Man injured in Whitman pool chemical explosion – The Boston Globe

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A 29-year-old man was hospitalized after he mixed an older chemical with a newer one in his pool in Whitman Tuesday evening, causing several small explosions, fire officials said.

Around 7:48 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a chemical incident at 44 Hilltop Road, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said in a statement. Firefighters learned that a man was adding a high dose of chlorine to his pool, combining an older chemical and a newer one from a different manufacturer that he had recently bought, fire officials said.

After he mixed the two chemicals, a reaction caused the chemicals to give off gas and sparked several minor explosions, the statement said.

The man was brought to a local hospital by ambulance, fire officials said. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, and no one else was injured.

A Tier One HazMat incident was declared and the District One State Hazardous Materials Team was called in, fire officials said. The area was closed off and the spill was cleaned up in about two hours.

Neighbors were not evacuated, according to the statement. There was no danger to the public at any time.

It was your combined swift response and partnership that enabled us to quickly mitigate and clear this dangerous spill and help the victim, Grenno said in the statement, addressing the firefighters and HazMat team who responded.

Matt Berg can be reached at matthew.berg@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattberg33.

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Free chemistry camps offered online this summer – University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Maddyn: Faculty associate Andrew Greenbergs daughter Maddyn Hilt-Greenberg creates the Gliding Car from Recycled Materials, a virtual camp activity. Photos by Andrew Greenberg

The University of WisconsinMadison Department of Chemistrys Institute of Chemical Education (ICE) is offering its summer chemistry camps for free online, continuing a four-decade-long tradition of education despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual camps are available to children and families with computer, tablet or smartphone access to the ICE website. Two groups of virtual activities are available: one for children entering grades K4 in the fall and another for children entering grades 58.

Activities cover a range of scientific topics including chemical reactions, engineering, physics and learning how to do and troubleshoot experiments. ICE worked to make the experiments safe, inexpensive and easy to do at home, says Iszie Tigges-Green, the chemistry outreach specialist at ICE.

Weve eliminated all activities that need to be done in a lab or require supervision by trained staff, and we focused only on the activities for which you could find the materials around the house, and do them with either some or minimal parental guidance, Tigges-Green says.

Most experiments require common items such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans or popsicle sticks. But the lessons and the experiences provided are close to what the traditional camps offer.

These virtual camps provide an experience similar to what we would have given them at the in-person camps, but for free. Its not the same as in-person, but for quite a few of the things that we do in the camps, students could do almost the same thing at home, says John Moore, the director of ICE.

Within each activity, ICE provides a science background that encourages campers to observe, think and draw scientific conclusions they may not be able to reach on their own. At the in-person camps, there is one group leader for every three or four children, which allows campers to interact with scientists something that is hard to replicate online, Moore points out. To provide a similar experience, ICE is including a series of troubleshooting questions in case the children come across challenges carrying out their experiments.

At the camps, the campers are usually able to talk with the group leaders about the activity. Weve added learning objectives so that they can learn more from the activity, Tigges-Green says.

The virtual format allows children to think independently within their experiments or collaborate with their family members who also may be at home.

Families can try it out and their siblings or their cousins or their grandparents can try it out as well. It can become more of family activity or more of a group activity with people in the home, Tigges-Green says.

Activities are available at http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/chem-camps/virtual-summer-chemistry-camps-2020. ICE encourages families to email chemcamps@chem.wisc.edu to provide feedback about the experiments and send photos of the activities.

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Most people carry remnants of a chemical pollutant ultrasound technology can help clean it up – The Conversation UK

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Theres a type of synthetic chemical which has been so widely used over the last 70 years that its remnants can be found in 99% of humans. Even low level exposure to this pollutant is known to increase the risks of several cancers (including breast, testicular and kidney) birth defects and potentially around 800 other diseases, as was recently highlighted in the film Dark Waters.

Yet per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to be found in a huge range of consumer products, from Teflon cookware and Gore-Tex waterproof clothing to pizza boxes, dental floss and firefighting foams. Unfortunately, the same properties that make PFAS so useful, such as their durability, also make them infuriatingly stubborn to safely and sustainably dispose of. As a result, they are often nicknamed forever chemicals.

Scientists are working on a variety of ways to treat PFAS pollution, but many of these cannot completely destroy the carbon-fluorine chain. However, we and others are developing an ultrasound method that can completely degrade PFAS into relatively harmless carbon dioxide and fluoride.

Teflon (or polytetrafluoroethylene) was the first PFAS invented, created accidentally by Roy Plunkett in 1938. Since then, some 4,729 other PFAS have been produced. They all contain the same defining molecular feature, the perfluoroalkyl group, which is a string of carbon atoms surrounded by fluorine atoms.

PFAS are surfactants, meaning they act like soap to help mix substances that would normally separate, like oil and water. They also show outstanding resistance to typical pollution treatments, such as the use of ozone, bacteria or heating to temperatures of several hundred degrees.

PFAS are usually found in very low concentrations in the environment but they tend to accumulate in the human body and can become stuck in the liver and surrounding organs. As the concentration increases, PFAS cause damage to genes and liver cells, which contributes to several diseases.

Despite knowing the dangers of these substances since the 1950s, manufacturers were dumping waste PFAS into the environment until the early 2000s. Thankfully, the scandal was uncovered, largely due to American lawyer, Rob Bilott, as described in a New York Times article that inspired the 2019 Hollywood film Dark Waters. But the continued widespread use of PFAS in manufacturing means these compounds are still entering the environment when products are thrown away.

Estimates place total pollution at around 53,000 tonnes and annual production at 42,000 tonnes . Another 30,000 tonnes of PFAS-containing firefighting foams are stockpiled globally.

But we dont really know how big a problem waste PFAS is, for several reasons. First, no records exist for the quantities dumped or emitted in firefighting foams and millions of household goods over the decades. In fact, manufacturers still arent required to report small-scale usage in thousands of products.

Second, PFAS pollution is quickly distributed and diluted throughout the global water cycle, ecosphere and atmosphere, making detection challenging. Finally, testing for all known and unknown PFAS molecules, which are constantly being developed, is immensely time consuming.

Activists are now pressuring corporations and governments to remove PFAS from consumer goods. But even if we stop the running tap of PFAS production, we still need to mop up our historical emissions.

Its possible to capture PFAS molecules from water on the surface of chemically charged or porous carbon-based materials. PFAS can also be evaporated from contaminated soils using thermal desorption. Thermal desorption works like a clothes dryer for soil, heating and spinning the soil to evaporate off and collect the pollutants.

But you also need a way to break down the PFAS once collected. Until recently, this was only possible with incineration, which is expensive (especially for water-based pollution), highly polluting and often simply re-disperses the PFAS into the air.

So, researchers are working on new techniques such as photochemical oxidation (destruction using light), plasma and electrochemical treatments. Some scientists have even tried grinding PFAS like wheat. But many of these methods ultimately produce smaller PFAS molecules that resist further treatment.

However, ultrasonic degradation or sonolysis can completely degrade all PFAS so far tested. The carbon-fluorine chain in PFAS molecules are hydrophobic, meaning when you put them in water they tend to congregate around any gas bubbles present. When you bombard them with high pitched soundwaves, these bubbles undergo extraordinarily fast cycles of compression and expansion, tens of thousands (even millions) of times per second.

This causes the bubbles to grow and then violently collapse under the next incoming soundwave. The collapsing gas momentarily reaches temperatures exceeding the surface of the sun and pressures around a thousand times higher than our atmosphere. This creates a small, localised pocket of plasma inside the bubble that effectively breaks down the PFAS underwater, without the same noxious gases associated with incineration.

We at the University of Surrey are developing ultrasound technology that we have tested against one of the most difficult-to-destroy PFASs, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOS was once commonly used in fabric stain repellents but is now restricted because of its link with kidney disease.

We hope to develop a large reactor capable of treating contaminated domestic water supplies or firefighting foams, as well as adapting the process for soils. If made into a mobile process, this could even be used to decontaminate remote farmlands, lakes and airbases, which are common sites of contamination.

We would also need to combine the treatment with one of the mentioned technologies to collect and separate PFAS from the environment. But we are optimistic that, through changes to the law and research on effective cleanup technologies, we might one day not have to worry about the problem of PFAS pollution.

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Most people carry remnants of a chemical pollutant ultrasound technology can help clean it up - The Conversation UK

Ranbir Kapoor & Alia Bhatts chemistry in THIS throwback pic from Brahmastra makes fans impatient for the film – PINKVILLA

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Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer Brahmastra is one of the highly anticipated releases of 2020. While the shooting has been halted due to COVID 19 lockdown, a throwback photo of Ranbir and Alia from a song shoot is raising fans excitement.

