Zero-Two Thousands Expedition

07.00 WIB 10 Oktober 2010. Sujud syukur di puncak Gunung Ungaran (2050 mdpl) dan senyum yang mengembang dari bibir Kang Bas (Haliasterian II) menandai pencapaian cita-cita luhur segenap Haliasterian selama ini. Obsesi yang terdengar GILA bagi sebagian besar orang, sekalipun itu bagi anak-anak pecinta alam. Ya, akhirnya setelah berkali-kali mengalami penundaan akhirnya hari yang dinanti-nanti itu tiba. ZERO TWO THUSANDS EXPEDITION IS DONE!!!

8-9 Oktober 2010 mungkin akan dikenang sebagai hari yang bersejarah bagi Haliaster. Sebagai salah satu kegiatan peringatan 21 tahun hari tetasnya, tujuh Haliasterian dari berbagai angkatan berhasil menciptakan prestasi di kalangan pecinta alam khususnya pecinta alam dengan background mahasiswa. Bahwa belum pernah tercatat sebelumnya, organisasi pecinta alam mahasiswa, khususnya Semarang atau bahkan di Indonesia yang melakukan pendakian gunung dari titik nol (baca: laut) dan berhasil mencapai puncak. Kita pernah mendengar sebelumnya bahwa pendakian gunung dari titik 0 mdpl hanya pernah dilakukan oleh TNI dan pecinta alam Wanadri yang notabene adalah organisasi pecinta alam tertua di Indonesia.

Pendakian yang tidak biasa memang. Mengambil start dari bibir Pantai Maron Semarang, perjalanan dimulai. Beragam medan dan kondisi cuaca menghampiri tim inti yang terdiri dari tujuh Haliasterian (Kang Bas Haliaster II, Doel Haly XII, Deni, Doni, dan Teguh Haly XVIII, Roma dan Nanang Haly XIX) dan dua partisipan dari Green Community Unnes Semarang (Falik dan Fajar). Tim inti merupakan tim yang melakukan seluruh perjalanan mulai dari titik 0 mdpl (Pantai Maron) hingga mencapai puncak tertinggi Gunung Ungaran (2050 mdpl) dengan leader Kang Bas.

Kita patut bangga bahwa di usia Haliaster yang ke 21, kita masih bisa eksis dan survive apalagi jika melihat embel-embel sebagai organisasi kemahasiswaan dimana turnover kepengurusan berjalan cepat silih berganti dan adanya conflict of interest sebagai mahasiswa yang notabene tugas utamanya adalah belajar dan pilihan menjadi "aktivis" pecinta alam.
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What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways. It has also been suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancers. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).

The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms or signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years (or more) after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space (pleural effusion) are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.

Mesothelioma that affects the pleura can cause these signs and symptoms:

* Chest wall pain
* Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
* Shortness of breath
* Fatigue or anemia
* Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
* Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)

In severe cases, the person may have many tumor masses. The individual may develop a pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung. The disease may metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body.

Tumors that affect the abdominal cavity often do not cause symptoms until they are at a late stage. Symptoms include:

* Abdominal pain
* Ascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen
* A mass in the abdomen
* Problems with bowel function
* Weight loss

In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present:

* Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
* Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
* Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
* Low blood sugar level
* Pleural effusion
* Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
* Severe ascites

A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors are usually found only on one side of the lungs. Read More..

Tsunami, Volcano Eruption in Indonesia Linked?

National Geographic News, Oct 27th 2010

This week's Indonesian tsunami and volcano eruption might be linked, scientists say.

The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit at 9:42 p.m., local time, on Monday near the western island of Sumatra. The resulting waves killed more than 300 people.

A few hours later the 9,700-foot (3,000-meter) volcano Mount Merapi, on the eastern island of Java, blew a pillar of hot ash and debris into the sky, killing at least 30 people living on its slopes.

Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, had been building up steam for several days. But the timing of the main burst so soon after the earthquake raises the question of whether the shaking ground set off the eruption—even though the epicenter of the quake was 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) away from the volcano.

"Volcanic eruptions that are related to stress changes following earthquakes, or due to triggering by the seismic waves, do seem to occur," Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University, said by email. "But documentation of them is spotty at best."

Known examples, he said, include changes in geothermal activity in Yellowstone National Park in 2002 following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Alaska, and the eruption of an Andean volcano in 1960 after Chile's magnitude 9.5 megaquake.

Experts caution, though, that the nearly simultaneous events might simply be coincidence in the world's most seismically active country. Indonesia sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and its 17,500 islands are littered with tectonic threats.

For instance, on Merapi's home island of Java alone, more than 30 volcanoes loom over 120 million people.

Tsunami Earthquake a Rare Slow Temblor?

Meanwhile, experts note that this week's tsunami was unexpectedly large for the size of the associated earthquake.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that triggered the tsunami occurred along the same fault zone as the magnitude 9.0 temblor that set off the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Despite the less intense quake, Monday's tsunami still sent ten-foot (three-meter waves) crashing onto nearby islands, with some reports of waves as high as 19 feet (6 meters).

That could be because the event was a so-called tsunami earthquake, said Costas Synolakis, director of the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California, who cited calculations by geophysicist Emile Okal of Northwestern University. (Okal was out of the country and unavailable for comment.)

Although many types of quakes can trigger tsunamis, a tsunami earthquake is a unique case. In such quakes, slippage of the tectonic plates is unusually slow, occurring over a far longer period than would be expected based on the intensity of the seismic shift, Synolakis said by email.

"The reason for the slowness of tsunami earthquakes is unclear," Synolakis said. "The hypothesis is that it is due to fractured or jagged rocks that slow the rupture. We just don't know, but we do know that they generate larger tsunamis, hence the common name. ... "

Monday's event was the first tsunami from a slow earthquake to be recorded by a tsunamograph, Synolakis added, which could provide valuable data in unraveling the mysteries of tsunami earthquakes.
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Resurection

Hasrat ke peraduan tiba-tiba buyar ketika teringat pada mainan lama. Ya, mainan karena pada awalnya iseng ngeblog motivasinya mau nyoba Google Adsense. Ehh baru dua minggu pasang iklan Dollar masuk ke kantong (akun Adesense.red). Setelah sekian lama tidak "ngreken" Adsense, entah itu alasan kerja, ngemong, gak ada koneksi etc. akhirnya terbersit keinginan nyemplung lagi. Setelah edit sana sini dan nominal $ PakDhe Sam ga nambah-nambah juga, ternyata bnyak yang perlu di maintenance lagi..SEMANGATTTT..ROSO..ROSO.. Read More..