360 degree of development

As Nasa is planning to send humans on Mars by 2030, its researchers back on the Earth are experimenting with astronauts for whom readapting to gravity and walking through the obstacle course after a deep space travel will not be an easy task.

Jacob Bloomberg, senior research scientist at Nasa, and his team are analysing the balance control disturbances caused by gravity transitions.

They recently evaluated participants who had undergone body unloading, or not carrying one's own weight, after returning from space shuttle missions, space station expeditions or from bed rest studies of up to 70 days.

To test just how much body unloading affects balance and stability, Bloomberg has developed theFunctional Task Test (FTT).

It identifies mission critical tasks that may impact astronauts' movement and performance immediately after gravity transitions. The FTT consists of seven functional and physiological tests.

"These tests are very operation-oriented and are related to different aspects of the mission and activities an astronaut would need to do after landing on the surface of Mars," Bloomberg said in a statement.

With balance control impairment comes hand-eye coordination problems, loss of postural stability or steadiness, and vision and perception issues.

Motion sickness is often a problem as well.

After landing, these impairments can make it difficult for crew members to begin necessary operations, such as walking from their landing craft to their habitat.

At the conclusion of the bed rest study, subjects were asked to perform the FTT.

Researchers found FTT functions that involved postural stability were the most difficult for participants.

"These results help us understand that astronauts, without countermeasures or balance training, may have difficulty maintaining balance control when landing on Mars, which has 62 percent lower gravity than Earth," Bloomberg noted.

The team is studying a countermeasure approach for balance control problems after landing.

The counter-measures are done pre-flight and during flight, and the goal of this training is to help "train the brain to become more adaptable," Bloomberg pointed out.

Astronauts returning to the Earth after living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have exhibited balance control problems, muscle weakness and cardiovascular deconditioning.

FTT also has benefits on the Earth. These tests can benefit the elderly who often have challenges standing or walking after being in bed for a few days, by improving their balance control and stability.

As Nasa unlocks the key to balance training, astronauts will be able to land on Mars and stand and walk through their obstacle course with greater ease, the scientists noted.

Respect Women...Respect Humanity...

Violence against women (VAW) is, collectively, violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. Sometimes considered a hate crime,this type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary motive. This type of violence is gender-based, meaning that the acts of violence are committed against women expressly because they are women. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states that:

"violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women" and that "violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men."

Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.

Violence against women can fit into several broad categories. These include violence carried out by ‘individuals’ as well as ‘states.’ Some of the forms of violence perpetrated by individuals are rape; domestic violence; sexual harassment; coercive use of contraceptives; female infanticide; prenatal sex selection; obstetric violence and mob violence; as well as harmful customary or traditional practices such as honor killings, dowry violence, female genital mutilation, marriage by abduction and forced marriage. Some forms of violence are perpetrated or condoned by the state such as war rape; sexual violence and sexual slavery during conflict; forced sterilization; forced abortion; violence by the police and authoritative personnel; stoning and flogging. Many forms of VAW, such as trafficking in women and forced prostitution are often perpetrated by organized criminal networks.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its research on VAW, categorized it as occurring through five stages of the life cycle:
 “1) pre-birth, 2) infancy, 3) girlhood, 4) adolescence and adulthood and 5) elderly”

In recent years, there has been a trend of approaching VAW at an international level, through instruments such as conventions; or, in the European Union, through directives, such as the directive against sexual harassment, and the directive against human trafficking.

Thus, it is our duty to stop this menace from the society and maintain peace in the society...

Pressure

If you are born in the same country I am born in, i.e. India, you'll know you'll get scolded for even reading this article by your parents. Parents in India put a lot of pressure on their kids and it is not their fault.

It is the education system's fault.

The education system in India is designed to pressurize a child. If you've seen the Oscar winning film Whiplash, you'll know the pros and cons of such pressure. The central theme of the movie deals with the fact as to whether a person does better when under pressure or when he is not under pressure. The main antagonist-turn-protagonist of the movie played by J.K. Simmons says, "Charlie became bird because Jo Jones threw a cymbal at his head." Which basically means, since Jo Jones disrespected Charlie, he practiced and practiced to become who he is - the famous drummer Bird.

