UPS Digs Deep into Footprint, Sets High Goals for Fuel Efficiency

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

United Parcel Service decreased energy and water use as well as its greenhouse gas emissions last year in the U.S., prompting the company to set a new goal of 20 percent improvement in automotive fuel efficiency by 2020.

The environmental efforts are detailed in UPS’s latest sustainability report, which was published Monday.

The higher standard for fuel efficiency is set against a baseline year of 2000 and if achieved would double the company’s performance in the area thus far. From 2000 through 2009, automotive fuel efficiency increased 10 percent, UPS reported, noting that its drivers covered 77.3 million miles more in 2009 than they did in 2000 but consumed 3.2 million gallons less fuel.

The new target for automotive fuel efficiency dovetails an air fleet efficiency goal announced last year: After several years of steadily increasing efficiency in air operations, UPS said it would reduce the carbon emissions by its air fleet by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2005.

The company’s move to raise the bar for efficiency in its ground and air operations were among the highlights of a sustainability report that noted improvement in the majority of the company’s environmental key performance indicators.

UPS started compiling sustainability reports in 2003 and this year’s report, which covers operations in 2009, is the first to publish information on the company’s global greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2, CH4, N2O and HFC) for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. (see chart, right). Previously, the company reported only on CO2 emissions.

The information also reflects more extensive data collection by UPS, which process mapped all transport-related activities that generate carbon across the company globally in reporting CO2 Scope 3 emissions this year. As noted in the chart below left, direct emissions fell almost 9 percent from 2008 to 2009 while indirect emissions almost tripled.

“As you see, we continue to evolve and we’re working very hard at mapping out our impact,” said Steven Leffin, UPS’s corporate sustainability manager.

Leffin pointed to those efforts, UPS’s heightened transparency in reporting and its new goals for fuel and air fleet efficiency as some of the key accomplishments by the company in the past year.

Although revenue slipped from $51.5 billion in 2008 to $45.3 billion in 2009 as the recession continued, UPS remained the world’s largest package delivery company and handled 3.8 billion packages in 2009. The U.S. domestic package operation, the company’s largest business segment, accounted for 62 percent of the revenue and showed improvement in energy efficiency as well as emissions when compared to parcels handled. When measured against revenue, however, energy consumption and emissions rose in 2009.

Energy consumption was 3.5 percent lower per 1,000 packages and rose 3.6 percent per dollar of revenue. CO2e emissions declined 3.1 percent per 1,000 packages and increased 3.8 percent per dollar of revenue, the company reported.

Next Page: UPS’s environmental progress by the numbers.

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The sustainability report examined the company’s work to reduce energy consumption, emissions, water use and fuel consumption on the ground and in air.

UPS, which prides itself on deeply detailed measuring and monitoring to boost environmental performance, presented data in terms of absolute change and as an efficiency rate based on what it takes to deliver a package or produce revenue.

Specifically, UPS decreased:

Energy Use

Absolute direct and indirect energy consumption for U.S. package operations and for U.S. supply chain and freight fell. U.S. package operations consumed 96.80 million gigajoules in 2009, about 7 percent less than the 104.1 million gigajoules in 2008. U.S. supply chain and freight consumed 16.55 million gigajoules of energy in 2009, 19.4 percent less than the 20.53 million gigajoules in consumed in 2008 (see chart at right).

Energy efficiency, expressed as energy consumption per 1,000 parcels in U.S. package operations, came to 29.33 million gigajoules in 2009, compared with 30.40 million gigajoules per 1,000 packages in 2008. Meanwhile, energy consumption per $1,000 of revenue was 3.44 gigajoules for 2009 an increase from the 3.32 gigajoules for $1,000 of revenue in 2008.

Emissions for U.S. Package Operations

Absolute direct and indirect CO2e emissions for U.S. package operations also dropped. CO2e emissions came to 7.27 million metric tonnes in 2009, compared with 7.75 million metric tonnes in 2008 (see chart below right).

Carbon efficiency, expressed as CO2e emissions per 1,000 parcels in U.S. package operations, were 2.18 metric tonnes per 1,000 packages in 2009, compared with 2.25 metric tonnes per 1,000 packages for the previous year. Viewing emissions compared to revenue, CO2e emissions came to 25.55 metric tonnes per $100,000 of revenue in 2009, an uptick from the 24.61 metric tonnes CO2e for the same amount of revenue in 2008.

Water Use

Water consumption decreased in absolute terms and in water efficiency rates based on number of packages handled and revenue. The company’s absolute water consumption in 2009 came to 4.52 million cubic meters for U.S. package operations, supply chain and freight, compared with 5.04 million cubic meters in 2008. In 2009, 1.18 cubic meters of water were consumed per 1,000 packages in U.S. package operations, compared with 1.28 cubic meters of waters per 1,000 packages in 2008. In a look at water use compared to revenue, UPS consumed 0.138 cubic meters per $1,000 of revenue in 2009 compared with 0.139 cubic meters per $1,000 in 2008.

