Toothpaste fills cavities without drilling

Thursday, February 24, 2005

A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes.

Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage.

Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that the synthetic enamel merged with the natural enamel. The synthetic enamel also appears to make teeth stronger which will improve resistance to future decay. As with drilling, however, there is still the potential for pain: The paste is strongly acidic to encourage crystal growth and causes inflammation if it touches the gums.

The paste is reported in the journal Nature.

Friday, February 13, 2009

A Continental Connection flight from Newark to Buffalo crashed into a house about four to six miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Thursday night, killing 50 people, officials said.

Continental Airlines Flight 3407 is a daily commuter flight from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York, operated under the Continental Connection brand by Virginia-based regional airline Colgan Air.

The Buffalo News has reported that the plane, a Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop with tail number N200WQ has crashed into a home located at 6038 Long Street, not far from the Clarence Center Fire Hall in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence Center approximately 10:17 p.m. EST (03:20 UTC), Thursday, February 12, 2009. Three people were inside the house.

According to Becky Gibbons of New York State Police and Chris Collins County Executive in Erie County, New York, the total number of fatalities is 50, including 45 passengers, four crew members and a person on the ground, while a woman and daughter on the ground were injured, near the edge of farmland, about seven miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

Karen Wielinski, age 57, and her daughter, Jill, age 22 were brought to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Williamsville where they are in stable condition in the emergency room. The father, Douglas C. Wielinski, 61 died from his injuries. Two volunteer firefighters are also being treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. They are expected to be released later Friday morning.

The crew member names have been released as of 8:20 AM EST, and are listed as: Captain Marvin Renslow, First Officer Rebecca Shaw, Flight Attendant Matilda Quintero, Flight Attendant Donna Prisco, and Captain Joseph Zuffoletto who was an off-duty crew member.

One of the crash victims, Beverly Eckert, of Stamford, Connecticut and widow of 9/11 terror attack victim, Buffalo native, Sean Rooney, was coming home for her husband’s 58th birthday celebration. Her sister, Sue Bourque noted to The Buffalo News, “We know she was on that plane and now she’s with him.” Chris Kausner has said his sister Elise, age 24, a law student, was on board the plane. “I’m thinking about the fact that my mother has to fly home from Florida and what I’m going to tell my two sons,” he said.

The plane, which was carrying over 2.5 tonnes (5,000 pounds) of fuel, impacted a residence that was completely destroyed. Amid rain and sleet, the ill-fated plane exploded into a huge orange fireball, sparking a large fire which emergency crews had to contain. Twelve houses near the crash site were evacuated.

The aircraft in question was on approach to land at the nearby Buffalo Niagara International Airport when it disappeared from radar.

According to recordings from air traffic control, the pilot did not report any problem to approach control, and could not be contacted by the Buffalo tower after handoff. “Can other planes see anything?” asked the traffic controller, but no one has responded. The pilot’s last comment was “Colgan Flight 3407,” but there were no sounds of distress.

The Buffalo News has reported that crew members aboard the flight from Newark Airport reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo. Weather conditions were reported to be a wintry mix in the area, with light snow, fog, and 17 mile per hour winds.

In the 31-minute audio-recording there are conversations between the cockpit, air traffic control and other aircraft in the vicinity. Following take-off from Newark Airport, a female voice (pilot) in the 3407 plane’s cockpit is heard informing air authorities that her aircraft was turning on approach to landing. The pilot stopped communicating at 2,300ft.

“This aircraft was 5 miles out, all of a sudden we have no response from that aircraft,” the controller declares. 21 minutes and 45 seconds into the recording, the control tower informs a JetBlue Airlines: “…apparently we have an emergency, I’ll have to get back to you,” reported The Daily Telegraph.

“It was cold, snowing and dark but these planes are designed to fly in icy conditions. However, those conditions can be very fickle and if ice builds up on a plane it can be very difficult. At this time of year, when a pilot crashes approaching an airport that they will know well, the first thing you look at is the weather,” said David Learmount, of Flight International.

Continental Airlines Inc. said Colgan Air was in the process of collecting information. “Continental extends its deepest sympathy to the family members and loved ones of those involved in this accident. We are providing our full assistance to Colgan Air so that together we can provide as much support as possible for all concerned,” said Larry Kellner, CEO of Continental Airlines since December 2004.

The Bombardier Dash 8 a 74-seat is a twin-engined, medium range, turboprop airliner.

According to the Ascend Online Fleets database, Colgan, a company of about 1,100 employees has a fleet of 15 Bombardier Dash 8’s, along with 3 Hawker Beechcraft 1900D and 38 Saab 340B turboprops. Flight 3407’s airplane was less than one year old and had flown for only about 1,500 hours, said Kieran Daly, of the online aviation news service Air Transport Intelligence, saying that the doomed turboprop plane is one of the safest of its type.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has permanently grounded its Dash 8s fleet after three crash landings during a two-month period in 2007 caused by faulty landing gear. “Confidence in the Q400 has diminished considerably and our customers are becoming increasingly doubtful about flying in this type of aircraft,” said Mats Jansson, SAS president and CEO. “I have decided to immediately remove Dash 8 Q400 aircraft from service,” he added.

