Note my ideas are simply brainstorming ideas offered in case they might stimulate creative solutions by others working in the area of ocean health, sustainable energy or clean air and water - the planet needs us to live in balance with the ecosystem.
Inventions generally go through many stages from early brain storming, through a model size prototype or two to a full-size prototype with revisions as needed. I grew up in a family with a mechanical engineer discussing various ideas and drawing blueprints or showing the family finished blueprints occasionally. Family members occasionally helped with testing gadgets for wind resistance factors - ie - read the numbers on this odd gadget out loud so they can be recorded for later calculations. (a three blade windmill blueprint drawing of the finished outline)(10 nontraditionally shaped windmills/wind turbines).
Previous post - Imagining Windmills - I plan to expand on the idea mentioned at the beginning of this series (part 2, part 3) regarding aerating the oxygen free areas of the ocean. Spinning windmills have been created for land use - modifying the idea to incorporate air flow within the spinning mast/central pipe would be like turning a fan inward, utilizing the air exhaust like a mini hurricane to push the air into high pressure areas of the ocean depths or to push purified air out into the area surrounding an urban region with a smog problem.
Our planet needs species, including us, that use resources in a sustainable way or else the environment becomes depleted, and species in the region become extinct if enough members cannot move to a new area. Locusts are an example of a species that can over consume resources and then fly away to over consume in another area. The overgrowth of algae blooms in the ocean may float over some area on the ocean currents however they can't fly away to a location farther away, so they die out once the excess of nutrients in the area has been consumed.
Ocean health is a big topic.
The series: 1. Oceans need oxygen, 2. Oxygenating the ocean's dead zone, 3. Non-traditional windmills can increase efficiency, 4. Upwelling tubes, hurricanes, and mussels. 5. Baking Soda to the rescue! - Yes really. 6. Supplementing the Ocean, 7. Mussels - Delicious and Sustainable. 8. The big picture of climate change is bigger than businesses may consider. 9. Inventions Occur in Stages. 10. Stacked Horizontal Turbines. The series in one document, minimal images, on Google-docs: (Oxygenating the Ocean).
Additional information regarding smog & possible preventative health strategies:
Information about smog and potential negative health risks:
Causes and Effects of Smog, (conserve-energy-future.com),
Nanoparticles in polluted air, smoke & nanotechnology products have serious impact on health, Trinity College Dublin, June 11, 2012 (ScienceDaily.com).
Deadly Air Pollution Can Get Into the Bloodstream, 'Smoking Gun.' Study Suggests, Ian Johnston, April 26, 2017, The Independent, (independent.co.uk).
Smog induces oxidative stress and microbiota disruption, by Tit-Yee Wong, Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 25:2, April 2017, pp 235-244, (sciencedirect.com).
Smog Eating Paint Does More Harm Than Good, Harriet Fletcher, Sept. 4, 2017, (ChemistryWorld.com).
Nanomaterials and nanoparticles: Sources and toxicity, Cristina Buzea, Ivan I. Pacheco, and Kevin Robbie. Biointerphases 2, MR17 (2007); (avs.scitation.org). " “What would happen if we could arrange the atoms one by one the way we want them?" - Richard Feynman, credited with the concept of nanotechnology, at a Dec. 1959, American Physical Society meeting. Nanotechnology involves purposeful creation of tiny particles of various shape and function. The nano sized particles are similar in size to virus and some internal parts of the cell such as the diameter of the DNA spiral. Nanoparticles occur naturally or are created in wildfires or in evaporation of ocean spray. Some may be beneficial to health while other types have been found to be harmful. The very small size (below 1 micrometer) or small size in combination with a thread like shape can make the particles able to enter the body through the lungs or digestive system and then lodge in areas where they can cause damage. Their small size and/or long thread like length makes them difficult for white blood cells to remove as other foreign material can be removed from the body. The Environmental Protection Agency monitors "particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide" as regulated in the Clean Air Act and has proposed that fine particles below 2.5 micrometers in size also be monitored for the Air Quality Index. (page 26/MR41) Cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers, lung disease, and autoimmune conditions have been associated with increased levels of nanoparticles in the air. The health damage is often due to an increase in oxidative stress and adequate antioxidant rich vegetables and fruits with nutrients such as the antioxidant vitamin C may be protective against damage caused by nanoparticles. (page 29/MR44) (For symptoms of vitamin C deficiency & food sources see: Vitamin C, for beautiful skin inside and out.) Nanoparticles in greater quantities/greater concentration tend to clump together and then may be able to be removed by the white blood cells. Small doses may have increased risk due to their being able to be absorbed into the body instead of being removed by the defense mechanisms of lung tissue or by white blood cells. (If oxidative stress is a primary cause of damage then phytonutrients that increase Nrf2, a protein that helps us increase our own antioxidant production, would also likely be protective. For foods and phytonutrients that may help increase Nrf2 see: G10: Nrf2 Promoting Foods. - yes it helps
Reduction of oxidative damages induced by titanium dioxide nanoparticles correlates with induction of the Nrf2 pathway by GSPE (grape seed procyanidin extract) supplementation in mice - PubMed - NCBI (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28780322)
Nrf2 promoting phytonutrients could also help fish - "The Nrf2-Keap1 system is present not only in mammals, but in fish, suggesting that its roles in cellular defense are conserved throughout evolution among vertebrates." Molecular Mechanisms Activating the Nrf2-Keap1 Pathway of Antioxidant Gene Regulation, (liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ars.2005.7.385)
Role of the Nrf2-heme oxygenase-1 pathway in silver nanoparticle-mediated cytotoxicity, (sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041008X11004030) -- Nrf2 protects against DNA damage and cell death that can be caused by silver nanoparticles.
