On December 26:

1620 Pilgrim Fathers landed at what became New Plymouth in Massachusetts.

1716  Thomas Gray, English writer, was born.

1780  Mary Fairfax Somerville, British mathematician, was born.

1791 Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor, was born.

1860  The first ever inter-club football match took place between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at the Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield.

1862 Four nuns serving as volunteer nurses on board USS Red Rover were the first female nurses on a U.S. Navy hospital ship.

1870 The 12.8-km long Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps was completed.

 A contemporary illustration of Thespis from The Illustrated London News. 

1879 In Christchurch, 30 Catholic Irishmen attacked an Orange (Protestant) procession with pick-handles, while in Timaru 150 men from Thomas O’Driscoll’s Hibernian Hotel surrounded Orangemen and prevented their procession taking place.

1891 Henry Miller, American writer, was born.

1893 Mao Zedong, Chinese military leader and politician, was born.

1898 Marie and Pierre Curie announced the isolation of radium.

1919   Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox was sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee.

1933 FM radio was patented.

1935 Abdul “Duke” Fakir, American singer (The Four Tops), was born.

1940  Phil Spector, American music producer, was born.

1942  Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, Guatemalan president, was born.

1949 José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, Nobel laureate, was born.

1953 Leonel Fernández, Dominican politician and current President of the Dominican Republic.

1953 Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, was born.

1980 Aeroflot put the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.

1982 Time Magazine’s Man of the Year was for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.

1986 World Population reaches 5 billion according to www.ibiblio.org world population tracker.

1991  The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the USSR.

2003 A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastated southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.

 Arg-é Bam, before the 2003 earthquake.

2004 A 9.0 magnitude earthquake created a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people.

2006 The 2006 Hengchun earthquake with 7.1 magnitude hit Taiwan.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

I feel like in order for you to understand what RPTs are about you must understand why we are doing what we are trying to do. 

It all started when Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, first discovered the x-ray in 1895. The picture you see is of his wife’s hand. He later won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901. Then came Henri Becquerel, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie who all co-discovered radioactivity in 1896. Henri was experimenting with phosphorescences in uranium salts. In his experiment one of the key factors in conducting it was that he needed sunlight, but after one night of letting it sit, he was going to conduct it the next day, he noticed that some film had already been exposed. This led him to further explored the emission of nuclear radiation. Marie and Pierre Curie were responsible for discovering the radioactivity of Radium and Polonium. It was only two years after Roentgen was awarded his Nobel Prize that Henri, Marie and Pierre were awarded their Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for the discovery of radioactivity. Pierre died in 1906 in an accident that people say was caused from him being weaken by the exposure of radiation, and Marie died from aplastic anemia caused from radiation exposure. Also during the same time in 1896, Thomas Edison and Clarence Dally invented a fluoroscope, in its simplest form, a fluoroscope consists of an x-ray source and fluorescent screen. Edison would look through an eye hole while Dally placed his hand between the source and the screen. Soon, Edison realized that the exposure to the radioactive source was damaging his eye. Once he realized this he stopped experimenting with it. Dally wasn’t easily deterred. Dally lost his left hand and four fingers from his left. He eventually died from cancer.

In 1917, there were was a case of some women in New Jersey getting cancerous growths on their jaw. They painted dials and watches with radium because it glowed. They would lick their brushes into a point to get a fine painting stroke. The constant exposure of the radium to their jaw is what caused the growths.

In the early years of radiation, there were no standards to control the dose a person was to receive, and there were no instruments to set a standard. The standards, for the radiation occupational workforce, today are : whole body – 5 rem/year, eyes - 15 rem/year, skin/organs/extremities – 50 rem/year. The general public is just .1 rem/year. I will explain REM(Radiation Equivalent Man) in a later blog.

 The history of radiation is a short one, but plenty of events have happened within the time from Roentgen to the Manhattan Project to now with Nuclear Energy. Who knows where we will take it from here. I only hope that we stay on a more positive track and utilize radiation in a way that benefits mankind and not destroys it. 

Wilhelm’s wifes left hand, you can see her ring.

Becquerel’s photographic plate which has been fogged by exposure to radiation from a uranium salt.

The Jaws of the radium girls

So. Gather ’round people. The Suit has decided to reveal his true identity in the excellent name of charity and the good name of beer. Let me explain:

Some time ago the Suit explained why he choose to be anonymous on the cyber waves. All his reasons were sound and you can read them here. However with anonymity comes fatigue. It’s tiring to negotiate life without a head and, anyway, he wants to meet with the people he has connected with in the same way everyone else is able to.

