of the Can Am racers which were very popular in those years. There was a snowmobile show coming up in just over 3 months and they wanted a show car, using the engine, ready for display. When Harvey was told what they wanted, he sketched a “blueprint” on the back of a time card, showed Darrel the sketch and got an immediate go ahead.

Harvey Aschenbrenner Builds a Race Car
Harvey built the car the old fashioned (pre computer) way. You made a sketch, roughed out the measurements, got some metal and went to work. He built an aluminum monocoque tub with square tubing for the sub frames. He preferred round tubing but square was what he was told to use so square it was. The aluminum sheeting was bent over the edge of the workbench. A small machine shop down the street made hubs and spindles while the local salvage yard sourced the rack and pinion steering and other minor parts. Harvey then built wooden bulkheads and constructed the foam plug for the fiberglass body which was laid up and finished by a local fiberglass company.

Though Kawasaki had both a 3 cylinder 650cc engine and a 4 cylinder 800cc engine at the time, they wanted to use the 440cc racing engine. The transmission they had available was from an early motorcycle so Harvey came up with a way of adapting it to the engine and also figured out a gear ratio to take into account the 13 inch wheels with Firestone tires being used on the car. It was quite a guessing game since the bike contributing the transmission had taller wheels plus a four stroke engine with power starting down low while the car was a two stroke, power beginning up around 8000rpm.

First Time Out and First Photos
Kawasaki Race Car
Amazingly enough, everything came together and with about a week before the snowmobile show, Darrel lined up some track time at Elco Speedway for a photo session and shakedown run. Out on the track, they found the gearing was way off but managed to get the car going anyway and Harvey got up to speed. After a couple of laps the car broke loose, he did a 360 and the engine died. The photographer ran over and said not to move the car because it was right in front of the Kawasaki sign and that’s where the top color photo you see above was shot.

Click on these thumbnails for full size:

Kawasaki Race Car Kawasaki Race Car Kawasaki Race Car

After the snowmobile show that weekend, where the racer generated a lot of interest, they removed the transmission and replaced it with an axle clutch that would engage at 7000rpm trying to compensate for the badly misgeared original drive system. After a bit of tinkering and practice laps, Harvey clocked a lap of 14.56 seconds on the third mile oval against a track record of 14.54. Not bad at all!

They went back to the shop where Harvey tore the drivetrain down to install a torque converter to fix their power problems once and for all but just after everything was completely disassembled, Kawasaki told him he had to have the car at Laguna Seca for a demo run during the upcoming motorcycle races in two weeks. It was a five day drive from Minneapolis so they had just one week to build and test a new drive system and construct a trailer and paint it. It turns out, there wasn’t time to test.

Laguna Seca
The demo didn’t go well. Firing up the engine they immediately blew a piston and had a replacement flown in for the next day. They got the engine running but the new drive system had not been set up at all and after two 50mph laps they trailered the car and went home. Harvey felt the day had been a complete disaster.

Almost …
Photographs from the track, though, had generated a lot of interest because back in Minneapolis they began getting a lot of calls. They decided to build more of the cars so Harvey began building more chassis parts. They prepared to move ahead with a partner who promised to machine a number of castings while Harvey went to Florida for some engine testing, but when Harvey returned six weeks later, nothing had been done. At the same time, Kawasaki had more projects in the works and Darrel, who was moving to California asked Harvey to move out too, which he did. The race car project was left hanging and in the hands of the partner, and, though there were a few attempts to revive it, never quite got back in gear after a very promising start.

Harvey lost track of that original prototype and Kawasaki’s official factory auto racing effort faded into history. It makes a person wonder where that racing series might have gone, if only …

Conclusions
Compared to today’s efforts where a car builder in his home garage has advanced computer design software at his disposal, this was the essence of amateur construction. Considering this was a factory backed project where building was done primarily by one person with limited tooling, it shows not only how far we’ve come in terms of “factory projects” but what an incredible individual effort the Kawasaki race car really was. My hat is off to Kawasaki and Harvey Aschenbrenner for getting this car on the track at all.

