Monthly Archives: June 2022

What do your muscles do when you lift a heavy object? What happens in your brain when you go for a run? How do visual effects studios digitally capture human movement for use in a video game or movie?

Local high school students learned firsthand about all those concepts at the National Biomechanics Day hosted by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at the Science and Engineering Complex. The program was organized by researchers in the Harvard Biodesign Lab, led by Conor J. Walsh, Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS.

I was really proud of our team that they were able to have the initiative to organize a jam-packed agenda that went over lots of different topics, Walsh said.

Krithika Swaminathan, a Ph.D. student in Walshs lab, was the lead organizer for the event, which was supported by a grant through the Women in Biomechanics Initiative. Despite some early concerns about turnout, more than twice as many students signed up as there were spaces available, with a final attendance of 27, more than half of whom identified as female or non-binary.

We have quite a lot of cool measurement tools and really interesting ways of understanding human movement, so we thought it would be great to allow students in the area to come and experience what that looks like, Swaminathan said. A lot of us didnt know much about these subjects before college or even graduate school, so it was something we felt would be nice to share with high schoolers.

The event began with presentations by the Biodesign Lab team and Paul Devita, founder and director of the Biomechanics Initiative. After that, students got to experience hands-on biomechanics research, as they built their own inflatable wrist braces.

If you have these inflatable pouches arranged in a smart way, you can dictate the way in which the bodys joints move, Swaminathan said. Despite the simplicity of the device, students were able to gain hands-on experience with a common actuation mechanism of soft wearable devices, the associated challenges, and the resultant changes in their biomechanics while wearing the inflated brace.

From there, the event shifted to the SECs new Motion Capture Lab, where students got a chance to experience how motion capture works, test their muscle torque and activation through tools such as a dynamometer, experience electromyography and functional electrical stimulation of the muscles, learn about exosuits and robotic gloves developed to help in rehabilitation from a stroke or spinal cord injury, and learn about lower-cost tools that can make biomechanics research more accessible.

We were showing them different ways you can use your phone or other wearable sensing mechanisms to determine range of motion and other clinically relevant metrics, Swaminathan said.

Originally posted here:

National Biomechanics Day at SEAS - Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

California officials will decide today whether to approve construction of a seawall to prevent the rising ocean from destroying a crumbling cliff that supports tracks for one of the nations busiest Amtrak lines.

The vote thrusts the California Coastal Commission into a debate over how to protect the railway carrying 50 trains a day from the effects of climate change. Other proposed solutions include stabilizing the bluff with steel pillars. Theres also a plan to relocate the tracks, a major undertaking thats estimated to cost billions of dollars.

Agency staff have recommended building the seawall at the bottom of a bluff near Del Mar, a beach town where multimillion-dollar houses are threatened by erosion 19 miles north of San Diego.

The railroad runs atop coastal bluffs which are generally 50 to 70 feet high and have a history of landslides and slope failure, said a report by Coastal Commission staff. The proposed project would stabilize areas along the bluffs.

Californias move to protect transportation infrastructure from the immediate effects of climate change comes as roadways, coastlines and residential property around the country face growing risks from intensifying storms, heavier downpours and penetrating ocean waters. The Government Accountability Office warned in a report last month that ballooning disaster costs related to climate change are creating an unsustainable fiscal future.

The federal government alone owns and operates hundreds of thousands of facilities and manages millions of acres of land that might be vulnerable to climate change, the GAO said (Climatewire, May 10).

The debate over the seawall comes as California officials wrestle with how to save the states iconic beaches. A U.S. Geological Survey study in 2017 said rising seawater could destroy two-thirds of all beaches in Southern California if steps arent taken to reduce carbon emissions or adapt to higher oceans.

Already, homes have toppled off cliffs in Pacifica, along bluffs near San Francisco and in Sonoma County. In other beach cities, seawater floods the streets during the highest tides.

The potential approval today would mark a shift for the Coastal Commission, which in recent years resisted permitting many seawalls because they can deplete sand from the beaches in front of them. One of the commissions official missions is to preserve public access to beaches. That has often put the agency at odds with oceanfront homeowners who say seawalls are needed to protect their property.

But the commissions powers are limited in this case, said Laura Walsh, California policy manager at Surfrider Foundation. The San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, a regional planning group, proposed building the barricade to protect the rail line. SANDAG also has sought approval from the Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, the Federal Railroad Administration is providing partial funding for the project. That means all the commission can do is rule whether the proposed seawall is consistent with the California Coastal Act, a beach protection law, Walsh said.

