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Costa Rica Achieved 99 Percent Renewable Energy in 2015

December 29, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Almost all of the Central American nation’s electricity came from renewable sources in 2015, the state electricity agency said. Will other countries follow this model?

On Friday, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said in a statement that the country reached 99 percent renewable energy this year.

For the first 75 days of 2015, the country had been fully running on renewable energy, according to the Costa Rican government. Then, Costa Rica’s target became to run 97.1 percent on wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass sources for the rest of 2015.

Costa Rica dedicated itself to renewable energy somewhat out of necessity. Much like Venezuela – which used to sell oil to neighbouring countries until it went bankrupt – Costa Rica had to find alternative sources of energy.

Bonaire Le, an energy consultant, said that some of the factors that influence the pace at which renewable energy develops include: legislative mandates, crude oil prices, competitive substitutes, and so on.

Another nation, India – which happens to be the third-largest carbon polluter in the world – has also made a plan to cut carbon emissions and to make its economy energy-efficient. The Indian government stated that in 2030 the country will produce forty percent of its electricity from sources that are non-fossil-fuel based, such as wind, solar, and hydropower.

In Uruguay, about 95 percent of the electricity comes from renewable sources. National Director of Energy Ramón Méndez stated that the country has drastically reduced its carbon footprint over the past decade.

In September, the Swedish government allocated 4.5 billion kronor (approximately $545 million) for green-energy infrastructure. Renewable energy powers about 66 percent of electricity in Sweden. Iceland and Norway rank higher than Sweden. Denmark also generated 140 percent of the country’s electricity from wind power.

This year, Hawaii set a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. In thirty years, the American state should be running solely on wind, solar, and geothermal power. Currently, the city of Burlington, Vermont, relies 100 percent on renewable energy. California has also pledged to generate fifty percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Renewable Electricity Futures Study found that the United Stated could generate 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.

Image Source: theenergyst

Nivolumab hailed as the Wonder Drug in the Fight against Cancer

December 7, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee 1 Comment

After the conduction of many successful clinical trials on patients suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, researchers have revealed that they believe Nivolumab is the obvious new weapon of choice in the fight against cancer.

Clinical trials done on patients with resistant forms of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma using this drug has made a huge breakthrough, suggest researchers. This wonder drug allows the immune system to destroy cancerous cells by efficiently recognizing them. Reports also suggest that it showed great promise amongst the 87% of the patients. After participating in this clinical trial, patients’ tumors showed a complete or partial remission.

Results attained during the course of these trials possibly reflect that Nivolumab may be one of the most potential treatments to increase the capability of the immune system in order to effectively identify and kill cancerous cells. Furthermore, trials conducted using the same aforementioned techniques in other types of cancers have also showed promising results in a separate study.

This wonder drug has been approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration FDA and is already considered as a revolutionary drug in curtailing Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The study was led by Margaret Shipp and Philippe Armand and 23 patients who had resistant forms of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma participated. In essence the disease attacks white blood cells called lymphocytes and subsequently the bone marrow as well. It is the most common form of cancer in children and teenagers but overall less than 10,000 cases are registered in the U.S annually.

80 percent of the patients participating in the study had already undergone stem cell transplants but more than one third of them eventually relapsed. After six months 20 out of 23 patients tumors sizes shrank exponentially. Four of them were declared cancer free while the rest of them continue to show progress even after a year.

Improper Contact Lens Care Might Lead to Keratitis, CDC Reports!

November 14, 2014 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

If you are among the regular users of contact lens, then beware of Keratitis – an eye infection that is on the rise in U.S. Scientists state that the recent increase in the infection is because of the prolonged use of contact lens. Keratitis is an infection within the cornea generally triggered by bacteria. However amoeba, viruses and fungi are the major causes of infection.

