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pressed wood or other building products. Any new or newly exposed particleboard. Applied poisons (pesticides, insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides). A proactive approach Administrators are dealing with a generation of post-World War II properties prone to indoor-air-quality problems, particularly buildings constructed or remodeled during the 1970s energy crisis. A school district should take several steps before a problem strikes. First, initiate patterns for preventing air-quality problems.
Second, establish baseline information that will profile the building to facilitate an efficient, inexpensive and confidence-inspiring response. Building occupants and the community need to see a clear and confident administrative approach should a problem arise in the future. The proactive investigation of the building should involve a limited amount of basic testing, particularly a professional review of the microbial matrix within the building--the number
of colony-forming units or what kinds of microbes presently are nesting in the building. Understanding what is living in the ambient air can help administrators understand if there is a problem or, more importantly, can help to quickly isolate the exact nature of a problem. Similarly, administrators should consider hiring an outside contractor to review how air-handling and mechanical-engineering systems are managed. A knowledgeable
person should walk the area and observe the mechanical systems to see how the filtering system, the air-dispersion system and the air-dilution patterns of the building are operating. Finally, a reliable epidemiological profile of comparative absenteeism should be archived. Administrators also need to be ready to implement a smooth, confidence-building reporting system for occupants regarding air-quality or sick-building concerns. How fast and capably the
Ethiopian kids hack Zoom tablets in five months. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project recently tried a new approach to distributing computers to developing countries, by leaving boxes of tablets in remote Ethiopian villages with no instructions. The Motorola Zoom tablets had a custom English language OS, a solar
charger, and tracking software to monitor how they were used. To the surprise of the organization, not only could the kids who started using the tablets easily figure out how to switch on and use them, but they also learnt to hack into the OS and enable features - amazing
especially seeing as most of the kids had never seen a printed word before, let alone in English. “We left the boxes in the village. Closed. Taped shut. No instruction, no human being. I thought, the kids will play with the boxes! Within four minutes, one kid not only opened
the box, but found the on/off switch. He’d never seen an on/off switch. He powered it up. Within five days, they were using 47 apps per child per day. Within two weeks, they were singing ABC songs [in English] in the village. And within five months, they had hacked Android.
Some idiot in our organization or in the Media Lab had disabled the camera! And they figured out it had a camera, and they hacked Android.” OLPC used the experiment to see whether kids can teach themselves to read and write English. Research shows that 100,000,000 kids worldwide don’t even
make to to first grade, often because there are no schools or teachers available. For the cost of a tablet, that could all change. Previous OLPC studies have also shown that the kids will also teach their parents to read and write as well.
The Independent Jane For all the love, romance and scandal in Jane Austen’s books, what they are really about is freedom and independence. Independence of thought and the freedom to
choose. Elizabeth’s refusal of Mr. Collins offer of marriage showed an independence seldom seen in heroines of the day. Her refusal of Mr. Darcy while triggered by anger showed a
level of independence that left him shocked and stunned. The freedom she exhibited in finally accepting him in direct defiance of Lady Catherine and knowing her father would disapprove was
unusual even for Austen. In her last book Anne Elliot is persuaded to refuse Captain Wentworth at Lady Russel’s insistence. Although Jane played by the rules of the day, all
of her writing is infused with how she wanted life to be. She ‘screams’ her outrage at the limitations for women in Emma. When accosted by Mrs. Elton, Jane Fairfax
says, “Excuse me, ma’am, but this is by no means my intention; I make no inquiry myself, and should be sorry to have any made by my friends. When I
am quite determined as to the time, I am not at all afraid of being long unemployed. There are places in town, offices, where inquiry would soon produce something —
offices for the sale, not quite of human flesh, but of human intellect.” “Oh! my dear, human flesh! You quite shock me; if you mean a fling at the slave-trade,
I assure you Mr. Suckling was always rather a friend to the abolition.” “I did not mean, I was not thinking of the slave-trade,” replied Jane; “governess-trade, I assure you,
