1

COVID-19 / Re: Are there trial vaccines targeting anything other than the spike protein

« on: 10/08/2020 16:49:16 »

I'm of the opinion that at least 3 different vaccines should be adminstered to ensure that the virus populations do not evolve to counter the vaccines.

Well, we don't have 1 vaccine yet, and it would seem unwise to wait for development of 2 more  which may never exist.
We didn't need to do it with polio or smallpox.

And there's no direct interaction between the virus and the vaccine, so "resistance" of the sort that applies to bacteria isn't an issue.

At the moment, the expectation of efficacy is very low. Something like 50% effective rather than 98% effective.
By combining different vaccines, I expect the mixed vaccine would be more effective, as well as making adaptive evolution against the vaccines far more difficult for the virus.

2

Physiology & Medicine / Re: During exercise, when does the body burn sugar and when does the body burn fat?

« on: 10/08/2020 04:07:32 »

I heard on another PodCast that during the first 20 minutes of a cardiovascular workout, like running, the body is burning off only blood sugar. It is not unitl after the 20 minutes that you start actually burning fat.

That makes sense to me. It was what aerobics teachers told us too (more than 17 years ago).

3

Physiology & Medicine / Re: During exercise, when does the body burn sugar and when does the body burn fat?

« on: 10/08/2020 03:59:09 »

Aerobic teachers tend to be knowledgeable about metabolic dynamics. Every one I came across (many over the years) has an exercise teaching qualification of some sort. Often they are already in NHS physiotherapy.
Here is an article which supports what I said about using low to medium level of exercise to burn fat.

https://theconversation.com/fat-burning-zone-the-best-way-to-exercise-to-burn-fat-138662

https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/the-bodys-fuel-sources

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COVID-19 / Re: Are there trial vaccines targeting anything other than the spike protein

« on: 09/08/2020 11:27:53 »

I'm of the opinion that at least 3 different vaccines should be adminstered to ensure that the virus populations do not evolve to counter the vaccines.

5

Physiology & Medicine / Re: During exercise, when does the body burn sugar and when does the body burn fat?

« on: 09/08/2020 10:54:05 »

Aerobics teachers understand when you burn fat and when you don't.

If you exercise too rigorously or too gently, you burn carbohydrate.
Moderate exercise cause you to burn fat. A brisk walk would burn fat nicely.

6

COVID-19 / Re: How could we improve PPE?

« on: 09/08/2020 10:38:39 »

The sensation of the smell changes with concentration.
With light concentration, it smells rather like scented paper.
With higher concentration, it smells between pleasant and ambiguous.
With high concentration, it is a bad smell, & one whiff is enough to cause hallucination of the smell for a few hours.

7

Chemistry / Re: How to reduce aluminum melting point?

« on: 07/08/2020 10:58:18 »

This may be of interest: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/aluminum-alloys-melting-points-d_1432.html

Aluminium Melting point: 933.47 K ​(660.32 °C, ​1220.58 °F)

8

Chemistry / Re: How does hydro dipping work?

« on: 07/08/2020 09:15:53 »

Hydro dipping? Are you talking about dyes?
A lot of dyes are made from plants as far as I know.  Food dyes for example are mainly made from edible foods that have dyes.
Lipstick, eyelash colouring, . . . all have dyes.

9

Chemistry / Re: Is electrolysed water a disinfectant?

« on: 07/08/2020 07:56:50 »

For use by the general public, the obvious choice for electrodes is graphite (conductive carbon with lots of hexagonal plane arrangement): get it from a pencil.
What was the chemistry with the copper electrodes?
The electrolyte contains Na⁺ Cl ^- from salt, H ⁺ OH ^- from water. Cu ⁺⁺ from the copper electrode.
At the cathode, -ve charges go into the water: -ve + H ⁺ -> H, 2H-> H₂ gas; 
At the anode, +ve charges go into the water:
Cu ⁺⁺ ;
OH ^- - -ve -> OH, 2(OH) ->  H₂O + O; then either H₂O + O -> H₂O₂ (disinfectant)
or 2O -> O₂ gas

The Cu ⁺⁺ makes the water go green, displace H ² gas, and create 2(OH) ^- in water hence the pH goes up.

With carbon electrodes, you might get  H₂O + O -> H₂O₂ (disinfectant).
But what would happen to the pH?
(Just testing my knowledge of school chemistry)

10

Chemistry / Re: What are the white rings that form during the Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion?

« on: 07/08/2020 06:20:38 »

Another interesting artifact is the "mouth" in the white cloud behind the shockwave.
- It grows faster than the speed of sound to eat Beirut...

Is it possible that the shockwave was attenuated or diffracted by the hot smoke of the prior fireworks show?

