Category Archives: Chemistry

For nearly a century the firm of Teal & Mackrill in the port city of Hull in northeast England has made paints for special applications, like fishing trawlers and factory floors. It produces marine paint, for example, with ingredients to prevent barnacles from encrusting hulls.

Now in a little-noticed consequence of the new Brexit trade deal, the company is facing real concerns about its future. Geoff Mackrill, the third member of his family to helm the company, said that growing British regulatory burdens on chemicals may mean that eventually he wont be able to obtain some of the additives that make his paints distinctive.

The worry is that some of those materials that we use, he said, may become unavailable because of those costs.

It is a concern that is spread across Britains 33 billion (or about $45 billion) a year chemical industry.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, when he announced the trade deal on Dec. 24, said Britain would now be free to set our own standards, to innovate in the way that we want. Business people like Mr. Mackrill were relieved that Britain had avoided a chaotic exit and that goods made in Britain could continue to cross over to Europe free of tariffs.

But some companies, notably in the chemical industry, are finding that business has become more complex rather than easier. The European Unions elaborate and burdensome regulations may no longer apply inside Britain, but they remain a fact of life for British firms like Mr. Mackrills that wish to continue selling their goods in Europe.

Adding to the burden, the British government is creating its own demanding set of chemical regulations, a mirror of the E.U. laws. An industry group said the cost to chemical businesses of recreating the European regulations, which requires extensive documentation, could reach as much as 1 billion, potentially a major burden on small firms and those with thin earnings margins.

The regulatory changes, plus the fact that chemicals can have long supply chains, have led some businesses to rethink their activities in Britain.

Before Brexit, Aston Chemicals, a firm based in Aylesbury, about 50 miles northwest of London, imported chemicals from around the globe, performed the necessary paperwork, paid any import duty, and then dispatched them by the truckload to European makers of moisturizers or dandruff shampoos.

Using Britain as a hub worked incredibly well, said Dani Loughran, the companys managing director. But after Brexit, it doesnt.

Trucks in Britain bound for Europe now face lengthy customs procedures at the border. And while British-made goods can still enter the European Union duty free, thats not the case for goods that originated elsewhere.

So, an importer like Aston Chemicals needs to pay tariffs on products made in the United States or Asia, and then again when it distributes them to the European Union, effectively doubling the rates, Ms. Loughran said.

Consequently, the company will now instead supply Europe from a base in Poland, a member of the European Union. It has cut its British warehouse staff from three to one.

These new obstacles arent just a drag for the chemical industry.

I think everyone who has been using the U.K. as a distribution center for Europe is going to be affected in the same way, Ms. Loughran said. They are going to find it very difficult from now on.

The shift will leave Ms. Loughrans British arm mainly catering to the local market but even that prospect has a regulatory cloud hanging over it.

She is accustomed to working with the European Unions chemical regulation system known as REACH, which has a reputation for strictness. Companies are required to submit lengthy files on each chemical substance that they supply inside the European Union, detailing its properties and uses as well as the potential risks and hazards, to the European Chemical Agency, based in Helsinki. Ms. Loughran said REACH was a headache, which we dreaded and cursed, but at least it covered the whole trading bloc including Britain.

But the chemical industry had hoped that, after Brexit, Britain and the European Union would continue sharing data filed under REACH, but that language did not make it into Decembers deal.

Companies now face the prospect of making voluminous and largely duplicate filings on the chemicals they want to sell in Britain with a newly created British agency, UK REACH. The fees charged and the work required in reconstructing data on product safety and other matters, which is expected to take several years, could eventually add up to 1 billion, according to estimates from the Chemical Industries Association, a British trade body.

A company cant simply cut and paste statements and files that have been previously lodged with the European regulator because, in many cases, the filings are full of commercially sensitive intellectual property belonging to other firms.

Stephen Elliott, the industry groups chief executive, said chemical firms operating in Britain could be forced to replicate almost word for word the submissions they have already made to the European regulator.

That is a pointless use of resource, he said.

Mr. Elliott said that the industry continued to lobby the government to agree to accept the filings it has already made under REACH, but said that at this point such an outcome looked like a tall order because of the governments aversion to relying on European regulation.

Executives say it makes little sense for chemical companies to incur similar regulatory costs to those of the European Union to sell products in Britain, whose economy is around one-seventh the size of that of the European Union. Industry executives also doubt that the British chemical agency will have sufficient staff and resources to measure up to its European counterpart, which employs around 600 people.

The combination of Brexit and UK REACH regulations isnt very helpful when companies are considering where to site new investment, said Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting, a firm that focuses on chemicals. In other words, new investment may go elsewhere.

