Coronavirus and Face Masks

23 February 2020 Keith 1 Comment

What follows is from a senior A&E Consultant with whom I am very slightly acquainted. It is based on the latest information on various NHS websites, and is reproduced with permission.

IMPORTANT: A public service announcement about face masks and coronavirus

Dr Rowley Cottingham, senior A&E consultant, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Dated 16 February 2020, but still current on 23 February 2020

There is a lot of nonsense and misinformation doing the rounds about Coronavirus Covid-19. I have access to internal NHS briefings, and here is what is known to work at present:

Firstly, please don’t rely on the type of mask you see everyone wearing. They are entirely ineffective at stopping virus movements; you need one classified as FFP3 (Filtering Face Piece level 3) and to have undergone a ‘fit’ test to ensure it fits you. Even then the protection is relatively short-lived. Why do we surgeons wear simple masks while operating? Really just to stop bits of dribble, breakfast and similar falling in patients’ wounds.

The slightly better news is that unless someone pretty much sneezes ON you, you are unlikely to get a big enough viral load on your mucous membranes to start infection by breathing. Not impossible, but you need to play the odds. So if you think you may have CV that’s when you wear the simple mask – to reduce how much you shed.

Current internal NHS documents are saying that Covid-19 lasts about 48 hours on surfaces. Therefore, you are best off reducing the viral load on your hands as much as possible. Here are the rules, and I encourage you to adopt these from now for ever, as they are what will protect you from all sorts of infections, including things like norovirus, influenza, hepatitis A and many others:

Always carry tissues and use them to catch coughs or sneezes. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.

Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water, especially after using public transport.

Try to avoid touching handles – turn the tap off with your elbow if it isn’t proximity triggered and if there is a towel hold the door handle with it to exit before discarding it.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Covid-19 is a new strain of Coronavirus and we are still learning about it. There is an incubation period of up to 14 days, which is why those self-isolating are asked to do so for that period. We don’t yet know precisely when someone who has the virus is and isn’t infectious, which is why people are asked to self-isolate to prevent the spread of infection.

amusements, quotes

Quotes

20 February 2020 Keith

Here goes with this months colletion of interesting and/or amusing quotes …

Mathematical Glossolalia

As though time could have a hobby
we speak in eigenvalues, the harmonious
oscillations in the green flash before sunset.

We interpret raised to the power to mean
you were taken in by numbers
as a young babe & your childhood

can be classified irrational. Euclid,
Euler, the empty set’s a nest atop a piling.
If two words diverge on the open seas &

the dot product is without derivative, the intercept
can be found only by Venn diagrams on the tongue.
Swallowed by wave functions, turning back, theorems

to explain the circumference of illusion, good heavens,
the sailboat’s isosceles never goes slack.

[Jennifer Gresham; Scientific American; 02/2020]

Yestreen I wed a lady fair,
An ye wad believe me,
On her cunt there growes nae hair,
That’s the thing that grieves me.
It vexed me sair, it plagued me sair,
It put me in a passion,
To think that I haed wad a wife,
Whase cunt was oot o fashion.
[Robert Burns (1759-96)]

Is there one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one’s whole life? Surely it is the maxim of loving kindness: Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
[Confucius]

Naturism is … a philosophical belief in a natural, naked lifestyle, characterised by respect for oneself, for others, and for the natural environment.
…
Naturists believe that nudity is an enjoyable, natural and moral state which brings benefits to themselves and to society at large.
[From “Is Naturism the solution to low body confidence?” at https://buzz.bournemouth.ac.uk/2020/01/is-naturism-the-solution-to-low-body-confidence/]

Physiology is just functional anatomy. Biochemistry is the anatomy of biomolecules. Genetics is the anatomy of DNA. Physics is the anatomy of the universe. All science is – anatomy.
[Prof. Alice Roberts on Twitter]