Recently we were talking about how we might be able to do good things with Twitter – that if, as a community, we could join together *against* something, so too we should be able to join together *for* something. And then he had this idea to raise some money by revealing his identity. Groovy.

In truth, and he may or may not thank me for sharing this, he feels a bit bashful about all of this; reality can underwhelm. Personally I think he’s awesome but I’m not sure that’s the point. And, anyway, whichever way you look at it, this is an excellent way of doing something positive.

So. Where was I? Yes. Here. Getting to the point: the  Suit is going to reveal his identity and raise money for charity while going it. Whoever donates the most gets to go out for lunch with him. It will be somewhere posh probably, because he’s a suit, with or without his head. Dig deep, donate here, it’s for Marie Curie and I think that’s pretty fantastic.

Source: nursingtimes.net

Follow this link to news item

Date: 24th November 2009

Publication Type: News  story

In a  nutshell: At this years Marie Curie Annual Conference 25th November 2009, National Lead for the Liverpool Care Pathway Deborah Murphy called upon NHS organisations to provide some form of End of Life care training for staff. The latest version of the Liverpool Care Pathway will also be unveiled which includes:

• A new section on relative/carer information to support multidisciplinary conversations about the diagnosis of dying and the support of the LCP
• A more defined, specific multidisciplinary detailed assessment for each individual on commencement of the LCP and every three days thereafter
• Continuous ongoing assessments undertaken at least every four hours
• More explicit and detailed goals on nutrition, hydration and spirituality
• More succinct information on care after death

“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
~Marie Curie (1867–1934)

Is the the aim of all coaching? Or rather should this be the aim of all coaching?

En tiempo record, dos años, se licenció en Física y un año más tarde en Matemáticas; luego obtuvo un doctorado en ciencias. Pasó a la historia por descubrir la radioactividad. Obtuvo dos premios Nobel, la única persona en recibir dos galardones de estas características. También fue la primera mujer en enseñar en la prestigiosa universidad francesa de la Sorbona. Apasionada y perseverante, deslumbró con sus investigaciones.

Pasión de mujer

Uno de los rasgos que sobresalieron de su personalidad fue su confianza y su perseverancia obstinadas. Así pudo alcanzar logros como su doctorado en ciencias, dos premios Nobel y dar clases en la universidad parisina de la Sorbona. Esto hizo dignificar no sólo a la ciencia, también a la figura de la mujer, que en aquella época se encontraba relegada al dominio que tenía el hombre en todos los campos sociales.

Se llamó Marja Sklodowska, y nació en Varsovia (Polonia) el 7 de noviembre de 1867. En 1891, con 24 años, se trasladó a París (donde cambió su nombre por Marie) y se matriculó en el curso de ciencias de la Universidad de la Sorbona. Dos años después se licenció en Física y un año más tarde en Matemáticas. Luego de diez años se doctoró en ciencias en esa misma universidad.

En 1894 conoció a Pierre Curie con quien se casó en 1895. Pierre tenía 35 años, ella 26 y, al igual que Marie, estaba dedicado apasionadamente a la investigación científica. Ambos tuvieron a sus hijas, Irene y Ève. La primera siguió sus pasos y logró sintetizar los nuevos elementos radioactivos; también obtuvo un premio Nobel en Química (1935). La otra escribió una completa biografía sobre su madre.

Marie Curie, que se encontraba en busca de un tema para su tesis doctoral, investigó las radiaciones descubiertas por Becquerel, que ella bautizó con el nombre de radioactividad (fue la primera en utilizar este término para describir los elementos que emiten radiaciones cuando se descomponen sus núcleos). Después de averiguar las radiaciones que tenían tanto el uranio como el torio, descubrió que en la pechblenda -un mineral que contiene uranio- los residuos eran más radiactivos que el propio uranio. Con esto llegó a la conclusión de que ese mineral debía contener algún otro elemento, hasta entonces desconocido.

Debemos tener perseverancia y encima de todo confianza en nosotros. Debemos creer que estamos dotados para algo y que esa cosa debe ser alcanzada.

Marie Curie.

Porque si tú no crees en tus posibilidades y habilidades, ¿a quién le vas a demostrar que las tienes?

Tú vales, mucho.

It never ceases to amaze me when we receive something after we have posted that is related to our post. Here’s what I received in my email today after posting.

“We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.”

Marie Curie
1867-1934, Physicist

LOVE IT!

On the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first section of the London to Leeds Motorway, more commonly known as the M1, I woke up at 4.45am to travel its length. I was on a job to the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford and we had to be there by 11am with a large orange Big Brother style chair to conduct interviews and a photo shoot.

