OLD CONTENT contd.
Since ballet was brought up, for the record:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ballet
Ballet is a formalized form of dance with its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts of 15th and 16th centuries. Ballet spread from Italy to France with the help of Catherine de' Medici, where ballet developed even further under her aristocratic influence. An early example of Catherine's development of ballet is through 'Le Paradis d' Amour', a piece of work presented at her daughter's wedding, Marguerite de Valois to Henry of Navarre. Aristocratic money was responsible for the initial stages of development in 'court ballet', as it was royal money that dictated the ideas, literature and music used in ballets that were created to primarily entertain the aristocrats of the time. The first formal 'court ballet' ever recognized was staged in 1573, 'Ballet des Polonais'. In true form of royal entertainment, 'Ballet des Polonais' was commissioned by Catherine de' Medici to honor the Polish ambassadors who were visiting Paris upon the accession of Henry of Anjou to the throne of Poland. In 1581, Catherine de' Medici commissioned another court ballet, Ballet Comique de la Reine, however it was her compatriot, Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx, who organized the ballet. Catherine de' Medici and Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx were responsible for presenting the first court ballet ever to apply the principles of Baif's Academie, by integrating poetry, dance, music and set design to convey a unified dramatic storyline. Moreover, the early organization and development of 'court ballet' was funded by, influenced by and produced by the aristocrats of the time, fulfilling both their personal entertainment and political propaganda needs.
In the late 17th century Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) within which emerged the first professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet. The predominance of French in the vocabulary of ballet reflects this history. Theatrical ballet soon became an independent form of art, although still frequently maintaining a close association with opera, and spread from the heart of Europe to other nations. The Royal Danish Ballet and the Imperial Ballet of the Russian Empire were founded in the 1740s and began to flourish, especially after about 1850. In 1907 the Russian ballet in turn moved back to France, where the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev and its successors were particularly influential.
Western, check.
prezi.com/2llvv_y0vyvw/negative-effects-of-ballet-dancing-on-anatomy-physiology/
www.balletforadults.com/4-common-health-conditions-that-affect-dancers/www.healthline.com/health/ballerina-feetHealth hazard, check.
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By the way:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-heeled_shoe#Health_impacts
Injury and pain[edit]
Wearing high-heeled shoes is strongly associated with injury, including injury requiring hospital care. There is evidence that high-heel-wearers fall more often, especially with heels >2.5cm high,[21] even if they were not wearing high heels at the time of the fall.[22] Wearing high heels is also associated with musculoskeletal pain,[22] specifically pain in the paraspinal muscles (muscles running up the back along the spine)[citation needed] and specifically with heel pain and plantar calluses (only women tested).[21]
A 2001 survey conducted by researchers from Pennsylvania State University using 200 women found that 58% of women complained of lower back pain when wearing heels and 55% of women said they felt the worst overall back pain when wearing the highest heel.[23] The researchers explained that as heel height increases, the body is forced to take on an unnatural posture to maintain its center of gravity. This changed position places more pressure and tension on the lower lumbar spine which explains why the women complained of severe back pain at a higher heel length.
In a 1992 study, researchers from the University of California, Davis and Thomas Jefferson University wanted to investigate the effects of increased heel height on foot pressure using forty-five female participants walking across a pressure plate in various heel heights.[24] A Biokinetics software was used to analyze the exact pressure locations on and along each participants' foot. The researchers were able to conclude that an increase in heel height lead to an increase in pressure beneath each of the Metatarsal bones of the foot. Additionally, they found that the highest heel heights caused constant pressure that could not be evenly dispersed across the foot.
In a 2012 study, Kai-Yu Ho, Mark Blanchette and Christopher Powers, wanted to determine if heel height increased patellofemoral joint stress during walking.[25] The patellofemoral joint refers to junction where the femur and patella meet. The study consisted of eleven participants wearing tracking and reflective markers as they walked across a 10-meter force plated walkway in low, medium and high heels. The study showed that as the height of the heel increased, the ball of the foot experienced an increase in pressure resulting in increased discomfort levels and peak patellofemoral joint stress. The researchers also mentioned that the long term usage of high heels would lead to repetitive overstress of the joint which would result in an increase in pain and eventually, patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis and Patellofemoral pain syndrome.
In a 2012 study, researchers examined the risk long time high heel wearers would have in regards to calf Muscle fascicle length and strain.[26] The control group consisted of women who wore heels for less than ten hours weekly and the experimental group consisted of women who wore heels for a minimum of forty hours weekly for at least two years. The experimental group was told to walk down a walkway barefoot and in heels while the control group walked down barefoot as cameras recorded their movements to calculate muscle fascicle lengths. The data showed that wearing heels shortened the length of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle fascicles in the calf significantly as well as increasing stiffness in the Achilles Tendon. The experimental group also demonstrated a larger amount of strain on the muscle fascicles while walking in heels because of the flexed position the foot is forced into. The researchers were able to estimate that when wearing heels, the estimated fascicle strains were approximately three times higher and the fascicle strain rate was approximately six times higher. Additionally, they were able to conclude that the long term usage of high heels can increase the risk of injuries such as strain along with discomfort and muscle fatigue.
