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The Metamorphosis Identity Quotes
How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph). We used Stanley Corngold's translation.
[H]is parents – who had never rented out rooms before and therefore behaved toward the roomers with excessive politeness – did not even dare to sit down on their own chairs. (3.12)
Gregor's transformation also results in an upheaval in his family's social status. For the first time, they have to take in boarders to make ends meet. Unsure of how to treat their boarders, they cannot act naturally in their own home.
"Mr. Samsa!" the middle roomer called to Gregor's father and without wasting another word pointed his index finger at Gregor, who was slowly moving forward […] His father seemed once again to be gripped by his perverse obstinacy to such a degree that he completely forgot any respect still due to his tenants. (3.14)
After Part 1, there is precious little dialogue in the story, and, when there is dialogue, you get moments like these. (It seems that Gregor isn't the only person in the family who has lost the power of speech.) The middle boarder's calling out Mr. Samsa bears a striking parallel to the scene where Grete calls out Gregor's name (see Quote #4). We think of our names as being an integral part of who we are, but in both this quote and in Quote #4 we see names being used not so much to identify a character, but to point out an instance where the character doesn't seem to act like himself. In Quote #4, Grete calls out Gregor's name when Gregor is acting like a gross bug; in this quote, the middle roomer calls out Mr. Samsa when there's a breach in the way the household's run.
The couple Mr. and Mrs. Samsa sat up in their marriage bed and had a struggle overcoming their shock at the cleaning woman before they could finally grasp her message. (3.31)
At this late, late point in the story, it sounds almost too formal to call Gregor's parents "Mr. and Mrs. Samsa." Because we get most of the story from Gregor's perspective, his parents are usually referred to as "his father" and "his mother." By calling them by their names here, the story emphasizes that Gregor has indeed died – we're no longer going to get anything from Gregor's perspective. | <urn:uuid:43671d6b-47df-483c-98fe-66af0b7c8154> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/metamorphosis/identity-quotes-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00171-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97557 | 520 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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Hunting Techniques and Tool Use by North American Badgers Preying on Richardson's Ground Squirrels
Gail R. Michener
Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 85, No. 5 (Oct., 2004), pp. 1019-1027
Published by: American Society of Mammalogists
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1383835
Page Count: 9
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Techniques used by North American badgers (Taxidea taxus) when hunting Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) were assessed over a 15-year period in southern Alberta to determine the relationship between activity of prey and methods used to capture prey. Badgers frequently hunted hibernating squirrels in autumn, sometimes hunted infants in spring, and rarely hunted active squirrels in summer. Badgers always captured hibernating squirrels and infants underground, usually captured active squirrels underground, and sometimes intercepted fleeing squirrels aboveground. Regardless of season or year, the most common hunting technique used by badgers was excavation of burrow systems, but plugging of openings into ground-squirrel tunnels accounted for 5-23% of hunting actions in 4 consecutive years. Plugging occurred predominantly in mid-June to late July before most ground squirrels hibernated and in late August to late October when juvenile males were active but other squirrels were in hibernation. Badgers usually used soil from around the tunnel opening or soil dragged 30-270 cm from a nearby mound (72% and 22% of 391 plugged tunnels, respectively) to plug tunnels. The least common (6%), but most novel, form of plugging used by 1 badger involved movement of 37 objects from distances of 20-105 cm to plug openings into 23 ground-squirrel tunnels on 14 nights. Aimed movement of objects to plug openings into burrow systems occupied by ground squirrels qualified this badger as a tool user.
Journal of Mammalogy © 2004 American Society of Mammalogists | <urn:uuid:ce64e837-f4e8-4fde-ac76-d7c81e74545a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.jstor.org/stable/1383835 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933774 | 529 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Grapes Of Wrath – 2011:James Quinn
by Jim Quinn
“And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.” – John Steinbeck – Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck wrote his masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath at the age of 37 in 1939, at the tail end of the Great Depression. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize for literature. John Ford then made a classic film adaption in 1941, starring Henry Fonda. It is considered one of the top 25 films in American history. The book was also one of the most banned in US history. Steinbeck was ridiculed as a communist and anti-capitalist by showing support for the working poor. Some things never change, as the moneyed interests that control the media message have attempted to deflect the blame for our current Depression away from their fraudulent deeds. The novel stands as a chronicle of the Great Depression and as a commentary on the economic and social system that gave rise to it. Steinbeck’s opus to the working poor reverberates across the decades. He wrote the novel in the midst of the last Fourth Turning Crisis. His themes of man’s inhumanity to man, the dignity and rage of the working class, and the selfishness and greed of the moneyed class ring true today.
Steinbeck became the champion of the working class. When he decided to write a novel about the plight of migrant farm workers, he took his task very seriously. To prepare, he lived with an Oklahoma farm family and made the journey with them to California. Seventy years later the plight of the working class is the same. If Steinbeck were alive today he would live with a Michigan auto manufacturing family making a journey to fantasyland of green energy, where automobiles ran on corn and sunshine. The working class bore the brunt of the Great Depression in the 1930s and they are bearing the burden during our current Greater Depression. Steinbeck knew who the culprits were seventy years ago. We know who the culprits are today. They are one in the same. The moneyed banking interests caused the Great Depression and they created the disastrous collapse that has thus far destroyed 7 million middle class jobs. Steinbeck understood that the poor working class of this country had more dignity and compassion for their fellow man than any Wall Street banker out for enrichment at the expense of the working class. | <urn:uuid:01b219d5-f16e-4978-9d7b-1ddbf208d01b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://revolutionradio.org/?p=12081 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969274 | 568 | 3.0625 | 3 |
April 3, 2008
Initial DNA Analysis Completed On California Wolverine
Preliminary results from DNA analysis of wolverine scat samples collected on the Tahoe National Forest do not match those of historic California wolverine populations, according to U.S. Forest Service scientists.
Geneticists with the agency's Rocky Mountain Research Station recently began analyzing samples, when wildlife biologists with the Tahoe National Forest and California Department of Fish and Game began sending hair and scat samples they collected from wolverine detection sites on the national forest to a lab in Missoula, Mont.
The interagency effort began in March after an Oregon State University graduate student working on a cooperative project with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station photographed a wolverine, an animal whose presence has not been confirmed in California since the 1920s.
DNA analysis is critical to scientists working to determine if the animal first photographed on February 28 and in later detection work is a wolverine that dispersed from outside of California, escaped from captivity or is part of a historic remnant population.
Key findings from the preliminary analysis indicate the animal in the photographs is a male wolverine that is not a descendent of the last known Southern Sierra Nevada population, said Bill Zielinski, a Forest Service scientist with the Pacific Southwest Research Station and an expert at detecting wolverine, marten and fisher. It also does not genetically match populations in Washington, he said.
U.S. populations are found largely in the Northern Cascades in Washington, and Northern Rockies in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The nearest known resident population is about 600 miles northeast of the Tahoe National Forest in Idaho's Sawtooth Range.
Scientists determined the sample is a haplotype A, which is a genetic type that is found throughout the Rocky Mountains, Alaska and Canada, according to Michael Schwartz, conservation genetics team leader at the Rocky Mountain Research Station. He said haplotype A is not found in historic California samples or in the Cascade Range.
Additional analysis of the wolverine DNA to pinpoint this animal's origin will be conducted by the Rocky Mountain Research Station and independent labs, Schwartz said.
"We can exclude the Washington and the Southern Sierra Nevada populations from haplotype A, but more information about the population of origin will be investigated through additional genetic analysis," Zielinski said.
Genetic samples for historic California wolverine populations were gathered from museum pieces, fur pelts and scientific specimens, he said.
On the Net:
Rocky Mountain Research Station Conservation Genetics Program
US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station | <urn:uuid:089bd010-c914-45ca-92a0-cabcf9cb72d8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1325233/initial_dna_analysis_completed_on_california_wolverine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923879 | 530 | 2.859375 | 3 |
France divided into Departments, etc. agreeable to the Decrees of the National Assembly.
1793 (dated) 9.5 x 12 in (24.13 x 30.48 cm)
1 : 4300000
This is Robert Wilkinson's finely detailed first edition 1794 map of France divided into departments. Corsica appears on an inset. The French Department system was established on March 4th, 1790 by the National Constituent Assembly to replace the provinces with what the Assembly deemed a more rational structure. They were designed to deliberately break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation. Initially there were 83 departments but by 1800 that number increased to roughly 130. Many of the departments that were created in 1790 remain the administrative districts to this day. Old habits being what they are, many atlases, including Wilkinson's, include two maps of France, one divided into provinces and another into departments.
Issued in the second year of the French Revolutionary or Napoleonic Wars, which would soon engulf much of Western Europe, this map is not only extremely attractive but documents a defining moment in European history.
A great companion map to Wilkinson's 1794 map of France divided in to Provinces, from the same atlas. This map was engraved by Thomas Conder and issued as plate no. 27 in the 1792 edition of Robert Wilkinson's General Atlas.
Robert Wilkinson (fl. c. 1768 - 1825) was a London based map and atlas publisher active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of Wilkinson's maps were derived from the earlier work of John Bowles, one of the preeminent English map publishers of the 18th century. Wilkinson's acquired the Bowles map plate library following the cartographer's death in 1779. Wilkinson updated and tooled the Bowles plates over several years until, in 1794, he issued his fully original atlas, The General Atlas of the World. This popular atlas was profitably reissued in numerous editions until about 1825 when Wilkinson died. In the course of his nearly 45 years in the map trade, Wilkinson issued also published numerous independently issued large format wall, case, and folding maps. Wilkinson's core cartographic corpus includes Bowen and Kitchin's Large English Atlas (1785), Speer's West Indies (1796), Atlas Classica (1797), and the General Atlas of the World (1794, 1802, and 1809), as well as independent issue maps of New Holland (1820), and North America ( 1823). Wilkinson's offices were based at no. 58 Cornhill, London form 1792 to 1816, following which he relocated to 125 Frenchurch Street, also in London, where he remained until 1823. Following his 1825 death, Wilkinson's business and map plates were acquired by William Darton, an innovative map publisher who reissued the General Atlas with his own imprint well into the 19th century.
Thomas Conder (1747 - June 1831) was an English map engraver and bookseller active in London during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. From his shop at 30 Bucklersbury, London, Conder produced a large corpus of maps and charts, usually in conjunction with other publishers of his day, including Wilkinson, Moore, Kitchin, and Walpole. Unfortunately few biographical facts regarding Conder's life have survived. Thomas Conder was succeeded by his son Josiah Conder who, despite being severely blinded by smallpox, followed in his father's footsteps as a bookseller and author of some renown.
Wilkinson, R., A General Atlas being A Collection of Maps of the World and Quarters the Principal Empires, Kingdoms, etc. with their several Provinces, and other Subdivisions, Correctly Delineated, (London) 1792.
Very good. Original platemark visible. Blank on verso.
Rumsey 1201.031 (1805 edition). | <urn:uuid:c9f96741-b9c8-4292-b3f8-bba1436ed52a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/FranceDepartments-wilkinson-1792 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00107-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96796 | 826 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Zeal as a preacher and a confessor led Father Seelos to works of compassion as well.
Born in southern Bavaria, he studied philosophy and theology in Munich. On hearing about the work of the Redemptorists among German-speaking Catholics in the United States, he came to this country in 1843. Ordained at the end of 1844, he was assigned for six years to St. Philomena’s Parish in Pittsburgh as an assistant to St. John Neumann. The next three years Father Seelos was superior in the same community and began his service as novice master.
Several years in parish ministry in Maryland followed, along with responsibility for training Redemptorist students. During the Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and appealed to President Lincoln that those students not be drafted for military service.
For several years he preached in English and in German throughout the Midwest and in the Middle Atlantic states. Assigned to St. Mary of the Assumption Church community in New Orleans, he served his Redemptorist confreres and parishioners with great zeal. In 1867 he died of yellow fever, having contracted that disease while visiting the sick. He was beatified in 2000. | <urn:uuid:c8bbbb70-5555-42d6-b438-78e4c9a243cc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1159&calendar=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983653 | 255 | 2.5625 | 3 |
NASA Glenn Research engineers prepare the SCaN Testbed flight system hardware in Vacuum Facility 6 for rigorous thermal-vacuum testing. Image Credit: NASA New and improved ways for future space travelers to communicate will be tested on the International Space Station after a launch later this year from Japan. The SCaN Testbed, or Space Communications and Navigation Testbed, was designed and built at NASA's Glenn Research Center over the last three years.
The SCaN Testbed will provide an orbiting laboratory on space station for the development of Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology. These systems will allow researchers to conduct a suite of experiments over the next several years, enabling the advancement of a new generation of space communications.
The testbed will be the first space hardware to provide an experimental laboratory to demonstrate many new capabilities, including new communications, networking and navigation techniques that utilize Software Defined Radio technology. The SCaN Testbed includes three such radio devices, each with different capabilities. These devices will be used by researchers to advance this technology over the Testbed's five year planned life in orbit.
"A Software Defined Radio is purposely reconfigured during its lifetime, which makes it unique," says Diane Cifani Malarik, project manager for the SCaN Testbed. This is made possible by software changes that are sent to the device, allowing scientists to use it for a multitude of functions, some of which might not be known before launch. Traditional radio devices cannot be upgraded after launch.
By developing these devices, future space missions will be able to return more scientific information, because new software loads can add new functions or accommodate changing mission needs. New software loads can change the radio's behavior to allow communication with later missions that may use different signals or data formats.
Glenn Research Center engineers and technicians (left to right, clockwise): Joe Kerka, Tom Hudach, Andrew Sexton, and Allan Rybar transport the SCaN Testbed flight system in the West High Bay area of the Power Systems Facility on a dolly cart. The team prepares to perform weight and center of gravity tests on the flight system hardware using lift equipment suspended in the background. Image Credit: NASA
The SCaN Testbed is a complex space laboratory, comprised of three SDRs, each with unique capabilities aimed at advancing different aspects of the technology. Two SDRs were developed under cooperative agreements with General Dynamics and Harris Corp., and the third was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. JPL also provided the five-antenna system on the exterior of the testbed, used to communicate with NASA's orbiting communications relay satellites and NASA ground stations across the United States.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., developed communications software that resides on the JPL SDR.
Glenn led the design, development, integration, test and evaluation effort and provided all the facilities needed to fabricate, assemble and test the SCaN Testbed, including a flight machine shop, large thermal/vacuum chamber, electromagnetic interference testing with reverberant capabilities, a large clean room and multiple antenna ranges, including one inside the clean room.
Glenn also will be the hub of mission operations for the SCaN Testbed, with high-speed ties to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., for real-time command and telemetry interfaces with space station. NASA Johnson Space Center's White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, N.M., and Goddard's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., will provide Space Network and Near Earth Network communications.
The SCaN Testbed will launch to space station on Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-IIB Transfer Vehicle (HTV-3) and be installed by extravehicular robotics to the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 on the exterior truss of space station.
The SCaN Testbed will join other NASA network components to help build capabilities for a new generation of space communications for human exploration. | <urn:uuid:f200a89c-9afc-4d6a-8834-ef32ec9be406> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/exploration/Connect.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903409 | 829 | 3.28125 | 3 |
What does HR mean in Sports?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand HR in the field in general and in the Sports terminology in particular.
Find a translation for HR in other languages:
Select another language:
What does HR mean?
- hour, hr, 60 minutes(noun)
- a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day | <urn:uuid:14556c8c-07e1-45e2-950d-34efb2b19996> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.abbreviations.com/term/108321 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887751 | 87 | 2.625 | 3 |
Nursing is the primary care taker of the patients who are in need of health. This is the major responsibility of the nurse. But as time changes, the populations are growing and the needs of everybody increased, the role of nursing became highly developed. When doctors are not around or when they are still busy with other patients, the nurses are the one who temporarily attends to the needs of the patients especially in case of emergency. They were trained on what to do in special cases. Today's nurse does things that were done by only doctors less than forty years ago; tasks like taking blood pressure readings, changing dressings, physical examinations, giving injections, and handling machines and sophisticated monitors (University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2006). Now, there are many type of nurses in this kind of career, they ought to take their specialization if they want to succeed in this area. But then if you are considering this course, you should prepare yourself to work overtime, be assertive, motivated, active and energetic. These considerations should not be forgotten for the reason that being a nurse is not an easy job since it takes a lot of patience and understanding. Here are the standard requirements before entering a nursing course in some of the schools in the United States as based on the Clarion County Career Center (2006):
Standard: Critical thinking sufficient for clinical judgment.
Example: Competent assessment of patient in timely manner; correct interpretation of assessment; readily respond with appropriate interventions, treatment plans; ability to work alone and to make correct, independent decisions, as needed.
Standard: Interpersonal abilities sufficient to interact with individuals, families and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural and intellectual backgrounds.
Example: Life and death situations; working with families stressed
Page 1 of 4 | <urn:uuid:86e5b4ce-413c-4625-a407-9e8c75bd73b1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/201158.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961204 | 358 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French:Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in the Benelux bordered by Belgium, France and Germany which lies at the crossroads of Germanic and Latin cultures. It is the only Grand Duchy in the world and is the second-smallest of the European Union member states.
With a successful steel, finance and high technology industry, a strategic location at the heart of Western Europe, more natural beauty than you might expect given its size, and as one of the three richest countries in the world, Luxembourg enjoys a very high standard of living - and has prices to match!
The city of Luxembourg proper was founded in 963, and its strategic position soon promised it a great fate. Luxembourg was at the crossroads of Western Europe and became heavily fortified, and you can still see the extensive city walls and towers which are the most distinctive aspect of the cityscape. Due to its key position, Luxembourg was raised up to a Duchy that included a much larger territory that stretched into present-day Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and France. The powerful Habsburg family kept its hands on it until late Renaissance times.
After the Napoleonic wars, the Duchy of Luxembourg was granted to the Netherlands. It had a special status as a member of the German confederacy, and the citadel was armed with a Prussian garrison: Luxembourg was still a strategic lock that everybody aimed at controlling. It was granted the title "Grand Duchy" in 1815, but lost some territories that are today parts of France and Germany.
During the course of the 19th century, developments in warfare and the appearance of artillery made Luxembourg obsolete as a stronghold, and it became little more than a rural territory of no strategic interest. The Germans relinquished their rights over it and moved their garrison out, its western half was granted to Belgium in 1839, and the Netherlands granted it complete independence in 1867. Since then, Luxembourg has arisen from a poor country of fields and farms to a modern economy relying on financial services and high-tech industries.
Overrun by Germany in both world wars, Luxembourg was one of the major battlefields of the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-1945, a story well documented in the museum at Diekirch. The state ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union, and it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and it joined the euro currency area in 1999.
Modified continental with mild winters, although January and February can get very cold and temperatures can fall to as low as -15°C. The summer can be very hot in Luxembourg, with temperatures in July and August reaching around 30+°C.
Mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the south.
Luxembourg is a member of the Schengen Agreement.
There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented this treaty - the European Union (except Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. But be careful: not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the European Union. This means that there may be spot customs checks but no immigration checks (travelling within Schengen but to/from a non-EU country) or you may have to clear immigration but not customs (travelling within the EU but to/from a non-Schengen country).
Please see the article Travel in the Schengen Zone for more information about how the scheme works and what entry requirements are.
Citizens of the above countries/territories - except for Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Seychelles - are permitted to work in Luxembourg without having to obtain any authorization during the period of the 90 day visa-free stay. However, this visa exemption does not necessarily extend to other Schengen countries.
For a non-EEA or non-Swiss national to stay in Luxembourg for more than 90 days, a temporary stay authorization (autorisation de séjour temporaire) must be obtained before arriving in Luxembourg. This is done by sending an application to the Immigration Directorate in Luxembourg or, in some cases, to the Luxembourg Embassy responsible for your place of residence; the application is free of charge. If the stay authorization is granted, no visa is required for citizens of visa-exempt countries, but they must enter Luxembourg and register with the local authorities within 90 days of the date on the letter; citizens of non-visa-exempt countries must obtain a visa within the 90 days. Once in Luxembourg, a residence permit (titre de séjour) must then be applied for within three months of arrival.
All foreigners must register with the local authorities within three business days of arrival in Luxembourg; EU nationals normally have eight days to do so. If staying in a hotel, this is normally done by the hotel.
Luxembourg-Findel International Airport (IATA: LUX) is 6km outside Luxembourg-City. Easily accessible from the city centre via the cheap (€2 single or €4 for a day ticket valid on almost all buses and trains in the country - buy either from the driver or from the multilingual automat by the bus stop) and frequent bus services numbers 29 and 16. It is served by Luxair , the national airline, which flies to many EU countries (including Milan and London Heathrow and City), and Air France (Paris; actually a Luxair codeshare), KLM (Amsterdam), Swiss (Zurich), Lufthansa (Frankfurt; actually a Luxair codeshare), SAS (Copenhagen), and British Airways (London Heathrow). Another airline to consider is CityJet (owned by Air France), often a cheaper option than Luxair. A completely new terminal opened in May 2008, the airport site has information about all flights.
Alternative airports, especially for low-cost carriers, include Ryanair hub Hahn (aka "Frankfurt-Hahn"), about two hours away by direct Flibco bus, Saarbrucken Airport and Brussels-South Charleroi, served by bus company charleroiexpress.com .
Luxembourg train station can be reached directly from Paris (2 hours), Metz (1 hour), Brussels (3 hours) and Trier (43min). Both international and national timetables can be found on the website of the national railways company CFL .
If you want to enjoy a nice view to the city, "Grund" and Kasematten, leave the motorway coming from the East (Germany) at exit "Cents". Enter Cents and drive down the hill. Don't let yourself be stopped by signs that the route is blocked via "Grund".
Aside from the airport buses listed above, sometimes there are commuter buses to Trier and Bitburg. The train is a far more preferable option for entering the country from nearby. From Saarbrücken there are direct bus connections . This bus is rather expensive (€16) but it cheaper if bought in combination with a German or French rail ticket.
Luxembourg being a landlocked country, it's extremely hard to get in by boat. But if you really want to, there are boat links from the German side of the Moselle river to the Luxembourg side, but it is easier walking over the bridges.
Luxembourg is a compact country and it's possible to reach most any place in the country from the capital in under an hour. The central railway station has a handy Mobilitéit office that will help to plan your trip with bus and train.
The Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) train network is either comprehensive or spartan, depending whether you want to go south or north. While the south is reasonably well covered, the north is limited to one main line (Ligne 10) which runs from Luxembourg City via Mersch, Ettelbrück, Wilwerwiltz, Clervaux and Troisvierges. The line continues north into Belgium towards Liège. Diekirch has a branch line from Ettelbrück, and Wiltz has a branch line from Kautenbach. To the south you can reach Bettembourg and Esch-sur-Alzette. There is also a line to the east which crosses into Germany over the Moselle River at Wasserbillig.
The same tickets are valid on trains as buses, and the same rates apply: €2 for two hours (unlimited transfers) or €4 for one day. A €50 (July 2013) month ticket can be purchased at the CFL office in Hamilius next to the Post Office, at some newsagencies or at the station. Trains in Luxembourg generally run very much on time and are modern and comfortable. As the fares are so cheap this is a good mode of transport to use when possible.
From an aesthetic view, perhaps the best way to approach Luxembourg City is by train from the north via Ligne 10 as this is a beautifully scenic route past some of the most well-known Luxembourgish sights.
Within the city, the comprehensive bus service is more than adequate for the average tourist. Buses numbered 1-29 serve the Ville de Luxembourg, with the most useful being the 16 (Town to the Airport via Kirchberg) and the 1 (Town to Kirchberg and Auchan). Almost all buses pass the central point "Hamilius" (convenient for the centre of town) and the Gare Centrale (Station) on their routes at some point. Any bus pointing stationwards from Hamilius will probably take you there (the 3 being a notable exception). Bus tickets (which are also valid on trains) are available from the driver. A standard ticket costs €2.00 (Feb 2016) and will be valid on any bus up to 2 hours after its purchase. A ticket valid all day on all forms of transport in the Grand Duchy costs €4.00 (Feb 2016).
The bus service out of town is also extensive and reliable. Every village has a convenient bus service which runs at least once every hour. Buses numbered 100 upwards will take you out of the city. Useful routes to the north of the country include the 100 (Diekirch via Junglinster, every hour), the 120 (Junglinster, every 30 minutes) and the 290 (Mersch, frequent). However, Mersch and the south are more easily reached by train (see below). The 118 goes East to Wasserbillig and Trier from Hamilius and Bvd JFK in Kirchberg.
A monthly network (réseau) pass for the whole Luxembourg network costs a very reasonable €50 (Feb 2016) but crossing the border to Belgium, France or Germany will add substantially to this.
Town buses experienced a reduced service on Saturdays (including those used mainly by shoppers), and many routes are barely existent (if at all) on a Sunday. This doesn't matter, though, since most shops and attractions are closed on a Sunday.
Almost all national buses run the same on Saturdays (which count as working days in this instance) as during the week, but the Sunday service is usually reduced or non-existent.
Luxembourg's road infrastructure is well-developed if not always very well thought-out. Anywhere that happens to lie along the major motorways is easily accessible via these (including Grevenmacher in the east, Mamer to the west and Bettembourg to the south). Esch-Alzette, the country's second city (more like a small town by international standards) has its own motorway link, the A4. In addition, a new motorway is being built towards the north of the country (Mersch, Ettelbrück), but this won't be completed until 2010 at the earliest. However, the current North Road provides easy access to these areas for the moment.
Current national speed limits are 50km/h in towns and villages, 90km/h on open country roads (110 in some places on N7 and N11), and 130km/h on the motorway (110 in the rain). 70km/h also exists in some places. Speed limits are enforced by random police checks. Be aware that if you have a right-hand-drive car then you are very likely to be singled out for a customs check on the way in. Police are also very keen on stopping drivers for having the 'wrong' lights on in town, i.e. side lights instead of dipped headlights.
Driving in Luxembourg is nowhere as testing as in other European countries. The locals are polite, even when entering roundabouts. When entering the highways from side roads into the slower traffic lane, the other drivers will allow you to join the traffic line, but traffic indicators are essential. As with other highways in Europe always keep in the slow traffic lane, keeping the fast lane for overtaking. Some drivers travel at high speeds and will flash their headlights to indicate that they are in a hurry, even if you are sitting on the speed limit. Most of the time trucks keep in the slow lane at their regulated speed for large vehicles. They can be a little annoying when overtaking other trucks. The truck drivers seem to keep a watch out for other vehicles. Cars towing caravans can be a bit of a menace at times but staying alert will ensure there are no problems. The closing speeds of vehicles needs to be watched if overtaking, as some drivers travel well in excess of the speed limits. Normal day to day driving in Luxembourg is a delight but traffic does slow down in peak times.
Finding parking in Luxembourg city centre on weekends can be difficult. Most spaces are quickly taken and some parking garages close early. The best option is to find somewhere near the station and then walk around the city centre. Traffic wardens are also numerous and vigilant.
The streets and landscape in Luxembourg make for good biking territory; Look for national biking paths ("PC" mark standing for "Piste Cyclable"). For bicycle repairs, neighboring Trier (with a considerable University student population) is usually a safer bet.
Luxembourgish ("Lëtzebuergesch") is the national language, while French is the administrative language. German is also widely used and almost universally understood. Luxembourgish is a separate and unique language, having previously evolved from a German dialect ("Moselfränkisch"). German (Hochdeutsch) enjoys official status and appears in some media and is used in the court system and is taught in schools. However, everything from road signs, to menus to information in stores will appear in French (sometimes with a Luxembourgish translation). French therefore is clearly one of the most useful of the three official languages to know. particularly in the capital. This is also because many of the workers in the shops and restaurants in Luxembourg come from across the border in France (by Metz and Thionville), driven by high rates of unemployment in Lorraine and the relatively high cost of living in Luxembourg itself. This essentially makes the capital Luxembourg, and the area to the south of the capital a predominately Francophone area for the visitor - this is less so northwards of the city, and in the areas close to the German border such as Diekirch or Echternach. Generally a Luxembourger will speak all 3 languages, but a French guestworker, just French
Over one third of Luxembourg's overall population is made up of foreigners, and this figure rises to around 50% in the cities. Hence, again knowing French is your best bet if you want to converse with most people, especially as people working in shops and bars usually come from France or Belgium and don't bother to learn the local native languages. French and German are required and English is widely understood by personnel such as bus drivers, but many shop assistants will only respond if addressed in French or German. Educated Luxembourgers are fluent in all four of the above languages; it is the "frontaliers" (workers who live across one of the borders) who may not speak English well or at all. Apart from the more elderly inhabitants, virtually every Luxembourger understands and speaks fluent standard German and French. Luxembourgers are the polyglots of Europe, perhaps making even the Swiss jealous!
You may not expect it from one of the smallest countries in Europe, but The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a diverse land, full of beautiful nature and gorgeous historic monuments. Its turbulent history is filled with stories of emperors and counts as well as many battles and disputes. Today, the almost fairy-tale like castles and fortresses are a faint but impressive reminder of those days, and amidst their lovely natural setting, they make some superb and picturesque sights.
Most of the country's population lives in rural areas and apart from the delightful historic City of Luxembourg, the country's capital, settlements are mostly small. That said, the capital is a place not to be missed. It has a splendid location high on a cliff, overlooking the deep and narrow valleys of both the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers. Several parts of the old town are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the most interesting places include the Gothic Revival Cathedral of Notre Dame, the town fortifications and of course the Grand Ducal Palace, which is surrounded by charming cobblestoned lanes. However, there's far more to see, such as the Bock casemates, Neumünster Abbey and the Place d'Armes. There are several World War II memorial sites and a number of high-end museums, but just wandering through the old centre, taking in the beautiful views from the Chemin de la Corniche and crossing bridges to the nearest plateaus is at least as great a way to discover the city.
The lively town of Echternach is the oldest city in Luxembourg. It boasts the country's most prominent religious structure, the basilica of the Abbey of Echternach where the country's patron saint Willibrord is buried. The annual Whit Tuesday celebrations in his honour involve lots of dancers in the towns old centre and are a popular tourist attraction. The Apart from its own sights, Echternach makes a great base to explore the beautiful Müllerthal, better known as "Little Switzerland". Hike or bike through its dense forests with myriad streams and even some caves.
The romantic village of Vianden with its stunning medieval Beaufort castle is a tourists' favourite, and well worth a visit even despite the crowds in summer. The beautiful location of the fortress in the Our river valley, surrounded by tight forests and a lake with swans, gives it a typical fairy-tale castle look and feel. If you're done wandering the streets and exploring the Gothic churches an fortified towers of this charming town, visit the Victor Hugo house. Afterwards, the pleasant cafés of the Grand Rue are a perfect place to kick back and enjoy.
Head to Remich to start your own trip down the Route du Vin and discover the many fine wines that are produced here, in the Moselle Valley.
Luxembourg has the euro (€) as its sole currency along with 24 other countries that use this common European money. These 24 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain (official euro members which are all European Union member states) as well as Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and the Vatican which use it without having a say in eurozone affairs and without being European Union members. Together, these countries have a population of more than 330 million.
One euro is divided into 100 cents. While each official euro member (as well as Monaco, San Marino and Vatican) issues its own coins with a unique obverse, the reverse, as well as all bank notes, look the same throughout the eurozone. Every coin is legal tender in any of the eurozone countries.
Despite one of the lowest VAT rates in Europe (17%, with 3% for most restaurants and hotels), the general price level in Luxembourg is noticeably higher than in France and Germany, especially in central Luxembourg and particularly in any service-related fields. Even cheap hotels tend to cost over €100 a night and you won't get much change from €20 after a modest dinner and a drink. Basing yourself in Trier (or other cities across the border) and daytripping to Luxembourg might be a good bet.
On the upside, cigarettes, alcohol or petrol are comparatively cheap, making the small state a popular destination for long-haul drivers.
Traditional dishes are largely based on pork and potatoes and the influence of German and central European cooking is undeniable. The unofficial national dish is judd mat gaardebounen, or smoked pork neck served with boiled broad beans. A must to try if you do get the opportunity are Gromperekichelchen (literally, Potato Biscuits) which are a type of fried shredded potato cake containing onions, shallots and parsley. Typically found served at outdoor events such as markets or funfairs they are absolutely delicious and a particularly nice snack on a cold winter's day.
In most restaurants however, the typical local food would be French cuisine coming in bigger portions. Italian food has been popular since the 1960s. Home cooking has been very influenced by the recipes of Ketty Thull, apparently the best-selling cooking and baking book in Luxembourg since WW II.
The Luxembourg white wines from the Moselle valley to the east of Luxembourg include Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Rivaner and Elbling to name just a few and are good. In autumn, many villages along the Moselle river organise wine-tasting village festivals.
Young people tend to drink local or imported beer. Luxembourg has a number of breweries, with Diekirch, from the village of the same name, Bofferding, Battin, and Mousel being the most popular. All are excellent lagers.
As an after dinner digestive, Luxembourgers like to drink an eau-de-vie . The most commonly available are Mirabelle and Quetsch. Both are made from plums and are extremely strong! Sometimes these are taken in coffee which may be a little more palatable for some.
Thanks to the heavy banking and EU presence, along with a wide range of congresses held in the city, hotels in central Luxembourg are generally expensive. For people on a budget, however, Luxembourg has an extensive network of camp sites especially Youth Hostels - there are currently nine of them around the country, including in Luxembourg (city).
Luxembourg is a major player in the financial service sector. Many thousands of people commute from neighbouring Belgium, France (Les frontaliers) and Germany (Die Grenzgänger) on weekdays, considerably swelling the population of the capital city. The majority work in the numerous financial institutions based in and around the capital (particularly in the Kirchberg district) and are drawn across the borders by the excellent salaries on offer. Luxembourg City has a very international flavour as in addition to les frontaliers, it attracts young professionals from all over the globe. In this area, business is done predominantly in English, French or German and it is necessary to be fluent in one of these as a minimum although many jobs will demand proficiency in at least two.
In many surveys, Luxembourg has been named "safest country in the world"; if you follow usual precautions, you should be fine. The area around the city centre station, particularly on the rue de Strasbourg, is a little dubious; you may encounter people panhandling. There are also some dubious nightclubs in this area that visitors should stay clear of.
The food and tap water supply in Luxembourg is perfectly fine and the country's healthcare system is first class. The climate is average even though the summers can get hot. However these temperatures rarely rise much above 30°C.
It is important to show respect for the local language and make some effort to say a word or two of it even if just the standard greeting "Moien". Avoid calling Luxembourgish a dialect of German or assert that the country itself is merely an extension of France or Germany. Keep in mind that Luxembourgers are very proud of their heritage and that Luxembourgish is still the most common native language in the country, even if your first impression when arriving in the capital may suggest otherwise. Locals, especially those in the small towns and villages, are very friendly; saying "Hello" in whatever language will make you be greeted with a smile. | <urn:uuid:b9dccdfd-1c48-4d0a-923b-22def86d92f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wikitravel.org/en/Luxemburg | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948177 | 5,288 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The Golden Gate bridge is perhaps the most famous bridge in the world. It is famous for its size,
location, and color. It is nearly 9,000 feet long, and above water its towers are 740 feet tall. Its unique color
is officially known as "orange vermillion." Thousands of ships sail under it every year, and believe it
or not, the U.S. Navy originally wanted it to be painted black and yellow so it would be easy to see.
People often think the Golden Gate Bridge is named after the color of its paint. In actuality,
the bridge in named for the color of the water in the bay. On a clear day, when the sun sets at
dusk, the water turns from blue to gold, due to light from the sun reflecting off the water.
When this happens, the entire inlet, or "gate"of water, becomes golden.
The bay is not always golden. San Francisco has large amounts of fog, especially in summer. Fog is like
a cloud close to the ground. When warm air blows over cold water, it tends to create fog, so when the warm California air meets the cold Pacific ocean fog is formed, and the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge disappears!
Because of the fog, rain, and moisture from the water, the bridge collects a lot of rust. Rust is the red stuff
that collects on metal after being exposed to moisture, or water. So in order to protect the bridge from rust, it is continually being painted. It is rumored that the bridge is being painted 365 days a year. As soon as they
finish painting it, they immediately start all over again.
San Francisco Bay has three tall bridges: the Golden Gate, its most famous bridge, the Richmond Bridge,
its longest, and the Bay Bridge, its busiest. The Bay Bridge connects the large cities of Oakland on the
East Bay and San Francisco on the west. Because the bridge is between two major cities, it is almost
always busy and the traffic is often bad.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a beautiful bridge to look at, but the Bay Bridge is a beautiful bridge to look
from. At night, the tall buildings of San Francisco are all lit up and bright, and from the Bay Bridge, the city
is a truly beautiful thing to see. | <urn:uuid:94760d63-8610-41ff-aedf-bb65e5660766> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.elllo.org/yeartwo/special/bridges_text.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960672 | 480 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Pituitary hormone implicated in bone loss after menopauseNew evidence in the April 21, 2006 Cell challenges the long-standing notion that declining estrogen levels alone lead to osteoporosis after women go through menopause. The researchers rather found that high levels of pituitary-derived follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) cause bone loss in mice. The pituitary is a master gland found at the base of the brain.
What's more, the researchers reported, mice with symptoms of severe estrogen deficiency, lacking either the FSH hormone or its receptor, became resistant to bone loss.
FSH normally triggers egg development and stimulates estrogen production by the ovaries, the researchers explained. As women approach menopause and estrogen levels decline, the pituitary gland responds by releasing more FSH.
Treatments that prevent bone loss by blocking FSH might therefore offer alternative methods to treat or prevent osteoporosis without the risks associated with other hormone replacement therapies, said Mone Zaidi of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. For example, estrogen replacement therapy has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, especially when taken in combination with progesterone, he said.
"For the last three decades, the idea has clearly been that estrogen loss is responsible for the changes experienced in postmenopausal women--including flushing, dryness, and bone loss," Zaidi said. "Although FSH levels rise sharply in parallel to estrogen decline, a direct effect of FSH on the skeleton had never before been explored."
"We've now found that, irrespective of the nature or severity of estrogen deficiency, an intact pituitary and, more specifically, high FSH levels are prerequisites for bone loss in animals with reduced or absent ovarian function."
Osteoporosis affects nearly 45 million women worldwide with fracture rates that far exceed the combined incidence of breast cancer, stroke, and heart attacks, the researchers said. The disease results from a disruption of the fine balance between bone formation and resorption. After menopause, resorption exceeds new bone formation, leading to a net bone loss that can be slowed by estrogen therapy through mechanisms that have remained somewhat murky, Zaidi said.
However, emerging evidence has begun to cast some doubt on whether estrogen deficiency can fully explain bone loss after menopause, he added. For example, mice without an intact pituitary gland become resistant to the effects of ovary loss on bone density. FSH levels also show a closer correlation than estrogen levels to the rate of bone turnover in postmenopausal women.
The researchers now show that mice lacking FSH or its receptor become resistant to bone loss despite severe loss of ovarian function. In mice with normal ovaries and approximately half the normal concentration of FSH, bone mass increased due to a decline in bone resorption by cells known as osteoclasts, which break down bone. Indeed, they report, FSH stimulates receptors found on the surface of bone-degrading osteoclasts and their precursors, leading to the bone cells' formation and function.
The study suggests that FSH plays a role in the normal process by which bone is mobilized by osteoclasts before it can be replaced, Zaidi said.
"As you run or walk throughout life, microcracks develop in bone," he explained. "Therefore, bone remodeling and replacement with new bone is required to maintain skeletal integrity. Osteoclasts essentially dig around those cracks to clear the way for repairs."
In combination with the research group's earlier finding that thyroid-stimulating hormone directly regulates the skeleton, the findings revise the understanding of how pituitary-derived hormones function, Zaidi added. Scientist had thought pituitary hormones acted primarily through their effects on other endocrine glands.
"This should change the textbook picture of pituitary hormone physiology," he said.
The researchers include Li Sun, Yuanzhen Peng of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; Allison C. Sharrow of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and the VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA; Jameel Iqbal and Zhiyuan Zhang of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; Dionysios J. Papachristou of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and the VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA; Samir Zaidi and Ling-Ling Zhu of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; Beatrice B. Yaroslavskiy of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and the VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA; Hang Zhou of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; Alberta Zallone of the University of Bari in Bari, Italy; M. Ram Sairam of the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal in Montreal, Canada; T. Rajendra Kumar of the University of Kansas in Kansas City, KS; Wei Bo and Jonathan Braun of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA; Luis Cardoso-Landa, Mitchell B. Schaffler and Baljit S. Moonga of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; Harry C. Blair of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and the VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA; and Mone Zaidi of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY.
Sun et al.: "FSH Directly Regulates Bone Mass: Implications for Understanding the Pathogenesis of Osteoporosis Due to Hypogonadism." Publishing in Cell 125, 247-260, April 21, 2006. DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2006.01.051 www.cell.com
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Apr 2016
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:cbb2efbe-4a06-4df0-bb87-51cf3fd91bce> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-04/cp-phi041706.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912776 | 1,212 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Although many premature babies do not encounter any academic problems, some do. For example, up to 50% of very low birth weight (VLBW) babies will have some problems in school by Grade 3. The good news is that with early intervention, special education, and tutoring, the risk of cognitive and academic problems can be reduced, as can the severity of a learning disability.
Why do premature babies develop learning problems?
When there are medical complications at birth, an early environment that does not provide adequate stimulation and learning opportunity, or a combination of both, brain development can be altered, which can lead to uneven cognitive development and later academic problems.
Which premature children are likely to have learning problems?
There are a number of medical factors that can put premature babies at risk for later learning problems:
- periventricular brain injury such as intraventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia
- severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, also known as chronic lung disease, resulting in prolonged ventilation and use of supplementary oxygen
- intrauterine growth retardation (also known as fetal growth restriction) that affects brain growth in utero, resulting in a very small head size at birth
- percentile age
Other factors can also influence school success:
- A family history of learning disabilities increases the likelihood that the premature child will have learning difficulties in school.
- Infant development intervention, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech-language therapy can improve motor skills, cognitive, and language development.
- Nursery school can provide a stimulating environment, provide an early learning opportunity, and help children acquire age-appropriate social skills.
- Your child’s nursery school may also be able to provide you with other resources you can access, such as specialized help from a resource teacher.
- A stimulating home environment and parental involvement that includes exposure to books, games, and age-appropriate activities can facilitate the child’s development.
Your role as a parent
As your premature baby develops, there are things you can watch for and things that you can do to make certain that your child is successful in school. It is important to begin monitoring your child’s development very early on. The sooner you identify any problems and provide help, the better the outcome will be.
As a parent, there will be times you can teach your child new skills or reinforce the skills he learns elsewhere in order to help him achieve. At other times, you may have to seek out and identify the services your child will need in the community, or at school and advocate to make certain he gets these services. You will also play an important role by providing encouragement for your child to practice new skills and celebrating his efforts and successes.
Many of the pages in this section of the website offer practical advice on how to fulfill these three roles. | <urn:uuid:b655d8cc-2c14-4de8-b64f-ef331c2c1ec2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/ResourceCentres/PrematureBabies/LookingAhead/OverviewofLearningandEducationinthePrematureBaby/Pages/default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953488 | 583 | 3.25 | 3 |
Valera, Diego de (dyāˈgō dā välāˈrä) [key], 1412?–1488?, Spanish adventurer and writer. Reared at the Castilian court, he was page to John II and later became one of his diplomatic agents. He took part in the campaigns against the Hussites. After the death of John II he retired to scholarly pursuits, but he returned to public life in 1474 to become majordomo to Isabella I and chronicler of Ferdinand II, whom he incited to the conquest of Granada. His works range from poetry to philosophy and genealogy, but his chief importance is as a historian. His Crónica abreviada, a universal history from the creation to John II, is continued by chronicles of the reigns of Henry IV of Castile and of Ferdinand and Isabella.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:f783f9fb-fcce-40fb-851a-7583aa350c8a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/people/valera-diego-de.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96114 | 201 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Repetitive Motion Injuries
Repetitive Motion Injuries Facts
Repetitive motion injuries are tissue injuries that occur as a result of repeated motions. They are among the most common injuries in the United States. All of these disorders are made worse by the strains of daily living.
Repetitive motion injuries make up more than half of all athletic-related injuries seen by doctors and result in huge losses in terms of cost to the workforce. Simple everyday actions, such as throwing a ball, scrubbing a floor, or jogging, can lead to this condition.
The most common types of repetitive motion injuries are tendinitis and bursitis, injuries to tendons and bursae, respectively. These disorders are difficult to distinguish and often coexist.
- A tendon is a white fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone and allows for movement at all joints throughout the body. Because tendons must be able to bear all of the weight of the attached muscle, they are very strong.
- Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon. (Whenever you see "-itis" at the end of a word, think "inflammation.")
- Common sites of tendinitis include the shoulder, the biceps, and the elbow (such as tennis elbow).
- Males are slightly more likely to have this disorder.
- The inflammation of the tendon usually occurs at the site of insertion into bone.
- Tendons run through a lubricating sheath where they connect into muscle, and this sheath also may become inflamed. This condition is known as tenosynovitis.
- Tenosynovitis is almost identical to tendinitis because both have identical causes, symptoms, and treatment.
- Tenosynovitis of the wrist may be involved in carpal tunnel syndrome, the most common compression nerve disorder, but this cause-and-effect relationship has never been proven.
- Bursae are small pouches or sacs that are found over areas where friction may develop and serve to cushion or lubricate the area between tendon and bone.
- Bursitis is inflammation of a bursa sac.
- Over 150 bursae are in the body.
- Most bursae are present at birth, but some come into existence in sites of repetitive pressure.
- Common areas where bursitis can occur include the elbow, knee, and hip.
- Different types of bursitis include traumatic, infectious, and gouty.
- Traumatic bursitis is the type involved with repetitive motion injuries.
- Traumatic bursitis is most common in people younger than 35 years of age.
Repetitive Motion Injuries Causes
Repetitive motion disorders develop because of microscopic tears in the tissue. When the body is unable to repair the tears in the tissue as fast as they are being made, inflammation occurs, leading to the sensation of pain.
Causes of repetitive motion injuries include the following:
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 4/22/2016
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Patient Comments & Reviews
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Rhomboid major and minor
The muscle arises from four vertebral spines (T2-5), and the intervening supraspinous ligaments. Its insertion into the scapula extends from the inferior angle to the upper part of the triangular area at the base of the scapular spine; a fibrous arch receives the fibers of the muscle between these two points. The fibrous arch is often only loosely attached to the vertebral border of the scapula except at its ends.
This is a narrow ribbon of muscle parallel with the above, arising from two vertebral spines (C7, Tl) and inserted into the medial border of the scapula above the triangular area and below the attachment of levator scapulae.
Nerve supply of rhomboids:
By the dorsal scapular nerve (nerve to the rhomboids) from the C5 root of the brachial plexus which passes through scalenus medius, runs down deep to levator scapulae (which it supplies) and lies on the serratus posterior superior muscle to the medial side of the descending branch of the transverse cervical artery. It supplies each rhomboid on the deep surface.
Action of rhomboids:
The rhomboids draw the vertebral border of the scapula medially and upwards. They are antagonists to the rotatory action of trapezius; they contract with trapezius in squaring the shoulders, i.e. retracting the scapula.
Test. With the hand on the hip or behind the back the patient pushes the elbow backwards against resistance and braces the shoulder back. The muscles are palpated at the vertebral border of the scapula; being deep to trapezius they are not always visible. If the rhomboids of one side are paralyzed the scapula of the affected side remains farther from the midline than that of the normal side. | <urn:uuid:eb2fa068-c10a-45cd-9508-4c5683fd8aca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mananatomy.com/body-systems/muscular-system/rhomboid-major-minor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900024 | 403 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Foods That Cause Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Indigestion, Gas And Bloating In Adults report penned by Van Tran provides people with tips on how to prevent digestive problems.
Seattle, Wa (PRWEB) May 13, 2014
Foods That Cause Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Indigestion, Gas And Bloating In Adults, a new report created by Van Tran on the site Vkool.com shows some kinds of foods that can cause digestive problems, and detailed instructions on how to improve the digestive system. At the beginning of this report, people will discover some foods that can cause acid reflux and heartburn in adults such as:
- Tomatoes and Citrus Fruit including orange juice, lemonade, lemon, cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, tomato, and mashed potatoes
- Chocolate: chocolate contains caffeine and other stimulants like theobromine that cause reflux.
- Beverages such as liquor, wine, coffee, and tea
- Dairy such as sour cream, ice cream, milk shake, and regular cottage cheese
- Grains involving spaghetti with marinara sauce, and macaroni and cheese
- Meats including marbled sirloin, ground beef, chicken nugget-style, and chicken wings
- Tomato juice
- Garlic and onions
- Pepper and salt
- Spicy foods
- Caffeine and soda
- Nuts, cheese, and avocados
- Fried food
- High-fat protein foods including fried eggs, fatty cuts of red meat, and lunch meats
Next, Van Tran reveals to readers some natural and safe remedies for reducing acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion, bloating and gas including:
- Quit smoking.
- Limit the consumption of nuts like walnuts and almonds.
- Avoid lying down immediately after meals.
- Avoid drinking carbonated beverages during meals.
- Do not eat fatty foods and high-fat meals.
- Chew gum after meals.
- Relax and eat slowly.
- Check out trigger foods.
- Wear looser clothing.
- Shed pounds.
- Eat Yogurt and Probiotics: eating probiotic yogurt or other foods, which contain good bacterias may help relieve digestive disorders such as acid reflux, heartburn, bloating and gas.
- Eat Peanut Butter: peanut butter is a lower-fat protein food.
- Eat foods that are high in Fiber: fiber may help reduce symptoms of Gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Huy Pham from the site Vkool.com says, “Foods That Cause Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Indigestion, Gas And Bloating In Adults is a good report that helps readers understand more about positive and side effects of foods on human health. In this report, the author uncovers to readers some simple and easy tips to prevent or treat digestive problems quickly.”
If people want to get more detailed information from the Foods That Cause Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Indigestion, Gas And Bloating In Adults article, they should visit the website: http://vkool.com/foods-that-cause-heartburn/.
About Van Tran: Van Tran is an editor of the website Vkool.com. In this website, Van Tran provides people with a collection of articles on positive and side effects of foods on human health. | <urn:uuid:f9ef7dce-ee15-45e3-91b0-15e037eff23a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prweb.com/releases/foods/that-cause-heartburn/prweb11843774.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892419 | 722 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Dehydration is a disorder in which you are experiencing chronic water deficit, which occurs because the water that you spend more than the water you drink. A baby, has a moisture content 80% of his body weight. While for us adults, ideally containing 60% to 75% water. So for example, if your body weight is 70 kg, then the weight of water content you should have is 42 kg to 52.5 kg. Therefore, don't be surprised if the water becomes a symbol of life, because the majority of the content of our own body is water. Many of us may not realize when we are dehydrated. Or maybe of you actually understand when you're dehydrated, but you tend to leave it and delay the time to drink water.
Level of dehydration
In men, lack of body fluids by 1.5%, usually it will already make your body provide a signal. Whereas in women, it is even less, which is 1.3%. Thirst is the first signal given by the body in order that you immediately give the water intake on your body. And when we've started to feel sleepy and it becomes difficult to concentrate, it means that we are already dehydrated as much as 2%.
You start to enter the phase of dehydration when the body loses fluid as much as 4-5%. This phase is referred to as mild dehydration. People who experience mild dehydration, it will usually have a headache. If at the time of exercise you suddenly got a headache, then you are probably experiencing mild dehydration. Immediately stop your workout activity, and then immediately consumed the water, before the case is more severe.
Moderate dehydration is happening when you lose body fluids 5-10%. And it's better not let you enter to this phase. Moreover to enter the level of severe dehydration, that is more than 10% dehydration. When you are dehydrated your body as much as 12%, then your mouth will feel dry and make it difficult to chew. Dehydration will give a death threat when you have lost 15-25% of body fluids. And if in this condition, you still don't get fluid intake, it stands to reason that the death will pick up after 1 week.
Common symptoms of dehydration
Indeed, dehydration have certain levels in the world of medicine, but even if it was only a mild level, we still can not be experienced it. If you feel thirsty then just drink water. Thirst is a beginning signal that we lack body fluids, while based on the level of dehydration, a common symptom experienced by patients, are as follows:
- Mild dehydration: drowsiness, dry mouth, dry throat, dry skin, and headaches.
- Moderate dehydration: dizziness, increased pulse rate, decreased blood pressure, weakness, urine volume slightly, the yellow color of urine is thicker.- Severe dehydration: muscle cramps, swollen tongue, blood circulation deteriorates, physically very weak, decreased kidney function, and fainting.
Dehydration in cold temperatures.
By the time you exercise for an hour, then you will spend a lot of sweat. Or, when the air is very hot and we were in the heat of the sun, of course we will also issue a lot of sweat. In that two conditions, it is clear that we have spent a lot of fluids. And in fact, not only when we are sweating, the body will secrete body fluids. What about swimming? Is not a sport does not make us look expend a lot of sweat? but in fact swimming is a cardio activity just like running, so after swimming for 1 hour you will feel very thirsty and hungry.
One more example is when you are in air-conditioned for hours, then you are out of the room, and suddenly you feel thirsty. Well actually, when you are in the air-conditioned room, you've lose a lot of body fluids, even if you just silent and sit down. Why? Due to humidify the air we breathe, the body will use a lot of body fluids. Similarly, when your place are experiencing the rainy season or winter. Of course the air will be very cold, and in this condition, many people will be vulnerable to dehydration, because they will feel not sweating and rarely experienced thirst, so they became rare for a drink of water. When the air temperature is cold we become sleepy easy, isn't it? Even though we are after waking from long sleep, but we still feel sleepy, aren't we? You must remember, sleepiness is one symptom of dehydration.
Therefore, don't underestimate your sense of thirst. Because if you ignore it, it could be the outset of your dehydrated. If you feel a headache, I suggest don't rush to take a medicine, but try to consume enough water. Because I see, the most of migraine sufferers are people who consume less water. So, don't let your body dehydrate! | <urn:uuid:8660056f-1f86-4814-84b6-ca1ee07abaa5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://outsethealth.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-reason-why-we-should-not-be-dehydrated.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968297 | 1,004 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is scheduled this week to consider opening federal waters to commercial offshore fish farms.
The proposal creates a permitting process for aquaculturists to develop large-scale fish farms, raising only native species in underwater cages. Officials have said it would likely require as much as $10 million to launch an aquaculture operation in the Gulf.
Fish such as snappers and groupers could be raised in underwater pens. Shrimp are excluded from the plan.
If approved, between five and 20 offshore operations would be permitted in the Gulf over the next 10 years, producing up to 64 million pounds of seafood. In recent years, fishers have caught nearly 1.4 billion pounds of wild seafood in the Gulf annually, according to federal statistics.
The council ? which has members from all of the Gulf states including Alabama and Mississippi ? could vote on an offshore aquaculture plan at its meeting in Bay St. Louis on Wednesday.
Proponents say fish farming would take pressure off overfished wild stocks, enhance recreational fishing opportunities and create new jobs in the United States, where about 80 percent of consumed seafood is imported ? about half of which is raised in aquaculture settings.
"With the increased consumption in seafood and the fact that we import it, there's a heck of a deficit there between what we produce and what we consume," said Joe Hendrix, a council member from Texas and owner of Sea Fish Mariculture. "We have an opportunity to develop a responsible aquaculture industry in the United States. That's what the Gulf Council has been looking at for the last six years. ... It's a new industry. It's an environmentally friendly industry."
Critics of the council's plan say there aren't enough rules to prevent harmful effects on the ocean environment, such as pollution from fish waste and uneaten food streaming from large, underwater cages packed with fish. Some conservationists have also expressed concern about the spread of disease among fish kept in close quarters.
The plan "lacks the types of environmental, socioeconomic and liability standards needed to protect Gulf ecosystems and their associated communities from the scientifically documented risks of open ocean aquaculture," says a Jan. 22 letter to the Gulf Council signed by 124 conservation and seafood groups,
The plan requires cages to be stocked with juvenile fish free of pathogens and allows only native species that haven't been genetically modified.
The council delayed taking final action on aquaculture at its October meeting. That month, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the council urging it to stop its efforts until federal laws are in place.
"We need one uniform set of environmental standards and permitting rules that apply in all U.S. waters to ensure the protection of the marine environment and public health," Rahall said in a statement released this month. "It's my intention to work with the new Obama administration to make sure this is the case."
A Gulf Council committee working on the aquaculture plan is scheduled to meet today. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to the full council during its meeting Wednesday.
If the council passes the plan, it would be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which will decide whether to grant final approval.
What: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manage-
ment Council's regular meeting.
Where: Hollywood Casino Hotel in Bay
When: Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Why: The council will have a public hear-
ing on its proposal to allow offshore
aquaculture in federal waters. It could
take final action on the proposal. | <urn:uuid:5c1e753e-9413-47b2-bcbd-ba0154a51db0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.al.com/live/2009/01/gulf_council_to_consider_futur.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958418 | 754 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Threats to Bats
Sadly, many bat species around the world are vulnerable or endangered due to factors ranging from loss and fragmentation of habitat, diminished food supply, destruction of roosts, disease and hunting or killing of bats.
In the UK, bat populations have declined considerably over the last century. Bats are still under threat from building and development work that affects roosts, loss of habitat, the severing of commuting routes by roads and threats in the home including cat attacks, flypaper and some chemical treatments of building materials. Other potential threats can include wind turbines and lighting if they are sited on key bat habitat on near roosts.
Many bat species roost in buildings and are extremely vulnerable to the activities of humans. Bats using a building are directly threated by building works if they are present while the work is underway or if a demolition is taking place. If bats disturbed at a particularly sensitive time of year (e.g. during hibernation in winter or when baby bats are born and raised in the summer), it can have hugely detrimental impacts on local bat populations.
- All bats and their roosts are protected by law.
- If you think you have bats roosting in your property, you must seek advice from your Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation (SNCO) before doing any works.
- Read more about being a roost owner.
- Concerned a development may harm bats or their roosts
The decrease in bat numbers mirrors the ever-changing countryside. Natural habitats such as hedgerows, woodlands and ponds have been declining and fragmenting. It is important that we create new suitable habitats and manage and enhance existing habitats to help bats recover and survive.
Loss of habitat, the use of pesticides and intensive farming practices have lead to a reduction in the abundance of insects which the bats rely on as their only food source. For example the change from hay making to silage, has meant that many insects do not reach adulthood so there are less flying adults available. Changes in climate may also influence insect life cycles and so this may affect when bats can feed. | <urn:uuid:18e694f7-7bb9-426a-9c8e-411367194128> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/threats_to_bats.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944666 | 436 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Is Facebook depressing?
It might be for kids.
For some teens, social media is the primary way they interact with friends, says Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, co-author of the report.
And elements of Facebook make online interaction challenging for those with low self-esteem. Prominent displays of status updates, flattering photos and shots of happy-looking people provide a skewed version of reality and make some teens feel like they don't measure up.
Judgmental messages and cyberbullying also contribute to risks of depression and could cause "profound psychosocial outcomes."
On the other hand, Facebook and other social media are a healthy interaction for many children, according to the study. O'Keeffe says social sites allow kids to stay in touch with friends and family, make new friends and exchange ideas.
