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Stabbing at Massachusetts high school leaves one dead
April 5th, 2021 | Uncategorized |
Friday, January 19, 2007
In the United States, a stabbing at the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Massachusetts has left a 15-year old student dead.
The stabbing happened around 7:20 am EST, before classes had started. A fight broke out in a boys’ bathroom between the 15-year old victim, James Alenson and 16-year-old suspect John Odgren, the fight spilled out in the hallway, where the stabbing occurred.
The school was sent into a “lockdown” and students were ushered into the gym, cafeteria and various classrooms. Alenson was rushed to Emerson Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:15 am EST. Odgren admitted to the stabbing and was in the principal’s office saying “I did it, I did it,” to police. However, Odgren also reportedly said “Is he OK? I don’t want him to die,” according to a police report.All students were released at 10:20 am EST.
Odgren was diagnosed with severe Asperger’s syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder has been on medication for years, was a special education student at the school and had no history of violence according to his lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro. He is being charged with “murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and carrying a knife onto school property” and was arraigned in Framingham District Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Shapiro also asked if his client could go to secure facility at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Judge Paul Healy denied the request saying he did not have “enough assurance that Children’s Hospital would be secure.” Instead, he will be held at Middlesex Jail in Cambridge outside of the general population.
According to the school’s website, there will be a community meeting tonight in the school’s auditorium at 7pm EST.
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Wikinews interviews World Wide Web co-inventor Robert Cailliau
April 4th, 2021 | Uncategorized |
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The name Robert Cailliau may not ring a bell to the general public, but his invention is the reason why you are reading this: Dr. Cailliau together with his colleague Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, making the internet accessible so it could grow from an academic tool to a mass communication medium. Last January Dr. Cailliau retired from CERN, the European particle physics lab where the WWW emerged.
Wikinews offered the engineer a virtual beer from his native country Belgium, and conducted an e-mail interview with him (which started about three weeks ago) about the history and the future of the web and his life and work.
Wikinews: At the start of this interview, we would like to offer you a fresh pint on a terrace, but since this is an e-mail interview, we will limit ourselves to a virtual beer, which you can enjoy here.
Robert Cailliau: Yes, I myself once (at the 2nd international WWW Conference, Chicago) said that there is no such thing as a virtual beer: people will still want to sit together. Anyway, here we go.
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">Slippery business: Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets
Thursday, November 21, 2019
In findings published on Monday in Nature Sustainability, researchers mostly from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in the U.S. reported the invention of a new coating that could reduce bacterial growth, water waste, and odor when sprayed onto an ordinary house toilet by rendering its surface too slippery for anything to remain attached for long.
According to the research team, half of all people worldwide are affected by limits on their water supply, while daily fresh water usage to flush the planet’s roughly 1 billion toilets and flush urinals is upwards of 141 billion liters (about 37 billion U.S. gallons, 31 billion imperial gallons); which they note is several times larger than the total rate of water consumption for the continent of Africa. Inventions that render the facilities more water-efficient, they reason, could have a profound impact on wastewater management, sustainable water use, and sanitation, possibly cutting the amount of water used to flush waste by, reportedly, a factor of two.
“Our team” study co-author Tak-Sing Wong said in a press release “has developed a robust bio-inspired, liquid, sludge-, and bacteria-repellent coating that can essentially make a toilet self-cleaning[.]” Wong is Penn State’s Wormley Early Career Professor of Engineering and an associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.
Co-developer Jing Wang recounted, “When we put that coating on a toilet in the lab and dump synthetic fecal matter on it, [the synthetic fecal matter] just completely slides down and nothing sticks to [the coated surface.]”
The more something sticks to a surface, the more water it takes to rinse it off. The researchers reported inventing a coating good at resisting substances that are sticky and vary profoundly in viscosity across their mass—like human fecal matter. They also reported the coating repels bacteria, which has implications for preventing the spread of disease and certainly reduces smells.
The invention, called a liquid-entrenched smooth surface (LESS) coating, involves two separate treatments, both presented as suitable for spraying onto ceramics amongst other materials. The first spray is made of molecularly grafted polymers, specifically polydimethylsiloxane silicone, that Wang described as resembling human hairs — though vastly thinner — once it has dried on the target surface, which makes the surface very smooth. The second spray covers the target surface in silicone lubricant. According to the report, the two-spray process is complete in under five minutes and lasts for roughly 500 flushes before requiring reapplication. Existing treatments have tended to take hours to set.