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are among the popular couples in Bollywood whose first film together Brahmastra is yet to hit the screens. Though people have seen the two together at various events and award shows, to see Ranbir and Alia on the big screen, is what most of their fans are looking forward to. Amid the lockdown, Ranbir and Alias film Brahmastras shoot was put on hold and some portion of it is yet to be shot. However, when they were shooting in Varanasi, photos of the song sequence surfaced on social media.

Now, a throwback photo of the song sequence between Alia and Ranbir is again doing rounds on social media and it is bound to leave you excited. In the photo, we get to see Ranbir getting flirty with his co-star and beau Alia and it surely is a sight fans would love to see on the big screen. Alia is seen clad in jeans and casual top with a red long cape and Ranbir is seen sporting a check shirt with blue jeans.

Also Read|Karan Johar confirms Ranbir Kapoor turns girlfriend Alia Bhatt's hairstylist: She's made Ranbir cut her hair

A while back, videos of the two dancing along the ghats of the river in Varanasi also went viral and it was Brahmastras song itself. Brahmastra will star Ranbir as Shiva who has the power to create fire with his hands while Alia will be seen playing his love interest, Isha in the film. The films shoot began in 2017 in Bulgaria and back then, the photos of Alia and Ranbir shared on social media left everyone rooting for Brahmastra.

Brahmastra also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Dimple Kapadia and Mouni Roy. The film is helmed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan Johar. The film also has a cameo role done by Shah Rukh Khan. It is slated to release on December 4, 2020.

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AP Chemistry: The Course | AP Central The College Board

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Support for Students and Schools Impacted by CoronavirusIn response to school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were providing free, live AP online classes and review lessons. Well also offer at-home testing for 2020 AP Exams. Note that any related adjustments to 2020 AP Exams, such as length or content covered, may not be reflected on all AP Central pages. VisitTaking theExams for the latest exam information.

AP Chemistry Updates and New Resources for 2019-20To help more students prepare forand succeed onthe AP Chemistry Exam, weve clarified the courses focus starting with the 2019-20 school year and are introducing new resources for your classroom. Weve also moved exam registration to the fall, a best practice that improves students chances of earning college credit and placement.

Download the new course and exam description (CED) and log into your Course Audit account to access the updated AP Chemistry Teacher Lab Manual.

New AP ResourcesAP Classroom is now available. Designed with AP educators, it helps you provide students daily practice and personalized feedback throughout the year. Sign in to access AP unit guides with aligned resources, topic questions, personal progress checks, the progress dashboard, and your question bank.

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Evidence that NMR chemical shifts depend on magnetic field strength – Chemistry World

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Scientists have shown that NMR parameters, commonly thought to be independent of magnetic field strength, are in fact directly and significantly affected by the higher field strength being used in modern high-precision NMR instruments.1

In recent years, developing NMR instruments with higher magnetic field strengths has been vital to enhance the sensitivity of this technique higher field strengths give larger spin polarisation, leading to increased signal strength, sensitivity and resolution. Currently, the NMR community widely considers parameters such as nuclear shielding and spin coupling to be field-independent, and therefore they should remain constant even when using higher field strengths. Even though Nobel laureate Norman Ramsey predicted in 1970 that nuclear shielding (and consequently chemical shift) has some dependence on magnetic field strength,2 the historically tiny size of this effect has resulted in it being overlooked.

Now, using solvent-state 59Co NMR experiments with theoretical computations, researchers in Finland and Estonia have verified Ramseys predictions by measuring the direct magnetic field dependence of nuclear shielding and chemical shift. The team, led by Jukka Jokisaari from the University of Oulu, has shown that the magnitude of the field dependence in a Co(acac)3 complex corresponds to an experimentally significant and observable frequency shift in higher field strength instruments.

While it is widely known that magnetic fields partially orient molecules with an anisotropic magnetisability tensor, giving many parameters an indirect magnetic field dependence, the effect demonstrated here is different. Team member Juha Vaara says that the field dependence studied in this work is caused by the direct modification of the electron cloud that takes place even in a fixed orientation of the molecule, or in an atom. For molecules, both indirect and direct effects take place simultaneously, and need to be carefully separated. The smaller the molecule, the more important the direct effect becomes. Additionally, NMR properties are sensitive to temperature. Importantly, the team took these complications into account while performing the experiments at four different field strengths; they proved that the indirect field dependence in this case is negligible and used 129Xe as a reference to eliminate the effects of temperature dependence.

As shown here, the experimental magnetic-field dependence is around -5.5ppbT-2 for the 59Co shielding tensor, which is, in principle, small, comments NMR parameter researcher Cludio Tormena, from the University of Campinas in Brazil. However, considering that magnetic field strengths are continuously increasing, small neglected effects could become an important source of information in the near future.

Jokisaaris team hopes that these results will make the NMR community aware of such effects influencing their high-field data. Additionally, team member Anu Kantola says that direct field dependence may be used as a further window to molecular and materials properties, and in time, we expect to see specific experiments probing and making use of this.

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Explosion rocks chemical tanker on Yangtze River – – Splash 247

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May 22nd, 2020 Jason Jiang Greater China, Tankers 0 comments

An explosion damaged the 2018-built chemical tanker Qiu Feng 6 on Wednesday and injured two crew members.

The incident occurred when the vessel was sailing near Wuhu on the Yangtze River. A video of the incident shows the crew possibly washing the tank when the explosion happened.

Three crew jumped into the water and were later picked up by a rescue team and another two crew were injured and sent to hospital for emergency treatment, while the other four crew members onboard were unharmed.

The fire triggered by the explosion was put out and authorities have started investigations into the cause of the incident.

The vessel is owned by Yangzhou Yuhua Shipping, which mainly operates ships carrying hazardous cargo on the Yangtze.

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.

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"The Chemistry Was Incredible": An Oral History of the 1997-98 Pacers (Part 1) – Pacers.com

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Throughout the Pacers' history as an NBA franchise, all 43 seasons of it, eight teams have reached the Eastern Conference finals. One of them stands above the rest for intrigue and what-ifs, even more than the one that played for the championship in 2000.

The group that took Chicago to seven games in 1998 and nearly unplugged the Bulls' title run at the United Center in Game 7 might have been the best of them all. It's open to debate, of course, and there's no definitive answer, but that season stands out for its fresh enthusiasm, chemistry, veteran leadership, and raw talent.

It fell just one game and six points short of advancing to the Finals, where it would have had a legitimate opportunity to win the championship Chicago ultimately won. Instead it had to settle for a lot of happy memories and the knowledge it came closer than any other to knocking out a Bulls team with a healthy Michael Jordan once they began winning championships in 1991.

The season is as much discussed and fondly remembered today as any in the NBA, including the team that beat New York two years later to reach the Finals. Larry Bird shook up the league by jumping into the head coach's seat and defied the doubters by winning Coach of the Year honors. His players on the whole were thrilled to have him as their coach and responded to his calm, trusting approach with the enthusiasm of Little Leaguers.

That Pacers team is back in the news this weekend because it will be featured in the next episode of "The Last Dance," ESPN's Michael Jordan-centric documentary on the Bulls' sixth and final championship. There will be plenty of highlights to show from the seven-game series in which the home team won each game, but the entire season was a highlight for Pacers players and fans until it ended so abruptly and agonizingly on May 31 in the United Center.

The team was coming off a disappointing 1996-97 season, Larry Brown's last, in which it failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1989. The core of the team had been to the conference finals twice under Brown, however, so it had tasted success. It was in a sense in a dead heat against Father Time. Returnees Reggie Miller (32 years old), Mark Jackson (32), Rik Smits (31), and Derrick McKey (31) had passed the threshold of 30, as had trade acquisition Chris Mullin (34) and free agent signee Mark West (37). Antonio Davis (29), Dale Davis (28), Travis Best (25), and Fred Hoiberg (25) were beyond their break-in period.

Jalen Rose had been cast off by Denver after two years and spent a frustrating season riding Larry Brown's bench with the Pacers. He was in need of career rehab but showed the potential of a player who had been drafted 13th overall. Even the two rookies were experienced. First-round draft pick Austin Croshere (22) had played four years at Providence and second-round pick Mark Pope (25) was coming off a five-year collegiate career that included a transfer and a season in Istanbul, Turkey.

That group won a then-NBA franchise record 58 games and breezed through the first two rounds of the playoffs before meeting the Bulls in the conference finals in a classic seven-game series.

Here's how it unfolded.

The 1997-98 season unofficially began for the Pacers in May, when Larry Bird was introduced as the next head coach at a press conference at Market Square Arena that was attended by media from around the nation. It was a homecoming of sorts for the Indiana basketball legend who needed no introduction to anyone except as a coach, given the skepticism surrounding his hire. Was this a publicity stunt to sell tickets after a losing season? Was it a hopeless grab at nostalgia?

Fact is, Bird won over everyone once he met them, players included, with the thought he had put into the job and his sincerity about executing it.