Fuel Consumption and Air Fleet Emissions

Gallons of fuel consumed on the ground to deliver a single package decreased. In 2009, it took an average 0.121 gallons of fuel to deliver single package in the U.S. using UPS’ ground network, which includes its fleet of more than 95,000 vehicles and rail services. That’s a nearly 5 percent improvement over the figure for 2008. The company’s green fleet steadily grew in 2009 to 1,883 alternative fuel vehicles.

Carbon emissions of global airline operations based on the amount on CO2 emitted when transporting a ton of capacity one nautical mile, termed an available ton mile or ATM, also dropped. The measure of carbon efficiency was 1.40 pounds of CO2 per available ton mile in 2009, compared to 1.42 pounds of CO2/ATM in 2008. The goal to increase carbon efficiency by 20 percent between 2005 and 2020, builds on previous gains in the area. If achieved, UPS will increase carbon efficiency by 42 percent compared to 1990.

Gallons of jet fuel consumed per 100 available ton miles. UPS used 6.63 gallons of jet fuel per 100ATM in 2009, a drop from the 6.73 gals/100ATM logged in 2008. The company originally set a target of 6.9 gals/100ATM for 2011 target, but surpassed the goal in 2008. It has a new target of 6.57 gals/100ATM for 2012.

Next Page: “Decarbonization synergy” — the UPS way.

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The firm’s goals for reducing carbon emissions in its airline operations, which would be the ninth largest in the U.S. if it were an airline company, are among the most aggressive in UPS’s ambitious environmental program.

UPS’s efforts include joining 10 other members of the Air Transportation Association of America to support development of aviation biofuel development by signing a memorandum of understanding with two potential aviation biofuel developers in 2009.

Airline operations account for 53 percent of the company’s global carbon footprint, so focusing on that area is an imperative, Leffin said. Overall, the company’s improvements in environmental performance demonstrate the value of UPS’s integrated transportation network of package cars, trucks, rail and shipping services and aircraft, he said.

The company not only optimizes the way each functions (down to specific drivers and their routes), the firm also employs sophisticated systems to optimize carbon and energy efficiency across a single delivery and delivery operations as a whole.

The process, which UPS calls “decarbonization synergy,” ensures that packages get to their destinations with least environmental impact without compromising delivery schedules and customer service, Leffin said.

The company also is providing services for customers to help lighten the environmental tread of their packages. The company introduce a carbon offset program last October and expanded it to 36 countries this summer. It also introduced its Eco Responsible Packaging Program this spring.

The sustainability report is available www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability. This year’s report was assured by Deloitte & Touche LLP and checked by the Global Reporting Initiative — two other firsts for the company.

All images and charts courtesy of UPS.

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Great Recession Doesn’t Slow the Greening of GE

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ecomagination continues to pay big dividends for General Electric, according to its just-released sustainability report.

After investing $1.5 billion in ecomagination products since 2005 — and growing the portfolio from 17 products to 90 — GE has earned $18 billion in revenue on ecomagination products. The success of ecomagination has led the company to greatly increase its investment in the coming years, putting an additional $8.5 billion in R&D investments in ecomagination by 2015.

With its sixth annual report, entitled “Renewing Responsibilities,” GE set a goal of growing ecomagination revenues twice as fast as the company itself grows.

Of course, in the wake of the Great Recession, the company isn’t necessarily growing that fast — revenues in 2009 declined by 14 percent — but ecomagination revenues were up 6 percent in 2009.

Despite the economic hit GE has taken, the companies overarching environmental initiatives are having an even larger impact on its footprint: Its overall intensities in water use, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are down more than 30 percent each, with emissions intensity down 39 percent and overall emissions down 22 percent.

GE continues to set ambitious environmental goals on its intensities — the amount of resources used per million dollars of revenue — including a goal of 50 percent reductions in energy intensity from its 2004 baseline, a 25 percent reduction in emissions over a 2004 baseline, and a 30 percent reduction in water intensity over a 2006 baseline.

The full report is available online and in downloadable format from GE.com/Citizenship.

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Kuznetsova survives then takes aim at teenagers

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reigning champion Svetlana Kuznetsova accused the new generation of players of not showing enough respect on Wednesday after narrowly avoiding an early exit from the French Open.

The Russian sixth seed held on by her fingernails against 22-year-old German Andrea Petkovic, saving four match points before claiming a 4-6 7-5 6-4 victory on Court One.

Afterwards the 24-year-old double grand slam champion took a swipe at the teenagers trying to dislodge the likes of herself, the Williams sisters and Kim Clijsters in the rankings.

“You know what I think?” Kuznetsova told reporters when asked why only one teenager was ranked in the world’s top 25. “All the teenagers, they come or their parents or their agents or someone or they think they’re so good.