A souring of the chemical industry on Britain would be a blow to the post-Brexit economy. Chemicals may not be as visible as some other industries, but these substances are integral to a wide range of products, including cars and shampoo. It is a major business in Britain that accounts for a hefty 9 percent of exports, with almost 60 percent going to the European Union, and employs about 94,000 people, according to government statistics.

One worry is that firms will decide that supplying some chemicals that earn low profit margins or sell in small quantities, like the ingredients Mr. Mackrill buys for his paints, is no longer worthwhile. So far the leaders of the industry are taking a wait-and-see approach, though they look askance at new red tape and costs in Britain.

BASF, the German chemical giant, which sells around 1,200 substances in Britain, estimates that UK REACH could cost the company 70 million.

If the costs of bringing products to the U.K. market rise to make them uneconomic, we are not going to do it and make a loss, said Geoff Mackey, director of communications and sustainability at BASF in Britain.

Smaller British companies, though, are more likely to feel the impact. If they want to continue to be serious players, they need to sell to Europe and stay in line with European regulation, they say.

Mr. Mackrill has already felt obligated to set up a company in the Netherlands to comply with the rules of the European Union, where he sends around 10 percent of his products. He also has up to two people working full time on the regulatory implications of Brexit, a drain on the resources of a firm with 70 employees.

Mr. Mackrill, who is now executive chairman of his company, seems confident that a company that has been around since the early 20th century can navigate the Brexit shoals, but he says others may judge that the easiest course is to move their operations to the giant market next door.

Some of the manufacturers will probably look at it and go, Why dont we manufacture that in Europe?, Mr. Mackrill said. Thats not good for U.K. PLC, he said, meaning British business.

Follow this link:
For Britain's Chemical Industry, Brexits Red Tape Is Just Beginning - The New York Times

.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

The Lobos sit during a timeout in a game earlier this season. (Courtesy UNM Athletics)

When you lose by 23 points, odds are good no lineup had much success.

So scouring the stats to find what lineup worked and what lineup up didnt work might not exactly be a task worthy of much time or effort.

But after Paul Weir said over the past week both after the Utah State loss last Friday in Lubbock and after Wednesdays win at Dixie State that shortening the lineup and starting to find those mixes of players and chemistry among his players was a priority, I found some things from Saturdays game a bit confusing.

................................................................

Please understand, I dont pretend to have better answers than coaches on player rotations as they are in practices and sometimes players play or dont play not based on what we see in games, but discipline, grades, family or health matters, etc. We dont always know why rotations are what that are, so I usually waste little time or energy thinking about it.

But since the topic was basically brought up by Weir himself, I find it curious that on Wednesday night in a win at Dixie State it seemed as though the Lobos stumbled onto a lineup combination that worked well together, then didnt put it on the floor once against a UNLV team it couldnt score much on at all.

What did they have to lose?

The details

Wednesday, only one Lobos roster combination had a point differential better than plus-2. That means the entire game, against a Division I newcomer that is currently ranked No. 328 by KenPom.com, UNM only had one lineup combination that thrived on both the defensive end and the offensive end of the court.

LINEUP: PG Isaiah Marin, PG Isaiah Marin, G Saquan Singleton, G Javonte Johnson, F Rod Brown, C Valdir ManuelTIME PLAYED: 5 minutes, 38 seconds SCORE: 16-2 (plus-14)

All other combinations in the game were no better than a plus-2 and most were negative in a game the Lobos won by nine.

So, on Saturday, I expected to see that lineup get another look. Instead, those five players werent on the floor together once. They all played, just not together.

I dont get it.

(NOTE: Score differential is how a game determines who wins and who loses. Thats sort of important, so tracking score differential for lineups is a fairly important statistic that doesnt get talked about enough)

So, what lineup did work best on Saturday for UNM, at least in terms of score differential? Three had a plus-2 differential. Thats it. Thats the best any group UNM had did in the game.[5-3 / 3:09] PG Jeremiah Francis, G Javonte Johnson, G Makuach Maluach, F Emmanuel Kuac, C Bayron Matos

[2-0 / 1:33] PG Isaiah Marin, G Javonte Johnson, G Makuach Maluach, F Emmanuel Kuac, C Bayron Matos

[2-0 / 1:20] PG Nolan Dorsey, G Kurt Wegscheider, G Javonte Johnson, F Valdir Manuel, C Bayron Matos

Even the starting lineup isnt finding much success or even from one game to the next finding time on the court together.

UNMs starting five on Saturday was PG Isaiah Marin, G Saquan Singleton, G Makuach Maluach, F Rod Brown and C Bayron Matos.

That same combination of five players on Wednesday played for a grand total of 7 second together.

Saturday, that starting five played 7 minutes, 28 seconds together. They were outscored by UNLV 14-4, meaning the Lobos starting lineup had a minus-10 on Saturday and, frankly, it could have been worse when you consider that group had a miserable 0.38 points per possession.