Carl Hensman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which offered a contest for redesigning the toilet some years ago, noted the ingredients in the sprays are also found in commonly used products like — in the case of the first spray — toothpaste, and are unlikely to pollute nearby water supplies; though he also remarked that, because the spray wears off, it was unlikely to be used widely in developing countries as the researchers claim to hope.
Wong and three of his co-authors have started a company, spotLESS Materials, to transform their invention into a product. He remarked, “As a researcher in an academic setting, my goal is to invent things that everyone can benefit from […] As a Penn Stater, I see this culture being amplified through entrepreneurship, and I’m excited to contribute.” They have received support from the Rice Business Plan Competition, Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ TechCelerator, Y-Combinator, and the United States’ National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Office of Naval Research.
The outburst of COVID-19 is quickly moving, and some changes we notice even nowadays. Numerous health systems are converting to virtual care capacities for holding the outbreak of a deadly virus and survive somehow. Thinking about the current situation with the global health crisis, digital technologies will restructure the care delivery systems drastically in the long and short run. Digital transformation consulting servicesin healthcare ensure new trends in the sector. We might observe the rise of trends like IoT healthcare, mobile healthcare, robotics, VR healthcare, and so on.
Today, the healthcare sector, like any other one, is impacted by digital transformation. It denotes that diverse technological solutions and tools are utilized to optimize the patient experience, formulate new business models, service delivery, and make communication more proficient. Digital transformation consultingis not only about technology but how and for what reason it can be implicated to assist the healthcare field to grow and elevate.
Digital transformation in healthcare will become an exciting step for society as it automates processes, diagnosis, treatment, and better management. The main goal behind digital transformation strategy consulting is to formulate more customer-centred services, and it will be a great significance in healthcare as the treatment of each patient can become more personalized, thus crafting it improvised for the patients.
Core benefits of digital transformation in healthcare
Some people believe that it is the quality of life and not its quantity that matters. Possibly it is true because healthcare experts spot their light on providing accurate and timely care to their patients. Depending upon technology is the only way to do it faster. Technology can preserve lives- it has been proved so, time and again.
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Better analysis-
The utilization of such technologies as AI furnishes with opportunities to efficiently scrutinize data and much faster than people can do. Also, these technologies reduce errors, thus improvising staff productivity.
Greater organization-
Thanks to cloud computing and other digital tools, all data could be digitalized. It permits fast access to medical records that provide the doctors with an opportunity to create decisions efficiently and furnish with more profound treatment. Besides, wearable devices could notify both doctors and patients in emergency cases automatically calling the ambulance.
Improvised time management-
The adoption of diverse business transformation consulting services into the healthcare field saves ample valuable time. This way, several lives could be saved when we endure, for example, a 24/7 connection with medical staff.
Better environment for doctors-
The technologies ensure access to a huge amount of data; they offer greater communication and could furnish with vital information for the research. More profound research that doctors could make outcomes in greater treatment and heads us to the first benefit in our record, improved services for the patients.
So, nowadays, digital healthcare technology endorses various changes in society and the healthcare field in specific. Some of the most famous technologies that are utilized for enhancing the medical facilities and the industry, in general, are artificial intelligence, cloud computing, augmented reality, IoT, Blockchain technology, and so on.
The eHealthcare field is only ensuring the first steps into the pathway of digital transformation. Some countries outrace others, but still, we cannot call this occurrence a global one. But thanks to obtainable digital transformation consultingfor healthcare that is continuously upgrading and enhancing, we might experience a new scenario in healthcare in the upcoming years, almost flawless and more efficient. Organizations and medical facilities should consider the right strategy to utilize obtainable software solutions to make this world a better place.
Healthcare organizations from around the globe are converting digital technologies into strategic benefits. A few of the ambitious ones are linking digital IT and legacy by indulging in difficult systems transformations. They are executing their experiments to craft the best of data and escalate the pace of R&D. At the rate digital transformation consulting servicesare moving now, we can assume rightly that the patient will be sitting in the driver’s seat soon enough, and they incline to acquire the best treatment at minimized costs, thereby improving life expectancy as well.