“I don’t see them respecting the other players like we did when we came here.

“I was respecting — I played Kim Clijsters. For me, it was huge. I played Justine Henin, and you’re like wow! They’re big. You have respect. You want to be like them.

“(They) come and they see themselves equal and it’s not like that, you know. These girls have done so much for tennis.

“Also I don’t see them physically and mentally as prepared.”

Kuznetsova battled grimly to turn around the match against Petkovic when all seemed lost with the German serving at 5-4, 40-0 having won the first set.

Petkovic suddenly went to pieces on the match points and a relieved Kuznetsova scraped into the third round where she faces fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.

“At 40-0 down I was thinking, I really want to be here. This is really what I want most. The one thing in the world I want is to be here right now,” she said.

“I saw that she got tight and then I thought, okay, I have to take my chances.”

Kuznetsova also wobbled serving at 5-3 in the decider as Petkovic broke back but she sealed victory on her fourth match point in the next game when her opponent drilled a backhand over the baseline.

(Editing by Justin Palmer; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Soderling thrashes Dent to reach third round

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sweden’s Robin Soderling swept into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday, destroying American Taylor Dent for the loss of just two games.

The 2009 runner-up needed just 71 minutes to post a 6-0 6-1 6-1 victory and set up a last-32 clash against either qualifier Tobias Kamke of Germany or Spain’s 29th seed Albert Montanes.

So far in the tournament the fifth seed has conceded just seven games after his first round defeat of Laurent Recouderc.

Soderling, who stunned four-times champion Rafael Nadal last year and went on to lose to Roger Federer in the final, took the opening set in 17 minutes, dropping just five points.

Dent finally registered on the scoreboard when he held serve early in the second set but he had no answer to the baseline power of Soderling who powered on to victory.

(Editing by Miles Evans.

To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Stressed Nadal unhappy with winning start

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Rafael Nadal’s 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over French teenager Gianni Mina looked as stress-free as it gets for the four-times Roland Garros champion but the Spaniard was far from happy on Tuesday.

“I played poorly because I made a lot of unforced errors,” said Nadal, back to reclaim his crown after last year’s shock fourth-round defeat by Robin Soderling.

“The ball was not doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t play well. That’s the truth. That’s why I couldn’t play my game as usual. I did things in such a way that I couldn’t play well compared with what I usually do.

“I’m a bit nervous or stressed. It’s the first round. The first round is always difficult in this tournament. But I have to re-focus and calm down and move forward,” he told reporters.

Nadal’s French Open build-up was perfection with 15 consecutive wins on clay in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid and despite being seeded behind defending champion Roger Federer he is most people’s favourite to reclaim the title.

INJURY PROBLEMS

The Mallorcan, who endured injury problems and poor form in 2009 after suffering his first defeat at Roland Garros a year ago, was at pains to play down those expectations as he continues to try and recover his best form.

“Right now it’s very difficult to speak about the favourites,” he said. “Sure I am one of the players that if I play my best tennis I’m gonna have chances but a lot of players think the same than me.”

Nadal had plenty in reserve against 18-year-old wildcard Mina who was far from overawed by playing one of the greatest claycourters the game has seen in the first round.

The runner-up in last year’s junior singles delighted the crowd on a muggy Court Suzanne Lenglen with bold shot-making, occasionally wrong-footing his opponent with flashing winners.

He never really threatened to extend the contest, however, and bowed out with a forehand over the baseline as Nadal took his Roland Garros record to 32-1 and set up a second-round match against Argentine Horacio Zeballos.

“I had some nice exchanges and very nice shots,” Mina told reporters. “I don’t know if it was his best match but he had to fight back. I was probably a pain for him.”

(Editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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‘Biological passport’ that measures blood, body chemistry may put dent in sports doping

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 8(ANI): Top Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti was banned from a cycle race in Italy when authorities detected irregular blood levels in his body, suggesting drug intake.

Pellizotti, who is a hot favourite, was banned from the Giro d”Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, in Rome.

Each time a new drug test comes out, athletes and their doctors figure out a way to beat it. But now, researchers have come up with a “biological passport” that measures blood and body chemistry over time. The discovery may finally put a dent in sports doping.

“It”s another tool to find those who are doping and protect those who are clean,” Discovery News quoted David Howman, director of the World Anti-Doping Association in Montreal, as saying.

“Its a significant step for the fight against doping,” he added.

The drug looks for changes in a rider”s established baseline that might result from doping, even if the specific drug or tactic remains unknown.

The drug is especially successful considering there are some drugs on the market which can be detected only for a couple of days, but produce effects that last over a week. Such drugs can’t be detected by ordinary doping tests. One such example is erythropoitein (EPO), which was developed to help anaemia patients. (ANI)

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Proper intake of vitamin D improves quality of life for seniors

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 26 (ANI): A new study suggests that proper intake of vitamin D (the ‘sunshine’ vitamin) is related to better physical function in seniors.

