Top New Travel Videos: “Aura – Images From The Kimberley” In Western Australia By Dan Proud

Filmed and Edited by: Dan Proud

The Kimberley is Western Australia’s sparsely settled northern region. It’s known for large swaths of wilderness defined by rugged ranges, dramatic gorges, semi-arid savanna and a largely isolated coastline. The mostly unsealed (unpaved) Gibb River Road runs 660km through the region’s heart, passing by Windjana Gorge National Park, which has towering limestone cliffs and pools where freshwater crocodiles gather.

The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled parts of Australia, with the first arrivals landing about 41,000 years ago.

In 1837, with support from the Royal Geographical Society, Lieutenants George Grey and Franklin Lushington and 12 men sailed on the schooner Lynher from Cape Town, reaching Hanover Bay on 2 December 1837. The party started inland on 19 January 1838.[4] Leaders and men were totally inexperienced, progress was delayed by flooded country, many stores were abandoned, and the party was constantly split up despite the presence of large numbers of hostile Aboriginals. On 11 February, Grey was speared and became critically ill, but after two weeks, continued the exploration. The party found and named the Gairdner River, the Glenelg River, the Stephen and Whately ranges and Mount Lyell before returning to Hanover Bay in April. There they were picked up by the Beagle and Lynher and taken to Mauritius to recuperate.

The region was named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, who served as Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1870 to 1874 and 1880 to 1882.

From Wikipedia

Italian Cars: “1966 Alfa Romeo GTA 1600 Stradale”

1966 Alfa Romeo GTA 1600 Stradale Front Classic DriverThe Alfa Romeo GTA is a coupé automobile manufactured by the Italian manufacturer  Alfa Romeo from 1965 to 1971. It was made for racing (Corsa) and road use (Stradale).

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In 1962, the successor for the very popular Giulietta series was introduced. This car was the Alfa Romeo Giulia, internally called the “Series 105”. The coupé of the 105 series, used the shortened floorpan from the Giulia Berlina and was designed by Bertone. The name of the car evolved from Giulia Sprint GT to Giulia Sprint and to GTJ (Junior) and GTV (Veloce) in the late 1960s.

From Wikipedia

 

 

Health: Migraines Affects 47 Million Americans, 75% Of Whom Are Women (PBS)

Migraine disease affects 47 million Americans — 75 percent of whom are women. Although headache is one symptom, attacks can include visual disturbances, nausea, extreme light and sound sensitivity, brain fog and debilitating pain. Stigma and gender stereotypes may complicate the medical response, treatments aren’t one-size-fits-all and federal funding is minimal. Stephanie Sy reports.

Interviews: 56-Year Old Comedian, TV Host Conan O’Brien (Oxford Union)

Conan O’Brien is an American comedian and television personality, best known for hosting his own eponymous late-night talk show, Conan. A former writer for SNL and The Simpsons, and a graduate of Harvard University, he is celebrated for his awkward, self-deprecating comedic style, and has over 25 years’ experience as a late-night host.

Conan Christopher O’Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, podcaster, and producer. He is best known for writing in Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons and hosting Late-night talk shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien , The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Conan. Since 2010, he has been hosting Conan on the cable channel TBS.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, O’Brien was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live. O’Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons for two seasons until he was commissioned by NBC to take over David Letterman’s position as host of Late Night in 1993. A virtual unknown to the public, O’Brien’s initial Late Night tenure received unfavorable reviews and remained on a multi-week renewal cycle during its early years. The show generally improved over time and was highly regarded by the time of his departure in 2009. Afterwards, O’Brien relocated from New York to Los Angeles to host his own incarnation of The Tonight Show for seven months until network politics prompted a host change in 2010.

(From Wikipedia)

ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY: The Oxford Union is the world’s most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. Since 1823, the Union has been promoting debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.

Science Podcasts: Fruit Fly Neural Circuits, Fuzzy Moth Acoustics And Metallic Glass (Nature)

Nature PodcastsThis week, the brain pathways of egg laying in fruit flies, preventing fractures in metallic glass, moth’s fuzz as superior acoustic camouflage and a coronavirus update.