But what this guy and the educationists of this nation don't understand is that not everyone is Charlie. Not everyone can fly.

From the moment we enter the first grade, we get to know about our class 10 exams. I still remember when I was young and saw some 10th graders, I'd be horrified.

You see, in our class 10 exams, we sort of, become men from boys by giving our first national exams, called the board exams.

Of course this exam has no significance in our lives. It is no SAT or placement exam, it is just a... I have no description for it.

All this does is pressurizes a person and strips them of their self confidence incase they do not do well. This exam is a cornucopia of awkwardness.

Take this example:

Suppose your child has an inherent talent as an artist. He is destined to be the next Pablo Picasso. Then obviously he lacks talent in science or remembering details in history. But due to this board exam, he has to hone these skills. Not because he wants to, but because he HAS to. And in doing so, obviously, he will fail. Maybe he will get a 88%. But most people consider anything below 90% is considered, "retarded". He is incessantly asked by his peers as to how much he got in his board and obviously, each time, his confidence gets chipped away.

How does this pressure help? If you ask me, it just puts a burden on our abilities.

If you want to know the reason behind the rising number of suicide rates in India, this, is it.

In conclusion I'd like to add that yes, tests are good. They are important but emphasis on tests is poisonous. A person's capabilities cannot be measured by these tests.

SauraDEFY signing out. Stay awesome.

Nepal crouches to the power of nature...

The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake)  killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 19,000. It occurred at 11:56 NST on 25 April, with a magnitude of 7.8 or 8.1M and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VIII (Severe). Its epicentre was the village of Barpak, Gorkha district, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 15 km (9.3 mi). It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake.

The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19 making it the deadliest day on the mountain in history. It triggered another huge avalanche in the Langtang valley, where 250 were reported missing.

Hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless with entire villages flattened, across many districts of the country. Centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Kathmandu Durbar Square, the Patan Durbar Square and the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Geophysicists and other experts had warned for decades that Nepal was vulnerable to a deadly earthquake, particularly because of its geology, urbanization, and architecture.

Continued aftershocks occurred throughout Nepal within 15–20 minute intervals, with one shock reaching a magnitude of 6.7 on 26 April at 12:54:08 NST . The country also had a continued risk of landslides.

A second major earthquake occurred on 12 May 2015 at 12:35 NST with a moment magnitude (M_w)  of 7.3. M_w. The epicentre was near the Chinese border between the capital of Kathmandu and Mt. Everest. More than 125 people were killed and more than 2,500 were injured by this aftershock.

Shame...Shame...Shame

Shame on Europe. Distribute it as much as possible throughout the world.

World SHAME ... keep sending the list to the world press ... tell your friends.
Shame on Denmark! The sea was red, but not because of some climatic or environmental changes ...
And because of human cruelty (civilized human) who kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent dolphins Kalderonskie (Grinds) !!
And it happens every year in the Faroe Islands in Denmark. The main participants of this slaughter - young teens. WHY? In this way they want to prove that they are adults and "cool" !!!! BULLSHIT !!!
This large "festival" is all done for fun. Each in its own way takes part in it: killing, or just watching the brutal carnage and supporting him.
I must say that Kalderonskie Dolphins (Grinda), as well as many other species of dolphins, have well-developed instincts, not afraid of people fend for themselves, play and interact with them.
During this brutal bloody massacre poor animals do not die immediately, they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks sharp. At the same time the dolphins produce a grim cry, extremely compatible with the cry of a newborn baby!
They suffer in terrible agony of such attacks, and no compassion these accidents, it is absolutely harmless beings slowly die in his own blood ...
Pretty !!!
We will send this message as long as it does not reach any animal welfare.
We will not only read it, like passive viewer of this outrage.
PLEASE demonstrate their protest and disgust at your accessible form and forward this information to all those you know ...
Friends, do not be loyal! Only the people can change the world ... one is a warrior, but when we are together, we are the real power.