Donnie Walsh, general manager: I had observed Larry for a long time as a player and I knew the personality and everything that made him go. And it was all really positive. And then when I met with him...there was one meeting I had that lasted two hours. I asked him, "Tell me what you would do with this team, Larry." He took me from the first practice to the finals of the NBA, and I mean in detail. So, I knew then he could do it. I thought it was a home run.

He just gives off the vibe. I checked it to myself a lot, just to reassure myself. Every time I did, I thought, "Yeah, he's got it."

Fred Hoiberg, guard: I went to the press conference. Reggie was there, too, and maybe someone else. We were in town and working out that day.

I was excited. He was a guy I idolized growing up. Just watching those great Celtics teams as a kid and seeing a guy from a small town go in and at times completely dominate the league...and now I get the opportunity to play for him.

Donnie Walsh introduces Larry Bird as head coach of the Pacers in a press conference at Market Square Arena. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)

Travis Best, guard: I was elated. The Larry Brown situation was not one of the best for me my first two years. His expectations of me were the total opposite of what kind of player I was. Had he been there for another couple of years, I probably would not have re-signed with the Pacers after my contract was up. The last year had left a bad taste in everybody's mouth. At that point everybody had tuned him out. Guys were ready to start fresh.

When Larry Bird was hired? To hear that? He was one of my favorite players, a guy who played professionally in the same state where I grew up, where I watched every game before cable was popular. I grew up watching those Celtics teams. To hear he was going to be coaching us, I was elated.

The very first time I talked to him he started our relationship on the best note I could have asked for. He said he had watched film, had watched me, he liked the decisions I made. He said I had the green light in terms of looking to score but thought I could pass the ball as well. He wanted me to be more aggressive and come to camp in tip-top shape. That was huge for me to hear because offensively I felt I had taken a step back under Larry Brown.

Rik Smits, center: Anything after Larry Brown was easy. I liked Larry as a person but he was a bear to deal with on the basketball court. Nothing was ever good enough. It was obvious we were ready for a change and Bird was the complete opposite. He knew what it was like for the players. He realized the situation we were in. He said, "I'm going to get you in the best possible shape. You know what you're doing on the court." He didn't try to teach us like Larry Brown used to do. It was a good fit at that time. Everybody was excited about it.

Antonio Davis, forward: Larry Brown was a stickler for doing things the "right way," but you always felt it was a moving target. You were thinking, "What is the right way? Every time you come in here you explain the right way differently." At times you wanted to throw your hands up and say, 'Man, I don't want to hear that today."

Best: I didn't even know what that meant. I had been hearing that for two years.

Antonio Davis: Don't get me wrong, I loved Larry Brown. But he was a control freak. He wanted to control every single possession.

Mark Jackson, guard: Larry Brown is a Hall of Fame coach, a brilliant basketball mind, but he had a different style of coaching than Larry Bird. Both did incredible jobs for the Pacer organization, but Larry Brown was going to stop and talk and make corrections, then make more corrections. His style was trying to max out our ability. It did work, but it ran its course.

Both guys trusted me; the difference was, with Larry Bird, anything we decided to run, he still had ultimate trust in a quarterback audibling at any point. Larry Bird just had a different approach and it was a much-needed vibe for us.

Bird got his whistle wet coaching the Pacers rookie and free agents in a mini-camp, then took a team to the Atlanta suburbs for Summer League play. His debut there was nation
al news but the group representing the Pacers didn't perform particularly well. Jalen Rose participated as a show of good faith after a frustrating season under Brown but arrived late and didn't play well. Erick Dampier, the previous year's first-round draft pick, had borrowed a van the previous night and then overslept the next morning, arriving late for a morning shootaround. He was traded to Golden State the following month for Chris Mullin. Bird insisted the two events weren't connected. But a warning had been sounded.

Dan Burke, video coordinator: That trade was probably already in the works, but from the outside it looked like, "You're late, ok, if you don't want to be here we'll send you somewhere else." That stuff was built into our discipline.

Larry's thing was, you be on time. And on time for him was 15 minutes early.

Chris Mullin, forward: Golden State was on a different trajectory and I had an open dialogue with them. They were going to rebuild. I wasn't 100 percent against rebuilding, but I wanted to know if I was going to be here when I retired. I was willing to bite the bullet and go through it, but it didn't seem to be working out.

When Larry got the job, it became really appealing to me. Those guys (Miller and Jackson) were my age and I knew them really well. I had known Donnie forever, and he had been with them so long. He's a New Yorker through and through. I had heard stories about him since I was a kid with (coach Lou) Carnesecca. It was really appealing.

That team hadn't changed a lot. They had been together trying to get to that next level. It was like walking into a well-oiled machine I just had to fit in and find a way to contribute and hopefully take it a step further.

The Pacers took their training camp to Orlando for the first time that season, preparing for the season at the Disney World complex. The players stayed in their private bungalows and each had a golf cart for transportation. There, Bird backed up his promise to make them the best-conditioned team in the NBA. The players responded with enthusiasm to his demands, and bonds were formed quickly. But for the rookies, it was an eye-opener.

Burke: When Larry got hired, we had that rookie/free agent camp right away. Our first practice was at Market Square, and Reggie showed up to watch that first practice. He saw Larry's commitment to conditioning and that sent a message right away. From what I understand, Reggie contacted some of his teammates and said, "Boys, we better come in shape."

That started the attitude of training camp: This isn't some novelty, hiring Larry Bird. This guy is all business and he's going to expect your best effort. We're here to win.

We had a lot of new guys on the team then. Just the freshness of something different and being by ourselves (in Orlando). That brought a lot to it. Watching veterans like Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson they loved it. It was basketball. They liked being together, it was obvious. It was work, but I never felt like these guys thought it was work. Larry's practices, we worked. It was "do your job." That was Larry's battle cry and that's what everybody did.

Best: There was enthusiasm, there was energy; guys were willing to run through a brick wall for him. We wanted to win, not only for ourselves and the city and the fans, but for Larry as well.

Hoiberg: It was a fun camp. Larry Bird's practices were as demanding as any coach I've played for. He always wanted us to be the best-conditioned team and that was a huge part of his philosophy; that we would be in better shape than the opponents. Not a lot of NBA teams flat-out run sprints. He would get us on the line, and we would run a lot. It wasn't fun at the time, but It certainly paid off.

Mullin: We worked our (butts) off, no question.

Dan Burke: It was for them. It was for the players. That's what I learned from Larry. Larry had won championships. It wasn't about winning one as a coach, it was winning one for these guys. That was obvious the way he coached them and managed them. He was definitely, 'I've had my time.' He wanted them to have theirs.

Contrary to the productivity and spirit of training camp, the Pacers lost their preseason opener at the University of Dayton to Cleveland. Even worse, Croshere broke his left wrist when he was smacked on a rebound attempt two minutes and four points into his debut. He would miss the next six weeks and not play against until Nov. 20.

Eleven days later, another notable preseason event occurred. Travis Best and Dale Davis missed the team's 3 p.m. flight to Nashville for a game against Charlotte. They were on the tarmac, walking toward the airplane, when the stairs went up, the door was closed and locked and the plane pulled away. Best contends it was only 2:50, but apparently that wasn't early enough. Davis picked up the tab for their commercial flight to Nashville, via Atlanta.

In both cases, Bird displayed the toughness he was trying to instill in the team.

Austin Croshere, forward: I went over to the sideline and told (trainer) David Craig I thought I might have broken my hand. He looked at it and said, "Yeah, you broke your hand." And Bird said, "Go make your ------- free throws." I made my free throws and then left the game.

Best: I guess we needed to get there a little sooner. We thought we had another 10 minutes. We didn't think much of it. It was an odd thing to see the team pull the stairs up and pull off. Me and Dale, we put our tail between our legs and had to buy our own ticket.

Mullin: I remember David Craig saying, "Coach, what do you want to do?" Larry said, "What time is it?" David told him. And Larry said, "Let's go then."

That was the last time anyone was late. That was the last time in my three years with the Pacers anything was askew. In the NBA, that's insane. It's impossible. That was a tight ship."

Mark West, center: I thought that was great. He was saying, "I don't care what your status is." The rules were for everybody, not for the few.

Mark Pope, forward: I'll never forget Ike (Dale Davis) standing there by the side of the plane as we started to roll out. I thought, "This is something."

Burke: One of our expressions for defending screens is "lock and go." After that happened, Reggie would be up front when it was time to leave and yell, "lock and go!" You had this awareness and accountability from within. We were disciplined and that carried over to what they accomplished.

The discipline might have been established by then, but chemistry and cohesion had not. The Pacers lost the regular season opener in New Jersey, 97-95. They followed by winning their home opener over rebuilding Golden State, but two weeks in were just 2-5. There were no hints of panic, however, and they went on to win nine of their next 10 games. After losing the final two games of a Western road trip, they didn't lose consecutive games the rest of the regular season.