More than 50 trains a day travel on the tracks that curve along the Southern California coast, offering panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. But the bluffs are crumbling as higher waves chew away at the base of cliffs. Flooding on the tracks has forced local authorities to stop or slow trains repeatedly (Climatewire, Dec. 2, 2019).

The threatened track carries the second-busiest Amtrak route in the country. The train linking San Diego with Orange County, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and beyond transported 841,000 passengers last year, trailing only the Acela line that connects Boston with New York and Washington. A local commuter line, a freight company and the military also use the California tracks.

The proposed seawalls would be linked to other barriers installed during emergency repairs to the tracks. All together,, the seawall would cover approximately 2,500 feet and stand 7 to 8 feet above the ground, the Coastal Commission report said.

Local communities are objecting to the project. Del Mar residents argue it would cut off beach access for residents, said Terry Gaasterland, a Del Mar City Council member.

It also would cause beach erosion, she said, as waves carry off sand in front of the wall. In other locations where seawalls were used, such as in the Chesapeake Bay, she said rocks, or riprap, eventually must be placed in front of the wall to cover a gap created by wave action.

Over a 30-year period, these walls are going to become this horrible thing, Gaasterland said. They have to reinforce with riprap at the bottom of the wall. You know more sand goes away. Its just this negative feedback loop.

The staff recommendation to allow the walls includes several conditions, including that SANDAG remove the walls and restore the bluff in 30 years. That presumes that the tracks would be relocated.

SANDAG wants to move the tracks by 2035 but currently lacks the estimated $2.3 billion needed for the effort. SANDAG also hasnt settled on a location for moving the tracks (Climatewire, Jan. 25).

Hasan Ikhrata, CEO of SANDAG, said the group hopes to get $250 million to $300 million from the state to fund environmental review and design for moving the train.

Some Del Mar residents also argue the seawall would ruin the appearance of the craggy natural bluff for at least the next 30 years, potentially harming its ability to attract visitors. More than 3 million tourists visit the city annually. The average price of a home in the area is $3.7 million, according to Zillow.

Instead of a seawall, Del Mar advocates want to use soldier piles, or vertical steel beams drilled into the ground, to support the train tracks.

Ive been told that engineering wise, the soldier piles are the most stabilizing thing that can be done that thats actually the thing thats the safest for the tracks, Gaasterland said.

Ikhrata said the soldier piles alone wont suffice.

We dont think the piles by themselves are going to stabilize the bluff and make it safe for us, he said. To stabilize the bluff and keep the trains moving at the speeds they are, we do need to do both the piles and the seawall.

Coastal Commission staff argues that using just soldier piles would require more excavation and alteration of the bluff face, the report said. As such, it would be more difficult to remove the development and restore the bluff to a more natural condition once the tracks have been relocated, as compared to the proposed seawalls and surface stabilization.

Del Mar has tangled with the Coastal Commission previously. It was one of the first local governments to say it wouldnt accept efforts to plan for managed retreat, the idea of removing structures along the shore so the ocean can migrate naturally.

Many oceanfront homes in the community have seawalls. Those have been allowed for the most part because the houses were built before 1977, when a beach protection law known as the California Coastal Act made it more difficult to build barriers.

Gaasterland, the City Council member, said those walls are well above sea level, and therefore dont contribute to as much beach erosion as the proposed wall for the railroad tracks.

Read this article:

Train threatened by rising seas could be saved with a wall - E&E News

(Bangkok) The Thai government should provide recently rescued Rohingya asylum seekers with assistance and immediate access to procedures to determine their refugee status, Human Rights Watch said today.

On June 4, 2022, the Thai navy found 59 Rohingya 31 men, 23 women, and 5 children from Myanmar stranded on Koh Dong Island near Satun province in southern Thailand. The navy took them ashore and detained them at the 436 Border Patrol Police unit. Thai officials who questioned them said these Rohingya were abandoned by smugglers, who charged them about 60,000 Thai baht (US$1,750) per person for a journey to Malaysia.

The Thai government should end its policy of summarily locking up rescued Rohingya people and throwing away the key, saidElaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Thailand should permit the United Nations refugee agency to screen all Rohingya arriving in Thailand to identify and assist those seeking refugee status.

To protect Rohingya asylum seekers, it is crucial for the Thai government to permit the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to conduct refugee status determination interviews, Human Rights Watch said.

Like its predecessors, the Thai government of Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha has treated Rohingya arriving at the border as illegal immigrants, detaining them insqualid lockups. According to one Western embassy in Bangkok, Thai officials are holding more than 470 Rohingya in indefinite immigration detention with no access to refugee status determination procedures. Thai authorities have not permitted UNHCR to conduct refugee status determinations for them. Thailand also discriminates against Rohingya by refusing to allow them to register as legally documented migrant workers, unlike other people coming from Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the Thai navy announced that it will maintain a policy to intercept Rohingya boats that come too close to the coast. After providing them with fuel, food, water, and other supplies, the navy will push those boats pushed onward to Malaysia or Indonesia. This amounts to a continuation of Thailands deadly pushback policy, which has resulted in Rohingya boats going missing on the high seas and people dying, Human Rights Watch said.

