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WASHINGTON — A person on a poorly ventilated Chinese bus infected nearly two dozen other passengers with coronavirus even though many weren't sitting close by, according to research published on Tuesday that offers fresh evidence the disease can spread in the air.

Health authorities had initially discounted the possibility that simply breathing could send infectious micro-droplets into the air, but did a U-turn as experts piled on pressure and evidence mounted.

The article published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine probes the threat of airborne infection by taking a close look at passengers who made a 50-minute trip to a Buddhist event in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo aboard two buses in January before face masks became routine against the virus.

Researchers believe a passenger, whose gender was not identified, was likely patient zero because the person had been in contact with people from Wuhan, the city where the contagion emerged late last year.

The scientists managed to map out where the other passengers sat, and also test them for the virus, with 23 of 68 passengers subsequently confirmed as infected on the same bus.

What is notable is that the sickness infected people in the front and back of the bus, outside the perimeter of 1-2 metres (three-six feet) that authorities and experts say infectious droplets can travel.

On top of that, the sick passenger was not yet showing symptoms of the disease, such as a cough, when the group made their trip to a religious event.

Researchers also noted the air conditioning simply recirculated the air inside the bus, which likely contributed to spreading of the virus.

"The investigations suggest that, in closed environments with air recirculation, SARS-CoV-2 is a highly transmissible pathogen," they wrote, referring to the name of the virus.

"Our finding of potential airborne transmission has important public health significance."

Their study, which includes a diagram showing where each infected passenger sat, adds to the evidence of airborne transmission, including research into how the virus spread between diners' tables at a restaurant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Meanwhile, people wearing plastic face shields or masks fitted with a valve can spray invisible droplets over a very wide area when they sneeze or cough, making the devices ineffective at preventing the spread of coronavirus when used on their own, a simulation model shows. 

In a report published Tuesday in the US journal Physics of Fluids, researchers at Florida Atlantic University used vertical and horizontal laser sheets to track tiny droplets of distilled water and glycerin as they spread from a hollow mannequin head fitted with a plastic face shield or a mask with a breathing valve on it.

The face shield initially blocks the passage of the droplets as they move forwards, but "the expelled droplets can move around the visor with relative ease and spread out over a large area," the researchers said.

As for a mask with a valve fitted to make breathing easier, "a large number of droplets pass through the exhale valve unfiltered, which make it ineffective in stopping the spread the COVID-19 virus if the person wearing the mask is infected."

The researchers concluded that despite the comfort that both types of protection offer, high-quality cloth or medical masks of plain design are preferential in helping prevent the spread of the virus.

Unusual social conditions generate unusual market situations. The still-not-over COVID-19 crisis has strongly affected the computer market in Jordan — not necessarily in a bad way.

When the lockdown was first imposed last March, and for about 10 to 12 weeks, everything became erratic in the IT market, from the way suppliers would obtain their goods to the purchasing pattern of the consumers. 

The first single, obvious item people rushed to buy was the webcam. Indeed, except for those who had a laptop that already was fitted with a camera, owners of desktop models needed to add a webcam to their setup, to be able to make video calls and meetings.

Even those who had an old laptop, with a poor resolution camera, went to buy webcams with better image and sound definition. This created a shortage of cameras. Amazingly, ever after the lockdown was lifted, and until today, the demand for good quality webcams and headsets did not abate.

Over the last couple of weeks, I paid a visit to eight of the most active, most representative, most popular computer stores in Amman. I did that on one hand to buy items for my own computing needs, and on the other to study and analyse the situation.

In short, all these vendors are experiencing soaring sales and are unable to meet the demand, in a general manner. Which in a certain way is a good thing, for them at least. It is a healthy market indicator. Beyond any doubt, the virus crisis has put digital technologies, computers, and the Internet, in the limelight even more than they were before.

Another interesting point is to see the very items that are more specifically in high demand. Apart from the above-mentioned webcams, laptop computers are now a most sought-after IT product. Interestingly they are even overtaking smartphones in terms of quantities sold. And here is a good reason for that.

However good is your smartphone and however big its screen, it cannot seriously compete with a full-size laptop to carry long video meetings and calls, especially those that involve more than two people. Besides, and here is the decisive point, a middle-of-the-road, but still very performing laptop based on an Intel Core i5 processor is not more expensive than a high-end smartphone. Lenovo, Dell, Asus and the like, offer you good laptops, with all the trendy bells and whistles for about JD400 to JD500. 