The chemistry remained strong throughout the season and the team continued to improve. Miller had perhaps the best season of his career, hitting a running stream of clutch 3-pointers, while Jackson reveled in the freedom awarded by Bird. The players gradually grew comfortable with assistant coaches Dick Harter and Rick Carlisle being defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, while Bird managed the operation with a deft touch.

Antonio Davis: We lost some games early. We just had to keep at it. The message we got from the coaches was, this works. The timing is a little off, just stay with it.

Jackson: He did not disappoint. He came with no ego. He was a team leader. He embraced what he had accomplished already as a player and took us to the next level.

The thing he emphasized to Reggie and me was how desperately he wanted us to get to the NBA Finals. He told us it was a whole different experience, and given how much work we had put in it was something we truly deserved. He wasn't a coach who was afraid to allow his leaders to have a huge voice.
He understood the advantages of it as a coach. And embraced it. He kept on top of the pulse of the team and got it directly from the leaders.

Best: Larry did a great job of delegating responsibility. I thought he did a great job as a head coach with the situation that was given to him, this being his first time coaching. He took the reins and never relinquished them. He was very honest with us and made us work. He taught us his way of trying to win: everybody getting involved, being in better shape than other teams and having an easy-going feel around the locker room.

Walsh: Larry was like an orchestra leader. He felt the team the whole year. Sometimes he would let things go and sometimes he wouldn't.

Larry Bird quickly won over Indiana's veteran locker room in his first season as head coach. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)

Larry always knows what he doesn't know. And when he knows it, he really knows it. He doesn't get into areas he doesn't know and he's very confident in the areas he does know.

Mullin: It was the most low-maintenance, no BS place ever. It was just basketball. The priorities were set in stone. The way Larry and Donnie constructed that roster from Day One was to get to the Finals.

Larry early in training camp was talking about getting homecourt advantage. He wasn't in there to see if he could coach, he wanted to win a championship. I hadn't been in a situation where I started the season thinking going to the Finals. We would think about going to playoffs and then scratch and claw round by round.

Hoiberg: We were up pretty big in a game one time, maybe in San Antonio. They went on a little run and Dick Harter and Rick Carlisle were yelling, "Call timeout!" Larry turned around and said, "Listen -------, I'll call all the timeouts! When was the last time you played in a meaningful game?" We went on a 12-0 and the other team had to call a timeout.

Mullin: I remember early on he said, "I'm not going to ask you guys to do anything that hasn't worked for me. We're not going to overdo anything." There was no deviation there. You look at the record and it speaks for itself. There were no hidden agendas.

Hoiberg: We would hang out as team, go to dinners...it was a team that genuinely liked each other. That team and my first year in Minnesota with Garnett, Sprewell, and Cassell those were the teams that stood out for unity. Sprewell was one of the greatest teammates I ever had. He bought lunch for the team every day. He was a great teammate.

Jackson: The chemistry was incredible. Certainly the best I had experienced. The camaraderie, no cliques...we laughed, we joked, we embraced each other's role, we supported one another. It was a tied-together basketball team and it started from the top.

Pope: I was a dumb rookie. I didn't know anything. I had no reference points. After that I was blessed to bounce around the league a long time and I've been in basketball almost every year since. It's after the fact I recognize what a monumental blessing it was for me as a really bad-playing rookie to learn what the league was supposed to be like from Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson and Chris Mullin and Larry Bird and that whole crew. Dale, Antonio...there's a lot of rookies that come into the league and they come into places where they don't do it like that, and those rookies think that's how you carry yourself as a pro.

I tell people all the time, I don't know if I've ever been around a better leader than Reggie Miller in terms of him being a pro, him coming and competing every single day.

Antonio Davis: That whole team, man...looking back, I took it for granted. That's how you thought it was going to be everywhere. Then I go to Toronto (for the 1999-2000 season). You could live in the same building with a teammate and you didn't even know it. It was just so different.

Guys had birthday parties for their kids and every guy was there; would show up for a little bit, drop off a little present. Even if guys didn't have kids they showed up. It meant a lot. So when you get out on the floor it's more than teammates, you feel like you know this guy. He's part of your family and you're part of his family. You have that bond. We really clicked. It was the sense of us against the world.

West: I still look at that as one of the great experiences of my career. I had played on quite a few teams. Just the overall way they were and how they accepted me was special.

Mark Jackson was there and of course Reggie. I had never seen it quite the way they did with their rookies. We'd win a game and if one of those guys was "Player of the Game" and got a watch or a gift certificate or whatever, right away they would give it to one of the rookies. I thought, "Wow, this is pretty special." It was the attitude that "When I do good, we all do good."

Having been around the league for a while, I thought that was different and special.

Burke: There was always excitement, there was always camaraderie. I remember being on a back-to-back road trip and riding from the airport to the hotel and going right by the FleetCenter (in Boston). These these guys start singing. They're making up their own lyrics about not wanting to have a shootaround. They were laughing. I thought it was bringing them together.

Jackson: We'd be on the bus and (Bird) would announce we're having practice tomorrow and we'd break out in our own version of "Kumbaya." He would be up there dying laughing.

Or we would be in the middle of a shootaround or practice, and if we thought we had no business being there we would be singing songs or making subtle jokes about, "Why are we here?" Larry Brown would have put us on the line. Larry Bird thought it was hilarious.

Burke: Larry had said from the beginning we were going to have as many shootarounds as possible. We taped (ankles) for them. We didn't kill them, but we had some pretty brisk drills based on what we were going to see that night.

We sweated in those shootarounds. We worked. We did "Pacer layups," where you're constantly running fullcourt. He told them, "These are going to be 25 or 30 practices other teams aren't going to do. But we're going to get better.

I definitely saw a build-up to that team, coming closer together and becoming tougher, along with the physical improvement. It started with him being calm and confident and being driven.

Mullin: He coached like he played 100 percent dedicated, focused, no drama. He was funny without even knowing it. For me, for the older guys, he was like a teammate guiding us, encouraging us.He would say, "If you guys don't play the first five minutes, I'm taking you out. Get your ---- going or I'm taking you out." That was his halftime speech.

I remember a game, I wasn't playing terrible, maybe I was 3-for-7 or something like that. He said, "Mully, you going to make a shot or not?" It was like older brother talking to you, saying, "Come on, let's get goingl"

Burke: Larry stayed after and rebounded for everyone. I remember thinking, "I can't leave because Larry's still out here." That was the care he showed. Doing your job meant doing extra. If you're not doing your job well, you need to stay after.

Hoiberg: When you have one of the greatest players of all time in your corner...I remember a game, I was running down in transition in front of the bench and had a 3-pointer. As soon as it released from my hand, Larry Bird yelled, "Money." It's so much easier to shoot the ball when you're not looking over your shoulder.

It did go in. When you have that kind of belief behind you, it makes the game a lot easier.

Jackson: Every once in a while, he would tease us by taking shots in practice. You're sitting there thinking, Larry Bird is shooting the ball and stroking shots. It was fun.

Croshere and Pope were old for rookies, but still rookies, and experienced the growing pains all rookies have. Croshere played in 26 games for 243 minutes in a hard-luck season that began and ended on the injured list. Pope played in ju
st 28 games for a total of 193 minutes but was given the role of inbound passer when Derrick McKey was not available and later was awarded the task of giving the fire-up talk in the players' huddle before they took the floor. Both recall a season of naivety and tough love.

Austin Croshere: Everything was new to me. I had to get everyone's gear and take it to the trainer and then pick it up (after it had been cleaned) and drop it off at everyone's bungalow. I was just trying to work hard and fit in.

But it was a dream come true. It took me a good quarter of the season not to be in awe of Larry Bird. He would rebound for me after practice, be chasing after the ball and passing to me. I was like, What is happening here?

Pope: The first preseason game at home was one of the worst/greatest experiences of my entire life. Clearly in a million years I don't belong with this group, right? We're playing Cleveland. I'm playing pretty good. I haven't embarrassed myself and he doesn't check me out. Every timeout I'm thinking, "Surely he's going to put in a real player now." But he didn't.

On the last play, I inbound and clear out to the weakside. Reggie drives baseline, and as soon as he does, I'm thinking, This is not good. Reggie throws the pass and I catch the ball. Of all the people in this arena, I'm the one guy who should not be shooting this shot. I kind of peed my pants. I was wide open but I shot-faked. I shot-faked no one because there was nobody there. I actually shot-faked the air and drove middle and it rimmed out. And we lost the game.

I go in the locker room after and it so uncomfortable. These are vets and I clearly was not up to the task at hand. That's what you learn as a bad rookie player, you learn you have to make a play.

The next day at practice I'm stretching in the corner and Coach Bird walks over to me. He's my hero, right? He says, "Hey what happened last night?" I gave him some baloney answer about thinking I could get into the lane and get a better shot. He said, "I don't blame you, I blame me. Because I should have known better than to have you I the game." It was the worst thing anybody has ever said to me. Not really the worst, but it was the truth.

