Page 6 January 5, 2017 Looking Up New Cars from front page sound made by electric cars especially has been discussed since the early 2000s, which Edmunds.com noted in a January 2015 article titled “The Danger of Too-Quiet Car.” The website, used by car buyers looking for pricing and reviews about car models, admonished the automakers and the driving public that “you can have too much of a good thing. Take silence.” Three studies were done and each one confirmed the dangers to pedestrians of silent cars driving at low speeds. A 2009 study found that at low speeds, hybrids and electrics were twice as likely as non-hybrids Studies found that pedestrians who can’t hear a car approaching are struck more often. --Photo credit: U.S. Department of Transportation to be involved in a pedestrian crash. A 2011 federal study reported that pedestrian crashes were 35 percent higher with hybrids and electrics versus combustion-engine cars. A third study by the Highway Loss Data Institute concluded hybrids are up to 20 percent more likely to be involved in injuring pedestrians than other cars. Not all automakers waited for the government to come to the foregone conclusion that an approaching vehicle should make a familiar sound. Nissan installed a vehicle sound warning for pedestrians on its electric Leaf, starting last year. The plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt also has an alert noise, which the driver can activate, Edmunds.com reported. The government wants the sounds coming from electrics and hybrids to be recognizable--not a jumble of noises like phone ringtones. Carmakers have until September 1, 2019 to equip all new hybrid and electric vehicles with sounds that meet the new federal safety standard. Half of new hybrid and electric vehicles must be in compliance one year before the final deadline. Advocates for the blind say the noise requirement on cars is needed because Americans who can’t see are living active lifestyles nonetheless. More than 20 million Americans, close to 10 percent, say they have trouble seeing or are blind. “This regulation will ensure that blind Americans can continue to travel safely and independently as we work, learn, shop and engage in all facets of community life,” said Mark A. Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind. What about current owners of these tooquiet cars who want to give bicyclists and pedestrians warning that a car is approaching? The National Highway Traffic Safety agency isn’t recommending that electrics and hybrids on the road now install any noise devices. The experts at Edmunds.com said not to expect to find aftermarket sound-making devices anytime soon. Alternative fuel cars represent a small fraction of U.S. vehicles in use today, though that number was expected to reach four percent this year. California is leading the charge, so to speak. Governor Jerry Brown’s administration has set a goal of 1.5 million electric cars in the state by 2025 as part of a pledge to reduce emissions and slow the effects of global climate change. Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Inglewood, is pushing the auto industry to make that happen. There are more than 200,000 electric vehicles being driven in California, according to a group calling itself the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Unless we take action, the state won’t come close to meeting this goal,” Burke said. “That’s why we need to reform the rules to require that 15 percent of all cars sold in California have zero emissions by 2025.” Burke introduced last summer what she calls the “15 by 25” plan. It would direct the California Air Resources Board to require at least 15 percent of all new passenger cars sold in California be zero emissions by 2025. Burke’s bill is currently inactive, having been heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and in the Senate Rules Committee. No action has been taken on the South Bay lawmaker’s bill since August 17. • First Detection of Boron on the Surface of Mars Press Release from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Provided by Bob Eklund Boron has been identified for the first time on the surface of Mars, indicating the potential for long-term habitable groundwater in the ancient past. “No prior mission to Mars has found boron,” said Patrick Gasda, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory. “If the boron that we found in calcium sulfate mineral veins on Mars is similar to what we see on Earth, it would indicate that the groundwater of ancient Mars that formed these veins would have been 32-140 degrees Fahrenheit and neutral-to-alkaline pH.” The temperature, pH, and dissolved mineral content of the groundwater could make it habitable. The boron was identified by the rover’s laser-shooting Chemistry and Camera (Chem- Cam) instrument, which was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in conjunction with the French space agency. Boron is famously associated with arid sites where much water has evaporated away—think of the borax that mule teams once hauled from Death Valley. However, environmental implications of the boron found by Curiosity are still open to debate. As the rover has progressed uphill, compositions trend