We couldn’t overlook the stupidity of an entire nation democratically voting to deprive itself of all its human rights for possibly generations to come. We thought about making 17.4 million individual awards but that wouldn’t work as voting is anonymous and many of the people who voted for Brexit have since died – in some cases as a consequence of their vote already, so those ones should really get special mentions.
[Stu Pidkunz, Chairman of Darwin Awards on giving the UK a DA for Brexit]

And nightly now beneath their shade
are buggeries, rapes, and incests made.
Unto this all-sin-sheltering grove
whores of the bulk and the alcove,
great ladies, chambermaids, and drudges,
the ragpicker, and heiress trudges.
Carmen, divines, great lords, and tailors,
‘prentices, poets, pimps, and jailers,
footmen, ﬁne fops do here arrive,
and here promiscuously they swive.
[John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, on St James’s Park, London; 1673. Quoted in Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain]

He [John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester] is also suspected of being the author of Sodom, almost certainly the rudest play ever written, about a debauched king who encourages his sex-crazed subjects to indulge themselves in as much sodomy as they like. Just to give you a flavour of its lewdness, the dramatis personae includes: King Bolloximian and Queen Cuntigratia; Prince Prickett, Princess Swivia and General Buggeranthus; Pockenello (a pimp, catamite and the king’s favourite), Borastus (the buggermaster-general), Pene, Tooly and Lady Officina (pimps and she-pimp of honour); Fuckadilla, Cunticula and Clitoris (maids of honour); Flux (physician-in-ordinary to the king) and Virtuoso (dildo-maker to the court).
[Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain. Sodom was published in 1684.]

The common people of London, giving way to their natural inclination, are proud, arrogant and uncivil to foreigners, especially the French, against whom, they entertain a great prejudice and cherish a profound hatred, treating such as come among them with contempt and insult. The nobility, though also proud, have not so usually the defects of the lower orders, displaying a certain degree of politeness and courtesy towards strangers; and this is still more the case with those gentlemen who have been out of the kingdom, and travelled, they having taken a lesson in politeness from the manners of other nations.
[Lorenzo Magalotti, Florentine nobleman, c1667. Quoted in Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain]

When it comes to addressing important people, modern practice is useful in so far as forms have not greatly changed. You should address the king as ‘Your majesty’ and a duke or an archbishop as ‘Your grace’. Speaking to lesser lords and bishops or their wives, you can simply say ‘Your lordship’ or ‘Your ladyship’, and to clergymen ‘Your reverence’. If a man is a knight or a baronet, then call him ‘Sir John’ or whatever his first name is. His wife is ‘Your ladyship’, ‘Dame Alice’ or ‘Lady Smith’. Gentlemen are referred to as ‘Mister’ or ‘Master’ (both written ‘Mr’). The term ‘Esquire’ is used after a gentleman’s name to indicate that he has a coat of arms – note that it is not used for non-armigerous gentlemen. Nor do you call a tradesman or ordinary farmer ‘Mr’ – at this time he does not have a pre-title, only his name. Wives, sisters and daughters of gentlemen are addressed as ‘Mistress’ (written ‘Mrs’ or ‘Mtress’), whether they are married or not, and letters should be directed to them as ‘Mrs Smith’, even if they are under the age of ten. I would strongly recommend that you do not address an unmarried woman in the 1660s as ‘Miss’: this is the way people refer to noblemen’s concubines.
[Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain]

Justice is a relative concept in all ages. If it is fairness you want from your legal system, I suggest you visit a period of history that prioritises the person over property, reality over religion, science over superstition, equity over influence and fairness over the process of the law. In finding such a time, I wish you luck.
[Ian Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain]

I don’t care what anybody says about me as long as it isn’t true.
[Truman Capote]

Boris Johnson – speaking literal gibberish in between staring at the ceiling. It’s like watching a penguin on acid trying to catch invisible fish in its mouth.
[@Otto_English on Twitter]

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are so certain of themselves, yet wiser people so full of doubts.
[Bertrand Russell]

