The Sentinel from Hanford, California • A5

The SenTinel Thursday, OcTOber 13, 2022 A5 00 01 Obituaries Joan Little September15, 1929 October 9, 2022 On Sunday, October 9, 2022, Joan Little, devoted mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully in her home at the age of 93. Joan was born on September 15, 1929, in Hanford, CA to Anni- bale and Antonia Ambrosini. Joans mother Antonia passed away when she was 12 years of age, and she was raised by her father as a ranch hand on the family farm. She graduated from Hanford High in 1947 and after a brief stint as an em- ployee at the old JC Penny store on Irwin St, she accepted a job offer from J. Warren Little, at City Pharmacy, in 1949.

She and her late husband Warren, were known publicly for operating City Pharmacy in Hanford in the 1940s on Ir- win Street, where the Generation Gap was also formerly lo- cated. They moved the true mom and pop drugstore in the 1950s to the space now occupied by the Blue Door Massage and Spa, located in the small shopping center at Irwin and Ivy streets. The commercial hub is appropriately named The Little Corner. Joan and Warren were married on October 11, 1957. They built a home and raised a family of three boys, James, Craig, and Brian.

Privately, Joan Little has gone about the business of try- ing to make Hanford a better place. In 2011, the state Legis- lature recognized her as a lifetime member of the Soropti- mist International Club of Hanford. She received an award in 1995 from Hacienda Health Care for 30 years of volunteer service. One of Littles biggest passions has been the Ameri- can Cancer Society office in Hanford. Ever since her mother Antonia died of cancer in 1941, Little has vowed to work against the disease.

Her several awards from the anti-cancer advocacy group include a 2000 certificate of appreciation for volunteer work. Joan is one of those people who does all kinds of good work that is virtually invisible to the general public. Joan has done volunteer work behind the scenes in Hanford for decades, and was honored to receive the 2012 Fred Martella Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hanford Chamber of Commerce. She was a true servant leader in the community as she was typically busily working as a fundraiser for multi- ple charities (Links for Life, Walk for Life, Daffodil Days) and serving nonprofit organizations (Hanford Sons and Daugh- ters of Italy, Kings County Historical Society, Hanford Cham- ber of Commerce, Kings Symphony), and her church, Koinonia Christian Fellowship. Joan was preceded in her passing by her father Annibale, her mother Antonia, her brother Gene Ambrosini, sisters Millie Crispi, Inez Hite, Irene Natali, Mary Allen, and son, James.

She is survived by her sons, Craig (Karen) Little, and Brian (Denise) Little; ten grandchildren, Keith Little, Steven (Heather) Little, Joe (Nah) Little, Susan Lilly, Brionne (Chris) Jackson, Jared (Amanda) Little, Gene (Joline) Escat, Julianne (Jared) Virgadamo, Brittney Little, and Bailey (Joshua) Wil- lett. Joan was also blessed by the birth of nine great-grand- children including Jayce DeRuiter, Maddy Jackson, Jackson Virgadamo, Jensen Virgadamo, Wyatt Jackson, Harper Little, Koa Escat, Charlotte Willett, and Warren Little. A graveside service will be held Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 12:00 PM at Grangeville Cemetery, 10428 14th Av- enue, Armona, CA, followed by a repast gathering. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to: Ameri- can Cancer Society, P.O. Box 381, Hanford, CA 93232.

KRISTA LARSON Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal A new liquefied natural gas project off west- ern coast may only be complete, but already the prospect of a new energy supplier has drawn visits from the leaders of Poland and Germany. The initial field near Senegal and coastlines is expected to contain about 15 trillion cubic feet (425 billion cubic meters) of gas, five times more than what gas-de- pendent Germany used in all of 2019. But production expected to start until the end of next year. That help solve energy crisis trig- gered by war in Ukraine. Still, Gordon Bir- rell, an executive for project co-developer BP, says the development not be more as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes.

world events are demonstrating the vi- tal role that (liquid gas) can play in underpinning the energy security of nations and he told an energy industry meeting in West Africa last month. While natural gas reserves are vast and North African countries like Algeria have pipelines already linked to Europe, a lack of infrastructure and security challenges have long stymied producers in other parts of the continent from scaling up exports. Established African pro- ducers are cutting deals or reducing energy use so they have more to sell to boost their finances, but some leaders warn that hundreds of millions of Africans lack electricity and supplies are needed at home. Nigeria has larg- est natural gas reserves, said Horatius Egua, a spokesman for the petro- leum minister, though it accounts for only of the European im- ports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, that comes by ship. Projects face the risk of energy thefts and high costs.