Recently, the CDC Scientists carefully observed nearly 38 million contact lens users in the USA and discovered that due to lack of precaution while using the contact lens as well as the delayed replacement of contact lenses, patients often reported inflammation in eyes and many other contact lens related illnesses. Scientists also compared the number of people using contact lens and struggling with Keratitis, to the number of folks that doesn’t use contact lens and struggling with Keratitis, they discovered that contact lenses were more vulnerable to the infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “Among 38 million contact lens users within the US, poor storage case hygiene, infrequent storage case replacement, and overnight lens put on are believed to be the major factors causing microbe Keratitis, contact-related inflammation, along with other eye complications.”

Though, individuals who required good care and adopted all of the preventive measure weren’t vulnerable to the infection. “Keratitis connected with poor contact lens hygiene is avoidable. Prevention efforts will include surveillance, enhanced estimations of the burden of disease, and energetic health promotion activities centered on contact lens customers and eye care professionals (eye specialists, opticians, and opticians). Elevated surveillance capacity is required for microbe Keratitis, particularly data from eye doctor visits,” the CDC explains.

“Keratitis affects all age groups, including teens and seniors. Though, the research revealed that woman are more likely to get affected from the infection than men. Of all the affected patients 63% were women,” Jennifer Cope, MD, MPH, medical epidemiologist at the CDC said.

Google’s Nexus 6 — Quite Expensive From What The Nexus Line Used To Be!

November 14, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

The Nexus 6, Google’s latest smart phone, is going to be launched Thursday, but pre-orders begin today.

The Nexus 6 carries a screen that measures 6 inches diagonally and it is certainly a “phablet” with that fact alone. Its dimensions go beyond Samsung’s latest Universe Note 4 at 5.7 inches and also the Apple iPhone 6 Plus at 5.5 inches.

The Google’s Nexus 6 price begins at $649 for 32 GB models and it goes up to $699 for 64 GB models, in addition to the shipping cost. It is available in two colors: mid-night blue and cloud white.

The price tag seems to be a major departure from what the Nexus line used to be: a patchy budget option. The prior Nexus 5 smart phone priced for $350 with the screen size of 4.95 inches.

However, the smart phone still keeps a couple of stuff that noticeably turns it into a Nexus phone.

Similar to its forerunners, the smart phone can come unlocked and used on the United States and global carriers, and should work with the large four service providers such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile within the U.S.

Also akin to its forerunners, it runs an unmodified form of the most recent Android update, Lollipop, that customers will have the ability to receive over-the-air updates from Google, which energize customers tout as a strategy to Android’s oft-reported fragmentation problem.

When it comes to the Nexus 6 battery, it is unremovable. However, the storage is unexpandable, and the back side of the phone features its signature Nexus branding. Though, this time around it is also sporting a Motorola logo design together with a camera within the center, making the phone’s form factor and finishes conspicuously like the Moto X.

But you can’t say that all of the phone is derivative. Google is adding numerous features in the phone. With the new purchases, you’ll get the six months free subscription of Google Play Music unlimited, Google’s music streaming service. Battery also offers a greater ability to take into account for the bigger size. In contrast to 3,220 mAh to the Nexus 5’s 2,300 mAh, the larger battery provides the phone a purported all-day battery life.

The Nexus 6 smart phone also has a Motorola Turbo Charger that Google claims give the phone battery life of 6 hours with just 15 minutes of charging.

The Nexus 6 comes up with the 13 megapixels rear camera along with the 2 megapixel front camera, which appears to be an explicit improvement as compared to the Nexus 5’s 8 megapixels. . Though, the bigger sensor may compensate for a few of the Nexus line’s perennial camera quality problems, it probably won’t endure the standard that Samsung’s Universe S5 or Apple iPhone 6 can output.

However, it’s yet unclear whether Google continuously upsize its flagship model in riposte to a global market that’s progressively for bigger phones, but if Apple iPhone 6 Plus and Nexus 6 have any suggestion, flagship phones are rapidly moving into phablet territory.

As Winters Are Approaching, Brace Yourselves for Flu Season

November 10, 2014 By Germaine Hicks 1 Comment

Healthcare experts revealed recently that Ebola isn’t the major fear among Americans. Winter is approaching and with it, flu season is also upon us. Experts declare that influenza virus signifies a considerably greater threat than anyone believe.