The Yamaha Supercar


OX99-11 - The Yamaha Supercar





Yamaha also had a factory effort focused on the design and construction of, not a race car exactly, but an exotic supercar using a detuned version of Yamaha’s then Formula One V12 engine and built to the highest levels of automotive engineering and sophistication, the car was known as the OX99-11.


One of the key individuals involved in the project, Dave Sullivan, tells us how this car came about. You might notice the extreme contrast between this effort and the Kawasaki race project. Of course the purpose was completely different but nevertheless, it tells the story of forays into the automotive world not well known outside of those who were directly involved. Unfortunately, however, there is a similarity to these two very different stories, at the end, events derailed both projects just short of ultimate success.

There’s little I can add so I’ll let Dave tell you all about it:

In 1991 I was working for a company called IAD on the south coast of England. IAD were a design and engineering consultancy for the motor industry, we had worked on the Mazda Miata, Lincoln Town Car and Bentley Continental, to name but a few. I started as a structural engineer on the Town Car in 1988, and I was also doing chassis work by 1991.

Yamaha had conceived the OX99-11 several years earlier, but had been struggling to find a partner who could help them realize their ambition. Strangely it was the sporting goods division (with products ranging from Yachts to squash racquets), rather than the motorcycle arm, that was leading the project, and it was part of a master plan that included the Formula 1 engine program.

To support the Formula 1 project Yamaha had set up a subsidiary company called Ypsilon Technology in Milton Keynes, UK, where the engines would be serviced. The factory was chosen to be big enough to produce the OX99-11 and a small team, mostly from the Aston Martin race team, were hired to set up the factory and help engineer the car.



A German company had had a go at the project, and produced a prototype that looked a lot like the sports racing cars of the time, (Aluminum fabricated chassis), but Yamaha were not happy with this. I’m not sure how the initial contact with IAD was made but it was probably through Brabham, who were using the Yamaha V12 engines in F1. Anyway, I was invited along to one of the first meetings because of my interest and knowledge of racing (I was racing a small formula car at the time). I immediately connected with the Yamaha project manager and had a good understanding of what he wanted. At the next meeting, in Japan, I presented some sketches I had done of the chassis, and we came back with the project in the bag

The design we completed, in under 12 months, had the following spec:-

Engine:
Yamaha 3.5 litre V12 (De-tuned version of Formula 1 engine). Approx 400bhp at 10,000 rpm.
Chassis
Carbon Fibre “tub” with engine mounted directly to rear bulkhead (Manufactured by DPS composites)
Body
Aluminium panels hand made using traditional rolling techniques and hammer form tooling.
Front Suspension.
Double wishbones from Aero section steel tubing, fabricated uprights, push rods to inboard coil over damper units
Rear Suspension
Double wishbones from Aero section steel tubing, fabricated uprights, push rods to inboard coil over damper units mounted directly on gearbox.
Transmission
FF Developments 6 speed transaxle with limited slip differential and multi-plate AP racing clutch
Brakes
AP Racing 6 piston (Front) and 4 piston (Rear) billet machined calipers with Cast Iron discs.
Wheels
Magnesium Alloy
Tyres
Goodyear Eagle F1
Interior
Single central seat with small “pillion” seat just behind and to one side of the driver. Minimal trim
Door
Single “Gullwing” door


Because IAD were mostly experienced with road car design and build, and hence had the necessary understanding of the regulations the OX99-11 would have to meet, Yamaha were concerned that the required race car detail design and manufacture would not be captured. So they hired a consultant to oversee the design and lend it some credibility in the press. The man they chose was Robin Herd. Robin had been one of the founders of the March F1 team, and had a good reputation in the industry. He also brought in his chief designer Tino Belli to give us some guidance on the chassis and Aerodynamic design.

The first car we built was un-painted and used as a test hack. In order to keep the car secret, all the early testing was done at night at the Millbrook Proving Ground in the UK. It was also wind tunnel tested at MIRA in the UK. I was lucky enough to drive this car during testing and was mightily impressed with the engine. It could be driven like an ordinary car up to about 6,000 rpm, then all hell broke loose as it accelerated up to the 10,000 rpm red line.