Other promising countries like Mozambique have discovered large gas reserves only to see projects delayed by violence from Islamic militants. Europe has been scram- bling to secure alternative sources as Moscow has re- duced natural gas flows to EU countries, triggering soaring energy prices and growing expectations of a recession. The 27-nation EU, whose energy minis- ters are meeting this week to discuss a gas price cap, is bracing for the possibility of a complete Russian cut- off but has still managed to fill gas reserves to European leaders have flocked to countries like Norway, Qatar, Azerbai- jan and especially those in North Africa, where Alge- ria has a pipeline running to Italy and another to Spain. Italy signed a $4 billion gas deal with Algeria in July, a month after Egypt reached an agreement with the European Union and Is- rael to boost sales of LNG. Angola also has signed a gas deal with Italy.

While an earlier agree- ment allowed biggest energy company to start production at two Alge- rian gas fields this week, it clear when flows would start from the July deal because it lacked spe- cifics, analysts said. African leaders like Sen- egalese President Macky Sall want their countries to cash in on these projects even as dissuaded from pursuing fossil fuels. They want to export it all either an estimated 600 million Africans lack access to electricity. is legitimate, fair and equitable that Africa, the continent that pollutes the least and lags furthest be- hind in the industrializa- tion process should exploit its available resources to provide basic energy, im- prove the competitiveness of its economy and achieve universal access to electric- Sall told the U.N. Gen- eral Assembly last month.

Algeria is a major sup- plier it and Egypt ac- counted for of the natural gas production in Africa in 2020 but it offset Russian gas to Europe at this stage, said Mahfoud Kaoubi, professor of economics and specialist in energy issues at the Uni- versity of Algiers. has an annual production of 270 billion cubic meters Kaoubi said. is 120 billion cubic meters, of which 70.50% is intended for consumption on the in- ternal This year, Algeria is fore- cast to have piped exports of 31.8 billion cubic meters, according to Tom Purdie, a Europe, Middle East and Africa gas analyst with Global Commodity Insights. key concern here surrounds the level of pro- duction step-up that can be achieved, and the impact domestic demand could given how much gas Algeria uses at home, Pur- die said. Cash-strapped Egypt also is looking to export more natural gas to Europe, even regulating air condi- tioning in shopping malls and lights on streets to save energy and sell it instead.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly says Egypt hopes to bring in an additional $450 million a month in foreign currency by rerout- ing of its domestic gas usage for export, state me- dia reported. More than of natural gas consumption still is used by power sta- tions to keep the country running. Most of its LNG goes to Asian markets. A new, three-party deal will see Israel send more gas to Europe via Egypt, which has facilities to liquefy it for export by sea. The EU says it will help the two coun- tries increase gas produc- tion and exploration.

In Nigeria, ambitious plans have yet to yield re- sults despite years of plan- ning. The country exported less than of its vast nat- ural gas reserves last year. A proposed meter-long long) pipeline that would take Nigerian gas to Alge- ria through Niger has been stalled since 2009, mainly because of its estimated cost of $13 billion. Many fear that even if completed, the Trans-Sa- hara Gas Pipeline would face security risks like Ni- oil pipelines, which have come under frequent attacks from militants and vandals. The same challenges would hinder increased gas exports to Europe, said Olufola Wusu, a La- gos-based oil and gas ex- pert.

you look at the reali- ties on ground issues that have to do with crude oil theft and others begin to question our ability to sup- ply gas to he said. Wusu urged pursuing LNG, calling it the gas strategy so far. Even that without issues: In July, the head of Nigeria LNG Limited, the largest natural gas firm, said its plant was producing at just of capacity, mainly because its operations and earn- ings have been stifled by oil theft. In the south, Mozam- bique is slated to become a major exporter of LNG after significant deposits were found along its In- dian Ocean coast in 2010. TotalEnergies invested $20 billion and started work to extract gas that would be liquefied in a plant it was building in Palma, in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

But Islamic extremist vi- olence forced TotalEnergies to indefinitely scupper the project last year. Mozam- bican officials have pledged to secure the Palma area to allow work to resume. Italian firm Eni, mean- while, pressed ahead with plans to pump and liquefy some of its gas deposits discovered in Mozambique in 2011 and 2014. Eni es- tablished a platform in the Indian Ocean 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore, away from the violence in Cabo Delgado. the first floating LNG facility in the deep waters off Africa, Eni says, with gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 million tons per year.