was all that I had in view; widely different certainly, as to the guilt of those who carry it on; but as to the greater misery of the victims, I
do not know where it lies.” That same sentiment is emphasized in Emma’s shock when Mrs. Weston tells her of Frank Churchill’s secret engagement to Jane. “Good God!” cried Emma,
“Jane actually on the point of going as governess! What could he mean by such horrible indelicacy? To suffer her to engage herself — to suffer her even to think
of such a measure!” I find it interesting that at the moment of Austen’s birth or there about, John Adams left his farm in Massachusetts for the Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. Doesn’t sound particularly interesting, I know but consider this. John Adams left his home in mid-December 1775 to attend an unprecedented meeting of colonial representatives to consider severing ties
with their mother country and her monarch; a decision that culminated in a document unlike any ever written. In the mother country, one day in that same cold December a
baby girl was born at Steventon Rectory. Her cry was heard by only the people in the house but the years to come would see her pen create works unlike
any the world had ever seen. Comparing Austen’s words with Thomas Jefferson’s may seem a trivialization but I believe that Austen’s impact on the world is no less important than
Jefferson’s. The effect of Jane’s writing maybe more subtle than that of the Virginian but it is no less influential. Jefferson’s words instigated and promoted a revolution, a war of
independence. Jane’s words had no such excessive consequence. Still in her own quiet, genteel yet powerful way she declared and promoted the same principles of freedom and self-regulated independence as
our American forefathers. In all her novels Jane advocates independence of person and thought, the rights of all and acceptance of responsibility for those rights. Jane may not have incited
military action as Jefferson did but even as an avowed royalist, I doubt not that Jane Austen firmly believed in his declaration of the right to life, liberty and the
"GOT NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES" It is September 19,1783. The place, Lyons, France. Preparations are being made for a journey. A journey that will eventually take man from his secure environment of terra firma, and place him in a hostile
environment called the atmosphere. The vehicle to be used is a hot air balloon. The brainchild behind this trek is a wealthy paper maker named Joseph Montgolfier. There has been much speculation over just how Montgolfier made the discovery of
the hot air balloon. The most commonly-believed story is that his wife was standing too close to a fire and that the smoke caused her skirt to be inflated and lifted above her knees. This caused Montgolfier to wonder-if this
smoke, and its magical lifting powers, could be captured in a very large container, it might rise and lift a passenger along with it. So, Montgolfier went about building the first hot air balloon. In 1783, not much was known
about the atmosphere and its effects on human beings. Upon examination of the occupants for any ill effects caused by this lofty height, it was discovered that the duck had a broken wing. Could this have been an effect of
exposure to altitude? Actually, several observers noted that as the balloon left the ground, the sheep had an anxiety attack and kicked the duck. Montgolfier reasoned that it would be safe for humans to ascend to altitude. So on November
21, 1783, Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier (a surgeon) became the first aeronaut and flight surgeon. Over 200 years have passed since that first flight. Technology has allowed us to ascend through the atmosphere and into space, but the hazards
of high altitude flight (hypoxia, altitude-induced decompression sickness, and trapped gases) will always be present. That is because humans are best suited to live in what is known as the "physiological efficient zone". This zone extends from sea level to
12,000 feet. When humans are exposed to altitudes above this zone, they are subjected to physiological hazards beyond their natural ability to adapt. One thing to keep in mind is that everything that occupies space and exerts weight is considered
to be matter. All matter is made up of atoms and molecules in varying densities. These particles within the matter are kinetic and in constant motion. The slower the motion of the particles, the more dense the matter becomes. Also,
as the particles are pushed closer together, the matter also becomes more dense. The best way to slow down kinetic molecules is to cool the matter. The best way to get them to move closer together is to add pressure
to the matter. Inversely, when you remove the pressure or heat any material, the molecules within the material moves faster and further apart, thus making the material less dense. The least dense form of matter is, of course, gas. If
a gas is cooled and compressed, at some point it will become a liquid. If that liquid is then cooled further, then at some point it will become a solid. Also, when you take the pressure off any gas or