IAD built 2 further cars, one black one red, which were used to test various systems and later used for the press launch of the car, when it was driven by John Watson the ex-formula 1 driver. We also built a rolling chassis for the launch to show off the Formula 1 inspired design. The car looked fantastic and got very good reviews. The only “independent” journalist to drive it was Paul Frere who loved it.

As the car was so different from anything we had done before it was far from “right first time” and early testing showed it needed a lot of development on areas such as Aerodynamics and Handling. Unfortunately we did not get to do this as IAD and Yamaha had a disagreement over budgets and the project was taken away from IAD, to be completed by Yamaha’s own team at Ypsilon.

However, Ypsilon only got about 6 months to develop the car before the plug was pulled on the whole thing. The Japanese economy was taking a dive at the time and Yamaha figured they would not find enough buyers if they launched the car at that time. They promised to come back to it in a year or so, but of course things move on and it never happed.

About a year later McLaren launched their F1, which although technically superior to the Yamaha, lacked the flair and sheer audacity of the OX99-11 which I think would, had it been built, have been one of the most outrageous cars ever made.

The key people.

Casey Yoshida - Yamaha Project Manager
Michael Bowler - MD Ypsilon Technology and journalist
Gary Blackham - Manufacturing Manager Ypsilon
Robin Herd - Consultant and former MD of March F1 team
Tino Belli - Consultant from March F1 team
Mike Foxon - Chief Engineer IAD
Pat Selwood - Body and manufacturing team leader
Dave Sullivan - Chassis, suspension and powertrain team leader





Sunday, March 29, 2009

Hot tea = cancer


The average preferred tea temperature in the UK is 56-60ºC

“Very hot tea and coffee linked to raised oesophagus cancer,” reads the headline in The Times today. The newspaper reported on findings from a study in northern Iran, which found that drinking tea at 70ºC or more increased the risk of cancer eight-fold compared to drinking warm or lukewarm tea (65ºC or less). Drinking it at 65-69ºC doubled the risk.

There are a number of points to consider when interpreting this study. It did not actually measure the temperature of tea drunk by the people with oesophageal cancer, rather it asked whether they drank their tea “very hot”, “hot”, or “warm or lukewarm”. These categories may mean different things to different people, and so it is difficult to identify the exact temperatures with which the risks are associated. Also, the researchers did not look at hot beverages other than tea, and so the results may not apply to these.

As the researchers say, studies have shown that the preferred tea temperature in the UK is 56-60ºC.

Where did the story come from?The research was carried out by Dr Farhad Islami and colleagues from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and other research centres in the UK, France, Sweden, the US and Iran. The work was funded by the Digestive Disease Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The study was published in the peer-reviewed British Medical Journal.

What kind of scientific study was this?

This case-control study looked at the effects of drinking tea at different temperatures on the risk of the most common form of oesophageal cancer (oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma). The study also had a cross-sectional part, which looked at the temperature that people in the Golestan province in Iran drank their tea.

In Europe and the US, the main risk factors for oesophageal cancer are tobacco and alcohol consumption, and the disease is more common in men than women. In Golestan, however, the risk of oesophageal cancer is high, and is found in equal levels in women and men, even though smoking and alcohol consumption is uncommon. Suggested reasons for this include low intake of fruit and vegetables, low socioeconomic status, opium use, and drinking very hot tea. The researchers were particularly interested in looking at the effects of drinking very hot tea, as this risk factor is widespread in the area, it starts at an early age, and it continues throughout life, and affects both men and women.

The researchers enrolled 300 people with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which had been confirmed by microscopic analysis (cases) from Golestan province. For each case, the researchers used data from an annual health census to identify potential controls of the same gender, age and place of residence, but did not have oesophageal cancer. From this list, two controls were randomly selected and asked to participate. If they did not agree, alternative controls were randomly selected. Using this process, the researchers managed to enrol 571 controls.

Cases and controls were interviewed by researchers using a standard questionnaire, which asked about personal characteristics and factors that might affect oesophageal cancer risk. They asked participants about their usual tea drinking habits; cases were asked for their habits before they developed symptoms of their cancer. This included whether they drank black or green tea, how often, and the volume of cups used (based on photos of five different-sized cups and mugs commonly used in the region). Those who drank tea were asked how hot it was when they drank it (very hot, hot, warm, or lukewarm), and how long they waited to drink their tea after it was poured. Data on tea temperature was available for 99% of participants, and the amount of tea was available for 89% of cases, and 67% of controls.

