“I think people can expect to hear from him that the United States, as a leader in the world, upholds values ​​and global norms,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Monday, preview.

On the domestic front, Mr. Biden returns to the same chamber where he unveiled his ambitious $1.8 trillion social spending package with great fanfare a year ago, only to see it go nowhere due to the stubborn move of the Republican opposition. and the flight of two Democratic senators. Abandoning a number of initiatives he championed last year, he plans to push Congress to pass parts of the original program, including measures to cut costs for childcare, nursing and prescription drugs.

Mr. Biden also intends to unveil a plan to address what the White House called “an unprecedented mental health crisis among people of all ages” after two years of lockdown and restrictions due to the pandemic. Among other things, it will expand coverage of psychiatric visits and access to telemedicine appointments, upgrade the new national suicide hotline 988 scheduled to open this year, and introduce stronger online protection to protect young people from unhealthy social media.

Despite his setbacks to his legislative priorities last year, Mr. Biden plans to highlight his success in passing a $1 trillion Republican-backed plan to restore and expand the nation’s highways, bridges, airports, railroads, broadband internet and other infrastructure.

He plans to report on progress against Covid as the Omicron wave recedes and governments tighten restrictions on the pandemic, announcing partial or full vaccinations for about three-quarters of the population, while warning that future options could still threaten Americans.

The average number of new coronavirus cases has fallen by more than 90 percent since its peak in January, and deaths have fallen by 23 percent in the past two weeks. But even so, more than 1,800 people still die on average from Covid every day in the United States, and Mr. Biden wants to be careful not to sound too rosy, as many believe he did last summer.

One of Mr. Biden’s tasks on Tuesday night will be to reassure Americans that the economy is actually doing better than the polls they think show. The economy expanded 5.7 percent last year, the biggest boom since 1984, adding 6.7 million jobs and unemployment falling to 4 percent. But inflation hit 7.5 percent, its highest level in four decades, and dominated the national conversation.

Solar panels that grow spinach by drawing water vapor from the air may offer a low-cost strategy for desert crop production, a new study says.

A new system called WEC2P consists of hydrogel-coated solar panels, a type of loose water-loving polymer, researchers at Saudi Arabia report.

Hydrogel-coated solar panels are mounted on a large metal box that converts water vapor from the air into liquid water for growing crops.

In two weeks of hot weather last summer, researchers were able to grow spinach with a 95 percent crop survival rate.

According to experts, the technology offers a “sustainable and cheap strategy” to improve food and water security.

It is described as “low cost” because hydrogels use $ 1 per kilogram of material, although the combined cost of building and deploying such a system would be much higher.

In two weeks of hot weather last summer, researchers were able to grow spinach with a 95 percent survival rate

This photo shows solar photovoltaic panels that use a water-absorbing hydrogel underneath to stay cool and increase their efficiency.

This photo shows the solar panels connected to a box for growing plants that contains 60 water spinach seeds

REMOVAL OF WATER FOR GROWING RECELLS

The system, called WEC2P, uses humid weather – when there is a lot of water vapor in the ambient air.

It consists of a solar panel placed on a layer of hydrogel, which is mounted on a large metal box to condense and collect water.

Hydrogels are water-loving – they suck water vapor from the environment.

The waste heat from the solar panels removes the absorbed water from the hydrogel.

A metal box below, called a condensing chamber, collects the vapor and condenses the gas into water that feeds the crops.

In addition to fueling crop growth, collecting water vapor from the air can also provide clean drinking water.

“Part of the world’s population still does not have access to clean water or green energy, and many live in rural areas with dry or semi-dry climates,” said senior author Peng Wang, a professor of environmental science and engineering. at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Tuvalu, Saudi Arabia.

“Our design makes water from the air using clean energy that would be wasted and suitable for decentralized, small farms in remote places such as deserts and ocean islands.”

Moreover, the technology tackles a little-known problem with solar panels – it uses energy from sunlight that solar panels cannot use.

Commercial solar panels can usually convert less than a quarter of the absorbed sunlight into electricity, while the rest of the radiation is either lost as heat or heats the panels, which in turn reduces their efficiency.