For those not used to PPP numbers, 0.38 is bad. UNM averages 70 possessions per game. 0.38 points per possession stretched out over an average game would mean the Lobos would score just under 27 points.

Heres the game story I filed after Saturdays game:

Seven consecutive losses in conference play isnt exactly something that happens that often with the Lobo basketball program.

In fact, its never happened before in the Mountain West era for UNM (1999-2000 season to the present). An 0-3 start in the 2006-07 season was the previous worst.

This season represents the worst start record wise to a conference season since the 1957-58 Lobos under Bob Sweeney went 0-14 in good old Mountain States Athletic Conference.

As for longest conference losing streaks at any point of a season (not just to start a conference season), heres the list going back to that same season.

Worst Lobo conference losing streaks since 1957-58

(losses, season, coach, final conference record)

14 1957-58 (Bob Sweeney) 0-14 MSAC13 1958-59 (Bob Sweeney) 1-13 MSAC8 2014-15 (Craig Neal) 7-11 MWC7 1970-71 (Bob King) 4-10 WAC7 1961-62 (Bob Sweeney) 3-11 MSAC

Through Saturdays games, UNMs strength of schedule in league play is ranked No. 1 according to KenPom.com with the four opponents Boise State, Utah State, Nevada and one of two games played with UNLV having a combined league record of 21-5 and having four of the top six national rankings in the league.

Utah State (11-3 overall, 8-0 MWC) KenPom 48Boise State (12-1 overall, 8-0 MWC) KenPom 57 Nevada (9-5 overall, 4-3 MWC) KenPom 109 UNLV (3-6 overall, 1-2 MWC) KenPom 126

New Mexico, meanwhile, hasnt helped itself by any stretch of the imagination. But even a good Lobos team would find this opening stretch of league games challenging.

And the somewhat good news is that while 21-5 is the record of MWC opponents the Lobos have faced so far, the combined record of opponents in the next five league game is 4-14, including 0-and-8 San Jose State, who the Lobos host starting Thursday in St. George, Utah, at Dixie State University.

So, at least theres that.

Weve got to be the more aggressive team. Saquan Singleton, Lobos junior guard who took a game-high nine free throw attempts (he made seven) on Saturday, constantly attacking the rim but oddly not having a single shot attempt from the field.

In UNMs seven Mountain West games, there have been six starters (in five of those games) who didnt score a point. That is the most so far in the Mountain West.

Obviously that will happen every now and then, but clearly it isnt ideal when one of your starting five doesnt chip in at all in the scoring column. And when it keeps happening, well

Here is a list of number of times a starter didnt score in a game this season in Mountain West play:

New Mexico: 6 (7 games)Fresno State: 5 (7 games)San Jose State: 5 (8 games)Nevada: 3 (7 games)San Diego State: 2 (6 games)UNLV: 2 (3 games)Air Force: 1 (7 games)Colorado State: 1 (8 games)Boise State: 0 (8 games)Utah State: 0 (8 games)Wyoming: 0 (4 games)

Since this is my column, I get to sneak things in like the pre-game entertainment I was lucky enough to have in my home on Saturday.

Virtual flamenco class for the 11-year-old means virtual flamenco class for the 1-year-old, too.

I hope the National Institute of Flamenco doesnt start billing us for two students after I post this.

UNMs starting point guard position in the past six games (3 starts apiece for Jeremiah Francis and Isaiah Marin) has hit 1-of-31 shots (0-for-14 on 2-point attempts and 1-for-17 on 3-point attempts).

For Saturday, it was an 0-for-3 shooting game for Isaiah Marin, who got his third start after a career-high 13 points off the bench in Wednesdays win over Dixie State. Hes now 0-for-12 shooting with no free throw attempts in three games as a starter and 6-for-11 to go along with 3-of-4 at the line in his past three games coming off the bench.

Weve at least got good backup point guard play, I felt, over the course of the year. Our starting point guard margin, we were giving up a lot but our backup point guards were able to come in and at least solidify some minutes, said Lobos coach Paul Weir. So, when you look overall at the 40 minutes, like okay, maybe their starting point guard outplayed ours, but our backup point guard outplay theirs. You know what? Lets just kind of keep working on it.

The issue tonight was the starting and the back up I mean (UNLV) backup point guard Nick Blake came in and outplayed us, too. So when youre kind of getting beat at both spots, it is a lot to come back from and weve got to find a way to either start to give other players some opportunities in there or just put them in some different positions.

Who needs Sam Merrill?

Utah State improved to 8-0 in Mountain West play, sweeping the San Diego State Aztecs on Thursday (57-45) and Saturday (64-59). Saturdays win was on a national CBS broadcast and the Aggies are establishing themselves as one of two clear title favorites along with Boise State (sorry Colorado State and San Diego State).