So, we must keep talking about sex. We must keep educating children about sex, and not just about what happens when a sperm gets its hands on an egg. We must talk about consent, pleasure, masturbation, pornography, love, relationships and our own bodies. Because the only way we will dispel shame is to drag sex out in the open and have a good long look at it. History has shown us how damaging shaming sexual practices, in all their myriad forms, can be. Let’s learn the lesson.
[Kate Lister; A Curious History of Sex]

amusements, words

100 Day Word Challenge: Summary

11 February 2020 Keith

It’s interesting to go back and look at my 100 day word challenge …

Over the 100 days, grouped as 20 sets of five words, I chose one word in each group as a favourite. Some of these were chosen because of their meaning, while others were chosen because I just like the word itself. Here are those favourites, in alphabetical order:
alopecoid: of, or resembling, a fox
belomancy: divination by means of arrows
bloomery: the first forge in an iron-works through which the metal passes after having been melted from the ore, and in which it is made into blooms
chiru: Tibetan antelope with a thick, reddish-brown woolly coat, and (in the male) very long straight horns
circumjacent: bordering on every side, surrounding
hieromonach: a monk who also serves as a priest
hwyl: emotional state capable of arousing intense eloquence
limaciform: having the form of a slug
pegomancy: divination by the examination of springs or fountains
plenicorn: of a ruminant: having horns that are solid rather than hollow
polemarch: Ancient Greek military commander or an official with certain civil or ritual duties
pourpointerie: quilted material with studs at the seams, worn in the Middle Ages as armour
prasinous: a leek-green colour
quinticlave: upright brass-wind instrument like a keyed bugle
scop: an Old English poet or minstrel
squarrose: having scales sticking out at right angles
tonitruone: musical instrument that imitates sound of thunder
vervecine: of or pertaining to a sheep
yellowplush: a footman, esp. one who wears breeches made of yellow plush; an underling, a lackey
yelt: a young sow

Of these 20 I think my very favourite might be yellowplush; it’s just so “off the wall” but brilliantly descriptive while being slightly, but politely, derogatory. And it always reminds me of Sir John Tenniel’s brilliant illustration of the Frog and Fish Footmen, from Alice in Wonderland (below).

Needless to say there are others I particularly like; here are another dozen:
cabasset: light iron helmet
cicisbeo: the male companion of a married woman
ecdysiast: a striptease performer
ketjak: traditional Balinese dance accompanied by male chorus
labiomancy: lip reading
megachiropteran: of, like, or pertaining to fruit bats
orf: an infectious disease of sheep and goats caused by a pox virus
pongee: A soft, usually unbleached kind of Chinese silk fabric, woven from uneven threads of raw silk
pubarche: the first appearance of pubic hair
yatzy: A dice game popular in Scandinavian countries
zenana: system of segregating women away from men in harems
zenzizenzizenzic: the square of a square of a square number; the eighth power of a number

I’ve also taken a look at the subject matter covered by the words. I am slightly surprisedd at the top three categories:
Pertaining to Animals: 16 words
Pertaining to People: 14
Pertaining to Science: 12
The people and science categories don’t surprise me so much, but I would not have expected the animals to come out on top. I would probably have that things historical would be much higher than languishing in the bottom half.

What else can we learn? Quite by chance I managed to pick at least one word beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Some initial letters were more popular than others: of the 100 words, 13 begin with S, 11 with P and 8 with C; all the rest tag along behind. Slightly unexpectedly both D and E occur as initial letters only once; less unexpectedly they’re joined by K and W. I suppose that given the dependency of English on Latin and Greek that the proponderance of S, P and C isn’t hugely surprising.