Croshere: I remember one game early in the year. The ref was Hue Hollins. I had gotten my third foul in the first half and a little later Hue handed me the ball on the sideline right next to Larry to throw it in. I said, "Coach, that's my third foul." He said, "Just inbound the ------- ball, you're not going to play long enough to foul out." Hue looked at me and started laughing. Then Larry started laughing.

Pope: We're playing the Knicks and Charles Oakley caught me with a good one in the third quarter, an elbow right in the head. In the moment I'm seeing stars, but in the moment I'm also thinking, I can't wait to go home and call Mom and say, "Charles Oakley just elbowed me in the head! I can't believe it!"

Croshere: We got our first paycheck and they had taken money out for something and Mark goes to David Craig, "Hey, what's up with this?" David said it was the charge for having a single room on the road. The collective bargaining agreement says you're supposed to have a roommate, so to get a single room you have to pay something extra.

Mark said, "I don't want that, I'll take a roommate."

David said, "Well, then find a roommate."

He was going around to everyone on the team asking if they would be his roommate on the road. He even asked the equipment guy, who was really old (Bill Hart). "Hey, Bill, let's share a room!"

Pope: When you're a bad player, you know money's going to shut down at some point. A freaking burger cost $75 at the hotel. I'm thinking, What is happening! I could buy a cow for that much.I would always go to a Subway on the road and it became a little joke. We're rolling into L.A. and we're driving to the hotel and we drive by a Subway and a whole chorus of guys yell, "Pope, there you go! There's your Subway."

In my second season (1999) we're playing the Knicks in the playoffs. I actually proposed to Lee Anne, who worked for David Letterman, during the playoff series. She comes to the hotel one day and has the ring on and we ran into Mully in the lobby. He looked at the ring and says, "Lee Anne, that is a lot of Subway sandwiches."

I was pretty close to living off my per-diem to pay my apartment rent and food.

Croshere: I remember going to Blockbuster and renting like five movies and watching them. I would get to the gym early and stay later. But even then, you're still home at 3 and you've got nothing to do the rest of the day. That's life as a rookie. It's the greatest job in the world, but there's a lot of loneliness to it.

Continued here:
"The Chemistry Was Incredible": An Oral History of the 1997-98 Pacers (Part 1) - Pacers.com

Answering your sweet onion question and the science of why onions make you cry – Green Bay Press Gazette

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A reader left a voicemail asking: "Where can I get some good sweet onions that are not bitter ... like ones like you get at McDonald's."

The short answer to finding onions short on bitterness is to buysweet onion varieties with names like Vidalia and Walla Walla.

As far as finding McDonald's onions at the local grocery storewell, you don't become a global restaurant powerhouse by broadcasting trade secrets.However, there are plenty of online posts on how to replicate McDonald's onions at home by hydratingminced onions.

I tried a method that callsfor 1 tablespoon of minced onions mixed with an cup of water mixed in a bowl. Microwavethe soaked onion bits for 30 seconds and let sit for 15 minutes.

It worked. The onions were sweet and plumped up but no larger than the minced onions on McDonald's burgers.

Hydrating dried minced onions creates tiny pieces that add onion flavor with minimal bitterness.(Photo: Daniel Higgins/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Still, there's no need to reconstitute dried onions to satisfy your sweet onion tooth. Sweet onions are available nearly year-round in Wisconsin.

University of Wisconsinhorticulture professor Irwin Goldman wrote in an email response to my onion inquiries that most sweet onions are grown in the southern United States, Mexico, and both Central and South America. A smaller amount are grown in the Pacific Northwest.

When it comes to onions, Goldman has many layers of knowledge. Since joining the UW faculty in 1992 he's headed up the Goldman Lab that focuses on research, breeding and genetics of table beets, carrotsand onions.

Goldman explains the science of why onions make us cry and the varying bitterness as follows:

Before being cut, compartments in the onion's cells isolate a specific enzymefrom a sulfur-based substrate a substrate is a substance acted upon by an enzyme.

When the onion is cut,the cells are ruptured,allowing the enzyme and substrate to combine and produce propanethial sulfoxidethatacts a little like sulfuric acid on the nerve cell membrane of the eye and causes tearing.

The substrate concentration levels vary based on the onion variety and where and how the onion is grown. Higher substrateconcentrations and a more activeenzyme can lead to larger amounts of propanethial sulfoxide.

Variety, growing conditions and how long onions have been stored all impact their flavor.(Photo: Daniel Higgins/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Onions grown in soil with lower levels of sulfur produce substrates with lower sulfur concentrations and therefore result in a milder flavor. Soil with lower levels of sulfur is more widely found in states like Georgia, Floridaand Texas. This is why sweeter, milder onions typically come from the southern states, whereas stronger flavored onions come from northern regions.

Stored onion bulbs generally increase in pungency up to about 90 days after harvest,and some continue to increase up to 120 days. There are a few that get milder with storage, but most onions simply lose water and further concentrate the substrate, which in turn makes the onion a bit more pungent with time. Also, the onion bulb goes dormantafter harvest, but its dormancy is broken after a few months. Onions that are a few months old may be producing green sprouts because their dormancy has been broken and the sulfur compounds in the substrate are being mobilized into the new leaves.

The greatest pungency of the onion is found in the tissues at the base of the bulb. Cutting through that part of a bulb releases the most pungency and would make you tear up faster than if you kept the basal portion intact and cut other parts of the onion.(Photo: Daniel Higgins/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The greatest pungency of the onion is found in the tissues at the base of the bulb, near where the stem is located. If you were holding an onion in the palm of your hand with the roots at the bottom, the base would be the centimeter or so of tissue closest to your palm. Disrupting this part of a bulb releases the most pungency and would make you tear up faster than if you kept the basal portion or the onion bulb intact and cut other parts.

My thanks to professor Irwin Goldman for answering our onion questions. If you have a food question, send it my way via email or leave a voicemail message. I can't promise every answer will come from an expert of Goldman's stature, but I will get your questions answered.

More: Higgins Eats ingestigative report: These five frozen pizzas have surprisingly distinct flavor profiles

More: Spruce up spaghetti night with sausage and green pepper version | No Budget Cooking Series

More: Kits from Wisconsin restaurants pull double duty as meal solutions and family activity

Contact Daniel at (920) 996-7214or dphiggin@gannett.com. Follow himon Twitter and Instagram at @HigginsEats.

Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Subscribe to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin site today with one of our special offers and support local journalism.

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KDHE secretary: More than 40% increase in cleaning chemical ingestion cases – KSHB

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. The number of cases of people ingesting a chemical solution has increased, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman said Monday.

Norman said he received the information from Dr. Stephen Thornton, a toxicologist and emergency medicine specialist at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Thornton told Norman hed seen an increase of more than 40% in cleaning chemical cases.

That included a man over the weekend who drank a product because of the advice that he received, Norman said.

Norman said the department is doing what we can to counter-message against that kind of remedy.

Norman did not specifically mention any ties between the increase and President Donald Trump's inquiry if disinfectant could be injected into the lungs to kill COVID-19 inside the body.

The following day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a reminder to United States citizens not to consume disinfectants.

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Lawmakers push for inclusion of ‘forever chemical’ regulation in future stimulus bill | TheHill – The Hill

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A group of more than 80 members of Congress is pushing for the inclusion of provisions to regulate a class of cancer-linked chemicals in future stimulus legislation dealing with infrastructure.

The chemicals, known as PFAS, are also sometimes called forever chemicals because of their persistence in both the environment and the human body. They can be found in a variety of products including raincoats, cookware and firefighting foam.

In a Monday letter to leaders of the chambers Transportation Committee, the bipartisan lawmakers specifically pushed for future legislation to include measures from a bill that had passed the House in January.

As we emerge from this crisis, we must ensure that communities can focus their resources where they are needed most. These provisions will hold those who discharge PFAS responsible for those discharges and ensure that communities are not left to clean up pollution they did notcause, said the letter, which was led by Rep. Chris PappasChristopher (Chris) Charles PappasLawmakers push for inclusion of 'forever chemical' regulation in future stimulus bill Democratic rep pushes for eligibility for coronavirus lending programs to be extended to chambers of commerce America needs a transformative transportation bill: It will take walking and biking to get there MORE (D-N.H.).

The legislation passed by the House earlier this year would require the Environmental Protection Agency to set a mandatory drinking water standard for PFAS and require it to be covered by a hazardous waste cleanup law. It also set a five-year moratorium on the development of new PFAS chemicals.

Opponents have argued that the legislation is too sweeping, and that it makes little distinction between the more than 6,000 forms of PFAS. They also say it opens up too many parties to liability.

Senate Republicans said earlier this year that such a bill would be dead on arrival and have no prospects in the upper chamber.