toward more clay and more boron. These and other variations can tell us about conditions under which sediments were initially deposited and about how later groundwater moving through the accumulated layers altered and transported ingredients. Groundwater and chemicals dissolved in it that appeared later on Mars left its effects most clearly in mineral veins that filled cracks in older layered rock. But it also affected the composition of that rock matrix surrounding the veins, and the fluid was in turn affected by the rock. “There is so much variability in the com- position at different elevations, we’ve hit a jackpot,” said John Grotzinger, of Caltech. As the rover gets further uphill, researchers are impressed by the complexity of the lake environments when clay-bearing sediments were being deposited and also by the complexity of the groundwater interactions after the sediments were buried. “A sedimentary basin such as this is a chemical reactor,” Grotzinger said. “Elements get rearranged. New minerals form and old ones dissolve. Electrons get redistributed. On Earth, these reactions support life.” Whether Martian life has ever existed is still unknown. No compelling evidence for it has been found. When Curiosity landed in Mars’ Gale Crater in 2012, the mission’s main goal was to determine whether the area ever offered an environment favorable for microbes. Four recent drilling sites, from “Oudam” this past June through “Sebina” in October, are spaced about 80 feet apart in elevation. This uphill pattern allows the science team to sample progressively younger layers that reveal Mount Sharp’s ancient environmental history. “Variations in these minerals and elements indicate a dynamic system,” Grotzinger said. “They interact with groundwater as well as surface water. The water influences the chemistry of the clays, but the composition of the water also changes. We are seeing chemical complexity indicating a long, interactive history with the water. The more complicated the chemistry is, the better it is for habitability. The boron and clay underline the mobility of elements and electrons, and that is good for life.” Images: http://www.lanl.gov/discover/ news-release-archive/2016/December/12.13- first-detection-of-boron.php http://mars.nasa.gov/news/2016/mars-rockingredient stew-seen-as-plus-for-habitability • Follow Us on Twitter @heraldpub (BPT) - As we age, maintaining our health becomes increasingly important. For Baby Boomers and adults caring for older parents, better health depends on wellness initiatives and receiving care from the proper professionals. Yet for those suffering from wound, ostomy or continence issues, many don’t realize they are denying themselves the best care available. They receive care for these conditions from general nurses without realizing that a specialized wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) nurse may be available to help them on their patient journey. What is a WOC Nurse? According to the WOCN Society’s website, www.wocn.org, WOC nurses are “highly prepared expert clinicians who treat complex wounds, ostomy issues, and incontinence. WOC nurses serve in a variety of roles to assist patients, including educator, consultant, researcher, and administrator.” WOC nurses practice in a variety of settings, including hospitals, home health, and long-term care facilities. Certified WOC nurses received their training through accredited WOC education programs and have been certified through the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB). Only nurses earning this certification qualify as WOC specialists. Benefits of a WOC Nurse If you’re looking to better understand just how much impact a WOC nurse can have, consider this: Research from the University of Minnesota shows that patients who obtain care from a WOC nurse experience significantly more positive outcomes than those who do not. According to the research, patients who receive care from a WOC nurse are: • Nearly twice as likely to have improvement in pressure injuries (bedsores). • 20 percent more likely to have improvement in lower extremity ulcers. • 40 percent more likely to have improvement in surgical wounds. • 40 percent more likely to have improvement in urinary incontinence. • 40 percent more likely to have improvement in bowel incontinence. You can learn more about these findings and the other benefits provided by a specialized WOC nurse at www.wocn.org. How to Find a WOC Nurse Near You While you may have never heard of a WOC nurse before, they are actually more common than you may think. There are more than 6,000 WOC nurses practicing across the country, and the WOCN Society’s website can provide you with the most accurate listing of WOC nurses in your area. And lastly, don’t be afraid to ask. You can ensure you or your loved one receives the care of a WOC nurse by requesting one from your medical provider. Don’t forget to make this request because there is nothing more important than your health. And if you’re dealing with a wound, ostomy or continence issue, you deserve the positive outcome your WOC nurse can provide. • Seniors Are You Receiving the Best Care for Your Medical Problem?
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