What a world we live in where the top of the Mountain West is the Utah State Aggies and Boise State Broncos while the New Mexico Lobos are winless, UNLV is regularly a rung or two lower than the level its fans believe, and SDSU is now just 3-3.

There were four games in the Mountain West on Saturday, one coming on Sunday

SATURDAYUtah State 64, San Diego State 59 UNLV 77, New Mexico 54 Air Force 72, Wyoming 69 Colorado State 88, San Jose State 61

SUNDAY Fresno State at Nevada, 1 PT/2 MT (CBS Sports Network)

Mountain West standings through Saturday:8-0 Boise State8-0 Utah State7-1 Colorado State4-3 Nevada3-3 San Diego State3-4 Fresno State2-5 Air Force1-4 Wyoming1-2 UNLV0-7 New Mexico0-8 San Jose State

Things arent off to a great start for UNM with the schools four days and four games in Las Vegas:

FRIDAY: UNLV womens basketball handed the Lobos their first loss of the season, 78-60

SATURDAY: UNLVs mens team beat UNM 77-54 SUNDAY: Game 2 of the womens series tips off at 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT (TheMW.com/Watch)MONDAY: Game 2 of the mens series tips at 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT on FS1

Here are the Lobos plus/minus stats from Saturdays game with minutes played in parenthesis:

+6 Emmanual Kuac (8:25)+3 Javonte Johnson (16:56)+1 Kurt Wegscheider (4:37)-2 Nolan Dorsey (6:59)-9 Valdir Manuel (24:35)-11 Isaiah Marin (16:43)-14 Jeremiah Francis (21:57)-15 Bayron Matos (22:19)-21 Makuach Maluach (30:16)-26 Rod Brown (21:55)-27 Saquan Singleton (25:18)

For those of you who like a digital version of stats from Saturdays game, here you go: UNLV 77, New Mexico 54

And for the more traditional, .pdf stat sheet, here you go: UNLV 77, New Mexico 54

UNLV has won five in a row against the Lobos, the longest stretch since winning seven in a row from March 2, 2002 through March 11, 2004 a stretch that spanned the final season under former Lobos coach Fran Fraschilla and the first two seasons under Ritchie McKay.

The series is 63 games deep (UNLV leads 38-25). The seven game streak mentioned in the paragraph above is the longest win streak in the series for the Rebels.

UNMs longest win streak against UNLV was four in a row from Jan. 7, 1978, through Feb. 23, 1979.

The Lobos had three shot clock violations in Saturdays game.

The Guesses went 3-1 on Saturday and Im now at 18-18-1 on the season.

With my daughters coin flip picks going just 1-3 on the day, shes now 17-19-1, which means for the first time this season IM BEATING HER!

Yes, the college hoops writer who is an AP Top 25 voter, on the Julius Erving Award selection committee, has in the past been on the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Board of Directors and makes a living off this whole college basketball thing is happy that, for the first time this season, he has a better record than his coin flipping daughter!

Sorry, not sorry.

Take that, #TeamCoin!

View original post here:
Emptying the Notebook: What happened to the Lobos finding chemistry? - Albuquerque Journal

Commentary

The Boston Celtics put together their worst performance of the season on Sunday, falling 105-75 to the New York Knicks as Kemba Walker made his season debut.

Here are five takeaways from a game the Celtics would probably prefer to forget.

One element of Walkers return that probably merits some attention is his chemistry with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Last season, Walker slid into a tertiary role during the postseason, but he never appeared to be moving well and his role made a lot of sense.

Now Walker looks healthy and told reporters after the game hes pain-free. When the rust falls away (he committed five of Bostons 17 turnovers), he will shoulder a major role in the Celtics offense again he started last years All-Star game and was an All-NBA selection two years ago. That offense will a big boost for a Celtics team that has missed Gordon Haywards production.

The Celtics have thrived with the ball in Jaylen Browns hands. Per Cleaning the Glass, Browns usage rate has been 28.2 percent so far this season a career-high by a significant amount. Trusted with more, Brown has done more: 25.8 points with shooting splits of 53.7/41.9/80.

Clearly, the Celtics need to keep the ball in Browns hands, and Walker doesnt foresee any issues.

None. None at all, Walker said. He just has to keep on being super aggressive, and thats it. With me, Im going to be out there and Im going to do my part. Im going to play hard, Im going to shoot my open shots. Hes killing it. I dont want him to think just because Im back he cant keep killing it, because he can. Thats what Im here for. Im here to continue to encourage him just to be great, which hes been all year. I just want to try to add onto it. Thats it.