However, the study urges pediatricians to talk to parents about discussing Facebook depression and cyberbullying with their kids. | <urn:uuid:ad4aa3d7-2bdf-4912-a808-24fed0e4c97d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Facebook-May-Trigger-Depression-Study-118763534.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937128 | 196 | 3.28125 | 3 |
A bunch of Czech companies worked together to create a flying bicycle. It's not quite the real-life hoverboard we've been dreaming about since Back to the Future Part II, but it's an amazing spectacle that makes us pine for our very own E.T. to ride through the night sky with. Geekologie shares that "the rig weighs [209 pounds] and consists of a bicycle, a large electric rotor in the front and back, and a smaller one on each side." Since it's still in the test phase, it's not capable of lifting an actual human being yet (which is kind of the point, jeez), so the figure you see flying through a warehouse is a dummy test pilot. The future is pretty amazing, guys.
The inventors may have some competition, though. Just days ago, CNN reported that British inventors John Foden and Yannick Read created the XploreAir Paravelo — a two-wheeled flying bike that can travel up to 15 miles per hour on land and 25 miles in the air. The coolest part is that it can reach up to 4,000 feet high. "The Wright brothers were former bicycle mechanics so there's a real connection between cycling and the birth of powered flight that is recaptured in the spirit of the Paravelo," Foden told CNN.
I'm dreaming of riding through the city with no car doors slamming into me and not having to worry about drivers who purposefully try to run bikers off the road. What bliss! Watch both bikes in action, below. | <urn:uuid:c9fe0a41-cce3-43b4-bd3f-884049a701d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.movies.com/movie-news/real-flying-bicycles/12644 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969149 | 322 | 2.578125 | 3 |
There are approximately 1,500 different species of scorpions roaming the world right now. They can live in a variety of habitats including rain forests, woodlands, deserts, grasslands and everywhere in between. Most prefer warmer tropical or subtropical climates. They prey upon a wide variety of animals and insects and all have the ability to sting. Even though a sting can hurt, very few scorpions are dangerous to humans.
Scorpions as pets
Keeping scorpions as pets is becoming increasingly more popular. They are relatively inexpensive to buy and require very little maintenance, much in the way of set up, or care. They can be easily found at pet shops, reptile shows and online dealers and breeders. If you are looking for an interesting and unique pet, a scorpion makes an excellent choice.
Information covering everything you need to keep a scorpion as a pet.
Tank & Habitat
A guide to the tank, substrate, heating, decor and lighting requirements.
Food & Diet
A list of food and water needs for a proper diet.
Handling & Stings
Information about handling, scorpion venom and the symptoms and treatment of a sting.
All about the molting process of scorpions as they grow. | <urn:uuid:4538f02e-0ce8-431a-9e9a-ea94b9d9be19> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scorpionpictureguide.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950091 | 254 | 3 | 3 |
A new review from the International osteoporosis Foundation Nutrition Working group has identified nutritional factors that contribute to sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs naturally as people age. Sarcopenia leads to a higher risk of fractures and other industries as muscle strength plays a role in the aging population’s tendency to fall.
The review focused on protein, Vitamin D, Vitamin B and an acid-based diet.
Evidence was reviewed from worldwide studies on how protein, acid-base balance, Vitamin D and Vitamin B affect sarcopenia.
“The most obvious intervention against sarcopenia is exercise in the form of resistance training. However, adequate nutritional intake and an optimal dietary acid-base balance are also very important elements of any strategy to preserve muscle mass and strength during ageing,” said Professor Jean-Philippe Bonjour, co-author and Professor of Medicine at the Service of Bone Diseases, University of Geneva.
The review found that protein plays an important role in muscle health. It recommends an intake of between 1 and 1.2 g/kg of body weight per day for muscle and bone health in the elderly. In addition, it found that Vitamin D also plays an important role in the development and maintenance of muscle mass and function. The review recommends Vitamin D supplements for seniors as the optimal way to ensure proper levels are maintained.
It also found that excessive consumption of acid-producing foods like meat and whole grains with a low consumption of fruits and vegetables may have negative effects on musculoskeletal health. Higher consumption of fruits and vegetables which help to balance acid levels will be advantageous for both bones and muscles. In addition, the review suggests that Vitamin B12 can help to improve muscle strength and function.
Dr. Ambrish Mithal, co-author and Chair and Head of Endocrinology and Diabetes division at Medanta, New Delhi underlined the need for further research in the field.
“Strategies to reduce the numbers of falls and fractures within our aging populations must include measures to prevent sarcopenia. At present, the available evidence suggests that combining resistance training with optimal nutritional status has a synergistic effect in preventing and treating sarcopenia,” said Mithal.
“We hope that further studies will shed light on other effective ways of preventing and treating this condition,” he added.
FoodFacts.com hopes that our community takes this information to heart for themselves and their family members. Nutrition affects our health in so many ways. The small dietary adjustments that can be made to improve our lives are simple. If you consider vitamin supplementation for yourself or your family, you may want to consider these products from FoodFacts TRI Nutritionals: https://www.foodfactstri.com/shop-by-health-concern/shop-by-health-concern/bones-and-joints/vitamin-d-3-1000-iu and https://www.foodfactstri.com/shop-by-health-concern/energy/vitamin-b-12-500-mcg-100-count. Whatever your choices are, FoodFacts.com encourages everyone in our community to do your best to incorporate this important advice into your lifestyle. | <urn:uuid:7e4e847a-58cb-4f52-a922-86ca93f13b13> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.foodfacts.com/tag/supplements/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937697 | 673 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Expand the Menu to access our Tree Identification Pages
The vast majority of close to 900 different Eucalyptus species 'Gum Trees' are endemic to Australia. Eucalyptus and closely related Corymbia (Bloodwood) species are listed for identification using enlarged pictures of the full tree, leaf, bark flower bud or fruit samples. Leaves of these genera are often very varied in size and shape throughout the trees development phases. They are classified as; seedling (leaves on young saplings including first emerging leaves called cotyledons), juvenile, intermediate and adult leaves. Except for seedling leaves, even mature trees can feature all leaf phases, such as juvenile leaves emerging on new shoots after bush fires or injury. Seedling, juvenile and sometimes intermediate leaves can have an opposite arrangement, especially Bloodwood Trees (Corymbia spp.). Adult leaves found on mature trees typically have an alternate arrangement. Leaves feature mostly entire margins (edges) and are characteristically rather strong and smooth in texture. When a leaf is held against a light source oil glands become visible as translucent dots, which produce the aromatic scent when a leaf is crushed. The fruit becomes hard or woody when mature and releases seeds by opening valves at the apex. It greatly varies in size and shape, making it useful in the identification of different species. Many Eucalyptus species have relative small distribution ranges.
Blackbutt Tree Eucalyptus pilularis
The Blackbutt tree is able to reach heights of more than 60m in its natural habitat of tall open forests ranging from coastal to mountainous locations (Picture 1). Fibrous and rough bark covers the trunk to half or more of its height, which is often blackened at the base due to bush fires, whereas the normal colour is a greyish brown ( 2 & 3). The woody fruit is is either egg (ovoid) or cup-shaped and measures around 1 cm in diameter. It contains 4 sunken valves and produces abundant fine, brown coloured seeds. Adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; up to 17 cm long with entire margins, mostly curved lanceolate in shape (falcate), shiny, mid-green on top, same colour beneath (concolorous), strong, firm in texture and scented when crushed (4 & 5). See Leaf Characteristics Page for explanations of definitions used. Distribution: From northern Vic, to southern Qld.
How to recognise Australian tree families and genera.
A practical field guide to the identification of native species. More than 200 full colour photographs and detailed descriptions explaining leaf, bark, flower, fruit and other tree characteristics.
New Holland Publishers
Format: Paperback with PVC
Pages: 128 pp.
Size: 13 cm wide x 18 cm high
Blue Gum Eucalyptus saligna Other names: Sydney Blue Gum
This very tall tree species, found on margins of rainforests and in adjoining wet tall forests, grows to a height of more than 60m (Picture 1 & 2). Bark above the short rough barked stocking is very smooth, grey with bluish grey coloured flecks and markings after shedding. On the mid-north coast of NSW mature trees lose their rough bark at the base of the trunk nearly entirely (1, 2 & 3). The small woody fruit features 3 or 4 valves with exerted tips and measures up to 5 mm in diameter at the apex (4). Adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; narrow elliptic in shape, mostly straight or sometimes curved (falcate), up to 18 cm long with entire margins, mid-green above, paler green beneath (discolorous), scented, strong and rather stiff in texture. (5). Distribution: NSW south coast to southern Qld.
Blue Mountain Ash Eucalyptus oreades Other names: White Ash, Smooth Barked Mountain Ash
This medium to tall tree is most abundant in the Blue Mountains of NSW, where under favourable conditions it can attain a height of 40m. Its’ natural habitat are open Eucalypt dominated forests at higher altitudes (Picture 1). Bark on the trunk, up to a height of 3m, is rough and grey to brown in colour. Otherwise bark is very smooth in texture and mainly whitish grey, showing longitudinal streaks of darker grey, and areas with yellow to brownish tones (2). The woody fruit is cup or more urn shaped and up to 1 cm in diameter. In the centre 4 or 5 small valve tips extend to rim level or slightly above after opening (3). Juvenile leaves, found on sapling trees, are ovate (egg-shaped) and only up to 10 cm long (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; up to 17 cm in length, straight lanceolate or curved (falcate) in shape, mid-green on both surfaces (concolorous), strongly scented when crushed, rather thick and firm in texture. Leaf apex gradually narrows into a fine point; base shape is asymmetric (oblique). Distribution: In widely separated regions along the Great Dividing Range, from NSW to southern Qld.
Cadaghi Corymbia torelliana Other names: Cadaga
The Cadaghi or Cadaga can reach a height of 30m or more and is naturally found on margins of tropical rainforests and adjoining tall, open forests. It also has been extensively planted as an ornamental tree outside its natural habitat (Picture 1). The bark on the lower half of the trunk is brown in colour with a rough and flaky texture, whereas the top half of the trunk and upper branches feature a smooth greyish green bark (2). Clusters (panicles) of white flowers borne at the end of branches measure 2 to 3 cm in diameter and blossom over late spring and early summer (3). Simple leaves with an alternate arrangement are up to 20 cm long, ovate in shape and hairy on immature specimens (4). Leaves on mature trees are; lanceolate in shape, up to 15 cm in length with entire margins, hairless, dark green and rather dull on upper surface, lighter green below with a firm texture. Leaf apex is acute, base shape is cuneate to rounded. Mid vein is raised on both surfaces and numerous straight lateral veins are obvious. Distribution: Restricted habitat of wet coastal areas and adjacent ranges in tropical Qld (Cairns and surrounding areas). Note: This tree is listed as an invasive species in a number of shires along the NSW north coast. See Flower Characteristics Page and Leaf Characteristics Page for information on terms used.
Descriptions and all images copyright ©2016 by www.allcreativedesigns.com.au world wide rights reserved.
Click Images for Full Size View
Flooded Gum Eucalyptus grandis Other names: Rose Gum
The Flooded Gum is very tall forest tree up to 70m in height and prefers moist fertile soils in higher rainfall areas. The specimen shown (Picture 1) resides within the outer margins of subtropical rainforest and is surrounded by rainforest species such as Black Booyong (Argyrodendron actinophyllum) and Yellow Carabeen (Sloanea woollsii). A stocking of rough bark is retained at the base of the tree, but recedes with age (2 & 3). The relative small woody fruit measures only about 5 mm in diameter and features 4 or 5 valves which are slightly exerted above the rim level after opening. Valve tips are claw-like and point inwards, whereas valves tips of the very similar Blue Gum (E.saligna) are spike-like pointing up or outwards (4). Simple adult leaves (middle) with alternate arrangement are; up to 16 cm long, lanceolate in shape with entire margins, straight as adult leaves, longer and curved as intermediate leaves, discolorous, strong and scented when crushed. Apex is acute and base shape cuneate. Venation except for mid vein is very faint (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to northern Qld.
Forest Red Gum Eucalyptus tereticornis Other names: Blue Gum (Qld)
This tall Eucalyptus tree has a wide distribution range along Australia's east coast. It occurs from coastal to mountainous locations and can reach a height of up to 50 metres under ideal conditions (Picture 1). Newly exposed bark is very smooth and has a glossy surface, whereas older bark becomes finely rough and granular in texture. It is different shades of grey in colour and sheds in irregular sized plates, a short stocking of rough bark can be found at the base of the tree (2). Up to ten separate flowers are held on a common stalk measuring up to 3 cm in length. Flower buds are distinctively cone shaped and reach up to 10 mm in length (3). The rounded fruit features 4 or 5 stout and strongly exerted valves ending in sharp tips (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; up to 20 cm in length with entire margins, lanceolate in shape, straight or curved (falcate), dull green (dried specimens shown) on top, paler beneath (discolourous) and scented when crushed. Leaf apex very gradually narrows into a fine tip, base shape is cuneate (wedge-shaped). Distribution: From southern Vic, to northern Qld.
Grey Ironbark Eucalyptus paniculata
Under favourable conditions the Grey Ironbark Eucalyptus paniculata can reach a height of more than 40m (Picture 1). Bark is a mid grey in colour, hard and deeply furrowed. On adult specimens the rough bark continues to the smallest branches in a fairly open canopy (Pictures 2 & 3). Buds are a diamond-shaped and up to 10mm in length (4). Simple alternate adult leaves are; up to 14 cm long with entire margins, lanceolate in shape, fairly thin, papery but strong, mid green on top, a lighter grey green beneath with an acute and fine pointed apex (5). Distribution: NSW south coast to NSW mid-north coast.
Grey Gum Small-fruited Eucalyptus propinqua
The small-fruited Grey Gum is a tall and erect tree species up to 45m in height, the straight trunk is often branchless to more than half of the tree's height. It's natural habitat are tall open forests from coastal to mountainous locations (Picture 1 & 2). Old slightly rough and granular bark is shed from the trunk in wide strips or irregular patches exposing new bright orange coloured bark (3). The woody fruit is reverse cone-shaped (obconical) and measures only up to 5 mm in diameter showing 4 valves (4). Simple adult leaves have an alternate arrangement and are; lanceolate in shape, up to 15 cm long with entire margins, dark green above, paler green beneath, firm, leathery in texture and scented when crushed. Leaf apex narrows into a very fine tip, base is broadly wedge-shaped (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to southern Qld.
Lemon-scented Gum Corymbia citriodora Other names: Lemon-scented Iron Gum, Spotted Iron Gum
Strongly lemon-scented leaves have given this tree its' name and are of great help when identifying this species, as it is of similar appearance to the Spotted Gum E. maculata. Mainly found in open forests along the coastal ranges it is a medium to large sized tree reaching heights of more than 30m with a columnar and upright trunk (Picture 1). Bark is shades of grey to bluish grey in colour without retaining any rough bark at the base, hard and smooth in texture. It is shed in small irregular plates exposing dark grey (blue grey) coloured patches of fresh bark causing the mottling effect (more noticeable in wet times) (2). The woody fruit is mostly urn shaped, up to 1.5 cm in length and shows fine ridges and small warts (3). Simple leaves have an alternate arrangement. Juvenile leaves are up to 20 cm in length with entire margins, broadly lanceolate to nearly obovate in shape. Venation is more obvious in juvenile leaves, showing raised laterals and a clearly visible intra marginal vein (4). Adult leaves are only up to 15 cm long, very narrow lanceolate in shape, firm and strong in texture. All leaves, even dried specimens on the ground emit a strong lemon scent when crushed. Distribution: Mid-north coast NSW to northern Qld (2 subspecies; E. citriodora subsp. variegata in NSW/South Qld. E. citriodora subsp. citriodora in North Qld.)
Messmate Eucalyptus obliqua Other names: Messmate Stringybark
Under favourable conditions this very tall Eucalyptus species can grow to 80 m, but heights of under 50m are more common and in exposed costal locations it may only be the size of a shrub. It has a wide distribution range and prefers mountainous location for best development (Picture 1). Trunks on tall trees are columnar and branchless to half or more of its height (2). Bark is a reddish brown in colour with older surfaces weathering to grey. It is rough, furrowed and rather soft, fibrous in texture (3). The woody fruit varies from barrel shaped to more urn shaped and measures up to 12 mm in length. It has a rough surface and 3 or 4 slightly sunken valves (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; broadly lanceolate or curved (falcate) in shape, up to 15 cm in length with entire margins, dark green, semi-glossy on top, similar green beneath (concolorous), firm and leathery in texture. Leaf apex tapers into a fine point, base shape is oblique (asymmetric). Leaf stalk up to 20 mm long (5). Distribution: Tas, SA, Vic, NSW and southern Qld.
New England Blackbutt Eucalyptus andrewsii subspecies andrewsii
This tall Eucalyptus species prefers locations at higher altitudes along the Great Dividing Range, where under good conditions it can reach a height of 40m or more. In tall open forests it develops a straight trunk devoid of major branches up to the height of the relatively open crown (Picture 1). Bark on mature trees shows vertical fissures and is rough and coarsely fibrous in texture. Weathered outside bark is grey in colour, fresh underlying bark light brown (2). Up to 15 separate flowers buds are grouped on a common stalk (peduncle) measuring up to 2 cm in length. Individual buds are up to 0.5 cm long and start appearing over winter time (3). The woody fruit is half rounded in shape and measures up to 5 mm in diameter, it shows 4 or sometimes 5 valves on level with the very wide rim (4). Simple adult leaves are; up to 18 cm in length with entire margins, falcate (sickle shaped) or more lanceolate, the same mid-green on both surfaces, rather dull, strong and leathery in texture. Leaf stalk (petiole) yellowish in colour and up to 2.5 cm long. Leaf apex very gradually narrows into a fine tip, base shape is uneven (oblique). Venation is inconspicuous showing a network of wavy lateral veins under closer inspection (5). Distribution: Higher country from the mid-north coast of NSW to central Qld.
Pink Bloodwood Corymbia intermedia [Eucalyptus intermedia]
The Pink Bloodwood tree is a medium to tall tree species reaching 35m or more in height and is found in open tall forests (Picture 1). Bark, continuing to small branches, is a pale grey brown colour, rough and scaly in texture with patches of exposed resin (kino) often visible (2). The rather open canopy can spread to a wide margin (3). The woody fruit is urn or more barrel shaped and measures up to 2 cm in length, the outer surface is very rough, covered in small warts and speckles. Four deep seated valves release reddish brown seeds enclosed in a papery wing (4). Alternately arranged adult leaves are; lanceolate to broad lanceolate in shape with entire margins, between 8 to 16 cm in length, dark green on top, paler green beneath, faintly scented when crushed, strong and firm in texture. Older leaves often turn red before falling (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to northern Qld.
Red Bloodwood Tree Corymbia gummifera [Eucalyptus gummifera]
This tall native tree species is found in tall open (Eucalypt dominated) forests growing to a height of 45 m (Picture 1). Distinctive feature of this tree is the red sticky resin (kino), produced where an injury occurred or as a protection against termite attack (2). Bark is a reddish brown weathering to gray with a flaky, scaly texture covering the whole tree to the smallest branches ( 3). The woody fruit produced is urn-shaped and measures up to 2 cm in length. Four deep seated valves release brown coloured seeds with a small surrounding flange (4). Adult leaves on mature specimens are; alternately arranged, lanceolate in shape with entire margins, dark green on top, paler green beneath, faintly scented and up to 15 cm long. Closely spaced straight lateral veins are visible (5). Distribution: From Vic, to southern Qld.
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Red Mahogany Eucalyptus resinifera Subspecies: hemilampra Other names: Red Messmate
Red Mahogany Eucalyptus resinifera is a tall tree reaching heights of more than 40m and occurs mainly in tall open forests (Picture 1). The reddish brown bark is very stringy, fibrous in texture and can exude some resin (2). Flower buds are an elongated cone shape and measure up to 12 mm in length (3). The fruit can vary in shape from ovoid to more cup shaped and reaches up to 12 mm in length. 3 or sometimes 4 sharply pointed valve tips extend beyond the flat rim and release numerous fine brown seeds (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate leaf arrangement are; up to 15 cm long, mainly broadly lanceolate in shape with entire margins, discolorous, scented when crushed (5). Distribution: South coast of NSW to southern Qld.
Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus signata
This medium size tree species is most often found in wetter coastal areas or open forests attaining a height of up to 25m (Picture 1). The bark is smooth and firm, white to light grey in colour showing the distinctive scribbles (2). Branch work is limited to a a few steep angled main branches holding a very open canopy (3). Fruit is relatively small at 5 to 7mm in diameter and length featuring 4 exerted valves not raised above the level rim (4). The simple leaves (adult) with an alternate arrangement are; up to 15 cm long with entire margins (deformation are visible), lanceolate in shape, firm and leathery, hairless and scented, semi glossy and mid green in colour on both surfaces. Venation is faint but visible, showing numerous straight lateral veins (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to southern Qld. Note: There are a number of closely related species sharing the same common name.
Shinning Gum Eucalyptus nitens
Under ideal conditions this very tall tree is able to reach more than 80m in height. It prefers mountainous areas with high rainfall totals along the Great Dividing Range (Picture 1). Bark except for a short stocking at the base is smooth in texture and shades of grey in colour. It sheds in long narrow strips which often decorate the upper branches (2). Groups of up to 7 separate flower buds are borne on a common stalk (peduncle) up to 12 mm in length (3). The fruit is barrel shaped and relatively small at only 5 to 6 mm in length. It features mostly 3 valves with pointed tips reaching rim level or slightly above (4). The simple leaves (adult) with an alternate arrangement are; up to 30 cm long with entire margins, narrow lanceolate in shape, firm and leathery, hairless, glossy when fresh and mid green in colour on both surfaces (concolorous). Leaf apex very gradually narrows into a fine tip, base shape is cuneate. Distribution: Vic, & NSW.
Snow Gum Eucalyptus pauciflora Other names: Cabbage Gum, White Sally
Depending on location the Snow Gum can be a stunted shrub in alpine terrain or under more favourable conditions a medium sized tree. There are 4 recognised subspecies; Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. pauciflora (shown), ssp. niphophila, ssp. lacrimans and ssp. debeuzevillei (Picture 1). Fresh bark is smooth in texture and colours range from white to dark grey with pink and yellow hues. Bark is shed in irregular patches or in short broad strips (2). Flower buds are club-shaped (clavate) and measure up to 1cm in length. A maximum of 15 buds are borne on a common stalk (peduncle) reaching 15 mm in length, pedicels are not present or only very short (3). The shape of the fruit is varied from cup-shaped (cupular) to more upside down cone-shaped (obconical). It measures up to 15 mm in length with mostly 3 rounded valves reaching the height of the broad rim (4). Simple leaves with an alternate arrangement are; up to 16 cm long, lance-shaped, straight or slightly curved, glossy, dark green on both surfaces, strong and leathery in texture. Longitudinal veins are obvious (5). Distribution: Tas, SA, Vic, NSW and south-eastern Qld.
Spotted Gum Corymbia maculata
The distinctive bark is one of the first identification feature of the Spotted Gum Corymbia maculata. Under favourable conditions this tall tree species can reach 45m or more in height. Its habitat ranges from close proximity to the coast to open forests along the ranges (Picture 1). The very smooth bark covers the whole tree (no rough stocking) and is various tones of grey in colour, relating to the maturity of bark after shedding in irregular rounded plates (2). Ovoid shaped flower buds are up to 1cm in length (3). The fruit shown is in its' early development stage, still green in colour turning brown and woody with age. It measures up to 15 mm in length with deeply sunken valves and a thick rim (4). Alternate simple adult leaves are: up to 21 cm long with entire margins, lanceolate in shape (image is showing intermediate leaves which are slightly broader), grey green on top and similar coloured below, firm and leathery in texture. Apex is gradually tapering into a fine point (5). Distribution: NSW south coast to NSW mid-north coast. Similar in appearance to C. citriodora, but leaves of this species are not lemon-scented.
See Flower Characteristics Page and Leaf Characteristics Page for information on terms used.
Swamp Mahogany Eucalyptus robusta Other names: Swamp Messmate
The Swamp Mahogany reaches a height of about 30m with main branches starting at more than half the height of the normally straight trunk (Picture 1). Bark is persistent to the smallest branches; softly fibrous in texture and a light reddish brown in colour (2). Up to 15 individual flowers are held atop a flattened common stalk (peduncle) up to 3 cm long. Individual flower stalks are up to 1 cm in length, but are sometimes absent (sessile). The prominent operculum is beak-shaped (3). The cylindrical shaped fruit is up to 16 mm long and 10 mm across featuring mostly 4 valves, level with or slightly raised above the rim (4). Simple alternately arranged leaves (adult) are; up to 16 cm long with entire margins, broad lanceolate in shape, dark green, glossy above, pale green beneath, firm, leathery and scented when crushed. Mid vein is raised on lower surface with numerous straight lateral veins showing (penniveined) (5). Distribution: Coastal areas from NSW south coast to central Qld.
Tallowwood Eucalyptus microcorys
This very tall tree species and can reach more than 60m in height with a trunk diameter of more than 2m (Picture 1). Bark is mostly a light brown in colour, with a red tinge, and soft fibrous in texture (2). Masses of scented small white flowers appear in winter to early spring (NSW north coast). They are held in groups of up to 12 individuals emerging from axillary joints towards the end of small branches (3). Fruit is small at up to 4 mm across with 3 or sometimes 4 valves (4). Simple leaves on adult specimens are up to 14 cm long with small irregular crenate margins and lanceolate in shape. Juvenile leaves are broadly ovate and up to 8 cm long (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to southern Qld.
Thin-leaved Stringybark Eucalyptus eugenioides [E.nigra]
The Thin-leaved Stringybark is an abundant tall tree reaching 35m in height under ideal conditions. It is very similar in appearance to a number of other Stringybarks, such as the White Stringybark (E. globoidea) Tindale's Stringybark (E.tindaliae) (Picture 1). Older bark weathers to grey and fissures on the surface to expose a red brown underlayer of fresh bark, texture is very rough and fibrous (2). The fruit is hemispherical in shape measuring up to 8mm in diameter and can be misshaped when appearing in tight clusters. A broad disc and 4 slightly exerted valve tips are typical (3). The fine seed is roughly pyramid-shaped and brown to dark brown in colour (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate arrangement are; up to 13 cm long, lanceolate (lance-shaped) or falcate (sickle-shaped), glossy green on both surfaces when fresh and scented when crushed. The leaf base shape is noticeable asymmetric (oblique). Juvenile leaves are broader and up to 15 cm long (5). Distribution: NSW south coast to southern Qld.
White Mahogany Eucalyptus acmenoides Other names: Yellow Stringybark
Under favourable conditions the White Mahoganycan grow up to 60m in height with a trunk measuring up to 1.5 m in diameter at the base (Picture 1). Bark is greyish light brown, very fibrous and stringy, covering all parts of the tree (2 & 3). Fruit is up to 7 mm across and has mostly 4 valves (4). Simple adult leaves with an alternate arrangement and entire margins are up to 12 cm long and lanceolate in shape, whereby juvenile leaves are broader and reach 15 cm in length (5). Distribution: NSW central coast to central Qld. | <urn:uuid:55288eff-7092-4738-92f1-eeffd616293c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.allcreativedesigns.com.au/pages/galltrees4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915597 | 5,782 | 3.625 | 4 |
The Senate energy and natural resources committee's draft for a new energy bill includes language dedicating large amounts of public money for nuclear power plants. Administration officials seem gung-ho about the technology, and Republicans want 100 new reactors by 2030. How does an energy company decide where to build new facilities?
State laws, geography, and the disposition of the local community. The first step: finding a state where nuclear plants aren't banned, and perhaps one where taxpayers might even help foot the bill. California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin all have moratoriums in place—although campaigns are under way in the latter two states to repeal them (and Kentucky overturned its ban earlier this year). Other states are actively trying to make themselves more attractive to energy companies. Florida, for example, helps developers recover preconstruction and licensing costs, and Kansas exempts nuclear plants from property taxes.
Next, companies look at topography. Because all nuclear reactors in the United States require water to operate, you have to build one near a lake or a river (although it's possible to construct an artificial lake, as with Dominion Generation's North Anna Power Station in central Virginia). You also need a large amount of space—at least 500 acres to house outbuildings for ventilation equipment, storage for fuel and waste, parking lots, and computing facilities.
It behooves energy companies to build on ground already cleared for nuclear energy production, since entirely new locations have to go through a much lengthier review process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. There are 65 locations nationwide with one or more reactors, and many of these sites don't have as many reactors as they were originally intended to include. Twelve out of the 14 applications currently under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are for additional reactors at pre-existing plants.
Energy companies also scout for areas experiencing population growth—and a corresponding rise in the demand for power. That's part of the reason why most of the new applications are in the South and Southeast, where seven out of this year's top 10 fastest-growing cities are located. Most plants are a few miles outside small-to-midsize towns—it doesn't make sense to put them too far away from electricity users, and they necessitate a large work force. Some 2,000 people are needed to build a plant, and about 500 people are required once it's operational to serve as technicians, reactor operators, engineers, security guards, and administrators.
Finally, energy companies take into consideration the friendliness of the local community to avoid publicity headaches. Recent polling suggests that the general public is less suspicious of nuclear plants than it has been in the past, as disasters like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island recede from memory. There's still a NIMBY factor; people are less excited about putting in nuclear plants near where they live. Still, nuclear advocates argue that communities that do live near plants tend to be more comfortable with the idea than communities where people only associate the word nuclear with mushroom clouds.
The Explainer thanks Michael Corradini of the University of Wisconsin, John Keeley of the Nuclear Energy Institute, and Rita Sipe of Duke Energy. | <urn:uuid:bb201713-9aa1-4a7e-abda-cb6b329f97dc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/07/a_nuclear_power_plant_with_a_view.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95869 | 643 | 2.953125 | 3 |
In 1916 Monet had a new studio built at Giverny in order to work on huge canvases; large-scale, close-up views of the surface of his water-lily pond. In 1918, the day after the Armistice was signed, the painter promised a group of the paintings to the French nation as a 'monument to peace'. It was a war memorial, but of a personal, unprecedented kind.
Monet described his 'Water-Lilies' as 'producing the effect of an endless whole, of a watery surface with no horizon and no shore'. Distance and perspective are abolished; a limitless expanse of water occupies our entire field of vision. Closely related to that project, this monumental canvas was not included in Monet’s gift, which hangs today in the Orangerie of the Tuileries in Paris. | <urn:uuid:4214a1d0-67fe-4509-9ba0-f6e7ba54166c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-water-lilies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971081 | 177 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Country of Origin
The current stock of Irish Water Spaniel (also known as the ‘Whiptail’, ‘Shannon Spaniel’, ‘Rat Tail Spaniel’, or ‘Bog Dog’) is of Irish origin, but its original ancestry is unknown. The Poodle, Portuguese Water Dog, and Barbet are all closely related to the Irish Water Spaniel, but no one is certain which breed descends from the other. The Irish Water Spaniel is the oldest and perhaps most unique Spaniel breed, depicted in manuscripts from as early as the 1100’s. The modern breed was developed in Dublin, Ireland in the 1830’s by Justin McCarthy. His Irish Water Spaniel ‘Boatswain’ sired many dogs and is widely considered the father of the breed. The Irish Water Spaniel was recognized by the American Kennel Club in the late 1800’s. It had a brief period of popularity, but is today a somewhat rare pet and show dog.
The Irish Water Spaniel has a shoulder height of 51-59 cm (20-23 in) and weighs 20-30 kg (45-65 lbs). It has a visible stop (depression where the muzzle meets the forehead), almond-shaped eyes, and long, low-set ears. The Irish Water Spaniel has slightly webbed feet and a level tail which is thick and curly at the base, tapering to a point. The Irish Water Spaniel is a tall, stout, graceful dog.
The Irish Water Spaniel has a breed characteristic coat consisting of dense, permanent curls. It is somewhat oily in texture and its color is a distinctive purple-tinged dark liver. The Irish Water Spaniel has a curly topknot above its head. Irish Water Spaniels shed little and are an excellent match for people with allergies.
The Irish Water Spaniel is lively, cheerful, intelligent, and independent. It has a clownish reputation because of its silly, warm-hearted antics. Irish Water Spaniels are not friendly to strangers and make good watchdogs.
The Irish Water Spaniel gets along well with other dogs and any household pets. Early socialization is preferable. Irish Water Spaniels make great playmates for children, though some can be a bit shy.
The Irish Water Spaniel coat requires brushing and combing several times a week, but excessive grooming will cause the coat to fluff, which is undesirable. After brushing, the Irish Water Spaniel should be washed or allowed to swim, which will help retain its naturally curly texture. The Irish Water Spaniel has a lifespan of 10-12 years. It is susceptible to hip dysplasia (malformed hip joint which can cause lameness or arthritis), distichia (extra eyelashes on the eyelid which can scratch the cornea if not properly treated), and ear infections, which can be prevented by regular cleaning of the ear passages.
The Irish Water Spaniel should be trained at a young age with a consistent approach. Obedience training is highly recommended. The Irish Water Spaniel learns quickly, but if it does not recognize its handler’s authority it will refuse to obey.
The Irish Water Spaniel has very high exercise needs. It will not be satisfied by less than an hour a day of running or active play. The Irish Water Spaniel’s favorite activities are swimming and retrieving. | <urn:uuid:6cc5a668-5aa7-4eda-9517-8fbffe7f4a4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.puppyfind.com/irish+water+spaniel.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951168 | 701 | 2.984375 | 3 |
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Listening to the Song of the Sea at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeff Mott, director
Kristoffer Walker, geophysics project scientist, UC San Diego, is the lead project scientist. Jeff Mott, director of BCCER, and Brendon Armstrong, field support assistant (who passed away last summer), assisted Walker and his crew in installing the array of microphones and wiring. Armstrong maintained the system until this past summer.
Walker offered an analogy to help understand the sub-audible nature of the sound that the system is recording (in an article co-authored with Mott and published on the BCCER website and in “Inside Chico State”): “During the holidays around the dinner table a memorable moment is often shared by dipping your finger in your glass of wine and circling the rim until the glass starts to ‘sing.’ This singing occurs because the frequency of the vibrations created by your finger matches the ‘natural frequency’ of vibration for the wine glass. In this situation, this natural frequency is as easy for us to hear as a tone from a piano. The ocean is much larger than a wine glass. But it, too, has a natural frequency and sings when waves from one direction collide with waves from the opposite direction. Because wind is constantly creating waves throughout the world’s oceans, waves from different storms eventually collide thousands of miles away, creating the ‘song of the sea.’
“Humans cannot hear the song of the sea. The ocean’s natural frequency is simply too low for the human ear to detect. However, special microphones can listen to the ocean quite well. In fact, the ocean’s natural frequency is so low that these sensors can hear the ocean thousands of miles away, just as you can hear the low-frequency rumbling of thunder from distant lightning.
“Just as having two ears allows you to pinpoint the location of the ringing wine glass with your eyes closed, having more than one microphone allows scientists to locate where the ocean sound is coming from.”
The primary source of ocean wave forecasts, up until now, has come from NOAA forecasts from models created by measuring the height of waves inshore and offshore. Verifying the accuracy of these models is important because commercial and recreational human activities both near the coast and hundreds of miles off the coast rely on these models to make important decisions. Using the microphone system provides a way to verify the accuracy of the NOAA wave models without the prohibitive expense of placing the hundreds of thousands of buoys it would take to measure the waves. Since the wave-height models can predict where ocean sound will come from, the data from the project can verify that the NOAA wave models are accurate by comparing the observed sound locations to the predicted ones.
Preliminary results were presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco in December 2010. The microphones are still recording sound at BCCER, but the project may be in jeopardy due to a loss of funding from the NOAA, as the NOAA funding is determined by the approval of congress.
Mott’s role has been to direct resources at the array to fix problems and to be an advisor during the analysis of the data. His expertise on sources of sound in that region will help interpret the data, said Walker.
“The project with Kris and his crew from UC San Diego has been a wonderful experience,” said Mott. “The collaboration between universities shows that the Ecological Reserve system at CSU, Chico is not just an important local resource, but part of a broader system that is contributing to knowledge on a global scale.
“There are many people who assisted in this project. But we want to especially thank Brendon Armstrong. Brendon prepared BCCER for the microphones, helped install them, and was the primary caretaker. His dedication and hard work was critical to the success of this project, and we will miss him dearly.”
For more information on research into sub-audible sound, contact Kristoffer T. Walker, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UC San Diego, at 858-534-0126 or visit his website at http://sail.ucsd.edu/~walker/. | <urn:uuid:43f49985-31ea-4928-95c2-ee84dd4d764c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.csuchico.edu/news/archived-news/2011-fall/12-19-11-listening-to-the-song-of-the-sea-at-bccer.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945491 | 926 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Recollections of the 1940s:
Most of the evacuated children returned during the early months of
1940. Some were taught in the mornings, others in the afternoons.
Air Raid practices were held in the playground where there were
shelters 'and lots of sand bags to burst!' The cloakrooms and
passage beneath the North Corridor were also made suitable for air raid
shelters. At night the teachers took it in turns to sleep upstairs
in the school to man the stirrup pumps in case of fire.
HMS Lochinvar Royal Navy Camp was built at the north end of the school
playing fields. Hence the name 'Lockies' used by some to describe
the school playing fields, even fifty years later.
Following the end of the War in 1945, Lochinvar Camp remained
in the school fields and was used to house homeless persons of many
nationalities. There were huts of all sizes and a camp shop.
Children from the district used the camp as a short-cut to Goldenacre.
The Wardie Residents Club was formed around 1945. It later
found accommodation in one or two of the H.M.S. Lochinvar huts. Their
dances in Wardie School hall
were popular. Children were soon given a nearby large room for organized
frolics. Douglas Beath
There are records of visits to the school by Polish Officers,
Czechoslovakian Officers and by speakers on behalf of 'The Navy' and
Wardie School had four 'Houses'
Warriston - red
Royston - Green
Craighall - Blue
Bangholm - white.
Pupils would normally stay in the same 'House' throughout
the school and even when they moved on to Trinity Academy.
Pupils were given a list of books to buy. These cost 2s
6d each at Mrs Whyte's shop across the road from the school, or about 4d
each if bought second-hand from other children in the school.
The school desks were in formal rows. Lessons included
dictation, learning tables and writing on slates, physical exercises, art,
singing, needlework and sewing.
Prize-givings were held in the school garden in the centre of
the school, with the choir singing from their position on the steps.
Some classes were taken outside to help the teacher to dig the
allotments on the Netherby Road side of the school fields as part of the
'Dig for Victory' campaign.
School dinners were cooked at Granton and brought to the school
in large metal containers. The dinners were served in front of an
open fire in the Football Pavilion beside the Tennis Courts in the
adjoining recreation ground.
[Anniversary Booklet -
Wardie School 1931-1981] | <urn:uuid:1c228279-d9ea-44ac-bdd9-ac73c12261ee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_edin/1_edinburgh_history_-_recollections_granton_trinity_wardie_school_1940s.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972235 | 599 | 2.59375 | 3 |
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Ms. Bubb and people who believe as she does are the very reason our Founding Fathers created a republican form of government. The form of government to which I “fondly” refer is a Constitutional Republic (the foundation of our Constitution) and not a democratic republic, as that is a contradiction of terms.
Those who believe in absolute majority rule are how the minority are stripped of their rights. Ms. Bubb’s problem goes way beyond a civics lesson: her total ignorance of our republican form of government cannot be corrected with a simple lesson. To advocate for mob control and the revocation of the rights of the minority shows how little she knows or cares about the rights Americans are afforded under their Constitution.
Ms. Bubb is correct when she says I am afraid. I fear the mob rule and trampling of the rights of the minority advocated by Ms. Bubb and commissioner Whiting. As to the reference to “power” — what the heck does that mean? I fear Ms. Bubb and commissioner Whiting are watching too much TV. Exactly what is the power to which you refer? The power to which I think Ms. Bubb and commissioner Whiting refer to is, in fact, responsibility. Responsibility to represent the interests of all the citizens, not just the vocal ones.
Commissioner Whiting was elected by the people, and paid by those same people, to make the decisions he now wants them to make. Mr. Whiting should either step up or consider returning the money.
The only “absolute power” that can exist is with mobs (advocated by Bubb and Whiting) and dictatorships. A republican form of government is the safeguard from absolute power. The power that is feared lost is that of the mob whose members believe that, when they have the majority, those in the minority become their inferiors. Ms. Bubb would like me to represent the majority as long as she agrees with the majority, but not when she doesn’t (Wal-Mart). I invoke again the wisdom of a Founding Father: “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” — Thomas Jefferson | <urn:uuid:221e61f6-1cf2-462d-9f40-da7803e2bc1f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pagosasun.com/republic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970222 | 473 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Roll FormingA brief discussion of the roll forming process
Roll Forming is a system of Sheet Metal Forming. A flat sheet of metal is power fed through a successive series of Rollers, which shape the metal station to station as it passes through them.
The rolls (left) are known as roller dies and are precision made for each job. The above system has 14 roll stations. Each station might have a unique roller die, which progressively bends the sheet metal as it is drawn between the rollers. This allows for very clean forming of the metal into profiles. Of course the shapes are basically straight profiles. Sometime symmetrical, but not necessarily.
The part on left is a good example of a symmetrical roll formed part. The successive rolling through the roller dies allows for profiles that are closed or open. These profiles have enormous application in manufacturing, commercial building, aerospace and other applications. Parts can be fabricated from aluminum through 6 gauge steel (1/2" thick). They are rigid, with very high strength.
Additional operations can "pre-punch" holes in precise locations for mounting holes or to reduce weight of the final shape. "Notching" is another operation that can either punch through or punch part of the metal out from the surface.
Shapes can be cut to precise length after they are done with the "roll forming" part of the system with a "Flying Cut-Off". This style of "Cut-Off" allows for cutting, while the system is still moving the sheet metal through the roller dies, increasing throughput.
A Complete Rollforming system with shape being formed for a greenhouse support in Form Process Engineering's roll forming operations center. | <urn:uuid:cac5690f-98fb-4a82-b0c8-4ba0c78d7b3b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.formprocesseng.com/rollformingprocess.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945432 | 342 | 3.609375 | 4 |
What is Global Administrative Law (GAL)?
Today almost all human activity is subject to some form of global regulation. Goods and activities that are beyond the effective control of any one State are regulated at the global level. Global regulatory regimes cover a vast array of different subject-areas, including forest preservation, the control of fishing, water regulation, environmental protection, arms control, food safety and standardization, financial and accounting standards, internet governance, pharmaceuticals regulation, intellectual property protection, refugee protection, coffee and cocoa standards, labour standards, antitrust regulation, to name but a very few.
This increase in the number and scope of regulatory regimes has been matched by the huge growth of international organizations: nowadays over 2,000 IGOs, and around 40,000 NGOs, are operating worldwide.
There are, of course, great differences among the various different types of regulatory regimes. Some merely provide a framework for State action, whereas others establish guidelines addressed to domestic administrative agencies, and others still impact directly upon national civil society actors. Some regulatory regimes create their own implementation mechanisms, while others rely on national or regional authorities for this task. To settle disputes, some regulatory regimes have established judicial (or quasi-judicial) bodies, or refer to those of different regimes; while others resort to “softer” forms, such as negotiation.
Within this framework, the traditional mechanisms based on State consent as expressed through treaties or custom are simply no longer capable of accounting for all global activities.
A new regulatory space is emerging, distinct from that of inter-State relations, transcending the sphere of influence of both international law and domestic administrative law: this can be defined as the global administrative space. IOs have become much more than instruments of the governments of their Member States; rather, they set their own norms and regulate their field of activity; they generate and follow their own, particular legal proceedings; and they can grant participatory rights to subjects, both public and private, affected by their activities. Ultimately, they have emerged as genuine global public administrations.
In other words, the structures, procedures and normative standards for regulatory decision-making applicable to global institutions (including transparency, participation, and review) and the rule-governed mechanisms for implementing these standards are coming to form a specific field of legal theory and practice: that of global administrative law. The main focus of this emerging field is not the particular content of substantive rules generated by global regulatory institutions, but rather the actual or potential application of principles, procedural rules and reviewing and other mechanisms relating to accountability, transparency, participation, and the rule of law in global governance. | <urn:uuid:4784d0f5-72c3-4717-a827-30ed9ff71a22> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.irpa.eu/gal-section/6432/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944477 | 531 | 2.875 | 3 |
On the 1st day of Christmas my true love sent to me: an APWP
APWP stands for ‘apparent polar wander path’. The remanent magnetisation imprinted on a rock as it forms points towards the magnetic pole, and from its direction you can calculate where, geographically, the pole that the rock ‘saw’ falls on the Earth’s surface. Often, the pole position you calculate from the magnetisation directions of older rocks is some distance from the current geographic poles. It would have plotted there just after the rock formed, but after millions of years of plate motion, the continent it formed on is now at a different longitude and latitude, and hence a different distance from the geographic poles, than it was long ago. This phenomenon is called ‘apparent polar wander’, because it looks like the magnetic pole has moved with respect to the Earth’s surface, although in fact it is the Earth’s surface moving relative to the Earth’s magnetic pole.
A remanent magnetic pole which originally plots at the geographic pole will plot away from it after millions of years of plate motion
By plotting the magnetic poles for a sequence of rocks formed over tens or hundreds of million years, you get a record of continental motion over geological time: an apparent polar wander path or APWP. And if you can obtain APWPs for two different continents spanning a similar age range, you can get an idea of differential motions between them. For example, the APWPs for Europe and North America have a very similar shape between about 350 million and 100 million years ago (the sections of the lines furthest from the current geographic pole in the figure below), when they were both part of the supercontinent Pangaea and henced moved as one; indeed, if you close up the Atlantic Ocean that now separates them, the two paths will overlap.
Apparent Polar Wander Paths for North America and Europe since the Permian.
The project I’m working on at the moment is currently trying to generate APWPs for the different continents in an earlier time period, between 1000 and 500 million years ago. So this palaeomagician would love an APWP as a Christmas gift – although any sensible true love would certainly point out that I’m the one being paid to produce such a thing…
Note: this series is intended to be a light-hearted , and mildly educational, list of useful geological things. Hopefully, you don’t get too bored of this bit of seasonal whimsy before 12th night – if indeed you bother to check your RSS feeds before then! | <urn:uuid:dd0a5fb7-7041-48d4-8f1c-254f5dad904c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://all-geo.org/highlyallochthonous/2009/12/an-apwp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930348 | 543 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Per Capita GDP (Nominal) in the Demic and State-Based Frameworks
The Demic Atlas provides an alternative to standard state-based maps of global development, designed for broad comparative purposes. As several GeoCurrents commentators have noted, the demic framework is not suitable for all forms of comparison. Studies aimed at determining the relationship between governmental action and economic development, for example, must rely on the state-based framework, as it is sovereign states and their subdivisions that generate and implement official policies. The current project aims instead for a generalized overview that can reveal expansive global patterns obscured in standard maps. Based on the principle of demographic egalitarianism, the demic maps portray heavily populated countries at a much higher level of resolution than do standard depictions, while representing lightly populated countries at a lower level of resolution. The goal is to render the world as a whole with broad but relatively even brush strokes. To see whether the demic framework successfully serves such a purpose, the current post contrasts a world map of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) constructed on its terms with a conventional, country-based map of the same indicator.
Before comparing the two maps, it is important to note the limitations encountered when assessing economic development through GDP. GDP measurements, which ostensibly tally the total value of goods and services produced in a given year within a particular territory, are not as comprehensive as they might seem. Nominal GDP, calculated on the basis of official exchange rates, fails to take into account the different quantities of goods and services that can be purchased with the same amount of money in different parts of the world. As a result, GDP is increasingly measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. Consequently, a separate GeoCurrents post will compare GDP as calculated in PPP. More troublesome is the fact that GDP figures tell us nothing about the distribution of wealth, and hence cannot always indicate whether a given region is, in general terms, wealthy or impoverished. Equatorial Guinea, for example, appears to be a fairly rich little country, with a nominal per capita GDP assessed at US $24,400 by the CIA in 2010 (although the World Bank comes up a figure of only 11,033 for the same year, a sure sign of data irregularities). Yet Equatorial Guinea remains a poor and underdeveloped country, as the vast bulk of its wealth flows into very few hands. Finally, GDP measurements ignore goods and services produced on a subsistence basis, or that are exchanged through barter outside of the formal economy. As a result, an utterly impoverished, desperately malnourished area dominated by market exchange might appear more prosperous than a subsistence-oriented area in which most people are relatively well fed and well housed.
Despite such limitations, per capita GDP remains the most common metric of economic development, and it is therefore employed on our first set of maps. For purposes of immediate comparison, the two maps use the same color scheme and divide the data into the same number of categories, based in both cases on quantiles (dividing the data set at regular intervals to yield subsets of equal size). Note that the numbers associated with the color categories on the two maps do not match. This is partly a matter of the greater level of aggregation found in the demic map, which employs fewer spatial units and therefore reduces the level of economic differentiation across the world. The demic map also skews toward lower numerical values for the same color categories. Note how the second highest category in the state-based maps extends down to $14,239 and the third down to $6,636, whereas on the demic map the comparable figures are $8,395 and $4,466. This disparity reflects the fact that many wealthy countries, especially those of Europe, have small populations, inflating the number of units in the high-end group. Another consequence is to push large areas of the world into higher color categories on the demic map; compare, for example, the coloration of southwestern Africa on the two maps. (Both data sets can yield strikingly different maps depending on how many categories are used and where the breaks between them are placed; such issues will be explored in subsequent posts.)
The most conspicuous differences between the two maps are found in their depictions of South and East Asia. In the conventional state-based map, China is uniformly shown as a moderately poor country; in the demic map, China as a whole appears much more economically productive, while the substantial gaps between its prosperous coastal zone and its lagging periphery are revealed. Such changes, we believe, more accurately reflect actual conditions in the region. South Asia is also much more finely differentiated on the demic map. The standard view shows India and Pakistan as evenly falling into the second lowest economic category, while placing the smaller countries of the region in either the lowest slot (Nepal, Bangladesh) or the next highest category (Sri Lanka, Bhutan). In the demic map, a wide swath of north-central India falls in the bottommost grouping, whereas much of western India is placed significantly higher. Put differently, the standard map locates the poorest parts of Asia outside of India, whereas the demic map largely places them within that country. The actual differentials found within India, moreover, are greater than even the demic map indicates. The yellowish area of elevated economic standing in the western part of the country is composed of rapidly growing Gujarat and western Maharashtra, the latter area encompassing Mumbai, India’s economic core. Although western Maharashtra has a substantially higher per capita GDP than the eastern part of the state, such differences are not reflected in the data, as we were not able to locate up-to-date information at the district level for India; as a result, we had to treat each India state as a uniform entity. (Such expedients, we hope, can be avoided in later iterations of the atlas.)
Latin America is also mapped quite differently in the two schemes. As the region as a whole is relatively lightly populated, the conventional map depicts most of it with a higher degree of resolution than does the demic map. But Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two most populous countries, are exceptions, and as such are portrayed more precisely on the demic map. As that map indicates, southeastern Brazil is much more economically productive than the north, whereas southern Mexico is much less productive than the country’s northern and central areas. As a result, Latin America takes on a zonal aspect in the demic map, characterized by distinct latitudinal belts. Here one sees relatively high levels of economic development in the far north and south, with moderately low levels in the middle belt interrupted by a mid-income grouping in northern South America and southern Central America. Which of the two maps more accurately depicts the region is an open question. The demic map, in our opinion, best captures broad differences, whereas the standard map better illustrates a number of important local distinctions (the particularly low rankings of Haiti and Nicaragua, for example). Yet the standard map can also be misleading one this score; not how it exaggerates the economic standing of French Guiana, which, as an integral part of the country, is mapped at the same level as metropolitan France.
Africa appears in similar form in both maps. To be sure, the demic version reduces the standings of wealthy but lightly populated Gabon, Libya, and especially Equatorial Guinea, while elevating the position of the larger oil-rich region around the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny in west-central Africa. As was the case in India, the economic differential in this area would have been accentuated if we had had access to comparable economic data for all the states of Nigeria. Lacking such information, we treated all Nigerian states the same, even though the southern part of the country, owing largely to its oil resources, is vastly more economically productive than the north. Elsewhere in Africa, the lower level of resolution found in the demic map causes it to miss some significant distinctions, such as the elevated standings of Kenya and Zambia vis-à-vis their neighbors.
Owing to the small size of most of its constituent units, Europe is depicted much more precisely in the conventional map. Note how the demic depiction slots all of Western Europe into the highest GDP category, whereas in the state-based map its southern reaches (Spain, Portugal, and Italy) are ranked slightly lower, reflecting that map’s finer level of differentiation at the upper end of the scale. In southeastern Europe, the state-based map again better captures local differences, such as the low standing of Moldova. Yet in the broadest comparative terms, one could argue that the small population of Moldova (3.5 million) renders it undeserving of such focused attention.
The demic framework functions most poorly in the Middle East (Southwest Asia), a region characterized by profound economic diversity. Here one finds both the world’s richest country according to most measurements (Qatar), as well as one of the poorest states outside sub-Saharan Africa (Yemen). As a result, some countries in the region are unduly elevated on the demic map. This flaw is especially notable in regard to Iraq, which is classified with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and Syria, which is placed in the same region as much wealthier Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. The position of Yemen, on the other hand, is unduly demoted on the demic map, due to its classification with Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea.
The final map shows the degree of difference found between the two maps, as reflected in all of the constituent units of the demic framework. As is immediately apparent, some of the greatest changes are found in the poorer parts of large countries that are abstracted from their usual national positions (north-central India, interior China, northern Brazil). Perhaps most interesting is this map’s depiction of North America. Whereas Canada and the United States appear in identical form in the first two maps, this map shows that the actual numbers associated with different parts of both countries have changed considerably. Canada comes out with a higher figure on the demic map, due its classifications with western and northeastern United States. Southeastern US, on the other hand, ends up with a significantly lower figure, due to its separation from the more economically productive parts of the country.
« Introduction to the Demic Atlas
Global GDP in PPP, State-Based and Demic... » | <urn:uuid:5ae79537-5645-4670-88e4-6545500e686d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.geocurrents.info/economic-geography/per-capita-gdp-nominal-in-the-demic-and-state-based-frameworks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94829 | 2,149 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Chipping Norton 1851 - Family and Household Structure
This article is based on my project for the Open University Course DA301, Studying Family and Community History. One of the aims of the course is to place the family in the wider social context of the community, both local and national. Various sources are used including the nineteenth century Census returns. Oxford FHS have these available on disk for research purposes. A considerable amount of travel time and expenses were saved in having the data for all five enumeration districts of Chipping Norton at home.
The OU encourage their students to relate one's own work to that of other researchers. Peter Laslett, EA Wrigley and Michael Anderson are the pioneers of modern research in this field. They challenged the theory that the Industrial Revolution was responsible for the breakdown of Family Life and accumulated evidence that it actually created conditions that maintained even stronger bonds than before. In its original form I used Diana Rau's study of Chalcots, an emerging middle-class suburb in north London, as a model for my research and as a comparative base. Similarities and differences between the two areas were highlighted. Many of these were due to the different ages of the two communities, Chipping Norton being a long-established market town. I could not find any similar studies, with the necessary data, based on towns or villages in Oxfordshire although there are many fascinating books based on different places in the county. The census data was transferred to a Lotus 123 Spreadsheet and 'data-sorted' to produce the various tables from which the graphs were prepared. As anyone who has worked with transcriptions will know, errors do creep in, but the only one I found was a lady being described as an annuitant 'gentleman', instead of 'gentlewoman'. Of course the transcription did not show the marks made in the book by the enumerator, but was of little consequence in this case. The main general advantage of using the census records for a demographic survey is that, in theory, they show every resident in the census district on census night - March 30th 1851. Most other surviving historical records have a bias towards the rich and powerful members of the community. Thus a very real idea can be gained of the background against which an ancestor lived. There is much evidence of different census enumerators interpreting their instructions in different ways, and this has to be taken into account when comparing different enumeration districts. There are several anomalies in the Chipping Norton returns for 1851: one school has two 'Heads' of the Household; several households have a wife, but no 'Head' present. There are problems with the designation of 'servant'. One large household, headed by a master tailor, includes 1 Apprentice Draper, 1 Assistant Milliner, 1 Assistant Draper, 2 Nursemaids and 1 Housemaid. All of these are described as servants. In other districts apprentices and nurses are listed as such under the 'relationship to head' column. In 1841 these were described as servants, so perhaps the enumerator had been involved in collecting data at this census as well as in 1851. Occupational descriptions were sometimes rather vague. William Bliss, who lived in New Street, owned two woollen mills and employed 700 people in 1870. In 1851 the enumerators were not asked to include details of employees and he was described as 'woollen manufacturer', with no mention of the size of his business. Very few secondary occupations were recorded, particularly for the lower social classes. If the census had been taken at harvest-time the picture might have looked different. Where someone like Edward Smith of New Street, was listed as Auctioneer, pawn-broker and shop-keeper, I used the first in the list to define his social class. Women's occupations may have been under-recorded due to the prejudice of the enumerator, the woman's husband or even the woman herself. In Victorian times the idea of women's work being in the home reached its peak.
Chipping Norton 1851 - Family and Household Structure
This article is a very abbreviated version of a project which I completed in 1994, as part of the Open University Course DA301, Studying Family and Community History. One of the aims of the course is to set one's own research in a wider social context. My ancestors, including the GILLETTs, SAVAGEs and MEADES were living in Chipping Norton on the night of March 30th 1851, when the census was taken, and it is interesting to discover the social background to their lives. There are several problems in using transcriptions and also of using census returns for comparing different places at the same time and particularly of comparing the same area at different censuses. The directions to census enumerators changed between different census years and different enumerators often interpreted these directions in different ways. Oxford Family History Society has a transcription of the 1851 census returns on computer disks available for academic research. The data from the five enumeration districts of Chipping Norton was loaded into a Lotus 123 Spreadsheet and, after a certain amount of coding, it was 'data-sorted' to produce most of the tables from which the graphs were drawn. The main general advantage of using the census records for a demographic survey is that, in theory, they show every resident in the census district on census night - March 30th 1851. Most other surviving historical records have a bias towards the rich and powerful members of the community. Thus a very real idea can be gained of the background against which an ancestor lived. The original project used a study of Chalcotts, an emerging middle-class suburb in North London as a comparative base. This helped to highlight the similarities and differences between the two places. Chipping Norton, as a historic market town, had very little in common with Chalcotts and I am hoping that family historians in Oxfordshire will be motivated to get the same data for other areas, so that a fuller picture will emerge for different types of communities within the same county.
In 1851 Chipping Norton had 608 households and a population of 2,932. The sexes were almost evenly divided. The Male:Female sex ratio was 1:1.04, which is close to that for England and Wales in the same year, when the population was 17.9 million with a sex ratio of 1:1.2[i]. Chipping Norton contained a number of large households such as Inns, Lodging Houses and a work house and I have excluded these in some of my calculations to facilitate comparison with other areas which do not have some of these.
The majority of houses held between two and six people. The mean household size was 4.6, excuding the 180 people in the workhouse and the students living at the three schools. Interestingly this is the same mean as Anderson[ii] (1993) found in a national sample for the same period.