Bunions[edit]
High-heeled shoes almost always have pointed toeboxes[27] which do not fit around the toes, but displace them from their natural position.
Wearing high-heeled shoes is associated with developing bunions, a deformity of the foot.[22][21]
Balance control of the body[edit]
In 2016, scientists from the Department of Physical Therapy in the Sahmyook University in Korea conducted a study to examine the effects of increased heel height and gait velocity on balance control.[28] Balance control refers to the ability of the body to maintain itself along the line of the center of gravity within a base of support. This must be achieved with minimal postural sway velocity which is the horizontal movement of a body trying to maintain balance when standing still. Wearing high heels narrows the base of support that the body has in order to avoid falling and also restricts the area within which the body must sway. In this study, the participants were told to wear either a low or high heel and walk at a low and high speed on a treadmill. As a result of this experiment, the researchers were able to conclude that as heel height increased, the sway velocity of the bodies increased which also modified the position of the knee joint. Muscles have to realign the entire body especially the hips along the line of gravity. As the weight of the body shifted forward, the hips were taken out of alignment and the knee joints experienced stress in order to adjust to the shift.
Postural effects[edit]
In a 2016 study from the Sahmyook University in Korea, researchers wanted to investigate the effects of high heels on the activation of muscles in the cervical and lumbar portions of the spine which refers to the neck and lower back.[29] Thirteen women were recruited to walk down a walkway in three different testing conditions: barefoot, in 4 cm heels and in 10 cm heels. Surface electrodes were placed on the muscle mass of the women's spines as well as their feet to measure the electrical activity of muscles at different points of movement. The results of the study indicated an increase in both cervical and lumbar muscle activation as heel height increased. The cervical spine, the neck, assists in maintaining head stability and postural control in the body. The usage of high heels shifts the body's center of mass which forces the spine to adjust itself in order to maintain balance. The researchers mentioned that over time these results would increase local muscle fatigue that could lead to muscle swelling, decreased muscle movement and even tissue deformation.
Vein swelling[edit]
Further research reveals that another possible consequence of wearing high heels is an increase of pressure in one's veins. Experiments have proven that the higher the heel, the "higher [the] venous pressure in the leg." This means that after repeated use of high heels, varicose veins and other undesirable symptoms are much more likely to appear in the legs.[18] Other research supports these two claims when arguing that wearing high heels can lead to numerous long term effects, including accidental trauma to multiple areas of the body.[4]
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In recent years, surging numbers of infants have gotten minor surgeries for “tongue tie,” to help with breastfeeding or prevent potential health issues. But research suggests many of those procedures could be unnecessary.
getpocket.com/explore/item/why-so-many-babies-are-getting-their-tongues-clipped?utm_source=pocket-newtab
What a wonderful world....
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingual_frenectomy
some South Korean parents have their children undergo frenectomy "which lengthens the tongue by about one millimeter" in the belief they will pronounce English better.[3]
And some people think Eurocentrism is not as bad as I say it is. No, it's worse.
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Forest fires burning in northern Ukraine are now just a few kilometers from the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant. Emergency services insist the fires are under control, but environmental groups claim radiation levels are rising. The area has been empty since the nuclear disaster in 1986.
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www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/17/us-coronavirus-people-of-color-pollutionFor decades, organizations on the frontlines of environmental justice have pleaded with politicians and policymakers to pay attention to the public health impacts of pollution on disadvantaged communities. Activists knew all too well that toxins from industrial runoff and other sources were shortening the lives of many brown and black Americans, but policymakers rarely listened.
According to some estimates, more than 100,000 people die prematurely from air pollution every year in America. About 25 million people – including 7 million children – have asthma. We also know that a disproportionate share of those deaths are composed of African Americans and Latinx people.
One of the reasons that black and brown communities are getting infected and dying at higher rates from Covid-19 is the air they breathe. A recent Harvard TH Chan school of public health study confirmed that “people with Covid-19 who live in US regions with high levels of air pollution are more likely to die from the disease than people who live in less polluted areas”.
...
The term “the wrong complexion for protection” was coined by Latinx environmental justice leaders more than 30 years ago and popularized by Drs Robert Bullard and Beverly Wright in their book by the same name, which highlighted how people of color were disproportionately affected by toxic pollution.
Western civilization will keep killing us until we kill it.
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us.yahoo.com/news/people-stay-home-earth-turns-053219600.html
As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India’s getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the n ortheastern United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seems more visible at night.