The Thai navy further stated that any boat that somehow lands on Thai shores will be seized, and immigration officials will arrest the men, women, and children aboard on illegal entry charges and detain them.

Thai authorities have, for years, said they do not want to accept Rohingya as refugees. However, under international law, Thailand cannot summarily reject at the border the claims of asylum seekers fleeing persecution. Thailand is obligated not to return them before providing a full and fair assessment of their claims for international protection, Human Rights Watch said.

The Myanmar government and military have long persecuted the Rohingya, members of a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived in Myanmars Rakhine State for generations, driving them to flee repression and dire poverty. The situation has significantly worsened since August 2017, when the Myanmar military committedethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.

Given the lack of security and overcrowded, unsanitary and dangerous camp conditions where many Rohingya are forced to live in Bangladesh, many have risked harsh weather conditions on the Andaman Sea to embark on dangerous journeys to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, often falling prey to human trafficking gangs.

The Thai government should help the oppressed Rohingya, not worsen their suffering, Pearson said. The Thai government should immediately allow them access to desperately needed protection.

See original here:

Thailand: Allow Newly Arrived Rohingya Access to Asylum - Human Rights Watch

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for several capital acquisition projects of the Indian defence forces. This includes the procurement of next-generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy at an approximate cost of Rs 36,000 crore. A look at the features of these naval vessels and their efficacy in the modern naval battlefield.

A Corvette is the smallest class of naval ships and it falls below the warship class of a frigate. These are highly agile ships and are categorised as missile boats, anti-submarine ships, coastal patrol crafts and fast attack naval vessels. The word corvette itself is derived from French and Dutch origin. Corvettes date back to the 18th and the 19th century when they were extensively used in the naval warfare duels that were fought at high seas. However, these were powered by sails and masts, and disappeared for a while when steam powered naval ships made their appearance. During World War II, the term Corvette was used to describe vessels which had anti-submarine roles assigned to them. Modern Corvettes can go up to 2,000 tons in displacement which helps in keeping them agile.

The Indian Navy at present has the Kamorta Class Corvettes, which are also known as Project 28. These ships have an anti-submarine role and are manufactured at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata. The four Kamorta Class Corvettes that the Indian Navy possesses are named INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan and INS Kavaratti. The first of these was commissioned in 2014 and the last one in 2020.

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The next-generation Corvettes will be manufactured for various roles like surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, surface action group operations, search and attack and coastal defence. It is worth noting that these roles will be in addition to the anti-submarine roles being already performed by the existing Corvettes in the Navy.

As per the AoN accorded by the DAC, these next-generation generation Corvettes will be constructed based on new in-house design of the Indian Navy using latest technology of ship buildings and would contribute to further the governments initiative of Security and Growth for all in the region (SAGAR).

The in-service Kamorta Class Corvettes also have a high degree of indigenous equipment being used on the platform. This includes Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) manufactured Shikari sensor and processing system and Bomber and Electronic Warfare Suits also manufactured by BEL and named Ajanta. These vessels also have the Sanket electronic warfare systems and Kavach decoy launchers.

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Explained: Next-generation Corvettes, and the combat edge Navy seeks through them - The Indian Express

New Morning Consult Poll Shows Broad Support for Increasing Sustainability for Seafood

PBS NewsHour's Tipping Point: Fisheries on the Brink focuses on Protecting our Oceans

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Morning Consult poll commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation shows a majority of Americans (70%) want their seafood to be sourced sustainably and that Americans want to know where their food is processed (65%), an important step in ensuring seafood is sourced by companies with high environmental and human rights standards.

Released ahead of World Oceans Day, this new data shows near-universal agreement on the need to protect the oceans, and that Americans are committed to sustainable seafood as a means of keeping the oceans' fragile ecosystem in balance.

"The challenges of climate change intersect with building resilient food systems in our world's oceans," said Moira Mcdonald, Environment Program Director at the Walton Family Foundation. "At the Walton Family Foundation, we focus on sustainable seafood because we know that when you take care of the fish, you're necessarily taking care of everything else that matters in the ocean. So, that means being smart about how much we fish, what we fish and where we fish."