Separately, senators announced a water infrastructure package last week that would authorize $300 million in grants to help deal with contaminants such as PFAS.

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Lawmakers push for inclusion of 'forever chemical' regulation in future stimulus bill | TheHill - The Hill

This AI wrote such emo lyrics that humans thought it was My Chemical Romance – The Next Web

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If you think the songs in the charts sound like they were made by machines, youre probably wrong an AIslyrics would be better.

Thats according to research by ticket site TickPick, which recently tested whetherpeopleprefer artificial or humansongwriters.

The company scraped thousands oflyrics from genius.com and grouped them intorock, rap, country, and pop songs. The wordswere then fed toatext-generating machine called GPT-2, which used machine learning to create new sets of lyrics.

The system composed 100 songs in each genre, which the TickPick team turned into four original six-track albums. They then ran the lyrics through Grammarlys plagiarism checker to check that the AI songwriters werent stealing from the artists that inspired them.

[Read:Researcher builds AI rapper to spit sick rhymes with mixed results]

They then tested whether 1,003 music fans could spot which lyrics were made by AI and which were written by real musicians and whether they preferred the songs created by humans or machines.

In each category, the respondents were shown three lyrics written by acclaimed human artists,and one created by an AI.

When asked which verse was the most emotional, almost 40% of people said they more touched by the AIs wordsthan lyrics writtenby Adele, R.E.M., and Johnny Cash.

And who can blame them? Only a heart of stone would be unmoved by this tear-jerker:

I stand alone and think its better to be alone. Lonely days, I just cant find the will to go on. Im in this state, and my esyes show me that Ive been taken.

After wiping tears from their eyes, the respondents were asked which songwriter was the most creative.

Again, the AIsmashed the so-called legends, attracting 65% of votes for this inspirational poetry:

When clouds part to reveal a man in the wilderness outside the pale light of morning. A secret within the door can hear him say. The clouds will reveal what I mean.

Humanitys last chance to overcome the machines came in the overall favorite category and theAI was finally defeated. It nonetheless deserves applause for this imaginative effort:

I got my rig in the back of my Beemer. Professional when I graze, Im professional when I argue. 40 glass, Im laughing at that s***, Ima be roaring at that s***

The experiment also revealed which genres are hardest forAI songwriters to master.

The respondents struggled to spot which pop and country lyrics were written by an AI. And its rock song was so emo that they thought it was written by My Chemical Romance or Nirvana.

However, they were less convinced by artificial rapper Young AI. Almost 36% of them recognized that a human did not create these bars:

In the city at night, wild stars appear. From far away, theres a quiet storm. About to collapse, Im in a rush to buy a house. The disappointment, just too strong to overcome. My ego and my consciousness got me out the track. So I search for answers, but there arent none.

The researchers believe this is because the unusual syntax of rap songs is hard foralgorithms to interpret, which should keep rappers safe in their jobs for now. But for rockers, pop stars, and country singers, it might be time to pass their mics to the machines.

Published April 24, 2020 14:26 UTC

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This AI wrote such emo lyrics that humans thought it was My Chemical Romance - The Next Web

Inflate a balloon using chemistry in this at-home experiment – WZZM13.com

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich The old volcano experiment is a classic - using a model volcano, combine baking soda and vinegar to get an eruption. In this experiment, we'll use the product of that eruption to inflate a balloon.

INFLATABLE BALLOON WITH BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR

*Caution! Have an adult help mix the ingredients or this could get messy!

Items you'll need:

Procedure

How it works

Baking soda and vinegar react because baking soda is a base while vinegar is an acid. The combination causes the ingredients to break down, making carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide rises and fills the balloon.

RELATED: Let it rain! Fun rainbow Earth Day experiment for kids

RELATED: Here's how to make Oobleck slime at home with the kids

RELATED: Science experiments from a pro: The Bearded Science Guy shows off a fire tornado

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Infiniti’s Inventory Management Solution Helped a Chemical Manufacturer to Transform the Supply Chain Model to Combat the Business Impact of COVID-19…

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Infiniti Research, a leading market intelligence solutions provider, has recently announced the completion of its latest success story on inventory management solution for a chemical company in Canada.

Engagement Overview:

Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, a chemical company faced difficulties in managing their supply chain operations and meeting their clients demands. Also, they faced challenges in securing logistics capacity, managing demand-supply requirements, and identifying alternative suppliers to meet immediate requirements. As a result, the company witnessed a huge loss in profits. The client, therefore, wanted to build a resilient supply chain model and take immediate end-to-end supply chain actions to combat the business impact of COVID-19.

Other key objectives of the engagement were:

Are you facing supply chain complexities owing to the COVID-19 outbreak? We can help you to build a resilient supply chain for the future. Request a FREE proposal here.

Our Approach:

The experts at Infiniti Research worked closely with the clients production team to analyze the extent of the impact caused by the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the experts evaluated supply chain complexities, gained visibility into the clients Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and identified alternative suppliers in non-impacted regions of the world. Besides, the experts devised a demand-forecast strategy.

Business impact of the inventory management solution for the Canadian chemical industry client

By partnering with Infiniti Research, the client was able to transform the supply chain model, optimize production, and mitigate the risks of supply shortages while balancing cash flows.

By leveraging Infinitis inventory management solution, the client was also able to:

For an in-depth market analysis on how COVID-19 is impacting your industry and data-driven insights to plan your next moves, request more info here.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research, is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

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Infiniti's Inventory Management Solution Helped a Chemical Manufacturer to Transform the Supply Chain Model to Combat the Business Impact of COVID-19...

Shawnee Mission East chemistry teacher receives KU Wolfe Teaching Excellence award – Shawnee Mission Post

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Shawnee Mission East High School chemistry teacher Steven Appier didnt set out to become a teacher as a substitute teacher, he took over a position while he was taking a break from graduate school. Now, hes receiving an award for his continued impact on students.

Appier received a 2020 Wolfe Teaching Excellence award which honors high school teachers who encouraged and positively influenced students from the University of Kansas. The 25-year Shawnee Mission School District veteran said while the award came as a surprise, it illustrates what he feels is the most rewarding part of teaching: making a difference in a students life.

When a student comes back to you and says you made a difference, Im doing this because of you or this happened as a result of something that you said to me or something that you did for me to recognize that youve had an impact on someones life like that, its hard to beat, Appier said.

KU seniors from any department can nominate a high school teacher with an essay on how that teacher influenced their education, both in high school and beyond, to the Wolfe Teaching Excellence Award Committee. Eleanor Stewart-Jones, a KU senior from Mission majoring in chemistry, said nominating Appier was an easy decision to make.

Stewart-Jones said Appiers Advanced Placement Chemistry 2 class was the first class that truly challenged her, and gave her the study skills and grit she needed to major in chemistry at KU. Shes won multiple research and university awards, and will head to Yale University to pursue a PhD in inorganic chemistry after KU, she said.

But Stewart-Jones said shes not the only one of Appiers students to thrive post-high school, which is why three peers provided Stewart-Jones with anecdotes for her nomination essay.

My experience with Mr. Appier is not unique, Stewart-Jones said. He has had a huge number of students go on to be very successful in the sciences.

The Wolfe Teaching Excellence comes with a $3,000 award to Appier and a $1,000 award to SM East. Awardees are typically recognized at the School of Educations commencement ceremony, but commencement has been postponed due to COVID-19.

Appier will be recognized at a later date, once graduation plans are finalized.

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On Nutrition: ‘Chemical’ or ‘natural’ additives are here to stay – Tulsa World

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Dear Dr. Blonz: I am hoping to learn more about the history of chemicals used as food additives. With the advent of controlled atmospheres to limit spoilage, why are additives even needed? S.L., Tulsa, Oklahoma

Dear S.L.: There is definitely confusion about food additives: about how they work and why they are needed. Fresh, whole foods remain on the top of the priority list, but food additives which include preservatives, flavors and colors should not be automatically feared. To be sure, they are a mixed lot, but the more you learn, the more you may find that some deserve appreciation.

Some additives are naturally occurring substances, while others are synthesized in a laboratory. All are chemicals, but the same can be said for everything we eat, whether it comes fresh from the garden or in a package on your grocers shelf. And what may surprise you is the fact that whether an additive is all-natural or chemically manufactured has little bearing on its safety. This is a controversial topic, but seeing as you asked about history, that will be my focus.

If you think that food additives are an invention of modern science, think again. For thousands of years, people have added substances to food to maintain or enhance its appearance and taste, and to preserve its shelf life. Cosmetic color additives have been traced as far back as 5000 B.C.; the use of salt as a preservative dates back to 3000 B.C.; sulfite preservatives were used by the ancient Romans; and the use of herbs and spices to enhance taste and appearance, and often to conceal spoilage, has been around since biblical times.