Another fast selling item is the large display monitor that you connect either to your desktop computer or to your laptop, when working at your desk. Currently the typical size is a good 24-inch. Samsung and Dell seem to reign in this market segment. There are so many models in this category that the choice displayed at the stores is truly overwhelming.

Many of the large stores in Amman have also made the commendable effort to build interactive websites where the online shopping experience is (almost) as thrilling as when going to Amazon or Alibaba giant international sites. By visiting them you can do the search you want, filter the results by any possible criterion, including by actual stock availability, order and pay online, and have the goods delivered to your doorstep, often for free if the purchase exceeds a couple of hundred dinars.

One thing is certain, the computer market in Jordan is alive and doing very well. High-demand, reasonable prices, considering all that you can do with the products, and the fact that IT goods are exempted from customs duties in the country, all are elements that contribute to make a dynamic market.

SAN FRANCISCO — Futurist entrepreneur Elon Musk late Friday demonstrated progress made by his Neuralink startup in meshing brains with computers, saying the work is essential to the future of humanity.

Musk has long contended that a neural lace merging minds with machines is vital if people are going to avoid being so outpaced by artificial intelligence that, under the best of circumstances, humans would be akin to “house cats”.

“It’s gonna be important from an existential threat standpoint,” Musk said of the project.

“That is what I think might be the most important thing that a device like this achieves.”

Members of the team shared a “wish list” that ranged from the technology returning mobility to the paralysed and sight to the blind, to enabling telepathy and the uploading of memories for later reference — or perhaps to be downloaded into replacement bodies.

“Yes, I think in the future you will be able to save and replay memories,” Musk said.

“This is obviously sounding increasingly like a ‘Black Mirror’ episode, but I guess they are pretty good at predicting,” he quipped, referring to a Netflix series that puts disturbing twists on near-future technology.

For now, Neuralink is being tested in pigs with the team working on the potential for clinical trials.

A trio of pigs in pens took part in the demonstration: one of them named Gertrude was said to have been implanted with a Neuralink device wired to detect spikes in nerve activity in her snout.

Gertrude happily focused on food, mostly ignoring Musk and others gathered for the event.

Musk said that since the first version of Neuralink was revealed slightly more than a year ago, the device has been simplified and reduced to about the size of a large coin and the thickness of the skull.

With the help of a surgical robot, a piece of the skull is replaced with a Neuralink disk, and its wispy wires are strategically inserted into the brain, the demonstration showed.

The disk registers nerve activity, relaying the information via common Bluetooth wireless signal to a device such as a smartphone, according to Musk.

“It actually fits quite nicely in your skull. It could be under your hair and you wouldn’t know.”

Breakthrough device?

The purpose of the event was to attract engineering talent to the project, which has much work still to do on chips, software, robotics and more, according to Musk.

Experts and academics remain cautious about his vision of symbiotically merging minds with super-powered computing.

Brain-computer interfaces have been done many times, and it is difficult to tell how successful the Neuralink project will be, according to University of Warwick Biomedical Engineering Professor Christopher James.

While technology has improved for reading information coming out of brains, it isn’t up to snuff when it comes to sending it back to all the necessary parts simultaneously, according to researchers.

Moving arms or legs involves the brain sending them the proper signals, while hearing and seeing involve the brain receiving sensory information.

“What would impress me?” James asked prior to the Neuralink demonstration.

“Real time control of complex actions/movements — repeatedly and with little error [oh, and being able to move something whilst doing something else like talking or whistling or whatever!]”

The Neuralink got a “breakthrough device” designation from US regulators last month, and the team is making strides toward clinical trials, according to Musk.

Neuralink engineers are building in encryption and other defences to protect people’s data being stolen or implants hacked, according to the team.

A venerable and attainable mid-size middle of the road family saloon that performed well on so many levels, if not necessarily the best on every level, the ubiquitous Nissan Altima just got a whole lot better.

Launched for the 2019 model year, the sixth generation Altima marks a significant jump in terms of technology, design and drivability over its predecessor. Most significant of all the new Altima gains an innovative and revolutionary downsized top-of-the range state-of-the-art variable compression engine. But perhaps best of all is Nissan did this without much of the overly stated “premium” segment aspirations others might employ.