Dr. Denise Houston from the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University and her colleagues studied the relationship between vitamin D status and physical function in a group of relatively healthy seniors living in Memphis, TN and Pittsburgh, PA.

This study was part of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study initially designed to assess the associations among body composition, long-term health conditions, and mobility in older adults.

For Houston”s segment of the investigation, she studied 2788 seniors for 4 years. At the beginning of the study, they assessed vitamin D status by analyzing each person”s blood for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a precursor for activated vitamin D.

At baseline and then 2 and 4 years later, the research team then determined whether circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D was related to the participants” physical function.

Specifically, they looked at how quickly each participant could walk a short distance (6 meters) and rise from a chair five times as well as maintain his or her balance in progressively more challenging positions.

Each participant was also put through a battery of tests assessing endurance and strength.

The researchers found that participants with the highest levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D had better physical function.

And, although physical function declined over the course of the study, it remained significantly higher among those with the highest vitamin D levels at the beginning of the study compared to those with the lowest vitamin D levels.

The scientists were not surprised to learn that, in general, vitamin D consumption was very low in this group of otherwise healthy seniors.

In fact, more than 90 percent of them consumed less vitamin D than currently recommended, and many were relying on dietary supplements.

The results of the study were presented on April 25 as part of the scientific program of the American Society for Nutrition, composed of the world”s leading nutrition researchers, at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim. (ANI)

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How some people maintain weight loss, others don’t

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 16 (ANI): Ever wondered how some people successfully maintain a significant weight loss, while others tend to regain the weight? Well, researchers at The Miriam Hospital attribute such tendencies to a difference in brain activity patterns.

The researchers showed that when individuals who had kept the weight off for several years were shown pictures of food, they were more likely to engage the areas of the brain associated with behavioural control and visual attention, as compared to obese and normal weight participants.

The findings of the study suggest that successful weight loss maintainers may learn to respond differently to food cues.

“Our findings shed some light on the biological factors that may contribute to weight loss maintenance. They also provide an intriguing complement to previous behavioral studies that suggest people who have maintained a long-term weight loss monitor their food intake closely and exhibit restraint in their food choices,” said lead author Dr. Jeanne McCaffery.

Long-term weight loss maintenance continues to be a major problem in obesity treatment.

Participants in behavioural weight loss programs lose an average of 8 to 10 percent of their weight during the first six months of treatment, and will maintain approximately two-thirds of their weight loss after one year.

However, despite intensive efforts, weight regain appears to continue for the next several years, with most patients returning to their baseline weight after five years.

The researchers used functional magnetic resource imaging (fMRI) to study the brain activity of three groups- 18 individuals of normal weight, 16 obese individuals (defined as a body mass index of at least 30), and 17 participants who have lost at least 30 lbs and have successfully maintained that weight loss for a minimum of three years.

When the participants were shown pictures of food items after a four-hour fast, it was found that those in the successful weight loss maintenance group responded differently to these pictures compared to the other groups.

Specifically, researchers observed strong signals in the left superior frontal region and right middle temporal region of the brain – a pattern consistent with greater inhibitory control in response to food images and greater visual attention to food cues.

“It is possible that these brain responses may lead to preventive or corrective behaviors – particularly greater regulation of eating – that promote long-term weight control. However, future research is needed to determine whether these responses are inherent within an individual or if they can be changed,” said McCaffery.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

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In Pakistan, 97 percent of marriages take place to attain foreign nationality

August 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.22 (ANI): A survey conducted in Pakistan on the issue of forced marriages among male dual nationals, reveals that only 3.4 per cent children are consulted before marriage whereas 96.6 per cent marriages take place mainly to attain foreign nationality or helping hand abroad.

The findings make part of the research report of baseline survey on the issue of forced marriages launched by SACH on Friday. The survey was conducted in collaboration with British High Commission.

The target area for the survey were Mirpur, Bhimber and Kotli where the concentration of dual nationals is considerably high and incidents of forced marriages are largely reported. The survey was conducted in order to plan an implementation strategy for intervention, prevention and awareness raising campaigns in the target areas.

Among 870 individuals interviewed during the survey, 61.9 per cent respondents were British nationals and 38.08 per cent were Pakistani nationals who visited UK many times. The study also revealed that only 7.9 per cent among dual nationals had an education up to post-gradation level and 3.6 per cent got UK based education.

The survey shows that majority of such marriages take place within family or ‘baradari’ with only 11 per cent marriages taking place outside the family. Only 19.9 per cent respondents strongly agreed that families and parents have the right to decide.