Healthcare workers remind the public that the flu is airborne, Ebola isn’t. Actually, influenza is among the list of America’s top ten killers. Way back in 2010, influenza and pneumonia triggered the dying of 54,000 people, whereas Ebola only has stated one life within the entire U.S.

Dr. Marc Bonin, Medical Director of the Emergency Department at The Good Samaritan Hospital, said, “The major problem with influenza is that, every year, it’s pattern varies in intensity, which causes it to be difficult to predict. It’s a vital for everyone to be vaccinated at the start of the growing season.”

These reasons are persuasive enough to get people vaccinated, that is still considered the primary protection against the flu virus.

Jennifer Health, the immunization nurse specialist with the Minnesota Department of Health, said, “We’re beginning to determine flu circulate. It’s time to get your influenza shot without a doubt.”

The 2013’s statistics reveal that, only 1 / 2 of all People in America got vaccinated and due to the current Ebola scare, government bodies fear that the significance of flu shots continues to be drowned out. As a result, they’re giving flu shot reminders to make certain that the public is accustomed about the importance of the disease.

Formerly, periodic cases have evolved and hospitalization was essential in a minimum of two cases. For instance, in Pennsylvania, authorities reported 184 flu cases in just one county. It’s also very difficult to calculate influenza pattern every year as circulating strains utter the seriousness of the condition.

In addition, Canada has also started preparing for flu season. Private wholesale suppliers have formerly initiated distributing flu shots in Alberta, where up to 50% of the province is scheduled to get the vaccination. Countrywide, 12m vaccines have already been ordered, though, their delivery is certain to present a distinctive challenge for public-health government bodies.

Dr. Marc Bonin said in a statement, “As per the CDC statistics, it takes approximately two days for antibodies to build up to an amount where a person is protected. We persuaded everyone out there to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

A lot of patients reject flu shots after becoming ill despite having been vaccinated. It’s vital that you realize there are many viruses circulating, and many can mimic flu symptoms. Additionally, the vaccine does not offer 100% protection, however, it makes symptoms milder if an infection does occur, Dr. Deborah Lubitz, pediatrician with Good Samaritan Pediatrics stated.

U.S. Jobless Claims Drop by 10000 to Hit a 14-Year Low

November 6, 2014 By Jason Leathers 1 Comment

As per the recent reports revealed, fewer people have applied for the unemployment benefits in the U.S. last week, which is a sign that the job market continues to improve.

“ The weekly applications fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined 2,250 to 279,000, the lowest level in more than 14 years,” Labor Department said Thursday.

These applications are a substitute for layoffs and have fallen 18.5% in the past year, which implies rising economic confidence among businesses, causing them to keep their workers and potentially look to hire more employees.

Jesse Hurwitz, a Barclays research economist, wrote via e-mailed analysis, “The Labor Department noted no special factors in this week’s report. The continued downward trend for initial and continuing claims is consistent with solid labor market improvement; though, given that this week’s report corresponds to the period after the survey week for the October payrolls report, our forecast for nonfarm payroll gains of 225,000 in tomorrow’s report remains unchanged.”

The turn down in applications is overlapping with stronger hiring this year.

In 2014, employers have added an average of 227,000 jobs a month, up from an average of 194,000 last year. Over the past year, employers have added 2.64 million jobs, the best showing since April 2006. The unemployment rate has fallen to 5.9%, a six-year low.

As per the Friday’s report, 230,000 jobs were added in the month of October, economists say. The rate of unemployment is projected to hold stable.

Payroll Processer ADP said Wednesday, U.S. companies added 230,000 jobs in October. The result was the highest in 4 months and an indication that businesses are still willing to hire in spite of slow growth signs overseas. Normally, job gains above 200,000 are enough to lower the unemployment rate.

Still, the improvement in hiring has yet to translate into higher wages. Average wages have grown slightly faster than inflation. According to Sentier Research Median, annual household income at $54,045 remains 4.6% lower than incomes when the recession began in late 2007.