A much-improved car that remains accessibly positioned and without the pretensions of suddenly becoming a luxury car, the new Altima’s enhancements start with its design. Lower and with a more rakish roofline than its predecessor, the new Altima has a distinctly sportier style and more urgent demeanour with its snoutier nose, more muscular bonnet and more chiselled surfacing. Cleaner and less complicated yet, more flowing and detailed in design, the new model is instantly recognizable as an Altima, yet looks like a more up-market product with better-integrated front and rear lights.

Internal combustion innovation

Featuring a straight-cut bonnet shut line that sweeps back and fluently trails off to a side crease, the Altima has a fresh look about it with a lower and wider chrome outlined V-motion grille corporate fascia and moodier, deeper-set, slimmer and longer headlights. And while the base naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre engine undergoes considerable change, the new Altima’s most important new feature is, however, its range-topping 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder variable compression engine. Significantly smaller than the outgoing Altima’s well-regarded and eager-revving, but thirstier and somewhat aging 3.5-litre, the new variable compression engine delivers similar performance with improved efficiency.

Innovative and advanced, the Altima’s 2-litre turbocharged engine is the first to go to market with variable compression technology. The Altima’s most interesting feature, variable compression operates using a complex multi-link connecting rod set-up, which seamlessly varies the engine’s compression ratio (and capacity and stroke length) to 14.1:1 by allowing the piston to travel higher and attain higher combustion efficiency. To avoid premature combustion, or “knocking” that high compression engines are prone to in certain conditions, the Altima’s VC-Turbo engine alternatively lowers compression to 8.1:1, at which point it also produces more power and torque output.

Peaky performance

Also utilising variable valve timing and both direct and multi-point fuel injection systems, the Altima’s high tech four-cylinder engine develops 248BHP at 5,600rpm and a brawny 273lb/ft torque at 4,000rpm. Quick to spool and with negligible turbo lag, the Altima’s engine provides terrific response when launching from standstill and is smooth and seamless in operation. Delivering a huge and highly capable mid-range torque sweet spot, the Altima’s VC-Turbo, however, feels eager to rev and unleash maximum output at peaks rather than plateaus, and so feels exciting, engaging and ever-willing, despite a lower-revving nature than its V6 predecessor.

Versatile in mid-range and happy to wind high in the revs, the Altima’s VC-Turbo engine delivers slightly less power but more torque than the previous’ model’s top-of-the-range 3.5-litre engine. Available only in front-wheel-drive guise along with a continually variable transmission (CVT) system that works to fine tune ratios for best efficiency, the Altima 2.0 Turbo is capable brisk 0-100km/h acceleration of around six-seconds. Though it would have been a more rewarding and engaging driver’s car were it available with a three-pedal manual gearbox, the Altima Turbo’s CVT is nevertheless one of the best such systems around.

Agility and adjustability

Seamlessly smooth changing ratios and seeming to minimise the expected torque steer from such a powerful front-driver, the Altima Turbo’s CVT also seems to better match ratios to revs for a more natural driving feel and is more willing to let the engine rev high. Additionally, the Altima has less of the sometime disconcerting “slingshot” feel typical of some CVTs where the car seems to be playing catch up with engine revs. A sportier drive than anticipated, the new Altima is a more dynamically integrated car than its predecessor, with much improved agility, adjustability and driver involvement.

One of the best handling cars in an otherwise often unexciting front-driven mid-size saloon segment, the Altima Turbo is a genuinely entertaining car to drive, with quick responses and a talented chassis. Eager into corners with less weight over its driven front wheels than its predecessor, the Altima turns in tidily and with good grip, and light dual pinion electric-assisted steering delivering accuracy, ease and decent feedback. Nimble through corners and with slight lean but otherwise good body control the Altima grips well and is committed when required but was unexpectedly agile and engaging.

Manoeuvrable and reassuring

Eager through corners, the Altima proved unexpectedly adjustable and willing to shift weight to the rear outside wheel to tighten a cornering line wheel when asked to do so. Fun and chuckable through corners unlike many rivals, it felt lighter than its 1.5-tonnes and seems to shrink around the driver. That said, it was also a refined, stable, smooth and reassuring highway commuter, and proved manoeuvrable and easy to place and park in busy urban settings, while its suspension provided the right balance between comfort and control. A well-equipped car with plenty of features and tech, the Altima’s Trace Control torque vectoring goes a long way towards its sure-footed sportiness.