Majority of respondents (74.4 per cent) termed forced marriages against Islamic teachings whereas 54.1 strongly agreed to the statement that both girls and boys should be given chance to freely marry. Around 51.6 per cent believed that forced marriages may lead to torture and violence in the society and 52.8 per cent said that mostly women are forced-marriage victims as they cannot dare to oppose and they had no other option but to surrender. (ANI)

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Drug trials point the way to understanding aviation and climate change

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Southampton (UK), July 14 (ANI): A unique collaboration between the University of Southampton’s Schools of Engineering Sciences and Medicine, which has presented the most comprehensive review of the impact of aviation on climate this century, has been awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal in London.

The paper entitled ‘Systematic review of the impact of emissions from aviation on current and future climate’ is the first major study of its kind in the last decade, since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its findings on this subject in 1999.

Dr Kenji Takeda, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering Sciences and lead author of the paper explains: “By using an objective approach to reviewing the effect of aircraft on climate, we hope to provide a good baseline for this active debate. There is a clear need for improving scientific understanding, and it is vital for the aircraft industry to continue to support climate scientists and work towards future solutions for sustainable aviation.”

The Southampton collaboration is unique in the sense that the application of the systematic review methodology for drug appraisals is subject to climate change. The results of the paper show that there is a wide range of predictions for the impact of aviation on climate. These are most dependent on assumptions made about future economic growth. The paper also highlights how dependent we are on the level of scientific understanding and modelling capability, particularly around the non-CO2 effects of aircraft.

Systematic reviews are carried out to identify and synthesise evidence using a transparent and objective approach. They are used extensively by medical researchers for assessing the effectiveness of methods for preventing, treating and managing different diseases, to inform national policy in the UK on their availability across the National Health Service. This is one of the first times this rigorous approach has been applied to the complex issues around climate change. It is hoped that such objective methodology can be more widely applied in this area to help inform and guide the decision-making process that will determine the future of the planet. (ANI)

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Obesity linked to increased risk of rapid cartilage loss

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 14 (ANI): A new study has shown that obesity, among other factors, is strongly associated with an increased risk of rapid cartilage loss.

Tibio-femoral cartilage is a flexible connective tissue that covers and protects the bones of the knee. Cartilage damage can occur due to excessive wear and tear, injury, misalignment of the joint or other factors, including osteoarthritis (the most common form of arthritis).

In osteoarthritis, the cartilage breaks down and, in severe cases, can completely wear away, leaving the joint without a cushion. The bones rub together, causing further damage, significant pain and loss of mobility.

The best way to prevent or slow cartilage loss and subsequent disability is to identify risk factors early.

“Osteoarthritis is a slowly progressive disorder, but a minority of patients with hardly any osteoarthritis at first diagnosis exhibit fast disease progression,” said the study’s lead author, Frank W. Roemer, M.D., adjunct associate professor at Boston University and co-director of the Quantitative Imaging Center at the Department of Radiology at Boston University School of Medicine.

“So we set out to identify baseline risk factors that might predict rapid cartilage loss in patients with early knee osteoarthritis or at high risk for the disease,” Dr. Roemer added.

The researchers recruited patients from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study, a prospective study of 3,026 people, age 50 – 79, at risk for osteoarthritis or with early x-ray evidence of the disease.

Dr. Roemer’s study consisted of 347 knees in 336 patients. The patient group was comprised of 65.2 percent women, mean age 61.2, with a mean BMI of 29.5, which is classified as overweight. Recommended BMI typically ranges from 18.5 to 25. Only knees with minimal or no baseline cartilage damage were included.

Of 347 knees selected for the study, 20.2 percent exhibited slow cartilage loss over the 30-month follow-up period and 5.8 percent showed rapid cartilage loss.

Rapid cartilage loss was defined by a whole organ magnetic imaging score of at least 5, indicating a large full thickness loss of 75 percent in any subregion of the knee during the follow-up period.

The results showed that the top risk factors contributing to rapid cartilage loss were baseline cartilage damage, high BMI, tears or other injury to the meniscus (the cartilage cushion at the knee joint) and severe lesions seen on MRI at the initial exam. Other predictors were synovitis (inflammation of the membrane that lines the joints) and effusion (abnormal build-up of joint fluid).

Excess weight was significantly associated with an increased risk of rapid cartilage loss. No other demographic factors-including age, sex and ethnicity-were associated with rapid cartilage loss.

“As obesity is one of the few established risk factors for osteoarthritis, it is not surprising that obesity may also precede and predict rapid cartilage loss,” Dr. Roemer said.
he study has been published in the August issue of Radiology. (ANI)

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Indian students stand second in non-US division of NASA supersonic design contest

July 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 11 (ANI): Sahaj Panchal and Dhrumir Patel from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology, Gujarat, India, have stood second in the category of ‘non-US team’ in a contest to design a supersonic airliner, hosted by NASA.

The contest saw college students from the US, Japan and India, who researched technology and created concepts for a supersonic passenger jet.

