Horizontal Perspective 横顾天下

A new cement has been developed which cuts down on carbon dioxide emissions rather than increase them.

Currently, the cement industry produced 2 billion tonnes of cement per year and is responsible for 5% of the world’s CO2 emissions, which is more than the entire aviation industry. It is predicted that there will be a 50% increase in cement production by 2020.

At the moment, carbon is created by the intense heat and energy used to make the cement, and more is made as the cement is burned.

However the new cement, created by Nikola’s Vlasopoulos, chief scientist at London-based Novacem working at Imperial College London, uses different raw materials such as magnesium silicates. Not only does this reduce the amount of heat needed to make the cement, but it absorbs CO2 as it hardens.

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My 1st February post about the debunking of the link between eggs yoke and high blood cholesterol (and heart disease) generated a large number of emails, some with more questions for me. I thought I should share some of them here:

1. Salmonella – Are eggs a bacterial time bomb?
   Raw eggs are used in many, many food preparations, ranging from cocktails, sources (Hollandes), dressings (Ceaser’s) to beverages (eggnog). Is this the culinary equivalent of a loaded gun? Well, despite of the recent scares, the risk is not all that great.

   So what’s so dangerous about raw eggs?
   The yolk might contain salmonella, a bacterium that’s found in the intestinal tract of animals, birds, reptiles, insects, and human. And in chicken ovaries, which is how it gets into yolks.

   How serious is salmonella?
   Not extremely, unless you’re a kid, elderly, or have immune system problems. The condition is uncomfortable and can be deliberating, but seldom fatal.

   How often do you get bad eggs?
   One in every 10,000.

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Research presented at the Royal Economic Society has shown that people who believe in God are happier than atheists and agnostics.

Religion tempers the impact of adverse life events.

The study, entitled “Deliver Us From Evil: Religion as Insurance”, carried out by Prof Andrew Clark and Dr Orsolya Lelkes, has shown that religious people cope better with problems such as divorce, unemployment or the death of a partner than non-believers.

Using data from people around Britain and Europe, the study also showed that believers were more socially conservative and opposed to Government intervention in areas such as employment. For example, believers were less likely to look for a new job after being made unemployed. Countries with a large proportion of religious voters also have lower unemployment benefits.

The study also found that less than a sixth of British churchgoers said that divorce was better than staying in an unhappy marriage.

Story from the Daily Telegraph

I note with interest the surge in TV advertisements about antiseptic products of late. These include products like Kirei-Kirei Cleansing Foam (Lion), Lifebuoy bar soap (Liver Brothers) and the ubiquitous Dettol antiseptic solution, soap and cleansers (Rickette & Coleman). The idea is to create a ‘germ-free’ barrier or envelope around ourselves, which will result automatically in a healthier and safer life. The Dettol advertisement plays effectively to the siege mentally that bubbles under the psyche of every ‘kia-su’ audience. The ‘Kills 99.99% of germs’ exhortation is at once reassuring without being overtly paranoid, if you don’t think too hard about it. But thought about these nagging issues I did, as it is in my nature to do so. These are the points that bothered me: (more…)

I am not an avid sports person, even before being confined to bed by this dreadful Motor-Neuron Disease (MND). Nowadays my sole participation in sport involves little more than staring at the TV screen on my back and wriggling my toes. Nevertheless, I care enough about the continual making and breaking of records of one sort or another. I watch with wonder the record-making attempts like the highest number of wooden clothes-peg one can clip to one’s face or the most  number of live scorpions one can hold captive in one’s mouth for 60 seconds. I’m not sure if they can be considered athletes, but they pursued their goal with no less zeal than those in major spectators (and competitive) sports. In fact you can say these men and women of of extreme activities possessed the purer sporting spirit. as they are doing it without any merchandise endorsement or direct monetary gain. Without monetary considerations, there is no incentive to cheat. YES, I am weighing in on the subject of Doping in major and professional sports, but not in the way you’d expect.

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How many eggs should most adults limit themselves to eating each week? Most of us in the healthcare profession (that includes me) had long held the belief that we need to limit our consumption of eggs to a maximum of three or four a week, because of a link between eggs yoke and high blood cholesterol (and heart disease). A recent study has concluded that cholesterol in eggs has only a small and clinically insignificant effect on blood cholesterol. This means that the dietary limit no longer apply, and we are free to eat as much as we like. This is good new too for those trying to build up body mass like body-builders and NS men in BMT. They no longer have to tolerate the monotonous albumin (egg-white) only diet but can now take whole eggs.

The amount of saturated fat in our diet exerts an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of dietary cholesterol. The public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature’s most nutritionally dense foods.

Egg links with cholesterol refuted – Press Associations