No. 206 March 2000
ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACT CONSERVATION Published in 1991 as a guide for the preservation of all the underwater military archaeological cultural material found in areas under Department of Defense jurisdiction, Basic Methods of Conserving Underwater Archaeological Material Culture (D 1.2:B29/2) has a wealth of information about the preservation of artifacts recovered from salt water. This handbook serves as a general outline for the stabilization, conservation, and long term preservation of marine artifacts. It details the options and the advantages of various types of conservation. It also estimates the effort levels and the amount and kinds of resources necessary to accomplish each option. The recommendations are based on both short-and long-term conservation goals. After reading its "Introduction and Overview of Conservation in Archaeology" (page 1-7), "Basic Conservation Procedures" (pages 8-11), and "Adhesives and Consolidants" (page 12-15), the conservationist applies this information to the bone, ivory, teeth, antler, pottery, glass, wood, leather, textile, metals (ferrous and nonferrous) to be preserved. 17 pages of footnotes and an 11-page bibliography of sources follow the 110 pages of text. With some modification, these conservation instructions and procedures could easily apply to other archeological artifact preservation.
PHONE NUMBERS: LONG AND SHORT Phone numbers are seven digits if you are dialing someone within the same local phone exchange area or in some instances to an adjacent area exchange. Some wireless phone calls to an adjacent local area may require the area code (numbers) even though the call is not a long distance toll call. Many long distance toll free calls (800, 888) require four number (1,800) plus the local seven-digit phone number. Some long distance phone companies will have their customers add as many as 5 additional numbers like 10-10-220 to the 1, the 3-digit area code and the seven-digit phone number to save on long distance costs. For 3 digit phone numbers, 911 has become the nationally designated emergency phone number for police/fire/rescue assistance. 311 has been designated by the FCC for nationwide use as non-emergency police phone number. 411, 611, 811 are used by the telephone companies for information and telephone service. 711 has been designated for use by Telecommunications Relay Services (Code of Federal Regulations V. 47, Part 52, Numbering, and 64, Subpart F, -- Telecommunications Relay Services and Related Customer Premises Equipment for Persons With Disabilities. AE 2.106/3:47/P.40-69/999). 211, 511, 611, 811 have not been officially assigned by the FCC. These N11 numbers are intended to be part of a nationwide traveler information system. These numbers would help the automobile traveler and trucker/shipper have easy and quick access to traffic conditions to make informed decisions in regard to route(s) taken/avoided, and the anticipated travel time. The N11 Fact Sheet and Three-Digit Traveler Information Number Question and Answer Sheet http://www.its.dot.gov/tcomm/n11qa.htm will lead the way to more details and information about short phone numbers.
ASTEROIDS/COMETS IMPACT SCALE Comets and asteroids that have been studied since the invention of the telescope have caused concern about their possible impact on Earth. But it was not until 1995, that "A Near-Earth Object Hazard Index" was created. In June 1999 it was revised and renamed the "The Torino Scale, Assessing Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazard Predictions in the 21st Century". The Torino Scale is a "Richter Scale" for categorizing the Earth impact hazard associated with asteroids and comets insofar as both Scales reflect levels of damage. The Richter Scale, and similar Scales apply to events such as earthquakes which HAVE OCCURED. The Torino Scale is intended to assess how much damage an asteroids and comets COULD DO, IF they impact on Earth. The Torino Scale projects the levels of damage (from 1 to 10) an asteroid WILL do to Earth, IF (a certain set of observed facts about the asteroid CONTINUE AND DO NOT CHANGE and) the asteroid hits Earth. The Scale values can change. The Scale value, assigned to the asteroid when first observed, reflects the level of damage and impact on Earth IF the asteroid were to eventually hit the Earth. If sequential observation and calculations determine the asteroid's path changes and the asteroid will not impact Earth, then the asteroid's Torino Scale value is changed to 0. The Torino Scale value 0 indicates that the asteroid or comet when observed has a zero or negligibly small chance of collision with Earth. A 10 indicates that a collision is certain and the asteroid or comet is so large that it is capable of precipitating a global climatic disaster on Earth. The Torino Scale is fully explained at http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/torino/index.html
SAFFIR/SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE This is a most familiar scale if only because one lives through or hears about level 1,2,3,4, and 5 hurricanes which hit the United States between June and November (Hurricane Season) each year. Each hurricane is assigned a number based on its wind speed and the amount of damage it does. Its wind speed determines its Category: 1 =winds 75-95 mph, 2=winds 96-110, 3=winds 111-130 mph, 4=winds 131-155, and 5=winds greater than 155 mph. A "major" hurricane is one that is classified as a Category 3 or higher. Each Category has a list of "Likely Effects", such as how much damage to the land and buildings, flooding, and erosion there might be and whether or not massive evacuation of the population will be required. Debi Icovelli, "The Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale: An Interview with Dr. Robert Simpson" Mariners Weather Log, v. 43, no. 1, April 1999 pages 10-12 is a most interesting discussion of this scale during the 1991 interview. The most mysterious aspect of this article is what caused a 1991 interview to be finally published in a 1999 issue of a journal which came out in (the year) 2000? P.S. Herbert Saffir is the other half of the SAFFIR/SIMPSON duo.