In this episode:

00:46 Working out the wiring behind fruit fly behaviour

Researchers have identified a neural circuit linking mating and egg laying in female fruit flies. Research Article: Wang et al.

06:01 Research Highlights

Ancient, cave-dwelling cockroaches, and hairy moths dampen sound. Research Highlight: Cockroaches preserved in amber are the world’s oldest cave dwellers; Research Highlight: Stealth flyers: moths’ fuzz is superior acoustic camouflage

07:57 Making better metallic glass

Metallic glasses have many desirable properties, but these materials are prone to fracturing. Now, a new manufacturing process may have overcome this issue. Research article: Pan et al.News and Views: Metallic glasses rejuvenated to harden under strain

13:47 News Chat

Coronavirus outbreak updates, a survey shows Indian bird numbers are in decline, and the genomes of New York rats. News: Coronavirus: latest news on spreading infectionNews: Hundreds of bird species in India are decliningNews: Genomes reveal how New York City’s rats thrive in the urban jungle

Digital Health: Wearable Sensor Data Can Predict Heart Failure 6 Days Before Hospitalization

From a “Circulation: Heart Failure” Journal study (Feb 25, 2020):

Circulation Heart Failure logoThe study shows that wearable sensors coupled with machine learning analytics have predictive accuracy comparable to implanted devices.

We demonstrate that machine learning analytics using data from a wearable sensor can accurately predict hospitalization for heart failure exacerbation…at a median time of 6.5 days before the admission.

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem affecting >23 million patients worldwide. Hospitalization costs for HF represent 80% of costs attributed to HF care. Thus, accurate and timely detection of worsening HF could allow for interventions aimed at reducing the risk of HF admission.

Data collected by the sensor are streamed to a phone and then encrypted and uploaded to a cloud analytics platform.
Data collected by the sensor are streamed to a phone and then encrypted and uploaded to a cloud analytics platform.

Several such approaches have been tested. Tracking of daily weight, as recommended by current HF guidelines, did not lead to reduction of the risk of HF hospitalization, most likely because the weight gain is a contemporaneous or lagging indicator rather than a leading event. Interventions based on intrathoracic impedance monitoring also did not result in reduction of readmission risk. The results suggest that physiological parameters other than weight or intrathoracic impedance in isolation may be needed to detect HF decompensation in a timely manner. In fact, 28% reduction of rehospitalization rates has been shown with interventions based on pulmonary artery hemodynamic monitoring. More recently, in the MultiSENSE study (Multisensor Chronic Evaluation in Ambulatory HF Patients), an algorithm based on physiological data from sensors in the implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators, was shown to have 70% sensitivity in predicting the risk of HF hospitalization or outpatient visit with intravenous therapies for worsening of HF.

Read full study

Politics: “South Carolina Democratic Debate Recap”

Seven candidates took the stage Tuesday, often talking over one another as they faced off in the final Democratic debate before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday. NPR’s Domenico Montanaro and Danielle Kurtzleben take a look at some of the top moments. •

Read “4 Takeaways From The South Carolina Democratic Debate” 

Exhibitions: Inside Look At “Picasso And Paper”, Royal Academy Of Arts (Video)

Join Curator Ann Dumas for a view inside the ‘Picasso and Paper’ exhibition, which features works spanning the artist’s entire career. Can you guess which work the artist made when he was just nine years old?

Website

Media: “Smithsonian Open Access” – 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain

People everywhere can now download, remix and share Smithsonian Open Access content for any purpose, for free, from portraits of historic Americans to 3D scans of dinosaur fossils. What will you create, imagine and discover?

Website

Travel Videos: “Namibia” By Marcello Ercole (2020)

Directed, Filmed, Edited by: Marcello Ercole

Produced by Ercole / Ricci
Music by Ryan Taubert

Namibia, a suggestive country. Eroded cliffs by the wind, very deep canyons, boundless deserts, the cold ocean and wild animals makes Namibia an inhospitable and sublime land. A fragile ecosystem that we must preserve.

Website

Namibia officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean; it shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Namibia, the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, was inhabited since early times by the San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, have dominated the population of the country; since the late 19th century, they have constituted a majority.

From Wikipedia