The moon was setting large and red as we joined the carriageway at Junction One, slowly sinking in front of us as the sky got lighter and lighter. It was apocalyptic and we were too sleepy to comment. We stopped for breakfast and when we pulled back onto the motorway ten miles from Derby, a clutch of large water cooling towers steamed into the morning air straight ahead of us, and the towns we passed adopted a rigid linear pattern of parallel lined terraces clinging to the hillsides. I know terraces and water cooling towers exist elsewhere in the UK, but somehow, these two sights heralded the fact that we were suddenly in the north.

We left the M1 at Leeds to veer left to Bradford. Driving downhill towards the city centre all of a sudden we could see the city spread out in front of us in the valley, smeering itself up onto the hills surrounding it. Mills and towers and row upon row of yellow stoned houses. To me, it was the evidence of such great pride and industry, a one-time powerhouse of British economy and trade.

‘Why did so many people come to live here?’ asked my colleague as we passed our umpteenth curry house. ‘To work in textiles,’ I replied. ‘Were textiles made here?’ he answered. Maybe it’s because I did the industrial revolution for GCSE history. Maybe it’s because I’m from the north. But I wondered how many people don’t know or have forgotten that it was manufacturing and trade with cities in the north and the midlands that made Britain wealthy enough to be a world power? (B would say this is evidence of my northern chip.)

And at the end of the day we drove back down the entire length of this motorway, sticking to a 50mph speed limit most of the way (was this speed limit chosen particularly today to honour the anniversary? I wondered) as the moon rose full into a clear early darkening sky. The second motorway I’ve driven the length of this year.

And so the moon set and the moon rose, a complete motorway. And it was good.

This is the first post for the series Wonderful Women.

It is the season of the Nobels and this year, women have done exceptionally well in catching the nobel prizes. They have got it in Medicine/Physiology, Chemistry, Economics and Literature ie in 4/6 fields. When one thinks of Nobel prizes and one thinks of women, it is hard to miss the person who has done more than anyone else to make the position of women in science respectable. And that is the first woman nobel laureate, the first two-time nobel laureate in two subjects – Marie Curie or Madam Curie.

The biography and other details are chronicled nicely in Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie

What I want to observe here is the way she managed to tackle all her obstacles and make them look small even when they were so huge in the times that she lived in. To fight the financial burden, to fight the fight of being a woman and therefore getting rejections by default, to fight the doubts as to her abilities and many other such small but significant things. She did not let anything stand in the way of her love, her curiosity of finding things.

I cannot but imagine how daunting the conditions must have been for her to pursue what she truly loved in a field where women wee not only not encouraged but straight away denied entry. Instead of fighting it out loudly and getting dejected, she found a better way. She did the best job she could do, she did the job better than others could do and thus shut the mouth of her detractors and became the icon for women and other scientists that she is today.

If there is anything one ought to take away from her is the spirit and strength.

Thanks goes to Madam Curie for showing a way to numerous aspiring women scientists who would later join her in the eminent scientist’s club. The one who started it all – we salute you.

Newcastle University – School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials

Reference Code: CE020

Details:
The aim of this research is to develop technology for hydrogen production from water using advanced, medium temperature proton exchange membrane electrolysers. It is also an excellent opportunity to join one of the leading UK teams of researchers investigating higher temperature polymer electrolyte (PEM) electrolysers.
The research programme is funded under the prestigious Marie Curie Initial Training Network programme and is in collaboration with:
* Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Department of Materials Science and Engineering
* CNRS Université Montpellier II Laboratory for Aggregates, Interfaces and Materials for Energy, France
* FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece
* IEES- Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems IEES Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
* The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), UK
* CIDETEC (Centre for Electrochemical Technologies), Spain

The successful applicant will work in well-found laboratories within the research group of Professor Keith Scott, which is a leading centre for polymer membrane fuel cell and electrolyser research in the UK.
As well as standard current/voltage/time analytical techniques, state-of-the-art spectroscopic, fuel cell test systems and electrode fabrication systems are available within the groups. In addition, the School has excellent engineering, mechanical and glassblowing workshops and Newcastle University provides efficient EDX/SEM etc facilities. The Graduate School in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering also provides an effective postgraduate skills development programme for our PhD students. The School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials is ranked as one of the leading schools for chemical engineering teaching and research. In the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, 85% of our submission to chemical engineering was classed as ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘internationally recognised’.

Value of the Award
The funding is for up to €34,500 per year for three years. Additional mobility, travel and career exploratory allowances are also available. Successful applicants will be expected to register for a PhD at Newcastle and pay the appropriate registration fee (for either UK/EU or international students).

