One-Hour Contact with the Earth’s Surface (Grounding) Improves Inflammation and Blood Flow—A Randomized, Double-Blind, Pilot Study

Earthing (grounding) refers to the human body being in contact with the surface of the Earth by barefoot exposure outdoors or using special indoor systems connected to the Earth. Previous studies have showed multiple beneficial effects as a result of such contact, including better sleep, normalization of cortisol, reduced inflammation, pain and stress, and better blood flow. To determine if Earthing for one hour improves facial blood circulation, forty middle-aged volunteers were divided into a grounded group and a sham-grounded group according to a double-blind procedure. They were asked to sit in a comfortable recliner chair equipped with a grounding mat, pillow and patches. The grounding systems were either grounded or sham-grounded via a wire to the ground port of a power outlet. An infrared imaging camera was used to measure changes in blood flow and temperature. Thermal imaging showed clearly improved circulation of fluids (including blood) throughout the torso, which in turn, translates into enhanced delivery of blood to the head and improved blood circulation in the face as well. The results of this innovative study demonstrate that even one-hour contact with the Earth appears to promote significantly autonomic nervous system control of body fluids and peripheral blood flow that may improve blood circulation in the torso and face, facial tissue repair, skin health and vitality and optimize facial appearance (face anterior view p = 0.002;face lateral views p = 0.017;full anterior torso view p = 0.002). Further study using larger comparison groups and following subjects for a longer period of time (longitudinal study) is warranted.

Effects of Grounding (Earthing) on Massage Therapists: An Exploratory Study

It is well known that massage therapists often develop a number of health problems relatively early on in their career. A preliminary study showed that grounding massage therapists during their work may alleviate some of the health problems they encounter. A doubled-blind randomized controlled trial was designed to examine the effects of working and sleeping grounded for 4 weeks on massage therapists’ blood viscosity, stress (through HRV), inflammation (IFN-γ, IL-6, TNF-α, and hsCRP) and oxidative stress (MPO and MDA) biomarkers. The results show stress reduction as measured by heart rate, respir-atory rate and hear rate variability (HRV) and a lowering effect on blood viscosity that lasted for at least one week after ungrounding, with systolic blood viscosity becoming significantly lower at the end of the study. Inflammation markers (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and hsCRP) increased rapidly, within one week, after ungrounding. The findings suggest that grounding is beneficial for massage therapists in multiple domains relevant to health and wellbeing.

Analysis of Different Rare Metals, Rare Earth Elements, and other Common Metals in Groundwater of South West Bank/Palestine by ICP/MS-Data and Health Aspects

Ground water samples are collected from south West Bank/Palestine and analyzed for different rare elements (Rb, Zr, U, P, Ti, V), rare earth elements (La, Ce, and Nd), and other common trace metals (Li, Na, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, K, Bi) that most of them usually have no maximum acceptable limits as either they are considered not to be toxic to human health or there is no sufficient data about their toxicity to human health. This study was conducted to determine the water quality of ground water which is used for drinking in the study area. Water samples from ten groundwater wells were obtained in three different dates of the year (November 2012, March 2013, and April 2013). Three water samples were obtained from each well for each sampling date;so a total of 90 water samples were collected from the ten wells. The results obtained from this study suggest a possible risk to the population of the study area given the high concentration of some metals that have no maximum allowed concentration, and the fact that for many people in the study area, ground water is a main source of their water supply.

Study on Earth Surface Potential and DC Current Distribution around DC Grounding Electrode

DC magnetic biasing problem,caused by the DC grounding electrode, threatened the safe operation of AC power grid. In this paper, the characteristics of the soil stratification near DC grounding electrode was researched. The AC-DC interconnected large-scale system model under the monopole operation mode was established. The earth surface potential and DC current distribution in various stations under the different surface thickness was calculated. Some useful conclusions are drawn from the analyzed results.