The researchers compared the cases and controls to see if they drank their tea at different temperatures. The analyses took into account factors that could affect results (potential confounders), such as vegetable intake and tobacco use (including cigarettes, pipes, hookah pipe, and chewing tobacco containing substances). They also took in to account opium use, ethnicity, and indicators of socioeconomic status, such as education, car ownership and length of residence in rural areas.

For the second part of their study, they assessed tea drinking habits in 48,582 healthy adults (age 40-75 years) from the same province. These participants were asked the same questions about tea drinking as the participants in the case-control study.

In addition, the researchers also measured the temperature of tea drunk by the participants. To do this, the researchers made a cup of tea for each participant, and measured its temperature. Once the temperature dropped to 75ºC, they asked the participant to sip the tea and say whether it was the temperature at which they usually drank their tea. If not, the tea was allowed to cool to 70ºC, and the participants were asked to try the tea again. This process was repeated with 5ºC temperature drops until the participant’s usual tea temperature was reached. They then compared results obtained on this test with the temperatures the participants had reported that they drank their tea, to see how well they matched.

What were the results of the study?

In the cross sectional part of their study that looked at the temperature at which people in the Golestan region drank their tea, the researchers found that almost all people (97%) surveyed in the Golestan region drank black tea regularly, and 6% drank green tea. On average, they drank more than a litre a day. When looking at tea temperatures, they found that 22% of people drank their tea at temperatures over 65ºC, 38.9% drank it at 60-64ºC, and 39% drank it at less than 60ºC.

Statistical tests showed a moderate agreement between the measured temperature and how hot the participants reported drinking their tea (very hot, hot, warm or lukewarm). There was slightly less agreement between the measured temperature and how long the participants reported waiting between pouring and drinking their tea.

In the case-control study, cases had slightly lower levels of education than controls, were less likely to own a car, and were more likely to use tobacco, opium or both. More cases drank their tea hot or very hot than controls. Of the cases, 21% reported drinking their tea very hot, 36% hot, and 43% warm or lukewarm. Among the controls, 3% reported drinking their tea very hot, 27% hot, and 69% warm or lukewarm.

After taking into account potential confounders, drinking very hot tea was associated with an eight-fold increase in the odds of getting oesophageal cancer, and hot tea with twofold increased odds, compared with drinking warm or lukewarm tea. Similarly, people who drank their tea less than two minutes after pouring had an almost 5.5-fold increase in odds of developing oesophageal cancer compared with drinking tea four minutes after it was poured. Those who waited two to three minutes increased their odds by about 2.5-fold.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers concluded that “drinking hot tea….was strongly associated with a higher risk of oesophageal cancer”. They say that “Nonetheless…..the nature and strength of the association needs to be established in prospective studies”.

What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?

There are a number of points to consider when interpreting this study:

  • As with all studies of this kind, it is possible that there are differences between cases and controls other than tea drinking, which have influenced the risk of developing oesophageal cancer. For example, the use of tobacco was higher in the cases than controls, and this could be having an effect. Although, the researchers did take into account tobacco use in their analyses, they only categorised the participants as using or not using, which does not account for the amount used or the duration of smoking. This and other unknown and unmeasured factors may still be having an effect.
  • In this type of study, questions have to be asked about previous exposure (in this case temperature of tea drinking), and this may lead to inaccuracies. This can be a particular problem if people with oesophageal cancer remembered their tea drinking differently to the controls, which might happen if they thought that their tea drinking was likely to have contributed to their cancer. However, the researchers thought this was unlikely because they did not discuss their study hypothesis with participants, and they did not find a difference in results between rural and urban areas or between those with and without formal education (those from urban areas or with formal education might be more likely to be aware of a possible link between hot tea and risk of oesophageal cancer). Also, as the questionnaire asked about “usual” tea drinking habits, before symptom onset in cases, this may not adequately capture lifetime tea drinking habits, or drinking habits before the development of cancer (as the cancer may have existed for a while before symptom onset).
  • The case-control study was relatively small, and ideally the results would be confirmed in larger prospective cohort studies, as acknowledged by the authors.
  • In the case-control study, participants were simply asked whether they usually drank tea very hot, hot, warm or lukewarm. It is difficult to say exactly what temperatures these categories represent, as they may mean different things to different people.
  • The study was carried out in Iran, and the results may not be representative of what would be found in other parts of the world, nor among ethnic backgrounds that differed from the study population.
  • This study only looked at tea drinking, therefore results may not be representative of the effects of other hot beverages.