Person Specification
You should have a minimum of an upper-second-class or first-class Honours degree in science or engineering. An MSc in science or engineering would be an advantage. You should be able to demonstrate knowledge of electrochemical energy systems; have good experimental skills in chemical science and good communication skills in English.

How to Apply
You must complete the University’s postgraduate application form, selecting ‘PhD School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials (full time) – Chemical Engineering’ as the programme of study and inserting the reference number CE020. Only mandatory fields need to be completed (no personal statement required) and a CV and a covering letter should be attached. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote the reference number CE020 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project.

Deadline for applications
20th December 2009

Further Information
If you are interested in making a contribution to the development of the next generation of sustainable energy then contact Professor Keith Scott by email, k.scott@newcastle.ac.uk, for further details.

Link to this advertisement

Am aflat acum, foarte tirziu ( dar sper ca nu prea tirziu) o poveste… o poveste cu o fetita, o poveste despre viata si moarte si despre tot ce poate fi intre, o poveste trista. Daca as fi capabila sa produc un text coerent as face-o, dar cum imi e imposibil momentan, o sa atasez povestea ei in fragmente, cu mentionarea surselor unde gasiti intregul text.

Cosmina Andreea Păun are 15 ani şi leucemie acută mieloblastică M1.[...] A ajuns la Budimex acum vreo 5 sau 6 luni. Pe atunci avea 14 ani şi era elevă în clasa a VIII-a la Liceul Teoretic din Mizil. Între timp a împlinit 15 ani, în spital, şi a fost repartizată în clasa a IX-a la specializarea Matematică-Informatică de la Liceul Teoretic „Grigore Tocilescu” din Mizil.
sursa: aici

Pe 13 mai 2009, Cosmina Andreea Păun, în vârstă de 14 ani, a fost internată în secţia de Oncopediatrie a Spitalului M.S. Curie din Bucureşti, cu diagnosticul de Leucemie Acută Mieloblastică M1.
Pe 22 mai 2009 a început primul tratament citostatic. În urma primei etape de tratament a intrat în aplazie medulară cu neutropenie febrilă severă, trombocitopenie severă. Au urmat transfuzii de sânge repetate. La începutul lunii septembrie a început a altă cură de citostatice, apoi transfuzii de sânge. Urmează încă una, în octombrie 2009.
Pe 1 iulie 2009, de ziua ei, Cosmina şi-a dorit un tort. Cosmina a rămas cu dorinţa. Din 13 mai şi până în septembrie 2009, Cosmina şi mama ei au supravieţuit în spital din banii strânşi de colegii de la şcoală.
[...]
Cosmina are nevoie de un transplant. Mama ei, sfătuită de câţiva prieteni, a aflat că sunt şanse în străinătate. Diriginta Cosminei a scris unei clinici, în Italia. Au cerut 150.000 de euro pentru tratament şi transplant.În spital, Cosmina a făcut şi un abcces cerebral din cauza unei sinuzite maxilare cu osteoliză severă de bază de craniu şi a fost operată. A făcut candidoză şi aspergiloză. Doar tratamentul recomandat de medic împotriva aspergilozei, cu medicamentul Fungizone, costă peste 300 de euro.

sursa: aici

[...]din 15 septembrie si pana ieri, 19 octombrie 2009, in contul Cosminei s-au strans aproape 10.000 de euro. Care se adauga celor 10.000 stransi de colegii si prietenii din Mizil. Doamna ajuta!
Dacă doriţi să o ajutaţi pe Cosmina:
Raiffeisen Bank – Agenţia Mizil, judeţul Prahova, str. Nicolae Bălcescu nr. 38, bl. 43 B
RON: RO 97 RZBR 0000 0600 1005 2891
EURO: RO 57 RZBR 0000 0600 1205 5885
USD: RO 71 RZBR 0000 0600 1205 9416
Cod SWIFT: RZBRROBU
Titular: Neagu Steluţa (mama Cosminei) – CNP 2700509292085
Împuternicit: Neagu Mia (mătuşa Cosminei)
Domiciliu: sat Grădiştea, nr. 168, comuna Boldeşti, judeţ Prahova
Telefon Neagu Steluţa: 0723 914 273
Telefon Păun Cosmina Andreea: 0764 376 174

sursa: aici

Source: International Observatory on End of Life Care

Follow this link  for abstract.