Because solar panels are less effective for any degree of temperature rise, the problem of heat dissipation becomes more acute in hot environments such as the Arabian Desert.

This is a WEC2P scheme located in a dry region. Researchers have not yet commented on the exact cost of implementing such a system

THE AMAZING NATURE OF HYDROGELS

Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks of cross-linked, “hydrophilic” (water-loving) polymers.

They do not dissolve in water and are instead highly absorbent, but are able to maintain well-defined structures.

While most hydrogels are synthetic in origin, some are naturally occurring.

They can be used for a variety of applications, from soft robotics and contact lenses to skeletal tissue repair and disposable diapers.

Unfortunately, efforts to cool solar panels with conventional techniques, including cooling or air conditioning, usually consume too much energy.

A few years ago, Wang’s team began considering the concept of using hydrogels, three-dimensional networks of cross-linked, “hydrophilic” (water-loving) polymers that do not dissolve in water, to deal with this problem.

An intriguing property of the hydrogel is its ability to adhere to many surfaces, including the underside of solar panels.

in 2020 they announced that their hydrogel can release enough water to reduce the panel temperatures by 18 ° F (10 ° C).

Since then, they have turned their attention to the use of this water, such as growing crops in the desert.

While the hydrogel sucks water vapor from the environment, the excess heat from the panels removes the absorbed water from the hydrogel.

During both the summer and winter seasons, the gel can absorb water from the stuffy air at night and then release the liquid as daytime temperatures rise.

Hydrogel-lined solar panels are mounted on a large metal box that converts water vapor from the air into liquid water for growing crops

An intriguing property of the hydrogel is its ability to adhere to many surfaces, including the underside of solar panels

The team conducted a test on growing plants using WEC2P in Saudi Arabia for two weeks last June, when the weather was very hot.

They used the water collected only from the air to irrigate 60 water spinach seeds planted in a plastic box for growing plants.

In the course of the experiment, the solar panel, similar in size to the top of the student desk, generated a total of 1,519 watts of electricity.

Fifty-seven of the 60 spinach seeds sprouted successfully and grew normally to seven inches (18 cm).

A total of about 2 liters of water was condensed from the hydrogel over the two-week period.

In 2020, researchers announced a new way to cool solar panels and increase their efficiency – through the use of hydrogels

To turn the concept-proof design into a real product, the team plans to create a better hydrogel that can absorb more water from the air.

“Our goal is to create an integrated system for producing clean energy, water and food, especially the water creation part of our design,” Wang said.

One potential problem with the system is that it relies on high levels of humidity – when there is a lot of water vapor in the ambient air – and may not be as effective in very dry climates.

“The efficiency and cost of the system will have to be further and significantly improved before it can become economically attractive,” Wang told MailOnline.

The study was published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

“SUPER JELLY” MADE OF 80 PERCENT OF WATER CAN SURVIVE TO BE CAREFUL

In 2021, experts from the University of Cambridge said they had created “super jelly”, a material made up of 80 percent water that can survive being run over by a car, which could pave the way for efficient soft robotics.

The glass-like hydrogel may look and feel like greasy jelly, but when compressed, it acts like unbreakable glass, its developers said.

It is formed by a network of polymers held together by a series of reversible chemical interactions that can be adapted to control the mechanical properties of the gel.

This is the first time a soft material has been produced that is capable of such significant resistance to compressive forces.

The key to super jelly lies in barrel-shaped molecules called cucurbiturils, which are cross-linking molecules that can hold two guest molecules in their cavity in a way that researchers compare to handcuffs.

Read more: Super jelly, made from 80 percent water, can survive running over

The iconic American TV evangelist Pat Robertson, who predicts that then the asteroid will hit Earth Donald Trump was re-elected in 2020 – retired on Monday, according to the Russian president Vladimir Putin he was “forced by God” to invade Ukraine.

“I think you can say that Putin is crazy,” Robertson, 91, said during a special appearance on his old Christian Club Broadcasting Network’s “Club 700” show about the Russian president’s decision to invade the neighboring nation.

“And yes, maybe so,” the aging voice of conservative Christianity, which boasts appreciation. net value between $ 200 million and $ 1 billion, according to the Observer, he admitted.