85.7% of the population were in socio-economic groups 3 - 5[iii]. This bias towards the middle and lower end of the scale might be expected in a rural community of this period. Many of the higher-status citizens, like Thomas ROLLS, mayor of Chipping Norton and draper, employing 4 men, live in the central part of the town, around the Market Place. The Church of England Minister, Reverend WHISHAW[iv] lived at the vicarage in Church Street, next to the Grammar School. He was 28 and married to Anne, aged 24. His brother, Charles, lived with them, as did two servants and a visitor of the same name as one of the servants. Reverend Whishaw and his brother were born in the British Embassy in St Petersburg, Russia, although they were both British Subjects. Further research would be required to see if their father was the British Ambassador or perhaps a senior member of his staff. His wife was born in Scotland. The Reverend Ralph Mann informs me that Mr Whishaw ran a 'cramming' establishment at the vicarage at one time and the most famous/notorious of his students was Charles Stuart Parnell, the Irish Nationalist leader. The Baptist Minister was Reverend Thomas BLISS BA, of Trinity College, Dublin, born in London (it is not known if he was related to the mayor - no - Thos ROLLS, Draper, 47 employing 4 menbut one suspects he was), and the Methodist Church Minister is Thomas Bliss, possibly cousin of the owner of the tweed mills. All of these people figure in reports, in Jackson's Oxford Journal, of various public meetings in the town and one gets the impression of a clique of upper-class residents who are involved in most of the local social events. There were five doctors/surgeons, 1 solicitor and one Veterinary surgeon, as well as the owner of the boot and shoe factory, Henry GREENWOOD, who was recorded as employing 93 people, the owner of the brewery and William BLISS, woollen manufacturer (the owner of the two woollen mills). There were also nine or ten farmers, who lived in the town, but had land outside it.
Children and Nuclear Family Structure
60.9% of the households contained a total of 940 children under 15. The mean nuclear size of the families was 3.66. This is just below the preliminary estimate of 3.7 which Anderson gives for England and Wales in this period.[v] Being an established community, there was a fairly smooth distribution of the nuclear family size with the largest number of children in households of between three and five persons. 14.6% of households were headed by singletons ie without a spouse. Of the nuclear families, 16.4% were headed by widows or widowers, equally divided between males and females. The largest of these was one of seven - William WILKS, 'butcher master'. His children were aged between 24 and 11 and his 12 year old nephew also lived with him. His 24 year old daughter was designated as 'housekeeper', but the next two daughters were a staymaker and dressmaker respectively. The three youngest children were all scholars. His 17 year old son was a butcher and doubtless helped his father run the business.
Only 17% of the households employed indoor servants in Chipping Norton in 1851. 35% of these were the only servant in the household and 25% shared their work with one other. It should be remembered that some co-residing kin were used as servants and wouldn't show as such in the census returns. Also that the returns only show which households had resident servants. It should be noted that people described as servants included some who worked out of doors including the Doctor's Groom, several apprentices and two shop assistants and these have been excluded from the study. Only 5.5% of the indoor servants were male. One reason for the large surplus of female servants was that a tax on male servants was imposed in the late eighteenth century to finance the wars with France. Another reason was that there were fewer alternative employment opportunities at this time for men than for women.[vi] Further research is required to study the birth-places of these servants. Most of the female indoor servants appear to have been born outside the town, but not necessarily far away. Horn (1975)[vii] reports a former servant saying that youngsters were sent at least 20 miles from home to prevent them running away. There was also the problem of locally-recruited servants betraying secrets of the household to their family and friends. One wonders if the locally-born servants were recruited from the local work-house. The poor souls were paid 1/- or so a week and many were treated like slaves.[viii]
Generations and Co-resident Kin
The graph shows the proportion of households containing between one and four generations. Only 19.5 % of households contained kin in Chipping Norton. This compares with 23% of households in Preston, 27% in rural Lancashire,[ix](which may be due to family-members helping on farms) and 21 % in Ashford[x]. The largest group of co-resident kin, 54%, is of one or two generations below the head of the household. - either nephew, neice, grandchild, son- or daughter-in-law. I get the impression that many related families were living near each other, but further research is required to confirm this. If this is so, they would be able to give each other financial and emotional support without 'moving in'.
Visitors and Lodgers
8.9% of all households in Chipping Norton contained visitors and/or lodgers. There were four lodging houses lodging 35 visitors and lodgers. This is quite a low figure compared to other parts of England and Wales where there is a large immigrant population, looking for work in local industries.
Average Composition of the Households in Chipping Norton 1851E & W 1851[xi]
Members of Nuclear family 79.2% 81% Kin, Visitors and Lodgers 13% 15% (also Assistants and Apprentices) Servants 6.4% 5% Pupils 40% Population 100% 2819 Inmates of Workhouse 113 TOTAL POPULATION 2932
In my original project I have used Chalcots, an emerging middle-class suburb in North London, as a comparative base, but have excluded it from this article as I do not feel it has any relevance to Oxfordshire. BUT having other statistics with which which to compare mine did highlight similarities and differences between the two areas and suggest explanations for these. It is hoped that other researchers will be motivated to get statistics for other towns in the county using the 1851 census returns OR for Chipping Norton, using the later census returns which, I believe, are not yet available on computer disk.
[i]Nissel, Muriel - People Count, page 155 - HMSO (1987) [ii]Anderson 1983, quoted in Finnegan and Drake - Studying Family and Community History, Volume 1 - Cambridge University Press in association with Open University (1994) [iii]Armstrong's modification of the Registrar General's Classification of socio-economic groupings was used . [iv]There may be a transcription error here, as i am told the original spelling in the census is WHISHAW. [v]Anderson 1983 op cit [vi]Pamela Horn - The Victorian Country Child - Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd (1990) [vii]op cit [viii]op cit [ix]Anderson, M - Family Structure in nineteenth century Lancashire - Cambridge University Press (1971) p 81 [x]Drake, M (ed) Time, Family and Community - Oxford, Blackwell in association with the Open University (1974), p 5 [xi]Census Report on 1851 findings | <urn:uuid:28ab7efe-0cec-4011-83c6-1aab9c0fc948> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sheilaweston/openuniversity.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978083 | 3,032 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Trade in Human Lives
In Mexico, 19-year-old “Anna” is standing by a bus stop in a small town when she meets a charming young man. After winning her trust, he smuggles her into the United States. Once there, he forces Anna to prostitute herself with migrant workers in a canyon outside San Diego.
In New York, an Indonesian woman in her fifties, “Nettie,” wanders around an affluent neighborhood in rags. It appears as if someone has tried to cut off her ears. A worker in a donut shop invites her to come inside. After spotting Nettie’s injuries, the worker calls the police. An investigation reveals that Nettie’s employers had held her and another Indonesian woman captive, physically abused them and forced them into domestic servitude.
In Mali, 12-year-old “Malik” begs in the streets for hours to earn money for his “teacher.” The boy left his home in Niger after the alleged teacher promised his parents he would receive a good education abroad. Once in Mali, Malik was sent to the streets to beg alongside other Nigerian boys also deceived by false promises of schooling.
Although their stories differ, each of these individuals has suffered the same fate. They are victims of human trafficking—a crime that targets countless men, women and children worldwide. Human trafficking often follows a predictable pattern: the victim is recruited or abducted in one country, transferred to another and eventually exploited for sex or labor. Trafficking, however, need not be transnational—it may occur within a single country’s borders. Victims include migrant farm workers held in unsanitary conditions, children forced into prostitution for tourists in Thailand and abused cocoa workers in Cote D’Ivoire. Legal definitions of human trafficking differ, but unlike human smuggling, human trafficking, at least for adults, always involves force, coercion or fraud.
A Global Scourge
Human trafficking has a long history, with roots in the slave trade. However, it only received broad government and public recognition beginning in the 1990s. The U.S. Congress first passed anti-trafficking legislation in 2000 with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Similarly, the international community first collectively addressed human trafficking in 2000 with the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.3 Since then, numerous countries have adopted their own anti-trafficking in persons legislation.
U.S. and international figures on human trafficking vary widely. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated in 2005 that 43 percent of 2.4 million trafficking victims were sold into sexual exploitation, 32 percent fell prey to forced labor servitude and the remaining 25 percent were caught up in both.4 In contrast, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated in 2009 that 79 percent of the victims of human trafficking were procured for sexual exploitation.
Even in the U.S., the number of trafficking victims is unknown. In 2004, the State Department estimated that between 14,500 and 17,500 people were trafficked into the United States. But in the previous year, the State De The State Department’s 2003 estimate was significantly lower than the Central Intelligence Agency’s 1999 estimate, which claimed that the U.S. was the destination or between 45,000 and 50,000 trafficking victims... | <urn:uuid:5532c74e-8a6e-40fb-b3fa-9ee963998c96> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://americasquarterly.org/node/1504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962114 | 712 | 3.359375 | 3 |
These games teach valuable skills and have a high fun and educational rating.
Your child learns about the ear by exploring games, activities and simulations.
Your child develops an understanding of the way that food is made and changes forms by helping determine how foods were made.
Your child will learn to scan and observe his/her surroundings to find specific things by searching for apples for Dora's pony.
Your child develops an understanding of emotions by creating a character.
Your child practices counting to 10 and gains familiarity with the written numerals by playing hitting wool balls with a tennis sock.
Your child learns about life science while watching a fun song about how germs spread.
Your child will expand knowledge of the concept of book and understand that printed materials provide information by collecting books to free captured Don Quixote.
Your child develops music, memorization, fine motor and movement skills by participating in a variety of Melody Street games.
Your child will develop cognitive skills by exploring and engaging things in the environment by going on missions to rescue sea creatures.
Your child develops spelling and fine motor skills by listening to a word and spelling it by collecting falling letters in a bucket. | <urn:uuid:c4ad7751-7c70-4022-9ed5-9a4b651a13a9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.zoodles.com/free-online-kids-games/life-skills/4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940562 | 238 | 3.984375 | 4 |
(Last Updated on : 01/06/2015)
List of Presidents of India includes the names of eminent personalities who have led the country with their dedication, determination, knowledge and experience. The Indian President is the head of state and first citizen of the nation. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian armed forces as well. The role of the Indian President
is largely ceremonial, with real executive authority vested in the Council of Ministers
, headed by the Prime Minister
. The designation of the Indian President is also known as Rashtrapati in Hindi
. The President is elected by an electoral college which is composed of elected members of the parliament houses, Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha
, as well as the members of the Vidhan Sabha
, the state legislative assemblies.
Since the introduction of the designation in the year 1950, a total of 13 Indian Presidents have been appointed. The position was established after the nation was declared as a republic with the implementation of the Constitution of India
Apart from the 13 Presidents, 3 Acting Presidents have also served in office for brief periods. Pranab Mukherjee
is the current Indian President elected on 25 July 2012. Previously he held several positions in the cabinet ministry for the Government of India
, like Defence Minister
, Foreign Minister, Finance Minister
and Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission
. He is the first Bengali
to hold the position of the Indian President. Pratibha Patil
, the 12th President of India, served in office from the year 2007 to 25 July 2012. She was the first woman to serve as President of India.
A List of Presidents of India in chronological order is provided as follows-
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
was the first President of Independent India. As the first President, he was independent and unwilling to allow the Prime Minister or the party to seize his constitutional rights. However, following the conflict over the passing of the Hindu Code Bill, he restrained his stand. Prasad set several important rules for later Presidents to follow. He had also served as President of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the constitution of the Republic from 1948 to 1950.
was born on September 5, 1888. He was a philosopher and statesman. He became Vice President of India
in 1952 and was elected President in 1962. He held office until 1967.
In India, his birthday is celebrated as Teacher's Day in his honour. Radhakrishnan was one of the first scholars of comparative religion and philosophy in his time; he built a bridge between Eastern and Western thoughts showing each to be understandable within the terms of the other. Radhakrishnan introduced Western ideas into Indian philosophy
and was the first scholar of importance to provide a comprehensive exegesis of India's religious and philosophical literature to English
speaking people. Radhakrishnan died on April 17, 1975.
was born on February 8, 1897 and died on May 3, 1969.
He was the third President of India and served in office from May 13, 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. He was the first elected Muslim president of India. Hussain was born in Hyderabad
. After serving as the Governor of Bihar
from 1957 to 1962,
Zakir Hussain became the Vice President of India from 1962 to 1967. In his inaugural speech, he said that the whole of India was his home and its entire people were his family.
Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri
was born on August 10, 1894 and died on June 23, 1980. He was appointed as the Acting President of India on 3 May 1969 after the death of Zakir Hussain. He resigned after a few months on 20 July 1969 and decided to participate in the presidential elections. Giri received India's highest Civilian Award, the Bharat Ratna
in 1975 for his contributions in the area of public affairs. He was a prolific writer and a good orator. He was elected as Vice-president of India in 1967.
Muhammad Hidayat Ullah
was born on December 17, 1905 and died on September 18, 1992. He served as Acting President of India until Varahagiri Venkata Giri was elected as the President of India.
He served in office from 20 July 1969 to 24 August 1969.He was the second Muslim to hold the post. Hidayatullah was succeeded by the previous President, Varahagiri Venkata Giri. He was the first Muslim Chief Justice of India from January 1968 to February 1970. He was also Vice-President of India from August 1979 to August 1984. A National Law University has been established in Hidayatullah's name at Jodhpur
Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri was the fourth President of the Republic of India from August 24, 1969 to August 23, 1974. He was the only person to have served as both an Acting President and President of India.
During the elections, the Congress Party led by Indira Gandhi
chose to support Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
for the position, but he was able to prevail anyway due to a last-minute change in the decision by Indira Gandhi, he served until 1974. He has served the office Twice as President.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was elected as the fifth President of India and served in office from August 24, 1974 to his last day that is February 11, 1977. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was born on May 13, 1905 and died on February 11, 1977. He was educated at St. Stephen's College
and St Catharine's College, Cambridge and subsequently became an active member of the Congress Party. Ahmed was chosen for the presidency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974, becoming the third Muslim President in Delhi
He would later use his constitutional authority as head of state to allow her to rule by decree once emergency rule was proclaimed in 1975. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed He was the second Indian president to die in office.
Basappa Danappa Jatti
Basappa Danappa Jatti
was sworn in as the Acting President of India after the death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on 11 February 1977. Jatti was appointed as the Acting President of India from 11 February 1977 and served in the position till 25 July 1977. Basappa Danappa Jatti was born on September 10, 1912 and died on June 7, 2002.Jatti graduated as a lawyer from Sykes Law College, Kolhapur
and became a leader in Jamakhandi. After the 1952 general elections, he was appointed Minister of Health and Labour of the then Bombay (now Mumbai
) Government. Re-elected from Jamkhandi constituency in the third general elections, Jatti was appointed Finance Minister on July 2, 1962 in the Nijalingappa Ministry.
He became acting President for a brief period after the death of Fakruddin Ali Ahmed.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected as the sixth President of India and he served in office from July 25, 1977 to July, 25 1982. He was the only individual to be elected President unopposed. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was born on May 19, 1913 and died on June 1, 1996. He was also Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Tourism from January 1966 to March 1967 in the Cabinet. Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hindupur
constituency in Andhra Pradesh
. He was elected Speaker
of Lok Sabha on March 17, 1967, where he won unprecedented acclaim and appreciation. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected President by the Electoral College in July 1977.
Giani Zail Singh
Giani Zail Singh was appointed as the seventh President of India. He served in the position from 25 July 1982 till 25 July 1987.
Giani Zail Singh was born in Punjab
on May 5, 1916 and died on December 25, 1994. He was the President of India from 1982-1987, and the first Sikh to hold India's highest public office and honour. Giani Zail Singh was elected to the highest office of the President of India on July 15, 1982. He was criticized for his dominating attitude towards the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. His relation with Rajiv Gandhi
, the next Prime Minister, was rocky at best.
, born on December 4, 1910, was the 8th President of the Republic of India, serving from 25 July 1987 to 25 July 1992. Before his election as President, Venkataraman served nearly 4 years as the 7th Vice-President. Although re-elected to Parliament in 1957, Venkataraman resigned his seat in the Lok Sabha to join the State Government of Madras (now Chennai
) as a Minister. There Venkataraman held the portfolios of Industries, Labour, Cooperation, Power, Transport and Commercial Taxes from 1957 to 1967. During this time, he was also Leader of the Upper House, namely, the Madras Legislative Council. Venkataraman died at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, New Delhi on 27 January 2009.
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma
was elected as the ninth President of India from 25 July,
1992 to 25 July, 1997. He was born on August 19, 1918 and died on December 26, 1999. Sharma served as Vice-President until 1992, when he was elected President. During his 5-year term, he was active in ceremonial matters and was in charge of dismissing and appointing governors. During his last year as President, it was his responsibility to swear in 3 prime ministers.
K. R. Narayanan
Kocheril Raman Narayanan
served as the tenth President of India. He was the first Malayali and the first Dalit
to have been Indian President.
He served in office from 25 July, 1997 to 25 July, 2002. Narayanan was born on 27 October 1920 and died on 9 November 2005. He was also known as K. R. Narayanan.
K. R. Narayanan was elected as the President of India on 17 July 1997 with 95% of the votes in the Electoral College, from the Presidential poll 14 July.This is the only Presidential election to have been held with a minority government holding power at the centre.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam Maraikkayar is an Indian scientist and administrator. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
served as the 11th Indian President. He served in the designation from 25th July, 2002 to 25th July, 2007.Kalam was born on October 15, 1931, Tamil Nadu
, India. A notable scientist and engineer, he is often referred to as the Missile Man of India for his work and is considered a leading progressive, mentor, innovator and visionary in India.
Pratibha Devisingh Patil
served as the 12th President of India and was sworn in on 25 July, 2007.
She was the first woman and first Maharashtrian to hold the post. The Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan had sworn her as President of India on July 25, 2007. Pratibha Patil obtained her Master's degree in Political Science and Economics from Mooljee Jetha College, Jalgaon
Later she completed her Bachelor's degree in Law Government Law College, Mumbai. Patil was an elected Member of Parliament in the tenth Lok Sabha and represented the Amravati constituency. Pratibha Patil is a member of Indian National Congress
and the first female Governor of Rajasthan
. She retired from the position of Indian President in July 2012.
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee
is the current and 13th President of the Republic of India. He was appointed in the post on 25 July, 2012. He was amongst the senior members of the Cabinet Committees
on Political Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Economic Affairs, Security, Infrastructure, World Trade Organization etc until he resigned from his political office for the Presidential election. Pranab Mukherjee also led the assembly of Ministers that probes the assumed corruption of the earlier National Democratic Alliance government. | <urn:uuid:24643790-bd12-4f26-9f15-aa350ad3b8fe> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indianetzone.com/43/list_presidents_india.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98999 | 2,560 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Fruits and Nuts for New Mexico Orchards
Revised by Shengrui Yao and Richard Heerema
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University
Authors: Respectively, Assistant Professor, Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde; and Extension Pecan Specialist, Department of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University (Print friendly PDF)
Fruit and nut trees are a fun and rewarding addition to backyard landscapes throughout New Mexico. They have beautiful flowers, leaves, and fruit; provide much needed cooling shade; serve as habitat and food for birds and other wildlife; and, most importantly, produce healthful and delicious food. Nevertheless, some fruit/nut species and varieties are not well adapted to New Mexico's climate and soil conditions. Late spring frosts occur frequently in all areas of the state, injuring the flowers and young fruits of early flowering species. In the north and at high altitudes, minimum winter temperatures limit the species that can be successfully planted. Low relative humidity and drying winds may desiccate plants. The life expectancy of many trees may be limited by exposure to high sunlight intensity. New Mexico soils, in general, are alkaline, often resulting in mineral element deficiencies. Both soil and irrigation water may be high in soluble salts.
The following discussion covers some problems likely to be encountered with various species, areas of adaptation, and a number of recommended varieties. Our goal is to equip backyard orchardists in New Mexico with the knowledge they need to get the most enjoyment and productivity out of their fruit and nut trees. In general, for tree fruit/nut species, late-blooming and non-uniform varieties with some late flowers will have a better chance of producing a crop than uniform and early blooming varieties.
Apricot trees are adapted to alkaline soils, and usually mineral element deficiencies are not a problem. Trees are relatively long-lived. They have attractive leaves and are useful as small shade trees. Apricots flower after almonds but early enough to be injured frequently by late spring frosts. Young fruits seem to be more susceptible to frost injury than almonds, plums, or peaches. Full crops occur in southern areas about one in five years and less frequently in colder areas. Home gardeners in northern New Mexico can consider apricots as shade trees that produce fruit only occasionally. Planting in a protected area will increase the chances of producing fruit. 'Perfection' is among the earliest to bloom and so is especially vulnerable to late frosts. The flower buds of 'Sunglo', 'Harglow', and 'Harlayne' are more winter-hardy than 'Perfection', 'Puget Gold', and 'Goldcot'. Fruit set for most cultivars benefits from, but does not require, a pollinizer. 'Perfection' needs a pollinizer.
Japanese plums flower about the same time as apricots, but young fruits are a little more cold-tolerant, and production is more reliable in southern areas of the state. It is hard to get a crop of Japanese plums in northern New Mexico. Most varieties need cross pollination (two different varieties need to be planted). 'Methley' is self-fruiting (can pollinate itself) and more frost-tolerant than most varieties. Other tolerant varieties are 'Santa Rosa' and 'Satsuma'. Two hybrids that are reliable are 'Gold' and 'Sepa'. Japanese plums are short-lived and frequently chlorotic (iron deficient) in New Mexico because of high soil pH.
European plums (the blue/purple ones in general; Figure 1) flower later than Japanese types and more frequently escape frost injury. They are recommended for northern New Mexico and high elevations. Recommended varieties are 'Early Blue', 'Castleton', and 'Stanley'. In general, their performance has been poor in southern New Mexico.
Pluots, plumcots, apriplums, and apriums are all hybrids of apricots and plums. Apriums and apriplums taste more like apricots, while pluots and plumcots taste like plums. They all have intense sweetness. The trees are also similar to apricots/plums, and are still vulnerable to late frosts.
Figure 1. European plum fruits.
Peach trees are short-lived in all areas of New Mexico, with an average life of 10—15 years. Painting the trunks with exterior white latex paint or kaolin clay to reflect the winter sun reduces sunscald and prolongs life (this also applies to other fruit/nut species). Annual pruning (to promote compact trees) protects the main branches from burning. Iron deficiency may be a problem, especially on sandy soils. Peaches flower about two weeks before apples. Full crops should be expected once every three to five years. Based on a variety trial at Alcalde, NM, 'Sureprince', 'Challenger', and 'Saturn' were the earliest to bloom, while 'China Pearl' (Figure 2), 'Encore', 'Intrepid', and 'Risingstar' were the late bloomers among the 20 varieties tested. Overall, 'PF-1', 'Surecrop', 'Blazingstar', 'Intrepid', 'Contender', 'Blushingstar', 'China Pearl', and 'Encore' are recommended for central and northern New Mexico.
Figure 2. A 'China Pearl' peach fruit.
Both sweet and sour cherry trees are short-lived and perform poorly in hot southern areas. They are recommended only for cooler areas (northern New Mexico) or high-elevation areas in the southern part of New Mexico. However, sweet cherries flower early and are vulnerable to late frosts. 'Bing', 'Rainier', and 'Lambert' require cross pollination. 'Whitegold', 'Stella', 'Blackgold', and 'Lapins' are all self-fruiting. 'Blackgold' is a late bloomer.
Sour cherries (Figure 3) bloom later and have a longer blooming period than sweet cherries. Sour cherries are less vulnerable to late frosts and always have a better crop than sweet cherries. 'Montmorency' is the main variety. 'Balaton' and 'Danube' are red-flesh varieties and do well in northern New Mexico.
Figure 3. Fruits of sour cherry.
Apples require numerous scheduled sprayings to control worms (codling moth) and other pests. Apples also need another apple cultivar or crabapple as pollinizer. Although apple trees flower later than most fruit species, late spring frost injury occurs frequently in all areas except southern New Mexico. 'Rome' is late-flowering. 'Golden Delicious' flowers and fruits are slightly more frost-tolerant than 'Red Delicious' because it blooms less uniformly and has some late flowers. 'Rome' is not recommended for warmer areas of the state. 'Arkansas Black' (a late-maturing variety), 'Jonathan', and 'Winesap' develop good red color in southern New Mexico. Most commercial varieties are adapted to higher elevations. Semidwarf and dwarf trees begin to produce fruit at a younger age and are easier to manage than standard trees.
Among newer varieties, 'Gala' (Figure 4) is a reliable variety in northern New Mexico and 'Honeycrisp' is a late bloomer. 'Pink Lady' and 'Braeburn' were the first to bloom and the most vulnerable to late frosts among the 20 varieties tested at Alcalde. 'Ginger Gold', 'Gala', 'Honeycrisp', 'Golden Delicious', 'Fuji', and 'Arkansas Black' are recommended for central and northern New Mexico. 'Mutsu' and 'Granny Smith' do better in the southern half of the state.
Figure 4. 'Gala' apple fruits.
Just like apples, pears also need pollinizers and a spray program to manage wormy fruit. Pears flower after peaches and before apples. They are adapted to all areas, but production is better in southern New Mexico. There has been no formal pear variety trial in New Mexico, but scattered plantings indicated that 'Bartlett' always has some fruit even in years with severe late frosts. Other suggested varieties are 'D'Anjou', 'Bosc', 'Comice', and 'Seckel'. Pear varieties on dwarfing rootstocks are recommended over standard trees. Asian pears also do well in New Mexico. While there has not yet been a formal cultivar trial for Asian pears, the varieties '20th Century' (aka 'Nijisseiki'), 'Hosui', 'Kikusui', 'Kosui', 'Niitaka', 'Shinko', 'Shinseiki', 'Yakumo', and 'Yoinashi' have all been grown successfully in New Mexico backyards.
There are three main species or types of grapes that will grow in New Mexico (Figure 5). European (California) varieties are not entirely winter-hardy in northern New Mexico and should be planted only in southern areas, unless winter protection is given. American varieties are cold-tolerant, but some, such as 'Concord', become chlorotic in alkaline soil. French hybrids and American hybrids do better in northern New Mexico. Recommended table grape varieties for northern New Mexico are 'Himrod', 'Reliance', 'Venus', and 'Jupiter'. Southern New Mexico has more choices for table grapes and wine grapes; please contact your county Extension agent (http://aces.nmsu.edu/county/) for more information.
Figure 5. Grape fruits.
Persimmons are not a very popular fruit tree in New Mexico. However, persimmon trees can be an attractive addition to the home orchard; they have large, dark-green leaves throughout the summer, and are particularly striking in late fall when the large fruits hanging on the trees look almost like bright orange Christmas tree ball ornaments. Growing persimmons can be especially enjoyable since diseases and pests of persimmons are not a major concern in New Mexico.
The fruit of some persimmon varieties remain extremely astringent (bitter) and inedible unless properly ripened. Fruit from these astringent varieties look completely ripe on the tree, but after they are harvested they must be stored for several weeks at room temperature until they soften and lose their astringency. Although most people will agree that persimmons' sweet flavor is exquisite, some do not enjoy the jelly- or custard-like texture of fully ripened fruit of astringent varieties. The fruit of other varieties (called "non-astringent varieties") lose their astringency as they ripen on the tree and may be eaten crisp immediately after harvest. Fruit of astringent persimmon varieties are typically used for cooking and baking, while that of non-astringent varieties is most often eaten fresh out of hand.
Oriental or Kaki persimmons, which originated in China, Korea, and Japan, are the most common persimmons in home orchards in southern New Mexico. Unless planted in a particularly well-protected area, the most popular Oriental persimmon tree varieties, such as 'Hachiyea' (astringent), 'Eureka' (astringent), 'Fuyu' (non-astringent), and 'Jiro' (non-astringent) are limited to the warmest areas of New Mexico, and even there these varieties will be injured by mid-winter freezes or spring frosts in some years. For those wishing to plant in cooler parts of New Mexico, some Oriental persimmon varieties that have been noted for having exceptional cold hardiness are 'Great Wall', 'Sheng', and 'Saijo' (all astringent varieties). Varieties of the American persimmon species (whose native range includes the southeastern and mid-Atlantic states), such as 'Meader' and American x Oriental hybrids such as 'Rosseyanka', can be much more cold-hardy than Oriental persimmons and are the best choice for areas of New Mexico with colder winters and shorter summers.
Oriental persimmon varieties are usually able to produce fruit without cross-pollination. In fact, cross-pollination is considered undesirable by some orchardists because it results in seeded fruit, which, depending on the variety, may develop darkened chocolate-colored flesh. Certain American persimmon varieties are self-fruiting and require no cross-pollination, while others require planting of a second variety for pollination in order to set fruit.
Fig trees are a beautiful addition to southern and central New Mexico backyard orchards. Their large leaves give yards a lush tropical appearance, and the sweet fruit are wonderful for fresh eating, drying, fruit leathers, baking, jams, and canning. Fig trees can produce two fruit crops per year: the "breba" crop in the spring and "main" crop in summer.
There are few pest or disease issues for figs in New Mexico. The primary limitation for figs is low winter or spring temperatures that may sometimes partially or completely kill fig tree canopies, even in southern New Mexico. If the roots were not killed during winter, fig trees that have experienced freezing temperatures usually grow back vigorously and can even produce some main crop fruit in the first year of regrowth. Figs are grown on their own roots (not grafted onto a rootstock), so the variety remains true even after the tree grows back from the root. In central New Mexico, outdoor trees should be planted in a protected area and mulched or tarped to minimize freeze damage. For backyard growers in colder areas of the state, fig trees can be grown in large portable containers and moved indoors during winter. 'Celeste', 'Brown Turkey', 'Hardy Chicago', 'Desert King', 'Kadota', and 'Violette de Bordeaux' are only a few of the fig varieties that can be grown in New Mexico. 'Black Mission' is a readily available fig variety in the nursery trade, but is not very cold-hardy and, therefore, may not be the best variety choice for outdoor planting in most New Mexico backyards. In general, backyard fig varieties require no cross-pollination to produce fruit, but there are some varieties, such as 'Calimyrna', that require the presence of a nearby pollinizer tree (called a "caprifig," which produces no edible fruit) and specialized fig wasp pollinators to set fruit.
Pecan trees were first introduced to New Mexico in the late 1800s. Pecan trees are susceptible to aphid infestations and certain nutrient deficiencies in New Mexico, yet they remain an extremely popular backyard tree in low-elevation areas in the southern half of the state. At maturity, pecan trees are one of the largest tree species planted in New Mexico orchards, sometimes reaching 80—100 feet in height. Pecan nuts (Figure 6) are best known as the central ingredient of pecan pies, but they can also be used as a healthful ingredient in breads, salads, cereals, and many other recipes. See NMSU Extension Guide E-138, Pecans: A Healthful New Mexico-Grown Food (http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/E138.pdf), for more information on the health benefits of eating pecans.
'Western' (or 'Western Schley'), 'Wichita', and 'Bradley' are the most common commercial pecan varieties and are also quite common for backyard orchards. Of these, 'Western' is the best adapted to New Mexico's soils and climate. 'Burkett' pecan trees produce a round nut with speckled kernels and are favored by backyard orchardists for their excellent flavor. However, 'Burkett' trees are highly susceptible to aphid infestations. In central New Mexico where the growing season is too short to mature 'Western' or 'Burkett' nuts, early ripening varieties like 'Pawnee' are recommended. "Northern-type" pecans (for example, 'Witte', 'Colby', and 'Lucas') are also available and are adapted to cold climates; they may survive the winters of northern or higher-elevation areas of New Mexico, but the summers may still be too cool to regularly mature even a "Northern-type" pecan crop in these areas. Pecans are grouped into Type I and Type II varieties according to the timing of pollen shed and pollen receptivity of flowers. Orchards produce best if at least one variety of each pollination type is included in the planting.
Figure 6. Shelled, whole pecan nuts.
Pistachio trees are native to the deserts of southwest Asia and are therefore well adapted to survive southern New Mexico's hot, dry summers and alkaline soils. They are also more tolerant of soil salts than any of other fruit/nut tree common to New Mexico. Despite being a desert tree, pistachio trees only produce well if they are watered regularly.
Healthy pistachio trees are hardy to at least 0—10°F when fully dormant, but may sometimes be injured in southern New Mexico by late spring freezes. From time to time, pecan nuts in southern New Mexico are injured by early fall freezes before ripening is complete, but this is unlikely for pistachios because nuts ripen in September (Figure 7).
Pistachio trees are susceptible to a number of foliar and soil-borne diseases, most of which are exacerbated by periods of excessive rainfall or excessively wet soils. One soil-borne disease—cotton root rot—rapidly kills pistachio trees and is not necessarily associated with excess moisture. There is currently no effective way to prevent or manage cotton root rot, so it is prudent to avoid planting pistachio trees in sites known to be infested with this fungus. There are a number of insect pests, including stink bugs and navel orangeworm, that affect pistachio nut quality. These may sometimes require treatment with labeled and registered insecticides.
Pistachio trees are dioecious, having separate male and female individuals. It is necessary to plant both a male and female tree to produce a nut crop. To conserve space in small backyards, it is possible to graft male branches into the canopy of a single female tree, making it unnecessary to plant a separate male tree. There are very few female varieties of pistachios available in the United States, and nearly all of the female pistachio trees in New Mexico are 'Kerman'. Other, rarer female varieties include 'Joley', 'Kalehghouchi', and 'Red Aleppo'. 'Peters' is the male variety most often paired with 'Kerman'.
Figure 7. Ripening pistachio fruits.
Almonds are one of the first fruit or nut species to flower in the spring, and they consequently produce infrequent crops in New Mexico. They are most likely to produce fruit at lower elevations in the southern part of the state (Figure 8). The most common varieties, such as 'Mission' ('Texas') and 'Nonpareil', are extremely early blooming. More dependable production may be possible with such later-blooming varieties as 'Reliable', 'Oracle', 'All-in-One', 'Bounty', and 'Titan'. In southern New Mexico, these attractive, small shade trees are usually long-lived so long as they do not become infested with peach tree borers. Most almond varieties require a nearby compatible pollinizer tree and the presence of honeybees to set fruit.
Figure 8. Ripening almond fruits.
Bramble fruits (e.g., blackberries and raspberries, Figure 9) and strawberries can be difficult to grow in the warmer areas of New Mexico. Production is typically poor, and it is difficult to maintain fruiting wood on brambles. Everbearing strawberries may be grown on raised beds in partial shade with mulch and frequent irrigations. Boysenberries are the best-performing brambles for southern New Mexico. Black currants, grown with protection from afternoon sun, are sometimes profitable. Growing berries is usually more successful in northern New Mexico or high-elevation areas.
Semi-trailing blackberries like 'Triple Crown' and 'Chester' are acceptable, but in some years they can experience severe winter damage in northern New Mexico. For the freestanding varieties, 'Navajo' did not perform well in high-pH (alkaline) soil. 'Natchez' and 'Ouachita' did better than 'Navajo'.
Raspberries do not like hot summers. They can grow in northern New Mexico and high-elevation areas. Fall raspberries like 'Polana', 'Caroline', and 'Joan J' are recommended. 'Polana' has smaller fruit and a shorter growing season, and is suitable for high elevations with shorter growing seasons; 'Caroline' is productive and matures later in the season; and 'Joan J' is a mid-season, thornless variety with big fruit.
In northern New Mexico, based on a strawberry variety trial at Alcalde, 'Mesabi', 'Kent', and 'Cavendish' did better than other varieties. 'Allstar', 'Chandler', and 'Darselect' are sensitive to high-pH soil and showed significant leaf chlorosis, which should be avoided in variety selection. Growers do need to monitor for leaf chlorosis, but it can be corrected with application of FeEDDHA (a chelated iron product). Strawberry flowers are vulnerable to late frosts, but complete yield loss rarely happens because late flowers will compensate the early loss from late frosts.
Gooseberries like 'Hinomaki' and 'Invicta' did well at Alcalde. Black currant 'Randal' is productive in northern New Mexico, and the fruit quality is good for fresh eating or processing.
Figure 9. Blackberry canes with fruit.
The optimal soil pH for blueberries is 5—5.5. It is almost impossible to grow blueberries in the alkaline, calcareous soils of New Mexico unless they are grown in containers with potting mix under special care.
Jujubes, also called Chinese dates (Figure 10), leaf out 4—6 weeks later than most tree fruit species. Jujubes are not frost-tolerant, but their growth habits allow them to avoid late frosts in most years. Jujubes rarely miss a crop even in years with severe late frosts. They also adapt well to the alkaline soils and hot, semiarid climate of New Mexico. Commercial production is limited, but there are scattered plantings from Alcalde all the way to Las Cruces. They all grow and produce well. So far, there are no pest or disease problems for jujubes in New Mexico.
With its nutritious fruit, late start-up, wide adaption, and freedom from pests/disease, jujubes are a good choice for home orchardists. In northern areas, growers should avoid the late-maturing varieties since the early frost limits the length of the growing season. For southern New Mexico, all varieties perform well. 'Li' and 'Lang' are the two most popular varieties; 'GA866' and 'Sugarcane' are also available. 'Sherwood' is too late for northern New Mexico. 'So' is an ornamental variety, but exhibits winter damage in some years in northern New Mexico. We are evaluating jujube varieties at Alcalde and will recommend more varieties after a few more years' observation. As a precaution, jujube trees do have thorns and occasional suckers.
Figure 10. Jujube fruits.
Lombard, K., B. Maier, F.J. Thomas, M. O'Neill, S. Allen, and R. Heyduck. 2013. Wine grape cultivar performance in the four corners region of New Mexico in 2010—12. HortTechnology, 23, 699—709.
USDA Agricultural Research Service. 2012. USDA plant hardiness zone map [Online]. Available from http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
Yao, S., and R. Walser. 2013. Peach cultivar evaluation in northern New Mexico [Research Report 782]. Las Cruces: New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
Yao, S., R. Walser, and C. Martin. 2012. Evaluation of eight apple cultivars and two training systems in northern New Mexico [Bulletin 803]. Las Cruces: New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
|Original author: Esteban Hererra, Extension Horticulturist.|
Shengrui Yao is Assistant Professor and Extension Fruit Specialist at New Mexico State University's Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde. She earned her Ph.D. in pomology/horticulture at Cornell University. Her research and Extension work focus on tree fruit and small fruit production, conventional and organic production, and orchard floor and soil fertility management.
To find more resources for your business, home, or family, visit the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences on the World Wide Web at aces.nmsu.edu.
Contents of publications may be freely reproduced for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. For permission to use publications for other purposes, contact firstname.lastname@example.org" or the authors listed on the publication.
New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. NMSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.
Revised August, 2014 | <urn:uuid:c437531c-2dc7-4d0a-84e5-9103ca809892> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H310/welcome.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931163 | 5,436 | 3.71875 | 4 |
- Get Involved
- About Us
June 7, 2014 – January 5, 2015
American Indian Museum
4th St. and Independence Ave., SW
Location: 2nd Level, Sealaska Gallery
By the end of the 19th century, the platinum print process was of primary importance to art photographers—valued for its permanence, wide tonal variation, and “fuzzy” aesthetic. Photographers such as Edward S. Curtis, Gertrude Käsebier, and Joseph Keiley famously printed their photographs of North American Indians on platinum paper, using the prints’ highly romanticizing softness to represent the “Vanishing Race.”
Larry McNeil (Tlingit/Nisgaá) and Will Wilson (Diné/Bilagaana) challenge this visual ideology. McNeil uses the platinum process to topple expectations of what constitutes the Native portrait and, more generally, Western conceptions of portraiture. Wilson creates portraits of “today’s Indians” on metal plates, then digitizes the plates, makes large-scale digital negatives from the scanned images, and uses historic printing processes in a wet darkroom—calling attention to the manufactured nature of all photographic images. | <urn:uuid:65c8202f-fdc3-4cd3-b6bf-7a3b5fceaddf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Indelible-The-Platinum-Photographs-of-Larry-McNeil-and-Will-Wilson-5316 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882099 | 257 | 3.109375 | 3 |
The University of Michigan has released the results of a study which revealed that gay, lesbian or bisexual students who hear phrases such as “that’s so gay” more often are more likely to suffer health problems.
The study, co-authored by Michael Woodford, an assistant social work professor at the university, included an examination of the effect of hearing the phrase on 114 students between the age of 18 and 25.
The findings, which appeared in the Journal of American College Health, suggested that such language can prove harmful to lesbian, gay and bisexual students both mentally and physically, with the students who heard the phrase more often being more likely to suffer headaches, eating problems and feelings of isolation.
Woodford said: “Given the nature of gay-lesbian-bisexual stigma, sexual minority students could already perceive themselves to be excluded on campus and hearing “that’s so gay” may elevate such perceptions.”
According to the study, only around one in ten of the subjects said that they had not heard the phrase at all, and many reported that they had heard it ten times or more during the school year.
The conclusion of the report, authored by Woodford and Michael Howell, of Appalachian State University, suggested that the only way to eradicate the negative effects of this “low level hostility” is for the phrases to be removed from university vernacular language.
Woodford said that institutions should be raising awareness of the harmful effects this can have on other students. | <urn:uuid:7ac2b95e-3551-4c6d-85cc-33e91f0719f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/08/29/study-hearing-the-phrase-thats-so-gay-can-cause-lasting-harm/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972944 | 310 | 2.875 | 3 |
Pregnancy is associated with changes in insulin sensitivity which may lead to changes in plasma glucose levels. For women with known diabetes or for women who develop diabetes during the pregnancy, these changes can put outcomes at risk. This guideline deals with the means of identifying women for whom such problems are new, and helping them, as well as women already known to have diabetes, to achieve the desired outcome of a healthy mother and baby.
Within the IDF Global Guideline for Type 2 Diabetes of 2005 there was a section on pregnancy, but this did not address type 1 diabetes and did not consider the wider issues surrounding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The current guideline includes these additional topics, and attempts to present some of the evidence bearing on areas of controversy. | <urn:uuid:24f2e665-cafe-4324-a091-16b91e50e705> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.idf.org/guidelines/pregnancy-and-diabetes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970011 | 151 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Biography Term Paper
Biography term paper presupposes writing a term paper about some celebrity. It can be a very interesting task to conduct. Thus, for instance, every one of us has ever had a person whom he wanted to imitate. Now, you have a chance to somehow make your dream come true and to investigate the life of your idol
in details when writing your biography term papers.
Of, course, it is not always so. If you are studying, for instance, at math department, you may not be allowed to write a biography term paper about some singer or actor, etc. Fortunately, there are a lot of interesting personalities among mathematicians as well.
Here are some variants as for the personalities of your biography term paper:
- Biography term paper on History: John Fitzgerald ‘Jack’ Kennedy: he is considered to be one of the greatest politicians in the history of the USA; | <urn:uuid:c2192611-a830-4500-aa27-009ee03351cf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://essay911.org/search/my-idol-paragraph.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961173 | 187 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Diary of Anne Frank Theme of Identity
In The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne describes the complicated movements of her identity during her time in hiding. Trapped in the Secret Annex, Anne explores her identity as daughter, lover, sister, friend, war reporter, philosopher, historian, religious scholar, student, and writer, just to name a few aspects. Anne identifies herself as Jewish, in terms of her cultural heritage, and, to some degree, her religion.
Like the Roma, Jehovah's Witnesses, gay people, and others considered different, Anne, as a Jew, is considered by the Nazi regime to belong to a “race” that doesn't deserve to exist. The tension between this and the personal identity Anne is trying to develop drives her account.
Questions About Identity
- Anne identifies herself as being “two Annes” several times in her diary. What do you think she means by this? Is her identity only split in two, or are there three Annes, or four Annes?
- Anne describes some of the ways Jewish people were required to identify themselves as such, including the wearing of a yellow star. What are some other forms of official identification she describes? How are these similar to and different from the official forms of identification you or people you know are required to use (think school identification, birth certificate, etc.)
- How does Anne’s identity as a daughter conflict with and/or complement her identity as a person in a romantic relationship?
- Does Anne’s imagination play a role or roles in her identity? If so, in what ways? If not, how is her imagination separate from her identity?
- What are some of the ways Anne’s identity has changed from when we first meet her, before she goes into hiding? Are the changes ones that she chose or ones that were forced upon her?
Chew on This
“Writer” is the strongest aspect of Anne’s identity.
As one result of the negative identity imposed on Anne by the Nazis, Anne’s self esteem gets lower and lower throughout her diary. | <urn:uuid:cdc2a770-fde3-4a14-8c40-ad520696617d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/diary-of-anne-frank/identity-theme.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970138 | 436 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Evolution of the Dragon, by G. Elliot Smith, , at sacred-texts.com
One of the most surprising features of the dragon in China, Japan and America, is the equipment of deer's horns.
In Babylonia both Ea and Marduk are intimately associated with the antelope or gazelle, and the combination of the head of the antelope (or in other cases the goat) with the body of a fish is the most characteristic manifestation of either god. In Egypt both Osiris and Horus are at times brought into relationship with the gazelle or antelope, but more often it represents their enemy Set. Hence, in some parts of Africa, especially in the west, the antelope plays the part of the dragon in Asiatic stories. 1 The cow 2 of Hathor (Tiamat) may represent the dragon also. In East Africa the antelope assumes the rôle of the hero, 3 and is the representative of Horus. In the Ægean area, Asia Minor
and Europe the antelope, gazelle or the deer, may be associated with the Great Mother. 1
In India the god Soma's chariot is drawn by an antelope. I have already suggested that Soma is only a specialized form of the Babylonian Ea, whole evil avatar is the dragon: there is thus suggested another link between the antelope and the latter. The Ea-element explains the fish-scales and the antelope provides the horns. I shall return to the discussion of this point later.
Vayu or Pavana, the Indian god of the winds, who afterwards became merged with Indra, rides upon an antelope like the Egyptian Horus. Soma's attributes also were in large measure taken over by Indra. Hence in this complex tissue of contradictions we once more find the dragon-slayer acquiring the insignia, in this case the antelope, of his mortal enemy.
I have already referred to the fact that the early Babylonian deities could also be demons. Tiamat, the dragon whom Marduk fought, was merely the malevolent avatar of the Great Mother. The dragon acquired his covering of fish-scales from an evil form of Ea.
In his Hibbert Lectures Professor Sayce claimed that the name of Ea was expressed by an ideograph which signifies literally "the antelope" (p. 280). "Ea was called 'the antelope of the deep,' 'the antelope the creator,' 'the lusty antelope'. We should have expected the animal of Ea to have been the fish: the fact that it is not so points to the conclusion that the culture-god of Southern Babylonia was an amalgamation of two earlier deities, one the divine antelope and the other the divine fish." Ea was "originally the god of the river and was also associated with the snake". Nina was also both the fish-goddess and the divinity whose name is interchanged with that of the deep. Professor Sayce then refers to "the curious process of development which transformed the old serpent-goddess, 'the lady Nina,' into the embodiment of all that was hostile to the powers of heaven; but after all, Nina had sprung from the fish-god of the deep [who also was
both antelope and serpent as well, see p. 282], and Tiamat is herself 'the deep' in Semitic dress" (p. 283).
"At times Ea was regarded as a gazelle rather than as an antelope." The position of the name in the list of animals shows what species of animal must be meant. Lulim, "a stag," seems to be a re-duplicated form of the same word. Both lulim and èlim are said to be equivalent to sarru, king (p. 284).
Certain Assyriologists, from whom I asked for enlightenment upon these philological matters, express some doubt as to the antiquity or to the reality of the association of the names of Ea and the word for an antelope, gazelle or stag. But whatever the value of the linguistic evidence, the archæological, at any rate as early as the time of Nebuchadnezzar I, brings both Ea and Marduk into close association with a strange creature equipped with the horns of an antelope or gazelle. The association with the antelope of the homologous deities in India and Egypt leaves the reality of the connexion in no doubt. I had hoped that Professor Sayce's evidence would have provided some explanation of the strange association of the antelope. But whether or not the philological data justify the inferences which Professor Sayce drew from them, there can be no doubt concerning the correctness of his statement that Ea was represented both by fish and antelope, for in the course of his excavations at Susa M. J. de Morgan brought to light representations of Ea's animal consisting of an antelope's head on the body of a fish. 1 He also makes the statement that the ideogram of Ea, turahu-apsu, means "antelope of the sea". I have already (p. 88) referred to the fact that this "antelope of the sea," the so-called "goat-fish," is identical with the prototype of the dragon.
If his claim that the names of Ea meant both a "fish" and an "antelope" were well founded, the pun would have solved this problem, as it has done in the case of many other puzzles in the history of early civilization. But if this is not the case, the question is still. open for solution. As Set was held to be personified in all the desert animals, the gazelle was identified with the demon of evil for this reason. In her important treatise on "The Asiatic Dionysos" Miss Gladys Davis tells us that "in his aspect of Moon 'the lord of stars'
[paragraph continues] Soma has in this character the antelope as his symbol. In fact, one of the names given to the moon by the early Indians was 'mṛiga-piplu or marked like an antelope" (p. 202). Further she adds: "The Sanskrit name for the lunar mansion over which Soma presides is 'mṛiga-śiras' or the deer-headed." If it be admitted that Soma is merely the Aryan specialization of Ea and Osiris, as I have claimed, Sayce's association of Ea with the antelope is corroborated, even if it is not explained.
In China the dragon was sometimes called "the celestial stag" (de Groot, op. cit., p. 1143). In Mexico the deer has the same intimate celestial relations as it has in the Old World (see Seler, Zeit. f. Ethnologie, Bd. 41, p. 414). I have already referred to the remarkable Maya deer-crocodile makara in the Liverpool Museum (p. 103).
The systematic zoology of the ancients was lacking in the precision of modern times; and there are reasons for supposing that the antelope and gazelle could exchange places the one with the other in their divine rôles; the deer and the rabbit were also their surrogates. In India a spotted rabbit can take the place of the antelope in playing the part of what we call "the man in the moon". This interpretation is common, not only in India, but also in China, and is repeatedly found in the ancient Mexican codices (Seler, op. cit.). In the spread of the ideas we have just been considering from Babylonia towards the north we find that the deer takes the place of the antelope.
In view of the close resemblance between the Indian god Soma and the Phrygian Dionysus, which has been demonstrated by Miss Gladys Davis, it is of interest to note that in the service of the Greek god a man was disguised as a stag, slain and eaten. 1
Artemis also, one of the many avatars of the Great Mother, who was also related to the moon, was closely associated with the deer.
I have already referred to the fact that in Africa the dragon role of the female antelope may be assumed by the cow or buffalo. In the case of the gods Soma and Dionysus their association with the antelope or deer may be extended to the bull. Miss Davis (op. cit.) states that in the Homa Yasht the deer-headed lunar mansion over which the god presides is spoken of as "leading the Paurvas," i.e. Pleiades: "Mazda brought to thee (Homa) the star-studded spirit-fashioned girdle (the belt of Orion) leading the Paurvas. Now the Bull-Dionysus
was especially associated with the Pleiades on ancient gems and in classical mythology which form part of the sign Taurus." The bull is a sign of Haoma (Homa) or Soma. The belt of the thunder-god Thor corroborates the fact of the diffusion of these Babylonian ideas as far as Northern Europe.
130:1 Frobenius, "The Voice of Africa," vol. ii., p. 467 inter alia.
130:2 Op. cit., p. 468.
130:3 J. F. Campbell, "The Celtic Dragon Myth," with the "Geste of Fraoch and the Dragon," translated with Introduction by George Henderson, Edinburgh, 1911, p. 136.
131:1 For example the red deer occupies the place usually taken by the goddess's lions upon a Cretan gem (Evans, "Mycenæan Tree and Pillar Cult," Fig. 32, p. 56): on the bronze plate from Heddemheim (A. B. Cook, "Zeus," vol. i., pl. xxxiv., and p. 620) Isis is represented standing on a hind: Artemis, another avatar of the same Great Mother, was intimately associated with deer.
132:1 J. de Morgan, article on "Koudourrous," Mem. Del. en Perse, t. 7, 1905. Figures on p. 143 and p. 148: see also an earlier article on the same subject in tome i. of the same series.
133:1 A. B. Cook, "Zeus," vol. i., p. 674. | <urn:uuid:82a55714-1dd7-479d-955b-98ab4946330b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sacred-texts.com/lcr/eod/eod26.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956475 | 2,202 | 2.890625 | 3 |
What to do with those holiday plants?
Published in the Davis Enterprise, 28 December 2000
Someone gave you a plant for the holidays
-- now what?
Many plants have become associated with the holiday season, brightening our homes during these gloomy December days. If you think of most of these plants as nice, long-lasting flower arrangements that you will discard after they finish blooming, you won't be disappointed. Some, however, can be grown on for years with special care, and others can simply be planted in the garden. Parents of young children and pet-owners should be aware that some are poisonous.
The Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is remarkable in that in just 75 years it has become THE Christmas plant.
This roadside weed from Mexico has been bred (largely by the Ecke family in Southern California) to the point that nearly 100 million of them are sold worldwide every Christmas. This in spite of the fact that more than 60% of the public incorrectly believes them to be poisonous! The showy part of the plant is a bract, which is a leaf, and the flowers are the small yellow parts in the middle.
Care during the holidays:
Make your house like Mexico! The Ecke Ranch website (http://www.ecke.com) states "if you are comfortable, so is your poinsettia." Poinsettias definitely don't like to be below 50F, and don't like drafts or cold winds. The brightest room in your house is best. Water just when they go dry, and tepid or warm water is better than cold tap water.
After the holidays:
Poinsettias will begin to drop leaves in February, and then will go dormant. You can reduce watering at that time, and as soon as frost is unlikely (late February) you can move the pot outdoors. Cut them back 50%, repot into a larger pot, and start watering. Start feeding with fish emulsion or any soluble fertilizer as new growth begins.
Getting them to bloom again is tricky. From late September Poinsettias need 14 hours of complete darkness (not even exposure to a simple incandescent light bulb!) for several weeks to trigger blooming. ANY disruption of that photoperiod requirement will prevent blooming!
Kind of a hassle. -- What did you pay for this plant?
Just buy a new one next year!
Not at all!
Don't get me going.
Poinsettias are NOT POISONOUS!
No part of the plant is poisonous! Nursery people have even eaten leaves on TV to prove it!
No amount of leaves stuffed into lab animals was able to cause a toxic reaction, nor was any amount of application of the sap.
They're NOT POISONOUS!
"Thom David, marketing manager of the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, California, has a way of convincing people ... . He's been known to grab a few bracts off the nearest poinsettia plant and eat them in front of persistent disbelievers. Seems to work, too - they don't doubt him after that.
Speaking from "bitter" experience, he says it's unlikely a kid or an animal will eat more than one bite. He describes the taste as far worse than the most bitter radicchio. Frankly, he says, the flavor is indescribably awful."
Holly (Ilex species, especially Ilex aquifolium 'Variegata') is enjoyed for the long-lasting, clean shiny foliage which is great in wreaths and arrangements, and the bright red berries.
Holly is an excellent garden plant that prefers protection from the hottest sun. Male and female plants of English holly are needed to get berries (and nurseries don't sell them by sex!), but some varieties of other species set berries reliably without cross-pollination.
Often described as preferring acid soils, I find that hollies do well here without special attention if the soil is amended when they are planted and if they aren't drought-stressed. Avoid the hottest afternoon sun.
The berries are described as causing "minor toxicity" in the Regional Poison Control Center guide, and the botanical name of our native holly, Ilex vomitoria, gives an indication of the symptoms.
Ivy (Hedera helix) is being used more and more for winter greenery and as filler in winter arrangements.
The smaller-leaved varieties such as 'Needlepoint' or 'Hahn's' are preferred. Ivy can be grown into rings, wreaths, "poodles," cones, or other shapes. Ivy makes a great indoor plant if it is washed off periodically to prevent spider mites, and can be kept outside in morning sun or the shade of a tree. It is completely hardy in our climate, so it can live outside year-round. Ivies can become invasive if planted in the garden, so keep them in pots.
Yes -- leaves and berries cause major toxicity, and the symptoms are very unpleasant.
Amaryllis bulbs (Hippeastrum hybrids) are among the easiest plants to grow and bloom during the holidays, and have stupendous large flowers in shades of red, pink, and white.
Amaryllis naturally bloom in the early summer. These bulbs are produced in Holland and South Africa. Those from Holland have been forced into dormancy and will bloom 2 – 3 months after planting. Those from South Africa think they are in the summer, being from the Southern hemisphere, and will bloom right away.
Give Amaryllis water every few days until the bloom is done. Cut off the spent bloom spikes and allow the foliage to grow indoors until frost danger is past. I've had my best results simply planting these in the ground in partial shade or full morning sun, in average soil. They will bloom in future years in the early summer. Watch for snails! It is possible to get them to bloom for future Christmases by forcing them into dormancy in the late summer (withhold water), but it doesn't always work.
One reference: "The principal irritant is present in small amounts so large quantities of the bulb must be eaten to cause symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting)."
Pure white Paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus spp) and their related varieties ('Soleil d'Or' is gold; 'Chinese Sacred Lily' is white with a light yellow center) are also very easy to bloom indoors for the holidays.
The fragrance is powerfully sweet!
This bulb multiplies very freely outdoors in the ground here. Keep watering the pot they are in, or the bowl, or whatever, until they finish blooming. The brighter the situation, the less floppy the leaves will be. After the holidays, stick them in the ground. They'll multiply freely in sun or light shade, and will increase for years. I'm still enjoying flowers from bulbs that old-time Davis resident and botanical illustrator Dr. Addicott brought me 20 years ago.
The bulbs can cause "major toxicity."
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is an unpronounceable recent addition to the holidays (try Kall-ann-koe-uh).
Growers have developed varieties of this succulent with blooms in neon colors -- shades of orange, pink, cerise, and red -- which hold for many weeks. Too tender to be outside in the winter here, they can live in a pot with little care for months or years and need very little water. They won't bloom again as densely or compactly as the original plant did, but can put out sprigs of bright blossoms in the spring and summer. Keep these in the brightest part of your house while they are in bloom, and water only when dry. Transplant into a larger pot after it finishes blooming, and put in out in morning sun or the shade of a high tree after frost.
Azaleas (Rhododendron species) sold during the holidays are new varieties with a prolific, long bloom.
A little tender in our climate, so they might be damaged in freezing weather (unlike their hardier garden cousins). Typically they are grown in soil with a high amount of peat moss, which makes it tricky to water them correctly, and they are usually incredibly root-bound. If water just puddles on the surface, or runs down the side of the pot, the peat moss has dehydrated and the pot needs to be set in a bowl of water to rehydrate.
If you're going to plant these in the garden, amend the soil heavily with a soil mix that's special for acid-loving plants., and plan on fertilizing regularly with an "acid-type" fertilizer. Tear the roots apart as you plant them to reduce the root-bound condition. Water very carefully as we get into hot weather, making sure to water the root ball thoroughly about twice each week.
"Major toxicity," and the foliage may cause dermatitis (skin rash).
Mistletoe is an oddity.
This semi-parasitic plant grows entirely on other plants but also photosynthesizes to create food for itself. The mistletoe of Christmas is probably in the genus Phoradendron, as are several of our native mistletoes. A quick review of Munz' definitive California Flora describes it as a "large genus of the Americas," with the species Phoradendron tomentosum ssp macrophyllum on sycamores, poplars, willows, ash trees, walnuts, and persimmons [and birches] in the Sacramento valley and other areas." This is the one on older trees all over Central and East Davis, and certainly not the species the druids prized on their oak trees. Birds enjoy the berries and then spread them from tree to tree in their droppings.