The Fundamental Aeronautics Program in NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate sponsored the competition.

The participants were challenged to design a small supersonic airliner and submit a research paper limited to 25 pages.

Designs had to be efficient, environmentally friendly, low sonic boom commercial aircraft that could be ready for initial service by 2020.

A team of undergraduates from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a team of graduate students from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta tied for first place in the US division.

A University of Tokyo undergraduate team won top honors in the non-US category, with Panchal and Patel from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology, standing second for their design called ‘RASTOFUST’.

A group of NASA engineers reviewed the entries. The judges based their scores on how well students addressed all aspects of the problem they chose to discuss.

The judges used the following criteria: innovation and creativity; discussion of feasibility; a brief review of pertinent literature; and a baseline comparison with the relevant current technology, system or design.

“We use these competitions to generate excitement for aeronautics and the engineering behind aviation,” said Peter Coen, principal investigator of the Supersonics Project at Langley.

“I was pleased by the number and diversity of the entries we received. And I was impressed by the quality and innovative thinking demonstrated in the designs,” he added. (ANI)

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Melanie Oudin – Jelena Jankovic – Melanie Oudin Photo – Wimbledon 2009 – Melanie Oudin in Wimbledon 2009 – American teen Melanie Oudin eliminates Jelena Jankovic

June 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melanie Oudin – Jelena Jankovic – Melanie Oudin Photo – Wimbledon 2009 – Melanie Oudin in Wimbledon 2009 – American teen Melanie Oudin eliminates Jelena Jankovic

Wimbledon, England (AP) – Teenage qualifier Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., has advanced to the fourth round in her first Wimbledon by upsetting former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2

The No. 6-seeded Jankovic struggled with the heat on a sunny, 82-degree Saturday. When the 66-minute first set ended, a trainer and doctor came on court to check Jankovic’s pulse and blood pressure.

She rested on a towel while being treated, and after several minutes sat up while ice was applied to her neck and midsection. Play resumed after a 12-minute delay, and Oudin was the steadier player from the baseline the rest of the way.

The 17-year-old Oudin had an 0-2 record in Grand Slam matches before making her Wimbledon debut this week.

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Older adults who socialize less ‘experience motor function decline’

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 23 (ANI): Less frequent participation in social activity is associated with a more rapid rate of motor function decline in older adults, according to a new study.

Motor function decline in older individuals is linked to negative health outcomes including, disability, dementia and death.

Although decline in motor function is becoming a major public health concern, “little is known about risk factors for motor function decline that could translate into potential public health or clinical interventions.”

Aron S. Buchman, M.D., and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, examined whether frequency of social activity in late-life was related to motor function decline in 906 older adults participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project from 1997 to 2008, with an average follow-up of 4.9 years.

Researchers evaluated participants’ motor function by measuring their grip and pinch strength and their ability to stand on one leg and then on their toes, to walk in line in a heel-to-toe manner, place pegs on a board in 30 seconds and tap index fingers for 10 seconds bilaterally.

Participants completed a health survey to assess their physical activities and used a five-point rating scale to measure frequency of social activity participation, with one indicating participation in a particular activity once a year or less; two, several times a year; three, several times a month; four, several times a week and five, every day or almost every day.

Demographic information, education, weight, height and disabilities were also recorded.

The researchers found that “a lower frequency of participation in social activity was associated with a more rapid rate of motor function decline,” with each one-point decrease in a participant’s social activity score associated with an approximate 33 percent more rapid rate of decline.

Additionally, a one-point decrease on the social activity scale was the same as being approximately five years older at baseline.

This amount of change is associated with more than a 40 percent increased risk of death and a 65 percent increased risk of developing disability.

“The association of social activity with the rate of global motor decline did not vary along demographic lines and was unchanged after controlling for potential confounders including late-life physical and cognitive activity, disability, global cognition depressive symptoms, body composition and chronic medical conditions,” they authors said.

“These data raise the possibility that social engagement can slow motor function decline and possibly delay adverse health outcomes from such decline,” the authors said.

The study has bee reported in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. (ANI)

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Hewitt fired up for Wimbledon after beating Nadal in warm up friendly

June 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, June 19 (ANI): Former Australian world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt is fired up for Wimbledon after beating world No.1 Rafael Nadal at an exhibition match in London.

Hewitt won 6-4 6-3 on Thursday, in what was meant to be an informal and relaxed match against the defending Wimbledon champion in west London.

Neither Hewitt nor Nadal would comment before or after the match, as they try to keep their preparations for Wimbledon as low key as possible ahead of the first round on Monday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

But Hewitt’s manager David Drysdale said the Australian would be pleased with the result. “He’s hitting the ball well,” Drysdale said after watching Hewitt from the stands alongside coach Tony Roche.