Walker went down hard in the third quarter after taking a shot to the ribs, and he briefly went back to the locker room. After assuring Brad Stevens he was fine (and that he wasnt lying), Walker still didnt return to the floor due to his 20-minute limit.

After the game, Walker said he wasnt certain how long he would have restrictions, but he felt great.

Im going to be honest, I hope its over next game, he said. But Im sure its going to be for a few games. Im just getting back. We just want to see how my knee reacts after these games and stuff like that. Itll ramp up though. Ill get there. Its no rush. I already took my time coming back and Im going to keep taking my time until Im full go.

You can start with the counting stats for the Celtics and run nearly the entire way down the line. The Celtics shot 29.8 percent from the floor, 15.2 percent from three, and 62.1 percent from the free-throw line. Two players scored in double figures, one of whom Marcus Smart had 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting. They turned the ball over 17 times and gave up 10 offensive rebounds. The Knicks outscored the Celtics 48-32 in the paint and 38-25 from the bench.

Dig a little deeper, and the numbers are even worse. Per Sean Grande of 98.5, Bostons 29.8 percent performance was its in 17 years. The 37-point deficit Boston achieved in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, was its largest at TD Garden since the Celtics 53-point loss to Detroit in 2003.

They just played way harder than us, Daniel Theis said. They really whipped our ass from the first minute. Throwing the ball all over the place, we had so many turnovers, we couldnt hit a shot. So were going to look at film, but then its just moving on. Youre going to have nights like this, but hopefully its just one night or two in the whole season. We can live with it if we learn from it, and go next game, and just play way harder, play our way again.

The Celtics could use Jayson Tatum and Rob Williams against the Philadelphia 76ers, but Stevens doesnt know whether either will be available yet. Based on their quarantine schedules, Wednesday is the earliest both could potentially return.

Thatll all be dependent on how the next few days go, Stevens said. Everybodys got their own different testing protocols they have to go through and the timeline that they have to be on. So I dont know what to expect for Wednesday night. Well just play it by ear and go with the information we get every morning.

However, the Celtics might not even have to travel by Wednesday. The Sixers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday was postponed, as Philly was forced to quarantine due to contact tracing. Per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice, the Sixers have no positive tests to report, but they played the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, who played Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Towns recently tested positive for COVID.

An afternoon tip with two players missing due to COVID against a lottery team in mid-January is a recipe for a trap game. Add in the new element of Walker, as well as New Yorks recent struggles, and Sundays result isnt surprising.

None of that excuses the loss, of course, and the Celtics didnt ask for excuses. The point is just that Sundays game while ugly and presumably embarrassing for the Celtics probably doesnt warrant panic.

We got beat by a team that was better than us today, Stevens said. Thats the beautiful part about basketball. Youre good if you play good in that 48 minutes. Thats it, thats all that matters in a given game.

Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.

Great, youre signed up!

See the rest here:
5 takeaways as the Knicks crush the Celtics, including Kemba Walkers chemistry with Jaylen Brown - Boston.com

The Denver Nuggets have thrived during Michael Porter Jr.'s extended Covid-19 absence. With Porter ... [+] potentially returning this week, questions loom about his reintegration into the rotation, beginning with whether he'll start or come off the bench.

After the Denver Nuggets completed their most successful playoff run since 2009 last year by reaching the Western Conference Finals, ambitions were sky high coming into the current season.

Head coach Michael Malone didnt hedge in summing up the teams expectations prior to Denvers regular season opener. Obviously our goal...we haven't attained our goal yet. That's to win a championship, he explained, and from the coaching staff to the players to management, the message was clear from all corners of the Nuggets organization: They believe themselves a genuine title contender, and their goal is nothing short of a ring.

But with Denver getting off to their worst start in six years, the disappointment set in quickly as they managed to win just one of their first five games. Even for a team expecting a few bumps on the road following a significant offseason roster shakeup, getting that deep in the hole so quickly fell far below the expectations of an aspiring title contender.

Making matters worse, the Nuggets talented rising star sophomore Michael Porter Jr. who had just gotten the nod as Denvers starting small forward had to begin a seven-day quarantine after playing only the first four games of the season due to the NBAs health and safety protocols.

And that inauspicious development marked just the beginning of a still-unfolding situation which progressed from the announcement of a second quarantine of at least 10 days to be added to the initial seven-day period, to Malones eventual confirmation last Tuesday prior to Denvers game at the Brooklyn Nets that Porter has in fact contracted COIVID-19.

While Porter has been sidelined, Malone has mostly wanted to sideline discussion of his return as well, though he acknowledged following yesterdays practice that he could be back as early as this week.

Ill be honest, I havent spent a lot of time thinking about that, Malone said when asked about reintroducing Porter back into Denvers rotation. I think the earliest hell be able to get back is as we head out on that nine-day, five-game road trip. The hope is that he may be able to join us as we leave for Phoenix. But that is not a definite. Well have to wait and see.