Friday, January 1, 2021
After an active year of original content published on the English-language Wikinews, we take a look back at some of the two dozen-plus original reports from our contributors during 2020.
Monday, June 29, 2009
A crash has killed nine people on a turnpike (toll road) northeast of Miami, Oklahoma. The accident occurred on Friday when a semi-trailer truck struck a line of stationary traffic from behind on the Will Rogers Turnpike near state lines with Missouri and Kansas.
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It looks like a war zone. There’s mangled metal everywhere. There’s debris, fluids, dead bodies. |
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Traffic had come to a standstill as a result of an earlier accident eastbound when the accident occurred. The road has a speed limit of 75 mph, and it is currently thought that the truck driver made no attempts to stop his vehicle. He was hospitalised. A spokesperson for the nearby Freeman Hospital said eight people were treated there, and it is reported a twelve-year-old girl is among the injured.
The girl had to be cut free from the wreckage of her car, and was taken to the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City where she was in critical condition. Her parents were both killed. The accident occurred at 1p.m., and it was four hours before any eastbound lanes re-opened, leaving vehicles stranded in high temperatures and prompting emergency services to distribute water to motorists.
Also killed are an Oklahoma City family of four and a seven-year-old Texas girl and her father. The mother from that family is in a critical condition, and another woman was also killed in the same car.
Lt. George Brown of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol described the scene: “It looks like a war zone. There’s mangled metal everywhere. There’s debris, fluids, dead bodies.” A man who has worked thirty years as a tow truck driver said the crash was “the worst one I’ve ever worked.”
A number of other smaller incidents occurred in the area afterwards. At least three accidents were caused by vehicles slowing down in response to the crash, and four cars collided with each other westbound. No-one was killed in the other accidents.
It took hours to locate the last fatality, who was in a car pinned under the semi-trailer. Two tow trucks were required to separate the vehicles. A total of seven vehicles were involved, including three cars which were beneath the truck by the end of the accident sequence.
A criminal investigation has been launched. A blood sample has been taken from the truck driver, 76-year-old Donald Creed, who has been released from hospital after treatment. There is no indication alcohol was a factor in the accident.
Friday, December 11, 2009
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is proposing to make service cuts to close its expected US$343 million (€234m, GBP £211m) budget deficit. The plan includes the elimination of multiple bus lines in The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, the elimination of the W (Astoria, Queens to Lower Manhattan) and the Z (Jamaica, Queens to Lower Manhattan via Brooklyn) train services. Also included in the plan are cuts of nighttime bus and train service.
“We’re not going to rely on anyone else to do anything for us. We’re going to rely on ourselves.” MTA board member Mitchell Pally said, commenting on the New York state’s budget plan cutting $143 million of tax revenue from the agency. MTA Chairman Jay Walder has said in the past that he would not raise fares ahead of schedule.
Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, a commuter advocacy group, said that the agency should take money from its current construction and maintenance fund, and put it into maintaining these services.
Submitted by: Daniel Reid
Children have to be taught all about family dogs. Holding a puppy on their lap and snuggling him is great for both child and puppy. However, there has to be rules about a puppy’s proper and correct behaviour. He cannot be allowed to do whatever he wants. A puppy bite can hurt a small child and also become a behaviour problem very quickly, if not dealt with immediately. Children and dogs should always be supervised, especially if the child is under 10 yrs.
1. Likes and dislikes
Teach your children what dogs like and don’t like. Children can be loud and make lots of noise which can cause a dog to get over excited or even scared. A dog’s paws and tail can be sensitive and they do not always like them being touched. Children should just gently pat a dog on the back or scratch his neck. Dogs like to relax and lie quietly undisturbed. Let your dog have its quiet time. Puppies need their rest. They sleep alot more than adult dogs.
2. Supervision
When children and puppies get together they should be supervised by a parent at all times especially if the child is under 10 years of age. The puppy does not want to hurt the child but their sharp little teeth and nails can hurt. Puppies can scare children without meaning to do it, when they get really excited and start racing around. An active puppy can easily knock a child down.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E96EbDtMptU[/youtube]
3. Pack Leader
Dogs need to get used to children and most important to recognise children as dominant pack members. You do not want your puppy playing with your child like he/she is another puppy. There has to be rules. Keep up the Alpha training and involve the children too. Make sure your children walk through doorways before your dog and eat before him too.