The government’s job report on Friday revealed a healthy pace of hiring. The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and sometimes diverge from the government’s more comprehensive report.

According to a survey by FactSet, economists predict that the government’s report will show that all employers, including government agencies, also added 230,000 jobs in October.

The job gains in the ADP report were broad-based: Construction firms added a solid 28,000 jobs last month, while manufacturing gained 15,000 positions. Professional and business services, which include mostly higher-paying positions such as accountants and engineers, gained 53,000.

Regardless of some hiccup in economic growth, hiring has been strong this year. In 2014, employers have added an average of 227,000 jobs a month that puts this year on pace to be the strongest year for job creation since 1999.

Climate Isn’t Fully Responsible for Changing Forests

October 16, 2014 By Germaine Hicks 1 Comment

No doubt, researchers are always reminding us how climate change is playing a heavy hand in the drastic changes occurred in the northern hemisphere forests, where cold-loving pines and firs are being oppressed out by more adaptable species.

The state of Minnesota is experiencing a significant overhaul of its forest populations, where trees like the American basswood, black cherry, red maple, sugar maple, and white oak are becoming increasingly prevalent, whereas the region’s more characteristic species like the white spruce and balsam fir tree fight to acclimatize to increasing temperature and wet winter storms, the Nature World News reported recently.

But, Marc Abrams, a researcher from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is disputing on the fact that the climate is significantly a secondary factor involved in forests overhaul, especially in the eastern United States forests. He further insisted that these forests are still struggling to recover from the state of ‘disequilibrium’ which occurred in the late 1800s and early 1900s from the clear-cutting and burning of large scale forests.

Moreover, Abrams stated in his recent statement, “After analyzing the historical developments in the Eastern forests, the disturbances (both natural and man-caused) are much more momentous than any other change in the climate.”

He further stated that, “Over the course of past 50 years, most of the environmental researchers have concentrated on the impacts of climate change. In some models, though, the impacts of the climate change seems not been as profound as in others, particularly in the eastern Unites States forests.”

Abrams compared pre-settlement – original land survey data along with the present vegetation conditions in the eastern US, in a recent study published in the journal Global Change Biology.

Shockingly, it revealed that the “change” experience by the eastern forests be similar to the still ongoing turbulent results of European disturbances on what was once a balanced forest system.

Meanwhile, Abrams added that this doesn’t mean that the climate isn’t having its own influences. It’s just that, “land-use change often trumped the impacts of a warming climate, and this needs greater recognition in climate change discussions, scenarios and model interpretations.”

Hong Kong Protestors Targeted By Spy Apps, Security Firms Revealed!

October 2, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Recent reports revealed by U.S. security firms that the Chinese government may possibly use the smartphone apps in order to scout pro democracy protestors in Hong Kong.

Lacoon Mobile Security said, “These apps are veiled as tools formed by activists for protests. When you download this app, you might give access to an outsider to access the phone’s address book, call logs and other relevant information.”

According to the insights of Lacoon security firm, the victim identities along with the server details used forced us to believe that Chinese government is behind this attack.

No doubt, China along with the United States and Russia believes to be a leader in the cyber warfare research. China is a key source of hacking attacks planned at foreign governments and the China’s computer companies.

On the other hand, Chinese government has denies involving in cyber spying attacks and claimed that we are amongst the biggest victims of hacking attacks.

According to the Lacoon Security firm, there are two similar ‘malicious fake apps’ that seemed to be related. The targeted phones are especially those which run Apple’s OS; and the other app is developed for phones using Google Inc.’s Android system.

Moreover, the company told that this advanced app, known as mRAT (multidimensional requirements analysis tool) is surely backed by a strong nation. It was calling the software Xsser, Lancoon says.

Furthermore the company told, the Xsser mRAT symbolizes a deep move by nation-state cyber criminals conciliating conventional PC systems to hitting mobile devices.”

Lancoon said that, up till now, such cross- platform attacks are quite rare, which simultaneously target both Apple and Android phones and this is a major sign of the involving the government. This app may be the first spyware for iOS developed by Chinese government so far.