Available safety tech includes rear cross-path, lane departure, blind spot, emergency braking, pedestrian detection and other such assistance systems. Also reassuring is the Nissan’s recently announced — and Jordanian market longest — 5-year, 300,000km Middle East warranty. A more up-market feeling car inside than its predecessor, the Altima’s cabin has a clean, uncluttered, user-friendly and horizontally-oriented layout, uses good materials and offers good visibility and driving position. Comfortable and well-spaced for most, the Altima could, however, benefit from slightly bigger, more body-hugging front seats and slightly improved rear headroom for taller, larger occupants.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, transverse turbocharged 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke, low/high compression: 84 x 90.1/88.9mm

Compression: Variable, 8.1:1/14.1:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing

Gearbox: Continuously variable transmission (CVT) auto, front-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 248 (251.5) [185] @5,600rpm

Specific power: 124.2BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 159.7BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 273 (370) @4,000rpm

Specific torque: 185.3Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 238.2Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: approximately 6-seconds (estimate)

Fuel economy, combined: 5.68-6.02-litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 61-litres

Length: 4,900mm

Width: 1,851mm

Height: 1,447mm

Wheelbase: 2,825mm

Track: 1,595mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.26

Head room, F/R (with sunroof): 965/932mm

Legroom, F/R: 1,112/894mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,478/1,450mm

Hip room, F/R: 1,389/1,384mm

Kerb weight: 1,553kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/multi-link

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs

Tyres: 235/40R19

Ayah Murad / Clinical Dietician

The prostate, the gland about the size of a walnut that surrounds the bladder and urethra, grows throughout a man’s life. With age, it’s important to maintain a healthy prostate. Eating a healthy balanced diet may reduce the risk of developing prostate problems.

An enlarged prostate gland (medically known as Benign Prostatic Pyperplasia or BPH) can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms, such as blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder. It is common in men over 50 years old. It can also cause bladder, urinary tract or kidney problems.

Symptoms of BPH can include:

• Difficulty initiating urination

• Weak urination stream

• Dribbling at the end of urination 

• The urge to urinate

• Feeling of fullness in the bladder due to incomplete urine emptying

Poor food choices can increase these symptoms and obesity is a risk factor for prostate enlargement. This is why it is important to watch out for weight gain, and, if you are carrying some extra weight, I recommend following a healthy diet. Healthier food choices can help, and I would like to share with you some tips to consider. In general, eating fruits and vegetables lead to great results. In the case of the prostate specifically, it is essential to cut down on red meat and poultry and boost your fruit and vegetable intake.

Red meat: I have talked about red meat and its effect in many previous articles. I have warned of its negative effect on the body, when consumed daily. In addition to these risks, research has found that daily consumption of red meat increases the risk of prostatic enlargement. Removing red meat from people’s diets has been found to help improve prostate health. Consider substituting red meat with oily fish instead, at least once a week. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines or even tuna are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. The latter help prevent and reduce inflammation within the body. Having white fish or seafood like oysters, calamari, shrimp or crab once or twice a week is also recommended as these foods are rich in zinc.

Fruits: Pomegranates, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits are excellent sources of both antioxidants and vitamin C. This helps remove free radicals from the body and controls your body acidity level. Free radicals are the by-products of reactions that occur in the body. They can cause damage and disease over time. Low levels of antioxidants can affect our immune system negatively, leading to inflammation. When our body is more alkaline, we are less susceptible to inflammation, one of the key factors related to prostatic enlargement. So, eating acidic foods leads to a more alkaline environment in the body.

Vegetables: Sulphur-rich vegetables, such as cabbages, broccoli, bok-choy, cauliflower, onions and garlic are helpful to the immune system. They help fight inflammation and cancer as they are rich in antioxidants. This, in turn, promotes a healthier prostate, so I recommend adding them to your salads and side dishes.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a red pigment known for its antioxidant activity. Cooked tomato-based soups and sauces, especially when mixed with olive oil or coconut butter, help release the lycopene and make it more readily available to the body. Our traditional dish of Alayet Bandora (fried tomato ) is mainly composed of tomatoes cooked with olive oil.

Ingredients for Alayet Bandora

3 cups deep red sweet tomatoes, finely chopped 

1 tbsp coconut butter or 3 table spoons olive oil

saffron, turmeric

1 medium-size red onion 

1 red chilli pepper 

1 garlic clove, crushed

Dash of Himalayan salt and black pepper

Fresh parsley and pumpkin seeds for garnishing

Sauté onion, red chilli pepper and garlic in coconut butter or olive oil. Add tomatoes with a dash of salt and pepper and stir. Cover the pot on medium heat and stir every five minutes (total cooking time should be between 15 to 20 minutes). Garnish with fresh parsley and pumpkin seeds.