4. Socialise
Socialise your dog with children of different ages making sure he is well under control. Praise and treat good behaviour in your dog but give a few minutes time-out for bad behaviour such as barking or jumping. Turn your back on him or leave him alone for a few minutes. Your dog will soon learn better manners when playing.
5. On Walks
Walks are a good time for a child to hold the leash but again there must be supervision as the dog or puppy can jump up and nip at a child’s hands. This can be scary for a small child. There should always be rules about a puppy’s correct behaviour, especially when out walking in a public place as bad behaviour can lead to serious accidents.
6. Strange Dogs
Teach your children how to behave around dogs they do not know. Always ask the owner’s permission before you approach their dog. The dog could be nervous or aggressive. Always approach from the front where the dog can see you. Let the dog sniff you before you try to pet it. Never approach a dog that is tied up as it could be aggressive or nervous and bite.
7. Training
Your children can help with the training by letting them give the puppy treats when he obeys his commands. If the puppy is rough when it takes the treat tell your child to make a loud Ouch! sound as this is how puppies learn from each other. Puppies yelp loudly when another one plays too rough. Your puppy will soon learn good manners and acceptable behaviour. Always be consistent in training. A puppy will get confused if one day it is ok to nip a child’s hand and then gets punished for it the next day.
Of course children should run and play with their puppy or adult dog. This is very good for both of them as it makes them happy and they get exercise. Children love to train their dog tricks which enhances the dog’s good behaviour.
Take time to observe your dog when he is happy so you will recognise the times when he does not want to play or feels uneasy with a new situation. Explain to your children that their puppy does not want to play right now. Try to find out what is upsetting him.
About the Author: Daniel Reid is a dog expert and founder of http://www.bestdogpuppytraining.com. He shows people in very simple but effective ways, how to train their dogs properly. Click now, to find out lots more quality, reliable and helpful information on
Children And Dogs
and Proper Dog Obedience Training.
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
University of Maine men’s ice hockey head coach Tim Whitehead has proposed that the National Collegiate Athletic Association adopt the four-official system.
The system, which has two referees and two linesmen, was adopted by the National Hockey League for the 1998/99 season on a trial basis before being fully implemented for 2000/01.
“My rationale for the proposal is to get more calls right,” Whitehead told the HockeyRefs.com website. “It’s about getting the best system we can for the game.”
Maine competes in Hockey East, one of six Division I conferences. Currently, Division I employs a three-official system of one referee and two assistant referees.
Adding a second referee could result in logistical and financial difficulties for both conferences and schools.
“This would open a lot of opportunities,” said Whitehead, who isn’t opposed to young, college-age officials doing his games if “they’re the best out there.”
The NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee will vote on the proposal in June
Friday, April 9, 2010
British Airways (BA) and the Spanish airline Iberia have signed a merger deal, which will create one of the largest air carrier groups in the world.
The two announced the merger yesterday, and said that the deal, which has been expected for a long time, is to be implemented by the end of 2010. The move will make a group with a market value of US$8 billion. The deal has been negotiated since July 2008.
Under the plan, both companies keep their own brands and operations, but will be owned by International Airlines Group, a new holding company. It will be listed in London, but taxed in Spain.
The airlines believe the merger will save $530 million annually. In February, BA reported a loss of $102.4 million for the final three quarters of 2009, whilst Iberia posted an operating loss of $629 million.
Meanwhile, investors in BA will receive an IAG share for every BA share they own, and stockholders in Iberia 1.0205 shares for each share in the Spanish airline; thus, BA shareholders will take 55% of IAG.
“The merged company will provide customers with a larger combined network,” commented BA chief executive Willie Walsh. “It will also have greater potential for further growth by optimising the dual hubs of London and Madrid and providing continued investment in new products and services.”
Meanwhile, Iberia chief executive Antonio Vázquez remarked: “This is an important step in creating one of the world’s leading global airlines that will be better equipped to compete with other major airlines and participate in future industry consolidation.”
Independent aviation specialist James Halstead said he believed the merger was necessary for BA to remain competitive amongst other European air carriers. “BA’s unique position at Heathrow could help it survive for a short while, but in the long run it needs more than just Heathrow. The main point of the Iberia deal is to be able to cut costs and put the combined company in the position that Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are already in,” he said, quoted by The Independent.