I think the mouth was created by the presence of the tall building.
As bored chemist explained that the white cloud is the vapor trail of the explosion. As the shock wave expand in a bubble fashion, the molecules are propelled away from the centre forming a low pressure area behind the shockwave thus forming the vapor. As the tall building is in the way, the volume of air behind the building is pressurised into an elipsoid volume, thus failing to form the vapor until after passing the building hence the mouth shape.
The moment of explosion:-
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-53657745/beirut-blast-city-explosion-causes-widespread-damage

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Chemistry / Re: What are the white rings that form during the Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion?

« on: 07/08/2020 04:21:09 »

The first video had a white spiral BBC logo added at the start.
- But the white clouds behind the shockwave are real in all the videos.

Some other videos I have seen showed a fire in a fireworks warehouse. The people seeing the fireworks seemed to think this was quite entertaining - quite unlike the massive explosion that appeared to be triggered by the fireworks.

Chemists on TV tonight said that you have to get Ammonium Nitrate quite hot before it explodes - so fireworks should probably not be stored next to  Ammonium Nitrate!

It makes sense now, thanks. Fire at the fireworks storage caused the big explosion.
So sad that the Judge for Urgent Matters failed to do anything to get rid of the fertilizer for so many years, so this should all be totally avoidable.
 The current story:-
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c88p951myv0t/beirut-port-explosion&link_location=live-reporting-story
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53683082
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/05/europe/lebanon-russian-ship-blast-intl/index.html

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Chemistry / Re: What are the white rings that form during the Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion?

« on: 06/08/2020 10:09:46 »

Looks like the white rings are added artwork to the video.
This BBC article has the video without the rings at the beginning.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-middle-east-53656220?__twitter_impression=true

13

Chemistry / What are the white rings that form during the Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion?

« on: 06/08/2020 10:00:28 »

Ammonium nitrate (NH₃ N0₄) Beirut explosion videos.
TV in  Hong Kong said it was caused by heat.
(1) what on earth are those white bands at the beginning of the BBC video? https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1290720709623320583?s=19
(2) what is the explosion's chemistry?

14

COVID-19 / Re: Why is there a 5-day oscillation in the COVID-19 newly confirmed cases?

« on: 31/07/2020 08:40:19 »

Unfortnately, my eyes were wrong. It is indeed 7 days.

15

COVID-19 / Re: How could we improve PPE?

« on: 30/07/2020 09:48:58 »

Produces a lot of ozone.

How did you measure it?

I simply compare the strength of the smell relative to my hospital sized ozone genrator, and it is just as strong.

16

COVID-19 / Re: Do we know the dosage required to get a COVID infection?

« on: 30/07/2020 03:03:34 »

My hunch is that the prominent 5 day oscillation cycle

What 5 day oscillation?

Have a look at the daily infection graphs on this site. They all display a 5 dayish oscillation cycle.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

It's a 7 day cycle, with peaks on Fridays. Most people will work through a low-grade infection and report sick at the end of the working week, with maybe another peak on Monday. Labs may back up their results but post them all on Friday to clear the deck for next week.

The deaths graph is odd, as that also peaks on Friday. Whilst recorded deaths peak on Mondays (because register offices are often closed at the weekend) recorded cause of death seems to peak at the end of the doctors' working week. 

As foir viral load, it's pretty obvious that the more you have, the more likely you are to infect someone else, and the morf you inhale, the more likely it is that some will penetrate your first line of defence and set up shop before the immune system gets into gear. The lack of early symptoms is interesting. It seems as if the innate immune system is very insensitive to the virus, so you can build up an overwhelming viral load before the adaptive system adapts, by which time the innate inflammatory response suddenly turns on as well, producing the excessive inflammation that can become fatal.     

So it is 7 afterall.  My eyes must have gone funny a the past few days.

17

COVID-19 / Re: covid-19 medicines or vaccines news

« on: 29/07/2020 14:50:12 »

seaweed-extract-outperforms-remdesivir-in-blocking-covid-19-virus-in-cell-studies
https://scitechdaily.com/seaweed-extract-outperforms-remdesivir-in-blocking-covid-19-virus-in-cell-studies/

18

COVID-19 / covid-19 medicines or vaccines news

« on: 29/07/2020 14:44:04 »

This topic is for collecting covid-19 scientific news about developing medical treatments and vaccines.

19

COVID-19 / Re: Do we know the dosage required to get a COVID infection?

« on: 29/07/2020 14:22:11 »

I guess that covid-19 requires a far higher viral count to get infected. Otherwise, we would all be infected by now.

What does the count matter?
How high or low would it need to be to get to the inhabitants of North Sentinel island?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sentinel_Island

I don't know what Bored Chemist is trying to say here, but viral load clearly matter according to Set Fair's article:-

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-questions-about-covid-19-and-viral-load/

20

COVID-19 / Re: Do we know the dosage required to get a COVID infection?

« on: 29/07/2020 13:50:41 »

My hunch is that the prominent 5 day oscillation cycle

What 5 day oscillation?

Have a look at the daily infection graphs on this site. They all display a 5 dayish oscillation cycle.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/