My reference books were ambiguous, so an operator at the Poison Control Center (1-800-342-9293) commented that ingestion of a couple berries or leaves would lead to severe vomiting and diarrhea. She also referred us to an excellent web site -- http://www.calpoison.org -- for more information about poisonous plants.
Enjoy your holiday plants -- carefully!
© 2008 Don Shor, Redwood Barn Nursery, Inc., 1607 Fifth Street, Davis, Ca 95616
Feel free to copy and distribute this article with attribution to this author.
Click here for Don's other Davis Enterprise articles | <urn:uuid:45c109db-6da7-4487-82d5-73716720e2b3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://redwoodbarn.com/DE_holiday_plants.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952369 | 2,195 | 2.546875 | 3 |
When I was growing up, in the 1980s, the United States was a two party system in name only. There were really three parties, the Northern Democrats, the Southern Democrats and the Republicans. Northern Democrats and Southern Democrats parted ways on defense spending and many social issues, where they joined Republicans. This is no longer true. The United States now has a very pure two party system, and in all but a handful of policy areas there are well defined Democratic and Republican positions.
Of 28 votes in the House and Senate last year, identified by Congressional Quarterly as the key roll calls for the session, majorities of the two parties opposed each other on all but seven.
In the House, the subjects that provoked disagreements included immigration rules, stem cell research, surveillance and interrogation policies, arms sales to China, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the Endangered Species Act, energy, and the intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.
In the Senate, the parties split on class-action lawsuits, bankruptcy protection, CAFTA, the USA Patriot Act, the budget, defense appropriations, energy, and the nomination of John Bolton to the United Nations.
The variety of subjects indicates the broad dimensions of the parties' differences. They embrace social, cultural, economic and foreign policy issues. The only notable area of agreement between the parties was on the big transportation bill, loaded with pork-barrel projects for both Republicans and Democrats. . . .
On the roll calls where the parties divided, nearly nine out of 10 Republicans and Democrats voted the party line. The average House Republican was loyal 90 percent of the time; the average for House Democrats and for both parties in the Senate was 88 percent.
Republicans have been about that united since taking over. Democratic discipline has been trending upward, especially in the House, where it averaged 81 percent in the first four years of minority status, compared with 87 percent in the latest four years.
What once was a clear regional split among Democrats, with the Dixie contingent voting often in a conservative bloc with Republicans, has diminished if not disappeared. Last year Southern Democrats in the House were only nine points lower in their loyalty to the party position than Northern Democrats; in the Senate, the difference was eight points.
In all of Congress, only two people voted more often with the opposing party than with their own on the party-splitting roll calls. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode Island Republican, and Sen. Ben Nelson, the Nebraska Democrat, opposed their party's majority about 53 percent of the time.
Given that Democrats in both the House and the Senate are loyal to their party on average 88% of the time, and that there is a nine point spread in the House and an eight point spread in the Senate, that means that Northern Democrats are profoundly loyal to their parties, voting the party line well over 90% of the time.
MyDD has calculated slightly different numbers that more closely match my intuition for party loyalty in the U.S. House, using different votes, although many of the trends are similar:
All Democrats: 82.5%
All Republicans: 96.1%
Democrats, non-DLC: 83.3%
Blue Dog Democrats: 54.3%
Non-Blue Dog Democrats: 88.3%
Bingo. Caucus disunity has a name-o. Outside of the Blue Dogs, Democratic Party loyalty on the important, party differentiating votes in the House is comparable to Republicans: 88.3% to 96.1%. Further, Blue Dog Party loyalty, 54.3%, is massively lower than that found either in the DLC, 79.0%, or among non-Blue Dog Democrats, 88.3%. Overall, the thirty-five members of the Blue Dog coalition account for 44.9% of all Democratic Party defections over these ten votes / issues, even though they only make up 17.2% of the caucus.
Only half of the blue dogs are from the South. (My DDs analysis is confirmed here using a larger sample of votes and a more rigorous analytical approach).
Thus, while remnants of the three party system I grew up with remains in existence, it is ceased to be a clear North-South divide (many Blue Dogs come from New York and California), and the conservative Democratic faction is getting smaller and smaller.
The handful of moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress are unpopular in their own parties, and often face challenging election battles. Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter, and Connecticut Democrat Joseph Lieberman both face difficult election battles this year. Prominent Dixiecrats have, one by one, been picked off by Republican challengers in races where voters show that they want the real deal, rather than a knockoff, if they are going to cast a conservative vote. A few Rockefeller Republicans have held out in New England, but they are a dying breed. They will be replaced by Democrats no later than when the incumbents retire.
Moreover, given the extent of leadership control in the House, there is no point in bucking the party line. The majority party doesn't need the cooperation of the minority, and as a result offers nothing in return for cooperation. Furthermore, increasingly gerrymandered Congressional districts have made appealing to the base the only sensible policy in the vast majority of congressional districts. Colorado is virtually unique in having at least two out of its seven CDs (28%) that are genuinely competitive (the 3rd and the 7th), and that is primarily because its redistricting was done by a court after the legislature failed to agree on a plan since one party held the House and another held the Senate in the state at the time.
Because state boundaries are set in stone and larger than Congressional District boundaries, gerrymandering them beyond the status quo is impossible and given the Senate's traditions (such as the filibuster, the two-thirds majority requirement for treaty approvals, holds, reliance on unanimous consent for many procedural purposes, and the power of Senators in a state to veto judicial appointments in their state), the majority in the Senate more often seeks the support of a few Senators from the minority to ease the passage of legislation in exchange for substantial concessions, and members tend to be more moderate. It is no surprise that the most prominent moderates in Congress are almost all in the Senate. But, as noted above, even the Senate has grown more partisan in recent years.
As the process that has been called "realignment" (i.e. putting Republicans in conservative districts, especially in the South, and Democrats in liberal districts) has run its course, we are approaching in the United States, levels of party discipline historically not seen outside the parliamentary systems of countries like the United Kingdom and Canada, where failing to suport you party on key votes can lead to new elections.
Growing partisanship is not all bad. A three party system, in which neither political party has any realistic chance of truly controlling political power, doesn't leave voters with much of a choice. The mushy middle is always going to thwart really change. In a true two party system, the public has a clear choice to make, and the party that is elected can bring about real political change. Equally important, the public can assign responsibility to and depose the party in charge when it fails to send the country in the right direction.
Increasingly Democrats are looking at the political environment and saying our nation is so deeply off course that only bold change is going to be sufficient. But, this is only possible in a two party system and only when the other party is sufficiently off balance for the public to throw the bums out, and the replacement has the party discipline to carry out their own agenda. We'll see what happens in 2006. | <urn:uuid:759fab7a-6004-4b57-b046-829aa1fc9b96> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://washparkprophet.blogspot.com/2006/01/demise-of-three-party-system.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962326 | 1,579 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The story of the ‘Fish’ pepper is about bee stings and black history, and a delicious hot white sauce. All the ‘Fish’ peppers now sold by seed companies trace back to seed I shared many years ago through Seed Savers Exchange. From my grandfather’s little seed jar, this unique variegated-leaf pepper spread to the world of pepper aficionados and, because of its ornamental character, to landscape gardeners.
My grandfather acquired the seed in the 1940s from Horace Pippin, a black folk painter in West Chester, Pa. Mr. Pippin suffered from a war injury that he referred to as “the miseries.” Because the miseries were of an arthritic nature, he would beg my grandfather to let him counter the pain with honeybee stings. My grandfather’s bee hives were his pride and joy, and the idea of killing bees (honeybees die shortly after stinging) in the name of an old wives’ remedy did not sit well with him.
So to humor my grandfather and “pay” for the dead bees, Pippin would bring seeds, sometimes wonderfully rare varieties from old-time gardeners in his far-flung network of friends stretching from Philadelphia to Baltimore and beyond. The ‘Fish’ peppers came from Baltimore, where they had been employed by black caterers to make white paprika for the cream sauces then popular with fish and shellfish cookery. In terms of heat, they are like cayenne, but are more mellow when cooked. The white pods were also used in soups where red peppers would have created a muddied appearance. As far as Mr. Pippin could tell, these peppers had been in use since the 19th century, one of those secret heirloom ingredients that never showed up in cookbooks. They were simply part of oral tradition.
Today, ‘Fish’ peppers are popular for their ornamental qualities and because the 2-foot plants are easy to grow in containers. The leaves, with their patches of white and gray-green, derive their unique appearance from the same recessive genes that cause albinism. This results in a curious combination of striped pod colors, from white to red. ‘Fish’ peppers make perfect accent plants in the landscape. Of course, they’re also grown for cooking, and are perfect for drying into wonderful hot-hot chili powder.
Some seed companies are now selling “off” seeds, with leaves that are not multi-colored enough and pods of the wrong shape. So stick to the sources listed in the Mother Earth News Seed and Plant Finder. The pods should be short, pendant and pointed, ideally about 1 1⁄2 to 2 inches long.
Saving seed from ‘Fish’ peppers is both easy and complicated. Seed must come from fully ripened fruit and from plants that are not growing near other Capsicum annuums (common peppers such as bell peppers, cayennes, etc.). The reason for the latter is that as insects and wind move pollen around, the recessive gene in ‘Fish’ peppers will spread to other peppers in the area. So you may end up with variegated bell peppers and who knows what else!
Take the seeds out of the ripe pods and dry them on paper towels. After about two weeks they should be dry enough to put into envelopes, date and label, and then store in airtight jars. My grandfather froze his seeds and you can, too — frozen seeds will last at least 20 years, perhaps longer. At ambient temperatures, allow no more than six years.
When you go to plant your ‘Fish’ pepper seeds, start them in flats the way you would with tomatoes, but earlier (mid-January is ideal). You’ll get seedlings that are green and some that are white. Discard the white ones, which are pure albino and will not grow because they cannot photosynthesize; they’re botanical dead ends.
Transplant your seedlings to pots when they have three or four leaves. You can’t tell at this point which will have the most variegated leaves, but once they’re in the ground and growing, you’ll see a difference. I always overplant and pull out the least attractive plants. This is called “rouging,” and you have to be a little hardhearted.
Is there a distinctive flavor? ‘Fish’ peppers derive from cayennes, so they have none of the smokiness of habaneros or the fruity quality of some Andean peppers, such as ‘Aji Límo.’ On the other hand, white ‘Fish’ peppers have a subtle sweetness that is enhanced with lime juice, or better yet, pineapple. They’re also very hot, so the combination is quite pleasant, especially when the peppers are served with fish and shellfish. You can get quite creative with ‘Fish’ peppers once you learn to control them, which was doubtlessly one of the first things one learned as a black caterer in Old Baltimore.
To honor its culinary tradition, I have developed a white hot salsa with ‘Fish’ peppers (see recipe below). The color is of course unusual, the flavor is unique, and do wear rubber gloves when making it!
White Hot Fish Pepper Salsa
The white bell pepper variety called for in this recipe was developed specifically for its white color, and is available in many supermarkets with specialty peppers. This is an excellent salsa for fish or shellfish, and also ceviche (a chilled mixture of fish marinated in lime juice). It can be frozen for later use.
1 pound white bell peppers
4 ounces white ‘Fish’ peppers
1 large cooking apple (about 8 ounces), pared, cored and chopped
1 1⁄2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped (or substitute 1/2 cup lime juice)
1 1⁄2 tbsp salt
Seed and chop the peppers, and put them in a large, non-reactive (avoid aluminum and copper) pan. Add the apple, vinegar, sugar, garlic and pineapple (or lime). Cover and simmer over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until the peppers are soft. Purée to a creamy consistency and return to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in the salt, and pour into hot sterilized jars. Seal and store in a dark, cool closet until needed, or freeze. Yields 5 cups.
Food historian William Woys Weaver has been growing 'Fish' peppers since he helped his grandfather plant them as a kid, and recommends dousing their famous heat with a nice cold beer.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by the Mother Earth News editors:
Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Seed Saving and Cultural History
by William Woys Weaver, now on CD. If you want to explore the fabulous flavors, fascinating history and amazing diversity of vegetables, this is the book to start with. Food historian and Mother Earth News contributing editor Will Weaver profiles 280 heirloom varieties, with authoritative growing advice and incredible recipes. First published in 1997, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening has since been out of print, with used copies selling online for as much as $300. We are proud to present the original text, with color photos, as a digital book on CD-ROM. | <urn:uuid:a8c4edd5-0c15-497e-b36c-e895407bba2f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/fish-pepper-zmaz09amzraw.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957579 | 1,588 | 2.75 | 3 |
Anyone remotely interested in the Civil War Sesquicentennial can’t help but stand in awe of the work the Virginia commission has done to bring the war to the people of Virginia and the rest of the country. Right now a flatbed truck carrying a Civil War exhibit is traveling around the state and plans to visit every county by the end of its trip. The commission also put together a series of videos on the war in Virginia narrated by Professor James I. Robertson, which it has made available to the public schools. As of the writing of this post it has uploaded five of the modules to YouTube. Here is the first one, titled “The Coming Storm”. I highly recommend these videos for classroom use for both middle school and high school students.
Correction: One of my readers noticed some very sloppy writing in this post that I wish to acknowledge and correct. I wrote that the SCV did not reference Clyburn as a slave, which is untrue. Interviews with members do include such a reference. What I should have said was that there was no clear reference to his status in the brief clips that show the actual ceremony. Even Earl Ijames references Clyburn as a slave, but like the SCV their language is unclear and inconsistent, which was the point I was trying to make. The crucial distinction between a soldier and slave has all but been lost in all of this. Thanks to the reader for keeping me honest and I apologize for the confusion.
I wanted to share some thoughts with you about last week’s talk by John Stauffer on black Confederates. I had a number of problems with his presentation, which you can read here. One of the questions I’ve had since the talk is why the W.E.B. DuBois Institute would be interested in such a subject and then I remembered that you have had some exposure with this narrative, most recently while filming your PBS documentary, Looking For Lincoln. As a former high school history teacher I want to thank you for this series. At the time I was teaching a course on the Civil War and historical memory so the show fit in perfectly. My class was able to watch individual segments as a basis for further discussion or other activity. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Once again, it is my job to bring to your attention various interpretations of the past that reflect how Americans have remembered the Civil War. They take many forms and, yes, some are truly bizarre. Consider the following documentary. Stonewall creates a revisionist / historical parallel between Civil War hero Thomas Stonewall Jackson and the monumental Stonewall riots of New York City. It repositions him as a proud leader in the fight for gay civil rights.
Every once in a while you will read about free blacks petitioning local or state government to become a slave. In the wrong hands such accounts reflect a lingering Lost Cause view that slavery was benign. Why else would a free black individual choose bondage? Many of these requests were made in the late antebellum period following John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry. Many southern states, especially in the Deep South, worried about the effects of the raid on their black populations, both free and enslaved. In addition to worrying about the ramifications of the Brown raid memories of Nat Turner’s bloody insurrection were easily recalled. Visitors from the North were suspected of inciting blacks and were often forced to leave. The smallest acts of violence and arson by blacks were met with swift and brutal punishment to prevent what many perceived to be the beginning of a more general uprising. In many localities this response included a severe crackdown on the movement and rights of free blacks. Free blacks already occupied a precarious position in the South, but the increased focus on their movement may help to explain why some chose slavery over freedom.
What happens when you put into practice on a local level the principle behind states rights and Jeffersonian Democracy? Well, according to these folks you’ve violated one of the central pillars of Southern Heritage. Some of my favorite quotes of the day:
From what I’ve been told (and from the “no-response” I received from the Lexington Chamber of Commerce) I don’t think we have a prayer of support from the business community. The whole town is gone, frankly, and should be boycotted. If folks go to pay respect to Lee and Jackson, they should go through the town, pay their respects and leave. Maybe a sign on their car – we don’t support scalawags and carpetbaggers so we don’t shop in Lexington – might get the point across, but who knows? These people are blind to anything but their ideology.
I’m thinking about massive, massive “pilgrimages” to pay respects to Lee and Jackson maybe four times a year; and I mean huge crowds — who don’t spend one red cent in the city.
You should also advocate that others join in this boycott of that city too. I for one know I never intend to go there…except maybe for Lee/Jackson Day, and even then NOT ONE DOLLAR of my money is going to Miss Elrod’s coffers or those of the trash that put her in high office.
Amen!! I’ll stand with ya’ll…locked and loaded too…Lees do not start fights (unless they need to be started…LOL), but we sure as heck give the fight all we got!! John is right (see prayer below)…satan works to discourage God’s people…the closer to God our hearts, the harder we will be attacked…so, I say, BRING IT…I am a Daughter of the South and a soldier in God’s Army…and I do NOT back down ;o)
Our Father, Thank you for another day in which we can serve you! Thank you for strength to stand tall for truth! Thank you for such a great salvation that purchases for each one that trusts you as Lord and Savior, a home in heaven – with you – for eternity! Help us, I pray, to realize that Satan’s tactics never really change. While he might use closed minds and brute force to seemingly get his way, the light of truth cannot be extinguished through his tactics. May we be reminded that on the day that it appeared to the world that he had won, that you brought about your greatest victory by revealing your redemptive purpose by rising from the grave 3 days later! Thank you for being the champion of TRUTH!
Well, I sure am glad I have been to see Gen Lee’s final resting place there because i will never go back to that hsitoric city anymore. I guess with all the discrimination us Southerners have to endure we now have to endure the loss of our First Ammendment right.
Oh, what a complex web of Civil War memory we weave. | <urn:uuid:a745b034-35f0-43da-9c07-8a41085e9af8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cwmemory.com/blog/page/322/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00171-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971771 | 1,431 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Today, many growers are using Bt technologies to control European corn borer. However, for growers who didn't plant hybrids with such traits this season, dealing with these yield-robbing pests can be a challenge. "Proper scouting is essential to managing European corn borer infestations," says Steve Hyronimus, District Agronomist, Mycogen Seeds. "The flights of the moths vary each year due to differing crop stages and weather conditions. Typically, flights begin the middle weeks of June and last for two to three weeks. This year's early planting will push the schedule ahead for scouting."
Moths normally will sit in the grassy field margins until the corn plants are taller. Moths seek out the tallest, most mature plants first. Begin scouting when the top corn leaf can be stretched to reach 18 in. tall. The natural toxin DIMBOA, produced by the corn plant, will ward off larvae feeding before this height is reached. Eggs don't seem to attach well to the corn plant until corn is taller.
Moths like tall grass and shelterbelts to hide in during the daytime. In the evening hours, they deposit their eggs on the underside of corn leaves. Moths prefer warm nights for egg laying while windy, rainy nights decrease their activity. Eggs hatch in four to nine days, depending upon the temperature. Larvae feed first in the whorls of the corn plant; so look for shot-holing in the youngest leaves.
Randomly pull out the whorls from 10 plants in five locations in the field. Count the 1/8-1/4 in. long black-headed larvae in the whorl. Input this number into one of the various formulas to estimate threshold for treatment.
"Treatment of the 1/8-1/4 in. larvae is the most desirable stage," Hyronimus concludes. "Larvae at 3/8 in. are soon going to tunnel into the whorl and control measures will then be ineffective. Scout weekly until egg masses are located and then scout every three to five days."
For more information contact Stephen Smith, Agronomy Services Manager with Mycogen Seeds, at 317-337-4662 or via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:8a552577-0efb-4380-9add-a4ae08d90f5a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/scouting-european-corn-borers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95153 | 473 | 3.125 | 3 |
Imagine traveling 2,000 miles from home for the first time to trade high-rise buildings for towering trees, city lights for twinkling stars, and an urban cacophony for the melodies of songbirds.
For most of us, this would be a vacation. For six Baltimore teenagers, it was a journey to work long, hard days to restore the wilderness character of the Carson National Forest in New Mexico.
The teens are members of the Student Conservation Association, a national nonprofit organization that engages young adults in hands-on conservation to build connections with nature, and provide career skills and training. This past summer, the crew members worked in urban parks in their local vicinities to pioneer this program that employs under-represented city youth in green summer jobs near their own neighborhoods. When given the option of performing similar work in a national forest, the teens jumped at the chance.
“There’re not many wide open places like this left, so we have to do what we can to protect them,” said 17-year-old Malik Moore. “Plus, I get to go west for the first time. No way was I going to pass this up.”
During the day, the teens built hiking trails, restored campsites, and removed invasive plants before heading to basecamp to prepare their own meals over an open fire. In addition, they learned environmental lessons from their crew leaders, before retreating to their tents for a restful sleep.
“This is an adventure, no doubt about it,” said high school senior Howard Thorne, Jr. “But we all know why we’re here. There’s work to do.”
“The forest really benefitted from their contributions,” said Trail Crew Leader Craig Saum. “They learned some on-the-job training of what the forest service does and also learned about different cultures and traditions.”
The association’s urban conservation program annually engages more than 1,200 youth in 20 cities across the U.S. Workforce diversity initiatives with the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others provide many additional young people of color with professional paths to agency careers. Each year, the association provides more than 4,000 high school and college students with conservation service opportunities in all 50 states, from urban communities to national parks and forests. | <urn:uuid:8e185926-962b-49cd-baf5-1df779793a67> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/09/07/six-baltimore-teens-part-of-carson-national-forest-student-conservation-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95443 | 495 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Adam Smith, of NOAA, and Rick Katz, a statistician and former colleague of mine at NCAR, have a paper just out in the journal Natural Hazards in which they take a close look at the index. What they find reinforces conclusions found in earlier work on disasters and climate change. Specifically, if you are looking for climate signals in extreme events, look first at climate data. If you are looking at loss data, avoid aggregated, non-normalized loss records.
Here is what the new analysis finds:
1. The number of billion dollar disasters has increased by about 5% per year since 1980, but (perhaps surprisingly) the loss per event has not:
[T]here is no apparent time trend in economic loss from individual disasters. In fact, a least squares trend analysis estimates a very slight decreasing trend of about 0.5 % per year.So they find more events that exceed the billion dollar threshold, but not more severe events.
2. The dataset is dominated by hurricane, drought and thunderstorm losses which together account for more than two thirds of all events and more than 80% of all losses. As readers here will know well, there are no long-term trends in normalized US hurricane losses, North American drought has decreased and there has been no increase in tornado damage (note that thunderstorm damage also includes hail and straightline winds). This alone provides a strong caution to using the NOAA index for purpose of claims about extremes in general.
3. The new paper warns on the use of crop losses, which are included in the NOAA data in the loss categories of tropical cyclone, severe storm, winter storm, wildfire, drought/heat, flooding and crop freeze -- that is to say, in every category. The warning is that:
Given the increasing trends in [crop] yields attributable to technological innovation and given fluctuations in price, it is difficult to attribute any part of the trends in losses to climate variations or change, especially in the case of billion-dollar disasters.In fact, one of the most important contributions of the paper might be its finding that crop losses have not increased as a proportion of liability (as shown in the figure above from the paper), or as it concludes, "for these three major crops, the trends in losses are comparable in magnitude to the trends in liability."
The billion dollar loss dataset includes no adjustments for changes in crop value, yield or other relevant factors, nor does the widely cited Munich Re data. The implication of course is that some significant but unquantified portion of the increase in billion dollar losses reflects non-climatic trends in crop production and value.
4. Their paper concludes by noting the the billion dollar disaster database is adjusted only for inflation and has not been normalized to account for other changes. They explain that
The magnitude of such increasing trends is greatly diminished when applied to data normalized for exposure (Pielke et al. 2008).Smith and Katz have properly identified the severe limitations to the NOAA billion dollar loss database. Any bets as to whether NOAA will issue a press release as a corrective to its earlier hyping of the index and promoting its misuse? Even if they don't, the new paper is a valuable contribution. | <urn:uuid:9ab681c3-9fbf-41a1-b905-89ff35fdc382> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2013/02/noaa-slays-billion-dollar-disaster-meme.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945592 | 652 | 2.78125 | 3 |
When he was nine months old, Josh Hardy was diagnosed with a malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidneys. It is a highly aggressive, rare form of cancer that only 15 children are diagnosed with each year.Two years ago Josh Hardy defeated the cancer thanks to a bone marrow transplant. Josh has spent the past two years helping raise money for other kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he was treated.
However, since then, Josh, who attends Hugh Mercer Elementary School in Fredericksburg, developed an adenovirus. Adenovirus
causes a wide range of illnesses, from mild respiratory infections in young children to life-threatening multi-organ disease in people with a weakened immune system. The infection is very dangerous for people with weak immune systems.
The virus has resulted in Josh in the intensive care unit at St. Jude. Bringing the issue to people's attention, Josh’s mother, Aimee Hardy, wrote in a post
on her son’s CaringBridge.org
website: "Normally, Josh’s immune system would be able to handle the adenovirus if his immune system was set free. The challenge is his immune system can’t be set free yet because his body is still trying to adapt to the new bone marrow cells. So to keep the body from killing the new cells, they have to suppress the immune system, thus creating ideal conditions for adenovirus to advance. Catch 22."
The Caring Bridge site allows people illnesses, or their families, to reach out to the wider public. The mission of the site
is "To amplify the love, hope and compassion in the world, making each health journey easier."
There is one drug, that is close to going to market that could potentially help Josh made by the company Chimerix. However, the drug is not available right now. According to the American Cancer Society’s website, medical professionals can request a drug for “compassionate use” in relation to the treatment of a seriously ill patient, which allows the use of a new, unapproved drug when no other treatments are available.
Josh's doctor put in a request for use of the drug. Under the “compassionate use” rules, if the company agrees, the patient’s doctor works with the drug company to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug for use by this one patient.
However, the drug company, Chimerix
have not responded to the requests. Josh's mother has started a campaign to lobby the company to release the drug for her son. She fears that otherwise Josh's condition will continue to deteriorate. She is asking people to use Twitter to tweet @chimerix and use #savejosh. | <urn:uuid:b1d3cf82-1073-4f75-bba6-055953614821> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/life/health/op-ed-fredericksburg-first-grader-fighting-for-his-life/article/375065 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962645 | 580 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Perhaps some of you have read the best-selling book Freakonomics, or have seen the recently released movie. If so, you can probably think of several examples of where economics is found that you would not have expected to find it, such as sumo wrestling. If you are not familiar with this book, it is a best-selling work that brought economics into the pop culture scene and therefore introduced the subject to those who otherwise may not have been familiar with it (Dubner and Levitt, 2005). This book is popular because it shows economics in a different light as the authors were able to explain how economics is more than just scarcity, choices, supply and demand, etc. but that it is everywhere in our world. Today, we will explore economics in place where you previously may not have thought it could be found, in children’s literature, to see that economics truly is found everywhere. More specifically we will study some popular works by Dr. Seuss. Oh yes, Dr. Seuss!
Today, as a group, you will read a Dr. Suess book (The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, or Horton Hears a Who!) and try to find at least four economic concepts illustrated in the book.
The next time your class meets, you will present your findings via a poster or PowerPoint to the rest of the class.
Your teacher will divide you into groups and assign a popular Dr. Seuss book to your group. Just in case you didn’t memorize this particular Seuss book, one person from the group will read the book aloud. As the story unfolds, think about the economics concepts you have learned. Are any of them illustrated in the story? Think about how you might explain this economic concept to a friend who has never taken an economic course. How would you explain the concept to them and show how it is illustrated in the Seuss book? Make sure you discuss your thoughts with the rest of the group.
As a group, come to a consensus about at least four concepts you found. You will visually display your findings on the piece of poster board (or PowerPoint). Be sure to write legibly and include the title of book on your poster (or PowerPoint). For each economic concept found, include a short definition of economic concept, what context it applies to the passage, and the page number passage appears on. The next time your class meets, you will have 15 minutes to discuss your book with the class and present your concepts via the poster (or PowerPoint). Make sure you plan out your presentation speakers as all member of the group should have a turn speaking during the presentation.
To know what you are being graded on take a look at the rubric to incorporate all you need to into your presentation.
When you read these stories as a child, you probably never dreamed of reading them again in a high school economics course. Where else does economics show up that you may have never considered?
Your teacher is going to ask you to choose one economic principle found in the Seuss book your group read and then find a corresponding news article illustrating the same concept. For homework, you will write one-page paper summarizing the article, defining the economic concept in your own words, and explaining how the economic concept is illustrated in the article. Don’t forget to properly cite your sources!
Your teacher may choose to show the movie,Freakonomics. If not, it is available for purchase on iTunes or on their official movie site, and comes out on DVD 1/19/11. As a student of economics, you should consider watching this film on your own to see how economics is everywhere around us. | <urn:uuid:ed4514df-3a1f-4c89-a042-e292739851d7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/projector.php?lid=966&type=student | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00093-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960247 | 764 | 4.3125 | 4 |
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have particular strategies with regards to renal failure diet | <urn:uuid:72813805-a9e4-47ff-b7d9-11abb9e00454> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://renaldiet32.mihanblog.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00079-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95489 | 545 | 2.609375 | 3 |
We have been asked to address the topic of “Spirituality in Modern Civilization.” Such topics are typically chosen by professors who find such combinations of concepts catchy, flashy and even a little spicy. However, when I hear the term “modern civilization” bandied about, I often wonder what it really means. After all, did people in the past consider themselves backwards, out-of-date, ancient, or behind the times? Did they consider their time uncivilized, looking towards our era as one in which they would finally be “modern?” Was not the time of our Prophet (s) also a “modern” one for those who were blessed to live during it? I propose that “modernity” exists in every era, depending on the circumstances of the time, and thus can be applied equally to each of them as well.
By limiting our view of modernity to the present era, we assume that previous generations were inherently discontent with their way of life. Why should this be so? Consider the amenities of water and fire. In the past people needed to go far to procure wood for fire and water to drink. They did not have a tap to get water from. For them, modernity might have meant that they had access to water at a short distance instead of having to travel for miles. Those in the Stone Age, too, considered their time to be “modern” also, as they were living in caves and using utensils carved from stones – a vast improvement over living in the wilderness with no shelter and no utensils. At least they had chairs of stone to sit on, a pot in which to cook and animal skins to keep them warm.
So, it is not only the twenty-first century or twentieth century that is modern; previous centuries were also modern in their own context. And, in many of them, Islam played a remarkable role in achieving what was then considered “modern.”
The Need for Spiritual Treatment of Psychological Illnesses
Today, “modern” psychology has recently concluded that despite recent impressive advances in technology, means of production and availability of knowledge, human beings are now more out of tune with their own selves and more susceptible to damaging conditions such as neuroses, depression and other psychoses. They are also afflicted by a host of societal illnesses that seem, in many ways, unique to the “modern” era. Thus, many Western psychologists and social scientists have come to realize the importance of what they are now calling the “spiritual” aspect of the human psyche.
In doing so, they have discovered that spiritual discipline is essential in rectifying the negativity and psychoses inherent in every human being. This has led to a new emphasis in the West on treatment by spiritual means, with a focus on meditation, contemplation, seclusion and various other metaphysical exercises that are designed to assist the individual struggling with the darker aspects of his or her inner-self. Huge movements have evolved in the West, all focused on the use of spiritual discipline to treat serious psychological illnesses.
Contemporary psychology has come to view each of these illnesses as a disorder of the self that, if left untreated, eventually come to dominate the personality of the individual.
However, even with this new awareness of the spiritual dimensions of mental illness and the development of novel ways of treating such disorders, we find that such diseases of the psyche continue to spread. Moreover, we are witnessing a growing deterioration of good conduct and ethical behavior throughout our “modern” societies. Wherever you turn, you find people increasingly overcome by anger, greed, cowardice, jealousy and the other 17 major vices. These evil traits lead to harmful actions, such as lying, cheating, stealing and even violence.
These negative character traits continue to spread because all the individual therapy, group therapy and expensive treatment programs amount to nothing in the face of a world filled with unbalanced egos that – due to constant over-indulgence in material pleasures - have grown out of proportion to people’s true natures. The mental health professionals tasked with treating what must be seen as a spiritual epidemic are like one man trying to stop the flow of a mighty river.
Unbridled love of this worldly life, unbalanced by moral or ethical principles, leads to an excess of desire, jealousy and envy. Envy leads to anger, and anger - when it spirals out of control - leads to aggression, violence and tyrannical behavior. Eventually, this can lead to disobedience and outward manifestations of misbehavior which directly harm others. This is true whether the individual is a common person, an educated person or the leader of a nation. If ignored, such aspects of the individual can grow, and like a cancer, spread to other aspects of the psyche, eventually destroying the individual’s positive characteristics and leading him or her further into destructive patterns of behavior.
This is observed today in every level of society, to such a degree that many societies are spending massive amounts of money and resources in order to come to grips with these personality disorders that are manifesting on a large scale in their communities, towns, provinces and ultimately throughout the nation.
When this sort of psychic breakdown occurs in a leader, these bad traits are further amplified by his power to assert control and impact the lives of those around him and under him. Such negative character traits in a leader thus have momentous impact. Exacerbated by the often intense circumstances of governmental affairs, the challenges of statecraft and the pressures of the political scene, these manifestation of these traits can lead to harmful acts.
That Elusive Term “Spirituality”
What, then, is this concept described by the word “spirituality?”
Spirituality is something that most people believe is beyond our grasp, something dubious in need of both verification and clarification. Everyone understands when you use the term “Islam,” but when you say “spirituality,” everyone becomes hesitant. People exclaim, “What is that? We never heard about spirituality!” They forget, or perhaps were never aware, that Allah ¹ mentioned this concept in Sūrat al-Kahf, as I will explain in detail later.
Take the example of a room like this one. In it, you have ordinary white lights that provide illumination, but nothing more. If you look at a theater stage, you will see that they have many different colors of lights – red, blue, green and other hues. Together, these are able to create a colorful scene that evokes a mood. If you put these lights in motion, it becomes even more scintillating. If you add neon lights and lasers, you can create a magnificent light show.
Our entire religion is called Islam. But you can decorate your Islam with various aspects which the Prophet Muhammad (s) showed us in order that it becomes colorful, polished, decorated and even magnificent. The religion itself is carrying within it all sorts of different effects that give it beauty, splendor and magnificence.
Let us take an example from the Qur’ān. Speaking generally, Allah says of His servants:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّيفَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ
When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them)
At a higher level are those servants who strive to improve their personality, whom Allah describes by their different attributes. These attributes are like the colored spotlights on a stage, each giving new and different effects:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَآمِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِن رَّحْمَتِهِ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ نُورًا تَمْشُونَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
O ye who believe! Remain conscious of Allah, and believe in His Prophet, [and] He will grant you doubly of His grace, and will light for you a light wherein you shall walk, and will forgive you [your past sins]: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Dispenser of grace.
Then Allah goes on to describe an even higher level:
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا
And the servants of ((Allah)) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace!";
There are servants who when you look at them you say, “There is so much light on his face,” or “That one is so generous, always helping the poor,” or “That one has such perfect good conduct and manners.” Allah describes Himself by means of different Names and Attributes. Similarly, His servants can be described by different characteristics. Islam is not like a plain bowl. Rather, it is like a decorated vase - one that, when you look at it, you cannot help saying, “Oh! That is very nice.”
In Surat al-Kahf, Allah mentioned,
وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَوَجْهَهُ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَاوَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَأَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا
And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds.
What Allah is saying is: “O Muhammad! Keep patient with those who gave themselves up to Me, that are doing the work of da¿wah – outreach and education. In the day they perform this work in public and at night they are doing da¿wah by sitting behind your home, O Muhammad, and praising Me and worshipping Me, calling upon Me with all My Holy Beautiful Names and Attributes. So, O Muhammad, give them a glance, give them a boost and do not ignore them when you go out of your home on the way to Fajr prayers.”
Those were workers during the day and during the night. Such people are needed in order to give more attention to Islam in its perfection. Thus, those who spend their time in seeking Allah’s Face are mentioned with such high regard.
Treating the Illnesses of the Psyche
Islam has always given great consideration to treating the disorders of the self, to the point that the Prophet of Islam, Sayyidina Muhammad (s), indicated that self-purification is one of the most essential aspects of the faith:
أخوف ما أخاف عليكم الشرك الأصغر ، فسئل عنه؟ فقال:الرياء
He said: What I fear most for my Community is the hidden polytheism.” They asked about it and he said, “It is ostentation (ar-rīyā).”
What is meant here is that the Prophet (s) did not fear for his community returning to idolatry or unbelief, but rather his greatest fear was that the hidden shirk, about which the Prophet (s) is reported to have said, “Association with Allah (shirk) is stealthier in this community than creeping ants.” In this, we see that the Prophet (s) feared for his community not the outward polytheism of idol-worship, for he was informed by Allah that his community was protected from that forever. What he feared was the secret polytheism, which is to do something for the sake of showing-off.
Returning from a military campaign against aggressors who sought to exterminate the community of believers, the Prophet (s) said to his Companions:
قدمتم خير مقدم، وقدمتم من الجهاد الأصغر إلى الجهاد الأكبر: مجاهدة العبد هواه
We are now returning from the lesser Jihād to the greater Jihād, the Jihād against the self.
By this, the Prophet (s) meant that, while they had struggled against enemy aggressors, they were still faced with the challenge of fighting the lower ways of the inner-self. First, one must cut down vanity and make the inner-self prostrate, for one who truly submits to his Lord can no longer submit to his self. Once that state is reached, only then is prayer purely for Allah.
In the time of the Prophet (s), the lesser jihād was taking place without a name. People were learning how to wage it from the Prophet (s)’s own righteous behavior. Today, it is becoming a name without any meaning. We find many who speak of spirituality, but in reality there is no one trying to achieve it in their lives. In the time of the Prophet (s), it was a concept without a name and today it is a name without a reality.
The Sahaba were practicing that reality. If one delves into the religion, we find that the Prophet (s) divided religion into three fundamental categories: Islam, Imān and Iħsān. The first part is what Sayyidina Jibrīl described when he came to the Prophet (s) in the form of a human being, dressed in clean white clothes and in front of all his Companions began to ask him about the religion.
If Imān and Iħsān are not important what need did the Prophet (s) mention them? He described Islam as five pillars. Everyone is familiar with these: The two professions of faith, prayer, fasting, charity and hajj. But he did not stop there. He also mentioned Īmān, faith, thus demonstrating that there is another aspect of religion - belief. He wanted the Companions to know that not only must they accept his prophethood, but also that of those who came before him. He wanted them to have al-Imān bi ’l-ghayb, belief in the unseen – to accept the concept of not seeing yet believing. That is something very difficult. Today, people say, “We cannot believe in something we do not see. Without scientific discovery we cannot believe.” This is a lower level of Imān. Furthermore, he told them to believe in the angels, in the other holy books, in the Afterlife and in Destiny. All of these are unseen.
We see then that Islam, the first component of the religion, is external and empirical: Shahada is pronounced; Šalāt is performed; šawm is experienced; Hajj is undertaken. Thus, the five pillars are physical concepts. Imān, however, is a non-physical concept that requires belief without seeing.
Consider this concept in light of our understanding of physics. Every atom consists of a mass, the nucleus, and electrons spinning around it, which are energy. Similarly, a person has a body and soul, mass and energy. You cannot see the soul, the energy, but can you see the body, the mass. So:
atom = mass + energy
person = body + soul
الدين = اسلام + أيمان
Religion = Islam (physical performance of worship) + Imān (the spiritual dimension of the religion that cannot be seen.)
Everything consists of these two elements as shown in the hadith of Sayyidina ¿Umar. Therefore, if you are able to perform the five pillars of Islam and fulfill the six pillars of Imān, you attain perfection, Iħsān. If you balance the equation of the body and spirit, (i.e. mind and soul), it means you achieve health which is perfection in the dimension of the body and in the dimension of the spirit.
That is: Islam + Imān = Iħsān.
The Prophet (s) is giving us this equation: Iħsān is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and if you are not seeing Him, He is seeing you. You cannot see Allah ¹ but you can see His manifest signs. This means that, if you are able to balance the daily prayers and obligations that Allah ordered you to do, together with the spiritual struggle against the self, you will be able to see His Signs. That is why Allah said in Holy Qur’ān:
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِيالْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ
Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth.
In his time the Prophet (s) did not explain the scientific signs to his Companions. He only explained the principles and discipline of Islam because, at that time (in what was their “modern” style of life), life revolved around agriculture and animal husbandry, medicines were herbal or Prophetic, and they lived in homes of mud or tents. Since that era was incapable of understanding what we see in ours, the Prophet (s) only mentioned these signs in general terms without explanation. He wanted the people of later times, who possess the capacity and knowledge, to recognize the greatness of Holy Qur’ān and hadith through their scientific discoveries.
That is why today we see ¿ulamā are finding many scientific discoveries in the Holy Qur’ān and hadith. Such discoveries are the reason some people in the West to convert to Islam. Allah seeks to guide people - through any means - and one of them is through their science and technology.
If someone cleanses himself by eliminating all his internal negativity and ruinous traits he will be able to reach a level of purity of heart wherein he becomes subtle in his very being and in direct receipt of heavenly support because of the spotless qualities he attains. This is mentioned in Qur’ān:
Truly he succeeds that purifies it
This is why Allah says you are not a believer until you love Allah more than you love anyone:
قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْوَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌاقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَاأَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِفَتَرَبَّصُواْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَالْفَاسِقِين
This is also mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet (s):
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ قَتَادَةَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ اَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لاَ يُؤْمِنُ اَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى اَكُونَ اَحَبَّ اِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ وَوَالِدِهِ وَالنَّاساَجْمَعِينَ
None of you believes until he loves me more than his children, his parents and more than every human being.
He will be considered a lover of the Prophet (s) when he loves the Prophet (s) even more than his very self, as in the hadith of Sayyidina ¿Umar ¦:
وقد قال له عمر رضي الله عنه انك احب الي من كل شيء الا نفسي، قال لا يا عمر فلما قال عمر رضي الله عنه والله لانت احب الي من نفسي قال الآن يا عمرتمّ أيمامك.
¿Umar ¦ said, “You are more beloved to me than all things except myself.” The Prophet (s) said, “No, O ¿Umar.” ¿Umar then said, “By Allah you are more beloved to me than my own self,” the Prophet (s) replied, “Now, O ¿Umar you have completed your faith.”
It was also related from Anas that the Prophet (s) of Allah said:
عَنْ اَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّه صلى الله عليه وسلم " كَمْ مِنْ اَشْعَثاَغْبَر ذِي طِمْرَيْنِ لاَ يُؤْبَهُ لَهُ لَواَقْسَمعَلَىاللَّهلاَبَرَّه مِنْهُمُ الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ "
How many a ragged dusty person possessing only the tattered clothes on his body, given no importance by anyone, if he were to swear an oath by Allah, Allah would fulfill it.
The Prophet (s) used the phrase “ash¿ath aghbar,” a ragged, dusty person, meaning someone to whom no one gives attention nor believes could ever be favored by Allah’s Grace, saying that he may be the one who reached the level of sincere love to Allah, love to His Prophet (s) and love to the Community.
When one achieves this level, one will love all human beings. Love emerges when one is able to eliminate the 17 major ruinous traits that bind the human self, as Islamic scholars of the science of self-purification and struggle (tazkīyya wa mujāhidat an-nafs) have derived from the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. By means of the 13 forms of jihād, entailing the struggle against the self, an individual may be able to eliminate these ruinous character traits until he achieves a state of purity and perfected character.
Among the 17 primary aspects of the human psyche that need treatment in order for Allah’s servant to attain a level of purified character are:
o Anger (ghaļab)
o Love of the world (ħubb ad-dunyā)
o Malice (ħiqd)
o Jealousy (hasad)
o Pride (kibr)
o Vanity (aƸama)
o Showing off (rīyā¿)
and the 800 prohibited actions (al-manhīyat).
These characteristics, as has been shown today in psychology, are in fact each a disorder of the self, which if left untreated, eventually come to dominate the personality of the individual. When this happens the person will become subject to the dangerous aspects of these traits.
So, the importance of purification in the modern era as in the past, is to purify the self, to struggle against the ego through jihād of the self, through the 13 characteristics of jihād mentioned by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyyah in his Zād al-Ma¿ād, and through this struggle attain the level of enlightenment.
At that time the servant of Allah will be in accordance with the Prophet (s)’s saying:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَالَ مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِه وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطِشُ بِهَا وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا وَإِنْ سَأَلَنِي لَأُعْطِيَنَّهُ وَلَئِنْ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لَأُعِيذَنَّهُ وَمَا تَرَدَّدْتُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ تَرَدُّدِي عَنْ نَفْسِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ وَأَنَا أَكْرَهُ مَسَاءَتَهُ
My servant continues to approach Me through voluntary worship until I love him. And when I love him I will be the ears with which he hears, I will be the eyes with which he sees; I will be the tongue with which he speaks, I will be the hand with which he acts, and I will be the foot with which he walks…
Not only must individuals go through these stages of self-struggle and purification, but the society, the nation and the Ummah must go through them as well. Spirituality is essential for such self-improvement.
One can draw an analogy between the disheveled person mentioned in the earlier hadith, al-ash¿ath aghbar, and the Muslim Ummah today. That impoverished, yet sincere, person trying to reach the level of perfected character is similar to the Community today. If the Community will engage in the same struggle of self-purification, it will achieve the same level of development. At that time, the Community will be as in the early days of Islam, when its purity and integrity allowed it to develop, expand, improve and build - so much so that it became the center of the world, the fount of civilization and the beacon of knowledge and science.
Then, the Muslim Ummah achieved the ideal of the model city, al-Madīnat al-fāļilah, described by al-Fā¿rābī. This was the implementation of the example of the Madīnat an-Nabī (s) on a global scale, establishing the principles of a model state where people lived in the highest level of discipline, responsibility and excellent moral conduct. In such a Madīnat, everyone keeps respect for the other. No one seeks to dominate the other. Rather, all seek the greater good of the community under inspired leadership. Women have their role, equal as partners, with the role of men, each working in their specializations to the highest level of perfection. People of differing races and beliefs are able live together in harmony, just as in the time of the Prophet (s). In his city, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians lived in peace and harmony with Muslims and in unity with them. From that unity comes community, and from community comes communion, relationship with the Divine.
Stations in Nation-building
Before a society will change, the leaders of the community must change, for Allah said:
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ
Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls).
When the leaders, they will spur a societal change in which the society will be able to engage in an internal social, psychological and cultural invigoration and self-examination. Through this, cross-fertilization will occur between different strains and currents in the nation opening the minds and hearts to new ideas and creative thinking while remaining within the broader guidelines of the Shari¿ah. This process is not aimed at building castles in the air consisting of speculative theories and postulates, but to implement the knowledge learned in an integrated manner so that it becomes part and parcel of the individual, community, society, nation and finally the Ummah as a whole. This cannot be done purely by study, just as one cannot become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or an Islamic scholar without training in the real and practical implementation of theory. Rather, this process requires an erudite and qualified teacher who will not only teach the precepts, doctrine and principles of the science of self-purification, but will serve as an exemplar, role model and most importantly provide practical training and guidance in the implementation of the teachings of his discipline.
We are beginning to see such leadership today in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah has increasingly opened society to further debate and provide the opportunity for cross-cultural and cross-school dialogue. Rather than imposing a single monolithic view, King Abdullah has begun laying the groundwork for a long-awaited change in his nation’s approach to social, political, ideological and religious thinking that bodes well for its further integration into the world. Such steps as opening up inter-sectarian dialogue between scholars of different schools, increasing freedom of the press and civil debate, instituting the democratic process at the municipal and regional levels of government, opening civic society to women’s participation and increasing their participation in local government and social causes, reforming the jihādists through different remanding programs all serve to enhance societal reform in Saudi Arabia.
If a society is focused on fixing internal issues, then that society will be deeply engaged in self-improvement and societal transformation, rather than spending its time seeking to blame external causes for its problems. This allows the transformation of societal energies from externally destructive to internally constructive, and engages the members of society and its leadership in productive debate. By such means, much of the rhetoric which extremist members of the society use to draw the youth into their organizations can be impeded from the outset, for the youth will already be industriously engaged in self-improvement, societal improvement and constructive work whose benefits are rapid and whose progress can be observed.
In contrast, those regimes that turn away from spirituality become morally bankrupt and eventually fail. If we look at the history of the past centuries, we see those regimes that tried to find guidance from material and legalistic principles with no reference to spirituality ultimately found themselves lost. Eventually, they failed and collapsed. This stands in stark contrast to those regimes that have tried to cling, however loosely, to the spiritual, moral and ethical principles behind their founding.
Take, for example, the case of the Soviet Union. At one point, it was a great superpower. It acquired the power to transform itself from a poor nation to one of the greatest military and industrial nations in world. However, because it lacked any spiritual foundation it collapsed, and became as if it had never existed.
However, those regimes which are built on a moral and ethical foundation are successful, prosperous and able to move forward without the dislocating stresses often associated with technological progress.
When leaders emerge in society, either by election or by selection, we see they are successful when their decisions are guided by moral principles, not simply by material concerns. If the latter take precedence, the regime will descend to the lowest degree of morality - to the point it begins to impact the youth. This is particularly true when leaders are corrupt, engaged in underhanded activities such as cheating, lying and bribery. In this way, whole societies are corrupted.
The Prophet (s) said:
اَلاَ وَاِنفِيالْجَسَد مُضْغَةً اِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَد كُلُّهُ وَاِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَد كُلُّهُ اَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ
There is in the body a small flesh, if it is clean and pure the whole body will be clean and pure and if it is not, and it is contaminated, then the whole body will be contaminated, and that is the heart.
In this pithy sentence, we find manifold meanings. The heart here can be taken to symbolize society’s leadership, for if it is good, the whole society is good, and if it is tainted, the whole nation will be corrupt and degenerate. The Prophet (s)’s description here is comprehensive, for it encompasses both the individual and society. Morality and good behavior are essential in society, as they empower relationships embodying the highest level of dignity and respect between the citizens and their leader.
In contrast, a society devoid of spirituality is like a body without a soul. It is dead. It is like an engine with no fuel; it becomes nothing but scrap metal. However, with the soul, the body keeps running well, like an engine given high-octane fuel. So, spirituality is for the soul as fuel is for the engine. Just as the body has its nourishment through food, the soul itself has its own source of nourishment, which is good manners. That is why spirituality is very important for leadership and society as a whole.
The Reformist Calls for “Jihad”
Today the slogan used on lips of every “reformer” or social activist is “jihād.” Everyone today speaks of jihād. And while we, as scholars and leaders, know that jihād is a wājib, and is even regarded as the sixth pillar by a minority of scholars, few take the care to examine this concept in detail. So, let us first determine the definition of jihād.
One can find countless interpretations of this term which differ from its true spirit and the meaning that Allah intended it in the Holy Qur’ān and in the narrations of the Prophet (s). On the contrary, people use the term Jihād in this time in a way that suits their own whims without realizing the damage that they are causing Islam and Muslims.
What is meant by Jihād? The concept of “holy war” does not occur in the term Jihād, which in Arabic would be al-ħarb al-muqaddasah, in fact this concept cannot be found anywhere throughout the entire Qur’ān. Jihād in the classical sense does not simply mean war. In fact Jihād is a comprehensive term which traditionally has been defined as composed of fourteen different aspects, only one of which involves warfare.
Jihād in its meaning is ¿to struggle¿ as a general description. Jihād derives from the word juhd, which means at-ta¿b, fatigue. The meaning of Jihād fī sabīlillāh, struggle in the Way of Allah, is striving to excess in fatiguing the self, to exhaust the self in seeking the Divine Presence and in bringing up Allah’s Word, all of which He made the Way to Paradise.
For that reason Allah said:
جَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ
And strive hard (jāhidū) in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving a is due to Him;
It is essential to understand that under the term jāhidū come many different categories of Jihād, each with its specific context. The common understanding of Jihād to mean only war is refuted by this tradition of the Prophet (s):
حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن مهدي عن سفيان عن علقمة بن مرثد عن طارق بن شهاب أن رجلا سأل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقد وضع رجله في الغرز أي الجهاد أفضل قال كلمة حق عند سلطان جائر
A man asked the Prophet (s) “Which Jihād is best?” The Prophet (s) said, “The most excellent Jihād is to say the word of truth in front of a tyrant.”
The fact that the Prophet (s) mentioned this Jihād as “most excellent” means that there are many different forms of Jihād.
Ibn Qayyim’s Fourteen Categories of Jihad
Islamic scholars, from the time of the Prophet (s) until today, have categorized Jihād into fourteen distinct categories. Jihād is not simply the waging of war, as most people today understand. War in fact, or combative Jihād, according to many scholars, is only one of fourteen different categories of Jihād.
In his book Zād al-Ma¿ād, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyyah divided Jihād into fourteen distinct categories:
Jihad Against the Hypocrites
1.1. By heart
1.2. By tongue
1.3. By wealth
1.4. By person
Jihad Against the Unbelievers
1.5 By heart
1.6 By tongue
1.7 By wealth
1.8 By person.
Jihad Against the Devil
1.9 Fighting him defensively against everything of false desires and slanderous doubts in faith that he throws towards the servant.
1.10Fighting him defensively from everything he throws towards the servant of corrupt passion and desire.
Jihad of the Self (jihad an-nafs)
1.11That he strives to learn guidance and the religion of truth which is there is no felicity or happiness in life or in the hereafter except by it. And when he neglects it, his knowledge is wretched in both words.
1.12That he strives to act upon it after he has learned it. For the abstract quality of knowledge without action, even if he commits no wrong, is without benefit.
1.13That he strives to call to Allah and to teach it to someone who does not know it. Otherwise he will be among those who conceal what Allah had revealed of guidance and clarity. His knowledge doesn¿t benefit him or saves him from Allah’s penalty.
1.14That he strives with patience in seeking to call to Allah. When the creation harms him he bears it all for the sake of Allah.
Ibn Rushd’s Four Divisions of Jihad
Ibn Rushd, on the other hand, in his Muqaddimah, divides Jihād into four kinds:
1. Jihād of the heart
2. Jihād of the tongue
3. Jihād of the hand
4. Jihād of the sword
Jihad of the Heart – the Struggle against the Self
The Jihād of the heart is the struggle of the individual with his or her own desires, whims, erroneous ideas and false understandings. This includes the struggle to purify the heart, to rectify one’s actions and to observe the rights and responsibilities of all other human beings.
Jihad of the Tongue – Education and Counsel
He defines Jihād of the tongue as:
To commend good conduct and forbid the wrong, like the type of Jihād Allah ordered us to fulfill against the hypocrites in His Words, “O Prophet (s)! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites”.
This is the Jihād the Prophet (s) waged in struggling to teach his people. It means to speak about one’s cause and one’s religion. This is known as the Jihād of Education and Counsel.
Allah first revealed:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ
Read in the name of Thy Lord!
The first aspect of Jihād of Education is through reading. Reading originates with the tongue.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ
O Prophet! strive hard [jāhid] against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them.
Jihad of the Hand – Development of Civil Society and Material Progress
Jihād of the hand includes the struggle to build the nation through material development and progress, including building up civil society, acquiring and improving every aspect of technology and societal progress in general. This form of Jihād includes scientific discovery, development of medicine, clinics and hospitals, communication, transportation, and all necessary underlying infrastructure for societal progress and advancement, including educational institutions. Building also means to open opportunities to the poor through economic programs and self empowerment.
Another aspect of Jihād by Hand is through writing, for Allah said:
الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
He taught by means of the pen, taught mankind what he did not know.
The meaning writing includes the use of computers and all other forms of publication.
Jihad of the Sword – Combative War
Finally Jihād of the hand includes struggle by the sword (Jihādun bis-sayf), as when one fights the aggressor who attacks you in combative war.
Refinement of Jihad an-Nafs into an Islamic Science
Given the above definition of Jihād, we see that of its fourteen aspects, only one involves raising the sword. The remaining thirteen all have to do with either struggle of an individual with his inner state, or the struggle of society as a whole in seeking reform and improvement.
As such, major aspects of Jihād have been generally classified as Jihād an-Nafs, the mortal struggle against the self, and it it this broad topic we will address today as we look at the need of spirituality in creating a society that is capable of not simply existing but in striving to reach a state of perfection, Iħsān.
Devoted and sincere scholars of spirituality performed the great service of calling the Ummah to remembrance of its proper heritage as framed by the Qur’ān and set out in the Prophet’s Sunnah. These individuals, in time, came to be known by the name of šafā, a word derived from the Arabic šafā¿a which means “to purify,” because of the assiduousness with which they applied themselves to holding firmly to the Sunnah and employing it to purify their character from all defects in behavior and morality.
Following the tradition of the Companions of the Prophet (s) who used to frequent his company named Āhl aš-Šuffa ("the People of the Bench"), the practitioners of this regimen lived a communal life. Their dwelling-places were the mosque-schools (zawāya), border forts (ribāţ), and guest-houses (khāniqah) where they gathered together on specific occasions dedicated to the traditional festivals of the Islamic calendar (¿id), the fast of Ramadan and other occasions of note. They also gathered on a regular basis in associations for the conveying of knowledge (suħba), assemblies to invoke the names of Allah and recite the adhkār (plural of dhikr, “remembrance") inherited from the Prophetic Tradition, and circles of study in Islamic law. Yet another reason for their gathering was to hear inspired preaching and moral exhortations (wi¿az).
The Schools of Purification (tazkiya)
We know for example, that in the first century after the Hijra, renunciation of the world (zuhd) grew as a reaction against worldliness in the society. Derived in principle from the order of Allah to His Righteous Prophet (s) to purify people [Qur’ān 2:129, 2:151, 3:164, 9:103, 62:2], the practitioners of this way clove firmly to the Prophetic way of life as it was reflected in the lives of his Companions and their Successors, in the ways they employed to purify their hearts and character from bad manners and to inculcate in their own selves and in those around them the manners and upright moral stature of the Best of Mankind, the Prophet Muhammad (s).
Through slow evolution, this regimen ended up as a school of practical thought and moral action endowed with its own structure of rule and principle. This became the basis used by scholars of the spiritual discipline to direct people on the Right Path. As a result, the world soon witnessed the development of a variety of schools of purification of the ego (tazkīyat an-nafs). Such thought, as it spread everywhere, served as a dynamic force behind the growth and fabric of Islamic education. This tremendous advance occurred from the first century after the Hijra to the seventh, in parallel with the following developments:
· Development of the bases of fiqh (Law and Jurisprudence), through the Imāms;
· Development of the bases of ¿aqidah (System of Belief) through al-Ash¿ari and others;
· Development of the science of hadith (Sayings of the Prophet (s)), resulting in the six authentic collections and innumerable others;
· Development of the arts of nahu and balāgha (Speaking and Writing Arabic).
Ţarīqat or “path" is a term derived from the hadith of the Prophet (s) ordering his followers to follow his sunnah and the sunnah of his successors. The meaning of sunnah is “path,” “way,” which is also the meaning of ţarīqat referred to in the Qur’ānic verse:
وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُم مَّاء غَدَقًا
Had they kept straight on the path (ţarīqat ), We would have made them drink of a most limpid water."
Ţarīqat thus came to be a term applied to groups of individuals belonging to the school of thought pursued by a particular scholar or “shaykh,” as such a person was often called.