Spices: Turmeric, saffron, cloves, red chilli pepper and ginseng are loaded with antioxidants, which are anti-inflammatory and target cancer cells, especially the ones in the genitals. Many studies on the superantioxidant and pain reliever red chilli pepper (capsicum) found that it can help reduce prostate enlargement and control inflammation in general. I recommend marinating red chilli pepper (saffron, turmeric and cloves provide added benefits) in olive oil for two or more weeks. 

Pumpkin seed and its oil play a major role in levelling hormones as it contains phytosterols, a compound thought to be responsible for reducing prostate enlargement. Pumpkin seeds are usually best used as preventive therapy (for those under 50) as it prevents the multiplication of prostate cells. Pumpkin seeds, like other nuts, are also loaded with zinc. In normal conditions, prostate function relies on optimal zinc levels. Zinc and omega-3 are both needed to balance testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). For this reason, a handful of nuts, especially pumpkin seeds, two to three times a week can be helpful. Add them to your dishes, soups and salads.

What affects the prostate negatively?

• Caffeine increases the urge to urinate (it increases how much and how often). Reducing coffee, tea, chocolate, soda and energy drinks can help get rid of the most annoying symptom related to prostatic enlargement

• Salt, specifically sodium hidden in processed food, may increase urinary tract symptoms. Try to change the type of salt you consume to Himalayan as it is lower in sodium

• Medication: Some medications elevate symptoms and lead to discomfort, such as antihistamines, nasal decongestants and diuretics. Consult your doctor for the most suitable replacement medication for your condition

Finally, I recommend limiting your fluid intake to two litres each day, including herbal teas, soups or water. Mixing one cup of water with Arabic gum or rosemary can be helpful as well. Some supplements that can be helpful include probiotics, saw palmetto, zinc, ginseng, turmeric and selenium.

Simple lifestyle and dietary changes, as well as some supplementation, can help manage symptoms. It also means avoiding other types of foods that are not good for the prostate. However, if these changes are not effective, you need to consult your doctor, as there are also medications or surgical procedures that can be effective in reducing the size of the prostate or its symptoms.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Writing Displacement: Home and Identity in Contemporary Post-Colonial English Fiction

Akram Al Deek

London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

Pp. 204

Harnessing cultural, literary and post-colonial theory, as well as psychology and his own Palestinian background, Akram Al Deek examines the literature produced by Caribbean/West Indian and Asian immigrants and their offspring in Britain from the 1950s up till the early 2000s. Being displaced, he contends, positions these writers somewhere on the spectrum between nationalism and nomadism, between being ghettoised by their origins and racism, and the creativity engendered by multiculturalism. As noted by Edward Said and other literary critics, being an outsider gives displaced writers critical distance that allows for a new, creative take on the world. “Burdened with colonial history and being ‘out of place,’ writings by displaced writers with their hyphenated identities have altered the literature of England in its language and cultural identity” and to some extent created a new ethnicity: black British. (pp. 1-2)

In addition, writers such as Trinidadian Sam Selvon, Bangladeshi-British Monica Ali, Indian-origin Salman Rushdie and others honed a new language and way of telling their story, which Al Deek refers to as english with lower-case e. “This english displaces the traditional and colonial English language because it is dipped in Indian chutney and sweetened with Caribbean sugar; it dances to the rhythms of reggae and bhangra [South Asian music genre]; it is wounded by a colonial past and history yet healed by a postcolonial present and continuity.” (p. 11)

Al Deek analyses different aspects of displacement: geographical, psychological, cultural, linguistic, etc. He shows how nostalgia and memories of home are an integral part of the experience of displacement, especially for the first immigrants, while successive generations exhibit the creative potential of the experience. For many, the act of writing was an attempt to find meaning in the world, whether the world they left behind or the new one into which they arrived. The fact that displacement is continuous is illustrated by many references to the Palestinian exile experience. However, it is inexplicable that Al Deek refers to “returning members of the Jewish Diaspora in 1948” (pp. 48-49), whereas several well-known Jewish and/or Israeli writers have shown that Jewish immigrants to Palestine after 1948 were not largely descendants of the Biblical-age Jews (see Shlomo Sand and Abraham Leon). Perhaps the author is speaking metaphorically in this case.