In the meantime, Denver has in large part righted the ship since their rocky start despite Porters untimely absence, most recently beating the Golden State Warriors at home at Ball Arena to even their record at .500 with their sixth win. In a season when head coach Michael Malone has beaten the drum at nearly every opportunity that the Nuggets need to play well for the full 48 minutes and cant take quarters off, it was one of their most complete wins, and one that helps solidify a growing sense that Denver is a team which has finally found its footing.

From the seasons opening tip-off, the Nuggets faced two major challenges to getting on track. First, the replacement of free agent departees and former key rotation players Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig with seven new draft and free agency additions represented Denvers biggest roster shakeup in years after several seasons of having one of the leagues highest player continuity rates.

The other, and arguably even more critical factor Denver would need to adapt to was the insertion of Porter into the starting lineup. The was a precarious move by Malone on a number of fronts, beginning before the season even started with the insistence by last seasons starting small forward Will Barton III that he is a starter in this league raising doubts as to whether he would accept a role coming off the bench.

Porter getting sidelined after four games did carry the somewhat convenient side effect of bumping the question of roles to the back burner by allowing Barton to resume his starting position (for now). But the absence also comes at great opportunity cost to the Nuggets, as making progress on solving one of the most critical puzzles the team faces this season how to more fully and smoothly integrate Porter into the starting lineup alongside Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic must be put on hold until his return.

One of the biggest keys to the Nuggets finding their footing after those early struggles was the bench unit where nearly all of Denvers new player minutes are concentrated finally establishing cohesion, chemistry and a defensive identity. According to NBA.com, that reserve unit has been seventh in the league in net rating at plus-4.1 through the month of January, an impressive and dramatic upswing from a December in which they were 24th with a minus-4.3 net rating.

Denver Nuggets 2020-21 Starters and Bench Net Rating Games 1-4 vs Games 5-12.

The chart above shows the difference between the first four games in which Michael Porter Jr. played and the most recent eight games where he did not.

It should be emphasized at this point that the numbers in the chart are not presented to suggest that the Nuggets have played better recently because Porter has been missing games. For one thing correlation doesnt necessarily imply causation, for another were dealing with very small samples, and for one more still Porter was in the starting lineup and not part of the more-problematic reserve unit early on.

And well beyond those factors, there are truckloads of more reasons Denver struggled early, from JaMychal Green missing the beginning of the season to several players playing poorly to a drastically shortened training camp and preseason depriving the team of time to integrate their new players. There are many good reasons to think that the Nuggets would have found their way to bouncing back from their poor start had Porter continued playing as well. And on the flip side of that, while there are certainly questions especially on the defensive end about the impact of Porters return, there

But with all of those disclaimers duly noted, the improvements shown in the chart are in fact descriptive of what has happened so far, and a clear indication of just how much f a turnaround Denver made after those first few games, a success which both the starting lineup and the bench have managed to achieve in Porters absence.

Which raises the question: Now that the Nuggets have established some functional, effective combinations in both their bench and starting units, what will be the impact of Michael Porter Jr.s return to the rotation, and more to the point, will Malone re-insert him into the starting lineup, or try to integrate him with the reserves?

In a vacuum, the coaching staffs preference might be to hang a do not disturb sign on both the current starting five and bench rotation, as each unit has found a way to thrive in recent games.

The old-school, well-established five-man starting group of Jokic, Murray, Barton, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap (with the exception of Harris missing the last two games) which played the bulk of last season has settled into functioning like the well-oiled machine they can be at their most optimal. And while both Harris and Barton have faced shooting struggles (they are in the 46th and 33rd percentiles, respectively, in effective field goal percentage for their positions according to Cleaning the Glass), the prospect of re-introducing Porter into that mix carries the potential risk of disrupting that smooth-functioning chemistry.

Likewise, with the bench unit having just overcome its early woes to have reached a high-functioning level of play in recent games, disturbing what might be a somewhat delicate balance by plugging Porter into the reserve rotation could derail at least some of the progress they have made, especially on the defensive end where Porters weaknesses tend to be concentrated.

But obviously Michael Malone obviously can not and should not avoid playing Porter. As one of Denvers top three most talented players, one with All-Star if not All-NBA upside and arguably the Nuggets best hope for becoming the legitimate third prong of a big three carrying the team through playoff runs, a more fully-optimized and integrated Porter is intrinsic and indispensable to both short- and long-term success for the team.

As to whether Malone plans to insert Porter with the starters or bench, the coach has not yet tipped his hand.

Well figure Michael Porter out when hes cleared and ready to come back, Malone said following yesterdays practice. And well feel, How are we playing, how is our unit going? And well make the appropriate decision at that time.