Though these shaykhs applied different methods in training their followers, the core of each one’s program was identical. The situation was not unlike what we find in faculties of medicine and law today. The approach in different faculties may be different, but the body of law, the state of art in medicine remains essentially the same everywhere. When students graduate from these faculties, each student bears the stamp of its character. Yet, none are considered less a lawyer or doctor because their respective affiliations differ.
In a similar way, the student product of a particular shaykh will bear the stamp of that shaykh’s teaching and character. Consequently, the names given to various schools of Sufi thought differ according to the names and the perspectives of their founders. This variation manifests itself in a more concrete fashion, in the different supererogatory devotions, known as awrād, aħzāb or adhkār, used as the practical methodology of spiritual formation. Such differences, however, have nothing to do with the religious principle. In basic principle, the schools of spiritual purification are essentially the same.
Identifying the Ruinous Traits
The regimen under which individuals undertook the path to Allah, was a finely-honed itinerary which charted the course of inward and outward progress in religious faith and practice (dīn). Its first step is to set forth in greater jihād, by fighting the seventeen enormities of the self which we will enumerate here in brief.
وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Those who control their wrath and are forgiving toward mankind; Allah loveth the good.
A man said to Prophet Muhammad (s), “Advise me.” He replied, “Do not become angry.”
Anger is the worst of all seventeen of the ruinous traits. It may easily be said that anger is the source from which the others flow. That is why, in the path of spiritual development the levels of attainment are indicated by the reaction of testing with anger.
In the state of anger, one loses the ability to listen to reason, follow good judgment or accept advice. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (s) said to his dear companion Abū Bakr aš-Šiddīq ¦, “Anger is a form of unbelief.”
Love of This World (Hubbud-Dunya)
Jesus Christ ¡ said:
The love of this world is the root of every sin.
Those who are in love with this world find it is the cause of troubles and disasters. A poet once wrote, “This world is a carcass, a rotten piece of flesh thrown in the street. Those who pursue it are scavenging dogs.” Those who love this world and spend their time seeking more of it, are like scavengers running to devour a carcass. This is the view of a sincere person, who is in full pleasure with his Lord’s service and happy with his devotions. For such a person, to glorify and worship Allah sincerely, to give charity and to build a life in the hereafter is preferable. He prefers to spend time remembering Allah and reminding others of Allah, than to be acquiring a portion, however small, of this world’s glittering life. In spiritual discipline, holding on to anything that is more than you can eat today—even the sustenance that you keep for tomorrow—is considered evidence of love for this world. Therefore it is better to offer it in the Way of Allah. If you possess more than today’s sustenance, such excess is permissible if you give some of it in Allah’s Way.
Many illustrious companions of the Prophet (s) were quite wealthy, including Sayyidina Abū Bakr ¦ and Sayyidina ¿`Uthman ¦. Allah gave them wealth because they did not waste it; they knew the value of wealth and preserved it. Their example was one of discipline. Allah grants wealth to His pious sincere servants because they employ it in useful and productive ways.
To protect yourself from the love of this world, do not look at what others have; it is not your concern. Look at yourself and what you have. You are going to answer to Allah for that, not for others.
The Messenger of Allah (s) said:
Do not have malice for one another.
And the cure for this negative trait, he related in another Tradition:
Whoever looks at his brother with love, no malice will exist in his heart.
A community following the Way of Allah—the way of the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Companions and the righteous—never develops destructive intentions, because in such an ideal community, everyone seeks the Straight Path. However, when someone yields to their lower self and lusts after what someone else has, they develop hatred and the intention of harming. Thus malice is something that is cultivated, as opposed to mere feelings of dislike that arise involuntarily at times.
Allah commanded Moses ¡ to speak a gentle word to Pharaoh. Allah sent Moses ¡ to show Pharaoh that he was wrong, yet, when Pharaoh rejected the Truth, Moses ¡ did not raise the Children of Israel against him.
Through these events, Moses ¡ taught us that we must not harm out of hatred—even hatred for an aggressor. Moses ¡ challenged Pharaoh by means of knowledge and faith.
حديث أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : لا تحاسدوا, ولا تباغضوا, ولا تجسسوا, ولا تحسسوا, ولا تناجشوا, وكونوا عباد الله إخوانا
The Prophet (s) said:
Do not envy one another, do not hate each other and do not slander one another. Be servants of Allah, brethren altogether.
Aspiring to have the same good another possesses is envy, while desiring to see it removed from him is jealousy. Because jealousy is the trunk of a great tree among the negative characteristics, human beings need Allah to protect them from it.
An example of this is the cause of the first murder when Cain killed Abel as related in the Holy Qur’ān:
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِن أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الآخَرِ
Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam ¡. Behold! they each presented a sacrifice (to Allah): It was accepted from one, but not from the other.
The Qur’ān relates:
قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِين لَئِن بَسَطتَ إِلَيَّ يَدَكَ لِتَقْتُلَنِي مَا أَنَاْ بِبَاسِطٍ يَدِيَ إِلَيْكَ لَأَقْتُلَكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Said the latter [Cain]: “Be sure I will slay you.”
"Surely,” said the former [Abel], “(Allah) does accept of the sacrifice of those who are righteous.
If you do stretch your hand against me, to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against you to slay you: for I do fear Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds.”
Beyond physical violence, the worst way to destroy humanity is through black magic.
Practitioners of this dark art even tried to perform black magic on Prophet Muhammad (s) This was the cause for the revelation of the Chapter of the Daybreak, for although the Prophet (s) was divinely protected, Allah wanted us to learn about this dark practice, to be aware of it, to be protected from it and to guard against it for black magic is one of the darkest forms of mischief. Such mischief proceeds from jealousy, the jealousy one person harbors for another.
The Prophet (s) said:
الحسد ياكل الحسنات كما تاكل النار الحطب؛
Jealousy consumes good deeds just as fire consumes wood.
According to the pious scholars of the Ummah, the way to eliminate jealousy is to observe the voluntary Prayers of the Night Vigil made before the morning prayer (Šalāt al-Fajr).
إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ
He [Allah] loves not the proud.
In a Qudsī hadith Allah says:
قال الله تعالى في حديث قدسي:” الكبر ردائي, و العظمة ازاري, فمن نازعني في واحد منهما, رميته في جهنم و لا ابالي
Pride is My cloak and Greatness is My covering. Whoever competes with Me regarding them, I shall cast them into the Hellfire, and it will not concern Me.
Vanity is a dangerous attribute. Today, children are constantly taught, “Be proud of yourself.” Someone who is proud sees himself or herself as the strongest, the prettiest, the smartest, the fastest, the best. They think they can achieve what no one else can. This teaching instills unbridled independence, and encourages the belief that one knows better than everyone else. It also prompts them to reject advice, as they are told that their own thinking is sufficient and superior. This in turn leads to arrogance about which Allah said:
فَلَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ
Evil indeed shall be the abode of all given to arrogance.
In the time of the Prophet (s), a group of people known as the People of the Bench, Ahl as-Suffah, used to sit morning and evening behind the house of Prophet (s) reciting Qur’ān, remembering Allah and praising the Prophet (s). ¿Abd Allah ibn Mas¿ud related:
A group from among the Quraysh passed by the Messenger of Allah (s) while Šuhayb, Bilāl, ¿Ammār, Khabāb ² and other poor Muslims were with him. They said to the Prophet (s), “O Messenger of Allah (s), have you chosen this class of people from among your entire followers for your closest ones? …Get rid of them and perhaps if you do that we may follow you.
It is then that Allah revealed:
وَلاَ تَطْرُدِ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ
Send not away (O Muhammad), those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face.
Arrogance is to regard oneself higher than others. Allah says, “Come to Me, My servant, with humility. Do not be full of arrogance (mutakabbir). I am the One Who gives titles.”
Honor, respect and dignity are for believers, but supremacy and superiority are only for Allah. No one else may be al-Mutakabbir, The Imperious.
The Prophet Muhammad (s) went on the Night Journey and Ascension into the Presence of Allah, closer than any human being has ever reached in the Divine Presence. When he returned, he never boasted or tried to exalt himself; he only said, “O my Lord, I am Your servant (¿abd-Allāh)!” He was happy to be known as Servant.
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ
Praise be to Allah who took His servant to His Presence.
The Prophet (s) said, “The best moment in all my life, from beginning to end, is when Allah called me Servant!” So we find in this superb example of humility that the Prophet (s) is happiest to be a slave of Allah.
Contrast this exemplary manner with Satan’s, who replied to Allah when Allah ordered him to bow before Adam ¡:
قَالَ أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ
I am better than Adam! You created me from fire and Your created him from mud.
We must know our level as servants. To regard yourself as great is an indication that Satan is entering your veins.
The cure for arrogance is in hunger. When you are hungry, you not only weaken, you lose your arrogance. If you are facing starvation, you eat anything you find. You quickly become humble. For that reason the companions of the Prophet (s) came to him and showed him their bellies, tied on them was a stone. The Prophet (s), always the foremost in piety, revealed his stomach and they saw not one stone, but two.
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاؤُونَ
Ah, woe unto worshippers who are heedless of their prayer; those who want but to be seen of men, But refuse even neighbourly needs.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said:
Allah does not accept an action if there is any quantity of show in it.
In the time of the Prophet (s), a certain Companion liked to help people, but he also liked everyone to know that he did such good deeds. Concerning this, Allah revealed the last verse of the Chapter of the Cave:
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاء رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
Say: I am only a mortal like you. My Lord inspires in me that your Allah is only One Allah. And whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.
Al-ĦāfiƸ Jalāl al-Dīn as-Suyūţī interpreted this verse in this manner:
Allah is saying, “If you are requesting to come to Me, to be in My Paradise on Judgment Day, you must do a good work, but that good work must not be accompanied by ostentation. Do not attribute that work to yourself, but to Me, as something which I granted to you personally.”
The reason for revelation of this verse was that one of the Companions was in the habit of doing good things and afterwards saying to the Prophet (s), “I did this! I did that!” He sought recognition. Then Allah revealed this verse. By doing so, Allah is saying, “O Muhammad! Tell him that if he wants to do something good, let him do it, but make it purely for Allah, not for recognition for himself. It must be purely for Me.”
فَرَجَعْنَاكَ إِلَى أُمِّكَ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ
So We brought thee, (O Moses), back to thy mother, that her eye might be cooled and she should not grieve.
A Prophetic Tradition states:
Verily Allah, The Glorious and Majestic, by His wisdom and exaltedness created ease and comfort in contentment and certainty; and He created depression and fear in doubt and discontent.
Worrying is external. For the one in whom depression thrives, this negative characteristic penetrates deep into the recesses of the physical body, into the veins and heart. Such a person feels depression in every part of the body and prefers to be alone rather than see anyone.
A depressed person wishes that time would again fly, but, on the contrary, minutes seem like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. Usually, people who lack useful outlets for their energies and feel unfulfilled are subject to these feelings. People who suffer from depression tend to sleep all day and stay awake at night, which allows them to avoid others. At night they engage in frivolous activities that they find entertaining, such as watching television, playing video games or some other pastime that gives them pleasure.
Depression can only be cured by finding a useful outlet for one’s energy, directing it to good works, thereby lifting the cloud of darkness which begin to cover the one who has forgotten to praise Allah and remember Him. The first step in eliminating depression is to find pious sincere believers with whom one can spend time and seek comfort in observing their good character.
The Eight Hundred Forbidden Acts (al-Manhiyat)
الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ
Those who avoid great sins and shameful deeds, only (falling into) small faults, - verily thy Lord is ample in forgiveness.
There are 500 acts that the Prophet (s) ordered us to do (mā¿murāt) and 800 acts that the Prophet (s) forbade us (manhīyāt) from doing.
The Prophet (s) said:
To leave an atom’s weight of Allah’s prohibitions, is more lovely to Allah than the worshipping of all sentient beings.
To leave one forbidden act for the sake of Allah, is equivalent to performing all 500 of the ordered actions because to leave one forbidden act is extremely difficult for the ego.
A great spiritual teacher, al-Qushayri, noted that, of the 800 forbidden acts mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān, 477 are grave ones (min al-kabā¿ir). He mentioned further that if a person can eliminate the sixteen reprehensible characteristics that we have explained in the preceding sections, it becomes easy to avoid indulging in the the remaining forbidden acts. Thus the 800 forbidden acts are considered one among the seventeen ruinous traits. We intend to describe these in further detail in another volume in the future.
As step three of the next section, in seeking purified character, the servant must address this ruinous trait with the treatment of self-accounting, muħāsabah. This method requires the servant to keep a journal, and note down every bad character trait that he observes in himself. These are traits that only he possesses, for no two individuals are the same. When that journal if finally completed, it will detail a number of the 800 forbidden acts that individual possesses in his or her personality.
The Ten Steps of Spiritual Development
There are ten steps which make up the discipline of turning away from the seventeen ruinous character traits and setting forth on the path of self-discipline and spiritual attainment. They are:
We will briefly address four out of the ten steps in order to get a feeling for these vital steps in self-development and purification.
Standing Up for Truth (al-Istiqamah)
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُم بِوَاحِدَةٍ أَن تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُوا مَا بِصَاحِبِكُم مِّن جِنَّةٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ لَّكُم بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ
Say: “I do admonish you on one point: that ye do stand up before Allah,- (It may be) in pairs, or (it may be) singly,- and reflect (within yourselves): your Companion is not possessed: he is no less than a warner to you, in face of a terrible Penalty.”
To stand up for Allah means to stand up for Truth against falsehood. Who is standing up for Truth against falsehood today? Before looking at others to judge them, stand for Truth against the wrong within. Fight against the devil in yourself. Stand for Allah against Satan, because Satan is always there, gossiping in your heart. To stand for The Merciful means to keep your eyes open and to be aware of all that is within yourself. This leads to self-realization.
Awareness counters heedlessness. If someone is heedless, he is careless of consequences, unaware of the results of his actions. You should be aware constantly, keeping your defenses up. What is the spiritual weapon of a believer? Ablution.
The Prophet Muhammad (s) said:
Ablution is the weapon of the believer.
We are still beginners, trying to find our way on a long journey. It is a long journey because it is full of obstacles. Something full of difficulties always seems long. Time passes quickly if you entertain yourself, but someone busy with work sees the time leading up to his vacation as unending. The journey of self-realization is long, but at its end you will reach true happiness, feeling the pleasure of Allah’s remembrance, dhikrullāh. Know that, until you reach your goal, you will face many obstacles.
When you want to repent, Allah will remove you from the list of oppressors.
وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
And those who turn not in repentance, such are evil-doers.
Do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Allah will forgive; Allah is Most Great. Allah says in the Holy Qur’ān:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins. He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
And in another verse:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
…. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee (O Muhammad) and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.
When you realize that you are a sinner with problems, you also realize that you need an intercessor—someone who is more sincere—to take you by the hand. The most sincere, the best intercessor, is the Prophet Muhammad (s).
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) he has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah, for Allah is well acquainted with (all) that ye do.
This verse shows that the soul, not the body, has to prepare provision for the next life. That is why you must begin keeping track of all your negative issues. This can only be done by taking up the weapon of the pen against your enemy, the ego.
How do you audit yourself?
¿Umar ibn al-Khaţţāb ¦, the second caliph of the Prophet (s), said:
Judge yourselves before you are judged; and weigh your actions in the balance before they are weighed; When you are brought to account tomorrow, it will be much easier for you if you have already brought yourself to account today…
This step involves auditing yourself by keeping a journal of your deeds, much as the Recording Angels are doing. Once you begin noting down the wrong actions that you do throughout the day, you will end up with a journal full of negative issues. Those who do not take account cannot repent.
People take their beads and make remembrance of Allah, dhikr. However, the correct way is not to do dhikr first. The correct way is to eliminate your mistakes first. To recite Allah’s Name “Allah, Allah” 5,000 times may take fifteen minutes. To rcite the holy words, “There is no diety except Allah—Lā ilāha il-Llāh” 1,000 times may take seven minutes. Such practices are simple, but what is truly difficult is to prevent yourself from looking at what is forbidden. Grandshaykh ¿Abd Allah ق said that if you see something wrong once, it is not written against you; however, the second look is forbidden. If you see something wrong, look away and say, “O my Lord, that is prohibited.” This is far better than doing 500 obligations. Leaving one forbidden thing is more valuable to Allah because it is stepping on your ego and leaving a sin for His sake. It is very difficult to leave something that you desire, that the ego wants, yet this is what we need to do.
Do not leave dhikr; but also work every day to eliminate your sins. For each one that you have counted, you have to say, “Astaghfirullāh—I repent, and I am not going to repeat that sin.”
Turning Humbly to Your Lord in Surrender (al-Inabah)
وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ الْعَذَابُ ثُمَّ لَا تُنصَرُونَ
Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.
The seeker who has stepped forth on the way to find truth and reality needs a guide to open that way, to lead him to the presence of the Prophet (s). The second step is to become aware of your shortcomings, and then you must repent and account for your actions. The fourth step is to turn humbly in surrender to your Lord—the essence of Islam.
Surrender is what your Lord wants from you. This step, of turning back to Allah (al-ināba), in itself becomes a turning point in your life. This turning point starts with entering into Islam fully without mixing it with sins. Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.
Once all ten of the steps of self-discipline and spiritual advancement are accomplished, the servant will begin to approach the Divine Presence, in much as was described in the hadith earlier:
And when I love him I will be the ears with which he hears, I will be the eyes with which he sees…
For certain government posts, you require security clearance. Without such clearance, you may only access unclassified areas. High-level government jobs require high levels of clearance. Applicants must be examined carefully before receiving this high-level clearance. Their family history and criminal records are examined, along with anything else that might make the candidate a risk. This information affects the level of clearance they are eligible to receive. Depending on the level of clearance, this research might go back as far as the age of five years.
The same is true in spirituality. When the pious servant has achieved these ten levels, he is cleared to access classified materials. At that time, the servant can access the powers of the heart - powers that are found in the heart of every human being without discrimination. Until you access them, these six powers are blocked by the ego.
The tyranny of the self is able to oppress you. All of this power that Allah put in your heart becomes suppressed in a small and narrow place, due to the very high pressure of selfishness and satanic influence. The pressurized place that holds these powers is a black clot in the heart. When you have achieved clearance through progress, that place becomes easy to open. When that pressurized clot is opened, it is like a volcano that erupts, spreading love everywhere.
On the Day of Promises, when Allah asked the assembled souls, “Am I not your Lord?” they answered, “Yes!” You do not remember it now, but Allah took from us a covenant, an oath. What you accepted on that day was recorded.
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا
“Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool.”
When you climb up to reach the Reality of Guidance, you can see what kind of oath you took. At that time you will be one of those described by:
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌصَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ
Among the believers are men who have [always] been true to what they have vowed before Allah.
That will be your journey to your reality. Then Allah will dress you with guidance, and grant you permission to assist others. Until then, you are like a toy that speaks, like a parrot, as are today’s scholars and lecturers. That is not guidance. Guidance is only for the pious servants (šālihīn) of Allah.
When you make the migration from bad desires and traits to good character and manners, when you achieve the highest level of moral virtue, you attain the power of spiritual ascension and self-realization. At that point, your ego stands at its limit, not transgressing the bounds of morality and manners. Wonders will be opened for you at that time. However, when you reach that level, do not pretend that such power or vision belongs to you; in reality, it is from Allah.
Sūratu ’l-Baqarah [The Heifer], 2:186
Sūratu’l-Ħadīd [Iron], 57:28
Sūratu ’l-Furqān [The Criterion], 25:63
Sūratu ’l-Kahf [The Cave], 18:28
Al-Ħākim in al-Mustadrak (authentic).
The Prophet (s) said, “I do not fear that you will become polytheists after me, but I fear that, because of worldly interests, you will fight each others, and thus be destroyed like the peoples of old.” Bukhārī and Muslim.
The Prophet (s) could never associate anyone with Allah, for he is Allah’s most perfect servant. Nonetheless he was told to say: I am but a man like yourselves, but the inspiration has come to me that your Allah is One… Sūratu ’l-Kahf [The Cave], 18: 110.
The Prophet (s) showed his simplicity and humility by saying, “I am a human being like you, but Allah is sending His revelation to me.” Although the Prophet (s) remains always—then and now—in Allah’s Presence, even in this unequaled privilege he is utterly humble and devoid of arrogance, considering himself “like you,” where that expression included all human beings seeking the means of coming closer to people, in order to make them familiar and eventually open their hearts to the truth.
Ghazālī, in the Iħyā’. Al-¿Irāqī said that Bayhaqī related it on the authority of Jābir and said: There is weakness in its chain of transmission. According to Nisā’ī in al-Kunā is a saying by Ibrāhīm ibn Ablah.
The faith of Islam, consists of three levels, as described by the Prophet (s) in the famous Tradition of the Archangel Jibrīl, where ¿Umar ¦ related:
While we were sitting with Allah's Messenger (s) one day, all of a sudden a man came up to us. He wore exceedingly white clothes. His hair was jet-black. There was no sign of travel on his person. None of us knew him. He went to sit near the Prophet (s), leaning his knees against the knees of the Prophet (s) and placing his hands on his thighs.
He said, “O Muhammad! tell me about Islam (the stage of Submission).” Allah's Messenger (s) said, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no Allah but Allah, and that Muhammad (s) is the Messenger of Allah; to perform the prayer; to pay the poor-tax; to fast during Ramadan; and to make the pilgrimage to [Allah’s] House if you are able to go there.” The man said, “You have spoken the truth.”
We wondered at him; how could he be asking the Prophet (s) and confirming him at the same time?
Then he said, “Tell me about Imān (the stage of Belief).” The Prophet (s) said, “Imān is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day; and to believe in Destiny, both its good and its evil.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now tell me about Iħsān (the stage of Excellence of character).” The Prophet (s) replied, “Excellence is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you.”
..Then he left and time passed. Later he [the Prophet] said to me, “O ¿Umar, do you know who that was asking questions?” I said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “He was none other than Jibrīl. He came to you to teach you your religion.” Narrated by Muslim.
Sūrah Fuššilat [Explained in Detail], 41:53
Sūratu ’sh-Shams [The Sun], 91:9.
Muslim, Aħmad and Ibn Dāwūd.
Sunan at-Tirmidhī, 4227.
Sūratu ’r-R¿ad [Thunder], 13:11
Saħīħ Muslim, #4178.
Sūratu ’l-Ħajj [The Pilgrimage], 22:78
Musnad of Aħmad. Similar aĦadīth are narrated in Abū Dāwūd and Tirmidhī.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyyah, Zād al-M¿ad.
Muqaddimah, Ibn Rushd (known in the Western world as Averroes), p. 259.
Sūratu ’t-Tawbah [Repentance], 9:73
Sūratu ’l-¿Alaq [The Clot], 96:1
Sūratu ’t-Tawbah [Repentance], 9:73
Sūratu ’l-¿Alaq [The Clot], 96:4,5
Sūratu’l-Jinn, 72:16
Sūrat Āli ¿Imrān [The Family of ¿Imrān], 3:134.
Īmām Aħmad.
Ibn Mājah and Musnad Aħmad.
Related by Ibn ¿Abbās.
Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Mājah and Musnad Aħmad, with additional wording, “and it is not permitted for a Muslim to cut off his brother over three days…”
Sūratu ‘l-Mā’idah [The Spread Table], 5:27.
Sūratu ‘l-Mā’idah [The Spread Table], 5:28.
Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah with additional wording “and charity extinguishes sins like water extinguishes flame; prayer is the light of a believer and fasting his protection from the Fire.
Sūratu ’n-Nahl [The Bee], 16:23.
Abū Dāwūd.
Sūratu ‘n-Nahl [The Bee], 16:29.
Sūratu ’l-An¿am [Cattle], 6:52-53.
Sūratu ‘l-Isrā [The Night Journey], 17:1.
See Sūratu ‘l-¿Arāf [The Heights], 7, 12 and Sūrah Šād, 38:76.
Sūratu ‘l-Ma¿ūn [The Orphan], 107:4-7.
Īmām Ghazālī, Iħyā ¿Ulūm ud-Dīn (Revival of the Religious Sciences).
Sūratu ‘l-Kahf [The Cave], 18:111.
Al-Ħākim in al-Mustadrak.
Sūrah ŢāĦā, 20:40.
Sūratu ‘n-Najm [The Star], 53:32.
Sūrah Šabā [Sheba], 34:46.
Arabic: Al-wuļū silāħ ul-mu’min.
Sūratu ‘l-Ħujurāt [The Private Apartments] 49:11.
Sūratu ‘l-Zumar [The Groups], 39:53.
Sūratu ‘n-Nisā [Women], 4:64.
Sūratu ‘l-Ħashr [The Gathering], 59:18.
Aħmad and Abū Nu¿aym.
Sūratu ‘z-Zumar [The Groups], 39:54.
Sūratu ‘l-Baqarah [The Heifer] 2:208.
“There are jewels in man which have influences on him. The jewel of awe and marvel, the finest of these jewels, is in the center of the human heart. It is where the essence of the being is hidden, a store of energy and power. In that Dārk hidden place many an unknown secret is kept…That spot in the center of the human being, in his heart, is…a black spot.” (Ibn ¿Arabī, Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, translated by Shaikh Tosun Bayrak, Fons Vitae, 1997, page 180).
Sūratu ‘l-Aħzāb [The Confederates], 33:72.
Sūratu ’l-Aħzāb [The Confederates], 33:23 | <urn:uuid:90836ccc-1d2e-47d8-9de7-c8cbae090593> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/spirituality/43-spirituality-in-modern-civilization.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92692 | 22,569 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Arctic sea ice extent remained about a standard deviation below average for the month of December. Compared to recent years, 2014 as a whole was rather unremarkable. The bigger story was the record high extents observed in the Antarctic through more than half of the year. At year’s end, Antarctic sea ice extent was again at a record high, but poised for a rapid decline as the austral summer wears on.
Overview of conditions
Sea ice extent in December averaged 12.52 million square kilometers (4.83 million square miles). This is 540,000 square kilometers (208,495 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 long-term average of 13.06 million square kilometers (5.04 million square miles) and 500,000 square kilometers (193,051 square miles) above the record low for the month observed in 2010.
Both Hudson Bay and Baffin Bay are now essentially completely ice covered. On the Atlantic side, recent winters have been characterized by reduced winter ice extent in the Kara and Barents seas. This is not the case for the winter of 2014 to 2015.
The only two regions where extent is notably below average are in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. This contrasts with recent winters when ice extent has been greater than average in the Bering Sea.
Conditions in context
Sea ice extent grew 2.00 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) during the month of December. This was about average for the month. Throughout the month, daily extents were about one standard deviation below 1981 to 2010 averages. This occurred despite the fairly warm conditions over the Eurasian side of the Arctic Ocean. As averaged over the month, air temperatures at the 925 hPa level in the Laptev and East Siberian seas were up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above average, linked to a region of unusually high pressure in the region that led to southerly winds.
December 2014 compared to previous years
Arctic sea ice extent for December was the ninth lowest in the satellite record. Through 2014, the linear rate of decline for December extent over the satellite record is 3.4% per decade.
2014 in review
Compared to recent years, sea ice conditions observed throughout 2014 were largely unremarkable. Throughout the year, extent for the Arctic as a whole remained below average, but generally within two standard deviations of the average. The maximum extent observed on March 21 of 14.91 million square kilometers (5.76 million square miles) was the fifth lowest in the satellite record, with the minimum extent observed on September 17 of 5.02 million square kilometers (1.94 million square miles) being the sixth lowest on record. One event of note was in the Laptev Sea, where during August, open water was observed to extend to about 85 degrees latitude, less than 560 kilometers (350 miles) from the North Pole.
Summer weather conditions, which are known to strongly influence September minimum ice extent, were also largely unremarkable in 2014. Compared to the long term (1981 to 2010) climatology, sea level pressure over the period June through August 2014 was higher than average over much of the central Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, and Greenland. While air temperatures at the 925 hPa level (approximately 3,000 feet altitude) were slightly above average over part of the central Arctic Ocean, they were below average over the Kara Sea and just north of Alaska.
By sharp contrast, sea ice in Antarctica was at satellite-era record high daily levels for much of 2014. On September 22, 2014, Antarctic ice extent reached 20.11 million square kilometers (7.76 million square miles). This was the first year in the modern satellite record that Antarctic ice extent climbed above 20 million square kilometers (7.72 million square miles).
As the year drew to a close, sea ice extent again reached record high levels for the date by declining far more slowly than usual. Extent anomalies are particularly large in the Ross Sea and Amundsen Sea regions, and in the northern Weddell Sea—areas that have been anomalously high for most of the calendar year. However, sea ice concentration in both these regions is now quite low, that is, the sea ice pack is loose and open. This is characteristic of dispersal of the ice by storms, and indeed strong low pressure anomalies were present in the eastern Ross Sea and northern Weddell Sea in the second half of December. The extent of this loose sea ice pack far to the north makes it likely that a rapid decline will occur as warmer summer weather arrives.
Losing the memory of low extent
In September of 2014, the Royal Society of London held a workshop focused on the reduction in Arctic sea ice extent. One outcome of this meeting was a greater understanding of the overall trajectory of September ice extent. In a nutshell, it appears that very large departures from the overall downward trend in September extent are unlikely to persist into the following September. If a given September has very low ice extent, strong winter heat loss results in strong ice growth, so that the “memory” of the low ice September ice extent is lost. If a given September has a high ice extent, winter heat loss is more limited, meaning less ice growth. Consequently, while there can be large departures from year to year from the downward linear trend in ice extent (e.g., September 2012 compared to 2014), the natural tendency is for the large departure to dampen out, so that, overall, ice extent stays on the long-term downward trajectory that will eventually lead to seasonally ice free conditions as the Arctic continues to warm in response to rising atmospheric concentrations of Greenhouse gases. | <urn:uuid:0c1a3683-0d2e-43f9-8178-5aef99092928> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2015/01/december-ends/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952164 | 1,166 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Books have the potential to create lasting impressions. When books contain experiences and characters to which children can relate, they foster children’s positive self-concept and respect for diversity. Book collections for children should serve as “mirrors” that reflect the children and families in the school as well as “windows” that help children explore the true diversity of our world. Books can also teach children to understand and challenge bias and bullying and to promote social action in order to combat injustice.
This recommended collection of books is representative of the excellent anti-bias and multicultural literature available for educators and parents of young children through young adults. All the titles in Books Matter have been reviewed by ADL staff and are frequently updated with new and noteworthy books. Selected books include a variety of reading levels and many of the books lend themselves to being read aloud to children at any age. | <urn:uuid:10646a86-13ac-4e7c-842b-6bbc369b1839> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.adl.org/education-outreach/books-matter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972226 | 178 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Le Gentil (de la Galaziere), Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean Baptiste (1725–1792)
Guillaume Le Gentil was a French astronomer who made a valiant effort to observe the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. The first transit found him stuck in the middle of the Indian Ocean, unable to make any useful observations. After spending four years in Mauritius and Madagascar, and even taking a side trip to the Philippines, Le Gentil arrived in India, built an observatory at Pondicherry, and waited for the next transit, which would occur on June 4, 1769. The weather was clear for the month prior to the transit, but clouded up on transit day, only to clear immediately after the long-awaited event. Le Gentil then contracted dysentery and remained bedridden for nine months. He booked passage home aboard a Spanish warship that was demasted in a hurricane off the Cape of Good Hope and blown off course north of the Azores before finally limping into port at Cadiz. Le Gentil crossed the Pyrenees on foot and returned to France after an absence of more than 11 years, only to learn that he had been declared dead, his estate looted, and its remains divided up among his heirs and creditors. However, Le Gentil did not give up astronomy upon coming home. In fact, he lived at the Paris Observatory and the observatory's records contain a complaint that Madame Le Gentil hung out diapers to dry in the observatory gardens.
Related category• ASTRONOMERS AND ASTROPHYSICISTS
Home • About • Copyright © The Worlds of David Darling • Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy • Contact | <urn:uuid:4508ed37-63c3-4710-9d83-584e6a1f8736> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/Le_Gentil.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942543 | 353 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Soil is key to healthy plants. Duh. But with spring upon us, it’s an important concept to keep in mind. Healthy soil = healthy plants. What makes a healthy soil? Fertilizer? Water? While these two ingredients certainly help, to have truly healthy soil, you need to aerate. Aerate basically means to turn your soil, or add “air” into the compacted ground by redistributing the soil, making for better decomposition. However, one must take caution when aerating established garden soil, because you don’t want to disturb the microorganisms and/or beneficials (good creatures) living beneath the surface. Think worms. You want these little guys to remain happy in your garden and poking them with the sharp blade of a tiller or spade will not make them happy.
How do you aerate your soil in a compassionate manner? Depends on the current condition of your soil. If you’re preparing an area for the first time, your best bet is to go full speed ahead using a push tiller.
Your goal is to turn up the soil, introduce air, loosening the dirt several inches deep. You can also use a spade for this process. Stab the blade in, dig up the soil, turn it over–stab, dig, turn–over and over. It’s a tedious process but provides great exercise. Hah.
For established gardens, avoid the push tiller and opt for a spade or a hand tool. For example, between planting seasons — I have two here in Central Florida, fall and spring — I turn and till as I work through established beds using a hand fork or shovel, whichever is handy. As I do so, I’ll add compost to increase beneficial organisms into the soil which in turn aids decomposition, aka, more organic compost! Additionally, throughout a single growing season, I’ll poke around my plants with a hand tiller/fork to ensure they’re not becoming compacted by say, heavy rains and the like. We do tend to get torrential downpours.
Aerating soil not only facilitates the decomposition process of healthy soil, it also ensures light, fluffy beds for your plants. And remember, plants prefer light fluffy beds of dirt because it enables their roots to grow and spread freely. It also allows them to soak up those nutrients you’re “folding” or “tilling” into the soil in the form of organic fertilizer.
Caveat to aeration? You’re turning up weed seeds embedded deep in your soil. Not good, because you’re basically replanting them, encouraging/enabling them to sprout. Ugh. But as every gardener knows, weeds are part of the deal. Some of us are meticulous when it comes to weed removal in and around their plants. Others (like me) have accepted that a few weeds around the garden don’t hurt that bad. They merely look bad. Which brings to mind an old saying along the lines…an immaculate house means a dull life. Loosely translated: I have other more exciting things to do than weed!
Now that you have that spring in your step, head outside! The sun is shining, the temps are warming (or will be soon), and there’s no place you’d rather be than outdoors. | <urn:uuid:f4096182-4487-4f2d-baeb-91f244336b8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://bloominthyme.com/tag/healthy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933738 | 713 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Specifying LEDs for commercial use
Good lighting enhances design, conserves energy, and increases productivity, safety, security, personal comfort, sales, attendance, and profit.
The philosopher Albert Borgmann said, “Technology is most celebrated when it is most invisible—when the machinery is completely hidden, combining the simplicity of godlike effortlessness with blissful ignorance about the mechanisms that operate.”
Lighting, essential to see or do anything for life, work, or play, is such a basic technology. Today it is expected to be present everywhere, including the still-in-use 30 million commercial/ institutional structures erected in the United States prior to 1940, and even more residential units of that age. It is also the easiest discipline with which to conserve energy and reduce CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, lighting is often the last considered in planning and the first to be jettisoned in the budget crunch, when it should be designed as early as possible.
Good lighting enhances all design, conserves energy, and increases productivity, safety, security, personal comfort, sales, attendance, and profit. On the other hand, artificial illumination could consume up to 40% of a commercial structure’s energy, and prolonged exposure to harmful infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by all light, natural and artificial, could accelerate disintegration of fugitive organic material components and contents (anything that once grew, like wood, paper, textiles, leather, ivory, lacquer, feathers, or bone).
In lighting, one size/type does not fit all. There are many tools of differing energy efficiency available for the lighting designer. However, only if all the most energy-efficient technologies best suited to the particular application are known and used, can affordable, sustainable sophisticated illumination be created within the increasing energy conservation regulations. The best practice: Keep the design of task and atmospheric lighting as simple as possible.
Advances in lighting
Every day, there are many revolutionary developments in lighting. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are one. Semiconductor LEDs are solid state lighting (SSL) and, like glass fiber optics (GFO) functional architectural lighting, based on total internal reflection, they differ completely from conventional incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, and metal halide lamps.
LEDs are no longer an evolving topic but are now becoming mainstream for commercial or retail use, such as colleges/universities, data centers, laboratories and research facilities, high-rise multipurpose buildings, offices, hospitals, hospitality, recreation, factory/storage facilities, theaters/assembly, museums, water features, landscapes, libraries, retail stores, and other nonresidential facilities.
Illumination with LEDs could be functional (task, display, ambient, architectural features) or decorative. It may be interior or exterior, directional (spotlight), or ambient (general); automated or manually operated; wireless or wired; individually or centrally controlled with adjacent systems; or have special effects of color, motion, and dimming. Existing lighting fixtures may be retrofitted or historic light levels and colors recreated.
Sustainability is based on each component’s life expectancy, not just that of the chip. Binning (assembly of chips) determines distance of light thrown, resolution, and angle of visibility.
Color temperature of light is crucial. Higher Kelvin temperatures (4,100 K) allow older eyes to see better with less energy consumed. The color temperature selected depends upon the décor, with lower Kelvin degrees (2,700 K) to enhance warm colors (red/yellow/orange), and higher ones for cool colors (blue/green, etc.). A new Color Rendering Index (CRI) from the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce) is based on vibrant rather than pastel colors.
With LEDs, the metric sought is lumens (visible light output) rather than wattage (energy consumed). Lighting designers also should learn the light distribution, color quality and appearance, and shape and size of the bulb if retrofitting into an existing socket, as well as electrical compatibility with an existing system (transformer, dimmer, and connected load).
This article is not about photons, charts, or W/sq ft. Instead, it suggests using a thoughtful out-of-the-box mixture of art, science, and imagination to create and specify attractive, practical, and sustainable lighting for commercial/retail use with LEDs.
Where to start
Initially, a realistic lighting budget must be created so it will not be halved later, emasculating an originally good plan. Every area should have at least two light levels, to provide contrast and direction. “Value engineering” should not cheapen the design beyond expected usability. If specs are so reduced, the whole activity is a waste of effort and money. Better to do it right, in phases, when funds are available.
To create clear, precise specifications, there is a learning curve to understand LED equivalency compared to conventional systems. Some of the LED differences from conventional lighting systems are:
- Standards for comparison with conventional products are still not complete.
- Price is high, but will decrease with increased quantities marketed.
- Sustainability and dependability: Although very energy-efficient, current LEDs could lose 30% of light level in only 25,000 hours (five years). Then this most expensive lighting may have to be replaced, making it less sustainable for permanent functional architectural uses. As an example, substitution with LED T8s has a proposed payback of two years, but today’s stock-assembled components may only last for five years before light levels decrease below 70%, leaving a relatively short life, after which the illumination no longer performs as designed.
- Smartest product decisions are made not on just the initial cost of the equipment alone, but on the total estimate for design, installation, interfaces, controls, programming, maintenance, operation, and final disposal of the system for the first five years of the source/system. This actual payback time is the deciding factor.
- The SSL lifecycle length is based on the durability of all the LED components and how they are put together, not just the chips. The cheapest LEDs won’t perform adequately because of this great disparity in quality of LEDs. You get what you pay for.
- Binning is based on required resolution, distance of thrown light, and viewing angles.
- Unless specifically designed, all lighting is vulnerable to temperature, vibration, electromagnetic interference, moisture, and voltage drops. Some, like compact fluorescents lights (CFLs), cannot be repeatedly turned on and off, or have to be burned in a certain position.
- Additional energy may be needed with present LEDs to dissipate the excessive heat from the driver (ballast). Newer methods of disposing of heat produced by light could extend the designed LED light levels for much longer periods than now anticipated.
- Extra air conditioning may be required
- In retrofitting existing lighting fixtures with LEDs, there may not be sufficient space for dissipating heat.
- Some LEDs, like halogen, are too glaring,
- All LEDs may not be dimmable, and some marked dimmable are not dimmable, even with the right controller.
- Flicker in dimming could be annoying or even physically sickening to some.
- Some present LED light levels are still not high enough for some applications.
- Is there sufficient color selection?
- Replacement of individual chips could be noticeable among older ones.
- Some current white LEDs may change color unexpectedly.
- Low-voltage LEDs require proper ballasts for fluorescent replacements.
- Compatible interfaces and controls must be included.
- With the speed of research and development, some present LEDs may be obsolete before installed.
The person specifying lighting could be anyone, from the carpenter to the architect. The trick is to make the lighting an asset for the client. Thus, a combination of psychiatrist, technician, and imaginer has to discover the client’s lighting goals and evaluate capabilities of resources to achieve them. There must be awareness of the possibilities afforded, while remaining open-minded to avoid shoehorning the same old signature modus operandi into every job. The lighting designer/specifier is the customer’s representative, and should think “we,” not “me.”
Are LED replacement lamps and ballasts merely being put into existing fixtures, or is a whole new lighting system needed? Today’s LEDs need conversion from ac to dc. Their design may have to include programming, in which case full lighting and electrical services rather than just ordering bulb/lamps and ballasts are needed. Controls are now more than just on/off. Thus, LEDs are not a do-it-yourself job. The more complicated the design, the more experienced the designer has to be.
Whether it is upgrading existing venues or installing anew, the lighting specifier has to know where to search for interstitial spaces in walls, ceilings, floors, landscapes, or even furniture within which to conceal lighting hardware and controls. Appropriate decorative fixtures, color, and light levels for the décor have to be chosen. It is amazing how few educated people know what professional lighting designers are, or do, or their value to the building industry.
Sometimes the client, dazzled by fanciful but misleading advertising, insists on a particular product or method that may not be the best lighting solution for that project. Diplomatic attempts should be made to dissuade such unwise choices. Likewise, aggressive energy conservation without an equal increase in productivity will inevitably fail. People always find ways to circumvent unwanted or impractical restrictions.
Before starting any lighting design specs, there are preliminary steps. Resources should be consulted such as the National Electrical Code (NEC); International Assn. of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI); National Fire Protection Assn. (NFPA); UL; Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA); International Assn. of Lighting Designers (IALD); New York’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO); National Park Service; Internal Revenue Service (IRS); National Electrical Contractors Assn. (NECA) and non-union groups; Lighting Controls Assn. (LCC); International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); U.S. Green Building Council; Green Globes; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); Building Owners and Managers Assn. International (BOMA); U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE); International Building Code (IBC); and federal, state, and local requirements. In certain geographical areas, seismic, wind, or water issues should be considered. Compare detailed photometric performance data using LM-79 and LM-80 for equivalency between conventional sources and newest technologies. Additional research may have to be made.
Always seek third-party objective sources for information on and comparison of LED directionality, efficacy, and other properties. Check groups like the DOE’s CALiPER program, Energy Star, and LED Lighting Facts for independent testing, and investigate commissioning authorities’ experience on performance. Don’t forget to question previous users.
Caveat: There are many makers of LEDs, some better than others in brightness, binning, rendering color, lamp life, heat dissipation, scalability/interchangeability, dimming, and durability. Much higher priced than incandescent bulbs, not all LEDs provide the same quality and dependability. Look for good manufacturing methods, warranty, and expected life.
In every case, to keep safety and dependability uppermost, existing electric power and service initially should be checked for capacity and condition. Provisions for near-future (within five years) anticipated additions should be included in design to save further labor and cost later. Savvy owners have an energy audit of the entire building/complex to see where savings can be made, even if it is done in phases.
To decide if LEDs are the best decision for the usage, ask such practical questions as:
- Are they affordable for the available budget?
- Do they provide adequate performance for the specific lighting task: color, light level, special effects?
- Is there sufficient space for heat dissipation in retrofitting?
- Are they convenient for occupants to operate, control, and maintain?
- Will they be sustainable for the expected length of time needed?
- Can interchangeable components from varying makers be used?
- Are there interfaces and controls compatible with LEDs?
- Can sufficient energy be stored effectively for emergency operation?
- Are they attractive to enhance both architectural design and contents?
- What is the length of their warranty?
Keeping it all together
After understanding the client’s “lighting wish list” and deciding that LEDs are the best choice for the particular project, a design is created, specs written, walk-throughs taken, and bids made and contracted out. Before hitting the first nail, specs should call for an initial meeting with the entire construction team to make everyone—from owner/developer and architect to first-year apprentice—aware of the goals of the project and how to achieve them. This is the time to begin discussing any expected problems, getting everyone’s suggestions for flexible solutions.
It goes without saying that the three Cs of construction—communication, coordination, and cooperation—have to be present for a successful outcome. Specifications for each job should be unique for its LED lighting requirements. Establish priorities in scheduling work to avoid duplication of effort. There has to be a central authority in charge of the whole operation to monitor schedules, reject unauthorized substitutions, and expedite necessary change orders.
Every company involved should have the latest drawings so no one arrives on the job and finds the construction changed without notice. For example, if air conditioning ducts are now where lighting was originally shown, unexpected expensive change orders will occur.
Specs should call for a neat, workmanlike installation with adequate protection for existing features. To avoid accidents and lawsuits, good housekeeping practices should be written in the specs. Spell out detailed installation instructions in the documents instead of merely copying stock boilerplate clauses. Combining theatrical with architectural lighting techniques often adds special, unique lighting effects. Similar to that for HVAC, commissioning for major commercial lighting schemes is a factor.
Specialists should be on hand to repair penetrations in existing decorative features made for the lighting. The entire project should be treated holistically, not by each trade/discipline separately. Full integration of the lighting system within a building means daily supervision to ensure that the intention of the lighting is carried out correctly. If individual plans and specs are not created for each commission, and the same old stock lighting that ignores the client’s ongoing economic welfare is proposed, it will only waste money and create great customer dissatisfaction.
Of course, the project is not complete until a scheduled maintenance program is in place and occupants are taught correct operating instructions.
Lighting by building type
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with accepted lighting techniques used with conventional lighting equipment. Working with LEDs is just another lighting job employing those same methods, but adjusted for SSL. Those techniques won’t be repeated here because they can be found in IESNA publications and many other sources. Here are some directional and ambient details to be addressed with all types of lighting, including LEDs:
Offices: Some offices have artwork or collections displayed museum-style. Such items are treated just like museum exhibits. The caveat: Over-exuberant energy conservation without an increase in productivity will ultimately fail. If the office staff has to wear miners’ caps to see, they won’t be profitable. The back of cubicle desks is not where the light is needed. Who can find correct files in dim lighting?
Private offices, cubicles, large open spaces, food service areas, restrooms, storage, or corridors may each use different types of lighting. However, adequate light levels and controls for the particular purpose must be provided, even for maintenance. Individual controls pertaining to the task are needed. Otherwise, people will always find ways to circumvent unwanted or impractical lighting.
Institutional: Museums and libraries have an added requirement of protecting fugitive organic materials (anything that once grew, like wood, paper, textiles, leather, ivory, lacquer, feathers) from prolonged exposure to harmful IR and UV rays emitted by all light, natural and artificial. Both LEDs and GFO delay damage from IR and UV. They may be used together or separately.
Theaters/assembly areas: Theatrical critics often mention the lighting, both on stage and in the front-of-house. It is part of the ambiance. Poor lighting could diminish the efforts of the performers or the enjoyment of the building. Sports stadium lighting is a whole new ballgame. LED outdoor displays replicate fireworks and other special effects. Be sure that any lights that will be used outdoors (and all connections) are made for outdoor use, because indoor versions will be ruined by the elements.
Poorly designed LED fixtures will cause glare; don’t use them. Eliminate glare also when retrofitting LEDs into existing fixtures. Moreover, be sure there is room to dissipate heat.
Medical: Hospitals and nursing homes deserve a whole article of their own. Patients, already feeling under par, often have to deal with hot, hard-to-reach bedside reading light, and many hospitals have glaring spots in examining rooms, and dreary hallway and cafeteria illumination. MRI and operating rooms require special lighting including explosion- and shock-proof equipment not affected by electromagnetic interference, voltage surges, harmonics, or other such problems. Adequate energy storage for emergency generation is vital.
Retail: Retail merchandising should attract customers with well-lit displays in a comfortable environment that directs traffic easily, points out special features, and represents correct colors. The smart store offers more than expected to make shopping easier and more convenient. Just stepping over a shop’s threshold indicates the quality of merchandise. A jumbled mass of goods badly lit screams low quality.
During renovation, every effort should be made to keep the store open by careful scheduling of work. Hot counters, glaring, bad color, misfocused, or too dim lighting chases prospective clients away. Every kind of lighting, from electronic signage and e-commerce kiosks to theatrical special effects, could be employed to keep the client in the building and attentive to the goods.
Hospitality/food service: “Cooking” restaurant patrons like the food under hot lighting is as bad as plunging them in darkness so they can’t see the menu, the food, or their companions. Keeping them in the dark is not “intimate”; it is simply bad lighting. How many people have to hang over the side of the hotel bed to read by the distant light on the nightstand? Who has found they can’t see to shave or apply makeup in a poorly lit hotel or restaurant bathroom? Is it difficult to read room numbers in the low yellowish light in the hospitality’s hallway?
Because the same lighting techniques used with traditional products have to be tailored to the different characteristics of the SSL, there has to be design innovation such as noticing how viewers perceive lighting, associating dissimilar factors that might possibly work together, constant questioning, observing surroundings to note how good and bad SSL lighting conserves energy and diminishes CO2 emissions, and making mock-ups in labs or on-site, like Thomas Edison did to find ideas that have practical use. Lighting, similar to music, should have rhythm and contrast: fast and slow, loud and soft.
For large projects, consider integrated operation of lighting with other disciplines, now that sensors and connectivity are no longer one-way isolated procedures. They now communicate uses centrally, and interact with adjoining systems and the Internet. Advanced controls connected to the BAS can predict failures in a timely manner to avoid costly shutdowns. Therefore, lighting controls cannot be carelessly hidden behind pillars or other architectural features so that they cannot operate properly. Wireless controls are eminently suited for existing structures, saving labor and material, but make sure that frequencies are not disrupted by outside interference.
An even more exciting version of LEDs is organic LEDs, or OLEDs. For more than a decade, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and forward-thinking companies here and abroad have been developing this technology. It could very well change lighting and architectural design drastically. Bendable OLEDs are sheets of very thin carbon-based polymer sandwiched with electric current. The process is known epitaxy. Properties include energy efficiency, fast response, wide view angles, exceptional color reproduction, outstanding contrast levels, and high brightness.
Manufactured roll-to-roll, similar to newspaper printing, OLEDs will be much cheaper to produce than automobile-like assembling of LEDs with many components from various sources. OLEDs can be inserted into windows to be either transparent or translucent with changing color. Interior designers could use them in straight or curved surfaces or as wallpaper. Emergency crews could have safety clothing that is lit with OLEDs. Indeed, applications are limited only by the designer’s imagination. One of the biggest drawbacks so far is the life of the battery or other movable power source. Latest lithium-ion batteries use 1/10 the energy and last 10 times as long as previously.
With the rapid developments in lighting technology, as soon as the designer gets used to LEDs, there will probably be an even newer technique to learn, so stay tuned.
Lighting designer’s checklist
Here is a partial checklist for designing and specifying LEDs:
- Suitable applications for LEDs?
- Indoor or outdoor use?
- Total system price and payback time?
- Transition from ac to dc?
- Voltage: high or low?
- Range of dimming ability?
- Dimming without color shift?
- Lamp life?
- Light levels? Some specifiers slightly over-design and initially under-run to extend lamp life.
- Relative price compared to expected length of service?
- Uniform light distribution?
- Range of colors and dependable white?
- Physical effects of lighting on certain people?
- Photometrics compared to conventional luminaires?
- Suitable “open” controls (fully functional interoperability between devices of different manufacturers)? Programs like ZigBee may not yet be suitable for large installations.
- Unintentional color shift and stability?
- Color rendition?
- Replacement issues for individual failed chips?
- Heat dissipation for the driver?
- Effects of voltage change, harmonic and electromagnetic interference?
- Selecting of compatible interfaces and controls?
- Adequate space for retrofitting LEDs into existing fixtures?
- Possible additional air conditioning loads required?
- Temperature of the surrounding environment?
- Affected by adjacent lighting/HVAC/life safety systems?
- Architectural impediments for lighting operation?
- Appropriate resolution (high or low) for the application?
- Provisions for emergency lighting?
- Special conditions like seismic areas or wind?
- Combining several lighting products and techniques for exceptional effects?
- Is there LM-79 and LM-80 performance data?
Kay is president and founder of Conservation Lighting International and Building Conservation International. She is a member of the IESNA Board of Directors and is a past member of professional affiliations and societies including IAEI, AIA's Historic Resources Committee, ICOMOS, and International Council on Art Deco Societies. She is a member of the Consulting-Specifying Engineer editorial advisory board.
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Read more: 2015 Salary Survey | <urn:uuid:00bf55af-993d-40e9-ad52-b9e831b2cb4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.plantengineering.com/single-article/specifying-leds-for-commercial-use/4b2d2563a7c97290287fc721525edcb3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00026-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921504 | 4,928 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Raised vegetable beds are more convenient and efficient than traditional row plantings. Raised beds create ideal growing conditions with high quality soil and good drainage. Plants are closer together and easily cared for, producing a higher yield in a small space. The bed warms earlier in the spring, allowing earlier planting. Good irrigation is important since raised beds dry out faster than in-ground plantings.
Create a garden plan that takes maximum advantage of the space. Group vegetables together according to their maturity dates, so that an entire section of the garden is replaced at the same time. Plan to use the raised bed throughout the growing season. Have fall crops planned to replace the summer plants.
Plant seeds or transplants equal distances apart, rather than in rows. Allow enough room for the plants to just touch when mature. Follow the maximum recommended spacing on the seed packet.
Plant vining vegetables such as cucumbers, beans and tomatoes together in a row down the center or side of the bed. Provide a trellis or other support to grow these crops vertically.
Plant small, fast growing vegetables like radishes and lettuce between larger plants. Remove these plants as they mature, allowing more room as the larger plants grow.
Apply 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch around and between plants to help control weeds and retain water.
Water plants when the soil begins to dry out. Raised vegetable beds require more frequent watering. Apply 1 inch of water or more over the course of a week. A drip irrigation system or soaker hose is ideal for raised bed gardening.
Cover the beds with plastic or blankets during periods of freezing weather. Open the covers during the day for ventilation. | <urn:uuid:befaa0e7-57f4-477e-b40e-5fd0447f4773> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenguides.com/110394-plant-raised-vegetable-beds.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922645 | 342 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Cornwall is the southwesternmost county of England. As with other ‘extremities’ of the British Isles, it was one of the refuges of the original (partially romanized) Celtic inhabitants, fleeing before the invading Anglo-Saxons. Actually, when it was independent (during a period in the early Middle Ages known as the Heptarchy, when England was divided into 7 kingdoms), the Kingdom of Cornwall was also known as West Wales.
The people of Cornwall had their own Celtic language, closely related to Welsh and Breton, called Kernewek. This language has gradually died out, but has recently been revived; at present, there are approximately 3.500 speakers of Cornish, 300-400 of whom speak it fluently. A few people under the age of 30 have been brought up speaking Cornish. They are all bilingual in English.
This map shows the gradual retreat of Cornish – quite literally so: the progression of English, from 1300 til 1750, eventually pushes Cornish into the sea.
Image by Joowwww [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (here). | <urn:uuid:e183f5c0-af13-46b4-b9de-f527368fbf33> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/13-the-retreat-of-cornish | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979381 | 230 | 3.6875 | 4 |
In two excerpts from speeches given in 1946 and 1947 by Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, one can see the tightrope he walked in the years immediately following World War II as the Cold War loomed.
The Soviet Union was still ostensibly the United States' ally, though the ties that bound the nations were beginning to fray. The U.N. charter was still seen as the way to resolve all conflicts. But there is a plaintive note in his insistence that "international law…must be made to rest on the growth of a common fellowship."
Byrnes devotes much of the first speech to defending the United States against what he perceives as scurrilous Soviet propaganda, while at the same time striving to emphasize that cooperation does still exist between the two postwar superpowers. He insists that the United States and other nations are not "ganging up" on Russia and scoffs at accusations of a Western plan of "encirclement." He points out that there were many areas of agreement at the recent Paris peace conference and defends the Marshall Plan and indignantly rejects claims that the United States enriched itself during the war at Europe's expense. He repeatedly appeals to the U.N. charter as a way of resolving conflicts.
By 1947, his tone has grown more exasperated and aggressive. "Force does not make right," he begins, "but…power, as well as reason, does affect international decisions." He objects to Russia's refusal to waive its veto privilege, which has stalled atomic arms control negotiations. He also addresses Argentina's not living up to the Chapultepec Act (later formalized as the Rio Treaty), and makes a plea for more aid to poor countries in the form of increased support for both the International Monetary Fund and and the World Bank.
Whereas becoming secretary of state would be considered the culmination of a typical career, for Byrnes it was just one stop among many in one of the most impressive political journeys of the 20th century. Largely forgotten today, Byrnes was a powerful and savvy public servant for over five decades. Born in South Carolina in 1882, he rose from impoverished beginnings to be elected to Congress in 1910. In 1931 he was elected to the Senate, where he became President Franklin D. Roosevelt's chief adviser, shepherding much New Deal legislation through the congress. As a reward for his services, Roosevelt appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1941. But for a consummate wheeler-dealer the court proved a poor fit. He resigned less than two years later to become, as a New York Times editorial put it, "'assistant president' who managed the economy and mobilized the country during World War II."
Twice, Roosevelt seriously considered Byrnes as his vice-presidential running mate, opting instead for Henry Wallace and then Harry Truman. Thus it was Truman, not Byrnes, who ascended to the Oval Office after Roosevelt's death. Byrnes, who had been Truman's mentor in the Senate, was appointed secretary of state during a particularly delicate time in the nation's foreign affairs. As the Gale Encyclopedia of Biography recounts:
Byrnes's tenure coincided with the collapse of the wartime cooperation with the Soviet Union and the onset of the Cold War. As secretary of state, he tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the conflicting interests between the United States and the Soviet Union. To satisfy the Soviet Union's demand for security against Germany, he proposed a four-power treaty of alliance to keep Germany demilitarized for 25 years; but the Kremlin rejected this offer. His effort to resolve the atomic energy issue between the two powers in 1945 -- he suggested the exchange of atomic information without absolute and effective agreement on inspection and control -- met with opposition in Congress. Although unable to obtain solutions on either issue, Byrnes managed in 1946 to work out compromise peace treaties with the Soviet Union for Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Finland. On September 6, 1946, he delivered his famous Stuttgart speech, which called for the creation of an autonomous democratic German state. Increasingly, Byrnes adopted a tough posture toward the Soviet Union, but disagreements with President Truman led to his resignation on January 10, 1947.
At the age of 65, most politicians would have been content to retire. Instead, Byrnes went back to South Carolina, where he served as governor from 1951-55. His administration is remembered chiefly for its violent opposition to desegregation. This stance led to Byrnes' split with the Democratic Party. He endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower for president in 1952 and 1956. He also is credited with devising the "Southern strategy," breaking the Democratic "solid South" and enabling Richard M. Nixon (for whom he served as a campaign adviser) to be elected president in 1968. The scope of Byrnes' life in public service is summed up by this appreciation by the website byrnesscholars.org:
The South that produced Byrnes lacked industry, roads, and educational facilities, and moved slowly to correct these ills. It was small-farm- and factory-oriented with a strong emphasis on yesterday and little emphasis on tomorrow. This man, a product of Southern rural America who was conditioned by its values of individualism, became an international figure, who met with Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill at Yalta and Potsdam to forge the policies which dominated the world for the next 30 years. A man essentially conservative, with a conservative South Carolina distaste for change, he was instrumentally involved from 1932 to 1937 in some of the greatest changes this nation has ever witnessed.