The book divides the writers under consideration into two generations. First was the Windrush Generation, named after the ship that brought a significant number of Caribbean islanders to England in 1948, seeking jobs which were scarce in their home countries By virtue of their colonial education, the Windrush Generation was well-versed in the English way of life, being English-speaking Christians who had studied Shakespeare and Wordsworth; still, they didn’t easily fit in. With the exception of V. S. Naipaul, who seemed to revel in rootlessness, they were plagued by nostalgia and dreams of return to their native country. “Characteristics of this generation’s style of writing revolved around the psychological anxiety implied in the emigrant’s disappointments and dissatisfactions with the Mother Country. Although recurrent in the writings of later generations, racial discrimination and emphasis on cultural differences are more evident and central to the writings of the Windrush Generation… Indeed, the problematics of displacement for pioneer emigrants overbalance the poetics.” (pp. 81 and 108)

In contrast is the second wave of immigrants, which Al Deek dubs the Masala Fish Generation to denote their hybridity, masala being the south Asian spice and fish the British staple. Most in this generation have spent their formative years in Britain and are thus more integrated. They come from more different countries, including India, Pakistan, Japan, China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria; a number of them have mixed parentage, and they live in today’s multicultural Britain. Still, their writing is informed by displacement, despite defining home, memory and identity differently. Lacking in nostalgia for an ancestral homeland, they are more likely to celebrate their multiple belongings, choosing not to assimilate or belong to any one culture. “They also indicate the possibility of translating between East and West, past and present, tradition and the modern.” (p. 121)

Members of the Masala Fish Generation are well-known on the international literary scene today, writers such as Hanif Kureishi, Salman Rushdie, Monica Ali, Zadie Smith, Timothy Mo, Farrukh Dhondy, Caryl Phillips, Jean Rhys, and others. 

To back up his views on displacement, Al Deek analyses dozens of seminal novels and semi-autobiographical stories, produced by the Windrush and Masala Fish Generations, which he considers to have revitalised British literature, as well as contributed to world literature. His survey of these books is fascinating and makes one want to read them.

Al Deek was born in Jordan and is part of the academic community here, being assistant professor at the University of Madaba. He writes with academic meticulousness and intellectual honesty. The book is dense and not always easy to read but it is worth it for the new horizons it opens. In the concluding chapter, Al Deek states his aim with this book: “Advocating cultural diversity… to contribute to an ethic of the valuing of cultural inheritance… and also the promotion of the sharing of cultural values” as a way to prevent conflict. (p. 169) “Writing Displacement” is available at Books@cafe, as is Al Deek’s memoir, “The Eucalyptus Tree”.

PARIS — One metres or two? Or is it six? When it comes to coronavirus social distancing, there is no single rule of thumb, researchers cautioned this week in a study. 

Indoors or outside; the velocity and pattern of air flows; whether one is whispering, shouting or sneezing; air conditioning or open windows; duration of exposure; whether one is wearing a mask — all of these elements will determine how far is far enough when it comes to steering clear of COVID-19 infection.

“Rigid safe distancing rules are an oversimplification based on outdated science and experiences of past viruses,” said lead author Nicholas Jones, a researcher at Saint Thomas Hospital in London.

“Instead of single, fixed physical distance rules, we propose graded recommendations that better reflect the multiple factors that combine to determine risk.”

Around the world, living with COVID-19 has become a reality. 

A widely available vaccine is months away at best, and the number of cases is on the rise again in many countries that had succeeded in bringing the epidemic under control.

But governments at all levels — eager to avoid the lockdowns that devastated their economies — are looking for ways to fine-tune policy responses in a middle ground.

On Thursday, for example, France’s prime minister — flanked by his ministers of education and health — outlined new measures that included mandatory mask wearing in Paris and its immediate suburbs, among other regions.

Previously, masks had been obligatory only in public transport, shops, and public buildings.

Low- and 

high-risk scenarios

From the earliest days of the pandemic, experts have sharply debated what constitutes “safe” social distancing.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends “maintaining at least one metre distance between yourself and others”, and many national health authorities have issued similar guidelines.

But experiments conducted in recent months suggest this may still be too close for comfort, at least in some circumstances.

“Eight out of 10 studies in a recent systematic review showed horizontal projection of respiratory droplets beyond two metres for particles up to 60 microns,” Jones and colleagues noted in the BMJ, a medical journal. 

In one study, droplets that could contain live virus were detected more than six metres from the source, a distance consistent with sneezing, coughing or vigorous singing.