Google Earth影像辅助的农作物面积地面样方调查

地面样方调查是农作物种植面积遥感监测的重要环节,一般采用差分GPS(DGPS,differential GPS)实地测量的方式实现,是一项耗时、耗力的业务工作。该文利用经DGPS实测点校正后的Google Earth影像,以中国农业科学院(万庄)农业高新技术产业园及周边地区范围(3.1 km×2.0 km)为研究区域,探索了基于Google Earth影像辅助的农作物面积地面样方调查,比较了该方法与完全采用GPS实地测量在调查精度和效率方面的差异。针对不同的GE影像来源,文中定义基于GE客户端COM API编程下载后的影像为A级影像、经在线GE影像校正后的影像为B级影像、经DGPS实测点校正后的影像为C级影像。与实测的检查点相比,0.5 m以上空间分辨率的A级影像X、Y 2个方向中误差232.7 m,B级影像中误差5.4 m,C级影像中误差1.0 m。B级影像中误差符合《数字航空摄影测量空中三角测量规范》1:25000平地的平面位置中误差不大于8.75 m的要求,C级影像中误差符合1:10000平地的平面位置中误差不大于3.5 m的要求。在测区内选择结构组成简单、中等和较为复杂的3个样方类型,量算B和C级影像的面积量算精度,与DGPS实测面积比较,平均误差仅有0.108%和0.018%。从样方相对位置确定、地块和农田边界的修正3个方面用于地面样方的辅助测量,在业务工作中进行了初步应用,陕西省2015年冬小麦种植面积地面样方调查的实际效果表明,GE影像辅助调查比GPS实测方法在时间方面减少了64.2%,路程节约82.5%,调查效率提高了73.3%以上。

基于Google Earth的输电线路巡视无人机地面站监控系统

通过研究Google Earth电子地图的GIS二次开发技术,构造了无人机地面站电子地图显示与交互环境,结合无人机的物理-数学模型,定制无线数据通信协议,在Google Earth视图中对无人机进行三维飞行仿真和航迹实时跟踪显示,实现了地面站对空中无人机执行输电线路巡视飞行姿态和航路的全过程实时监控。

Google Earth在境外水电工程规划中的应用

基于Google Earth和SRTM数据,采用虚拟像控点定位技术,制作1︰1万地形图。结果表明,Google Earth可满足境外水电工程前期规划方案比选的要求。

融合Google Earth的无人机遥控遥测地面站设计

针对无人机飞行监测和控制的要求,设计了一款飞行监测和控制的无人机遥控遥测地面站系统软件.无人机遥控遥测地面站系统软件包括系统调试、航迹规划、飞行监测、视频捕捉和数据回放等功能模块,融合Google Earth COM API二次开发技术基础上运用Visual C++6.0作为系统开发环境,采用模块化理念并嵌入串口通信技术、虚拟航空仪表技术、视频捕捉技术等进行软件开发.

Grounding the Human Body during Yoga Exercise with a Grounded Yoga Mat Reduces Blood Viscosity

Objective: Research continues to show that being connected to the earth can increase the potential of the body to scavenge free radicals. This study examined the effect of just one hour of grounding on blood viscosity while subjects participated in gentle yoga exercises designed to initiate minor inflammation. Design: In this double blind model, twenty-eight (28) subjects met at the Bowerman Sports Medicine Clinic on the campus of the University of Oregon and were grounded to the earth via contact with a grounded yoga mat or were sham-grounded. Ten yoga exercises were repeated five times over a one-hour period. Blood was taken pre and post exercise and analyzed for blood viscosity using a scanning capillary viscometer. Results: Subjects connected to the earth significantly reduced their post exercise systolic blood viscosity (p = 0.03) and diastolic blood viscosity (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Grounding has the ability to affect exercise induced inflammation, thereby reducing blood viscosity.