James F. Byrnes died in 1972, at age 89.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection. | <urn:uuid:b90d9a70-7447-47bc-8973-6192aa587c1a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wnyc.org/story/207634-james-byrnes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975455 | 1,161 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Although Angry Birds is a great source for some cool physics, what about Bad Piggies? The nice thing about Bad Piggies is that it is easy to set up your own experiments since you get to build stuff.
Here I will try to find the masses of the different building blocks in Bad Piggies. There are two basic methods I can use. Both of them rely on some real-world physics that might not actually work in Bad Piggies.
Actually, since this post is a little bit longer than I expected, I have made a video showing you the basic idea. If you like, just watch the video and then skip to the end of the post to see the results.
However, if you skip to the end you might miss some awesome physics.
Take a look at this “contraption” in Bad Piggies.
If you make something like this, you will probably notice that often it will tip over to one side. Sometimes it will stay balanced. I think this is just the random nature of how these blocks interact. In general, if it slowly tips over I am going to say that it is balanced. But why does it balance?
Let me claim that for an object to balance, the counterclockwise torque must be equal to the clockwise torque. Here are a couple of key aspects of torque.
- Yes. Torque is really a vector. However, in this example the masses can only rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. It’s still like a vector.
- The magnitude of the torque depends on the product of the force and the distance from the force to point of rotation. The distance and the force have to be perpendicular.
Back to the balancing blocks in Bad Piggies. In that same case from above, let me show the torque from the two blocks on the end.
The block on the left produces a counterclockwise torque (let me just call this a positive torque to make it shorter) with a magnitude of:
Here, mb is the mass of one of the wooden blocks. The perpendicular distance from the point of rotation for this block is 4s where s is the length of one of the blocks. Since there is another wooden block on the other side of the beam, it will have the same torque but with an opposite sign. Really, if I wanted to calculate the total torque on this device I could write it as the following. Oh, Let me call the mass of the metal blocks mm where the “m” subscript stands for “metal”.
I probably didn’t need to write that out, but I did. The point is that the net torque from this device is zero. That I can ignore the torque from the device and just look at the torque from extra objects. Here is another case with some blocks that balance. I have highlighted the three blocks that don’t have a matching block on the other side.
For this, I can write the net torque equation (ignoring the symmetrical elements):
According to the torque model, this should balance and it seems like it mostly does. I guess physics works well enough in this case.
Using the Balance
Now it is time to just play around. With some trial and error, I found an item that has the same mass as a plain wooden block. Check it out.
Try that setup yourself and you should see that the fan is about the same mass as the wooden block. Sure, sometimes it will tilt one way, but sometimes it tilts the other way. Oh, there is something else. Maybe the distance from the point of rotation to the fan is different than the distance to the center of mass of the wooden block on the other side. However, the difference in distance wouldn’t be that large.
Another Experiment to Test Mass
I need a backup plan. If the mass of the fan and the mass of the wooden block is indeed the same, then they should move with the same motion vertically when lifted by a balloon. Here is a picture of that.
If you assume the vertical motion of the balloon with a payload depends on the mass of the payload, the motion says something about the mass. For this case, the two object have the same vertical motion – I will assume the fan and the wooden block have the same mass. Of course, there is much more that should be explored with regard to the vertical motion of a balloon – but I will get to that later.
Measuring More Stuff
Let me just pick one more object and go through the process of finding the mass. Since the wooden block seems to be the most common building element, I will use this as the standard mass unit. Thus the mass of the wooden block will be 1 wb (where wb stands for wooden block).
The most obvious element to look at next would be the pig, right? Here is a setup that mostly balances. I have highlighted the non-symmetrical elements.
The pig on the left is 4 blocks from the pivot point and so are the two extra wooden blocks on the right. This would mean that the pig has a mass of 2 wb. But let me check with the balloons also.
Yup. Looks good.
Now for more stuff. I am not going to measure all the elements – but I will try to get the important ones. If you are skipping down to look for the results, THIS IS IT.
For the elements with an asterisk by the mass, I was unable to verify the mass with the balloon method (due to a lack of elements).
I guess the real question seems to be: What will I do with this info? Now I can set up other experiments that depend on mass. Since I have a measure of mass, this can be used for all sorts of cool stuff. Hopefully, I will get another experiment up soon. This has way more opportunities than plain Angry Birds.
Let me do one more object in Bad Piggies. Why? Because the example I chose above turned out to be too easy. How do I come up with a fractional mass? Here I will look at the large metal wheel. If I try to get it to balance, I get something like this – which looks like it mostly balances.
If I just include non-matching elements, I get the following torque equation:
For cases that are difficult to balance, you could add extra wooden blocks to either side of the balance. But if this does have a mass of 7/4th of a wooden block, it would have the same mass as the metal block.
Looks like it works.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article. | <urn:uuid:49bb5325-57ac-4865-9276-ce78a3cef335> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wired.com/2012/11/the-mass-of-stuff-in-bad-piggies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94753 | 1,378 | 3.34375 | 3 |
A new National Research Council report chaired by University of Colorado at Boulder Distinguished Professor Frank Barnes calls for a stronger research effort on the potential health effects of exposure to radio frequency energy tied to the global explosion in wireless technology like cell phones, laptops and hand-held Web-surfing gadgets.
Requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from the National Research Council last year, the report was released Jan 16. The authors did not evaluate potential human health effects of radio frequency, or RF, exposure from wireless devices, but rather made recommendations on how to meet research needs regarding the technology, said Barnes, a distinguished professor in the electrical and computer engineering department.
"This is a very, very complex issue," said Barnes. "Obviously we are not seeing immediate short-term effects of such exposure, like people dropping dead on their cell phones. But in the long term -- 10, 20 and 30 years out -- we have a lot less information about potential effects from these types of wireless devices."
The NRC committee chaired by Barnes hosted a three-day conference on the topic last August in Washington, D.C., reviewing scores of studies and hosting testimony by more than a dozen scientists from nine countries. Barnes briefed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in Washington, D.C., on the 66-page report earlier this week. The NRC is the main operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Barnes said the committee recommended that future studies pay special attention to the effects of RF energy on children, adolescents, pregnant women and fetuses from exposure to hand-held devices as well as base-station antennas that transmit such signals. Although it is not known whether children are more susceptible, they could conceivably be at greater risk because of their developing tissue and organ systems, the report said.
Barnes said a large-scale epidemiological research effort involving 13 countries in Europe known as the Interphone Study is nearing completion and is providing researchers with a large amount of new data. "There clearly have been large changes in the use of personal wireless technology," said Barnes, who was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004.
The report authors recommended new studies on the changing designs of antennas used for hand-held wireless communication devices. While studies targeting RF energy radiation on the human head from cell phone antennas held against the ear have been conducted, some newer cell phones and Web-surfing devices have antennas in proximity to other body regions like the waist, requiring more study, Barnes said.
A number of studies also have shown a steep increase in mobile phone use by children, ensuring that younger generations will experience much longer periods of RF exposure, Barnes said. "The fact that some cancers have a 10-to-20-year latency period make these broad, long-term studies potentially important," he said.
"The health effects of RF on the human body is a very controversial topic," he said. "There are a whole lot of studies that do not show any health effects from RF, and a few studies that do show some effects. While some studies show "perturbed growth effects" in cells as a result of these frequencies, other studies have shown therapies using electromagnetic frequencies can facilitate bone healing, he said.
"We don't live in a risk-free world," said Barnes. "People take risks every day by driving, skiing and riding bicycles. In many ways, the risk people are willing to take is more of a question for philosophy than for science."
Barnes was the winner of the National Academy of Engineering's $500,000 Bernard Gordon Prize in 2004, the academy's top educational award which honored him for pioneering CU-Boulder's Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program. He has been a faculty member at CU-Boulder since 1959, specializing in optoelectronics, bio-electromagnetics and optical communications. He has authored more than 150 papers and supervised more than 30 doctoral students and 200 master's thesis students. | <urn:uuid:03157cd6-6297-4d2b-b07f-6730b93ba482> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2008/01/18/new-national-report-calls-more-research-health-effects-wireless | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957961 | 813 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Conservationists in Uganda are fighting a last-ditch battle to stop the destruction of a forest reserve by a sugar corporation friendly with the government.
The Mabira Forest Reserve, on the north shore of Lake Victoria, is home to 300 bird species as well as rare primates, and plays a vital role in the country's eco-system, storing carbon and regulating rainfall. The Mehta sugar corporation wants the reserve carved up so they can expand sugar cane plantations for biofuel production.
Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan President, is attempting to push through legislation that would strip the forest of its protected status. This would flout a deal signed with the World Bank in 2001 under which the government received £180m to construct a hydroelectric dam on the Nile in return for guaranteeing the forest's protection.
Mr Museveni said last week that handing the forest over for cane cultivation would create jobs and enable the sugar industry to compete in the region. He told a local newspaper that his government would not "be deterred by people who don't see where the future of Africa lies".
However, opposition MPs led by Beatrice Anywar have pointed out that the plan makes no economic sense. Sugar yields in Uganda are among the lowest in Africa, while the destruction will hurt the tourism industry, which is among the country's biggest foreign currency earners, and destroy the best source of food and income for the people of the Buganda Kingdom, which surrounds the reserve.
"Mabira is a biodiversity heaven and conserving it is a much better option than growing sugar cane," said Achilles Byaruhanga, executive director of Nature Uganda. "If a quarter of Mabira is chopped down, the effect on the forest will be far reaching, reducing the range of species, causing encroachment, erosion and siltation. There will be less water in our rivers, less rain, less carbon stored and fewer tourists."
In a report submitted last year to the environment ministry by the Mehta group, it was claimed that the area it wants is heavily degraded and of little environmental value. This was disputed by the National Forest Authority but the government responded by sacking the entire board.
The 75,000-acre Mabira forms the eastern part of the Guinea Congo Forest in central Africa. The RSPB's Africa officer, Dr Chris Magin, said: "Slicing up Mabira would be an environmental disaster and makes no economic sense at all."
The forest is only 20 miles from the capital, Kampala, and is home to a new £500,000 eco-lodge. It could become one of the country's main tourist sites.
The plans have faced enormous public opposition in Uganda, with at least three people killed in April after police broke up a demonstration against the destruction of the forest. The Mehta family, among the richest in the country, have close ties to the Museveni government and were among many Ugandan Asians who were tempted back to the country after the fall of Idi Amin. The Mabira plans have stirred up racial tensions, with protesters attacking a Hindu temple in Kampala.
Forests covered 40 per cent of Uganda in the 1970s. Recent studies indicate that has been reduced to 20 per cent and in the past 15 years rates of deforestation have accelerated above 2.2 per cent.
The conversion of an increasing proportion of the world's food crops into bio-fuel is pushing up agricultural commodity prices and spurring new sugar cane plantations throughout Africa. Andrew Mitchell, founder of the Global Canopy Programme, an alliance of rainforest scientists and NGOs, said the Uganda give-away could be part of a worrying new trend. "Ripping up rainforests for biofuels sets a dangerous precedent that will release far more carbon into the atmosphere than it saves. Uganda faces difficult choices but it is in danger of leading its people down a blind alley."
Economists and Environmentalists are concerned the consequences of a headlong rush into so-called "green fuels" could be to increase greenhouse gases and push up food prices, effectively starving the world's poor.
A report by Care International warned the deforestation risked starting drought and flood cycles and a reduction in the health and volume of Lake Victoria.
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At the Government Technology Conference's Security Summit last week, Keynote speaker Joanne McNabb, California's chief privacy officer, asked a poignant question: why does privacy matter?
For many reasons, it turns out.
For a start, it is a law. In California, privacy is a right defended by the state's constitution. "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy." [emphasis added]. There are nine other states in the Union which have constitutional rights to privacy.
Applying this to daily life can seem daunting given the way technology pervades society today. Citizens who pass multiple video cameras each day, or who have had their identity stolen might wonder if this right is being protected.
Which leads to another of McNabb's points: protecting privacy means keeping the trust of constituents. McNabb quoted a Gartner study which said that 46 percent of online consumers changed their behaviors due to fear of security issues. This translates to approximately 3.7 percent of the adult population.
Another reason that privacy should be important to those in office is that if ignored it can hurt people. People who have fallen victim to identity theft comprise a surprisingly high number of the population. In 2006 there were 8.4 million victims, according to a Javelin survey. Most identity theft issues are financial, costing on average $531 in out-of-pocket expenses, and an average of 25 hours to recover losses. The total cost of identity theft in the U.S. in 2006 was $49 billion.
"Beyond financial identity theft, there are rarer but very troubling kinds -- medical identity theft, for example, which has been called the information crime that can kill you," said McNabb. In this type, someone gets the personal information of a victim, such as a Social Security Number, and then receives medical care in another's name. This can "pollute" medical records with the diagnoses of other people. "So now you've got somebody else's diagnosis, somebody else's conditions in your medical file, and you don't know about it," McNabb explained. "So you're in being treated for something, and they think you are allergic to something you're not, or not allergic to something you are, and it can kill you. There's not a lot known about this yet... but it's a serious thing."
Although it can not physically kill us, the loss of democracy is also an important privacy issue. McNabb pointed out that "privacy is a necessary condition of individual autonomy and dignity" and that "our democratic form of government requires autonomous individuals who need a degree of privacy to play their various roles as citizens." Government accountability, secret ballot systems, and freedom of the press all hinge on having privacy of thought. Where most people grasp the metaphor of "Big Brother watching us," McNabb used Franz Kafka's The Trial to illustrate the downward spiral of a person's life when privacy and dignity are taken away.
Using technology can mean greater protection or greater threat to personal privacy depending on how that technology is used. For government agencies who collect and store the data on citizens, this means a "heightened responsibility to use personal information appropriately," McNabb explained. She suggested that information handling practices should be regularly re-examined "in light of new technologies and changing needs" and that it "doesn't mean just protecting personal information -- but continually reconsidering whether [it is needed] at all."
"Technology lets us collect lots of personal information, analyze it and manipulate it. But human beings must make the rules and establish the controls on using information," McNabb concluded. "Protecting privacy means protecting people."
The Security Summit was sponsored by Citrix, Oracle, Symantec and Verizonbusiness. | <urn:uuid:cde481de-3796-4c30-be7a-9c59ca2bd225> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.govtech.com/security/Privacy-Matters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960068 | 795 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Hi Sir or Madam,
It is very important for small dogs to eat on a very regular basis as they can quickly become hypoglycemic leading to seizures and serious health issues. I'm going to talk first about trembling.
Shaking or trembling in toy breeds could be due to hypoglycemia, liver shunt, or a neurologic response such as a seizure. Trembling can also be a sign of pain, stress and cold.
Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar and frequently causing trembling in small breeds. Feeding your dog smaller meals more frequently can help. If you suspect your dog is having low blood sugar you can put a drop of pancake syrup on your dog's tongue which should raise the level. Since your dog isn't eating that may have caused the trembling.
A liver shunt is usually a genetic condition. It is a condition where instead of the blood going through the liver and being cleansed, part of the blood is diverted around the liver resulting in a toxic buildup in the blood. These are commonly seen in yorkies. You can read about these here: http://www.malteseonly.com/shunt2.html
Seizures can manifest as trembling and a dog may not lose conscienceness. You can read more about seizures here: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_seizure_disorder.html
So if he is not eating that may lead to vomiting of stomach acids due to having an upset stomachand lead to hypoglycemia, so definitely get some karo or pancake syrup on his tongue to prevent hypoglycemia.
You will wnat to check his teeth and see if there is any darkened teeth, tartar buildup, broken teeth or red gums indicating irritation. A tooth issue can cause a dog to not want to eat. If you find any, buffered aspirin can be given to a dog with a dosage of up to 5 mg per pound every 12 hours for pain until your dog can be seen by your Vet. Keep in mind that a dog's body does not metabolize aspirin in the same way as a human and thus should not be given more than a day or two without contacting your Vet.
If this isn't a tooth issue and he has had a bowel movement recently, then it might be a stomach ache perhaps from an unusual treat or from something he ate. You can give your dog some pepcid or Zantac. Read about Pepcid dosages and usage information here: http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/famotidine-pepcid/page1.aspx
Zantac can be given to a dog at .25 to 1mg per pound every 8-12 hours. Read about usage here:
I'd start feeding your dog smaller meals 4 times a day taking up the food bowl afterwards. This way your dog will have food in its belly on a regular basis throughout the day. This will cut down on excess bile. I'd also add a spoonful of plain yogurt to your dog's food 2-3 times a week to add good bacteria to your dog's stomach to aid in digestion as well. The bland diet of boiled chicken and rice can be used for a few days. If your dog does fine, you can slowly reintroduce your dog's regular food into the chicken and rice mixture until it is all regular food.
If your dog has not had a bowel movement recently then you may be looking at constipation or an intestinal obstruction. You can read about these things below.
If she has had an unusual treat such as bacon, ham, or fried or fatty foods, that may have triggered a touch of pancreatitis. We would recommend witholding food for 6-12 hours and then offer small portions of bland food. However, you will need to be sure she doesn't become hypogycemic, so add some sugar to the water or get some nutrical from your pet store to be sure he is getting some nutrition.
If these things do not work for your dog, then your dog will need to go to the vet and have tests run to determine if a more serious condition is present. I hope this information is helpful to you. | <urn:uuid:7decf7e0-d8ea-4560-9fdf-9f67151ef7d9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.justanswer.com/pet-dog/4mkyh-shorkie-shaking-yesterday-not-want-eat.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00052-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953518 | 875 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Is it possible? A friend asked on Facebook and I thought my answer would take up way (Way!) too much room for a comment. Here is my rambling answer.
If you prefer workbooks it might be a little difficult to go totally free but it could be possible to do at a low cost. I have used Walmart workbooks (when our local Walmart used to carry them) for kindergarten and first grade. We picked some that were of interest to us and then added in books of interest from the library. Rainbow Resources and Amazon are good sources for low cost workbooks and I have found some used on Bookfinder.com.
I use Ambleside Online curriculum which is free. Ambleside is based on the education philosophy of Charlotte Mason. The curriculum, book lists and schedules, are free but you have to buy, borrow or steal your own books. Many of the books used are older so they can be found used at a low cost. Even if a person didn’t want to follow the curriculum exactly the book lists can be used as a guideline. Also, Simply Charlotte Mason has book lists (you can buythe books through them but you can just find your own.)
If I didn’t follow Ambleside then I would pick a history spine or overview history book and then add in biographies or historical fiction of the era being read for history.
For Math I’d use Kahn Academy (if your child is responsible enough to stay on track when they are on the computer). Here is a great resource for generating free math worksheets. I have used Math Mammoth’s math workbooks and found them reasonable in price for the down load. You have to print the pages but if you have multiple children who will use the books then it works out really well. When I purchased a workbook set I was also able to generate more worksheets as needed. Another free resource that I have heard about but not tried is MEP- Mathamatics Enhancement Program. It’s out of England and you have to print the worksheets (which are not cause and effect even though they are in the same sentence.)
As always, your library is a great resource. Now, if your library is…lacking… most places have an extended network that allows you to borrow books from other libraries in that network. Our library is also involved with Library2go where you can borrow audio and ebooks via the internet. I have looked around there but haven’t actually borrowed a book yet. I found it a bit frustrating to just browse for a book there but it’s easy when you know a title or author.
I have mentioned Bookfinder above but thought I’d expand a bit on what it does. It is a search tool that searches many used book sellers- used ones like Abe books, Alibris, Powels, Amazon, Half.com and many more. It will list according to price including shipping. I have found it very useful. I recently purchased books using Bookfinder and spent, on average, just over $4 per book including shipping.
Another free resource for books would be Project Gutenberg which has 42,000 free e-books. They have digitized many older books that are in the public domain. The books can be downloaded in different formats or read on your computer from the site. Ambleside has linked books in their book lists to Project Gutenberg when the book is available there. Another free resource that I haven’t tried yet but have often heard about is Librivox which provides free audio books. The readers are all volunteer but they have reviews so you can try and find readers you like. Google books is a good resource as well as free ebooks from Amazon. Sometimes a book will be free with Prime when normally it has a price or make use of their lending program.
Several resources for learning a foreign language for free are Livemocha and Byki. I have not used them extensively but have poked around the sites. I have a bit of a problem letting my kids loose on Livemocha because the free part requires you to record yourself speaking and having a Random Stranger (is that redundant? As opposed to a precise stranger?) evaluate you and then you are supposed to do the same for some other Random Stranger. It just doesn’t sit right with me. But our local library also has a way to access Livemocha’s pay side which I haven’t tried yet but keep thinking I should ask for the password. Has anyone tried that? I downloaded Byki’s free downloadable part and tried it, although briefly, and found it fine. I am sure there are a ton of other resources if you searched for them.
I don’t know of a writing resource but making a list of subject ideas that you throw out to the student as a writing start would work. A file could be made of pictures, beginning or concluding sentences, and general subjects where you could draw from when your brain seizes up. A free grammar resource is KISS grammar. I haven’t used it but I pointed the kids’ Latin teacher to it and she used many of his ideas. She had been having them diagram sentences with the lines that stick out all over and slant all different ways but she changed to underlining the noun, double underlining the verb, etc. and I think the students caught on faster. I think they didn’t have to remember which way the line was supposed to slant as it branched off from which word and could concentrate on naming the part of speech.
Other things to use are Amazon and Netflix streaming videos. Things like Magic School Bus and documentaries are wonderful resources for history and science. Many people read a book and then watch a movie based on the book and discuss the differences.
There are a ton of free or almost free resources out there. It’s a matter of looking and determining what is best for you and your family. One piece of advice I would give based on homeschooling for awhile now is try to get things lined up for the whole year before you start. I often get the first term done or half the year figured out and then get tired, think it’s enough and stop. But then I never get back to it and the end of the year ends up not being as… rich. If Mama ain’t prepared than no one is prepared. My kids are not going to go out and look up musical selections for a composer study for example. They may be wonderful kids but they do have a few failings. If I have to search all over the internet (and possibly get distracted by other things- look! a knitting project!) every time I need something later in the year then probably it’s not going to happen. My thoughts are “have a plan but be flexible”.
In conclusion, I think it’s possible to put together a good, free or almost free curriculum all it takes is a bit of planning and trial and error. In this age of the internet, there are truly amazing things out there that are available to us that never were before. | <urn:uuid:dd894739-79a8-459a-ae25-028644c1a244> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.charlynsweb.com/2013/08/06/homeschool-for-free/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00026-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967524 | 1,476 | 2.78125 | 3 |
This investigation has produced a lot of speculation, but in the end, a study that was published in 2007 seemed to have settled the issue. It was done by a veterinarian, Dr. Cynthia Marshall Faux, and a vertebrate paleontologist, Dr. Kevin Padian. That seems like a perfect team when it comes to figuring out what’s going on here. The veterinarian would understand the various physiological and anatomical features of living vertebrates and how they would change during the death process, and the paleontologist would understand the details regarding the fossilization process. Their conclusion was:2
It is not postmortem contraction but perimortem muscle spasms resulting from various afflictions of the central nervous system that cause these extreme postures.
So according to Faux and Padian, the opisthotonic posture occurs at or near the time of death (perimortem) due to problems related to the central nervous system. It has nothing to do with what happens after death (postmortem). Their study got a lot of press and was considered by some to be the final say on the matter.
That is, until last year.
In November of 2011, Alicia Cutler reported on the results of experiments in which she used dead chickens to study the effects of various postmortem conditions on the posture of the skeletal remains. She found that when dead chickens were laid out in sand, nothing really happened to the posture of their skeletons. However, when the dead chickens were immersed in fresh water, they went into the opisthotonic posture in a matter of seconds. This indicates that the death pose of fossil dinosaurs might be the result of postmortem water exposure. I saw the news story I linked above not long after it came out, but I decided not to write about it, since the results were presented at a meeting. I generally like to have a paper to read before I comment on studies that have been done.
Well, as far as I can tell, Cutler has not written a paper about her results, but sedimentologist Dr. Achim Reisdorf and palaeontologist Dr. Michael Wuttke have. They wrote a detailed paper reviewing all the work that has gone on related to this issue as well as their own experiments and investigations. They come to a conclusion that is very similar to Cutler’s.
In their paper, they examine two very well-preserved fossils that exhibited the opisthotonic posture and decide that what they see cannot be reconciled with the conclusions of Faux and Padian. However, such analysis contains a lot of speculation, to which the authors freely admit. To me, the more convincing aspect of their study is that they performed experiments similar to, but more detailed than, the ones done by Cutler, while still giving Cutler credit for her work. They confirm that when dead chickens are placed in water, they quickly attain the opisthotonic posture, and they even demonstrate the anatomical details as to why this happens. They also confirm that those same anatomical details are found in the dinosaurs that are typically found in the opisthotonic posture.
In the end, they conclude:3
From what has been presented above, it can be concluded that the formation of the “opisthotonic posture” in subaquatically deposited carcasses of long-necked and longtailed reptiles is the result of a postmortem process…this posture must be seen as a normal phenomenon that occurs during subaquatic gradual embedding of these sorts of carcasses.
In other words, right now, the fact that so many articulated dinosaur fossils are found in the opisthotonic posture is probably related to specific postmortem changes that occur as a result of being buried in watery sediment. Of course, that fits in perfectly with the idea that these dinosaur fossils are the result of the actions of a worldwide Flood.
1. Wagner A, “Über einige, im lithographischen Schiefer neu aufgefundene Schildkröten und Saurier,” Gelehrte Anz königl Bayer Akad Wiss 69:1-69, 1859.
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2. Faux CM, Padian K, “The opisthotonic posture of vertebrate skeletons: post-mortem contraction or death throes?,” Paleobiolology 33:201–226, 2007.
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3. Achim G. Reisdorf and Michael Wuttke, “Re-evaluating Moodie’s Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in Fossil Vertebrates Part I: Reptiles—the taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany),” Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 92:119-168, 2012.
Return to Text | <urn:uuid:a84452a3-86e3-4d9d-a860-937c5be13a18> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.drwile.com/?p=7118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957222 | 1,020 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Geophysical Research Letters, 36 (2009) L07502; doi:10.1029/2009GL037820.
A sea ice free summer Arctic within 30 years?
Muyin Wang (Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.) and James E. Overland (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.)
September 2008 followed 2007 as the second sequential year with an extreme summer Arctic sea ice extent minimum. Although such a sea ice loss was not indicated until much later in the century in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report, many models show an accelerating decline in the summer minimum sea ice extent during the 21st century. Using the observed 2007/2008 September sea ice extents as a starting point, we predict an expected value for a nearly sea ice free Arctic in September by the year 2037. The first quartile of the distribution for the timing of September sea ice loss will be reached by 2028. Our analysis is based on projections from six IPCC models, selected subject to an observational constraints. Uncertainty in the timing of a sea ice free Arctic in September is determined based on both within‐model contributions from natural variability and between‐model differences.
(Received 6 February 2009, accepted 5 March 2009, published 3 April 2009.)
2009), A sea ice free summer Arctic within 30 years?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L07502; doi:10.1029/2009GL037820.
Link to abstract: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2009GL037820.shtml | <urn:uuid:09eeaf52-4256-4736-8c16-e4a528521014> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://climatechangepsychology.blogspot.com/2009/04/muyin-wang-james-e-overland-grl-36-2009.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894591 | 356 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Certain characters are reserved for use in HTML (mainly < and >) and if you use them as content within a Web page the browser will become confused and think that they are part of a tag. Other characters may not be on your keyboard but you want to use them. If you use UTF-8 most normal characters (including those from most alphabets) will show properly but there will still be some problems.
To produce reserved characters (or those just not in your character set) you can use HTML entities. These are codes representing the characters:
- < (a less than symbol - <)
- > (a greater than symbol - >)
- (a space which will not be ignored by the browser - )
- © (a copyright symbol - ©)
- ° (a degree symbol - °)
- & (an ampersand - &)
- £ (a UK pound sterling symbol - £)
- " (double quotes - ")
Type the code where you want the symbol to appear in the text.
All entities start with an ampersand (&) so that is a reserved character like < and >.
As you can see many entities can be guessed at because they include an abbreviation for the symbol. If there is no symbol for the character you want you can use a numeric code such as < for less than.
To find the numeric codes just search for html entities. | <urn:uuid:a20c6e4e-7afc-4507-8531-b28c9964fe4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yourwebskills.com/specialchars.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939393 | 296 | 3.640625 | 4 |
France announced Sunday that it is set to open its archives from one of the country’s darkest hours, when the Vichy regime collaborated with the Nazi occupiers during World War II.
At the time, France was divided into a northern "occupied zone" under German military occupation, an area that included Paris, and a south-eastern so-called "free zone" in which France had sovereignty but was dependent on Germany. It was here that the Vichy government made its base.
From Monday the archives, which were previously only accessible to academics, can be "freely consulted" by citizens "subject to the declassification of documents covered by national defence secrecy rules”, according to a decree.
The archives include more than 200,000 documents relating to cases brought before special courts established under the Vichy regime, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported. They reveal details about the work of brigades made up of French citizens that targetted and rounded up Resistance fighters, communists and Jews during the German occupation.
The most sensitive of the files refers to the ‘shadowing’ of citizens – the tracking of individuals and Resistance groups suspected of activities in defiance of the Vichy state - records of interrogation and letters of denunciation in which French citizens were encouraged to spy and inform on one another.
Painful period of French history
France has a painful relationship with this portion of its past and particularly its treatment of French Jews with the Vichy government helping the Nazis deport 76,000 Jews from its territory during the war.
Jean-Pierre Azéma, a historian and specialist on the Second World War said that allowing public access to the archives was crucial to understanding France’s role during the Vichy period, but cautioned that any information extrapolated from the documents should be used responsibly.
“When we use these archival documents to understand the past, we need to exercise caution about the kind of conclusions we draw,” he said.
“There’s an obligation – that applies not just to historians – but to everyone who has the privilege of accessing these documents, to respect the honour of individuals.”
Under the new rules, access will be granted to documents related to the prosecution of war criminals in France, Germany and Austria as well as cases taken before military and maritime tribunals.
The opening of the archives comes 70 years after the end of the Second World War and five years ahead of the expiration date by which, under French regulatory laws, the public can apply to access declassified files.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Date created : 2015-12-28 | <urn:uuid:557264f6-dff3-48a3-8642-a45bbf3f2eaf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.france24.com/en/20151228-france-opens-nazi-collaboration-era-files-germany-vichy-world-war-two | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965827 | 543 | 3.09375 | 3 |
On This Day - 20 October 1916
Theatre definitions: Western Front comprises the Franco-German-Belgian front and any military action in Great Britain, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Holland. Eastern Front comprises the German-Russian, Austro-Russian and Austro-Romanian fronts. Southern Front comprises the Austro-Italian and Balkan (including Bulgaro-Romanian) fronts, and Dardanelles. Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres comprises Egypt, Tripoli, the Sudan, Asia Minor (including Transcaucasia), Arabia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Persia, Afghanistan, Turkestan, China, India, etc. Naval and Overseas Operations comprises operations on the seas (except where carried out in combination with troops on land) and in Colonial and Overseas theatres, America, etc. Political, etc. comprises political and internal events in all countries, including Notes, speeches, diplomatic, financial, economic and domestic matters. Source: Chronology of the War (1914-18, London; copyright expired)
Heavy enemy attack on Schwaben and Stuff Redoubts (Thiepval plateau) repulsed.
Mackensen attacks on whole line in Dobruja, gains ground on east and takes Tuzla.
Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: General Smuts reports enemy limited to south-east portion of Colony of which all ports and main lines of approach held by Allied.
Russian battleship "Imperatritsa Maria" sunk by internal explosion.
Greek Government agree to withdraw half Greek troops concentrated at Larissa and practically to place Greek Army on peace footing.
German Note to Norway on her submarine policy.
Revolution in Abyssinia. | <urn:uuid:5dd083d8-4a68-4fb1-b6a4-6ffc6edbcd56> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.firstworldwar.com/onthisday/1916_10_20.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891687 | 353 | 3.21875 | 3 |
The Dynamic Relationship between American Indians & the Constructed Wilderness of Yellowstone
- Thursday, January 23, 2014 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm
- Museum of the Rockies, Hager Auditorium - view map
Join Rosemary Sucec, cultural anthropologist with the National Park Service, for a fascinating presentation about a part of Yellowstone's history that is rarely revealed. As the original occupants of what we now know as Yellowstone National Park, American Indians were dispossessed of their aboriginal homeland in the 19th century when the concept of Yellowstone as an "untouched wilderness" was being constructed. Learn who those tribes are, how they lived in what became Yellowstone National Park, and the resource that compelled them to successfully re-engage with the Federal Government in the 20th and 21st centuries - actively restoring their presence in America's first national park. | <urn:uuid:01358c65-60ac-4efe-a3d9-f75ac4b3ffd4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://calendar.msu.montana.edu/events/11326&origin=msutoday | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959454 | 175 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Japanese beetle is a major turf pest in the northeastern United States. It is common throughout the state, being more numerous in cities. Japanese beetle adults feed on wide range of plants, preferring smartweed, grape, raspberry, rose, crabapple, linden, and willow. The grubs feed on the roots of grasses, vegetables, and ornamental plants
Japanese beetles feed during daylight hours from early through midsummer on the leaves of many trees and shrubs. They prefer sunny areas and will feed heaviest on the upper leaves of the plant, which turns brown.
Japanese beetle grubs (as well as several other white grubs) feed on the roots of grasses, vegetables, and ornamental plants. In general, 10 to 12 grubs per square foot or more will eat enough roots to cause dieback of the turf. The turf will turn brown and can be easily turned back like a carpet because few uneaten roots remain. The area not only becomes unsightly, but its usefulness may be reduced in golf courses, football fields, and other athletic turf. Heavily used areas or turf in dry years may become severely damaged with relatively low numbers of white grubs. Similarly, turf areas that are used lightly or irrigated may retain a good appearance with a relatively high number of grubs per square foot. The ability of the turf to replace eaten roots can compensate for high grub numbers.
Various animals are attracted to white grubs for food. Raccoons will roll back large areas of turf a foot or more wide to eat the grubs in the root zone. Armadillos dig holes several inches across and deep in searching for grubs. Skunks will typically dig up small, 2- to 3-inch diameter divots of sod to eat the grubs underneath. A single skunk may make 100 of these small holes per night. Insect-eating birds, such as starlings, will peck through the turf to obtain and eat the grubs. When a flock works over an area in this way, the result is a brownish area that on closer inspection is seen as damaged turfgrass plants. All of these animals will damage turf that appears to have as few as 3 to 5 white grubs per square foot, thus causing injury in areas where grub numbers are below as well as above turf-damaging levels.
Japanese beetle has a 1-year life cycle. Adult beetles emerge in late June in southern Illinois and early July in central and northern Illinois. They are 1/2 inch long, heavy-bodied, oval beetles that are metallic green with coppery wing covers. Visible along the sides of the body below the wing covers are a series of white spots formed by clumps of white hair. There are 2 similar spots of white hair below the wing covers on the rear end of the beetle. The beetles fly when disturbed, making a buzzing sound. Mating occurs in early morning and early evening, and the female burrows into the soil to lay her eggs. The adults hide in the soil from late evening through the night, remaining in the soil on cold, wet days. The adults hide in the soil from late evening through the night, remaining in the soil on cold, wet days. The adult beetles live for 4 to 6 weeks.
Eggs hatch in the soil about 2 weeks after being laid. The eggs hatch into larvae or grubs that are white, C-shaped, and have 6 legs and brown heads. Fully-grown grubs will be about 1 inch long. Grub feeding lasts from August into the fall. The grubs descend for the winter when the temperature in the root zone drops below 60 degrees F. They ascend to the root zone in the spring when the soil warms to 50 degrees F and feed for a short time before pupating. Adults emerge from these pupae from late June to early July as indicated in the preceding paragraph.
Japanese beetle adults can be controlled by handpicking or using insecticides. Because the beetles are numerous and cause damage for about six weeks and most insecticides last two weeks or less, repeated applications are necessary. To reduce insecticide use and cost, treat only heavily attacked ornamentals where the damage will be readily noticed, such as near building entrances. The health of even heavily attacked ornamentals is unlikely to be seriously affected because the damage occurs in the second half of the growing season after the leaves have already produced much of the food for the plant. Thus, treatment may not be necessary behind buildings, along alleys, and in other less obvious landscape areas.
Japanese beetle traps have been shown to attract beetles from two or more blocks away. However, once they have been attracted to the trap's vicinity, they frequently feed on nearby ornamentals rather than coming all the way to the trap. As a result, studies have shown that landscapes with Japanese beetle traps are likely to experience more damage than those without traps. Also, due to the long and frequent flights of adult beetles, reducing grub numbers in the turf or beetle numbers in the landscape has little effect on the number of adult beetles in the landscape the next year.
Japanese beetle grubs: Refer to the white grubs page for management suggestions. | <urn:uuid:70d6990e-10c5-40b7-9d58-15264c31a430> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://extension.illinois.edu/hortanswers/detailproblem.cfm?PathogenID=190 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963452 | 1,061 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Early and Middle Childhood Education Specialization
Who will I teach?
This specialization certifies you to teach students from Kindergarten to 6th grade.
What will I learn?
- use your knowledge of academic disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every child
- explore the needs of students in order to enhance the learning environment
- observe children and engage forms of assessment that are central to the practice of all education professionals
- develop your teaching style
- learn classroom management procedures and how to formulate curriculum for the year
Where can I teach?
Once you graduate, you will be prepared to teach Kindergarten to 6th grade in the public or private school sector. With an Early and Middle Childhood Education degree, you can also teach overseas! You are prepared to teach in any educational setting from a classroom to a museum to a cruise ship to a school in West Africa.
Did you know...
With one additional year, you are able to complete your Bachelor of Science in Education with Master of Science? This will build on your undergraduate coursework. Check it out! | <urn:uuid:df42b442-c680-4f98-b4db-051426e24288> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.barry.edu/education-undergraduate/about/early-middle-childhood.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945361 | 229 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Part of my research is looking at the fusion of short telomeres to other telomeres and other regions in the genome. I am trying to find a way to detect the fusion points in the genome which are unknown. Basically this would involve finding and sequencing a part of unknown sequence that is fused to known telomeric sequence. I have heard a bit about genome walking techniques such as inverse PCR and vectorette, but I am unsure of how they work and which would be best (if at all) for my project?
Any ideas/info would be greatly appreciated
Submit your paper to J Biol Methods today!
Finding fusion points in the genome by PCR
No replies to this topic | <urn:uuid:59429038-d732-4038-83b5-88ce865011bb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.protocol-online.org/forums/topic/14338-finding-fusion-points-in-the-genome-by-pcr/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96229 | 142 | 2.671875 | 3 |
A big part of the reason for our existence at The Science of Sport is the clear and creative presentation and discussion of scientific subjects and concepts. The idea was to make sports science more accessible, whether you're an interested reader, a coach, a high school teacher, a student, a scientist in an unrelated field, or a sports scientist.
Of course, we regularly deviate into debate and opinion, but it's the way in which concepts are presented that (we hope!) makes the subject more interesting. I've often felt that if you can go to a cocktail party or a dinner and talk about a scientific/analytical subject related to sport thanks to one of our articles and its discussion, then we've done our job!
Yet have you ever noticed how badly, in general, science present its data? You see this all the time in University courses, where often, the most accomplished scientists make the worst lecturers. Students pick this up immediately, when some lecturers cannot seem to filter their ideas, they don't appreciate the level of the audience they're speaking to, and they lack the visual 'discipline' to take data and translate it into clear and concise principles and concepts. I suspect all of you are remembering one such academic right now... (and if I happened to lecture you, you'd better not be thinking about me!)
The key here is that designing the research study, gathering the data, and performing the stats (which is the academic focus, most times) represents only part of the "journey". This is because data by itself is raw and has no significance beyond its existence. It must be related to other data, it must be aggregated or collected, analyzed, visualized and designed. They teach this as part of "systems thinking" in IT courses, and the following diagram, designed by a brilliant website called "Information is Beautiful" depicts this:
The ability to communicate becomes all the more valuable when a scientist goes OUTSIDE the academic world and must speak to the public or corporate world. Within academia, there is a level of acceptance of how data is presented - look at a dozen scientific journals and you'll see much the same style of language and graphics in every one. Tables and line graphs are common and the language is, for all but a few in the field, very difficult to follow. That's because it works in the field. But outside, whether it's to the public, or the corporate sector, the rules of the game change a little.
I learned this the hard way, incidentally, because in 2006, I deviated from my PhD and went to the UCT Faculty of Commerce to do a Post-graduate in Sports Management. There, I did marketing and finance, and spent 2 years working in the sports sponsorship industry, where a big part of the job was to put together presentations and show market-related, financial and sponsorship data to companies. Gone was the classic approach of line graphs, tables and standard deviations. I learned more about data presentation in those 2 years than in the previous 8.
And I can't help feeling that science loses out in this area, because it is often left to the individual to learn how to manage and present information. I was lucky, because in my supervisor Tim Noakes, I had someone who had a gift for the communication of science, and then I was fortunate enough to work in sports sponsorship and learn on that job. Not that I'm very good at it (it's not my place to say!), but I was at least given direct, tangible advice on how to do it. For the most part, it's neglected (I haven't seen it taught before) and so some succeed, but most fail.
And so in line with that, today is a post on the presentation of data, and specifically, the scientific evidence for popular health supplements.
Snake-oils and health supplements
Right, so here is the single best piece of data presentation that I have ever seen. It comes, once again, from the "Information is Beautiful" website, run by David McCandless (when you're done here, play around on the "Visualizations" tab on the top of his home-page. Amazing work).
So what you're looking at below is an image depicting the level of evidence and popularity of a range of health supplements. The higher the balloon, the stronger the evidence for the supplement (but only for the conditions listed in or linked to the bubbles).
The larger the balloon, the more popular it has been, based on Google hits.
So there's a lot to be said for this graphic. It's easy to follow - so obvious that I dare say anyone will understand it almost instantly. It's also concise - no need to read a 32-page review of the literature in a scientific journal to grasp the key points. For example, in one glance, you can see that Vitamin A lacks evidence, whereas Vitamin D has strong evidence. As easy as that. In fact, it's so easy to follow that I don't even need to comment on it...!
The graphic uses "relativity" (in the size and position of the bubbles) to get across those key points, and it uses colour to further emphasize strength of evidence. It's a masterpiece of clear and accurate data presentation.
And then most important of all, the evidence is just about as "stringent" as you'll find it - it comes from Cochrane reviews and PubMed analyses in which only randomized, double-blinded placebo studies were used. And this is a vital point - you cannot compensate for weak data with spectacular design and visualization. Or at least, you shouldn't.
This happens too often, and one of the challenges faced by science is that marketers and designers often end up working on projects with zero scientific backing, but they win the battle for "the mind of the consumer" because they know how to present what is actually hollow and worthless "science" in a much more appealing way (think Power Balance bands and other hocus pocus products that become "scientifically proven"). The end result is that you have this "debate" in which the companies present their visually impressive material and the science argues the "nuts and bolts", and in the end, the consumer loses (usually because it's easier to believe the fancy graphic than the dry science).
But wait, there's even more to it. Taking the above image, McCandless then turned it into an interactive graphic (click here to open in a new tab). Here, you can:
- Hover over each balloon to see which conditions it is effective for
- Click on "Show me" on the right hand side of the image to see which supplements are produced for each of the listed conditions
- (Most impressively), click on the balloon and you'll be redirected to the page which carries the evidence for the image - the Pubmed and Cochrane review papers.
This is the strength of evidence I was talking about earlier - it is indispensable, because without that scientific evidence, this would just be wallpaper that does more damage than good. And I dare say, this is part of the reason why many scientists will be skeptical of this kind of data. Bizarrely, there seems to be a culture that "if it looks too good, then it's probably not accurate or credible". (This is the data equivalent of medicine - if it doesn't taste terrible, it probably doesn't work...!)
A final point to make is that the "typical" approach to this kind of question (how effective are supplements?) would be to conduct a meta-analysis, and then publish the findings in a scientific journal, in 32-pages of black and white, scientific language and probably with multiple tables showing the level of evidence and the p-value.
This is as accurate as anything you see above, and it contributes enormously to the value WITHIN that field, but for anyone outside of the health science-academic world, it has little significance. The general public, as informed as they may wish to be, will not see that data - they will remain uninformed, not as a result of this knowledge not being available, but because it has not been translated and delivered to them in such an interactive, palatable (and stimulating) way.
I realize I may sound over-critical of science, and this is not my intention (I suspect some academics will have stopped reading at this heretic talk by now!)
Rather, I want to emphasize that science can be so much more effective, powerful even, if it meets with good design and presentation. Whether that means partnering with a designer like David McCandless (probably quite costly, but I believe worth it in many cases), or simply learning the discipline of turning words, tables and line graphs into meaningful and elegantly presented information, I think it's indispensable!
And lastly, here is a slide that was labeled as the "worst Powerpoint slide ever". It comes from the military, and shows part of the strategy in Afghanistan. Just for contrast... | <urn:uuid:abd3e429-c8ac-4245-b699-f2c7e5afa983> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://scienceofsport.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968344 | 1,850 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The German-French team of researchers redefine the status quo of solar cell technology
A new world record for converting sunlight into electricity has been set, as announced by the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Soitec, CEA-Lets, and the Helmholtz Center in Berlin. The researchers concluded that by developing an advanced structure with four solar subcells, an efficiency of 44.7% was noted. This breakthrough is a major innovation in the furtherance of solar electricity efficiency by 50%, while helping reduce overall cost. After three investigative years of intense research and diligence, 44.7% of the spectrum’s solar power efficiency is converted from infrared into electrical energy. Specialists observed that this 44.7% increase was gathered from the power of 297 suns.
This study’s prior advancement was announced in May 2013, when the German-French team of Fraunhofer ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti, and the Helmholtz Center Berlin observed a level of 43.6% efficiency.
The technology of concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), used in solar cell experiments and operations, doubles the efficiency of a PV power plant in areas that have much sun exposure. The method of III-V multijunction solar cells that is used to convert sunlight to electricity originated from outer-space technology; it has since been proven as the most efficient scientific method for solar cell advancements in the field. The multijunction solar cell is composed of several cells, each made from different III-V semiconductor materials, which are then piled together, one by one, to create a layered stack. Wavelengths of the solar spectrum are then subsumed by the single subcells.
Frank Dimroth, the Department Head and Project Leader who supervises the procedures at Fraunhofer ISE, is extremely proud of this fortuitous record-breaker. “This four-junction solar cell contains our collected expertise in this area over many years,” Dimroth states. He elaborates by explaining how developments for this advancements were a long-term collaborative effort, involving many professionals cross-using methods; “Besides improved materials and optimization of the structure, a new procedure called wafer-bonding plays a central role. With this technology, we are able to connect two semiconductor crystals, which otherwise cannot be grown on top of each other with high crystal quality. In this way we can produce the optimal semiconductor combination to create the highest efficiency solar cells.”
Leti CEO, Laurent Malier, praises the new record, revealing that it “reinforces the credibility of the direct semiconductor bonding approaches that is developed in the frame of our collaboration with Soitec and Fraunhofer ISE.” She elaborates by promising that there is a “broad path [that exists] in solar technologies for advanced III-V semiconductor processing.” Soitec manufactures concentrator module technology, employed in solar power plants where sunny conditions are common, and where direct radiation occurs in high percentages.
Currently, Soitec has CPV units in 18 different locations, including France, Italy, South Africa, and California. Malier affirms that solar technologies will pave the way of the future, ensuring that this efficient technology will increase its capabilities in the years to come. | <urn:uuid:e1652219-77f8-482a-940a-66014c8ce887> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.electronicproducts.com/Power_Products/Batteries_and_Fuel_Cells/The_Solar_Cell_World_Record_Has_Been_Broken_With_44_7_Efficiency.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933833 | 690 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Glossary of Common Government Terms
The acquiring of supplies or services by the federal government with appropriated funds through purchase or lease.
Business concerns, organizations, or individuals that control each other or that are controlled by a third party. Control may include shared management or ownership; common use of facilities, equipment, and employees; or family interest.
Assignment of Claims: This is done through ITSS when payment address needs to be changed to a financial institution. It is stored electronically and goes to finance for fund certification after CO makes changes. The two components of this are:
- Notice of Assignment
- Instrument of Assignment
Best and Final Offer (BAFO):
For negotiated procurements, a contractor's final offer following the conclusion of discussions.
Best Value: The expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government's estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to a requirement. A term applied to comparing proposals and ranking them from best to worst, not only on price but on all factors stated in the solicitation.
Business Information Centers (BICs):
One-stop locations for information, education, and training designed to help entrepreneurs start, operate, and grow their businesses. The centers provide free on-site counseling, training courses, and workshops and have resources for addressing a broad variety of business startup and development issues.
Certificate of Competency:
A certificate issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that the holder is "responsible" (in terms of capability, competency, capacity, credit, integrity, perseverance, and tenacity) for the purpose of receiving and performing a specific government contract.
Certified 8(a) Firm:
A firm owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and eligible to receive federal contracts under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program.
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations
A mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them.
Purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining supplies or services from nonfederal sources. Contracting includes the description of supplies and services required, the selection and solicitation of sources, the preparation and award of contracts, and all phases of contract administration. It does not include grants or cooperative agreements.
A person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings.
Contractor Team Arrangement:
An arrangement in which (a) two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as potential prime contractor; or (b) an agreement by a potential prime contractor with one or more other companies to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified government contract or acquisition program.
Defense Acquisition Regulatory Council (DARC)
A group composed of representatives from each Military department, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and that is in charge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on a joint basis with the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC).
Any person who enters into a contract with the United States for the production of material or for the performance of services for the national defense.
Determining the extent of Competition: Solicitation of three sources meets the requirement for maximum practicable competition for orders of $25,000 or less. Three is just a guideline. A list of sources should be maintained and continuously updated. The list should contain the status of each source (i.e. small business, veteran owned small business, small disadvantaged business, woman owned small business) to ensure that small businesses are afford opportunities to compete for simplified acquisitions. When using simplified acquisitions, maximum practical competition may be obtained without soliciting quotations or offers from sources outside the local trade area.
Direct Cite: Money does not go through the IT Fund. It is paid by the agency through DFAS. The vendor must go to DFAS to settle their account-it does not go through GSA. This money expires at the end of the fiscal year. Issued on a 1155 instead of GSA Form 300.
*Note: Not recommended to use unless IT Fund is low.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI):
Transmission of information between computers using highly standardized electronic versions of common business documents.
Emerging Small Business
A small business concern whose size is no greater than 50 percent of the numerical size standard applicable to the Standard Industrial Classification code assigned to a contracting opportunity.
An accounting term used to describe the net investment of owners or stockholders in a business. Under the accounting equation, equity also represents the result of assets less liabilities.
Fair and Reasonable Price
A price that is fair to both parties, considering the agreed-upon conditions, promised quality, and timeliness of contract performance. "Fair and reasonable" price is subject to statutory and regulatory limitations.
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
The body of regulations which is the primary source of authority governing the government procurement process. The FAR, which is published as Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations, is prepared, issued, and maintained under the joint auspices of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services Administration, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Actual responsibility for maintenance and revision of the FAR is vested jointly in the Defense Acquisition Regulatory Council (DARC) and the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC).
Full and Open Competition
With respect to a contract action, "full and open" competition means that all responsible sources are permitted to compete.
General Services Administration, the agency responsible for the Federal Supply Schedules and for buying and leasing office space on behalf of the Executive branch.
Incremental Funding: Used if the total task order is awarded and the dollar amount of the work is more than the client has available as the desired start time. Pricing for the project is totaled and assigned on the contract, but the pricing is charged incrementally as it becomes available. The overall scope of work and pricing does not change from the original proposal. The incremental funds are added by modifications, but the modifications are not supposed to add on to the period of performance or to add money on to the full amount of the contract.
Organizations that play a fundamental role in encouraging, promoting, and facilitating business-to-business linkages and mentor-protégé partnerships. These can include both nonprofit and for-profit organizations: chambers of commerce; trade associations; local, civic, and community groups; state and local governments; academic institutions; and private corporations.
IT Fund: A fund that is managed by the Government which agencies draw from to pay their costs. It is "no year money" meaning that it does not expire at the end of the fiscal year. It must be used to buy IT services and supplies.
In the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program, an agreement between a certified 8(a) firm and a mentor firm to perform a specific federal contract.
Justification and Analysis:
(over $100,000) Required for a sole source open market procurement that exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. This J&A must have a statement from the client as to why the procurement is required to be sole source and a Justification from GSA must accompany this in the official file.
(over $500,000) If a client requests a sole source or a particular brand name, they must indicate why and document it. An internal document is prepared and signed by the Contract Specialist, Contracting Officer, Contracts Program Director, and Competition Advocate. A routing slip, internal document that circulates through GSA for signatures, is used as a cover sheet for this document and the attachments are as follows (copies of):
- Funding document (MIPR)
Involves obtaining information specific to the item being purchased. The extent of market research will vary, depending on such factors as urgency, estimated dollar value, complexity of the requirement, and past experience. Some techniques for conducting market research may include any or all of the following:
- Contracting experts regarding capabilities to meet requirements
- Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements.
- Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical and scientific journals
- Querying Government date bases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions
- Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers
- Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources.
A business, usually large, or other organization that has created a specialized program to advance strategic relationships with small businesses.
MIPR (Military Interagency Purchase Request) - A funding source document accessed through ITSS for all branches of the military. Be sure to make sure the amount on the MIPR is more or the same as the contracted amount.
Modification: Authorized changes to a contract after contract award.
- Administrative Change: A unilateral contract change that does not affect the contractual rights of the parties, e.g., a change in the paying office.
- Change Order: A written order, signed by the CO, directing the contractor to make a change authorized by the "changes" clause. A change order is issued without the consent of the contractor.
- Supplemental Agreement: A contract modification that is accomplished by the mutual action of both parties.
Bilateral Modification: a contract modification that is signed by the contractor and the CO. Used to make negotiated adjustments resulting from the issuance of a change order; definitive letter contracts; or reflect other agreements of the parties modifying the terms of contracts.
Unilateral Modification: A contract modification that is signed only by the CO. Used to make administrative changes; issue change orders; or make changes authorized by other than a "changes" clause.
Contracting through the use of either competitive or other-than-competitive proposals and discussions. Any contract awarded without using sealed bidding procedures is a negotiated contract.
NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS): The new term for the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. It classifies establishments according to how they contuct their economic activity. Improved to accurately identify industries. Effective October 1, 2000. Can be found in the FAR 19.
NAICS code rundown:
- Look at dollar amounts and employee size for that NAICS Category.
- SUPPLIES: Look at dollar amounts for an average for the last 3 years.
* SERVICES/MANUFACTURING: Look at number of employees for the past 12 months
One-Stop Capital Shops
OSCSs are the SBA’s contribution to the Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities Program, an interagency initiative that provides resources to economically distressed communities. The shops provide a full range of SBA lending and technical assistance programs.
Other Direct Costs (ODC's)/Supplemental Resources: ODC's are the costs of facilities, supplies and services provided by the contractor in support of task order performance, that would normally be provided by the government. The CSR shall determine that the proposed costs are necessary and the ACO, that the prices are fair and reasonable.
- Delivery Order: work order against an existing contract for hardware/software.
- Task Order: work order against an existing contract for services.
A mutually beneficial business-to-business relationship based on trust and commitment and that enhances the capabilities of both parties.
Price Analysis: To ensure "fair and reasonable" prices. The FAR addresses 2 methods of analysis: 1) Price and 2) cost. Price analysis is the more appropriate method when using simplified acquisition procedures b/c its less complex, less time consuming, and less expensive.
- Competing offers
- Est. catalog prices/market prices
- Price set by law or policy/regulations
- Previous contracts
- Previous quotes
- Prices of similar items
- Government estimates
- Visual analysis
- Value analysis
Price Negotiation Memorandum:
This document is used if GSA enters negotiations and indicates the prices are fair and reasonable. Done with all 8(a)'s over $100,000.
A contract awarded directly by the Federal government.
Procurement Plan: Completed for 8(a) businesses and provides an outline of actions for the contract. An internal document. Contract Specialist and a Contracting Officer sign-off on.
A firm in a developmental stage that aspires to increasing its capabilities through a mutually beneficial business-to-business relationship.
Purchase Order: should include:
- Specific date for delivery of supplies or performance of services
- Appropriate clauses
- Trade and prompt payment discounts
- Quantity of items or scope of services
- Provisions for inspection & acceptance at destination
---If an offer is by the Government to supplier to buy certain supplies or services under specified terms or conditions:
- Issued on fixed-price basis and can't be open market in excess of $100,000
PO Becomes a contract when:
- Acceptance of the order in writing is obtained at the outset by the contractor
- The contractor proceeds with the work to the point of substantial performance
- The contractor furnishes the supplies or services
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A document outlining a government agency’s requirements and the criteria for the evaluation of offers.
The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is a 12,400-member volunteer association sponsored by the SBA. SCORE matches volunteer business-management counselors with present prospective small business owners in need of expert advice.
SES: Senior Executive Service
SEWP CONTRACTS: NASA Contracts which have been pre-competed so no additional competition is required. NASA charges a .75% access fee.
A business smaller than a given size as measured by its employment, business receipts, or business assets.
Small Business criteria:
- Entire business entity is considered (including parent company)
- The business does not dominate the fields it operates in.
- Must be organized for profit.
- Must be listed within the SBA to know NAICS (SIC) code standards that apply to them.
- Must meet employee and income requirements to meet small business classification (NAICS codes)
Socially Disadvantaged Business:
- Must meet NAICS (SIC) code standards-size and income
- More than 50% ownership must be: 1) African Americans; 2) Hispanic Americans; 3) Native Americans
- Day to day operations must be run by a person in one of these groups
- NOT CONSIDERED A SET ASIDE
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
SBDCs offer a broad spectrum of business information and guidance as well as assistance in preparing loan applications.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Contract
A type of contract designed to foster technological innovation by small businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The SBIR contract program provides for a three-phased approach to research and development projects: technological feasibility and concept development; the primary research effort; and the conversion of the technology to a commercial application.
Small Disadvantaged Business Concern
A small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more such individuals.
Spot Reductions: a small reduction form your regular GSA Schedule price for a specific agency, usually a one-time event.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code
A code representing a category within the Standard Industrial Classification System administered by the Statistical Policy Division of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The system was established to classify all industries in the US economy. A two-digit code designates each major industry group, which is coupled with a second two-digit code representing subcategories.
A contract between a prime contractor and a subcontractor to furnish supplies or services for the performance of a prime contract or subcontract.
WOMAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS:
- Must meet NAICS codes
- More than 50% ownership must be women
- Day to day operations must be run by a woman | <urn:uuid:5b78ecff-fc1a-4ead-86d4-3adb2aa11027> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.governmentexpress.com/articles-glossary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933446 | 3,376 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The table is also available to download as a pdf:
Compulsory age of starting school in European countries
This table includes information on school starting ages in the countries participating in Eurydice, the information network on education in Europe.*
The ages given are those at which children must commence primary education (ISCED 1), understood by UNESCO's International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) as the phase that is designed to give a sound basic education in reading, writing and mathematics, along with an elementary understanding of other subjects. In a number of countries, pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory and/or most children start school before it is compulsory. In these cases, more information is provided in footnotes.
Northern Ireland 1
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark6, France, Germany, Greece7, Hungary8, Iceland, Republic of Ireland9, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg10, Netherlands11, Norway, Portugal, Romania12, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland13, Turkey
1 Northern Ireland: has the lowest statutory age of entry to school. The compulsory school starting age in Northern Ireland was changed from five to four years in 1989 because it was thought that all children would benefit from spending a total of 12 full years at school (seven years at primary school and five at secondary school).
2 Cyprus: Compulsory school age is reached by children who are five years eight months old before 1 September. Pre-primary education is compulsory for five-to six-year-olds, that is, for one year, for children who are four years and eight months old by 1 September.
3 England: Children reach compulsory school age at the start of the school term following their fifth birthday, which may be in September, January or April. If they turn five in September to March, they will start in the reception class (ISCED 0). Most children enter primary school before they reach compulsory school age, most commonly in the September following their fourth birthday and thus spend a full year in the reception class.
4 Scotland: Compulsory education starts at age five, although many children start at four because schools have a single intake at the beginning of the school year. Local authorities set a cut-off date (normally 1 March) defining the cohort of children eligible to start school at the beginning of the following school year (normally in August). This means that Scottish children do not usually start school below the age of four years and six months.
5 Wales: As in England, children reach compulsory school age at the start of the school term following their fifth birthday, which may be in September, January or April. If they turn five in September to March, they will start in the reception class (ISCED 0). Most children enter primary school before they reach compulsory school age, most commonly in the September following their fourth birthday and thus spend a full year in the reception class.
6 Denmark: Compulsory school age was reduced to six from seven in August 2008, though for the first year, this is pre-primary education (ISCED 0).
7 Greece: Pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory for children who have reached the age of five by 31 December of the year in which they enrol.
8 Hungary: Kindergarten (ISCED 0) attendance is compulsory at age five. From 2014, it will become compulsory from age three.
9 Republic of Ireland: Although education is not compulsory until age six, approximately 40 per cent of four-year-olds and almost all five-year-olds are in publicly-funded provision in the infant classes of primary schools (ISCED 1). Four year olds in early education and care outside of schools are classified as working at ISCED 0. (Personal communication from the Department of Education and Skills, Republic of Ireland, 2 April 2013.)
10 Luxembourg: Pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory from age four.
11 Netherlands: Schooling is compulsory from age five, and ISCED 1 commences at age 6, but virtually all children start school at four.
12 Romania: Compulsory school age was reduced from seven to six from 2003/04. (At the same time, the period of compulsory education was extended from eight to ten years.)
13 Switzerland: Currently, the starting age for compulsory education ranges from four to six depending on the canton, but will be harmonised to four by 2015/16. Children start primary school at age six but there is some variation between cantons as to the qualifying date.
14 Bulgaria: A year of pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory for six-year-olds.
15 Latvia: Pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory for five- to six-year-olds.
16 Poland: As from 2011, kindergarten (ISCED 0) is compulsory from age five. The age of starting primary education (ISCED 0) is being lowered from seven to six between 2009 and 2014; from 1 September 2014 it will compulsory from age six.
17 Serbia: Pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is compulsory for six-year-olds.
*The Eurydice Network includes the Member States of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lativa, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom); the three countries of the European Free Trade Association which are members of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway); and Croatia, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.
Last updated April 2013 | <urn:uuid:8f62fb99-ad1e-4175-98ca-2e29d3fa3949> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/index.cfm?9B1C0068-C29E-AD4D-0AEC-8B4F43F54A28 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962099 | 1,181 | 3.328125 | 3 |
In the U.S. and Europe, organic farms are generally more profitable because of higher prices and/or lower input costs than conventional farms. In developing countries, the profit margin is greater for organic farms because they have greater yields and higher prices than their non-organic counterparts have.
Yields in well established organic farms are most often lower than conventional. However, American studies showed that in wetter areas (e.g., the Corn Belt), conventional yields are higher than organic, but in dry areas, organic yields surpass conventional. In developing countries, organic yields are generally higher than conventional, but are much higher under less favourable conditions (e.g., drought).
If yield comparisons took into account the quality of the target crop, this could compensate for lower yields of organic farms in industrialized countries. When comparing relative yield and composition of vegetables over 12 years, conventional farms yielded 24% more, but organic vegetables had 28% higher dry matter. Also, organic produce has also been found to have higher levels of vitamins, minerals, healthy fatty acids and phytonutrients.
Production costs are generally lower for organic farms. Most European studies found that variable (operating) costs are 60-70% lower but fixed costs were higher, compared to conventional farms. Overall, the total production costs of organic farms are lower.
Data are based on relatively cheap input costs. The increase in the price of fossil fuels is creating an increase in the cost of related inputs. This will likely have the greatest effect on conventional farms, particularly those that rely heavily on fuel, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Among organic farms, the operations that are highly mechanized and dependent on the use of plastic mulch will be most affected.
Production costs vary with regions. For example, in the U.S., organic dairy farms in Wisconsin have lower feed and labour costs than similar New England farms, and are consequently more profitable. Throughout North America, the higher cost of organic feed creates the greatest differences in the economic performance of organic and conventional dairies.
Labour costs, however, are often greater on organic farms. European studies found labour costs to be 10-20% greater than on comparable conventional operations. Interest on loans is not often considered in calculations of production costs; however, conventional farmers have significantly higher debt loads than organic farmers, particularly those in developing countries.
Organic farms have lower yields than conventional, but this is compensated for by lower costs of production and higher prices for organic products. In some cases, the organic price premium is needed to provide greater gross margins. Nemes writes, "Reliance on price premium may jeopardize the long-term economic viability of organic farming. Since the market for high-value crops can get saturated, and premiums can fall as a consequence, a strategy of diversification is advised..."
Profitability, Nemes argues, goes beyond the balance sheet. Farming incurs environmental, health and social costs. The environmental costs include damage from soil erosion, water pollution and destruction of wildlife habitat. In general, conventional agriculture contributes more to these problems but does not pay the associated costs incurred by society at large.
"Organic agriculture," Nemes concludes, "faces an unfair competition in the marketplace due to:
- the distorting effect of current subsidy schemes that favour conventional production;
- the unequal availability of research and extension services; and
- the failure to capture the real environmental, social and health externalities in market prices of conventional foods."
If subsidies and extension services were less biased towards conventional production, organic yields may increase and organic farming could become even more profitable. If the actual costs (i.e., environmental, social and health consequences) of agriculture were considered, the true profitability of organic farming could be measured.
Nemes, Noémi. 2009. "Comparative analysis of organic and non-organic farming systems: a critical assessment of farm profitability." Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Natural resources management environment department. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/ak355e/ak355e00.pdf | <urn:uuid:488be46c-4eb8-471f-82f3-2d165382f382> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://organicalberta.org/news/is-organic-farming-more-profitable | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94261 | 836 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Web Date: May 15, 2013
Energy-Storing Nanomaterial Made From Hemp
Graphene might one day be used in batteries, solar cells, transparent electrodes, and a host of other electronic gadgets. But graphene is still quite expensive to make. Now researchers at the University of Alberta have demonstrated a low-cost process for turning agricultural waste into graphenelike nanomaterials for use in energy storage electronics (ACS Nano 2013, DOI: 10.1021/nn400731g).
With high surface area and conductivity, graphene is ideal for use as electrodes in batteries and supercapacitors, which are energy storage devices that excel at providing quick bursts of power. Supercapacitors charge and discharge faster than batteries can because they store energy in the form of fast-moving charges on the surfaces of their electrodes. Currently, supercapacitors are used in braking systems for buses and fast-charging flashlights.
Commercial supercapacitors use activated carbon electrodes, but experimental devices made with graphene can store more energy. Unfortunately, graphene’s production costs can’t come close to competing with the price for activated carbon, about $40 per kilogram, says University of Alberta chemical engineer David Mitlin.
Part of Mitlin’s research is finding ways to use plant waste as feedstocks for commercial materials. He thought he could transform waste from the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa) into a carbon nanomaterial that had similar properties to graphene and with a much smaller price tag. The cannabis plant’s notorious use is for producing marijuana, but people also grow the plant to use its fibrous parts for products such as rope, clothing, oil, and plastics. The plants used for these industrial applications are referred to as hemp, and have lower levels of psychoactive compounds. Hemp is relatively inexpensive, since the plant grows rapidly in a variety of climates without the need for fertilizer and pesticides.
Mitlin and his colleagues focused on a barklike layer of the plant called the bast, which is usually incinerated or sent to landfills during industrial hemp production. “Hemp bast is a nanocomposite made up of layers of lignin, hemicellulose, and crystalline cellulose,” Mitlin says. “If you process it the right way, it separates into nanosheets similar to graphene.”
The Alberta researchers start the process by heating the bast at 180 °C for 24 hours. During this step, the lignin and hemicellulose break down, and the crystalline cellulose begins to carbonize. The researchers then treat the carbonized material with potassium hydroxide and crank up the temperature to 700 to 800 °C, causing it to exfoliate into nanosheets riddled with pores 2 to 5 nm in diameter. These thin, porous materials provide a quick path for charges to move in and out, which is important when a supercapacitor charges and discharges.
The team built a supercapacitor using the nanosheets as electrodes and an ionic liquid as an electrolyte. The best property of the device, Mitlin says, is its maximum power density, a measure of how much power a given mass of the material can produce. At 60 °C, the material puts out 49 kW/kg; activated carbon used in commercial electrodes supplies 17 kW/kg at that temperature.
Liming Dai, a chemical engineer at Case Western Reserve University, says the hempbased material shows promise as a low-cost substitute for graphene. Yury Gogotsi, a materials scientist at Drexel University, sees room for improvement. He points out that the 24-hour high-temperature process will have some associated costs when scaled up. But he’s impressed by this first step. Finding scalable production methods like this one will be key, Gogotsi says, if researchers want to move nanostructured materials out of the lab and into the marketplace.
- Chemical & Engineering News
- ISSN 0009-2347
- Copyright © American Chemical Society | <urn:uuid:bbd473a3-bbef-46ba-8a19-cdf021c7e3ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/05/Energy-Storing-Nanomaterial-Made-Hemp.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926734 | 848 | 3.59375 | 4 |
The Music Tree: Keyboard Technic, Part 3
By Frances Clark, Louise Goss, and Sam Holland
Piano - Frances Clark Music Tree
A comprehensive new compendium of essential exercises and etudes to be used with Music Tree 3. The exercises prepare for each technical problem that occurs in the repertoire, while the etudes provide a variety of musical experiences using each technical skill. Illustrations and explanations help students understand and master each aspect of the technic as it is presented. | <urn:uuid:ce685808-7891-4777-825e-c08a9ef4429f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://alfred.com/Products/The-Music-Tree-Keyboard-Technic-Part-3--00-00380.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.783291 | 98 | 2.625 | 3 |
Impact of climatic variability and change on river flow regimes in the UK
Arnell, N. W.; Brown, R. P. C.; Reynard, N. S.. 1990 Impact of climatic variability and change on river flow regimes in the UK. Wallingford, Institute of Hydrology, 154pp. (TFS Project T12052a5, IH Report No.107)Before downloading, please read NORA policies.
The objectives of this report are to examine past variability in river flow regimes, concentrating in particular on recent years, and to consider the possible consequences of future climate change for river flow regimes in the United Kingdom. The geological and climatic characteristics of a catchment determine how variations in rainfall from year to year impact upon river flow variability. In general terms, the drier the catchment (as indexed by the proportion of rainfall which runs off from a basin) and the lower the base flow component, the greater the variation in flow regime between years. There is some evidence that years containing similar hydrological characteristics tend to cluster: wet winters tend to follow wet winters, for example. There is no conclusive evidence, however, that 'recent' years (excluding 1989 and 1990) have seen an unusually large number of extreme events, although the test used is rather conservative and the period defined as 'recent' influences the results. Annual and seasonal runoff totals during the 1980s were generally higher than in previous decades, and there are some indications that year-to-year variability was also higher. Data from 1989 and 1990 were not included in the analysis. Future changes in UK flow regimes depend very significantly on assumed changes in evapotranspiration and, particularly, precipitation, which are currently very difficult to predict. The study therefore examined the sensitivity of river flow regimes to a range of feasible climate change scenarios, biased towards generally wetter conditions but assuming both wetter and drier summers. Simple regression-type relationships were considered, but most of the analyses used monthly water balance models applied at a range of representative sites. Changes in average annual runoff under a given climate change scenario were found to depend strongly on catchment dryness. If potential evapotranspiration is assumed to remain constant, for example, a 10% increase in annual rainfall could produce up to 30% extra runoff in south east England, whilst in more humid western regions it would result in only an additional 12 to 15%. Increases in average annual rainfall of between 8 and 10% would be required to offset the effects of 15% higher potential evapotranspiration. The effect of drier summers on summer river flows depends upon the current summer water balance and catchment geology: the greatest relative reductions are expected in responsive catchments which currently have a close balance between rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. In catchments with a large groundwater storage, delayed drainage of additional winter rainfall may mitigate the effects of drier, warmer summers.
|Item Type:||Publication - Report (UNSPECIFIED)|
|Programmes:||CEH Programmes pre-2009 publications > Other|
|CEH Sections:||_ Pre-2000 sections|
|Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:||scanned legacy working document|
|Additional Keywords:||climatology, climatic change, flow regimes|
|NORA Subject Terms:||Meteorology and Climatology
|Date made live:||10 Feb 2009 12:37|
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2 Answers | Add Yours
This all depends on what the subjects are you are teaching. The most important aspect is to find out how much overlap there is between subjects. If you have reading and social studies, teach reading strategies with the social studies book. Find math problems that are relevant to the other subjects.
What this does is help students learn that all of the subjects you are teaching are related to each other. What this takes is extra planning in the beginning, because you need to make sure you are setting up your formative and summative assessments in ways that are for the learning objectives of each subject, so you can disaggregate the data. If you set up the work the students do in such a way that they are able to move from one subject to another without saying to themselves, "this is math, this is science..." it would be a bonus.
We’ve answered 328,030 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:5fc6a0b3-e2af-4e69-a829-6a39b2d2080c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enotes.com/teacher-help/have-four-subjects-one-class-how-can-teach-each-428085 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972927 | 198 | 3.703125 | 4 |
Though it would be strange for many of us to have our mobile phone talk to us, for those with disabilities, such as the visually impaired or those who are dyslexic, it would be a blessing. A company called K-NFB Reading Technology has created a new technology that allows for a Nokia N82 mobile phone to become the smallest text-to-speech reading device in history. The technology was developed in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind and Kurzweil Technologies.
The Nokia N82’s high resolution camera makes it the perfect choice to support the new technology. That’s because the technology works by having the user snap a picture of something he or she would like read. The software built into the phone then uses character-recognition to read the text back to the user. If a user is able to see the mobile phone’s screen, then the user also has the option to enlarge, read, track, and highlight the text.
What a fantastic use of technology! Best of all, the technology has been put into something many of us carry with us every day; a mobile phone. So, there is no special gadget someone who has a disability would have to buy or carry. He or she can simply pull out a mobile phone to make an area of life a little easier.
Read more from the K-NFB Reading Technology press release (pdf). | <urn:uuid:eafc2afb-3d9b-4ed4-a74a-9204cac527f5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.geek.com/mobile/the-mobile-phone-that-reads-for-you-572590/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963733 | 287 | 2.921875 | 3 |
(Received 24 November 1997; accepted 27 March 1998)
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Cite this document
Heatstroke represents the most severe form of the heat-related illnesses. Potentially fatal, heatstroke most often affects the elderly, obese, or chronically ill. Thyroid disease, which may interfere with the normal regulation of body temperature, has not previously been reported in cases of heatstroke. A fatal case is reported in a young woman discovered unconscious in a sauna who was found to have preexisting Hashimoto's thyroiditis on subsequent autopsy. The diagnosis of hypothyroidism in heatstroke rests on clinical information and morphologic observations. This case underscores the importance of evaluating the thyroid in unusual cases of heatstroke.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
Stock #: JFS14393J | <urn:uuid:1ef94dc9-5030-4007-96e2-de02e8106beb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/JOURNALS/FORENSIC/PAGES/JFS14393J.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.878482 | 191 | 2.59375 | 3 |
100_1: THE UTOPIC, DYSTOPIC, AND HETEROTOPIC HISTORIES OF THE 20th CENTURY TECHNOLOGY
1912: Progress, Technology, and Nature
Fran Leadon, City College of New York
The ACSA was founded in 1912, a pivotal moment in the Progressive Era, when American architects were struggling to cast off nineteenth-century historicism while grappling with how best to represent emerging technologies. Both Cass Gilbert’s Woolworth Building and Warren & Wetmore’s Grand Central Terminal were nearing completion at the beginning of 1912, and both were essentially modern buildings cloaked in the forms of revivalism: the Woolworth Building, marketed as an opulent “vertical ocean liner,” was at heart a steel frame draped in Gothic Revival clothes, while Grand Central was a Roman Revival temple masking the largest matrix of railroads in the world.
1912 marked the ascent of Woodrow Wilson as the face of the Progressive movement, and when explorers reached the South Pole for the first time, in January of that year, the discovery seemed to foreshadow an era of limitless technological possibilities. Cities in particular became epicenters of Progressive ideals, exploding in both physical density and symbolic meaning, laden with the potential of urban-based technology: Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco pulsated with electric arc streetlights, speeding automobiles, hurtling subways, and elevated railroads. At the beginning of 1912, technology seemed poised to dominate nature.
But nature won a knockout round in April 1912, when RMS Titanic, a technological wonder, symbol of progress, and last artifact of the flickering Gilded Age, collided with an iceberg and sank in the north Atlantic. Only two years later Europe descended into the unimaginable horrors of World War I, and faith in technology as a form imbued with historical precedent was lost forever. Modernism as a style began to take over from nineteenth-century revivalism as the “look” of technology, and architecture, in turn, began to take aesthetic cues from machines. Architecture as a profession emerged from World War I less interested in building “vertical ocean liners” and more interested in discovering what William Cronon refers to as second nature: design – whether of factories, housing, offices, bridges, dams, or transportation systems – so ingrained in its environment that it becomes a seemingly “natural” occurrence.
This session invites papers that look back at the watershed moments of the last 100 years, beginning in 1912, to explore the relationship between architecture, progress, technology, and nature. Paper topics might include technology’s influence on architectural style; shifting definitions of “progress” (from the construction of New Law tenements during the Progressive Era and demolition of those same tenements during the Urban Renewal years, to historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and today’s preoccupation with sustainability); how cataclysmic events (the sinking of the Titanic, the World Wars, the Great Depression, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, September 11, Hurricane Katrina) have shaped architecture; and how architects have defined the “nature of nature” as both a technological and progressive issue (Wright’s pastoral ideal vs. Le Corbusier’s obsession with efficiency, for example). This session especially seeks papers that look back to the Progressive Era in order to speculate on how “progress” might be redefined in the years ahead.
100_2: THE EARLY CONSOLIDATION OF A DIGITAL DESIGN PARADIGM
1988–1997: Ambitions and Apprehensions of a “Digital Revolution”
John Stuart, Florida International U.
Sunil Bald, Yale University
While characterizations of decades to describe cultural and technological movements can seem arbitrary, they can also provide helpful starting points for further investigation. This session seeks papers that explore the period from 1988–1997, when architectural education and culture were undergoing a “digital revolution.” Roughly framed by MoMA’s Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition (1988) and the opening of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (1997), the decade offers fertile ground for inquiries into changes in architectural education and culture during a time when formal paradigms, techniques of production and representation, and accepted historical narratives were in a condition of particular flux. The ‘90’s arguably demonstrate the productive and transformative potential of an unstable and transitional period.
This ten-year span saw the use of Maya software in the creation of The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2 (1991), and of Jurassic Park (1993). Recent architectural graduates who used these programs were in demand by film studios and impacted the aspirations of future students and shaped architectural pedagogy. If the films provided optimistic dreams of bright futures for computer animation, the First Gulf War (1990), trademarked by televised infrared night views and the images of buildings caught in the cross-hairs of computer-guided precision missiles, offered technologically enhanced nightmares of political and economic upheavals for decades to come.
Just as technology opened new vistas for investigation during this period, architectural history flourished through new understandings of the past as well as recontextualizations of contemporary phenomena. From the inclusion of political ideology (Mary McLeod’s important essay, “Architecture and Politics in the Reagan Era: From Postmodernism to Deconstruction,” (1989)) and constructions of identity (Beatrice Colomina’s Sexuality and Space (1994)), to an apolitical globalism (Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau’s S, M, L, XL (1998)), the world outside became very much a part of an expanded architectural discourse.
Two years after the construction in 1992 of Gehry’s Fish Sculpture in Barcelona, which was one of the first structures entirely designed and constructed using computer software, Bernard Tschumi introduced the “paperless” studios with forty-two networked workstations allotted to third-year graduate design studios. These completely digital design studios foreshadowed the introduction of Computer Aided Manufacturing into architectural education and paralleled the computerization of the profession and of building industries more generally. This shift allowed a dialogue to develop between those who were trained in the analogue educational system, and those—in many cases just a year or two later—who were trained in the digital design studios.
We seek papers that both highlight the challenges produced by the digital transformations of this period and question their impact on architectural practice, education, and theory. How did this shift toward the digital realm—entangled within political, economic, social, and cultural changes of its time—effect architectural pedagogy, community engagement, and approaches to form and the environment? We are looking for a geographic breadth of perspectives in an effort to gain new insights into the hopes and anxieties of this critical ten-year period in architectural history.
100_3: THE OPENING OF OTHER (N) DIMENSIONS
Keith Green, Clemson U.
Architects are said to have the unusual capacity to draw on a vast-range of information and material sources in creating architectural works responsive to local and global conditions. Today’s issues – the expanding knowledge economy, new technologies associated with computing and advanced materials, striking demographic changes, and unprecedented sprawl, among them – demand from architects responses beyond the two- and three-dimensional. While architecture is generally regarded as a static form, outside time, architecture is inseparable from the dynamic conditions that surround, permeate and construct it. Responsively, architecture today should emerge not as plans (2D) or envelopes (3D) but rather as inseparable webs of physical and social relationships operating within time (4D), and across scales (from that of the human hand to that of the metropolis).
4D architecture might be situated in a single place or it might be mobile; it might be integral to the building fabric or it might be something added or attached; it might employ new technical possibilities or it might recuperate established technical means; and it might just cultivate new models of human identity. In any case, 4D architecture – complex, indeterminate, and set within an indefinable, uncertain situation – promises to be a far-more appropriate response to today’s broader critical concerns associated with the built environment: accessibility, consumption, flexibility and production.
What does it mean to introduce time as a significant variable in design? How do we accommodate time and motion in design? How do we design an architecture that, itself, moves? What do time-based media offer design processes and outcomes? How are existing public and private spaces at various scales redefined with the conceptualization of architecture as 4D? What socio-cultural opportunities and challenges does designing in 4D present to inhabitants and the wider populous? And, does 4D architecture mark the end of “post-modernity”?
Paper submissions are sought which present either 4D design projects undertaken by the author(s) or critical perspectives on historical, visionary or contemporary 4D projects and practices. Topics of interest include those referencing new media, advanced and/or sustainable materials and systems, intelligent (responsive) environments, and other time-based practices and projects at all scales. Whatever the case, authors are encouraged to be highly-methodical, critical and reflective in their engagement of the topic of 4D architecture.
100_4: THE MATERIALS AND TECTONICS OFFERED BY COMPUTATION
Advanced Composite Fabrication Technologies for Architecture
Michael Silver, Mike Silver Architects
Fiber reinforced plastics have been used in military aircraft since the early 1970’s. Today, these high-strength substitutes for aluminum and steel are making their way into the civilian market with ultra-light, fuel-efficient, carbon fiber designs such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Premier One business jet by Hawker Beechraft. While both planes incorporate the latest advancements in material science and engineering, only the Premier One, “features an all composite fuselage…built without an internal frame.” This radical break with tradition could not have been achieved without computer automated fiber placement technology, an entirely new process that is necessitating fundamental changes in the way we think about construction.
The system itself employs a robotically controlled taping head that lays down glass, Kevlar or quartz reinforced strips on a reusable mold. By controlling the placement and orientation of fibers in a single component engineers can manage the flow of mechanical forces as they change along the surface of a part subject to mechanical loads. (Fiber reinforced composites are on average 1.5 times stronger and 10 times lighter than cast-in-place concrete.) As replacements for structural components that are over designed and isotropic (I-beams, T-sections, etc.) robotically fabricated composites achieve their efficiency by increasing material densities where stresses are high and decreasing them where they are low. (Nonstandard taping patterns and multiple plies are produced without a subsequent increase in cost.) The complexity of the final component is produced for free by simply changing the data fed to the taping robot.
New composite fabrication processes not only point to a fundamental transformation of design, a ‘paradigm shift’, but they also facilitate practical changes in the relationship between ecology and use. With automated fiber placement technology there is no need to broker a compromise between structure and program because in the absence of an articulated frame, anisotropic membranes can be optimized to both without conflict or separation. This is possible because in a single area patterns, ply depths and tape widths can be manipulated independently with a high degree of precision. In other words the number of fiber layers placed in section can augment the structural deficiencies produced by functional and/or aesthetically driven fiber layouts in plan. The placement process can also manage opposing demands across a wide range of scales from the very small (1/8” minimum tape width) to the very large (a placement envelop as big as 1,400 SF)
Here we have a flexible, tectonically coherent system where windows, walls, doorways and supports are all forged from the same medium. This is a truly unprecedented development in the history of form, one that erases the traditional tension between art and engineering. (Today, building envelopes can be evolved to satisfy the requirements of both simultaneously.) Now at our disposal is a single, integrated building system that conserves materials, creates stronger, nearly weightless assemblies while expanding the potential for complexity in architecture.
100_5: THE SPACE AND NATURE OF DRAWING IN A DIGITAL MEDIUM
The Agency of Drawing and the Digital Process
Andrew Atwood, U. of Southern California
Digital technology has offered us much in the way of design development and increased interactivity with our design environments. Can these same tools and processes be used to redirect and rethink the role of the drawing in architecture?
This session presupposes that:
1. The drawing is fundamental to the discipline of architecture.
2. The drawing is under attack by the BIM, the screen shot and the algorithm.
3. The drawing has autonomy.
4. The drawing might be an object.
Beginning with these presuppositions —and this session is interested in those that agree and those that do not agree— what is the state of the drawing in contemporary architecture practice and design research? What is the fate of the drawing in a discourse filled with models and procedures but no drawings? What is the fate of architecture without drawings? Perhaps the most important question is, what is a drawing? And has the definition changed as a result of digital design process and practice?
This session seeks to explore the boundaries defining drawing in architecture. What other modes of working are possible if we are allowed to take a projective approach to the medium of drawing and allow ourselves to reinterpret, perhaps even redefine what a drawing is? What are different possibilities for the tools and techniques of drawing? We moved seamlessly from the pencil to the plotter but can we marry the two? Can technology be used to reconstitute the drawing? And if the drawing has agency, in what other directions might it take us?
I am worried. What will we talk about if we don’t have drawings?
100_6: DIGITAL GEO-POLITICS
At the Base of the Pyramid: Digital Design and Manufacturing for Extreme Affordability
Mahesh Senagala, Ball State U.
Over 4,000,000,000 people live on less than 4 dollars a day. That is 68% of the world’s population. The advanced markets in the West consist of 0.75 billion people, or a whopping 2% of the world’s population. In a few more decades, world population is projected to cross 9,000,000,000 and a large portion of the people living at the Base of the Pyramid. While we often hear about only the social justice and moral arguments about the need to address the needs of the people at the “Base of the Pyramid,” C. K. Prahalad, Mohammad Yunus and others have convincingly demonstrated that the markets at the “Base of the Pyramid” are viable and dynamic markets full of social entrepreneurial potential. The need is there as well as the opportunity. Now we turn to the world of architecture.
Digital design, performance simulation and manufacturing technologies have been buzz words of late in the architectural circles, at least in the West. So far, much of the design and research in these areas within has been aimed at mature and resource-rich markets in highly developed countries that are at the top 2% of the world’s economy. Despite significant advances in manufacturing, business modeling, “reverse innovation” and logistics in general, architectural world remains largely aimed at producing one-off pieces in and for resource-rich markets. Affordability--let alone extreme affordability--remains largely missing from current discourses in architecture. Further, even within USA, there exists a need for extreme affordability in what is now being defined as the “fourth world.” As Vijay Govindarajan pointed out, “reverse innovation” (innovation in developing world for developing and developed world) has been gaining momentum, particularly in China and India. While there exist plenty of examples in the industrial and consumer product design domains, we are hard-pressed to find even a handful of examples of innovation for extreme affordability in architecture. Despite all the talk about mass customization, architectural designers seem to place more importance on the “customization” part while ignoring the “mass” part. Moreover, there is a paucity of research on strategies and tactics of how to reach billions of people in the developing world through innovation (not just invention or wild speculation) in all aspects of architecture.
The session invites papers addressing the questions of relevance, means, and methods. What are the technological and design problems of manufacturing buildings or building components or related products for extreme affordability? What are the impediments and opportunities in pursuing innovation for extreme affordability? What are some of the immediate and long term design research questions? How can these questions be integrated into architectural curricula? How can these questions address opportunities for mainstream or alternative professional practices? What are some successful examples that made a difference and hold potential to reach millions if not billions of people at the Base of the Pyramid?
100_7: THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ON THE ARTS
Automatism, or, Post-Medium Architecture and Post-War Art
Sean Keller, Illinois Institute of Technology
One of the consequences of architecture’s shift to computational representation should be the belated realization that, like the other arts, architecture has entered what Rosalind Krauss has called a “post-medium condition.” Until recently, and despite its ceaseless efforts at reinvention, architecture had remained comfortably grounded by a definition of itself as drawing-toward-building. Much contemporary exuberance and anxiety springs from the disruption of this long-standing convention, and the accompanying loss of disciplinary security. With clear relevance for contemporary architecture, Krauss has argued that the introduction of new representational technology reconfigures—and thereby exposes to scrutiny—the structure of a discipline in its entirety. This analysis of the post-medium condition in art provides a model for understanding the impact of computation on architecture, and it is in this light that this panel asks: What are the layers of conventions that are determining architecture in the age of computation? In the face of architectural production that seems to celebrate its lack of critical distance, is there a way to conceptualize the practice of architecture as differential and self-differing?
The exploration of these questions can be greatly advanced by returning to the inspiration for much of Krauss’s own thinking: Stanley Cavell’s work on film and postwar painting, and his central notion of automatism. Clustered around automatism are a number of ideas that can aid our understanding of post-medium architecture. Chief among these is the thought that, although automatism emerges out of the technical basis of a representational system, there is no essentialism in its determination. This idea is especially important since it calls into question recent attempts to use computational generation to establish new architectural fundamentalisms. Cavell also notes that, given the absence of stable conventions, the post-medium condition requires that each artistic practice establish the terms of art itself, and that this most effectively achieved by working in series.
Cavell’s description of automatism further suggests that there are important, parallels to be explored between contemporary architecture and the artistic practices of the decades following World War II. As design tools, parametric digital models raise many of the issues central to painting and sculpture from Abstract Expression through Post-Minimalism: the possibility of “all-over” non-hierarchical composition; the option for chance or non-deterministic design; an interest in process as much as, or more than, product; the re-appearance of pattern and decoration; the integration of representation and support; and the production of surprising optical and haptic effects through quasi-logical systems. In many respects computational tools have allowed architecture to move beyond the aesthetics of cubism for the first time. Beginning with the concepts of automatism and post-medium art, and suggesting a broad parallel between contemporary architecture and postwar art, this panel seeks to explore architecture’s new potentialities.
100_8: THE AFFECT OF COMPUTATION ON DESIGN PROCESS
Becoming Computational: Restructuring/ Reconsidering Pedagogy Towards a (More) Computational Discipline
Christopher Beorkrem, U. of North Carolina at Charlotte
Nicholas Senske, U. of North Carolina at Charlotte
Becoming Computational: Restructuring/ Reconsidering Pedagogy Towards a (More) Computational Discipline
Few would doubt the growing importance of computational methods and thinking within architecture, but what remains unclear is how a discipline such as ours becomes computational. In other words, how do we arrive at the point of integration, when architects understand that computation is not just a tool for helping design, but a way of doing design? When all designers --not only specialists-- can practice computationally and ruminate on the subject? The goal of this session is to examine the state of thinking on the matter, tracing possible trajectories and delineating obstacles on the way to making computation not the exception but a normative part of our profession.
We believe that the success of this transformation rests on something much greater than the adoption of a particular level of vocational skill. It requires a cultural shift. Our values, attitudes, and beliefs regarding design must change. As education is one of the primary instruments of implementing disciplinary culture, we propose an examination of the topic through the lens of pedagogy. Therefore, this session requests papers describing alternative project statements and courses, curricular structures or pedagogical viewpoints, which argue for a restructuring of architectural pedagogy to resolve our apparent separation from computational discourse.
A potential way to approach the topic might be to draw from the educational experiences of other fields that are in the process of redefining themselves computationally. For example: banking, biology, healthcare, journalism, etc. What can architects learn from their example? How has their way of working –indeed, their very perception of their discipline— changed and how has this been reflected in their training of late? What might be different about architecture that does not lend itself to the approaches of these fields?
Along similar lines, might students begin to learn about computation before entering architecture school? There are some who say that the ideas of computer science constitute a new literacy, that programming ought to be a prerequisite introduced long before college, much like math and writing. Would this benefit a more computational discipline of architecture? If so, how might professionals and educators help enable this change? Might we begin to expect experience and evaluate our graduate, or even undergraduate, applicants based upon their understanding of computation?
Alternatively, submissions might consider the question: where does computation fit into the architectural curriculum? Is the natural progression to add to the traditional sequence of two-dimensional drawing and three-dimensional modeling a capstone of advanced fourth-dimensional parametrics and multi-dimensional BIM? Or is computation a fundamental skill for designers, demanding a transformative redefinition of what we teach? Some institutions have proposed hierarchies similar to these. Others have proposed alternative sequences or the notion of abandoning hierarchy all together. What is the most desirable outcome, practically, culturally, and for the sustainability or survival of our profession?
100_9: INTERDISCIPLINARY E-MERGENCE
Beyond Digital: Speculations on Analog Convergence
Brian Lonsway, Syracuse U.
As phone meets TV, google meets human anatomy, and video gaming meets body scanning, digital convergence rapidly challenges our known concepts of discrete objects, materials, and systems. However, as profound as some of these challenges may be, their ultimate reliance on identifiably discrete digital hardware marks them a technological development that is clearly apart from us, as biologically analog beings, and thus, somehow, more acceptably artificial.
However, as science makes daily advances in biological computing, where robots are made of gels, algorithms can be replicated in DNA, and phase change memory can store non-binary states, and as the assembly of components we still call computers are in our clothes, our trash cans, our vehicles, our pets, and soon, likely, in our bloodstream, we are beginning to approach the limits of digital computing. Numbers become qualities; logical operations become states of living matter; processors, living organisms themselves; and results, quite possibly affective states of being. In the near term, it is likely that these innovations, once outside the laboratory, will yield mere analog extensions of what we now comfortably understand to be the computer. But at their core, they propose nothing short of a complete breakdown of this digitally-obsessed thing we call 'the computer.' No longer reliant on binary switching and the concomitant discrete state functionality of the modern computer, nor any longer manifest as uniquely digital objects operating in our otherwise analog world, biological, molecular, and analog computing as it is variously termed removes yet one more barrier between what we might call 'artificial' computation and the rest of our biological, material, and cultural life processes.
Before these post-digital objects come to replace our desktop computers as design tools, before what we now call software becomes a structured biological organism, and before our building materials transform from inert to active matter, we may want to speculate a bit more rigorously about their implications for design. The digital has transformed our practices; this we know. And so will the analog…but how? What might it mean for designers, who for decades have been demonizing or deifying the digital computer as advancing something against our traditional (analog!) work processes, when our paper becomes simultaneously material surface and computational object? What might it mean when materials are not simply 'smart' because of their physical responsiveness or ecological efficacy but because their very molecules are computing their physical properties? What other transformations of our known interactions with digital computation will wane in the advancing convergence between computation, organism, and material?
This session invites rigorous speculations about the future of computing and its implications for design processes, spatial thought, and the practices and pedagogies of architecture. Submissions by multi-disciplinary teams of authors are particularly encouraged. Papers may take the form of experimental findings, design projects, philosophical or theoretical provocations, critical fictions, or pedagogical explorations: of greatest importance is the embrace of a speculative framework grounded in current scientific research in non-digital computing.
100_10: PARAMETRIC PERFORMANCE
Design Computation: Parametrics, Performance, Pedagogy and Praxis
Karen Kensek, U. of Southern California
Parametric software, fed by cheap desktop computing power, reasonably user-friendly parametric software, and an overwhelming, unrequited love of NURBs and curves, has led to a preponderance of generative form-making in architecture design studios and in select professional firms. This increasing use of parametric design in academia and practice is in part due to its capability of producing great variability within a set of constraints, creating variety that can be purposeful and responsive within a specified design space.
By itself and even to a greater degree when combined with algorithmic procedures, parametrics changes the design process by requiring a strong initial focus on developing a workflow that will allow the designer flexibility downstream. The architect adds scripting environments, coding, and a true knowledge of the parameters controlling the geometry to his toolbox. Ultimately, this process increases the designer’s awareness of the implications of each design decision.
Yet, the parametric process as currently driven seems to be more concerned with generating many forms that can then be evaluated for “aesthetic fitness” by the creator than in determining and applying performance metrics that could be used to evaluate the derived designs. Opportunities to include parameters and design intelligence, especially in conceptual design, that respond to climatic considerations, structural limitations, construction realities, future energy and water scarcity, information modeling, ecosystem balancing, and even community group advocacy are often overlooked. If parametricism is indeed the latest global “style” within architecture and urbanism (Schumacher, 2009), then we must ensure critical analysis and open dialogue on methods and processes.
Imagine parametric software fed by ubiquitous cloud computing providing immense processing power, informed by environmental, occupant, and even crowd sourced data, and pushed by collaborative teams of architects, engineers, and owners led by evidence influenced designers. Envision a design process that never ends, and information accumulates that can be accessed by occupants, owners, and designers of retrofits. The resultant building is an intersection of the real and the virtual, formed by conceptual parametric design, building information modeling, and performance simulations and then incorporating smart features, sensors, and cognizance of the environment and its own performance metrics to provide not a machine a habiter but an intelligent skin for people and their activities.
This panel will critically examine “infinite computing power,” parametric modeling, and a form of environmental entanglement where simulation and sensors inform and predict performances both before the building is constructed and then throughout its lifetime. The profession and the academies must come together to help determine the possibilities for the next generation of building intelligence and integrated process technology.
100_11: FORMAL PLASTICITY AND DETAIL INTRICACY
Matt Burgermaster, New Jersey Institute of Technology
“In this new architectural domain, joints just don’t matter”. This was one of many provocative claims made by William J. Mitchell in his influential essay ‘Antitectonics: The Poetics of Virtuality’. Recognizing an extraordinary paradigm-shift underway at the close of the 20th century, he characterized the emergence of digital technology as having the aptitude to so thoroughly detach value from the physical world that architecture’s primacy should no longer be ascribed to the static tectonics of building construction but to the dynamic flows of virtual information that pass through it. Eschewing the discipline’s traditional referents of material, gravity, and environment, the essay located architecture as a material thing and proposition on the losing side of history. Mitchell advocated that digital technology offered more than just a new ‘toolbox’, but also a performative capacity that could enable the conceptualization of a new architecture of immateriality, weightlessness, and seamlessness. This radically reconfigured what was at stake for architecture’s details. With the emergence of this new architecture of digitally-driven dematerialization, the detail disappeared - not only from the surfaces and forms of the architectural object, but from the discipline itself.
Today, however, the architectural detail is experiencing a renewed agency in digital practice. The development of information modeling, parametric design, and C.N.C. fabrication has opened up new relationships between previously divergent terms of virtual and material in ways that evidences alternative digital aptitudes for the detail. These new production capabilities have generated interests in concerns such as building performance, assembly, and articulation. But, if the details associated with these traditional disciplinary concerns are an effect of software advances alone, then it might be said that contemporary detailing is a practice without a (digital) discourse. Consequently, for this technological paradigm to have full effect on the detail, it may not only need to be made digitally, or appear digital, but it should be digital. In an echo of Mitchell (and Nicholas Negoponte before him), Antoine Picon recently suggested that “…the digital is first and foremost a mode of being, a human condition that will eventually permeate all aspects of life. Being digital is not primarily about using a computer in the design process, nor about making this use visually conspicuous”. In response to this predicament, the digital detail has developed two distinct - but perhaps enigmatic - modes for its disappearance: as inconspicuously ‘nowhere’ and conspicuously ‘everywhere’. As emerging digital technologies continue to become more and more sophisticated and ubiquitous, the detail’s future may be a “digitally minimal” one.
This session topic invites papers to critically assess and/or projectively speculate on the architectural detail in an age of digital ubiquity. Positing that digital aptitude and the detail’s contemporary disappearance might have something in common, this session asks:
- What kind of agency does the detail acquire (or lose) by being digital?
- What kind of agency does the digital acquire (or lose) by building the detail?
- What is at stake for the detail in an architectural future whose aptitude is to be digital?
100_12: AESTHETIC INNOVATION
Digital Nouveau and the New Materiality
Armando Montilla, Clemson U.
In 1883, Arthur Mackmurdo published what would be considered the first illustration within the genre of Art Nouveau. Deeply influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement initiated by William Morris, Mackmurdo initiated the Century Guild and, in 1884, founded the movement's journal Hobby Horse. His conception of design, particularly graphic printing and his portrait on Christopher Wren City Churches, among the incunabula of Art Nouveau, anticipated the style of the Art Nouveau movement.
Today’s digital fabrication techniques, triggered by Software development and its capacity to generate complex geometries, numeric processing spelled by the computer – the analogue mind behind the designer’s mind – added to the simultaneity of information and the capacity of continuous reproduction, reduction of time equation and ability to rapid simulation; have all allowed the advent of a new interface, based on the binary language and multiple array of calculations. Such an Interface fits the spirit, the ethos of contemporary society, where information and data are of instant availability and perfect simultaneity. In the midst of David Harvey’s Post-modernity, flirting with Paul Virilio’s worship of speed, this interface adopts the program and the administration of successively: Command, datum and parameter. Right here, the intuition is replaced by the narrow to exact calculation, in which the tridimensional model becomes the aesthetic instrument of assessment, and the eye remains the means of measurement, while nature rests as absolute source of inspiration.
In Art Nouveau, the intersection of construction techniques and the inspiration from nature, created the intellectual nest of a unique sense of craftsmanship, one which rebelled against Beaux Arts. Deep changes in society reflected these tendencies and allowed for revolutionary techniques: A new order, a new way of looking at the object d’art. If we translate their aesthetic vision to today’s realities, we’ll find the interface of aesthetic creation, the intuition of the designer to test and probe new and experimental methods, the desire to represent and test their fabrication, through various techniques of representation and prototyping: To build before building, it comes to be a step towards the built project. Just as in Art Nouveau, the Interface is located in the mind of the designer, but has prosthetically moved, and the holistic view of architectural design embraces a range from architecture to product design, to cities, to structural systems; and so the ‘total’ Art Work, the Gesamtkunstwerk, is achieved in a perfect visual fetish for the screen.
What are the historical precedents that can be read in today's digital design techniques? Are concepts such as Riegl’s theory of Kunstwollen, or even Wörringer's empathy or Einfühlung, not only influential for Art Nouveau and Jugendstil, but also sources for today's digital frontiers? As art and technology, science and aesthetics all come together in this festive Gesamstkunstwerk of design; how does this evolve into a new type of Materiality? What historical learning remains most pertinent to informing emergent computational aptitudes? The purpose of this session is to explore these precedents, and to establish the relationship of history with the present digital aptitudes.
100_13: EMERGING ECOLOGICAL MATERIALS AND ENVIRONMENTS
Emerging Materials, Renewable Energy, and Ecological Design
Franca Trubiano, U. of Pennsylvania
Renewed interest, in both emerging materials and renewable energy has greatly contributed to an enrichment of ecological design principles during the past decade. Since the 1996 publication of Van der Ryn and Cowan’s Ecological Design, product designers, architects, landscape architects and urban designers have increasingly positioned ecological accountability at the center of their innovative designs. Building materials and the energy consumed in their production are both factors that significantly contribute to the selection of a project’s palette. Reviewing the embodied energy of materials used in a project has become an essential part of the design process. This, however, is only one way in which matter and energy are codetermined and codependent in what regards the work of architecture.
Most recently new and experimental materials have been used alongside energy generating technologies in designs that seek to maximize their mutual benefit. Advances in material sciences have resulted in a host of new nano-engineered products made of polymers, composites, carbon fibers and even digital materials; all of which possess an entirely different relationship to energy than traditional materials of the 20th century. Reciprocally, industry advances in the channeling of renewable energy via thermal mass, translucent insulation, solar cells, thin film or crystalline, and light emitting surfaces of all kinds have redefined our expectations of how the energy embodied in daylight can contribute to an expanded definition of material performance.
This conference session invites the submission of papers dedicated to exploring the productive dialogue that exists between matter and energy, materials and sunlight. As advances in material science and renewable energies continue to transform the larger world within which we build, it is the aim of this session to highlight corresponding transformations within the immediate context of architectural design. Whether evidenced in innovative studio projects, experimental prototypes, conceptual designs, built projects, or advances in building products, a rigorous discussion of the various ways in which the coupled use of “smart” materials and renewable energies contributes to an expanded definition of ecological design is the intent of this session.
100_14: DIGITAL NETWORKS: COLLABORATIVE PRAXIS
Integration, Not Segregation: Interdisciplinary Design Pedagogy for the Second 100 Years
James Doerfler, California Polytechnic State U.
Kevin Dong, California Polytechnic State U.
Over 100 years ago the Deutscher Werkbund integrated architects, engineers, designers and industrialists into teams in an attempt to upgrade the quality of product design in Germany. This movement put the designer in the position as mediator between invention and standardization. Walter Gropius and colleagues adopted this position at the Bauhaus, creating the most influential interdisciplinary design school in the twentieth century. Over the course of the twentieth century Eames, Fuller, Foster, Kieran Timberlake and others have promoted the inclusion of multiple disciplines on a design team. Recently we have seen the complexity of building increase to the point where legal requirements and sustainability guidelines influence the need to develop buildings that require integrated project teams. The increasing complexity of design and engineering that is required in projects also contributes to the necessity of interdisciplinary teams of architects, engineers, material scientists and construction managers to be able to bring these projects to fruition.
While a small number of practices worldwide have this professional collaborative experience, bringing this experience to the classroom is still a rare occurrence. In the twenty first century, the integrated project team will become the typical method to deliver the buildings of the future. Can the interdisciplinary nature of the Bauhaus curriculum be re-tooled to prepare students to become architects in the twenty first century?
The goal of this session is to identify approaches to interdisciplinary design education and reveal ways of making pedagogical changes that integrate multidisciplinary teams into a design curriculum. The session can explore the many issues inherent in the bringing together of different disciplines and discuss language and communication, digital information, roles of members on the design team and the relation of a multidisciplinary class to a single discipline curriculum. The participants may elaborate on how the inclusion of building technology, design studio, history/theory and other aspects of an architectural curriculum, as well as the addition of engineering, construction management and other related disciplines can be integrated into an effective pedagogy. Presentation topics may include case studies from the design studio, critiques of design team strategies, development of communication skills on interdisciplinary teams and use of digital tools.
Among the questions that enter this discussion are:
Can design inquiry be informed by a collective knowledge of many disciplines and create the best possible outcome?
How does an integrated design team change the nature of authorship of design?
Can the quality of the projects be changed by an integrated project team?
Can built environment and materials research and innovation be increased by using integrated projects teams?
Do interdisciplinary design teams “water down” the quality of design work?
Do digital tools increase the communication and effectiveness of interdisciplinary project teams?
Is it possible to create an effective interdisciplinary learning environment in an academic setting?
100_15: RELATIONAL MODELS AND RECALCULATIONS
Jennifer Leung, Yale U.
One of Marshall McLuhan’s central arguments, identified in “The Invisible Environment: The Future of an Erosion” as “counter-environment” (Perspecta, 1967), is that transformative new technologies eventually bring the social and sensory consequences of superseded technologies into relief “through the rear-view mirror.” For McLuhan, the Greek oral tradition is the counter-environment of written language; Romantic landscape, the counter-environment of the railroad and factory; technologies of classification, the counter-environment of cybernetic pattern recognition. Counter-environments change the very nature of perception, and by extension the opportunities for intervention. McLuhan’s dialectic is neither oppositional, nor mutually exclusive, but involves positioning. His counter-environment does not destroy the environment, it frames and creates awareness, suggesting new models of engagement with present, past, and future conditions.
This session will posit that the parametric is already a historical periodization and, as McLuhan might argue, is the counter-environment to the current state of pedagogy and practice. Thus, the post-parametric is not the intensification of the same or similar codes and processes, as in the rationalization of curvature, optimization of form, or even the potential democratization of compute power afforded by cloud computing, self-modeling buildings, or personal super-computing. Instead, fundamental assumptions about parametric thinking, design, and computation need to be re-assessed according to the physical realities of our actual environments and sensory thresholds. Questions of perception, scalability, technology transfer, translation (not from drawings to building, but from models to models), and the construction of evaluative criteria for iterative design are critical to this re-alignment.
For example, supplementing the familiar celebration (or castigation) of geometries freed from industrial production or of capital freed from the rules of arithmetic, recent conversations have begun to take up the digital division of labor and the management of economic and ecological risk, furthering the disciplinary understanding of socio-economic relationships of distribution, communication, and production. On the other hand, the ubiquity of data processing and the binary code has homogenized, rather than adjudicated, post-war technological debates about the status of matter, energy, biological life, time and subjectivity. In other words, the naturalization of the parametric environment has surpassed the thermodynamic, molecular, relativist, and psychodynamic points of view which historically have shifted cultural notions of space and time. However, research in these areas, now on the other side of a disciplinary divide, has not ceased.
This session seeks to bring together various positions on the post-parametric environment, which will allow us to reflect generally on obsolescence, or which via reconsideration of obsolete diagnostic protocols, sensory thresholds, or representational schema in practice or allied fields clarifies the near and distant future. What forms of technology will bring parametric thinking and computing into relief? How have perceptual and representational regimes kept pace, or not, with computing and fabrication? What is the status of “environment” after the parametric?
100_16: DIGITAL SYSTEMS IN URBAN ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Registration and Projection: The Mediations of Urban Imaging Technologies
McLain Clutter, U. of Michigan
Our discipline’s understanding of cities is intricately intertwined with our ability to document aspects of urbanism in measurable representations. History is replete with examples. Nolli’s plan of Rome concretized the conception of the city as a spatial construct of public occupation. Filmic representations of urbanism, as theorized by Benjamin, Kracauer and others, elucidated the kinetics and subjectivities of the early metropolis. More recently, GPS mobile devices have inspired thought about the networked nature of contemporary urbanism. With each of these developments, technological advances in representing urbanism opened epistemological regimes for studying and designing the city. Equally, through the mediation of each technological advance, new definitions of urban subjectivity and the public have been implicated.
The fast-paced development of contemporary digital technologies has accelerated this epistemological expansion. From G.I.S. mapping applications, to parametric urban simulations, to remote sensory photography, new technologies have broadened our ability to register previously invisible aspects of urbanism. Now apparent are latent patterns of human occupation, modulations in urban energy flow and consumption, and various time-based urban phenomena. While the broad adoption of these technologies promises to deliver an unprecedented amount of data from which to leverage design strategies, it also threatens design with a new positivism or technological determinism. Too seldom are the epistemologies of these technologies interrogated: What information do they allow, what do they exclude, and what are the inherent potentials or ideologies of these operations? Too seldom, also, are new imaging or simulation technologies examined in terms of the urban subjectivities or publics they implicate. This session solicits speculations, and papers about contemporary or historical work, that discuss the epistemologies of technologies for representing urbanism. Submissions should evince neither blind critique, nor blind fervor for technological determinism. Rather, each paper should discuss how the epistemological potentials of urban imaging and simulation technologies have been, or might be, knowingly wielded to produce of new ways of conceiving of urbanism and new ways of producing an urban public.
100_17: DIGITAL NETWORKS: EMBEDDED UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
Jordan Geiger, U. at Buffalo, SUNY
Omar Khan, U. at Buffalo, SUNY
Mark Shepard, U. at Buffalo, SUNY
Since the late 1980s, computer scientists and engineers have been researching ways of embedding computational intelligence into the built environment. Looking beyond the model of personal computing, which placed the computer in the foreground of our attention, "ubiquitous" computing takes into account the social dimension of human environments and allows computers themselves to vanish into the background. No longer solely virtual, human interaction with computers becomes socially integrated and spatially contingent as everyday objects and spaces are linked through networked computing.
Today, researchers focus on how situational parameters inform the design of a wide range of mobile, wearable, networked, distributed and context-aware devices. Incorporating an awareness of cultural context, accrued social meanings, and the temporality of spatial experience, situated technologies privilege the local, context- specific and spatially contingent dimension of their use. Despite the obvious implications for the built environment, architects have been largely absent from this discussion, and technologists have been limited to developing technologies that take existing architectural topographies as a given context to be augmented. At the same time, to the extent that early adopters of these technologies have focused on commercial, military and law enforcement applications, we can expect to see new forms of consumption, warfare and control emerge.
This panel seeks to occupy the architectural imaginary of these emerging technologies- sensors, embedded and mobile computing- and propose alternate trajectories for their development. What opportunities and dilemmas does a world of networked "things" pose for architecture and urbanism? What distinguishes the emerging urban sociality enabled by mobile technologies and wireless networks? What post-optimal design strategies and tactics might we propose for an age of responsive environments, smart materials, embodied interactions, and participatory networks? How might this evolving relation between people and "things" alter the way we occupy, navigate, and inhabit the city? What is the status of the material object in a world privileging networked relations between "things"? How do distinctions between space and place change within these networked media ecologies? How do the social uses of these technologies destabilize rationalized "use-case scenarios" designed around the generic consumer?
Finally, this panel seeks to focus these questions around specific contexts that may only be emerging now and deserving of new attention. These may be geographical contexts such as non-Western milieus, contexts of identity including race- and gender-specific areas of consideration, or areas of the built environment such as agriculture that may be less frequently addressed to date.
100_18: DIGITAL MNEMONICS: THE PEDAGOGY OF HISTORY
Teaching History in the Digital Age
Carla Keyvanian, Auburn U.
Technological developments are transforming the systems of architectural production and traditional relationships among clients, designers and builders. These changes are profound, no longer a matter of using computers to produce drawings previously prepared by hand, as happened with the introduction of Autocad. Building Information Modeling (BIM) software now produces dynamic digital building models that are queried to provide information ranging from building geometries to spatial relationships, geographic data, and energy preservation performance.
What is underway is a shift in the way we think of the design process and its product, not simply the way we represent our designs. The severance with our classical past appears more evident than ever. In such a context, what is the role of architectural history in educating future architects? The students currently enrolled in schools of architecture will be called upon to navigate epochal changes in architectural production. Is it still useful for them to spend precious time studying the proportions of Greek temples or the ornamentation of Renaissance palaces?
The underlying assumption of this session is that the teaching of history in schools of architecture is more necessary than ever because learning history means understanding change, not remaining fixated on outdated models. Understanding the technical, cultural and social changes that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, for example, helps put current events into perspective. A comparison with the Renaissance—when perspectival constructions enabling life-like spatial representations did not simply change the way architects drew architectural space but the way they conceptualized and designed it—is equally pertinent.
Much of what students learn today in studio courses might be obsolete by they time they are licensed architects. The critical thinking that history and theory courses foster is less perishable. Some of the central questions raised by the theme of this Annual Meeting are most aptly addressed in history and theory courses—the need to challenge naïve assumptions about the consequences of western technological positivism, for example, or how technological advances might destabilize established spatial or social definitions.
The suggestion that such theoretical concerns need to be addressed from the start, in history courses aimed at beginning students, is implicit. This session seeks papers that either challenge that assumption, or explore ways of teaching history courses that foster the critical thinking and analytical tools necessary to the young architects that will steer the course of current transformations. How can history and theory courses help understand the new roles that they will have to acquire in the digital paradigm? What is the relationship between that paradigm and the opposite trend that has emerged recently, focusing on community-based architecture with low technological content, minimal impact, but that does not eschew formal concerns? In sum, this session intends exploring the range of possible answers that can be provided to an overarching question of this Annual Meeting: What historical learning remains most pertinent to informing emergent computational aptitudes?
100_19: DIGITAL SIMULATION
Theoretical Implications of BIM: Performance and Interpretation
John Folan, Carnegie Mellon U.
Ute Poerschke, Pennsylvania State U.
In a simulation driven design context the significance of information is often assumed to be absolute; information is equated with performance. But the significance of information in a performative context is interpretive. The locus of the information’s value is assigned by those utilizing it - and, there are different forms of simulation that garner categorically disparate forms of information in combination and relative isolation. Some forms are technical, some reductive, and others that remain contextual and projective.
At a moment where simulation driven design is being absorbed into architecture curricula on a broader scale it is appropriate for the academy and profession to reflect on the theoretical implications of the technology. In design studios and seminars students are utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to explore its underlying concepts and potential benefits through collaborative design and integrated project delivery. In cross disciplinary advanced construction environments, facility management and life cycle processes are being explored. In those contexts, BIM is primarily utilized as an analytical tool to increase efficiency in design, production, construction and occupancy phases. In design, fundamental simulations can provide specific predictive information about solar access, total solar radiation, thermal efficiency and fluid dynamic behaviors. In production, clash detection, automated schedule generation, and 4D construction modeling represent only a few of the predictive technical interpretations that may be employed through simulation. In both realms there is a dedication to the technical interpretation of information – an interpretation that runs the risk of being non-reflective and may only affirm assertions associated with functionalist thinking.
By contrast, there are circumstantial contingencies that suggest several models of theory that may be invested in the methodological employment of BIM. In general terms, information modeling provides an environment in which information can be attached to three dimensional representations as building element information. Conceptually, by ordering these elements as process information, there is no limitation to the kind of information that can be stored. Beyond the generation of prosaic cost and element scheduling, potential exists more speculative forms of information might be cataloged in recombinant form - the visceral qualities of paintings in particular spatial contexts combined with demographic information in a neighborhood model or, individual formal ordering preferences in a residence combined with efficiencies in the assignment of recycled content building materials to the enclosure system. In speculating, BIM can be considered beyond its instrumentality and evolve as mechanism to mirror the culture in which we live.
