“Imports for 2021 are expected to total 26 million twenty-foot equivalent units (a TEU is one 20-ft. container or its equivalent), up 18.3% over 2020 and the highest number since NRF began tracking imports in 2002.”
“The projected total would top last year’s previous record of 22 million, which was up 1.9% despite the pandemic.”
“The growth rate would also be the highest on record, topping 16.7% in 2010 as the economy recovered from the Great Recession.”
“They’ve named the potato Doug, after the way it was unearthed”
“near Hamilton, New Zealand”
“But it’s quite possibly the largest potato on record. When the couple lugged it into their garage and put it on their old set of scales, it weighed in at a remarkable 7.9 kilograms (17.4 pounds). That’s equal to a couple of sacks of regular potatoes, or one small dog.”
“The current Guinness World Records entry for the heaviest potato is a 2011 monster from Britain that weighed in at just under 5 kg. The couple say they’ve applied to Guinness to have Doug recognized and are waiting to hear back.”
“…the results suggest that the Norse cut down these trees within a few months of each other in 1021.”
“That precision was possible thanks in part to the IntCal20 calibration curve, which is the first radiocarbon calibration curve to break down changes in atmospheric carbon levels into single-year increments.”
“The Norse may have been at the site slightly earlier, but they were definitely there and cutting down trees by 1021.”
In 1960, L’Anse aux Meadows was discovered “with the assumed historical age of ca AD 1000”.
In the 1970s and 1980s, charcoal was used for radiocarbon dating.
In 2016, “progress in high-precision calibrations of radiocarbon dates has led to evaluations of earlier research” and concluded that “the calibrated age range of L’Anse aux Meadows is AD 975–1020.”
“The NFL agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court.”
“The NFL had agreed in June, amid an uproar, to halt the use of race-norming, which assumes Black players start with lower cognitive function. That makes it harder to show they suffer from a mental deficit linked to their playing days.”
“The Black retirees will now have the chance to have their tests rescored or, in some cases, seek a new round of cognitive testing…”
“The finding upends conventional wisdom regarding coughing, long thought to be the main route of transmission.”
“As much as 90 percent of TB bacteria released from an infected person may be carried in tiny droplets, called aerosols, that are expelled when a person exhales deeply…”
“Researchers previously believed that most TB transmission occurred when an infected person coughed, spraying droplets containing the bacteria into the air. Some bacteria were thought to be released when a person breathed, but much less than by coughing.
“The new finding does not change that understanding: A single cough can expel more bacteria than a single breath. But if an infected person breathes 22,000 times per day while coughing up to 500 times, then coughing accounts for as little as 7 percent of the total bacteria emitted by an infected patient…”
“Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually attacks the lungs. It is the world’s deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19, claiming more than 1.5 million lives last year — the first increase in a decade, according to a report published last week by the World Health Organization.”
“The report echoes an important finding of the Covid pandemic: The coronavirus, too, spreads in aerosols carried aloft, particularly in indoor spaces…”
“PFAS, called “forever chemicals” because they last so long in the environment, have been associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight.
“PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are used in nonstick frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, stain-resistant rugs and countless other consumer products. The chemical bonds are so strong that they don’t degrade or do so only slowly in the environment and remain in a person’s bloodstream indefinitely.”
“The EPA will move to set aggressive drinking water limits for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act and will require PFAS manufacturers to report on how toxic their products are. The agency also will designate PFAS as hazardous substances under the so-called Superfund law that allows the EPA to force companies responsible for the contamination to pay for the cleanup work or do it themselves.
“The Defense Department said it is moving to assess and clean up PFAS-contaminated sites throughout the country, while the Food and Drug Administration will expand testing of the food supply to estimate Americans’ exposure to PFAS from food. And the Agriculture Department will boost efforts to prevent and address PFAS contamination in food.”
danelabonte 