This study suggests that it may be better to leave your tea to cool for a while rather than drinking it scalding hot. However, it is worth noting that the researchers say that studies have found that in the UK, a temperature of 56-60ºC is the average preferred tea temperature, while their study found that most people in the Golestan region drank their tea at above 60ºC.

Smoking and alcohol consumption are the main risk factors for oesophageal cancer in Europe, and people who want to reduce their risk should stop smoking and reduce their alcohol intake.

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LONDON - Manfaat kesehatan dengan meminum teh tentu sudah sering Anda dengar. Namun sebelum Anda meminumnya, sebaiknya terlebih dahulu biarkan teh tersebut mendingin. Hasil riset terbaru oleh peneliti Iran menemukan, meminum teh dalam keadaan masih panas dapat menyebabkan kanker tenggorokan.

Pada penelitian terdahulu, dalam British Medical Journal dikemukakan terdapat hubungan antara tembakau dan alkohol sebagai penyebab kanker oesophagus. Selain itu disebutkan pula, minuman panas berpotensi menimbulkan tumor.

Meminum teh panas dengan temperatur di atas 70 derajat celcius sama dengan meningkatkan resiko kanker tenggorokan delapan kali lipat lebih besar jika dibandingkan Anda meminumnya dalam keadaan suam-suam kuku, yaitu di bawah 65 derajat, demikian penjelasan peneliti seperti yang dilansir Reuters, Minggu (29/3/2009).

Bersama timnya, Reza Malekzadeh dari Tehran University meneliti kebiasaan minum 300 orang yang didiagnosa mengidap kanker tenggorokan, sementara 571 orang lainnya dalam keadaan sehat. Mereka semua berasal dari daerah yang sama, di provinsi Golestan, di Iran Utara.

Malekzadeh menjadikan daerah ini sebagai sampel penelitian karena Golestan merupakan salah satu daerah dengan tingkat kanker tenggorokan tertinggi di dunia. Namun sebaliknya tingkat kebiasaan merokok dan minum alkohol di daerah ini sangat rendah. Yang perlu diketahui, hampir semua penduduknya meminum teh hitam secara rutin, sebanyak satu liter setiap harinya.

Hasilnya, orang yang rutin meminum teh kurang dari dua menit setelah dituangkan, beresiko memicu berkembangnya kanker lebih cepat jika dibandingkan dengan mereka yang menunggu empat menit atau lebih.

Tidak ada keterangan pasti seberapa panas suhu teh yang menyebabkan kanker, namun peneliti menyimpulkan luka akibat panas dari teh akan menyebabkan iritasi tenggorokan.

Dampak kanker tenggorokan cukup mengerikan. Tercatat setiap tahunnya lebih dari 500.000 orang di dunia meninggal akibat penyakit ini. Penyakit ini tumbuh subur terutama di daerah Asia, Afrika, dan Amerika Selatan. Kanker ini termasuk mematikan, dengan rata-rata kesembuhan sekira 12 hingga 31 persen, itu pun membutuhkan waktu yang cukup lama, sekira 5 tahun. (srn)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

What Dog Can do

Are you afraid with dog ?




Well Think Again




They help each other








And They Love To Entertain You...watch

















All of these real stories are examples of how animals help human beings lead richer fuller lives than they may have without the help of the pet. They were awarded honors by the Delta Society, a non-profit organization that encourages the use of animals to help humans lead better lives.


