President of India’s message on the eve of National Day of Syrian Arab Republic
Apr162017
President of India’s message on the eve of National Day of Syrian Arab Republic
Apr162017
Weekly Road Report – West End Ward
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL – ROAD REPORT FOR THE WEST END
REPORT FOR WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017
Riverside Esplanade/Riverside Drive (Tay Road Bridge off ramp to 75m along Riverside Drive) – westbound nearside lane closure for 31 weeks to facilitate V&A construction works.
SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal – Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for 4 months.
Blackness Road/Glamis Road – temporary traffic lights for one week for gas main renewal.
Forthcoming Roadworks
Riverside Approach (Roseangle/Magdalen Yard Road to Riverside Drive) – closed from Tuesday 2 May for 2 weeks for carriageway resurfacing works.
Apr162017
3D printing helps treat young heart disease patients
Ma Chengqiang, 16, and 8-month-old Yang Youhong from northwest China’s Qinghai Province have both undergone life-saving heart surgery in Shanghai thanks to 3D printing advances.
“Our children have had the world’s latest 3D printing technology heart surgery. We are so lucky,” said Ma Wenming, grandfather of Ma Chengqiang. “Moreover, the fees including transportation, accommodation, diagnosis and treatment are all free. We are really grateful.”
The two children are among the beneficiaries of a China-Belgium charity project, launched in April by Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and Belgium’s Materialise NV, one of the largest 3D printing software and services providers in the world.
The project provides free treatment, especially with the 3D printing technology, for children diagnosed with congenital heart disease from underdeveloped regions in western China, said Ji Qingying, deputy head of the medical center.
Each year, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center conducts more than 3,700 heart operations on children across the country, ranking first in the world’s medical institutions. Heart surgery would normally cost a family 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (11,600 to 145,00 U.S. dollars).
The project plans to do 15 to 20 heart surgeries every year using 3D printed devices.
Apr162017
News story: Easter 2017: Theresa May’s message
Easter is a moment to reflect and an important time for Christians and others to gather together with families and friends.
This year, after a period of intense debate over the right future for our country, there is a sense that people are coming together and uniting behind the opportunities that lie ahead.
For at heart, this country is one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future. And as we face the opportunities ahead of us – the opportunities that stem from our decision to leave the European Union and embrace the world – our shared interests, our shared ambitions, and above all our shared values can, and must, bring us together.
This Easter I think of those values that we share – values that I learnt in my own childhood, growing up in a vicarage. Values of compassion, community, citizenship. The sense of obligation we have to one another.
These are values we all hold in common, and values that are visibly lived out everyday by Christians, as well as by people of other faiths or none.
I think of those who go out of their way to visit the sick or bereaved, providing comfort and guidance to many in our country at some of the most difficult moments in their lives. I think of the sacrifices and service of aid workers who put themselves in harm’s way to bring much-needed relief in war-torn parts of the world.
We should celebrate all these contributions and others like them, and the difference they make in our society and around the world.
In doing so, we should be confident about the role that Christianity has to play in the lives of people in our country.
And we should treasure the strong tradition that we have in this country of religious tolerance and freedom of speech.
We must continue to ensure that people feel able to speak about their faith, and that absolutely includes their faith in Christ. We must be mindful of Christians and religious minorities around the world who do not enjoy these same freedoms, but who practise their religion in secret and often in fear.
And we must do more to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practice their beliefs openly and in peace and safety.
So this Easter, whatever our faith, let us come together as a nation confident in our values, and united in our commitment to fulfil the obligations that we have to one another.
Let us work together to build that brighter future we want for our country. And let us together build a stronger, fairer Britain that truly does work for everyone. And let me wish you all a very happy Easter.
Apr162017
More worries about diesels
Some good points have been made about diesels and air quality, and I am receiving constituents emails arguing against new penalties on owners of modern diesel cars.
One of the best points made is we need to take into account the amount of use made of various categories of dirtier vehicle. A typical privately owned passenger car spends most of its time parked. A motorist who averages 8000 miles a year, and averages 25 mph through a mixture of open road and congested town driving uses the vehicle for just 13 24 hour days or 26 12 hour days equivalent. A public service vehicle like a bus may well operate for more than ten times that amount of time, over 260 12 hour days a year. That means we will get a far bigger saving of dirty exhaust if we replace the old bus than the old car. The same is also true for many diesel trains that operate long hours, and for diesel delivery vans and lorries.
It is also important to recognise that congestion and delay cause far more pollution than allowing vehicles to make optimal progress at decent cruising speeds when the engine is not labouring, is in an economical gear, and not having to stop and start. This argues for the adoption of more policies that can reduce congestion, as have often been discussed here. Improving junctions is central to this. Parking more of the cars that are not in use off the highway is also an important aim, as often parked vehicles cause congestion and delay through straddling the highway.
Someone pointed out that vehicles often do not achieve the test specifications on emissions. This is because actual drive cycles are often different from test cycles. The more the vehicles have to slow down and speed up, and sit in traffic, the worse the emissions performance is likely to be. Older vehicles do not have cut outs at traffic light and other stops. Trains often keep their diesel engines running whilst waiting for considerable periods of time at terminus stations and to adjust service times. These are matters which newer vehicles and engines can help address.
A clumsy new tax is not the answer. Cutting emissions requires much detailed work on driving needs and conditions, road space and junctions, and ages of different types of vehicle. It is certainly important for the state to start by tackling public service vehicles, as they do so many more miles than the private car.