Grounding the Human Body Improves Facial Blood Flow Regulation: Results of a Randomized, Placebo Controlled Pilot Study

Earthing (grounding) refers to bringing the human body in direct contact with the negative electric charge of the earth’s surface by barefoot exposure outdoors or using special conductive indoor systems that are connected to the Earth. To determine if earthing improves facial blood circulation/flow, a double-blind study was designed with forty subjects either grounded or sham-grounded (27 grounded subjects and 13 sham-grounded subjects acting as controls) for at least one hour in a comfortable recliner chair equipped with conductive mat, pillow, and patches. The grounding systems were either grounded or sham-grounded via a wire to the ground port (third hole) of a power outlet. A Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging camera was used to continuously record changes in facial blood flow non-invasively. Facial blood flow regulation clearly improved among grounded— but not sham-grounded—subjects. The results demonstrate, for the first time, that even one-hour contact with the earth restores blood flow regulation to the face suggesting enhanced skin tissue repair and improved facial appearance with possible implications for overall health. Further studies, using larger comparison groups, longer monitoring times, and more measuring methods, are warranted in order to confirm the novel influence of the Earth as a protector of skin health and appearance.

An Efficient Method for Earth Resistance Reduction Using the Dead Sea Water

To protect humans, devices and maintain high reliability of electrical equipments, efficient earthing system has to be provided for residential and commercial buildings. The use of chemical elements around the electrode of earthing systems reduces the earth resistance which improves the efficiency of these systems. However, the use of these elements can’t achieve very small earth resistance especially in the case of dry clay. In addition, they are expensive and not available all the time. This paper presents a method that treats the soil with adding the Dead Sea water instead of the chemical elements to further reduce the earth resistance and to avoid the expenses of these elements. In our approach, the Dead Sea water is added to a hole around the electrode with a distance not exceeding 10 cm to avoid the corrosion layer on the electrode. Practical measurements are demonstrated to show the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Application of Clausius-Clappeyron Relation (1832) and Carnot Principle (1824) to Earth’s Atmosphere Tricellular Circulation

Atmospheric or climate phenomena are usually a combination of elementary events whose scales range from the very small (microscopic) to the infinitely large (synoptic). This means that build reasoning from ground- or space-based observations only, regardless of the physics of elementary processes, inevitably leads to erroneous results. Given the fact that plots of Troposphere Tricellular Circulation are only based on weather mean conditions measured near the ground (i.e.: pressure and winds fields observed at the surface of the earth), we want to improve these representations of the general circulation of the atmosphere, by using both Clausius-Clapeyron Relation and Carnot Principle derived respectively in 1832 and 1824. Indeed, Clausius-Clapeyron relation shows precisely that, unlike the dry water vapor that can be assimilated to the ideal gas at many circumstances, the saturated water vapor has, in an air parcel at the same time cold (temperature below 0.0098°C) and rich in moisture (vapor pressure above 6.11 mb), thermoelastic properties diametrically opposed to those of ideal gas (including dry water vapor). Vertical profiles of temperature and water vapor in the atmosphere provided by ground- or space-based observations lead to the location of a troposphere region in which the ideal gas assumption should be banned: hence appropriate and unique plot of earth’s atmosphere tricellular circulation.

手机GPS定位配合Google Earth在油田地面工程中的应用

本文以在手机中安装"GPS Test Plus"定位软件,在电脑中安装"Google Earth"软件为基础,阐述了将现代科技在油气田地面工程中巧妙应用,为油气田管网(输油、气、水管网)线路走向、施工测量、方案优化等提供技术支撑。软件具有成本低、使用方便、效率高等特点,本文结合在实际工作中的应用展开了讨论,综合论述了该软件为油田地面工程提供了快捷高效的技术服务。

极低频电流场透地通信路径损耗建模与分析

针对水平方向地电极电流场无线强穿透信息传输需求,研究了基于极低频水平双电极电流场信道传输特性。考虑到电极半径、电极入土深度、电极间距、发射信号频率和信号传输距离等参数对透地(Through-The-Earth,TTE)通信传输性能的影响,建立了地电极电流场TTE通信路径损耗模型,分析了各参数对路径损耗的影响,确定了信号传输最佳工作参数。根据选定参数搭建了极低频电流场TTE通信系统,在200 m和400 m通信距离下测试了3~10 Hz信号的路径损耗,通过试验数据与仿真结果对比分析验证了模型的准确性。

Achieving Cooler Soil as an Effective Heat Sink for Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia Tropical Climate