The platform liquefied its first gas on Oct. 2, ac- cording to Africa Energy, and the first shipment is expected to depart for Europe in mid-October. SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON As an- ti-government protests roil cities and towns in Iran for a fourth week, tens of thousands of Iranians liv- ing abroad have marched on the streets of Europe, North America and be- yond in support of what many believe to be a wa- tershed moment for their home country. From those who fled in the 1980s after 1979 Islamic Revolution to a younger genera- tion of Iranians born and raised in Western capi- tals, many in the diaspora community say they feel an unprecedented unity of purpose and affinity with the demonstrations at home sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by morality police. see this as a turning point for Iran in many ways always had politi- cal fault lines that divided us, but this time people saying, with said Tahirih Danesh, 52, a human rights researcher who lives and works in London.

phenome- nal, happened at such speed, and this sense of ca- maraderie among Iranians has been In the past month, large crowds of people of Iranian origin in dozens of cities from London to Paris to Toronto have turned out every weekend for rallies in solidarity with protests that erupted in Iran af- ter Mahsa Amini died in custody after she was de- tained for allegedly vio- lating strict Islamic dress codes for women. Many say they have been kept awake at night by a mixture of hope, sadness and apprehension hope that their country may be on the brink of change af- ter decades of oppression, and fear that authorities will unleash more violence in an increasingly brutal crackdown that has seen dozens killed and hundreds arrested. Some, like Danesh whose family smuggled her and her siblings out of Iran in the 1980s to es- cape persecution say the images of protesters being violently suppressed by authorities recall afresh the trauma of similar scenes around the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. thousands of miles away, 40 years later but the images I see are bringing it all back, as if re- living it Danesh said. While Iran has seen waves of protest in recent years, many agree that this time the resistance feels broader in nature and in scope because it challenges the fundamentals of the Is- lamic Republic.

Some say they have never seen the likes of global solidarity for Iran shown by politicians, intellectuals and celebri- ties, many of whom have cut off locks of their hair in a gesture of support of Ira- nian women. many of us out- side had a distanced view of happening inside, we find the same connection. But today Iranians inside are calling for fundamental change. saying my said Vali Mahlouji, 55, an art curator in London who left Iran in the 1980s. He said he is self-exiled because his work deals with censored artists and art history.

unites every Ira- nian I know, all the different generations of he added. who have been out of Iran most of their lives are feeling rest- less and sleepless. I know anyone who is not sympathetic, and of course, not LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Scientists have trans- planted human brain cells into the brains of baby rats, where the cells grew and formed connections. part of an effort to better study human brain development and diseases affecting this most com- plex of organs, which makes us who we are but has long been shrouded in mystery. disorders such as autism and schizophrenia are likely uniquely but human brain cer- tainly has not been very ac- said said Dr.

Ser- giu Pasca, senior author of a study describing the work, published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Approaches that in- volve taking tissue out of the human brain are avenues in trying to tackle these The research builds upon the previous work creating brain tiny structures resembling human organs that have also been made to repre- sent others such as livers, kidneys, prostates, or key parts of them. To make the brain or- ganoids, Stanford Univer- sity scientists transformed human skin cells into stem cells and then coaxed them to become several types of brain cells. Those cells then multiplied to form organ- oids resembling the ce- rebral cortex, the human outermost layer, which plays a key role in things like memory, think- ing, learning, reasoning and emotions. Scientists transplanted those organoids into rat pups 2 to 3 days old, a stage when brain connections are still forming.

The organoids grew so that they even- tually occupied a third of the hemisphere of the brain where they were im- planted. Neurons from the organoids formed working connections with circuits in the brain. Human neurons have been transplanted in ro- dents before, but gen- erally in adult animals, usually mice. Pasca, a psychiatry professor at the Stanford School of Medicine, said this is the first time these organoids have been placed into early rat brains, creating most advanced hu- man brain circuitry ever built from human skin cells and a demonstration that implanted human neurons can influence an To examine a practical use of this approach, sci- entists transplanted or- ganoids into both sides of a brain: one generated from a healthy cells and another from the cells of a person with Timothy syndrome, a rare genetic condition associated with heart problems and autism spectrum disorder. NATION WORLD Europe turns to Africa in bid to replace Russian natural gas JENS BUETTNER a tugboat gets into position on the russian pipe-laying vessel being used for construction work on the German-russian Nord stream 2 gas pipeline in the baltic sea, in the port of Wismar, Germany in 2021.

Scientists grow human brain cells in rats to study diseases HONS This microscope image provided by Pasca stanford Medicine shows a human astrocyte cell, center in yellow, and human glial cells (scattered in blue) inside the brain of a rat. Protests galvanize Iranians abroad in hope, worry and unity ANDRE PENNER Iranians who live in brazil protest against the death of Iranian woman Mahsa amini, who died in Iran while in police custody, in sao Paulo, brazil sept. 23..