Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations up 40%; CDC urges use of face coverings (but will governor act?)

The number of people being admitted into the hospital because COVID-19 is on the rise across Florida, going up about 40% in the last month and health leaders say now is the time to act before things get out of control.

Medical experts have been cautioning for months, the combination of school back in session, the state fully opening and major holidays could jumpstart another wave of coronavirus community spread.

Source: Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations up 40%; CDC urges use of face coverings

Avian Flu Diary: Study: SARS-CoV-2 D614G Variant Exhibits Efficient Replication Ex Vivo and Transmission in Vivo

While this D614G variant appears more easily transmitted than its parental strain, it does not seem to cause any worse illness in humans. It may, however, partially explain why Western nations have had less success in containing COVID-19 than has China, Taiwan, and Japan.

This latest report by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, confirms (using animal studies) that this variant is not only more infectious, it replicates 10 times faster than its ancestral strain.

While a more transmissible virus is never a good thing, the news isn’t all bad, as the researchers suggest this variant may be slightly more susceptible to vaccines currently under development.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Study: SARS-CoV-2 D614G Variant Exhibits Efficient Replication Ex Vivo and Transmission in Vivo

Eurosurveillance | Rates of increase of antibiotic resistance and ambient temperature in Europe: a cross-national analysis of 28 countries between 2000 and 2016

We found evidence of a long-term effect of ambient minimum temperature on antibiotic resistance rate increases in Europe. Ambient temperature might considerably influence antibiotic resistance growth rates, and explain geographic differences observed in cross-sectional studies. Rising temperatures globally may hasten resistance spread, complicating mitigation efforts. Source: Eurosurveillance | Rates of increase of antibiotic resistance and ambient temperature in Europe: a cross-national analysis of 28 countries between 2000 and 2016

How Akira Kurosawa Used Movement to Tell His Stories: A Video Essay | Open Culture

Kurosawa had an innate understanding that there is inherent drama in the wind blowing in the trees. Like Andrei Tarkovsky and later Terrence Malick, he liked to place human drama squarely in the realm of nature. The rain falls, a fire rages and that movement makes an image compelling.

Source: How Akira Kurosawa Used Movement to Tell His Stories: A Video Essay | Open Culture

US presidential election: China congratulates Joe Biden | South China Morning Post

China offered cautious congratulations to Democratic presidential nominee

Joe Biden

on Friday, a week after the former vice-president declared that he had secured enough Electoral College votes to enter the White House.

“We respect the choice of the American people, and we express our congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms Harris,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, referring to

US vice-president-elect Kamala Harris

.

Source: US presidential election: China congratulates Joe Biden | South China Morning Post

How to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer for Personal Use and for Business

You only need two ingredients: 2/3 cup of isopropyl alcohol and 1/3 cup of aloe vera gel. Mixed them together and behold, you don’t need to line up at your favorite store to buy a hand sanitizer!

It is your choice to add a few drops (8-10 is recommended by Dr. Helmenstine) of essential oils to give an attractive smell. But adding scent for the olfactory organ is only a secondary reason to add. Because some essential oils like cinnamon, clove, pimento, thyme, oregano, and rosemary have antimicrobial properties, it makes a lot of sense to do the dropping. Although you may become poorer for doing so, adding essential oils make your home product even more powerful to keep you safe.

When done, pour out the mixture into a suitable bottle. Happily inform your friends and love ones about it. If they like your output, it is not at all bad to do business and pocket a few bucks. After all, it is your creation.

Source: How to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer for Personal Use and for Business

Norocul îi ajută pe cei curajoși

Luck helps the brave

ore de drum

Aquileia, 2016

Venind dinspre Liguria, Mitteleuropa mi-a dat de înțeles, prin mirosul pâinii și culoarea cerului, că aici începe teritoriul său.

Mă opresc la Aquileia, aproape de granița slovenă, unde se înfiripă istorisiri despre evoluția creștină a spațiului danubian.

Așezarea a devenit rapid municipium imediat după ce a fost întemeiată (181 î.Hr) în cadrul programului de pacificare cu partea orientală a imperiului.

Libertatea de exercitare a cultului creștin a transformat-o într-un nucleu religios amplificat de martirii din perioada când creștinismul oriental se confrunta cu păgânismul imperial.

Azi putem vizita un complex format din bazilică, zona arheologică și muzeu.

Mozaicele din interiorul bisericii au fost, de-a lungul timpului, acoperite de reconstruirea suprapusă a mai multor edificii.

Încep cu o privire la frescele care-i reprezintă pe binefăcătorii locali.

Pereții, tavanul, solul formează o închegare coerentă de scene biblice,

scene marine,

figuri de martiri identificați prin ramura de palmier,

vietăți care populează paradisul

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El Humo Dorado de las Epidemias – oru a wakëxi

The Golden Smoke of Epidemics – oru a wakëxi

Barbara Crane Navarro

Pintura: Un Chamán Yanomami invocando espíritus hekura -
Pintado por un chamán Yanomami, Alto Orinoco, Amazonas, Venezuela

Como dice el portavoz de Yanomami, Davi Kopenawa, en el capítulo “humo de metal” de su libro “La caída del cielo”: “De repente, encontraron mucho oro. A partir de ese momento, fueron vencidos por el frenesí de los buitres hambrientos. No puedes comer oro, ¡pero pensarías que querían devorar toda la tierra del bosque para conseguirlo! No queremos que nuestro bosque muera, cubierto de heridas y desperdicios de los blancos.

Los mineros de oro se han vuelto muy numerosos en nuestras tierras altas del bosque, destruyendo los manantiales del río y matando a sus habitantes con sus enfermedades. ¡Los mineros de oro son devoradores de tierra, seres malvados! ¡Su mente está vacía y están llenos de humo epidémico! Debemos evitar que ensucien nuestros ríos y los expulsen del bosque.

Todos los espíritus xapiri

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