Way back in May, U.S. government have charged 5 Chinese military officers with cyber-spying and pilfering trade secrets from major American companies. Last year, we traced attacks on American and other companies to a military unit in Shanghai, Mandiant (Security Company) told.

Diabetes Rates Might Be Balancing Off in U.S

September 24, 2014 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

Since 2008, the researchers have found that, the rate of diabetes seems to be stabilizing again. Though, way back in 2012, the rate was 8.3%, which is almost similar to the newly diagnosed diabetic patients.

Linda Geiss states, that there seems to be a possible slowing in the Diabetic epidemic, study published on September 23^rd in the journal JAMA.

Yet, since 1990, there is an increase in the diabetes rates by double, and the situation stays a public health fear, researchers told.

On the other hand, not every one of them experienced the plateauing tendency. The researchers told that, when it comes to racial groups, there seems a constant increase of diabetes amongst Black and Hispanic adults. Particularly, these groups of people are more expected to have the diabetic epidemic as compared to the whites, previous studies claimed. According to the recent results of the study, the rate is continuously increasing amid people who are students of high school or less.

According to CDC report of 2012, in United States more than 29mn people suffer from type-2 diabetes, and other 82mn people are at pre-diabetes stage, a condition when body sugar level increase abnormally usually results in diabetes. It also revealed in the report that, almost 1.7mn people were newly diagnosed with diabetes.

In past two decades, the growing rate of diabetes have linked a variety of factors, which include the aging factor of population, increased rate of obesity and people having inactive lifestyle, all these are risk factors of type-2 diabetes.

Researchers say that, it is very difficult to analyze the causes behind this new change in trend. It is quite possible that the decrease in obesity could leads towards the decrease in diabetes. Present rate of obesity in United States is equal to the rate which was present in 2004, suggested by researchers.

Facebook Makes Coca Cola Bring Back Surge From The Dead

September 15, 2014 By Jason Leathers Leave a Comment

Never underestimate the power of social media especially when it comes to brand product marketing. In this case it’s about a soft drink called Surge that was created and marketed by Coca Cola back in the late 90s to early 2000s.

Surge was a citrus based soda chock full of caffeine and sugar and people drank tons of it. It’s green florescent can and logo with SURGE emblazoned on it was seen all over the U.S.. Originally Surge was created to compete with Pepsi’s Mountain Dew that was the big winner regarding citrus based sodas out there that were packed with caffeine and sugar. Surge could never get the upper hand on Mountain dew but it did have an impact until it was canceled in the early 2000s.

That didn’t stop fans of Surge though.

About midway through the 2000s, fans wanted Surge back. One fellow actually started a Facebook page for Surge, some got together and bought billboards, others started their own campaigns. Soon the tidal wave of requests hit Coca Cola’s ears and the company saw an opportunity for publicity and profit. Now Coca Cola has brought Surge back but only in a limited run and only via Amazon. That’s right, one can only buy this soda via Amazon for around $14 not including shipping costs. This new approach is likely to cause a rush on Surge leading to people buying up stashes and selling them on auction sites like Ebay. It’s all part of a growing 1990s nostalgia kick that has been occurring recently.

As kids and teenagers of the 1990s are now adults and part of the workforce they have those moments of nostalgia that spread across everything from television shows, toys, commercials, apparel, and of course soda. That’s where Surge comes into play. Although not the top soft drink of the day it did make an impact and many kids loved it and now they have successfully petitioned a major producer to bring their favorite product back amongst much fanfare, a winning stroke of luck and planning by Coca Cola to say the least.

As this new campaign to get Surge back into the hands using their fans utilizes the new social media and online selling platforms it will be a major strategical procedure for future campaigns if proving successful. Coca Cola and industry watchdogs are going to keep an eye on what happens as will online marketers and fans too. The fans’ dogged determination to raise their favorite soda from the dead has proven that a combination of tactics can achieve this and that big corporations know when they had better stand up and listen.

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