Beginning with the industrial revolution, more and more people moved from the farm to the city. There were more mouths to feed with less land. And food had to be transported greater distances. All this brought about a greater need for foods and food products to remain fresher for longer and be able to withstand a wider variety of storage conditions. Through the use of food additives, processors could begin to offer a year-round supply of safe, wholesome and convenient foods.

But were they safe? Could just anything be used as an additive? For a long time, there was little control over what was added. Unscrupulous food purveyors could get away with using questionable chemicals to make already-spoiled foods take on the appearance and taste of a more wholesome product. It wasnt until 1889 that a USDA chemist named Harvey Wiley began to examine the widespread use of additives. His work led to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 and eventually to the Food Additives Amendment of 1958. These laws formed a protective framework that remains in place today.

Todays food additives are strictly regulated. The testing of a new additive can take several years and includes a comprehensive battery of chemical and animal testing for a wide variety of potential effects and interactions. The Food and Drug Administration decides on additives safety and regulates their use in foods.

(Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of the digital book The Wellness Supermarket Buying Guide (2012), which is also available as a free digital resource at blonz.com/guide.)

Send questions to: On Nutrition, Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

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NASAs New Mars Rover Will Use X-Rays to Hunt for Chemical Fingerprints Left by Ancient Microbes – SciTechDaily

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In this illustration, NASAs Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). Located on the turret at the end of the rovers robotic arm, the X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

PIXL, an instrument on the end of the Perseverance rovers arm, will search for chemical fingerprints left by ancient microbes.

NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has a challenging road ahead: After having to make it through the harrowing entry, descent, and landing phase of the mission on February 18, 2021, it will begin searching for traces of microscopic life from billions of years back. Thats why its packing PIXL, a precision X-ray device powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Short for Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, PIXL is a lunchbox-size instrument located on the end of Perseverances 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm. The rovers most important samples will be collected by a coring drill on the end of the arm, then stashed in metal tubes that Perseverance will deposit on the surface for return to Earth by a future mission.

Nearly every mission that has successfully landed on Mars, from the Viking landers to the Curiosity rover, has included an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer of some kind. One major way PIXL differs from its predecessors is in its ability to scan rock using a powerful, finely-focused X-ray beam to discover where and in what quantity chemicals are distributed across the surface.

PIXLs X-ray beam is so narrow that it can pinpoint features as small as a grain of salt. That allows us to very accurately tie chemicals we detect to specific textures in a rock, said Abigail Allwood, PIXLs principal investigator at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Rock textures will be an essential clue when deciding which samples are worth returning to Earth. On our planet, distinctively warped rocks called stromatolites were made from ancient layers of bacteria, and they are just one example of fossilized ancient life that scientists will be looking for.

PIXL requires pictures of its rock targets to autonomously position itself. Light diodes encircle its opening and take pictures of rock targets when the instrument is working at night. Using artificial intelligence, PIXL relies on the images to determine how far away it is from a target to be scanned. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

An AI-Powered Night Owl

To help find the best targets, PIXL relies on more than a precision X-ray beam alone. It also needs a hexapod a device featuring six mechanical legs connecting PIXL to the robotic arm and guided by artificial intelligence to get the most accurate aim. After the rovers arm is placed close to an interesting rock, PIXL uses a camera and laser to calculate its distance. Then those legs make tiny movements on the order of just 100 microns, or about twice the width of a human hair so the device can scan the target, mapping the chemicals found within a postage stamp-size area.

A device with six mechanical legs, the hexapod is a critical part of the PIXL instrument aboard NASAs Perseverance Mars rover. The hexapod allows PIXL to make slow, precise movements to get closer to and point at specific parts of a rocks surface. This GIF has been considerably sped up to show how the hexapod moves. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The hexapod figures out on its own how to point and extend its legs even closer to a rock target, Allwood said. Its kind of like a little robot who has made itself at home on the end of the rovers arm.

Then PIXL measures X-rays in 10-second bursts from a single point on a rock before the instrument tilts 100 microns and takes another measurement. To produce one of those postage stamp-size chemical maps, it may need to do this thousands of times over the course of as many as eight or nine hours.

That timeframe is partly what makes PIXLs microscopic adjustments so critical: The temperature on Mars changes by more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) over the course of a day, causing the metal on Perseverances robotic arm to expand and contract by as much as a half-inch (13 millimeters). To minimize the thermal contractions PIXL has to contend with, the instrument will conduct its science after the Sun sets.

PIXL is a night owl, Allwood said. The temperature is more stable at night, and that also lets us work at a time when theres less activity on the rover.

PIXL opens its dust cover during testing at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. One of seven instruments on NASAs Perseverance Mars rover, PIXL is located on the end of the rovers robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

X-rays for Art and Science

Long before X-ray fluorescence got to Mars, it was used by geologists and metallurgists to identify materials. It eventually became a standard museum technique for discovering the origins of paintings or detecting counterfeits.

If you know that an artist typically used a certain titanium white with a unique chemical signature of heavy metals, this evidence might help authenticate a painting, said Chris Heirwegh, an X-ray fluorescence expert on the PIXL team at JPL. Or you can determine if a particular kind of paint originated in Italy rather than France, linking it to a specific artistic group from the time period.

For astrobiologists, X-ray fluorescence is a way to read stories left by the ancient past. Allwood used it to determine that stromatolite rocks found in her native country of Australia are some of the oldest microbial fossils on Earth, dating back 3.5 billion years. Mapping out the chemistry in rock textures with PIXL will offer scientists clues to interpret whether a sample could be a fossilized microbe.

More About the Mission

A key objective for Perseverances mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will also characterize the planets climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASAs Artemis lunar exploration plans.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

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NASAs New Mars Rover Will Use X-Rays to Hunt for Chemical Fingerprints Left by Ancient Microbes - SciTechDaily

DR. JOHN ROSS: The chemical blob that changed humanity – TheChronicleHerald.ca

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DR. JOHN ROSS

It is crazy what an invisible particle made of fat, protein, and RNA despite lacking a nervous system, consciousness or intent has done to humans in a few months. The SARS-2-CoV virus, the virus that causes the CoVID-19 illness, is natures science experiment. It is an inert blob of chemistry. It does not stay alive on surfaces for days when coughed or sneezed out it just falls apart. It is not alive or dead, it just is or is not. It strictly adheres to the laws of nature, including chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics.

The virus found the perfect host to infect. It follows very predictable natural laws. Humans however, prefer beliefs and rules we make up in our heads and share, often force others to believe. Many are ignorant of the natural basic laws that affect us all. In the case of this virus, early alarms in China were suppressed by political hierarchies human created structures. Authoritarian politics does not tolerate the unexpected or embarrassing. Other government leaders, including in the U.S., defended their fragile, highly temperamental economic belief systems, promoting calm and business as usual despite the virus biology and its simple arithmetic exponential spread. People in many countries around the world were supposed to be reassured by our leaders, who could negotiate a better outcome versus that being offered by nature.

But nature does not negotiate. Therefore, in order to survive, we need to change our belief systems.

Viruses and humans

The elegant simplicity of fat, protein, and RNA is like counting using five fingers on one hand. Our human complexity is that of a super-computer, with millions of complex interdependent chemical reactions, specialized organ systems, feedback loops, and a barely understood collaborative relationship with good bacteria on and inside our bodies. Despite the incredible sophistication and complexity, our biology must also follow the laws of nature.

Viruses and humans are driven to make more of each other. Humans make highly complex near-copies of themselves, one or a few at a time, over nine months. Viruses make more of themselves, in millions every few hours. Humans have built in on/off switches. Viruses are like cancers; they have an ON but no OFF switch.

As viruses and humans multiply and spread, they injure their hosts. When SARS-2-CoV infects humans, the immune system triggers a series of responses, in some cases leading to death. When humans and their corporations multiply, they disrupt the planet, affecting all other species.

SARS-2-CoVs near infinity viral copies around the world are a monoculture every one identical. It spreads among us so effectively because we too are a monoculture. Sure, we are different colours and shapes, but we share far more sameness than differences a fact the virus appreciates, but in non-pandemic times, we should appreciate, too. What we have in common far exceeds our superficial differences.

Human belief systems and fantasies

Ultra-sophisticated humans (complex chemistry, physics, biology), in addition to amazing bodies, have amazing brains. Those brains, over millions of years, realized that we are safer and better off staying and working together, as a highly social species, than we are alone. Almost every other species found the same strategy before us schools of fish, flocks of birds, herds of wildebeest, pods of whales, packs of wolves, etc. Sharks are an interesting exception.

The other really interesting brain development was basic storytelling sharing experiences for the benefit of others. Those stories became more and more complex over time, and developed into whole complicated belief systems. The belief systems to this day are shared broadly religions, politics, economies, money, social hierarchies and many others are made up in our minds. They are all software ideas in our heads fantasies that have resulted in hardware creation countries, religious structures, economic mathematical models, currency, partisan politics, to list a few that have, over time become fixed and have been followed relatively unquestioned. They create some desperately desired order and reason in the otherwise frightening random soup of chemical and physical reactions on our planet.