"DRYCLEANING" BECOMES "WETCLEANING" Most of the current 34,000 drycleaners use Perchloroethylene (PEC or Perc) to clean our clothes. Perc is the dominant chemical solvent that is a colorless liquid which has a sharp, sweet odor, evaporates quickly and is the aroma one smells upon entering the drycleaner's shop. In the 1930s and 1940s, about one-fourth of all customers' garments were cleaned with water, and the rest of the garments were cleaned with liquid solvents, and detergents. "Drycleaning" was used to describe the waterless process. By the 1950s, liquid solvents could dryclean any type of fabric, and water was no longer used. However, Perc, which is the best cleaning solvent, is a toxic substance. To avoid the health and environmental hazards of Perc, the EPA and the professional garment and textile care industry have developed the use of wetcleaning technology. Drycleaners have begun to use a water-based system called wetcleaning in place of traditional solvent-based drycleaning. Drycleaning has become wetcleaning. See Frequently Asked Questions About Drycleaning issued in June 1998 (EP 1.2:D46/4) http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/dfe/garment/ctsa/factsheet/ctsafaq.htm is 8 pages of the history of drycleaning, the hazards of Perc, the health hazards of drycleaning, the value of wetcleaning, the two nationwide lists of wetcleaners, and a curriculum for teaching drycleaners how to wetclean. Case-Study: Wetcleaning Systems for Garment Care issued in May 1999 by the EPA is 8 pages of some history, details of how wetcleaning works, and the benefits and challenges of wetcleaning relative to traditional drycleaning. Also included is a list of Wetclean Machine Companies and one of Wetcleaning Detergent Suppliers. The EPA's Garment and Textile Care Program site is http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/dfe/garment/garment.html and it has a Fact Sheet entitled: Cleaner Clothes, Cleaner Neighborhoods, Cleaner Solutions http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/dfe/garment/about.htm .
THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD So the classic story goes: the little engine thought it could pull the many railroad cars and heavy load up the big hill and IT DID IT. People who see their problem(s) as so overwhelming and unsolvable can develop an ulcer or hives. They see the hill as too steep. Yet there are some people who, like the "little engine," do some positive thinking and climb up that steep hill. The attempt, and sometimes success, of these latter individuals, is the topic of some new publications. "The Healing Power of Placebos" by Tamar Nordenberg, appears in FDA Consumer, v. 34, no. 1, January-February 2000, pages 14-15, and 17 (HE 20.010:34/1) ( http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/100_heal.html ). In the Body/Mind: Hearing…which the Senate held on September 22, 1998, (Y 4.Ap6/2:S.HRG 105-875) is found in the Special Hearings List at http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/senate03sh105.html . Senator Tom Harkin opened with some very interesting facts. There have been 80 million Americans using complementary and alternative medical (CAM) resources in conjunction with more conventional care. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that more than 50% of conventional physicians in the U.S. now use or refer patients for alternative treatments. In 1991, the Office of Alternative Health was created in the NIH. This very informative hearing is supported by Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons: a Report to the National Institutes of Health on Alternative Medical Systems and Practices in the United States issued in December 1994 by the NIH and found under HE 20.3002:AL 7/2. So much for our "little engine that could" story.
WIND AND WAVES Are they always together? Surfers need a wave, the dark drama of sea stories needs waves pounding on the rocky coastline, and the recreational sailor gets seasick because of high waves. Whether through movies or actual experience, everyone knows about a windy ocean and waves. But what do you know about how the wind causes waves? According to Bruce Parker "How Does the Wind Generate Wave?" Mariners Weather Log v. 43, no. 1, April 1999, pages 17-22, (C 55.135:43/1), there is a very good explanation of how the wind creates waves, even though the generation of a wave is not completely understood. If wave generation were completely understood, there would be a mathematical model that would accurately predict what would happen in the real world under all conditions. These six pages include 4 figures that are graphic/pictorial representations of the detailed explanation of the physical motions or movements of the water when hit by the wind. After reading about all the circumstances, elements, and variables which are involved in the wind’s generation of waves, it is easy to see why the definitive mathematical model has not yet been created. For now, it seems Parker has shown that where there is wind, there are waves (caused by the wind). Of course, ships, which create a "wake" also, create "waves", and underwater earthquakes can cause tidal waves, these are topics in themselves.
TRACKING THE ELUSIVE VIROID "Tracking the Elusive Viroid" by Ruth Coy is found in Agricultural Research v. 37, no 5, May 1989 (A 77.12:37/5) tells how in 1971 Theodor O. Diener discovered the new viral-like pathogen he named "Viroid," because it acts like a virus. Put simply, a Viroid, which lacks a protective protein coat, was not supposed to be able to replicate itself. Weighing only 130,000 Daltons, eighty times smaller than a virus, the Viroid was not supposed to be able to infect anything, but it did. The Viroid’s infection capability changed the current concept of "minimum weight necessary for infectivity" of about 1 million Daltons. Like a virus, the Viroid invades a cell and hijacks its reproductive mechanisms. The Viroid forces the plant cell to duplicate the Viroid's DNA instead of its own, controlling and stunting the plant's growth. The Viroid discovery solved the Viroid potato disease problem, revolutionized the study of viral plant diseases, and changed the approaches and attitudes in the study of livestock and human diseases.
VIROIDS: BOON TO PLANT PATHOLOGY RESEARCH The Viroids will be used as probes to learn how plant proteins and nucleic acids move in and out of cell nuclei. Now crop plants can be developed which are resistant to Viroid diseases. Since the result of a Viroid infection is a smaller plant, this may a beneficial effect when used in plant breeding applications to produce dwarf citrus trees. Scientists are trying to identify the molecular pathways by which Viroids move from cell to cell and cross the cytoplasm that surrounds the cells’ nuclei. These experiments to better understand how the Viroid functions will allow genetic engineering to one day create a molecule that will control the Viroid diseases. This control will guide Viroid’s beneficial effects in the plant scientists' development of new smaller crop plants. "Viroids? From Scourge to Boon in the 21st Century? by Jan Suszkiw in Agricultural Research v. 43, no. 12 December 1999 pages 16-17 http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/dec99/ is a rather brief but interesting article.
May 26, 2000
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0003.html