Biyou, the Australian Shepherd dog

In the early days of 2001, 42 year-old Linda Parker was trying to save her horse that had fallen into the waters of a frozen pond. But, trying to be a rescuer, she fell in. She was now in a 50-50 coin flip of survival. Her dog, Biyou, a 3 year-old Australian Shepherd, heard her screams and dashed towards the pond like a cheetah. He pulled a wet, cold, scared Parker out of the water and onto her feet. But Parker’s troubles were not’t over yet. She still had to climb a steep hill and walk 200 yards until she got to the protection of her house! Thanks to Biyou’s gentle pushes of encouragement, Parker made it! Too bad her horse didn't.

Tang, the Amazing Collie

In 1954, a big collie named Tang was standing in front of a milk truck. He wouldn’t budge! He barked like mad until the driver got out. Good thing! In the back of the truck, there was a two year-old girl. If the truck drove away, the girl would have fallen out and probably cracked her head open. Yowzers!

Sable, the Black Lab

Marybeth Waltman had a problem with her body, so she had to use a wheelchair for decades, but the problem got worse. Then Sable entered her life, a black Labrador. Waltman is dependent on being connected to a ventilator at night. When she needs help, she triggers an alarm on her head which tells Sable that she is in trouble. Sable then immediately wakes up Jim, Marybeth’s husband, by jumping and barking on Jim’s bed. Sable saved her life 3 times. One of these times, Waltman fell backwards on her bed and found she couldn’t breath! She then alerted Sable to help her by getting Jim. At that time, Jim was on the other side of the house. Sable immediately began barking, but when Sable found that no one came, she went and found Jim who immediately came to the rescue with Sable right behind!

Sable also goes to the mall with Marybeth and other places, too. Sable picks up the items her owner drops, opens doors and pushes elevator buttons. She is a very useful dog.

Leo, the Hero Poodle

A poodle called Leo, 11 year-old Sean Callahan, and Sean's brother Erin were playing near a river in 1985. Suddenly the group spotted a HUGE diamondback rattlesnake. It was five and a half feet long! That's longer than me! Quickly, Leo leaped between the boys and the dangerously deadly snake. After that, the snake started launching attacks like a battleship. It took a bite into Leo's head six times! When Leo finally got to a vet, he was so weak he couldn't stand and his head was so swollen you couldn't see his left eye. Gladly, Leo survived!

Lucky the Cat

When Lucky was born, his face was deformed. Her owner was a person named Francis. Francis thought it might be a great idea if she brought him to Fairview Elementary School, located in Sherman, Texas where she teaches children who have problems with their hearing. She thought it would be a good idea to introduce Lucky to her students since Lucky was "different" and so were they. Lucky had a positive attitude despite his disability, and so did the kids. It was a good idea, because the children loved her.

When he meets the children, he greets them with a loud “meow” and paws their legs until they pet him. Everyone laughs when he decides study time is over, by lying on someone’s desk so they can’t work! The kids also compete for PAWS points, in which they can spend for time with Lucky.

The children have occasional lessons that center on Lucky, and they’ve written books about him. Lucky has also been the star of a classroom slideshow and a movie. The children always get excited when Lucky purrs because they know that they’re making Lucky happy, although they can’t hear it.

They can feel it though!


Love The Animals
...

An End of Days 2012

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Isu Kiamat Tahun 2012 yang Meresahkan
Di internet saat ini tengah dibanjiri tulisan yang membahas prediksi suku Maya yang pernah hidup di selatan Meksiko atau Guatemala tentang kiamat yang bakal terjadi pada 21 Desember 2012.

Pada manuskrip peninggalan suku yang dikenal menguasai ilmu falak dan sistem penanggalan ini, disebutkan pada tanggal di atas akan muncul gelombang galaksi yang besar sehingga mengakibatkan terhentinya semua kegiatan di muka Bumi ini.

Di luar ramalan suku Maya yang belum diketahui dasar perhitungannya, menurut Deputi Bidang Sains Pengkajian dan Informasi Kedirgantaraan, Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa Nasional (Lapan), Bambang S Tedjasukmana, fenomena yang dapat diprakirakan kemunculannya pada sekitar tahun 2011-2012 adalah badai Matahari. Prediksi ini berdasarkan pemantauan pusat pemantau cuaca antariksa di beberapa negara sejak tahun 1960-an dan di Indonesia oleh Lapan sejak tahun 1975.