Easing Porter back in through the bench rotation seems like the most plausible outcome at this point, and if thats the case his impact on their defensive effectiveness will be the key factor to watch for.

But whether its to the bench or the starting five, Porters return, challenging as it may be, will be extremely welcome to a team that still struggles with getting consistent production from most players no named Jokic, and is facing the rigors of an upcoming five-game road trip where a deep bench will be critical to reducing playing time and fatigue, and his scoring and rebounding production will be badly needed.

Visit link:
Denver Nuggets Finding Chemistry In Michael Porter Jr.s Covid-19 Absence, But What Happens When He Returns? - Forbes

It seems Abhishek Nigam and Yesha Rughani are not only raising eyebrows with their chemistry on screen. The young actors who are paired opposite each other in 'Hero Gayab Mode On' also extend that chemistry off screen on the shooting sets. Says Abhishek, "The chemistry that we share on sets is certainly special and I couldnt be happier to have her as my co-star. The scenes that we have shot till date are mostly comic or romantic and we feel audiences like our jodi. I like her friendly, gentle and sweet nature."And it seems the admiration is mutual as Yesha too finds Abhishek "caring". She adds, "Abhishek and I are really comfortable with each other. It has been wonderful working with him right from the first day we met during the mock shoot. We instantly built a connection, which is still growing as we continue to spend more time together. I really appreciate his knowledge and dedication. He always does everything with a smile. This is something that I truly like and appreciate about him. We are busy making memories during shoot and he is really caring towards his co-actors. We have done several scenes together especially wearing harness and he has always ensured my safety and is protective towards me which is really heartwarming.While Abhishek is caring towards Yesha, he also admits to playing some of the biggest pranks on her. "I play pranks on Yesha the most but she too does that in return. She has ended up shouting at the top of her voice, it is real fun troubling and teasing her," laughs Abhishek recalling a prank she pulled on him on Diwali. "She burst crackers in front of my door and I was so scared for sometime."

See original here:
Abhishek Nigam confesses he shares special chemistry with Yesha Rughani - Times of India

Fossil Fuels

Published on January 19th, 2021 | by Guest Contributor

January 19th, 2021 by Guest Contributor

Courtesy of Union Of Concerned Scientists.ByGenna Reed, Lead science and policy analyst

As peoples minds have rightfully been onthe state of our democracy and the Trump administration has been shedding agency heads left and right after inciting insurrection, the EPAs administrator, Andrew Wheeler, has stuck aroundto finalize a long list of destructive items that represent the administrations agenda all along: industry profits over public health.

Specifically, in its final days, the administration has taken a wrecking ball to the scientific basis for public protections against hazardous chemicals. Wheeler even had the gall to promote theEPAs Environmental Justice report, after we know that under his leadership,longstanding inequities have been neglected or made even worse. For example, environmental contaminants have not been as readily cleaned up at Superfund sites in communities of color. And Wheeler has weakened safety assessments of harmful chemicals by failing to use the best available science, which means fewer protections for those already carrying the burden of environmental toxins.

Its important to note that behind each of these actions there are EPA career scientists doing important work at the agency, but who have been thwarted by political officials at the EPA or the White House at different stages of the process.

Here are just five actions from the past two weeks that illuminate the Trump administrations toxic legacy on chemical safety:

In todays federal register, theEPA announced its intention not to finalize several bansproposed by its own staff under the Obama administration for three highly toxic chemicals: TCE, NMP, and methylene chloride. Over the past few years, the Trump administration has actively worked to delay or weaken these proposed bans and then reassess the chemicals using methods that were criticized by its own Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals. Last year,the White House was inappropriately involvedin rewriting the EPAs risk evaluation for TCE (a chemical used in dry cleaning and vapor degreasing facilities which can cause cancer and has development effects),downplaying the association between exposure and fetal heart defects. In 2019, the EPA issueda partial ban on methylene chloride (a chemical used in paint strippers linked to cancer and can be acutely lethal) for consumer uses, failing to adequately protect workers at risk of illness and death.

In response, the Environmental Defense Funds lead senior scientist, Richard Denison, stated that It appears that blocking these bans and denying crucial protections to workers and consumers for four years was not enough for the Trump EPA. This shameful move that epitomizes the Trump EPAs concerted attacks on public health is a transparent attempt to further constrain the incoming administration. It is yet another stain on Mr. Wheelers dismalrecord.

APoliticostoryon Wednesday reported on news from internal EPA sources that risk assessment for PFBS (a short-chain PFAS replacement for PFOS used in firefighting foam, food packaging, and other products) was significantly weakened by issuing a range for reference doses rather than a single number. The change was made by staffers in the agencys pesticides office at the direction of political officials, not the career scientists at the EPA who have been working on this assessment for years. In fact, several of those scientists would not put their names on the document as a result.