liquid, that material will grow less dense and expand. This is essentially what happens to the gaseous molecules of our atmosphere. Our atmosphere contains approximately 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, a constant ratio until you reach an altitude of about
270,000 feet. So the question that always comes up is; "If I have 21% oxygen at sea level and 21% at 40,000 feet, why do I succumb to the effects of hypoxia within 20 seconds at that altitude?" The answer
is, ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE! If you could picture all the gaseous nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, they would stack up from the surface of the earth to the fringe of space. All these molecules stacking on top each other
create a great deal of weight, or pressure. At sea level, one square-inch of any surface has about 15 pounds of air sitting on top of it. At 18,000 feet, that same square inch has only 7.5 pounds per square-inch
(psi) exerted on it. What has caused this atmospheric pressure drop? The answer is simple: There is more air stacked up at sea level than above 18,000 feet, and therefore, more weight. As you recall, when molecules are subjected to
this pressure, they are going to move closer together. This will make the air more dense with oxygen and nitrogen molecules. For example, if at sea level you take in a breath of air that has an atmospheric pressure of
15 psi, then that air may contain 500 billion molecules of oxygen (this a fictitious number to be used only as an example); if you go to 18,000 feet and take the same breath where atmospheric pressure is 7.5 psi,
then you will pull in only 250 billion molecules of oxygen. But, you require 500 billion per breath to function normally, and you're getting only half of what you need. That's HYPOXIA! Not only do gaseous molecules in the atmosphere
expand with reduced total pressure, gases in the human body are also subject to the same expansion. There are several areas in the body- ears, sinuses, lungs, gastro-intestinal tract, and teeth - where these gases can expand and cause a
variety of problems. As long as the gas can expand and escape, there will be no problem. But if the gas becomes trapped, then pain will be the usual result. As we have discussed earlier, the air we breathe contains
about 79% nitrogen. Nitrogen is inhaled into the lungs and distributed and stored throughout the body. According to gas laws, gases of higher pressure always exert force towards areas of low pressure. When you inhale nitrogen, it will be stored
at a pressure of about 12 psi (79% nitrogen) of 15 psi (total atmospheric pressure), equal to about 12 psi). When you ascend to altitude and the pressure around your body begins to drop, this creates a pressure gradient (higher
nitrogen in the body than outside the body) and the nitrogen will try to equalize and escape outside the body. Sometimes this nitrogen can leave so quickly and in such quantify that it may form a bubble. If this bubble
forms at a body joint, the pain it causes is know as "the bends." These are just a few of the problems that can occur when the human body is exposed to high altitude conditions. These problems will always be
there for aviation. But through education and knowledge of the mechanisms that cause these problems, we can take steps toward protection and prevention so that your BLUE SKIES won't give you a case of the blues. by J.R. Brown \|ŠAvStop
Here to There: A History of Mapping From the 16th to 18th centuries, many European mapmakers were convinced that California was an island — an Edenic paradise populated by black Amazons. The error persisted for over a hundred years after expeditions had proven that California was, in fact, firmly attached to the mainland. The idea of California as a fierce
paradise appealed to Europeans, who were reluctant to let the mundane reality interfere with their vision of the world. So in that spirit, we’re devoting this episode of BackStory to maps — asking what they show us about who we are and and where we want to go. How do maps shape the way we see our communities and our
world? What do they tell us about the kind of information we value? And what do they distort, or ignore? Please help us shape this show! Share your questions, ideas and stories below. Have opinions on New York vs. D.C. subway maps? On the merits or shortcomings of Google Maps? And do you even still use old-fashioned, ink-and-paper maps? Leave
Nursing a critically ill state back to health \|Indranill Basu Ray highlights the core problems that afflict Bengal's health sector and suggests a few ways to improve the situation\| Despite many technological and other achievements that have propelled India from being a developing nation to one of the top economies of the world, one field that India continues to lag behind in is health.
This is why stories of babies dying in large numbers haunt newspaper headlines. India is behind Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in life expectancy at birth or under-five mortality level. India accounts for about 17 per cent of the world population, but it contribute to a fifth of the world's share of diseases. A third of all diarrhoeal diseases in the world occurs in India.
