Tech
New research will study impact of COVID-19 on Halifax's long-term care residents – HalifaxToday.ca
An infectious disease expert at Dalhousie University will be leading a study aimed at finding out why elderly people are more at risk of severe complications when contracting COVID-19.
Dr. Lisa Barrett said it’s clear seniors, particularly those living in long-term care facilities, have been hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, but why that is isn’t quite known.
“Why their immune system responds differently and doesn’t prevent infection, or how their overall state of health or frailty level can impact their ability to resist COVID-19 is not clear,” she told NEWS 95.7 fill-in host Jordi Morgan.
“The first part of our study looks at people who are, say, 100 who did really well with COVID, or 65 with COVID and didn’t do well at all, and try to understand what the differences are in their immune system that make a successful response or not.”
The study will involve long-term care facility residents in the Halifax area and 356 people have already signed up to participate.
Over the next year, Barrett’s team of experts in frailty research, immunology, virology and clinical infectious disease will also be looking into vaccine effectiveness in the elderly population.
“Although we don’t know the details, immune systems are different in older people and we need to figure that out,” she explained.
Barrett is hoping the results will have implications well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A great deal of knowledge will be generated about immune systems in older people in general that we have vastly understudied in the past,” she said. “We know infections in older people are one of the leading causes of death, and we don’t really understand that.”
“Adding a frailty lens in here, and also down deep immune cell descriptions is going to help us, not only with COVID-19, but in designing better responses, better treatments and better vaccines for older people.”
Barrett’s team has received $1.9 million in funding for the research from the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.
Tech
Downhill Bikes of Sea Otter – Part 2
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@juanhall: I gotta say, this was the most interesting bike in this post….love that Intense is experimenting with gearboxes…I can see it have a huge effect on DH bikes….thank god there’s still people pushing things. Now, they need to make an Enduro bike with the Pinion MGU!
Tech
Important updates regarding the Bob-Birnie Arena
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The City of Pointe-Claire would like to inform you that the Bob-Birnie arena will be closed for its annual maintenance as of Monday, April 29. The Annex rink will reopen to the public on Monday, May 13, and the arena’s Main rink will be accessible as of Monday, June 3.
Public skating will resume on May 13, and the summer public activities programming will begin on June 3 when both rinks have reopened to the public.
In addition to the annual maintenance of the facility, two renovation projects are also scheduled to start at the same time:
Installation of new sound systems
The City will be replacing its current sound systems in both the Main rink and Annex rink, to offer arena visitors a better overall experience, whether watching from the stands or participating in on-ice activities. This project is expected to be conducted throughout the month of May.
Renovation of locker rooms in the Main Rink
The City will also be renovating the five locker rooms located in the Main rink, to bring up to date the amenities currently available to participants. These renovations are expected to begin in early May and will be completed by mid-August.
For all information about the Bob-Birnie arena, visit the arena’s page on our website.
Tech
Surprise Apple Event Hints at First New iPads in Years – CNET
We haven’t seen a new iPad in years, but Apple seems likely to change that in just a few weeks. All signs point to the release of new iPad models in the first week of May.
This morning, I received an email invite for a virtual Apple event, scheduled for May 7 at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET). The invite, which says “Let Loose,” shows a drawing of a hand holding an Apple Pencil. Considering the iPad is the only device that uses the Pencil — that doesn’t leave much to the imagination.
Apple’s been expected to release new OLED-screened iPad Pros with newly designed Pencils and Magic Keyboard cases. New iPad Airs are also expected, including a larger-screened 12.9-inch model. Apple’s iPad Air lineup tends to be slightly redesigned versions of previous-model iPad Pros, so just look to the M2 iPad Pro lineup for a sense of what the next Airs could be. These would be the first new iPads since the iPad Pro M2 model arrived in late 2022.
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