Anyway, there we are. 100 words which I didn’t know – and along the way I must have passed over at least 10 times that number I did know. How many of them will I remember and use? If only a couple stick it will have been worth doing.

amusements, memes

Ten Things: February

10 February 2020 Keith

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with February, and especially for Lent …

Ten English Saints

Thomas Beckett (right)
Margaret Clitherow
Edmund Campion
John Fisher
Gilbert of Sempringham
Alcuin of York
Venerable Bede
Edward the Confessor
Hilda of Whitby
Margery Kempe

amusements, words

100 Day Challenge: Words #20 (Final)

9 February 2020 Keith

Yes, we made it! Here’s the final episode (days 96 to 100), of my 100 day challenge to find words I don’t know. I’ve been scraping words from https://randomword.com/ and each day picking one that I find interesting and which is also in the OED.

Day	Date	Word	Meaning
96	Tuesday 4 February	unguiculate	having claws
97	Wednesday 5 February	hwyl **	emotional state capable of arousing intense eloquence
98	Thursday 6 February	cacolet	a military litter for the sick or wounded carried by mules
99	Friday 7 February	ketjak	traditional Balinese dance accompanied by male chorus
100	Saturday 8 February	oneiric	of, like, or pertaining to dreams

** My favourite of the words presented.

So that’s it for this 100 day challenge. I’ll try to write a summary in the next few days. And look out for another challenge – I’ve got some ideas lined up but we’ll maybe have a break first.

quotes

Quote: You

Quote 6 February 2020 Keith

There is a version of you re-created in the minds of everyone you’ve ever met.

amusements, words

100 Day Challenge: Words #19

4 February 2020 Keith 1 Comment

We’re almost at the end! Here’s episode 19 (days 91 to 95), the penultimate summary of my 100 day challenge to find words I don’t know. I’m scraping words from https://randomword.com/ and each day picking one that I find interesting and which is also in the OED.

Day	Date	Word	Meaning
91	Thursday 30 January	tonitruone **	musical instrument that imitates sound of thunder
92	Friday 31 January	sponsalia	espousals, marriage
93	Saturday 1 February	rhopalic	verse in which each word contains one syllable more than the preceding one
94	Sunday 2 February	corbeau	a dark green colour verging on black
95	Monday 3 February	rulley	flat four-wheeled wagon for carrying goods

** My favourite of the words presented.

The final episode on Sunday!

environment, science

Fukushima’s Tritium

2 February 2020 Keith

The Fukushima nuclear site is now overflowing with contaminated water (from cooling the remaining fuel cores to prevent further meltdown) which is being stored in huge tanks. Like they have almost 1.2 million tonnes of water from which the major radioactive contaminants have been removed (they say). And they’ve almost run out of space for more tanks.

However the stored water is still contaminated with tritium (³H), a rare radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a nucleus containing one proton and two neutrons, and a half-life of 12.32 years. Although radioactive, tritium is generally considered safe, at least externally (one common use is in luminous watches and displays).

But this presents a problem, because to even reduce the tritium level by 90% through natural decay will, I guestimate, take in the region of 40 years (something over 3 half-lives). Would that level of reduction be enough? I don’t know; I’ve not seen the data.

Extracting the tritium from the water is technically very difficult and there is no industrial-scale process available to do it.

So to solve their storage problem Tokyo Electric (Tepco) want dump the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. The alternative contending suggestion is to allow the water to evaporate into the atmosphere (taking the tritium with it); but this has been rejected.

Now I see the logic of dumping the water into the ocean. There is already a (low) level of tritium in seawater anyway; and most nuclear facilities use either seawater or river-water as a coolant, with the waste water flowing back into the river/ocean in real-time with low levels of contaminants (mostly tritium).

My reaction to this as a scientist is that dumping the water into the sea, over a period of years, and maybe from several sites separated by a distance, is likely the best solution; and not a solution that would, I think, worry me if it were “in my backyard”. On the other hand I do quite see, from an environmental viewpoint, why local people and nearby countries don’t like the idea.

It’s just a pity there isn’t an industrial-scale extraction process, because the tritium would be extremely valuable, even if it amounted to just a handful of grams. For one, the JET European Torus experimental nuclear fusion reactor is planning a run for late this year, and for that they need a few grams of tritium, which costs around $30,000 a gram. Surely there must be a way?

amusements, memes