The country has the second largest number of HIV/AIDS cases after South Africa. It is home to one-fifth of the world's population afflicted with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. A common excuse that I often hear is that we have limited resources to tackle the huge and burgeoning health problems. But even the richest country on earth, the United States of America, has failed to
provide appropriate health services to a large section of the populace. The problem in India is quite different. Apart from being a poor nation with limited resources, it also has a sizeable population in need of basic health services. Furthermore, the lack of appropriate sanitary measures and education ensures an ever increasing presence of communicable disease that have been controlled and even eradicated in
the developed nations. India's list of woes does not stop here. Lack of foresight on the part of successive governments and selective and fragmented strategies to counter daily problems without a definite public health goal have been the mainstay of India's health policies. Resource allocation to this sector is influenced by the prevailing fiscal situation as well as by the priorities of the reigning
government. Unfortunately, in Bengal — a state that faces a dismal fiscal situation — the government's priorities have been skewed as a result of political necessities. Although we have a new government at the helm, it is important to realize that gross changes at the practical level cannot be initiated without having a team with experience and knowledge define a well-thought-out strategy. It is
also essential to have a government that is willing to fulfil the financial needs necessary for the strategy to work. It is difficult, if not impossible, to paint a picture of the present state of public health in West Bengal and to suggest measures to rectify the same in a short article like this. My intention is to highlight the core problems plaguing the
system and to suggest solutions based on accepted principles of public health and healthcare management. The steps that need to be taken are as follows: reducing disease burden, including infectious diseases as well as non-communicable epidemics like diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease; restructuring the existing primary healthcare system to make it more accountable; creating a skilled and professional workforce which is quality driven;
financial planning to bring more investment to the health sector. Reducing disease burden is the cornerstone of any good health policy. The factors that help reduce communicable diseases are clean drinking water, improved sanitation and an effective vaccination programme. A paradigm shift, from the prevalent curative approach to a preventive approach, including health promotion by inculcating behavioural changes, is imperative to reduce disease burden.
West Bengal is one of four states that urgently needs high investment in safe drinking water and toilet facilities. It is estimated that Rs 18,000 crore is required to provide effective drinking water and sanitation facilities for the entire country. Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Odisha would account for more than 60 per cent of the total outlay. Similarly, a huge investment is required
to provide nutritional supplements to malnourished children and pregnant and lactating mothers living below the poverty line. According to a report by the national commission on macroeconomics and health, West Bengal would need to harness an additional resource requirement of rupees (in crore) 1,286, 2,459, 4,693, 13,811 and 8,485 in sectors such as health, water and sanitation, nutrition, primary schooling and roads. It has
been projected that in the next five years West Bengal will spend a large portion of its revenues on wages and salaries, interest payments and pensions, leaving very little for discretionary expenditure in the field of health. It is imperative that the present government rethink and strategize in collaboration with the Centre to ensure the appropriate funding necessary to make the state healthy. Restructuring
the present healthcare delivery system is also equally important. Most primary healthcare centres are old, dilapidated buildings with few or no facilities. Some do not even have basic resources like healthcare workers or pharmacists. What is required is a radical overhaul of the existing system. There are differences in health systems of different countries. A State-run health system, such as the one in Canada,
suffers from delayed medical care. A privately-run health system like the one in the US provides only limited health services to its poor. India's healthcare should carve out the best of both systems. Private healthcare is thriving in India. It is uncontrolled and aimed at profit-making. Government-run hospitals are poorly managed, providing few or no facilities to those living below the poverty line. Different
models have been suggested to take care of this disparity. While private investment will always be geared towards profit-making, it is mandatory to rein in these bodies under well-defined rules. Large private hospitals in the US are non-profit bodies, which have to follow stringent rules in patient care. At the other end of the spectrum is the National Health Service in Britain in which
small, medium and even a few large hospitals are making way for a more competent and accountable government-controlled health system with fewer hospitals. Human resource management is very important in running an effective health system. One of the biggest lacunae of government health service is its poor human-resource management. Many physicians are not paid appropriate salaries or are posted in places that are not
of their choice. Political intervention and favouritism play a big role in posting physicians. Consequently, dedicated physicians who want to serve the public or work in the academic setting found in government hospitals are forced to remain in private hospitals. To boost morale and efficacy, discipline needs to be instituted in the system and a transparent posting policy adopted. The doctor-population ratio needs to
be improved by filling up vacancies in the West Bengal health service. It is important to free postings from the grip of bureaucrats to ensure the registration of quality candidates. Physicians failing to report to duty or indulging in indiscipline must be punished. Doctors who do sign up need to provide relevant and quality medical care. This can only be done if some form