These findings could explain the case of a choir practice in the United States in which a person carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus infected 32 other singers — with 20 other likely cases — despite physical distancing.

Sports clubs, boxing or martial arts gyms, churches, call centres are all places where people sing, pant or talk loudly.

Interestingly, there have been few “super-spreader” incidents on commercial flights, perhaps because people don’t talk much and are more likely to be wearing masks, the authors speculated.

How far a virus might spread in an indoor setting is also determined by whether the air in a room is ventilated with open windows or recirculated with an air conditioning system.

The density of occupation is likewise key.

Taking all these factors into account, Jones and his team devised a chart — which could also serve as a guide — to measure risk in different situations.

If you are speaking quietly in a well-ventilated, sparsely-populated office space while wearing a face mask, for example, risk is minimal.

The same scenario without a face mask, or in a crowded office, translates into a higher but still moderate degree of risk.

Shouting or singing in a poorly ventilated room without wearing a mask, however, would put one squarely in the red zone, the study found.

PARIS — Undernourished children showed improvement in brain function after taking nutritional supplements for six months, researchers recently said.

The findings have important implications for children's education and national development in low income countries, they reported in BMJ, a medical journal. 

At least 250 million children worldwide under five fail to reach their cognitive developmental potential, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Undernutrition is not the only factor, but has been associated with long term brain impairment. 

To see whether targeted supplements could make a difference, a team of US researchers conducted trials in Guinea-Bissau that measured working memory (key for studying) and blood flow to the brain (a measure of brain health) in more than 1,000 children at risk of undernutrition. 

The children, aged 15 months to seven years, were divided into three groups that received different meals five mornings a week for 23 weeks.

The first group's daily meal contained a new food supplement — called NEWSUP — high in antioxidants, other vitamins and minerals, polyphenols from cocoa, omega 3 fatty acids and protein. 

The second group had so-called fortified blended food, long used in nutrition programmes, and the third was a traditional rice breakfast with no supplements. 

Besides working memory, the researchers measured red blood cell (haemoglobin) levels, growth, body composition, and cerebral blood flow at the start and shortly before the end of trial. 

Among children younger than four, the NEWSUP diet provided a substantial boost to working memory compared with a traditional rice breakfast, the researchers found. 

It also increased cerebral blood flow, improved the ratio of lean tissue to fat in the body, and helped haemoglobin concentration in children under four with anaemia. 

Among children four and older, however, NEWSUP had no significant effect on working memory or anaemia. 

Including only one cognitive measure was a limitation to the study, the researchers acknowledged, as was the short duration. 

A trial over four years rather than four months might show similar benefits in older children, they speculated.

If you just got yourself a new Windows-based computer, or if you are doing a fresh and complete installation of Microsoft operating system, chances are you will have to address the Edge versus Chrome issue, the two most widely used web browsers. The first is Microsoft’s and the second Google’s.

Edge comes pre-installed by Microsoft. If it is your favourite application then you have no issue. But if Chrome is your thing, you will have to fight with Edge/Microsoft to make Chrome the default browser. Naturally the system will do what you want and choose in the end, but not without at least two or three nagging notifications from Edge begging you: “please keep me as your default browser”. Whereas both Internet applications definitely are excellent products, their market shares in the world are a massive 69 per cent for Chrome and a humble seven per cent for Edge.

But the Edge versus Chrome issue is only the tip of the iceberg of the fierce competition between Microsoft and Google.

Each of the two GAFAM companies has a set of software applications that fulfils the same function, and each wants you to use theirs, naturally. The web browser is only one of them.

E-mail comes next (or first…!). Microsoft has Hotmail and Google Gmail. Office suite is the next item on the list: word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, etc. Microsoft has its MS-Office and Google G Suite. Then comes cloud storage, an item that is becoming more and more important in these days of working remotely: One Drive for Microsoft and Google drive for, well, Google.

Therefore, the comprehensive set that consists of a web browser, an email service, an Office suite and cloud storage, covers virtually all that a computer user needs and runs on a regular basis. This set has become a way to live and to work, regardless of who you are, how old you are or what you do in life. Its importance cannot be overstated.

So which way do you go? M or G?

You could use both of course, but getting organised this way with all your data and emails can be a challenge. Unless you happen to be working in the IT field, like the writer of this article, and need to know how to handle both sides, how they work and how you do the comparison, all for professional purpose, you better choose one of them and streamline your workflow as nicely as possible. 