Too much Nrf2 activation isn't good though, as it can tip the antioxidant balance too far. Silaca nanoparticles seem to cause damage by increasing Nrf2 and other pathways. Guo C, Xia Y, Niu P, et al. Silica nanoparticles induce oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction in vitro via activation of the MAPK/Nrf2 pathway and nuclear factor-κB signaling. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015;10:1463-77. Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.2147/IJN.S76114 (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4345992/)
Ion plasma fields - electrically active atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in a gaseous form - are being used experimentally to promote wound healing. It seems to help by (i) modifying the redox-mediated tissue response, (ii) increasing the Nrf2 pathway and (iii) stabilizing the structure of the healing tissue. Schmidt, A.; Bekeschus, S. Redox for Repair: Cold Physical Plasmas and Nrf2 Signaling Promoting Wound Healing. Antioxidants 2018, 7, 146. (mdpi.com/2076-3921/7/10/146/htm)
Nanoparticles, human health hazard and regulation. Seaton A, Tran L, Aitken R, Donaldson K., J R Soc Interface. 2009;7 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S119-29. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).
Filtration of Nanoparticles from Traffic Should Become a Key Criterion of Building Ventilation, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, Nov. 16, 2017, (phys.org).
Chapter Two: Natural Sources of Nanoparticles, Nicolae Strambeanu, Laurentiu Demetrovici, and Dan Dragos, from Nanoparticles’ Promises and Risks, M. Lungu et al. (eds.) Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015, (pdf). - Dust storms and volcanic smoke are natural sources of nanoparticles which can be carried by wind from as far as Asia across the Pacific Ocean to North America
Impacts of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on Marine Organisms, (ScienceDirect).
Possible preventative health strategies to potentially reduce risk from smog:
Having adequate B vitamins which are important for all aspects of metabolism and energy production in the body may help reduce the harmful health effects of breathing smog-laden air: (Could a Daily Vitamin Curb Smog’s Health Effects? webMD.com)
Banning indoor smoking helps a lot. Some states have banned indoor smoking in all public places but some still allow. I’m updating this post in a location that allows it in a section of the building and the odor is obvious to me throughout the main area of the building. It is a health risk that may be worse for people who have deficiencies or metabolic differences in B vitamins such as folate and B 12 which are discussed in more detail later. Other tips for reducing formaldehyde are discussed in this post: formaldehyde-health-risks-and-environmental-and-dietary-sources/
Formaldehyde is a common chemical in polluted or smoky air and folate is needed to help the body detoxify and excrete formaldehyde. It may be an underlying factor in risk for autism development as housing with poor air circulation and/or some types of new vinyl flooring is associated with a greater risk for autism in the family. Other pollutants that may effect children are included in this post: environmental-toxins-and-neurodevelopmental-disorders-in-children/
Genetic screening might be helpful for people living in smog areas -methylation differences can leave people unable to use the common supplemental type of folate called folic acid or vitamin B12. Methylated forms of both are available or both can be found in some typically used foods but if you did have a genetic difference in ability to methylate then it is better to avoid using the supplemental folic acid or un-methylated B12. It is like filling the body with puzzle pieces that fill the receptor spots that are open but which then can’t connect properly to other pieces. The unusable forms compete with any methylated vitamin that was available from dietary sources of B12 or folate that had been eaten that day. (Selfpay, for research purposes only, genetic screening panel that I have used - meaning it isn't approved as a diagnostic tool that you could get your health insurance to cover or doctor to prescribe.) We need to try new strategies if we hope to get different results.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within guidelines of fair use.