– But at the same time he is forced by God.

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Television evangelist Pat Robertson, 91, retired on Monday to say Russian President Vladimir Putin is “forced by God” to invade Ukraine

Robertson, who called him leaving his 60-year career as head – and founder – of the Christian television giant in October, spoke to the camera as he told about 1 million daily viewers of the show that Ukraine was just a “venue” for an even greater battle at the End of Time, which will eventually take place in Israel.

“He went to Ukraine, but that was not his goal. His goal was ultimately to go against Israel, “the Christian commentator said, quoting the Book of Ezekiel as he prophesied that the nations that would eventually join Russia would rise up against the Middle Eastern nation in a biblical battle that would end. with Armageddon.

He urged his audience to “read your Bible” before the catastrophic event, because “it will come true.”

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network made comments during a special event on The 700 Club Monday, saying that the Russian president is destined to lead to “The end of time, prophesied in the Bible.

Referring to a map of the world, Robertson pointed to a crucial “suffocation point” near the nearby nations of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, and pointed out why Russia may want to control the area.

“And there is the land that was created in Ezekiel 38, and you see how key Ukraine is because you see the land bridge between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey,” Robertson said.

He added that Muslim nations, such as Turkey, would join Putin in the predicted conquest of Ukraine and Israel.

Robertson previously hosted The 700 Club, which has attracted 1 million viewers a day for more than fifty years.

“He will contact Turkey in a little while [land] bridge and they will come together, ‘said Robert, pointing to the map.

“And then, if you look down at North Sudan, you have a Muslim country down there, and here they are. Persia, of course, is Iran.

He then declared, “And this whole area will be mobilized against Israel in the last days,” adding that Armageddon’s subsequent “End of Time” event – which, of course, would lead to the destruction of the world – would be God’s way to I say, “I’ll handle this.”

The conservative television giant said in 2020 that an asteroid will hit Earth five years after the re-election of Donald Trump

Turkey has not supported or expressed plans to join the Russian invasion and has said it supports Ukraine.

The prediction of the elderly television operator is just the latest in a series of unfulfilled prophecies predicting the end of the world, many of which were made in old age.

In 1976, the CBN spokesman predicted that “there would be a verdict on the world” that would end in 1982.

In his 1990 book, The New Millennium, Robertson reiterated that the world would be destroyed on April 29, 2007, USA Today reported.

In 2006, he predicted that the Northwest Pacific would be devastated by a tsunami and that “mass killings” would be unleashed in America in 2007.

None of the events ever happened.

Robertson, pictured here in 1988, served as the voice of conservative Christianity during his six-decade career as a television giant.

Perhaps most famously, Robertson predicts that an asteroid will destroy Earth five years after President Donald Trump won his ill-fated re-election bid in 2020.

So far, this forecast also seems to have failed.

Months before retiring, aging Robertson faced a backlash about calling “critical racial theory” a “monstrous evil” during a June broadcast on The 700 Club.

The commentator has also been criticized in recent years for waging a religious war against the LGBTQ community, which has drawn him even more attention.

Finally, in October, Robertson announced during Friday’s broadcast of The 700 Club that he would retire as host of CBN’s flagship program, 60 years since he founded the company in 1961 in his native Virginia. .

Longtime 700 Club host Robertson announced in October that this would be his last appearance on the program

Robertson has long been a powerful figure in conservative Christianity and even ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988 (see above), trying to ban pornography and change the Constitution to require a balanced federal budget.

Television evangelist and conservative political activist Pat Robertson posed in the auditorium for his 1985 TV show The Club, Robertson’s CBN began airing on October 1, 1961.

“Today’s show will be my last to host the 700 Club,” Robertson said at the time, promising to return from time to time if there is a “revelation” to share.

“Thank God for all who participated. And I want to thank all of you, “he said.

Since then, Robertson’s son Gordon has taken over as full-time host.

Robertson has long been a powerful figure in conservative Christianity and even ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988, seeking a Republican nomination in long-term experience against incumbent George W. Bush.

Robertson, in addition to this unique appearance, retired from broadcasting, already teaching exclusively to students at the University of Regent, which he founded in 1977.