Human Destruction of Habitat and Earth's Resources Accelerates!

A scavenger bobs around on a giant ocean of rubbish on one of the world's most polluted waterways.

The makeshift vessel carves a path through rubbish on the River Sentiong in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The river, which winds through the capital city, has been dubbed the 'River of Refuse'.

Picture: Sinar Sakti Images / Barcroft Media

On 6 June 2007, the city administration introduced the Waterway (officially Angkutan Sungai), a new river boat service along the Ciliwung River. 

However, because of the large amount of floating garbage which kept jamming the propeller, it is no longer in service. 

New psychological intervention program shows promise in helping those with bowel diseases

New psychological intervention program shows promise in helping those with bowel diseases — Science Blog

Teenagers with IBD, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, often have serious trouble coping with the disorders. But a new cognitive-behavioral, skills-based treatment intervention program developed and tested by psychologists at the University of Georgia shows promise of reducing physical symptoms and increasing adaptive coping strategies. It could help bring some relief to the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. alone who often suffer in silence.

The latest study on the effectiveness of the coping skills intervention involved 24 female teenagers age 11-17 — a population that especially struggles with the intimate and sometimes embarrassing nature of IBD.

“We saw significant improvements in these adolescents’ physical symptoms and coping strategies following treatment,” said Ronald Blount, professor of clinical psychology at UGA and an author of the study. “Parents, who were also involved in the study, reported reductions in catastrophic thoughts related to their daughters’ pain and improved behavioral reactions related to their daughters’ physical symptoms. We aimed to teach parents to become coaches for their daughters to help them better manage their symptoms.”

The research was just published online in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Co-authors were Megan McCormick and Bonney Reed-Knight, both psychology doctoral students at UGA, and Drs. Jeffrey Lewis and Benjamin Gold of the Children’s Center for Digestive Health Care in Atlanta. The department of psychology at UGA is part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

IBD is unpredictable and can cause severe suffering for those diagnosed with the disease. With symptoms such as abdominal pain, frequent diarrhea, delayed growth and intestinal or rectal bleeding, the disorders are a challenge for teens and parents alike. Sometimes just as difficult, IBD is associated with such things as elevated stress levels and poor emotional functioning.

Those directing the study divided the 24 adolescent girls and their parents involved in the study into two groups for the one-day intervention. One group began training in the new protocols immediately, while the second was “wait-listed” as a control group, though all eventually received the training.

While the on-site training lasted but a day, it was followed by six weeks of a web-based coping skills program, including weekly homework assignments and group chat sessions aimed at reinforcing the skills learned in the one-day intervention.

IRAN: Working on Final Component of Nuclear Bomb

The reactor building of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, located 750 miles south of Tehran.

Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times of London show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb.

The notes, from Iran’s most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion. Foreign intelligence agencies date them to early 2007, four years after Iran was thought to have suspended its weapons program.

An Asian intelligence source last week confirmed to The Times that his country also believed that weapons work was being carried out as recently as 2007 — specifically, work on a neutron initiator.

The technical document describes the use of a neutron source, uranium deuteride, which independent experts confirm has no possible civilian or military use other than in a nuclear weapon. Uranium deuteride is the material used in Pakistan’s bomb, from where Iran obtained its blueprint.

"Although Iran might claim that this work is for civil purposes, there is no civil application," said David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, which has analysed hundreds of pages of documents related to the Iranian programme. "This is a very strong indicator of weapons work."

The documents have been seen by intelligence agencies from several Western countries, including Britain. A senior source at the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that they had been passed to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said yesterday: "We do not comment on intelligence, but our concerns about Iran’s nuclear program are clear. Obviously this document, if authentic, raises serious questions about Iran’s intentions."