Dijelaskan, Sri Kaloka, Kepala Pusat Pemanfaatan Sains Antariksa Lapan, badai Matahari terjadi ketika muncul flare dan Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). Flare adalah ledakan besar di atmosfer Matahari yang dayanya setara dengan 66 juta kali ledakan bom atom Hiroshima. Adapun CME merupakan ledakan sangat besar yang menyebabkan lontaran partikel berkecepatan 400 kilometer per detik.

Gangguan cuaca Matahari ini dapat memengaruhi kondisi muatan antariksa hingga memengaruhi magnet Bumi, selanjutnya berdampak pada sistem kelistrikan, transportasi yang mengandalkan satelit navigasi global positioning system (GPS) dan sistem komunikasi yang menggunakan satelit komunikasi dan gelombang frekuensi tinggi (HF), serta dapat membahayakan kehidupan atau kesehatan manusia. ”Karena gangguan magnet Bumi, pengguna alat pacu jantung dapat mengalami gangguan yang berarti,” ujar Sri.

Langkah antisipatif


Dari Matahari, miliaran partikel elektron sampai ke lapisan ionosfer Bumi dalam waktu empat hari, jelas Jiyo Harjosuwito, Kepala Kelompok Peneliti Ionosfer dan Propagasi Gelombang Radio. Dampak dari serbuan partikel elektron itu di kutub magnet Bumi berlangsung selama beberapa hari. Selama waktu itu dapat dilakukan langkah antisipatif untuk mengurangi dampak yang ditimbulkan.
Mengantisipasi munculnya badai antariksa itu, lanjut Bambang, Lapan tengah membangun pusat sistem pemantau cuaca antariksa terpadu di Pusat Pemanfaatan Sains Antariksa Lapan Bandung. Obyek yang dipantau antara lain lapisan ionosfer dan geomagnetik, serta gelombang radio. Sistem ini akan beroperasi penuh pada Januari 2009 mendatang.

Langkah antisipatif yang telah dilakukan Lapan adalah menghubungi pihak-pihak yang mungkin akan terkena dampak dari munculnya badai antariksa, yaitu Dephankam, TNI, Dephub, PLN, dan Depkominfo, serta pemerintah daerah. Saat ini pelatihan bagi aparat pemda yang mengoperasikan radio HF telah dilakukan sejak lama, kini telah ada sekitar 500 orang yang terlatih menghadapi gangguan sinyal radio.

Bambang mengimbau PLN agar melakukan langkah antisipatif dengan melakukan pemadaman sistem kelistrikan agar tidak terjadi dampak yang lebih buruk. Untuk itu, sosialisasi harus dilakukan pada masyarakat bila langkah itu akan diambil.

Selain itu, penerbangan dan pelayaran yang mengandalkan satelit GPS sebagai sistem navigasi hendaknya menggunakan sistem manual ketika badai antariksa terjadi, dalam memandu tinggal landas atau pendaratan pesawat terbang.

Perubahan densitas elektron akibat cuaca antariksa, jelas peneliti dari PPSA Lapan, Effendi, dapat mengubah kecepatan gelombang radio ketika melewati ionosfer sehingga menimbulkan delai propagasi pada sinyal GPS.

Perubahan ini mengakibatkan penyimpangan pada penentuan jarak dan posisi. Selain itu, komponen mikroelektronika pada satelit navigasi dan komunikasi akan mengalami kerusakan sehingga mengalami percepatan masa pakai, sehingga bisa tak berfungsi lagi.

Saat ini Lapan telah mengembangkan pemodelan perencanaan penggunaan frekuensi untuk menghadapi gangguan tersebut untuk komunikasi radio HF. ”Saat ini tengah dipersiapkan pemodelan yang sama untuk bidang navigasi,” tutur Bambang.

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Let the Picture Talks (1)






Let the Picture tell it own stories okay ....

Story # 1




Story # 2




Story # 3



see ya, in the next... Let the Picture Talks 2 ...