“But it’s hard to tell. It was Nadal’s first game on grass this year. Lleyton will be happy. He is going to be a dangerous floater for sure at Wimbledon.”

Hewitt, who was bundled out of the third round of the ATP event at The Queen’s Club by Andy Roddick a week ago, maintained his momentum in the second set as Nadal failed to convert some early break points.

Hewitt wrapped up the match, breaking Nadal in the final game when the Spaniard sent a backhand flying over the baseline.

The match was the first Nadal had played on grass this season after pulling out of the tournament at Queen’s last week so he could have treatment on his troublesome knees. (ANI)

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Reducing gasoline emissions will benefit human health

May 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 29 (ANI): A new study has shown that shown that a biofuel eliminating even 10-percent of current gasoline pollutant emissions would have a beneficial impact on human health.

While the focus of a shift from gasoline to biofuels has been on global warming, such a shift could also impact human health.

A grant from the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) has produced a novel and comprehensive “Life Cycle Impact Assessment” (LCIA) to measure the benefits on human health that might result from a switch to biofuels.

Although there are a number of uncertainties that must be addressed for a more accurate picture, these early results show that a biofuel eliminating even 10-percent of current gasoline pollutant emissions would have a substantial impact on human health, especially in urban areas.

Assessments of the life cycle impacts of emissions from gasoline-run motors in the US on a county-by-county basis show that the heaviest damage (darkest coloring) is concentrated in urban areas, especially Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Nonetheless, Thomas McKone, an expert on health risk assessments and EBI researcher Agnes Lobscheid, were able to prepare an LCIA for reduced gasoline use based on the damage to human health that emissions from gasoline burning can cause.

For a baseline, they used a 10-percent reduction in gasoline use.

In assessing the impact of these emissions on human health, they looked at “disability adjusted life years” or “DALYs,” which is a combination of two common damage factors in LCIAs – years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs) and the equivalent years of life lost due to disability (YLDs).

“In looking at emission impacts on health, we have the capacity to carry out county-level resolution measurements for both direct and indirect emissions,” said McKone.

Measured emissions at county-level resolution included direct particulate matter and indirect fine particles (2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller) produced from emissions of sulfate and nitrite gases, volatile organic compounds and ammonia, plus ozone, toxic air pollutants, emissions to surface and ground water, and emissions to soil.

“We found that for the vehicle operation phase of our LCIA, the annual health damages avoided in the US with 10-percent less gasoline-run motor vehicle emissions ranges from about 5,000 to 20,000 DALY, with most of the damage resulting from primary fine particle emissions,” said McKone.

“While county-specific damages range over nine orders of magnitude across all US counties most of the damage, as you would expect, is concentrated in urban populations with the highest impact in the Los Angeles, New York and Chicago regions,” he added. (ANI)

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Diabetes drug found to provide protective effects against multiple sclerosis

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 27 (ANI): University of Illinois researchers have observed that an FDA-approved drug, which is currently in use for diabetes treatment, shows some protective effects in the brains of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

This finding is based on a small, double-blinded clinical trial in which patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis were assigned to take the drug pioglitazone or a placebo.

Patients continued their normal course of therapy during the trial.

The researchers initially carried out standard neurological and MRI scans to provide baseline values for lesions typically seen in MS patients.

The patients were evaluated every two months, and blood samples were taken. Repeat MRI scans were done after five months and again after one year.

Patients taking the drug showed significantly less loss of grey matter over the course of the one-year trial than patients taking placebo.

Of the 21 patients who finished the study, patients taking the medicine did not show any adverse reactions. They found taking pioglitazone, which is administered in an oral tablet, easy.

“This is very encouraging. Grey matter in the brain is the part that is rich in neurons. These preliminary results suggest that the drug has important effects on neuronal survival,” said Douglas Feinstein, research professor of anesthesiology at UIC.

The researchers revealed that they focused on pioglitazone because of its known anti-inflammatory effects.

They used primary cultures of brain cells to show that pioglitazone reduced the production of toxic chemicals called cytokines and reactive oxygen species, the molecules that are believed to be important in the development of symptoms in MS.

Feinstein’s lab has shown that pioglitazone and other TZDs “can significantly reduce the clinical signs in mice with an MS-type disease.”

“More importantly, when mice who are already ill are treated with pioglitazone, the clinical signs of the disease go away. We were able to induce almost complete remissions in a number of mice,” he said.

“We are now working to determine the mechanisms to explain the protective effect on neurons that we see in our studies. We hope to expand into a larger trial to confirm these preliminary results,” he added.

The study has been published in the online edition of the Journal of Neuroimmunology. (ANI)

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Oil hunters started decimating whale populations as early as 1800

May 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 25 (ANI): One of several astonishing reconstructions of ocean life in olden days suggests that about the ocean around New Zealand teemed with about 27,000 southern right whales, about 30 times as many as today, before oil hunters started to whaling in the early 1800s.