This research is intended to explore the capacity of Malaysia soil in becoming a more effective heat sink for the application of Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia. EAHE Cooling Technology consists of buried pipes underground where the ambient air is channeled through from the pipe inlet and produces cooler air at its outlet. Within the buried pipes, heat exchange process occurs between the air and the soil that surrounding the pipe. This building cooling technology has been applied in many countries, mostly in temperate or hot and arid climate where the diurnal temperature is large. However, minimal resources were found on the study of EAHE application to buildings in Malaysia, hence there is room to develop. A parametric study on EAHE cooling application in Malaysia was done through field experiment and concluded that among many parameters affecting the technology performance, the soil temperature which surrounded the pipe was the most influential factor. The study recommended to further reduce the soil temperature to achieve a cooler outlet temperature. In response to that, this research conducted a parametric study of soil temperature under three different soil surface conditions: bare, shaded with timber pallettes and insulated with used tyres at 1.0 m and 1.5 m underground. The data was logged for a month and the result has shown significant reduction in the soil temperature underground below the shaded and insulated soil surface as compared to below bare soil surface condition. The insulated soil surface produced the best result where the soil temperature was reduced up to 26.9°C. The main contribution of this paper is to highlight that the soil surface treatment can be used to reduce solar heat gain within the soil underground and thus improving the performance of EAHE Cooling Technology particularly for the application in Malaysia tropical climate.

近地小行星天地基协同监测和轨道确定试验

基于中国科学院国家天文台空间碎片试验望远镜,联合“仰望一号”“吉林一号”卫星,设计并开展了近地小行星天地基协同监测试验,利用图像处理和定轨方法,实现了天地基观测图像的目标检测和天文定位,完成了近地小行星轨道的精确确定。经分析,基于现有的天地基设备可实现对近地小行星的协同监测和轨道编目,为研判近地小行星撞击风险提供轨道数据支持。

3-D rheologic model of earthquake prepa-ration (III): Precursor field

On the basis of the theory of viscoelastic displacement and strain field for the three-dimensional rheologic model of earthquake preparation, this paper mainly studies the theoretical solution of precursor field for the three-dimensional rheologic model of earthquake preparation. We derive the viscoelastic analytical expressions of the ground tilt, underground water level, earth resistivity at an arbitrary point （x, y, z） in the rheologic medium, and analyzed the earth resistivity preliminarily, providing a certain theoretical basis for the precursor analysis of seismogenic process.

近断层地震动作用下土石坝加速度分布研究

近断层地震动较远场地震动具有频率高、速度快、能量更加集中的特点,在短时间内会释放大量能量,对工程结构具有严重危害。规范提供的加速度分布系数不适用于高度超过150 m的大坝,随着技术不断进步,我国超过150 m的土石坝越来越多,规范已不能满足现有需求。基于中国台湾集集近断层地震动记录,建立随机脉冲型地震动模型,分别对高度为40 m、70 m、150 m和200 m的土石坝进行随机动力分析,研究坝体的动态分布系数。结果表明,近断层地震动的低频速度脉冲使坝体的加速度反应谱有较宽的敏感段,易覆盖坝体自振周期,显著增加坝体的加速度。该研究通过总结近断层区域土石坝的加速度分布规律,建议了近断层脉冲型地震动区域的土石坝坝体动态分布系数,为近断层高地震风险情况下土石坝的抗震理论和方法提供参考。

利用遗传算法实现低倾角卫星星座优化设计

针对热点区域的多重覆盖问题,采用回归圆轨道的共星下点轨迹星座方案,提出基于遗传算法求解单颗卫星轨道参数、利用简单解析公式求解星座轨道参数的方法。首先,建立了回归轨道热点区域多重覆盖模型;其次,以卫星一个回归周期内覆盖时间最长为性能指标,首颗卫星轨道根数利用遗传算法可优化求取;最后,根据星下点轨迹重合这一约束条件设计星座构型,并利用各卫星间几何关系求解各卫星的轨道根数。理论分析和仿真结果表明,该方法简单且易于实现,设计结果正确,可实现回归周期内同一卫星星下点轨迹多次覆盖目标,星座使用卫星少、覆盖频率高,具有较好的工程应用价值。