“There is ‘no indication of any security related event’ that brought the plane down,” said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko. Conditions of freezing drizzle, known as hard rime, were the most likely cause of the tragedy.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that they would send a team to the crash site on Friday to begin the investigation. Lorenda Ward will serve as chief investigator with the assistance of NTSB Commissioner Steven Chealander and public affairs officer Keith Holloway. Ward has investigated several other plane crashes — including the 2006 New York City plane crash that claimed the life of New York Yankees pitcher Corey Lidle.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic accident that occurred tonight in Clarence. Our focus right now is on supporting the first responders on the ground and their efforts to ensure the health and safety of people in the area,” said Chris Lee, an Republican politician from Corning, New York, representing the 26th Congressional District of New York.

The tragedy is the nation’s deadliest disaster since the Comair Flight 191 crashed in Lexington, Kentucky in August 2006. Delta Air Lines Flight 5191 was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet 100ER that was being used for the flight crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, four miles (6 kilometers) west of the central business district of the City of Lexington.

Financially, Continental is faced with volatile fuel prices amid a slowdown from the weak economy. It has posted losses of $585 million for 2008.

Monday, January 17, 2005

A 66 year-old woman in Bucharest has given birth to a girl and is believed to be the oldest woman ever to give birth.

She had been receiving fertility treatment for nine years before conceiving twins. She had not been able to conceive naturally before.

The baby was delivered early by Caesarean section after the other fetus died in the womb. At birth, the child weighed 1.4kg.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

A 21-year-old New Zealander, who has not been named, was sexually assaulted by another man early yesterday morning (NZDT) in Wellington, New Zealand. The New Zealand police have described the sexual attack as “prolonged and terrifying”.

The man was first threatened with a weapon at a shopping center located in Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington and was then forced into a dark and isolated carpark where the sexual attack occurred.

Detective Sergeant Zane Smith, said that they have been given a very good description of the attacker and with that description have released an identikit picture. The attacker is a male M?ori aged between mid-20s and early 30s, measures around 1.8 metres and has a solid build. The most identifiable feature is a M?ori tattoo located on his chin. The attacker was also wearing a ‘50 Cent‘ green hooded top, faded black baggy jeans and was wearing sneakers coloured red and white.

The attacker has still not been found and police are asking for anyone who may have been in the Riddiford Street shopping centre between 2:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras are being examined.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Twenty-four cars of a west-bound Canada Pacific train were thrown from the tracks after the train collided with a semi tractor-trailer in poor weather and visibility near Regina, Saskatchewan around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. The driver was rushed to hospital.

The accident took place on a level section of Highway 46 just north of Highway 1, about 25 kilometres east of Regina. The RCMP spokesperson reported the crossing is marked with lights, but weather may have played a role.

“Road conditions were wet and sloppy and it’s foggy,” RCMP Cpl. Brian Jones said to the CBC. The bad weather, including a heavy overnight snowfall, may have contributed to the accident.

Most of the 93 cars in the train were empty bulk transit cars, used for moving agricultural products such as grains. The RCMP report that neither train or truck were transporting any hazardous materials.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

A tentative contract agreement has been struck, five days after New York City was ground to a halt in a transit strike. The executive board of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 and the Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) had been negotiating under a media blackout, but terms of the agreement have started to come to light: A 3% increase in salary the first year, 4% increase the second year, and a 3.5% increase in their third year. There will be no changes in the employees’ pension plan and the retirement age remains at 55 in exchange for employees contribution of 1.5% of their paycheck.

The new contract still must be approved by the state-run authority’s board, whose next regular meeting is on January 25, 2006. There is no word yet if a special meeting will be called.

The Union’s workers will vote by mail, a process which may take weeks to complete.

Union members probably will ratify the contract because it would be “near suicidal” to strike again, says Gary Chaison, professor of labour relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Thirty-four thousand Transport Workers Union members walked off the job on December 20, when negotiations broke down over disagreements concerning pensions, health benefits, and pay. The strike, which lasted three days, affected an estimated 7 million commuters daily.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

In the final quarter of 2010, airline Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) earnings rose to 134 million CAD, 42 cents per share, capping a sharp return to profitability in 2010.

The year resulted in the company’s highest-ever earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, and rent (EBITDAR) of $1.39 billion, 707 million more than the previous year. Operating income for fourth quarter was reported as $85 million, which compared very favourably with an $83 million loss in 2009.

Only 21 months ago Air Canada was threatened with bankruptcy and using its financial weakness in negotiations with its employees, achieving status quo contracts. With labour contracts scheduled to end this month and next, the strong position of the airlines is expected to stiffen union resolve to share in the increased net revenues.

Those revenues were helped by increasing numbers of passengers and reducing costs, as well as foreign exchange gains. International travel, especially to the Pacific region, led the rises. US travellers through the main Toronto hub more than doubled, indicating the increase in foreign air traffic to and through Canadian airports.