This session seeks to solicit discussion focused on proposals for potential theoretical orientations in Building Information Modeling. The mechanisms to engendering positive and relevant sensibilities in the academic setting should be considered fundamental. Papers focusing on instrumental reason in the context of situated understanding of place, population, representation, and purpose are requested. | <urn:uuid:4e760ff8-dc76-4bc9-a5aa-5f62288e7702> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.acsa-arch.org/programs-events/conferences/annual-meeting/100th-annual-meeting/call-for-participation/call-for-papers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923913 | 11,471 | 2.875 | 3 |
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Abstract. Many farmers are turning to organic or "low input" farming as a strategy for economic survival Several comparisons of actual grain farms in the central and northern states showed that organic farming equals or exceeds conventional farming in economic performance. These findings are supported by studies that used yield data from research plots as inputs to economic models. However, models that relied more heavily on hypothetical data showed an economic disadvantage for organic farming This may have been a result of the failure of the hypothetical models to incorporate valid assumptions on conservation and efficient utilization of water, nutrients, fuel, labor, and capital Established organic farmers are less vulnerable to natural and economic risks than conventional farmers because their systems are more diversified. They also are less able, however, to take advantage of income tax deductions Future trends in commodity prices, input prices, pollution regulation, and research can be expected to have mixed effects on conventional and organic farmers, but the net impact will probably favor organic farmers. On a macroeconomic (i.e. national) scale, conversion to organic farming would have many benefits. It would reduce federal costs for supporting commodity prices, reduce depletion of fossil fuels, reduce the social costs associated with erosion, improve fish and wildlife habitats, and insure the productivity of the land for future generations However, widespread conversion to organic farming would have an undesirable impact on the balance of trade. Future research on the economics of organic farming at the farm or micro-economics level should be directed at horticultural crops, southern latitudes, marketing, and the process of con version from conventional to organic farming Future macroeconomic research should quantify the social benefits described above, enabling decision makers to compare organic farming with other policy options
During the past 20 years, farmers have shown steadily increasing interest in organic farming. Many farmers who adopted organic farming methods early in this period were motivated by reasons relating to the health and safety of their families, consumers, and livestock, and by idealistic convictions about soil and land stewardship. More recently, as costs of chemicals and credit have increased and commodity prices have stagnated, thousands of conventional farmers have begun to search for ways to decrease input costs. These economic pragmatists might deny identification with the organic farming movement, but they are moving in that direction. "Low input farming" is the new, socially-acceptable term for organic farming, and economic survival is the motivation for many newcomers.
This paper summarizes and analyzes available economic data on organic farming which is pertinent to decision makers at the farm (microeconomic) level and the national (macroeconomic) level. We will use the USDA's definition of organic farming (USDA, 1980):
"Organic farming is a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds, and other pests."
The term "conventional farming" will be used here to refer to a production system which employs a full range of pre- and post-plant tillage practices (e.g., plow, disk, plant, cultivate), synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides. Conventional farming is characterized by a high degree of crop specialization. By contrast, organic farming is characterized by a diversity of crops.
Research on the economic feasibility of organic farming can be grouped into three categories: 1) direct comparisons of economic returns between organic and conventional farms, 2) analysis of economic returns based on research plot yield data, and 3) modelling comparisons of organic and conventional farms.
Several studies directly compared returns on organic and conventional farms. Lockeretz et al. (1978) compared the economic performance of 14 organic crop/livestock farms in the Midwest with that of 14 conventional farms. The study farms were paired on the basis of physical characteristics and types of farm enterprises. The market value of crops produced per unit area was 11 percent less on the organic farms. But since the cost of production was also less, the net income per unit area was comparable for both systems. A study by Roberts et al. (1979) compared data from 15 organic farms in the western Corn Belt with USDA data on representative conventional farms in the same area. In most cases the net returns were greater on the organic farms. Both studies showed that production costs were longer on the organic farms.
Two studies comparing cash grain farms were conducted in the state of Washington. In the first study, Eberle and Holland (1979) compared three organic and three conventional farms and found that net returns per unit area were 38 percent higher on the conventional farms. However, the author of a follow-up study of six organic farms found that net returns on these farms were 22 percent higher than on the representative conventional farms (Kraten, 1979). Berardi (1979) compared 10 organic and 10 conventional farms in New York and Pennsylvania for returns from wheat (Triticum aestivum) production only. When cash operating costs alone were included, the returns were higher on the organic farms. However, when the costs of land and unpaid family labor were included, the conventional farms had a higher average net return.
The above-mentioned studies comparing organic and conventional farms had several weaknesses. The most obvious was the small sample sizes, which made it diff~cult to do any statistical tests of differences. The averages did not reflect the high variability that occurred in both yields and net returns on both types of farms. Pairing farms for the studies also caused problems, especially in work by Eberle and Holland (1979) and Berardi (1978). Finally, none of the studies included the livestock enterprises, which may be essential for optimum economic performance of organic farms.
A 1984 survey of the members of the Regenerative Agriculture Association (Brusko et al., 1985) offered further information on the economic performance of organic methods compared to conventional methods. Of 213 respondents, 88 percent said their net income either stayed the same or increased when they began farming with fewer purchased inputs, while 12 percent said net income declined. The sample may not have been a representative sample of organic farmers, and many of the responses may have been based on perceptions rather than on well-kept records. Nevertheless, the survey seems to indicate a high lever of satisfaction with the economic performance of low input farming.
The second type of research used yield data from research plots as inputs to economic analyses. A Nebraska study (Helmers et al., 1984) attempted to measure the performance of a fully organic system, so the first three years of data, which represented a conversion period from conventional to organic practices, were excluded from the analysis. Animal manure was available, but other aspects of the livestock operation were excluded from the economic analysis. Six possible cropping systems were considered, three organic rotations, two conventional rotations, and continuous corn (Zea mays). The organic systems had the lowest costs of production, and all rotational systems performed better than continuous corn. The scenario most representative of an organic farm assumed that straw was sold and that the cost of manure was equal to application costs only. With this scenario, the returns were comparable to those from the conventional rotations.
Yield data from the Rodale Research Center in Pennsylvania were used to evaluate profits during the period of conversion from conventional to organic farming (Brusko et al., 1985). The organic farming system with livestock had returns over variable costs that averaged $74 more per unit area than for the conventional corn-soybean (Glycine max) system. The organic farm system without livestock fell short, on the average, of the conventional grain system. However, the organic farm averages were hurt by the plots on which corn was planted in the first year of the conversion, an unlikely choice of crop for a farmer because of the potential problems with nitrogen deficiencies, weeds, and soil-borne insects. On the organic plots without animals, where the rotation was initiated with a clover (Trifolium spp.) and oats (Avena saliva) mix, the economic returns of the organic plots compared favorably with those from conventional grain plots.
The third type of study involved modelling of organic and conventional farm systems and comparing the net returns.
A USDA study (1980) compared a conventional corn-soybean rotation with three organic rotations. The conventional rotation returned 22 to 44 percent more income above variable costs than the organic rotations. Profitability was directly linked with the proportion of corn and soybeans in the rotation.
An Iowa study (James, 1983) modelled six different scenarios that included livestock enterprises. Conventional farming was found to be more profitable than organic farming. The study concluded that organic practices were most feasible on small farms and on farms with large proportions of land in pasture. It also concluded that livestock operations were essential to maximize returns.
Although there are only a few studies in each category, and although they all have shortcomings, the direct comparisons and the plot data suggest that organic farming is economically feasible and can compete with conventional farming, at least in certain geographic areas and for certain farming enterprises. Only in the modelling studies were returns from organic farming consistently lower than returns from conventional farming. Some of the reasons for these results are examined in the next section.
According to actual field data, organic farming is more economically successful than the modelers predict. The stated assumptions of the models seem reasonable. Therefore, examination of the unstated assumptions may be instructive, since there are differences between the two systems that are difficult to incorporate into models.
The models assumed that soil structure, infiltration rates, and erosion rates were the same for organic and conventional agriculture, or that any differences had no economic consequences. Some organic farmers claim their soils have better tilth and less compaction. They also claim that they use less power and operate their tractors in a higher gear, thereby saving fuel. These claims, although plausible, have not been sufficiently tested.
Changes in soil structure, coupled with improved ground cover, decreased runoff by about 10 to 50 percent and increased infiltration by about 10 to 25 percent. All these factors combined to reduce soil erosion on organic fields by at least two-fifths, and sometimes over four-fifths (Cacek, 1984). It is difficult to place a monetary value on the water lost as runoff and the nutrients contained in the eroded soil. In part, they are just displaced to other locations on the farm, where they remain available for crop production. Some nutrients are present in excess of crop needs and some are unavailable biochemically. Nevertheless, there may be a significant difference between organic and conventional farms in the costs of replacing needed nutrients and water.
Vulnerability to natural events may be a critical factor in comparing the performance of organic and conventional farms. During the conversion period, organically produced crops are vulnerable to weeds and nitrogen deficiences. However, once organic practices are established, the crops are often less vulnerable to drought and other natural disasters than conventionally grown crops. Organically farmed soils absorb more of the available rainfall, providing protection from drought (Cacek, 1984). Because organic farmers grow a greater diversity of crops, the entire production on a farm is not vulnerable to the same pests or seasonal weather events. If there is a total crop failure, organic farmers suffer fewer economic losses because they have invested less in purchased inputs.
The diversity of crops on organic farms can have other economic benefits. Diversity provides some protection from adverse price changes in a single commodity. Diversified farming also provides a better seasonal distribution of inputs. A corn farmer might require two tractors to plant all his land during the short corn-planting season. The tractors are then underutilized during the remainder of the year. An organic farm with the same total area would probably have less land in corn, so one tractor might be sufficient. The same tractor could then be used during other seasons to produce wheat, hay, and other crops that have staggered planting and harvest dates. Likewise, labor is more fully utilized. However, organic farms require more intensive management than specialized conventional farms.
Organic farmers need to borrow less money than conventional farmers for two reasons. First, organic farmers buy fewer inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. Second, costs and income are more evenly distributed throughout the year on diversified organic farms. For example, profits from July's wheat harvest can buy fuel for the corn harvest, reducing the need to borrow for the corn harvest. Organic farmers have complained that they are discriminated against by lenders, a possible economic disadvantage of organic farming. However, Blobaum (1983) concluded that this problem is more perceived than real.
Organic farmers are generally at a disadvantage compared to conventional farmers with regard to the tax system. The U.S. tax code incorporates several features such as investment credit, accelerated depreciation, and interest deductions that were designed to stimulate investment. The definition of organic farming does not preclude the use of confinement feeding systems, irrigation systems, and other investments that offer substantial tax benefits. However, the reluctance of organic farmers to use prophylactic antibiotics decreases the feasibility of confinement feeding systems. Organic farmers have less need for irrigation because they use more crop rotations and because of higher soil permeability. Organic growers tend to be less capital intensive, so tax breaks are less advantageous to them.
Investigators once believed that organic farmers' reluctance to use fertilizers led to depletion of phosphorus, potassium, and other soil-borne elements, and that this depletion would have unfavorable long-term biological and economic consequences (USDA, 1980). It can be argued, however, that organic farming is a superior system for managing soil-borne elements because of manure recycling and reduced soil erosion (Cacek, 1984). Data from Washington State (Patten, 1982) indicate that organic farming may even increase the amount of biochemically available phosphorus in the soil. These arguments point to future economic benefits of organic farming from soil improvement.
The relative economic performance of organic farming and conventional farming is sensitive to the ratio of input costs to the value of outputs. Both organic and conventional farmers are vulnerable to fluctuations in both input and output prices, but the effect of a given change will differ between the two farming systems.
The future of commodity prices is not clear. However, changes in commodity prices can be expected to have greater impacts on conventional than organic farmers. Conventional producers have higher average yields for most grain crops. Therefore, assuming constant production costs, price increases will increase the net returns of conventional farmers by a greater proportion than those of organic farmers. Conversely, price decreases will decrease conventional returns by a greater proportion than organic returns. Differential price changes (increases in some commodity prices and decreases in others) would also tend to have effects of greater magnitude, whether positive or negative, on conventional farmers, since they depend on fewer crops for their income. Because organic systems are more diversified, the effects of differential price changes on income would partially offset each other.
Increases in the cost of variable inputs would be less damaging to organic farmers because they purchase fewer inputs. The most likely price increases in the near future will be for energy, with consequent increases in the price of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Organic farmers use less energy than conventional farmers, primarily because they use less synthetic nitrogen. In the Lockeretz study (1978), the organic farmers used 60 percent less energy per unit of value of production. The Berardi study (1978) showed that conventional wheat farmers use 48 percent more energy for 29 percent higher yields.
Farmers may face increasing pressure from governments to control the movement of sediment, pesticides, and nutrients from farmland to the off-farm environment. Organic farming controls erosion and reduces or eliminates the use of pesticides and highly soluble forms of nitrogen. Therefore, organic farmers are already controlling pollution. If conventional farmers are forced through regulation or other policy instruments to control runoff, organic techniques and reduced tillage possibly would be their cheapest alternatives.
Finally, research on organic farming can improve the economic performance of organic methods. The lack of reliable information on problems specific to organic farming, such as non-chemical weed control, is a serious barrier to its adoption. Government-sponsored agricultural research has focused on chemical-intensive agriculture, leaving organic farmers to rely on the organic industry or a small number of organic research groups for information (Blobaum, 1983). Intensive research on agricultural chemicals has been conducted for four decades, but organic research is in its infancy. Therefore, the economic benefits to farmers from an incremental investment in organic research may be greater than from a corresponding investment in chemically-oriented research. Developments in genetic engineering could benefit both organic and conventional agriculture (Butter and Youngberg, 1983).
During the 1985 debates on agricultural legislation, the major concerns were soil erosion, the farm credit crisis, overproduction, and international trace. A shift toward organic farming would have favorable impacts on all but the lest problem. Organic farming was debated in the 99th Congress, but it was rarely mentioned as a solution to these problems.
The low prices received by farmers and the cost of federal programs aimed at increasing these prices are major policy issues. In the past five years, net budget outlays by the Commodity Credit Corporation for price supports and related programs have ranges from a low of $2.7 billion in 1980 to a high of $18.8 billion in 1983 (USDA, 1984). Despite these expenditures, farm income remains relatively dąpressed. Conversion to organic farming decreases the production of price-supported commodities by substituting hay crops, which receive no price supports, and by reducing yields. Therefore, conversion to organic farming could reduce the cost of federal programs while raisin" grain prices because of reduced supplies. However, improved grain prices could have an undesirable effect on the trace deficit. A study at Iowa State University predicted that a nationwide conversion to organic methods would decrease production, increase commodity prices, increase net farm income, decrease export potential, and increase the land used for agriculture (Olsen et al., 1980).
Energy conservation, a major policy issue during the energy crisis of the 1970's, is being overlooked during the energy glut of the mid-1980's. The glut is surely temporary and energy conservation should remain a national goal. Organic farming is more energy efficient than conventional farming, in some cases even outperforming reduced tillage (Cacek, 1984). Therefore organic farming could be an element in the nation's energy policy.
Soil erosion has macroeconomic as well as microeconomic implications. The Conservation Foundation estimated that off-site impacts of erosion-related pollutants from cropland cause $2.2 billion in damages annually across the nation (Clark et al., 1985). These damages involve recreation, water storage and transport facilities, navigation, flood damages related to sediments, and water treatment. Damages of this magnitude are an incentive for the government to control pollution from cropland, and regulation is often proposed as the solution. However, research and extension on organic farming and conservation tillage may be effective alternatives to regulation and should certainly supplement any regulatory effort.
Damage to wildlife was not included in the Conservation Foundation estimate. Federal, state and private fish and wildlife organizations spend several billion dollars per year conserving wildlife. The wildlife gains resulting from these expenditures, however, are overshadowed by agricultural land use changes that have caused precipitous declines in populations of farm game (Farris and Cole, 1981). Agricultural pesticides pushed brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) to the brink of extinction. Agricultural activities have harmed fisheries in 30 percent of all streams nationwide (Judy, 1984), and siltation has degraded waterfowl breeding habitat in the northern plains. Conversion to organic farming would improve upland habitat, safeguard wetland habitat from siltation, and reduce the pesticide threat (Cacek, 1984). Enhanced fish and wild life populations offer potential economic gains to farmers who can permit hunting or fishing on their farms for a fee.
Losses of soil productivity caused by erosion are of little concern in the near future (Crosson, 1984), but what of the loss of productivity over the centuries? The Middle East and Northern Africa are littered with the remains of ancient civilizations that abused their soils (Lowdermilk, 1975). Some Chinese soils, by contras", have been farmed with organic technology for 40 centuries. Perhaps in the final reckoning these soils will have fed more humans than America's conventionally farmed soils. Policies based on Crosson's conclusions could jeopardize the food supply for future generations. The availability of land for food production could become problem in the future, so protecting the productivity of existing land is all the more critical.
Organic farming is a sophisticated alternative agricultural system. Ample data exist to conclude that it can compete economically with convention farming in the Corn Belt and the semiarid Northwest. Further research is needed on the economics of organic farming with horticultural crops and in other geographic regions. Particular attention should be given to optimum approaches for conversion to organic farming. Information needs of organic farmers should be surveyed and information delivery systems should be tailored to meet those needs.
Organic farming benefits society substantially by reducing pollution and flooding; conserving energy, soil, nutrients, fish, and wildlife; reducing federal costs for grain price supports; and insuring the supply of food for future generations. However, virtually no credible data are available to policy makers on the magnitude of these benefits, they are unable to compare organic farming with other policy alternatives. Policy makers also need information on the impact of organic farming on international trace, input suppliers, the food marketing chain, and rural communities. In areas where organic farming is known to be economically feasible, federal policy barriers to conversion should be identified and evaluated. Finally, the impacts of the 1985 Farm Bill and other legislation on the economic viability of organic farming should be analyzed.
Organic farming is an attractive alternative for both farmers and policy makers. With the development and delivery of better information, both will be able to make the best use of this alternative.
1. Berardi, G.M. 1978. Organic and conventional wheat production: examination of energy and economics. Agro-Ecosystems 4:367-376.
2. Blobaum, Roger. 1983. Barriers to conversion to organic farming practices in the midwestern United States. In: Environmentally Sound Agriculture, William Lockeretz (ed.), pp. 263-278. Praeger, New York, N.Y.
3. Brusko, Mike, George DeVault, Fred Zahradnik, Craig Cramer, and Lesa Ayers. 1985. Profitable farming now. The Regenerative Agriculture Association, Emmaus, Pa.
4. Buttel, Frederick H. and 1. Garth Youngberg. 1983. Implications of biotechnology for development of sustainable agricultural systems. In: Environmentally Sound Agriculture, William Lockeretz (ed.), pp. 377400. Praeger, New York, N.Y.
5. Cacek, Terry. 1984. Organic farming: the other conservation farming system. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 39:357-360.
6. Clark, Edwin H. II, Jennifer A. Haverkamp, and William Chapman. 1985. Eroding soils - the off-farm impacts. The Conservation Foundation, Washington, D.C.
7. Crosson, Pierre. 1984. New perspectives on soil conservation policy. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 39:222-225.
8. Eberle, P. and D. Holland. 1979. Comparing organic and conventional grain farms in Washington. Tilth (Spring): 30-37.
9. Farris, Allen L. and Steven H. Cole. 1981. Strategies and goals for wildlife habitat restoration on agricultural lands. Transactions of the Forty-sixth North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 46: 130-136.
10. Helmers, Glenn A., Joseph Atwood, and Michael R. Langemeier. 1984. Economics of alternative crop rotations for east-central Nebraska--a preliminary analysis. Dept. of Agricultural Economics Staff Paper No. 14-1984. University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
II. James, Sidney C. 1983. Economic consequences of biological farming. In: Proceedings of the Management Alternative for Biological Farming Workshop, Robert B. Dahlgren, (ed.), pp. 17-26. Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, lowa State University, Ames
12. Judy, Robert D., Jr., Paul N. Seeley, Thomas M Murray, Susan C. Svirsky, Molly R. Whitworth, and Lee S.lshinger. 1984. 1982 National Fisheries Survey. Vol I, Technical Report: Initial Findings. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. , FWS/OBS84/06.
13. Kraten, S.L. 1979. A preliminary examination of the economic performance and energy intensiveness of organic and conventional small grain, farms in the Northwest. M.S. Thesis. Washington State University, Pullman.
14. Lockeretz, William, Georgia Shearer, Robert Klepper, and Susan Sweeney. 1978. Field crop production on organic farms in the Midwest. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 33:130-134.
15. Lowdermilk, W.C. 1975. Conquest of the land through 7,000 years. Agricultural Information Bulletin No. 99. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington,
16. Olson, Kent D., Earl O. Heady, and James A. Langley. 1980. A national model of agricultural production, land use, export potential, and farm income under conventional and organic farming alternative. Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, lowa State University, Ames.
17. Patten, Andrea W.G. 1982. Comparison of nitrogen and phosphorus flows on an organic and chemical farm. M.S. Thesis. Department of Agronomy and Soils, Washington State University, Pullman.
18. Roberts, Kenneth J., Philip F. Warnken, and Kenneth C. Schneeberger. 1979. The economics of organic crop production in the western Corn Belt. Agricultural Economics Paper No. 1979-6. University of Missouri, Columbia.
19. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1980. Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. Washington,
20. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1984. Agricultural Statistics 1984. Washington, D.C.
Citation : Cacek Terry, Langner L. Linda, 1986, "The economic implications of organic farming", Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 25-29.
Copyright © 1986 Reprinted with permission.
Reprinted with permission.
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BRASILIA/SANTIAGO – Top U.S. and Brazilian medical experts met on Thursday to launch a research partnership to find a vaccine against the Zika virus that has spread rapidly through the Americas since it first appeared in the hemisphere last year.
Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said the experts would also pool resources and knowledge to develop better methods to test people for Zika and ways to eradicate the mosquito that spreads the virus linked to severe birth defects.
Brazil is scrambling to contain the Zika outbreak that threatens attendance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. It has advised pregnant women to stay at home.
Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with experts from the Food and Drug Administration and the Health and Human Services department met with counterparts from Brazil’s leading biomedical research centers.
Among the issues they face is the need to agree on the evidence that Zika is causing the hundreds of confirmed cases in Brazil of babies born with abnormally small heads, a condition called microcephaly, and with other neurological diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which declared the Zika outbreak a global public health emergency on Feb. 1, said last week that a stronger view of Zika’s link to microcephaly could become clearer within weeks.
While that relation has not been proven scientifically Brazilian authorities coping with an unprecedented number of babies with microcephaly say they are sure Zika is the cause, because most cases of microcephaly have occurred in the poorer northeast of Brazil where the Zika outbreak has hit hardest.
“We have no doubt that the epidemic of microcephaly that we are seeing in Brazil is caused by the Zika virus outbreak,” Castro told reporters on the sidelines of Thursday’s meeting.
Brazil’s Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that it was considering most of the 508 confirmed cases of microcephaly in the country to be linked to the Zika outbreak.
Castro said Brazil was making the reporting of all Zika cases mandatory, a step that had not been taken before due to the lack of kits to test for Zika.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan will visit Brazil next week to meet health officials in Brasilia and visit mothers with babies suffering from microcephaly in the northeastern city of Recife, at the epicenter of the epidemic in Brazil, Castro said.
Chile’s health ministry is meanwhile reporting 10 new cases of dengue on Easter Island.
The ministry says that eight adults and two minors from the same family have been infected but are recovering. That brings the total to 14 dengue cases in the Chilean territory in the South Pacific.
Easter Island is the only place in Chile where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is present. The mosquito can also carry viruses like chikungunya and the Zika that has spread throughout the Americas.
The ministry said Thursday that 26 suspicious cases were ruled out for dengue but are still being investigated for Zika and other diseases.
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Figuring out how the brain decides between two options is difficult. This is especially true for the human brain, whose activity is typically accessible only via the small and occasionally distorted window provided by new imaging technologies (such as functional MRI (fMRI)).
In contrast, it is typically more accurate to observe monkey brains since the skull can be opened and brain activity recorded directly.
Despite this, if you were to look just at the human research, you would consider it a fact that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) increases its activity during response conflict. The thought is that this brain region detects that you are having trouble making decisions, and signals other brain regions to pay more attention.
If you were to only look at research with monkeys, however, you would think otherwise. No research with macaque monkeys (the ‘non-human primate’ typically used in neuroscience research) has found conflict activity in ACC.
My most recent publication looks at two possible explanations for this discrepancy: 1) Differences in methods used to study these two species, and 2) Fundamental evolutionary differences between the species.
Initially, the methods difference seems like the obvious explanation. After all, directly recording brain activity with electrodes should be more accurate than recording blood flow caused by brain activity (like with fMRI).
There’s a twist to this story, however: Measuring blood flow may actually be more accurate than recording single-unit activity in some cases.
For instance, fMRI may be more sensitive to activity in interneurons (the small neurons usually ignored by single-unit recording). As it turns out, conflict activity in ACC is thought to involve exactly these sorts of interneurons. The idea is that populations of these small cells compete for dominance between the two decision outcomes. This would cause more blood flow in ACC for fMRI to pick up (in humans), but relatively little change in the large output neurons (recorded in monkeys).
This could completely explain the discrepancy between the species, except for three things that cast doubt on it: First, local field potentials, which detect interneuron activity, yielded no results in monkeys (Emeric et al., 2008). Second, cutting out the ACC of monkeys did not change monkeys’ decision-making behaviors (Mansouri et al., 2007). Finally, single-unit recording and local field potential recording in humans undergoing surgery found conflict activity in ACC (Wang et al., 2005; Davis et al. 2005), just as with fMRI.
These findings suggest another possibility: The discrepancy is explained by a fundamental difference in the brains of the two species.
This actually makes a lot of sense, given that the two species diverged 25 million years ago. A lot of evolution has occurred in that time. If you have any doubt about that, just consider the variety of human relative to macaque monkey behaviors. Sure, we can eat, sleep, and fling feces just like monkeys, but also much much more. (Of course, a monkey could write this blog post too; it would just take much longer).
Strangely, what appears obvious to most of us is blasphemy in much of the neuroscience community (Passingham, 2009; Preuss, 2006). Most neuroscientists consider the macaque monkey brain to be essentially identical to the human brain (except, perhaps, for one or two ‘language modules’).
How could this be? Partly because there is some truth to it, and partly due to wishful thinking.
It’s true in the sense that macaque monkeys are much more similar to humans than the other often-used neuroscience animal: the rodent. Thus, relative to many other neuroscientists, monkey researchers are typically much closer to discovering the truth about the human brain.
The wishful thinking comes from all corners of the neuroscience community: We all want to know exactly what is happening in the human brain, and since we usually can’t record directly from human neurons we desperately want monkey neurons to stand in as a perfect replicas. Unfortunately, they do not.
So, all that is left to explain the discrepancy between monkey and human ACC is the possibility that there is a new brain region in human ACC that is not present in monkeys.
Indeed, such a region is known to exist, at least anatomically (Vogt et al. 1995; Palomero-Gallagher et al. 2008). This region, known as area 32´, is present in human (not monkey) ACC. See the above figure for the region’s location.
It is not clear exactly what this region actually does, however. We suggest that area 32´ bestows mental flexibility on humans, improving our ability to perform well on a variety of tasks by allowing us to monitor the current task difficulty and adjust our behavior to improve it. See the paper for more details.
What might this evolutionary difference mean for the future of monkey neuroscience?
It should certainly cause neuroscientists to remain skeptical of conclusions based solely on monkey research (unless, of course, they are only interested in monkey brains).
Also, it should drive researchers to directly compare human and monkey brain activity (perhaps by using fMRI with both species) to bridge findings from the two species and also to make comparisons in order to further understand our evolutionary origins.
Cole, M., Yeung, N., Freiwald, W., & Botvinick, M. (2009). Cingulate cortex: Diverging data from humans and monkeys Trends in Neurosciences, 32 (11), 566-574 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.07.001 | <urn:uuid:bffca3cc-09ce-49a2-a24f-0bea29440e11> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.neurevolution.net/2009/11/12/cingulate-cortex-and-the-evolution-of-human-uniqueness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00034-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949611 | 1,157 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Polystachya pubescens is a small, epiphytic orchid native to South Africa. It is a very common orchid and sometimes can be found growing as a lithophyte on sandstone outcrops. The small, pyriform pseudobulbs will reach about 4 inches (10 cm) tall bearing 3-4 leaves of unequal length. It is very easy to grow and makes a good orchid for beginners.
Blooming: In the greenhouse, the plants bloom from late spring into summer. The small 3/4 inch (2 cm) bright yellow, fragrant flowers bloom on an erect 10 inch (25 cm) raceme with 7-12 flowers per inflorescence.
Culture: Polystachya pubescens need partial shade to full sun. In the greenhouse, we use coarse pine bark as the medium of choice for growing. The plants are grown in a lightly shaded area of the greenhouse. Plants are watered regularly and given a light dose of orchid special fertilizer weekly during the growing season. During the hot summer months, the plants should be misted. During the winter months, very little water is needed.
Propagation: Polystachya pubescens is propagated by division of the pseudobulb in late winter before new growth starts.
Polystachya pubescens was featured as Plant of the Week April 8-14, 2005.
Guide to Past Plants-of-the-Week:
Cal's Plant of the Week was provided as a service by the University of Oklahoma Department of Microbiology & Plant Biology and specifically the late Cal Lemke, who used to be OU's botany greenhouse grower and an avid gardener at home as well. If the above links don't work, then try the overview site. You may also like to look at the thumbnail index. ©1998-2012 All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:6ef27fc2-9f9b-4b6f-913a-5803abf34220> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week303.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937534 | 389 | 2.84375 | 3 |
- hurricane (n.)
- sea-storm of severest intensity, 1550s, a partially deformed adoptation from Spanish huracan (Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, "Historia General y Natural de las Indias," 1547-9), furacan (in the works of Pedro Mártir De Anghiera, chaplain to the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and historian of Spanish explorations), from an Arawakan (W. Indies) word. In Portuguese, it became furacão. For confusion of initial -f- and -h- in Spanish, see hacienda. The word is first in English in Richard Eden's "Decades of the New World":
These tempestes of the ayer (which the Grecians caule Tiphones ...) they caule furacanes.
OED records 39 different spellings, mostly from the late 16c., including forcane, herrycano, harrycain, hurlecane. The modern form became frequent from 1650 and was established after 1688. Shakespeare uses hurricano ("King Lear," "Troilus and Cressida"), but in reference to waterspouts. | <urn:uuid:430ddc9a-d541-43b9-a3d0-16715e85214e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hurricane&allowed_in_frame=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882172 | 259 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, a growing political and cultural consensus in the United States has supported environmental protection even in the absence of a formally recognized constitutional right to a clean environment. According to a 2003 national poll, 75 percent support greater enforcement of our environmental laws, and over 75 percent support stronger emissions standards for business and industry. Pollsters report that the public expects their leaders to share this basic value—and that environmental policies should not put the public’s health at risk.
Nonetheless, the Bush administration and its congressional allies have led a systematic effort to undermine the country’s keystone environmental and public health protections, as well as the protection of national parks and public lands. Clearly, the interests of industry take a far higher priority within national leadership than do the rights of the American people to a healthy environment—which raises the question of whether we can afford to subject the protection of our communities and our planet to the whims of politics. While these anti-environmental efforts are unprecedented in their scope, I will focus on just three issues: the administration’s assault on the Clean Air Act, its relaxed enforcement of environmental laws, and its de-funding and slowdown of toxic waste cleanups.
Assault on the Clean Air Act
As many as 60,000 Americans die prematurely each year as a result of exposure to fine particulate pollution. More than 130 million Americans—almost half the population—are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution. Power plant emissions in particular are linked to a host of pediatric health problems, from asthma attacks and slowed neurological growth to stunted lung development and neonatal death.
In the face of these realities, the administration has nonetheless partnered with industry lobbyists to begin a vast rollback of Clean Air Act protections. In early 2002, the administration proposed the passage of its “Clear Skies Initiative,” which would amend the Clean Air Act requirements. Although President Bush claims this initiative will reduce air pollution, according to the government’s own numbers it would actually result in an increase in emissions of harmful air toxins: nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. Additionally, it fails to take steps to regulate and limit carbon dioxide pollution, the prime cause of global warming.
The Clean Air Act requires power plants to make deep reductions in their output of soot-forming sulfur dioxide (SO2) and smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) within this decade in order to meet public health standards. The “Clear Skies Initiative” allows more than one-and-a-half times as much NOx and more than twice as much SO2 for nearly a decade longer (2010-18) than the current law allows. As dangerous as these pollutants are, perhaps the greatest threat to the right to health is the direct and growing risk of exposure to mercury, a neurological poison that can cause birth defects. Twelve percent of American women of childbearing age have mercury levels in excess of what is considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Prenatal exposure to methyl mercury can cause adverse developmental and cognitive effects in children even at low doses that do not harm the mother. Indeed, the EPA announced in early 2004 that more than one child in six could be at risk of developmental disabilities, twice the previous estimate.
Incredibly, the administration’s initiative would allow power plants, the main source of mercury emissions in the air, to emit more than five times as much mercury pollution for a decade longer (2008-18) than currently allowed— ignoring a 1998 court order that requires the EPA to establish by December 15, 2003, how it will cut mercury pollution by greater levels than required by the Clean Air Act. In December 2003, while the administration was working to allow more leeway for mercury pollution, the Food and Drug Administration reiterated its 2001 warning to women of childbearing age to avoid consuming certain fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish due to mercury contamination. At that time, 44 states had advisories in effect for mercury in non-commercial fish and 17 states had statewide advisories in effect. Nine states had statewide advisories for mercury in their coastal waters.
Superfund: No Funds?
One in every four Americans lives within four miles of a toxic waste site—an area contaminated by chemicals that can cause cancer, reproductive diseases, and other serious health problems for nearby communities. To protect public health and the environment, Congress passed the Superfund law in 1980. The law requires polluters to pay for their contamination of land, and establishes a trust fund to clean up properties where the polluting company cannot pay or be identified. Taxes on corporations that have historically generated the most toxic waste—such as oil and chemical companies—endowed the fund. The legal authorization for the fund expired under the Clinton administration, which pursued its reauthorization from Congress to ensure full funding. The Bush administration, however, has not pursued its reauthorization, instead choosing to shift the cost of toxic waste cleanup to the taxpaying public. As a result, the fund is running out, and the rate of site cleanups has been cut in half since the Bush administration came into office.
Furthermore, the administration has proposed to exempt military bases and the defense industry from much of their liability for toxic waste cleanup on the grounds that such exemptions are needed for proper training and military readiness. Toxic byproducts of military uses can have potentially devastating health effects. For example, perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket and missile fuel found at many defense related sites, has contaminated drinking water in at least 20 states. In addition, studies from 2003 suggest that much of the nation’s lettuce supply might be contaminated through contact with perchlorate in irrigation water. Perchlorate is a powerful thyroid toxin that interferes with normal thyroid function and may cause cancer.
Nonenforcement of Environmental Laws
The Environmental Protection Agency plays a vital inspection and enforcement role for the country’s basic public health and environmental protections. EPA enforcement agents pursue some of the nation’s worst polluters, those who defy environmental controls and recklessly harm the air, water, and land. Yet the Bush administration has taken the environmental cop off the beat by diverting funds, mismanaging limited resources, and sending a signal to polluters that enforcement is not a priority. In his first budget, Bush proposed to cut $25 million from the agency’s operating budget and 270 EPA enforcement jobs. Although Congress blocked those budget cuts, the administration was still able to reduce enforcement staff by 210 positions, or nearly by half. Consequently, enforcement activities have declined: EPA personnel conducted 13 percent fewer inspections in fiscal year 2002 than in 2000.
The funding shortage at EPA is so severe that an EPA manager ordered agents to surrender either their cell phones or satellite text pagers, despite acknowledging in the order that field investigators “need both to do their job effectively and, most importantly, safely.” One supervisor commented to a journalist, “I am struggling with dwindling resources in an attempt to keep...the investigation of environmental crimes alive within my area of responsibility.”
What Can Be Done?
Even before the current administration’s anti-environmental policies, politics and public pressure failed to protect the health and environment of the country’s low income and minority communities, who are often located in close proximity to polluting facilities, and who are disproportionately harmed by pollution. Local officials frequently claim that the pollution is worth the job creation; and those who are harmed have little power and few resources to challenge these decisions. Indeed, often they are willing to make what they understand to be a necessary trade-off of health risks for jobs.
The Bush administration’s approach to environmental justice issues is only deepening the disproportionate impact on these communities. Indeed, the EPA’s Inspector General reported that the Bush administration has reinterpreted an Executive Order calling for special attention to the affects on minority communities to instead apply to everyone. The Inspector General’s office chastised the Bush administration, saying that the EPA mandate already aims to protect everyone, but that the Executive Order (issued in 1994 by President Clinton) was intended to bring necessary focus on these most hard hit communities. Thus, the administration delivers a double blow to environmental justice: creating a greater health risk for all Americans by undermining the Clean Air Act, and stripping away protections for our most vulnerable communities.
Those who advocate a constitutional right to a healthy environment seek to use the country’s highest law to place environmental protection above political pressure, to ensure that the rights to health and a healthy environment are formally incorporated into the concept of due process—in short, to live up to the Declaration of Independence’s unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Such an effort—whether through the courts or an explicit amendment—could galvanize a movement in support of the protection of the environment. It is a noble fight, but one that faces significant hurdles in the current political climate.
In the meantime, we rely on politics, public pressure, and engagement to protect our environment. To that end, my organization, Environment2004, aims to reach out to voters to inform them of the ongoing attacks on our environment, while also making the link between environmental protection and such broader issues as quality of life, children’s health, and job opportunities. | <urn:uuid:b09caa71-4e3b-4c7c-a7b2-2f1aecfb0d9d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/dialogue/2_11/online_exclusive/4439.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950685 | 1,903 | 2.953125 | 3 |
On-line version ISSN 0375-1562
S. Afr. dent. j. vol.70 n.3 Johannesburg Apr. 2015
SJ PulikottilI; S NathII
ISenior Lecturer, Department of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IISenior Lecturer, Department of Periodontology, Vananchal Dental College, and Hospital, Farathiya, Garhwa, Jharkhand, India
INTRODUCTION: Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a plant-derived spice that has been traditionally used as a natural medicine for the treatment for various ailments including dental diseases.
AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To present a comprehensive report on the properties of clove based on an analysis of contemporary scientific and professional literature in order to explore the prospects for its application in the treatment of plaque-induced periodontal diseases.
METHODS: An online search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar using a combination of key words which included clove buds, clove essential oil, eugenol, Eugenia caryophyllata, spices, medicinal plant, chemical composition, biological effect, therapeutic use, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anaesthetic, periodontal, dental, and periodontitis.
RESULTS: In vitro studies have shown Syzygium aromati-cum to have bacteriostatic, bactericidal, anti-viral, anti-mycotic, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anaesthetic and analgesic properties. Clove oil has a specific anti- inflammatory property as it inhibits the cyclo-oxygenase-2 and lipo-oxygenase enzymes
CONCLUSION: Clove and its derivatives have a definite potential to be used as specific anti-plaque and anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of periodontal disease. Future research should concentrate on designing new formulations based on clove derivatives in the form of local drug delivery system or topical agents for the treatment of periodontal diseases.
Keywords: Syzygium aromaticum; periodontitis; biofilm; non-surgical periodontal therapy
Periodontitis is a multifactorial inflammatory disease process that leads to the destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth.1 The presence of bacterial plaque is the main etiologic factor involved in the initiation and progression of periodontitis and is related to gingival crevice colonization by microorganisms such as Aggregatibacter actinomyc-etemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola.1,2 These bacteria elicit an immune response that results in periodontal breakdown, causing destruction of soft tissues and bone. The primary goal of periodontal therapy is to remove periodontal pathogens by providing patients with adequate oral hygiene methods combined with professional mechanical plaque control.3 However, this conventional treatment strategy is not always successful and the addition of chemical agents as an adjunct has been suggested to enhance efficacy in achieving better oral health.4 Another line of treatment involves modulating the host responses.5 Chemotherapeutic agents have been used commonly as adjuncts but increasing incidence of failure and the development of resistance to conventional antibiotics has led to the screening of several medicinal plants for their potential antimicrobial activity and host modulating effects.6
Down the ages natural products such as essential oils and other extracts of plants have evoked interest in their possible application in the treatment of oral diseases.7-9 Natural plant products represent a significant source of substances for managing plaque-related diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.8,9 The World Health Organization observed that the use of traditional medicine for primary healthcare is more popular in many populations than hospital-based conventional care.10 Many spices possess medicinal properties and their use in traditional systems of medicine has been on record for a long time.11
Clove is a spice obtained from the dried flower bud of the clove tree, Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. (syn. Syzygium aromaticum, Eugenia aromaticum, Family: Myrtaceae).11 Clove has a nail-like appearance and is known by different names in different languages, such as Dutch (nagel), Spanish (clavo) and Portugese (cravo). They vary in length from about / to % inch and contain 14-20% essential oil.11 Clove oil is extracted from the buds, leaves or stems of the tree Syzygium aromaticum by steam or water distillation. Traditionally clove leaf oil has been used to treat burns and cuts and even in dental care for alleviating tooth ache and infection.12 Clove has been shown to be effective against bacteria associated with dental caries and peri-odontal disease as well as against a large number of other bacteria.13 In addition, studies have reported anti-fungal, anti-carcinogenic, anti-allergic and anti-mutagenic activity of Syzygium aromaticum.12,14Eugenol, the primary component of clove oil, displays antioxidant and anti- inflammatory properties.11,15 The aim of this review is to explore the pharmacological effects of clove and its active components in order to identify the potential for the development of a therapeutic agent in treating periodontal disease.
MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethes-da, Maryland) and Google-Scholar was searched for appropriate articles using the following keywords in various combinations: "clove", ''Syzygium aromaticum", ''eugenol'', ''clove essential oil'', ''Eugenia caryophyllata", "spices", ''medicinal plant'', ''herbal medicine'' "chemical composition", "biological effect", "therapeutic use", "antioxidant", "anti-inflammatory", "anti-bacterial", "anti-viral", "anti-mycotic". "periodontal", "periodontitis" and "dental". All articles on human, animal, in vitro and in vivo studies and reviews published in English were selected. Preference was given to articles that described the composition, pharmacological effects and toxicity of clove. Titles and abstracts of articles that satisfied the eligibility criteria were screened and checked for agreement. The full text of the articles judged by title and abstract to be relevant were read and independently assessed by two reviewers (SJP and SN).
HISTORY OF SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM
The West Indies, Madagascar, Tanzania and Zanzibar are major producers of clove. However, Asian countries such as Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka produce clove in greater quantities.16 Clove has been used as a spice and fragrance for more than 2,000 years in China. Since ancient times clove has been used to treat medical conditions like dyspepsia, acute or chronic gastritis and diarrhoea.11,12,14 Clove oil was used medicinally in France for the first time(1640), as a remedy for treating toothache and was documented in 'Practice of Physic'.17 Kim et al.18used it for the treatment of asthma and various allergic disorders by oral administration. In the food industry clove oil or its extract has found use as a flavouring agent in whisky, ice cream, baked goods, candy and mouthwashes.12,19 Clove has been used in clinical dentistry in root canal therapy, surgical dressings, pulp capping agents, cavity liners and in temporary fillings.13,20
COMPONENTS OF CLOVE
Three essential oils are available from clove spices: clove bud oil, clove stem oil and clove leaf oil. Each has a different chemical composition and flavour. The major components of clove oil are eugenol, β-caryophyllene, eugenol acetate and in lesser amounts, benzyl alcohol, chavicol, acetyl salicylate and humulenes.14,21 All the active agents which may be extracted are described in Table 1.
Chaieb, Hajlaoui, Zmantar et al.14isolated clove essential oil by hydro-distillation using gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The chemical analysis resulted in the identification of 36 components, with a high concentration of eugenol (88.58%), eugenol acetate (5.62%), β-caryophyllene (1.39%), 2-heptanone (0.93%), ethyl hexanoate (0.66%), humulenol (0.27%), α-humulene (0.19%), calacorene (0.11°%) and calamenene (0.10%). Eugenol (4-allyl-1-hydroxy-2-methoxybenzene), a phenolic non-nutrient compound, is one of the major components with a molecular weight of 164.20. ß-caryophyllene, the other major constituent of clove oil has a molecular weight of 204.35. Similar results were also observed by Lee and Shibamato.20 The reported proportions of each constituent vary widely. Prashar, Locke and Evans et al.22 found the content of eugenol to be 78%, with 13% ß-caryophyllene, whereas Pawar and Thaker23 found that the content of eugenol was 47.64%, with the concentration of benzyl alcohol at 34.10%. Alma, Ertas, Nitz et al.21 found the composition to include eugenol (87%), eugenol acetate (8.01%) and β-caryophyllene (3.56%).
PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CLOVE
Natural remedies have been used for a long time for the treatment of various bacterial infections. In the recent practice of medicine, the misuse of antibiotics has led to the development of bacterial resistance. Therefore there is a need for identifying novel antibacterial agents against which there is minimal or no bacterial resistance. Studies on clove oil or its extract may contribute to the development of novel antimicrobial agents to offset the effects of resistance to antibiotics. Essential oils have anti-quorum sensing activity which might be important in reducing the virulence and pathogenicity of drug-resistant bacteria.24,25 (Quorum sensing is a means of bacterial intercellular communication. Anti-quorum sensing interrupts that process). A combination therapy of clove with antibiotics could be another method of overcoming bacterial resistance.
Several studies have shown the effectiveness of clove against numerous strains of bacteria.26-35 Clove oil and eucalyptus oil exhibited antibacterial properties against the most common oral pathogen S. Mutans.27-29Cai and Wu13 showed preferential growth-inhibition activity of a crude extract of clove against the gram-negative oral pathogens: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces viscosus and Prevotella intermedia. Several other studies have confirmed the in vitro antibacterial activity of clove against gram negative bacteria like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Campylobacter jejuni, and Salmonella enteritidis, and gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.30-35Duraipandiyan, Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu.36 observed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Ervinia sp, and Proteus vulgaris. Clove oil exhibited antibacterial activity against five strains of S. epidermidis (reference strains CIP106510, E13, S27, S23 and S38) which is mainly attributed to the presence of eugenol,12 extracts of which have shown antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi.37Clove oils protects against bacterial colonization of the lungs, seen in vitro and in mice infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae.38,39 Mytle, Anderson, Doyle, et al.40reported that the growth rates of Listeria monocytogenes strains were significantly reduced by treatment with 1% and 2% clove oil. Furthermore Ogunwande, Olawore, Ekundayo et al.41found that the essential oil of the fruit exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, while the leaf oil inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus, with an MIC of 39mg/ mL. Hospital-acquired infections are important due to presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its ability to cause severe soft tissue, bone or implant infections.42 Clove proved to be beneficial against Staphylococcus strains including MRSA and Streptococcus strains.43,44 The antibacterial property of clove is due to the damaging effect it has on the bacterial cell membrane.37
Several authors have investigated the synergistic interaction of clove oil molecule together with a conventional antibiotic.45-47 Time - kill studies have been used to evaluate the effect of interaction between eugenol together with ampicillin and with gentamicin. The hydrophilic antibiotics such as vancomycin and β-lactam antibiotics have a marginal activity on gram negative bacteria but exhibit enhanced antibacterial activity when pre-treated with eugenol.12,46 This synergistic effect could be explained by the fact that eugenol is able to damage the membrane of bacteria allowing increased penetration of vancomycin and β-lactam antibiotics and therefore effecting a greater antimicrobial effect.46 In a recent study Moon, Kim and Cha45 assessed the inhibitory effects of a combination of eugenol and antibiotics on cariogenic and periodonto-pathogenic bacteria. Although eugenol is effective against both grampositive and gram-negative microorganisms, contrasting results were found in other studies.48,49 Clove was found to be less effective when compared with cinnamon oil.49
No clinical studies were identified which had evaluated the effect of eugenol or any of clove extracts on periodonto-pathogenic microorganism.
Anti- Inflammatory activity
Bacteria are responsible for the initiation of periodontal disease, but it is the host immune-inflammatory response which is responsible for the progression of the disease and destruction of the periodontal attachment. One of the pathways is through the synthesis and release of prostaglandin and other arachidonic acid metabolites locally within the periodontal tissue. Tissue damage leads to the production of free arachidonic acid, which is further metabolized via either the cycloxygenase (COX) pathway to the prostaglandin (PGE2), prostacyclin and thrombaxane or the lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway to the leukotrienes. Therefore it is recognised that potential COX and leukotrienes inhibitors be considered as anti-inflammatory agents.
Few authors have investigated eugenol and acetyl eugenol for potential anti-inflammatory action on COX-2 and LOX enzymes.50,51 Eugenol appeared to directly inhibit COX-2 enzyme activity, possibly through complete i nhibition of PGE2, suppression of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κΒ) pathway and inhibition of interleukin (IL) - 6 production.52 Bachlega, de Sousa, Bastos et al.53demonstrated immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of clove, as it inhibited production of IL-1 β, IL-6 and IL-10. Likewise, Thompson and Eling54 demonstrated that eugenol inhibited prostaglandin H synthase activity. Similarly Raghavendra, Diwakr, Lokesh et al.55observed in human polymorphonuclear leucocytes that eugenol effectively inhibited the LOX enzyme in a non-competitive nature. Naidu56 demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition of LOX-catalysed lipid peroxidation (LPO) by eugenol. Though no clinical studies have been done, Koh, Murakami, Tanaka et al.57found that eugenol exhibits potent anti-inflammatory effects on cultured human gingival fibroblasts.
The reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by our body are responsible for tissue damage and cell death and can inhibit normal function of cellular lipids, proteins, DNA and RNA. This can lead to many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and even periodontitis.58 Clove has been identified as a potent anti-oxidant. Antioxidant activity of clove might be due to the higher concentration of phenolic compounds such as eugenol (71.56%), eugenol acetate (8.99 %) and thymol.59,60 The antioxidant activity of clove extract was comparable to that of the natural antioxi-dant, α-tocopherol (vitamin E) and butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT).20,61,62Syzygium aromaticum derivatives can prevent injury by ROS by scavenging free radicals, by chelation of transition metal ions, by inhibition of oxidant enzymes or by regeneration of α-tocopherol from α-tocopheroxyl radical. 12,14,59,60
The anti-oxidant capacity of clove was present when measured by the metal chelating activity, by bleomycin dependant DNA oxidation, by diphenyl-p-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP).59,60Syzygium aromaticum showed the highest antioxidant activity among 19 different extracts from Thai medicinal plants.63 Cloves showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (90%), highest FRAP values, high metal chelation ability and DNA oxidation among different spic-es.59,60 Clove also showed increased ability to inhibit metal-ion induced LPO.59,60 Some of the earlier in vitro studies have demonstrated that flavonoids can scavenge O2, OH and per-oxyl radicals, and inhibit LPO in different systems.64-66 High DPPH scavenging activity as well as O2 radical scavenging activity and metal chelating activity may be responsible for the marked antioxidant action of cloves. Thus the antioxidant properties of spices may be attributed to various mechanisms, which include prevention of chain initiation, chelation of transition metal ion catalysts, decomposition of peroxides, prevention of continued hydrogen abstraction, reductive capacity and radical scavenging activity.59
The effect of eugenol is concentration dependant. At low concentrations it has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, whereas at high concentrations it acts as a prooxidant, leading to tissue damage resulting from the enhanced generation of free radicals.12,60 Clove exhibited a higher bleomycin-dependent DNA oxidation activity indicating a prooxidant effect.60 Clove oil thus shows a powerful antioxidant activity, and can be used as an easily accessible source of natural antioxidants in pharmaceutical applications. No direct studies on periodontal cells or markers have been done to elucidate the effect of clove extracts as an anti-oxidant.
Clove possesses fungicidal characteristics in vitro and in vivo due to its phenolic components, carvacrol and eugenol.67,68 The potential drawback in the treatment of fungal diseases is the possibility of the development of antimicrobial resistance. Combination therapy with clove could form an alternative treatment method especially in treating fluconazole-resistant or multi-drug resistant fungal diseases. Studies have shown synergistic interaction with the use of eugenol and/or methyl-eugenol or either in combination with fluconazole or amphotericin B.69
Antifungal activity has been seen against Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes,70,71 Onychomycosis,72 Saccharomyces cerevisiae,73 E. Caryophyllata74and Aspergillus niger.75The antifungal activity is due to considerable reduction in the quantity of ergosterol, a specific fungal cell membrane component.76 Eugenol displayed in vitro activity against C. albicans cells within biofilms.77 Garg and Singh78 conducted an experiment using eugenol-loaded lipid nanoparticles in immunosuppressed rats and showed significant improvements in the eugenol-treated site. Similarly eugenol exhibited the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 0.06 to 0.25% (v/v) and minimum concentration of drug that inhibited 50% of the isolates (defined as MIC50) ranging from 0.06 to 0.12% (v/v) when tested against 38 strains of Candida species from denture wearers and 10 collection strains.79
Viruses are highly sensitive to the components of essential oils. The antiviral activity of eugenol has been tested against the herpes simplex-1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 viruses.80,81 Hussein, Miyashiro, Nakamura et.al82 found that Syzygium aromaticum extract was highly active at inhibiting replication of the hepatitis C virus. Synergistic interaction between acy-clovir and eugenol combination has been seen.
For many ages eugenol has been used as a natural remedy for relieving tooth pain. Similarly this technique in modern dental practice has been adopted by many clinicians, in which eugenol can act as an analgesic agent. Eugenol exhibited an analgesic effect in different experimental pain models in mice.83,84 Kurian and co-workers84 studied the anti-nociceptive ability of eugenol (100mg/kg) in several mouse models and found that the effect was more pronounced in the inflammatory phase than the neurogenic phase. Eugenol can, however, alleviate neuropathic pain.84 Guenette, Beaudry, Marier et al.85in their study in male Sprague-Dawley rats, showed that eugenol, at a dose of 40mg/kg, was capable of prolonging reaction time to thermal stimuli. All these results suggested the possible use of eugenol as an analgesic agent.
Eugenol is cheap and is an easily available topical anaesthetic. It is relatively user-friendly and can be used effectively in lower concentrations than other local anaesthetics.86 It is rapidly metabolized and excreted, thus requiring no withdrawal period.87 Eugenol shows good anaesthetic effects on inflamed pulpal tissues.88
OTHER ACTIVITY OF SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM
Clove essential oil has been reported to show anti-carcinogenic and anti-mutagenic potential.12 To overcome the toxic effects of synthetic drugs, clove essential oil can be used to inhibit, delay, block, or reverse the initiation of and promotional events associated with carcinogenesis. Sesquit-erpenes found in Syzygium aromaticum were investigated as potential anticarcinogenic agents.11 Volatile oils display cytotoxic action towards the human tumour cell lines PC-3 and Hep G2 50.14 A derivative of eugenol, dihydro-eugenol, has been shown to induce apoptosis of human cancer cells.14 Studies have demonstrated that eugenol provides protection from chemically induced skin cancer.89
The consumption of polyphenol-rich foods like clove can lower the risks for cardiovascular disease, arterial sclerosis and other disease related to oxidative stress.90-92 Eugenol produces dose-dependent, reversible vasodilator responses, negative inotropic effects in heart muscle, hypotensive effects and smooth muscle relaxant effect.93-95
POTENTIAL OF CLOVE (SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM) FOR TREATMENT OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE
Periodontal disease initiation and progression occurs as a consequence of the host response to microorganisms present in dental biofilm.1,2 The pathogens stimulate the host response resulting in the release of harmful by-products such as cytokines and prostaglandins by leukocytes, fibroblasts or other host tissue-derived cells and enzymes. These break down extracellular matrix components, such as collagen, as well as host cell membranes, consequently leading to periodontal attachment loss and bone resorption.2
Host modulation therapeutic strategies are aimed at inhibition of the progression of inflammatory bone loss associated with periodontitis.5 Although a range of biological and pharmacological activities of clove have been reported, there has been a lack of research into its therapeutic potential for destructive periodontal disease. Table 2 describes the therapeutic use of clove for dental application.
Clove exhibited antibacterial activity against gramnegative anaerobic periodontal pathogens, including Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia.13 Clove may reduce periodontal inflammation by modulation of the signalling pathway (NF-kB) and suppression of IL-6, COX-2 and TNF-α.52-55 Besides its anti-inflammatory properties, clove also has antioxidant property.59,60,62 It has an important property for reducing the oxidative stress which is often seen in periodontal disease. It promotes DPPH scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging and inhibits lipid peroxidation.59-62 It exhibits antifungal activity against Candida albicans68-70,77and antiviral activity against Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) 1 and 2.80,81 Analgesic83-85 and anaesthetic properties87 of clove could be a natural way of performing painless dental and oral procedures. Additionally, Karmarkar, Choudhury, Das et al.96observed that dried clove buds rich in eugenol and eugenol derivative were effective in preventing bone loss and this property would be beneficial for treating periodontal disease.
All these studies demonstrated that therapy with clove and its active components like eugenol can be beneficial for the treatment of periodontal disease as a natural anti-plaque or anti-gingivitis agent. Research has been particularly lacking in the areas of periodontal disease control. Clove can be effectively incorporated in therapeutic agents formulated against periodontal diseases in the form of mouthwashes, tooth pastes, topical agents and local drug delivery devices.
CYTOTOXICITY OF CLOVE
Clove oil and its components are generally recognized as 'safe', but the in vitro study by Prashar et al.22demonstrated cytotoxic properties of both the oil and eugenol towards human fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The cytotoxicity may be a function of more than one component. Clove oil was found to be highly cytotoxic at concentrations as low as 0.03% (v/v) with up to 78% of this effect attributable to eugenol and phenolic terpene.22 The second component β-caryophyllene did not contribute towards cytotoxicity. Localised irritation of the skin, ulcer formation, allergic contact dermatitis, tissue necrosis, reduced healing and in rare cases even anaphylactic-like shock are some the observed reactions when using dental products containing eugenol.97 Hartnoll, Moore and Douek17 reported severe side effects after clove oil ingestion such as hepatotoxicity, generalized seizures and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. Further research is still required to clearly define the cytotoxic effects of clove.
Clove has many properties which have been identified in both basic and specific disease- targeted research that could be of benefit in the treatment of periodontal disease. Yet the review shows glaring gaps in research which is specific to inflammatory periodontal disease. Eugenol, an important constituent of clove, has important anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties which could be harnessed and designed for the control and cure of periodontal disease. The fast developing fields of pharmaceutical and nano-technology are bound to impact on the designing of eugenol/clove extract formulations. There are opportunities wherein specific cell or tissue- targeting technology could effectively deliver the natural remedies in appropriate quantities and form. This will also negate the few cytotoxic properties of these compounds. Concerted effort is needed, as revealed by this review, to initiate investigations which could bring the findings hidden on the research benches to effective clinical use. Interdisciplinary research especially between pharmacy and clinical periodontics is seriously advocated. This paper suggests that there will be merit in the return to natural medicine for the treatment of periodontal diseases.
BHT: butylated hydroxyl toluene
DPPH: diphenyl-p-picryl hydrazyl
FRAP: ferric reducing/ antioxidant power
LPO: LOX-catalysed lipid peroxidation
MIC: minimum inhibitory concentration
ROS: reactive oxygen species
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International Medical University, School of Dentistry
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 57000
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