People are also noticing animals in places and at times they don't usually. Coyotes have meandered along downtown Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. A puma roamed the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats took over a town in Wales. In India, already daring wildlife has become bolder with hungry monkeys entering homes and opening refrigerators to look for food.
...
“It is giving us this quite extraordinary insight into just how much of a mess we humans are making of our beautiful planet,” says conservation scientist Stuart Pimm of Duke University. “This is giving us an opportunity to magically see how much better it can be.”
Which is still only a small fraction of how much better it would have been if Western civilization had never existed. It's not generic humans making the mess, it's Westernized humans.
Researchers are tracking dramatic drops in traditional air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles. These types of pollution kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide, according to Health Effects Institute president Dan Greenbaum.
The air from Boston to Washington is its cleanest since a NASA satellite started measuring nitrogen dioxide,in 2005, says NASA atmospheric scientist Barry Lefer. Largely caused by burning of fossil fuels, this pollution is short-lived, so the air gets cleaner quickly.
Compared to the previous five years, March air pollution is down 46% in Paris, 35% in Bengaluru, India, 38% in Sydney, 29% in Los Angeles, 26% in Rio de Janeiro and 9% in Durban, South Africa, NASA measurements show.
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High microplastic concentration found on ocean floor
Scientists have identified the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor.
The contamination was found in sediments pulled from the bottom of the Mediterranean, near Italy.
The analysis, led by the University of Manchester, found up to 1.9 million plastic pieces per square metre.
These items likely included fibres from clothing and other synthetic textiles, and tiny fragments from larger objects that had broken down over time.
The researchers' investigations lead them to believe that microplastics (smaller than 1mm) are being concentrated in specific locations on the ocean floor by powerful bottom currents.
"These currents build what are called drift deposits; think of underwater sand dunes," explained Dr Ian Kane, who fronted the international team.
"They can be tens of kilometres long and hundreds of metres high. They are among the largest sediment accumulations on Earth. They're made predominantly of very fine silt, so it's intuitive to expect microplastics will be found within them," he told BBC News.
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52489126Earth is becoming 'Planet Plastic'
US scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made and put the number at 8.3 billion tonnes.
It is an astonishing mass of material that has essentially been created only in the last 65 years or so.
The 8.3 billion tonnes is as heavy as 25,000 Empire State Buildings in New York, or a billion elephants.
The great issue is that plastic items, like packaging, tend to be used for very short periods before being discarded.
More than 70% of the total production is now in waste streams, sent largely to landfill - although too much of it just litters the wider environment, including the oceans.
"We are rapidly heading towards 'Planet Plastic', and if we don't want to live on that kind of world then we may have to rethink how we use some materials, in particular plastic," Dr Roland Geyer told BBC News.
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40654915---
Meat-Heavy Diets Now Kill More People Than Tobacco
www.livekindly.co/meat-heavy-diets-kill-more-people-than-tobacco/ Eating a meat-heavy diet kills more than smoking tobacco
A new study has shown meat-heavy diets have higher health risks and may kill more people than tobacco.
Published in The Lancet journal, the study tracked consumption trends in 195 countries by looking at data from between 1995 and 2017. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it shows that a poor diet can be associated with one-fifth of deaths worldwide.
Dr. Ashkan Afshin, an assistant professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington, and one of the study’s authors characterized “poor diet” for CBS News.
He explained, “Poor dietary habits, which is a combination of high intake of unhealthy foods, such as red meat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages and a low intake of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and seeds, overall causes more deaths than any other risk factors globally.”
The study elaborates that worldwide, the recorded dietary risk factors contributed to 11 million deaths in 2017. CBS News reported that unhealthy, meat-heavy diets are “responsible for more deaths than tobacco and high blood pressure.”
However, the study also revealed that it isn’t just about reducing the amount of red meat, processed meats and other risk factors such as high sodium. The key is to include more healthy dietary aspects, such as fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.
Afshin commented that public health advice should “focus on healthy replacements for unhealthy foods” rather than simply avoiding “unhealthy foods like processed meat and sugary drinks.”
The study recommends increasing the amount of nuts, seeds and whole grains
Health and Diet
The study follows a range of other investigations into the effect of diet on issues such as heart disease.
A 2018 study by the American Heart Association (AHA) showed that a vegan diet could help reduce inflammation, and therefore the risk of heart disease. The eight-week study monitored 100 participants suffering from coronary artery disease.
Some followed a plant-based diet and some followed the AHA-recommended diet, which allows small amounts of lean meats, fish, eggs, and low-fat dairy products. The AHA found that those on the vegan diet saw the best results, with inflammation reduced significantly more compared to other groups.
A 2017 study had similar findings. It explained that by replacing two servings of animal protein in your diet with two servings of plant-based protein every day, cholesterol markers could be reduced by five percent, lowering the overall chance of developing heart disease.
The U.S. ranked 43rd in the number of diet-related deaths in the most recent study, titled “Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017”
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