Unlike most other species, we are not obsessed by the fear of predators. Other species are fully occupied by the search for food and avoiding becoming food. Humans, instead, have time to obsess over our made-up beliefs, our fantasies. However, the different beliefs shared by distinct groups creates divisions in our naturally social species. Friction at belief system interfaces result in wars, expansion and contraction of group belief systems, trade barriers, sanctions, etc. That was life as we knew it before late December 2019.

CoVID-19 and a revision of human values and priorities

Then along came the novel SARS-2-CoV. Ultra-basic inert chemical blob versus ultra-sophisticated humans. We all know what has happened in 4.5 months. It is attacking our fragile bodies AND our far more fragile belief systems. It has revealed leaders who prefer fantasies over science and the immutable laws of nature. The economy, revered as our god (fantasy, not nature) is the shared belief system at the root of almost everything. It, like the viral particle on the table top, is rapidly falling apart. It is revealing who the most important people are in our society. It is not the billionaires uber successful in the former economic fantasy who, like sharks, are hiding alone in bunkers and on super yachts around the world, including one in the White House. It is not many of our political leaders, who we refer to as right honourable, your majesty, supreme leader and so on. A few have stepped way up, and many have withered.

The important people in our day-to-day society are basic frontline health-care providers and first responders, care workers in elder-homes, grocery store clerks, supply chain truckers and warehouse workers, local bankers (not the former financial wizards who concoct fantasy investment bubbles), farmers and others. The viral reaction to the rapidly spreading infection has revealed the most fragile underpinnings of our elite created economy the huge number of casual and part-time workers, who over decades were forced to give up security, benefits and the ability to save for retirement or cushion events like this, so corporations could maintain profits. Those workers immediate needs are highlighting another false belief, that government is bad, the unregulated free market good.

We are now making history as the much-maligned federal, state and provincial governments support all people. While the rich can afford to fall and survive, the poor and middle class cannot. Bailing out and propping up large corporations has not, in the past 50 years, resulted in benefits trickling down to workers or security when things tank. Instead, as of today, we are perhaps seeing an unexpected experiment in providing all people with a basic living wage as governments distribute money to those in need. We cannot return to the grossly unequal economic fantasy hierarchy. We need a more inclusive system. While many people are desperate to return to normal, many aspects were very unfair. This is a chance to create a better, more inclusive economy.

Human fantasies vs the ecosystem

What about the ecosystem we share with millions of plants and animals? Yes, the infections and related economic collapse are harming people. But human-made climate change and waste production has declined almost overnight! Country delegates with different belief systems were meeting in Copenhagen, Kyoto, Paris and other places over the years. Stuck in politics and economics, humans were effectively trying to negotiate with nature not really a negotiation because leaders reluctantly decided what was tolerable within their belief system constraints. Nature, however, follows the unyielding laws of physics, chemistry and mathematics. Despite our fantasies, nature decides on the t
iming of earthquakes, floods, continental fires and the reactions to the imbalance of carbon in the atmosphere. This is a magical moment for an actual and metaphorical clearing of the air to align our perceived needs with a sustainable ecosystem.

Conclusion

Nature does not negotiate.

Hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence. The chemical blob SARS-2-CoV has revealed our myths and over confidence, our collective human hubris. Friedrich Nietzsche said, That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Sadly, many humans have died and will die. Hopefully, as we rebuild our strength, we will remember that humans are just one little piece of natures complex puzzle. We cannot gain dominion over her. We share the planet with millions of other species. Humans should learn to work together far more effectively and collaborate with, and not rail against, the laws of nature.

Our history of human ingenuity, as recently displayed in the responses to CoVID-19, is immensely powerful when focused. In non-pandemic times, it is the essence of human activity and production, organized into a trading and sharing economy. The pandemic has also revealed the more important, overarching inclusive and distributive role of strong central government, that can balance fair belief systems and regulations that supports human imagination and creativity.

We should all feel empowered to advocate loudly for a very different new normal that is consistent with our place in nature. We want to return to work, but cannot go back to precarious jobs that undervalue fellow humans. We want a strong economy, but not one that is unjust and exclusive. We need to respect the laws of nature and our complex ecosystem.

A simple lesson from a simple chemical blob.

Dr. John Ross is medical director, Praxes Medical Group, and professor, department of emergency medicine, Dalhousie University. He lives in Halifax.

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DR. JOHN ROSS: The chemical blob that changed humanity - TheChronicleHerald.ca

JaVale McGee Warns Rest of League About Lakers Added Chemistry That Will Show During Playoffs – Lakers Daily

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The Los Angeles Lakers are locked in at the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and are preparing for a deep playoff run in the NBAs bubble.

Lakers center JaVale McGee recently sent out a warning to the rest of the league when he said that the Lakers improved chemistry will be impactful this postseason.

The Lakers went just 3-5 in the final eight games of the regular season, but they did pick up key wins against the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz. All three of those teams have advanced to the playoffs in the Western Conference.

While superstar LeBron James hinted that there have been some off-court issues plaguing the Lakers, it seems that those issues may be behind them.

The Lakers face the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs following Saturdays play-in game between the Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Forward Kyle Kuzma stated that he is not worried about facing the Blazers in the first round even though they have been hot in the NBAs bubble. After Saturdays game, the Blazers are 7-2 in meaningful games inside the bubble.

As for McGee, he has been a solid piece all season for Los Angeles, averaging 6.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Lakers will rely on McGee and teammate Dwight Howard to continue to give them good minutes at the center position this postseason.

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JaVale McGee Warns Rest of League About Lakers Added Chemistry That Will Show During Playoffs - Lakers Daily

Film Review: Clich-Ridden ‘Chemical Hearts’ Can’t Capture The Magic Of Young Love – Patch.com

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By Lisa Trifone

Before the Amazon Original Chemical Hearts, a clich-ridden, mostly flat teen drama about first loves and growing up, filmmaker Richard Tanne made the lovely and underrated Southside With You, a film adaptation of what Barack and Michelle Obama's first date across Chicago. Truly, it's a really sweet film, with uncannily spot-on performances by Tikka Sumpter and Parker Sawyers as the future First Couple.

Unfortunately, Tanne's latest film, an adaptation of the book by Krystal Southerland, fails to capture the same romantic magic in a bottle, instead piling coming-of-age trope on top of trope and never actually creating anything resembling compelling characters. The story of Henry (Austin Abrams), a high school senior who begins the film by bemoaning that nothing of note has ever happened to him, Chemical Hearts is ostensibly about the life-changing experience he has falling in love with Grace (Lili Reinhart), the new girl in school with a dark backstory (eye roll). Over the course of the film, the two become closer as we learn more about Grace's grief following a fatal car accident she was involved in, but it's never enough to understand why they like each other, what's pulling them together or what either of them are getting out of the experience. The fact that a sub-plot with one of their fellow school newspaper staffers is a more intriguing storyline than what Henry and Grace are going through should say enough about how forgettable their connection is.

"You are never more alive than when you're a teenager," Henry says in voice-over as the film opens. That's a high bar for a story to set so early, essentially promising us an adventure involving any number of potentially life-altering experiences only a teenager could be brave (or stupid) enough to chase after. Chemical Hearts never gets anywhere near that sense of vibrancy, as Henry mopes around waiting for something exciting to happen and Grace harbors her own unresolved trauma around the accident that killed her then boyfriend and left her struggling to walk without the support of a cane. Told from Henry's perspective, Grace is a broken soul with her guard up, just waiting to be understood by a guy who "gets her." There's infinitely more interesting things in Grace's story that the film never makes an effort to explore; instead, we get Henry's well-meaning but clueless parents, and an older sister who apparently had some kind of an affair with a colleague so now she has all the relationship advice little brother might need.

It's entirely possible that Chemical Hearts didn't resonate with me because, at a couple decades' distance from high school, I'm not exactly the film's (or the book's) target audience. Which, OK. But there are plenty of examples of wonderful coming-of-age stories that work for their intended age bracket and everyone else (see: Eighth Grade; Booksmart; Lady Bird; you get the idea.), and the fact that this film can't manage that makes it hard to recommend. Abrams and Reinhart do their best with the one-dimensional characters they're given to work with, but unfortunately Tanne's adaptation of Southerland's novel either lost something massive in translation or wasn't all that deep to begin with. We know from his previous work that Tanne is capable of capturing the charm and romance of a fledgling relationship; for whatever reason, that just doesn't happen here.

Chemical Hearts is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Third Coast Review is Chicago's locally curated website, specializing in Chicago-area arts and culture coverage. Read more at thirdcoastreview.com

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Film Review: Clich-Ridden 'Chemical Hearts' Can't Capture The Magic Of Young Love - Patch.com