The difficulty lies in the fact that the choice is not easy, if seen as a whole, unified solution. Gmail interface, for example, may be more attractive than Hotmail’s to some. On the other hand Microsoft’s Office Suite is really a powerful app to have and to use, if only for its truly amazing Access database module that simply has no equivalent.

The web browser question is not as clear as the above, for even though Chrome has the market’s lion share, Edge does come with some advantages over its competitor, in terms of reliability for example.

Looking at the two sets unbiased and as objectively as possible, one would unavoidably love them both and would be torn between them. A typical case of difficult choice to make.

Perhaps the one aspect to keep in mind when thinking of these two giants is the incredible weight they represent in our digital world. Many forget that YouTube, for example, is Google’s. This platform alone is a universe on its own. On the other hand, Microsoft’s pioneering applications like Word and Excel are not just computer software, but have become a way of living, of thinking, calculating and writing.

In the end going this way or that way may be a matter of personal affinity – of love I would say.

PARIS — Transparent facemasks and shields are costly compared with classic counterparts, but could prove a boon for the deaf and hard of hearing battling to communicate in the coronavirus era.

The concept has started to take off, aided not least by Youtube tutorials or the likes of American football coach Nic Saban, who makes a point of wearing his pitchside.

Other proponents include French secretary of state for people with disabilities Sophie Cluzel, who donned a mask with a see-through section to speak in parliament, and a sign-language interpreter at a Portsmouth hospital in southern England.

As Cluzel pointed out, the transparent window facilitates communication by permitting lip-reading and showing facial expressions. 

“Lip reading is a plus for me,” says Vivien Laplane, born deaf and author of the French blog “Appendre à écouter” (learn to listen).

“You can imagine — or not — that with masks it’s tougher” to understand others and make oneself understood.

A deaf Indonesian couple working as tailors on the isle of Sulawesi, make and have been selling transparent masks since April.

Without them “it is impossible for a lip-reading deaf person to understand what others are saying”, says Faizah Badaruddin who, along with her husband, turns out around two dozen a day.

Such efforts are boosting communication during the COVID-19 pandemic not least for the deaf and the hard of hearing who number 70 million globally, according to the World Federation of the Deaf.

The French federation of speech therapists says that classic facemasks mean “patients find themselves deprived of the main source of the oral message: the mouth and facial expressions”.

Teachers say they too like the transparent model.

Rory Burnham Pickett, a professor based in Sapporo in northern Japan, says “I know it is frustrating that my pupils don’t see my mouth or facial expression. I made my own transparent mask as they are difficult to find.”

Governments are taking a proactive approach and placing orders.

Authorities in Quebec have placed an order for 100,000 for distribution across the health network in the Canadian province, local media say.

The provincial APDA association for the hard of hearing made an order for 100,000 washable transparent masks through local textile company Madolaine.

“Sales are going briskly,” says association director Marie-Helene Tremblay.

In the United States, private US medical firm ClearMask LLC said it had received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for a fully transparent surgical mask for use in hospitals and clinics but also schools, retail and hospitality settings.

The Baltimore-based form was already producing non-surgical versions.

Masks for all

Anissa Mekrabech, a 31-year-old deaf French woman, decided to create her own transparent prototype after finding that communication was difficult when she visited the local pharmacy wearing a standard mask. 

She co-founded ASA Initia, based in Toulouse, in partnership with the French Association of the Paralysed to develop and retail an “inclusive mask”.

The mask, the first to gain clearance from French authorities, has earned 20,000 orders to date.

A second French variant, the “smile mask” from Odiora, a company based in Lyon, is now also coming to market and two more can expect clearance soon, says the French government.

Stephane Lenoir, who coordinates a collective of associations for the handicapped in France, welcomes what he sees as a step forward but feels bound to highlight the issues of general availability and cost of such masks.

The unit cost for the French masks ranges from 10.90 and 15 euros ($12.80 to $17.60), $10.99 for the ones in Quebec, while ClearMask offer a bundle pack of 24 for $67.

Burnham Pickett says the transparent masks found in Japan “come from the United States and are expensive”.

In France, the government is pondering whether to offer a subsidy or make public procurement orders at the behest of the associations.

For Cluzel, “promotion of transparent masks will enhance production, bringing down the costs of making them and hence prices”.

For Tremblay, the need is clear: “We must democratise the wearing of transparent masks.”