Traceability of seafood, meaning where it is caught, processed, and sold, has become an increasingly important and topical issue as sanctions against Russia have made tracing the origin of seafood even more consequential. Currently, less than halfof the seafood that comes into the United States has traceability requirements.

"Americans want to know where the seafood they eat comes from and that responsible fishing practices are being used," said Mcdonald. "We need industry and government to work together to strengthen our systems so that fishers who are doing the right thing are not at a competitive disadvantage."

PBS NewsHour science correspondent and Tipping Point executive producer, Miles O'Brien, will host a live-streamed special, "Tipping Point: Fisheries on the Brink" to explore the connections between climate change, warming oceans, migrating fish populations, the economic stressors facing fishermen and the fishing industry, bad actors on the high seas, and ever-growing seafood demand this Wednesday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. ET. The special includes live and recorded interviews with various officials, scientists, fishermen, and thought leaders including United States special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry, biologist Daniel Pauly, "The Climate Diet" author Paul Greenberg, Princeton professor Curtis Deutsch, and others.

The Walton Family Foundation is a proud principal sponsor of the program, which can be viewed onlineand on NewsHour's social platforms, including YouTube, Twitterand Facebook.

About the Walton Family FoundationThe Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

SOURCE Walton Family Foundation

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Walton Family Foundation Urges Action on Seafood Traceability Ahead of World Oceans Day - PR Newswire

Forecasts have warned of thunderstorms and lightning moving across the central belt.

The Met office has issued a yellow alert for heavy, slow-moving downpours, which are likely to hit Glasgow and Edinburgh today.

The thick band of rain is predicted to move across the country between 1pm and 8pm, and stretch as far south as Newcastle.

It brings the risk of lightning strikes affecting power lines, heavy spray on the roads and possible localised flooding.

A second warning for rough seas and high waves for the North West of Scotland has also been issued.

As well as thunder, rain and lightning, thereis also the chance the storms could bring hail, and people are being advised to take care on the roads.

The Met Office warning said: Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services

Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closure.

There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

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Scotland's weather: Thunder and lightning warning issues by the Met Office | HeraldScotland - HeraldScotland

Projects aim to bring salmon population back from crisis point.

New funding of 500,000 will support the development of wild salmon conservation measures.

The money will be used for two projects, the National Adult Sampling Plan which provides crucial data on wild salmon stock and the development of a standardised fisheries management plan template which can be used by all the fisheries management areas in Scotland.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon will announce the funding as part of a speech to international delegates and Scottish stakeholders at the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) annual meeting this evening.

It follows the publication of the Scottish Governments Wild Salmon Strategy which aims to bring the wild salmon population in Scotland back from crisis point.

An implementation plan for the strategy will be introduced by the end of the year.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: I am looking forward to addressing NASCO delegates conference and highlighting the significant work that is being done in Scotland to reverse the decline in wild salmon stocks.

In addition to the measures we will take in Scotland, we are committed to supporting and pushing forward collective action in the international arena, so the young salmon leaving our rivers survive the many challenges they face on the high seas to return to their home river to spawn the next generation.

Recently published salmon fishery statistics continue to confirm the downward trend in the numbers of wild salmon returning to Scottish rivers and we must now reinvigorate our collective efforts to ensure a positive future for the species.

Although the pattern of decline is repeated across the salmons North Atlantic range, with climate change a significant factor, there remains much that we can do in our rivers, lochs and coastal waters to seek to build resilience and transform the fortunes of this iconic fish.

Only by acting together, at home and overseas, and applying our collective resource, knowledge and expertise can we hope to change the fortunes of this iconic and vital species.

Scotland is a stronghold for salmon, which start their lives in streams and rivers, migrate to the high seas to grow and return home to spawn, connecting diverse habitats over a vast area.

Salmon are affected by a wide range of pressures, some at sea, but many others acting within the Scottish freshwater and coastal environments. A key contributory factor appears to be climate change.

Background

Salmon live in fresh water for 1-4 years before undertaking a long migration north to their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic. After 1-3 years at sea, adults often return to the river in which they were hatched to spawn and begin the next generation.

Details on the funded projects:

National Adult Sampling Programme

Development of Fisheries Management Plans

200,000 (including 100,000 from Crown Estate Scotland) to develop a standardised fisheries management plan template which can be used by all the fisheries management areas in Scotland. The plans will allow data to be collected on: environmental characteristics of the area; the status of the fish populations salmon and sea trout; the pressures facing wild salmon in the area; current actions and future management options to protect and restore the fish and fisheries. Fisheries Management Scotland and its members will be involved in the development of the fisheries management plan template and technological solutions required. Funding will be provided to all fisheries boards and trusts.

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Funding to support salmon recovery - gov.scot - Scotland.gov.uk