Typically, the EPAs IRIS program conducts a systematic review of the best available evidence and suggests a single reference dose (RfD), which is the amount of something one can be exposed to in the short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic), which is likely to result in a low risk of negative health effects. The inclusion of a range of values is something that industry has been advocating for because it allows states to pick the preferable end of the range to set their standards, possibly ignoring risks to the most sensitive populations. This also has the fingerprints ofNancy Beckand tracks all the way back to herhighly-criticizedattempt to meddle with risk assessments while working at OIRA in this2006 Draft Bulletin.

The additional White House review that this document was purportedly subject to opens it and future scientific documents up to political scrutiny and more delay. This is an unacceptable outcome for a scientific document that would serve to help states and the EPA set standards to protect all of us from the dangers of this PFOS-substitute in drinking water.

On Monday,The Hillreportedon documents they obtained that revealed White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) interference in the EPAs guidance on PFAS imports. The guidance sent to OMB weighed banning the import of products containing PFAS in any part of a product, but OMBs significant and substantive changes limited the ban to only products coated with PFAS. As Melanie Benesh from Environmental Working Group illustrates, Products disintegrate over time, so if you have something with PFAS on the inside then you may be exposed over time. As it dissolves it gets into household dust, eventually it gets thrown away in a landfill and can leach PFAS and get into the environment that way. OIRAs involvement inevaluating guidance documentsis aTrump administration overreach into agency discretionon matters on which the agency has extensive expertise.

Late last week, the EPA denied apetition submitted in Octoberby Center for Environmental Health, Clean Cape Fear River Watch, Clean Cape Fear, Democracy Green, Toxic Free NC, and the NC Black Alliance. It simply asked the agency to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require Chemours, a PFAS polluter based in NC, to submit testing data and fund independent health studies to determine the exposure risks of 54 PFAS present in the Cape Fear River watershed. The denial letter speaks to the problems inherent to our chemical regulatory system that allow the release of chemicals without adequate evidence of their safety and with no requirements for industry to pay for further testing or independent review.

The great irony is thatTSCA allows for these massive data gaps, fails to require industry to fill them, and then uses them as a justification for being unable to set health-protective standards.

This action also speaks to Wheelers utter failure to listen to the needs of impacted communities. LaMeshia Whittington, campaign director for the North Carolina Black Alliancestated,Its preposterous that the EPA has chosen to dilute the intent of the petition and prioritize corporate interest over the needs of the communities affected in North Carolina. This decision reflects the environment the outgoing administration created, poison over our health and profit over the people. We wont stop here. We will continue to fight against our water being poisoned, and children left without a basic human right of access to clean water.

On January 6th, the EPA announced its final rule that dramatically restricts the science the agency can consider in rulemaking. It would downweight studies that rely on any nonpublic data including studies involving private medical records, interfering with many key public-health studies the agency relies on to set safeguards for chemicals. This rule was issued despite opposition from the scientific community and nearly one million comments overwhelmingly against its finalization. It was also issued and made immediately effective, which goes against typical procedure of a 30-day finalization window. A new lawsuit from the Environmental Defense Fund, The Montana Environmental Information Center, andCitizens for Clean Energyare challenging thelegality of the processby which it was rushed through the door at the 11thhour.

In response, UCS Center for Science and Democracy Director Andrew Rosenbergstated that, Its even more egregious that EPA has chosen to finalize these restrictions on science during the worst public health crisis in our lifetimes. This rule would interfere with the agencys urgent, ongoing work on a range of issues including links between environmental factors and COVID-19, the impacts of wildfire smoke on public health, and the effects of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on children by undermining the EPAs ability to use the best available science. Its a willful decision to throw away the exact tools the agency needs now.

President-elect Biden has repeatedly said his administration will listen to the science and that science will guide policy decisions. UCS will hold him to this promise and fight to reverse all of the many damaging changes that have been made to undermine science-based assessments and related policies at the EPA. We look forward to working with the incoming administration to undo these destructive policy decisions. New leadership at the EPA must commit to listening to its scientists, upholding scientific integrity, and using the best available science to craft policies that protect everyones health and safety.

Featured image by Nithin Sameer on Unsplash

Appreciate CleanTechnicas originality? Consider becoming aCleanTechnica member, supporter, or ambassador or apatron on Patreon.

Sign up for our free daily newsletter to never miss a story.

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Tags: Andrew Wheeler, Donald Trump, EPA Environmental Justice Report, Methylene Chloride, NMP, north carolina, PFAS, PFBS, TCE

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

Read the original:
5 Recent Actions That Epitomize Andrew Wheelers Caustic Chemical Safety Legacy - CleanTechnica