of recertification of doctors is made mandatory once every 10 years. Physicians' salaries in the state health service must be made on a par with those of the Central government to make sure that it remains a lucrative option. Senior physicians providing exemplary public service must be rewarded for the same. A commonly-held notion is that most physicians run after the lucrative salaries that
are offered in private hospitals. Hence it is difficult to retain them in the government sector. This, however, is true of a minority. The majority of physicians are willing to work in a healthy, progressive and academic environment if there are appropriate non-financial incentives. Let us take the example of Christian Medical College, Vellore. Most of the faculty there are paid salaries that are
much lower than those of the private sector. However, physicians are provided with other facilities such as good housing, free schools, free-to-highly-subsidized college education and, most importantly, a progressive and research oriented work environment. West Bengal lags behind many other states when it comes to medical education. There is an urgent need to increase the number of medical colleges in the state. Private investment
for the same should be welcomed but appropriate laws must be instituted so that huge capitation fees are not charged for seats. Furthermore, selection should be made through competitive examinations. A certain percentage of seats can be reserved for the economically weaker sections. Students passing out of such medical colleges must be given postings in rural hospitals. This has been true on paper for
many decades now, but the rule has been poorly implemented even in government-run medical colleges. Innovative schemes ought to be thought of to involve the cash-rich private sector to service the medical needs of the state. Private institutions using government money or land must be asked to provide free service to 20 per cent of their capacity. Appropriate punitive measures — such as temporarily
withholding or cancelling licences — can be taken when a private institution fails to honour this commitment. Institutions willing to set up large hospitals, particularly around Calcutta, must be helped through the provision of low-cost land. But in return, promises to set up satellite hospitals in far-flung district headquarters have to be met. The biggest challenge to the rejuvenation of the healthcare system is
the garnering of funds. West Bengal is financially broke, thanks to the misrule of the communists. Unlike most other communist rulers, our home-grown variants failed to provide basic sanitation, good roads, a working healthcare system and appropriate nutritional supplements to women and children. The lack of social services resulted in poor health and in increased mortality among the vulnerable sections of society. Government efforts
to improve basic health services must fund programmes that provide sanitation, nutritional supplements, and daily meals for school-going children. Substantial investments in these sectors can reduce mortality in children. It is popular to blame doctors for not being able to save severely ill, malnourished children. But things won't change unless determined steps are taken to root out the problems, such as poor funds, minimal
resources and an incompetent workforce, that affect the West Bengal health service. In the next five years, in collaboration with the Centre and the non-government organizations involved in public health, the state government must chalk out a definitive strategy to improve the supply of clean drinking water, provide better sanitation and one full meal to school-going children and arrange for nutritional supplements to pregnant
women. Private investment should be wooed in the health sector to set up hospitals in large metropolitan areas as well as in small district towns. While government land is needed at an appropriate price to help investors build hospitals, steps must be taken to bring about the inclusion of the deprived sections in their service plans. Strong regulatory bodies that can monitor private hospitals
and nursing homes must be instituted. Many of the profiteering health institutions do not provide basic facilities, lack trained nurses and paramedical staff, and some are even run by quacks without medical degrees. It is of utmost importance that a regulatory body conducts surprise checks on these institutions, registers complaints and takes remedial steps. Many NGOs have been able to set up large projects
benefiting thousands of people. They have also succeeded in bringing foreign aid to tackle malaria and HIV. The state government should help these NGOs achieve their goals while exercising control to prevent financial irregularities. Their services ought to be applauded and single-window processing of applications instituted to help them tackle bureaucratic delays. Health is a service industry and not a lucrative business. Unfortunately, in
Bengal, most large hospitals are owned by corporates. Only a few are owned or run by doctors. There is thus a sustained effort to make profit. Poor consumer protection makes the man on the street vulnerable to substandard service at high prices. These are trying times for Bengal, after years of mismanagement in the health sector. It is important for the present rulers to
rectify the situation by laying down the stepping stones for a better tomorrow. Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Nursing a critically ill state back to health Indranill Basu Ray highlights the core problems that afflict Bengal’s health sector and suggests a few ways to improve the situation
A “magic” herb, Carissa Edulis, that drew thousands of people to a remote Loliondo village in Tanzania was identified by Kenyan scientists a few years ago as a cure for
a drug-resistant strain of a sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea. This herb also is believed to cure many other diseases besides gonorrhoea. The Kamba refer to as mukawa or mutote and
use it for chest pains, while the Nandi boil the leaves and bark to treat breast cancer, headache and chest pains. Researchers discovered the plant could be used for the
treatment of the herpes virus. Led by Dr Festus M Tolo of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), the team from the University of Nairobi and the National Museums of
Kenya found the herb could provide an alternative remedy for herpes infections. “An extract preparation from the roots of Carissa edulis, a medicinal plant locally growing in Kenya, has exhibited
The Convention adjourned from July 26th to August 6th to allow the Committee of Detail – composed of John Rutledge of South Carolina, Edmund Randolph of Virginia, Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, and James Wilson of Pennsylvania

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