The researchers set to make a presentation on the reconstruction at a Census of Marine Life conference, which runs from May 26 to 28, say that at about the same time, large pods of blue whales and orcas, blue sharks and thresher sharks darkened the waters off Cornwall, England, herds of harbour porpoise pursued fish upriver, and dolphins regularly played in waters inshore.

Census researchers are using such diverse sources as old ship logs, literary texts, tax accounts, newly translated legal documents and even mounted trophies to piece together images of fish of such sizes, abundance and distribution in ages past that they stagger modern imaginations.

They are also documenting the timelines over which those giant marine life populations declined.

Researchers James Barrett and Jen Harland of Cambridge University, Cluny Johnstone of York University, and Mike Richards of Germany-based Max Planck Institute reckon that a shift from eating locally-caught freshwater to marine fish species occurred around 1000 AD.

Their surmise is said to be consistent with analyses of scientifically-dated fish remains and historical data from England and northwestern Europe showing smaller freshwater fish and fewer species availability in early medieval times, likely caused by increased exploitation and pollution.

Meanwhile, Maria Lucia De Nicolo of the University of Bologna has established that new fishing boats and equipment invented in the 1500s made it possible to venture from coastal to deep sea fishing.

She says that the real revolution in marine fishing happened in the mid-1600s when pairs of boats began dragging a net.

Andy Rosenberg of the University of New Hampshire, a leader of the Census’ History of Marine Animal Population (HMAP) project and chair of the conference, says that new insights allowed by centuries of information are upending modern notions of “natural” marine life sizes, abundance, habitats and vulnerability, and causing authorities to revisit marine baselines.

The researchers believe that these insights may turn out to be useful for policy makers, who plan to use the results as a realistic baseline against which the current and future status of the marine ecosystem can be gauged.

Ian Poiner, Chair of the Census Scientific Steering Committee, says: “The insights emerging from this research of the past provide a new context for contemporary ocean management. nderstanding the magnitude and drivers of change long ago is essential to accurately interpret today’s trends and to make future projections.” (ANI)

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Nightly bedtime routine improves maternal mood, kids’sleep

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 1 (ANI): In the journal SLEEP, researchers have demonstrated that the use of a consistent bedtime routine contributes to improvements in multiple aspects of infant and toddler sleep, bedtime behavior and maternal mood.

Results indicate that the establishment of a nightly bedtime routine produced significant reductions in problematic sleep behaviors for infants and toddlers. Improvements were seen in latency and sleep onset and in the number and duration of night wakings.

Toddlers were less likely to call out to their parents or get out of their crib/bed during the night. Sleep continuity increased and there was a significant decrease in the number of mothers who rated their child’s sleep as problematic. Maternal mood also significantly improved.

According to the study, sleep problems are one of the most common concerns of parents of young children; approximately 20 to 30 percent of infants and toddlers experience sleep difficulties. Previous studies have found that successful treatment of children’s sleep problems with behavioral interventions also result in improvements in parental well-being.

According to principal investigator, Jodi Mindell, PhD, professor of psychology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA., creating a bedtime routine is an easy change that can significantly improve both the child’s sleep and the mother’s quality of life.

“There is no question that maternal mood and children’s sleep impact one another. The better a child sleeps and the easier bedtime is, the better a mother’s mood is going to be,” said Mindell.

“In addition, a mom who is not feeling tense, depressed, and fatigued is going to be calmer at bedtime, which will help a child settle down to sleep,” the expert added.

Data were collected from 405 mothers and their infant or toddler,(206 infants between the ages of 7 and 18 months and 199 toddlers between the ages of 18 and 36 months), who then participated in two age-specific three week studies.

Families were randomly assigned to a routine or control group. The first week of the study served as a baseline, during which the mothers followed their child’s usual bedtime weeks.

During the following two weeks mothers were instructed to conduct a specific bedtime routine, while the control group continued with their child’s normal bedtime procedure.

All children included in the study had a small to severe sleep problem, as identified by the mother. Problems included more than three nightly wakings, awakening for longer than 60 minutes per night, or having a total daily sleep duration of less than nine hours. All mothers completed an expanded version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BRISQ), and provided subjective data concerning their child’s sleep habits.

Parents in the infant routine group were given a three-step bedtime procedure to follow that included a bath, a massage and quiet activities (such as cuddling and singing); lights were to be turned out within 30 minutes of the end of the bath.

Mothers then proceeded to put the child to sleep as they normally did, by either putting the child to bed while awake or rocking them to sleep. Thus, the only instituted change was the routine. The toddler group followed the same routine, except that mothers were instructed to apply lotion rather than give the child a massage.

Research shows that daily routines in general lead to predictable and less stressful environments for young children and are related to parenting competence, improved daytime behaviors and lower maternal mental distress. (ANI)

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