Date of publication: July 2009

Publication type: online article

In a nutshell:  This article addresses the problems encountered by service users and key stakeholders of palliative care services in relation to journeys between care settings during end-of-life care.  An evaluation of services in three areas of the United Kingdom by the Marie Curie Cancer Care ‘Delivering Choice Programme’  showed that timely and safe transport emerged as a key issue and this finding subsequently informed a service redesign programme in the areas concerned.   

Some important notes:  published electronically ahead of print

Acknowledgement:  International Observatory on End of Life Care

Source:  National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for article.

Date of publication:  October 2009

Publication type:  Website

In a nutshell:   NHS Tower Hamlets has produced maps depicting end of life care services for adults and children and how each service connects with the others and these maps are now being implemented in different commissioning workstreams.  The maps will constitute a  key element of Tower Hamlets’ service redesign and development for end of life care services and wider palliative care services.  The maps have continued to be used in different commissioning workstreams :- The Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme as well as long-term conditions planning, including COPD and neurological conditions.

Acknowledgement:  National End of Life Care Programme

Source:  Journal of Care Services Management  Volume 4, Number 1 / October–December, 2009

Date of publication: September 2009

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: The Marie Curie Delivering Choice programme has been implemented in various UK locations and has shown that the high numbers of hospital deaths in the UK can be reduced if services become more efficient, responsive and provide holistic quality care. The programme advocates a whole systems approach to redesign services with the objective of providing choice for terminally ill patients about where they want to receive care until they die. Key findings are that services both in hospital and community settings need to improve.

Length of publication: 8 pages

Some important notes:  Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article.  Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

I genuinely have nothing against the Sheffield University branch of Liberal Youth, the Liberal Democrat’s student organisation whose (rather retro) website can be found here.

If those members I count as my friends are anything to go by, the organisation is stuffed full of amiable, decent, well-meaning, sometimes worryingly attractive people.

However, one thing they really need to improve is the quality of posters they put up around the Student Union. I saw one a few weeks ago that made me smile, as it consisted of a simple sheet of A4 paper pinned to the wall, with ‘Hate Negative Campaigning? Join the Liberal Democrats!’ typed across it in an unappealing font.
Anyone who knows the Lib Dem’s fearsome reputation for using any tactics necessary to win elections, no matter how grubby might lift an eyebrow at this.

My friend Craig, has now pointed out another wonderful example to me. Politicians are not known for their modesty, but this is possibly the most overblown attempt to promote a candidate I’ve ever seen.

It includes a rather crudely photoshopped picture of the Paul Scriven the Lib Dem candidate for Sheffield Central constituency surrounded by an uneven collage of pictures of great men and women plucked straight from Google Image Search, annotated with the legend ‘These people changed the world…
Now let this man do the same!’

Now Paul Scriven may be a brilliant politician, and a great white hope for the Liberal Democrats, and I should add the one time I’ve met him, I found him perfectly charming, but I think for a Sheffield councillor, to be compared to Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandi, Grace Darling (I think…), Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Jesus Christ (!) amongst others, smacks of pride before a fall.

I’m also rather surprised that the photo seems to compare him positively to Napolean Bonaparte, a fascinating and brilliant man, but one who also caused suffering to thousands of people, and frequently formulated plans to invade Britain.
I know the Lib Dems support a federal Europe, but this seems to be going too far…

Should Mr. Scriven set up a global religion, win a country independence, row into a storm to save shipwrecked sailors, be awarded a Nobel Prize, lead a civil rights movement, produce a General theory of relativity, become the first black Liberal Democrat President of the United States, or free the slaves in the future I will of course post an apology.

Par instants, j’ai le goût d’imiter le foetus.  J’ai le goût d’attirer mes genoux à mon menton, de comprimer mes poignets sur mes mollets, mes bras entassant mes jambes.  J’ai le goût d’être une masse indéfinie.  D’être un tas.  De me comprimer en une plus petite quantité de moi.  Un amas réduit de moi.

Parfois, j’ai l’appel de l’infiniment micro.  D’être un pourcentage que l’on ne prend pas en considération.  Une note loin du seuil de passage.  Un grain de poudre à bébé.  Une maille dans un tissu.  Un galet parmi tant d’autres.

Quelque fois, j’ai soif de me confondre avec la vaisselle amoncelée sur mon faux granite de comptoir.  De jouer à la cachette avec les restes de céréales qui gravitent dans la cavité du stainless.

J’ai le goût d’être une blanche dans une partition de Bach.  Une brisure dans un épi.  Une miette dans un auditorium.  Une virgule dans une tragédie.

D’autres fois, j’ai le goût d’être Jeanne d’Arc, Simone de Beauvoir, Marie Curie, Catherine Deneuve, Oprah Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice.